St. Francis Ambassador Scholarship Pageant Candidates Page 14
Enjoy Outdoor Events Pages 26 & 27
JUNE 2018 | VOLUME 25, ISSUE 10
Mental Health Services Coming to School District
Happy
Pages 5 & 6
The Courier
WWW.THE-COURIER.ORG | NEWS@ISD15.ORG
St. Francis Area Schools Communications Department St. Francis, Minnesota Serving the communities of Andover, Athens Township, Bethel, East Bethel, Linwood Township, Nowthen, Oak Grove, St. Francis and Stanford Township
Summer Children’s Theater celebrates long standing tradition KATRINNA DODGE
STAFF WRITER
This summer, the fantastical, whimsical and enchanting cross generational storyline of an umbrellaflying British nanny comes to St. Francis Area Schools as Mary Poppins JR. St. Francis Area Schools Community
Education Summer Children’s Theater presents Mary Poppins JR, directed by Glenn Morehouse Olson. Summer Children’s Theater is an intensive threeweek program for children entering grades two through twelve this fall. The junior program, while condensed into three 20 minute or two 45 minute acts
with an intermission depending on the production, is a full play. This musical production relies on community collaboration with parent volunteers and returning St. Francis Area School alumni. Summer Children’s Theater’s success is through their mentorship philosophy. Parent volunteers work with students and older students work with younger students in choreography, acting, costume design and other technical aspects of putting on a show. Morehouse Olson brings her own plethora of professional experience from working with Mixed Blood Theater, Guthrie, Penumbra, Stepping Stones and performed in Company, the musical, to name a few. This extracurricular option allows students hands-on experience and harmonizes with curriculum students learn in school. “Theater is the full deal. Theater is STEAM,” stated Morehouse Olson, The St. Francis Area Schools Community Education Summer Children’s Theater is performing Mary Poppins JR June 22-23 at St. Francis High School Performing Arts Center. Simon Luckow (tenthgrade) is cast as Bert and Emma DeRoo-Arndt (twelfth-grade) as Mary Poppins.
PHOTO BY GLENN MOREHOUSE OLSON
Building Our Future Together Update for June 2018 LISA RAHN
ST. FRANCIS AREA SCHOOLS COMMUNITY EDUCATION DIRECTOR BOND OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE
This is an exciting time for St. Francis Area Schools, having passed the largest bond in the history of the district. Many thanks to the community for supporting the bond. In January the process began with establishing a Bond Oversight Committee (BOC) that meets regularly to monitor and review the scope of the projects and review design and construction progress. Design Groups then were formed to provide input on design concepts. These concepts were brought to BOC for review and approval. User Groups were followed
and established to discuss day-today functions in specific areas in each building. User Groups provide information in more detail to the architecture team from staff that have daily use of the space being designed. Building principals solicited interest from staff and chose participants of both Design Groups and User Groups. User Group meetings will continue to meet as needed until the end of the school year. Architects provide updated drawings to the User Groups based on feedback. On May 29 a representative member from each core planning group along with the architect will present concept diagrams to the St. Francis Area Schools School Board. You will see the bleachers in the
stadium at St. Francis High School removed at the end of May, weather permitting. Over the course of the summer, the bleachers will be replaced to meet Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements, with completion expected early next fall. You will also see track resurfacing at the high school, which is not part of the bond but Long Term Maintenance Facility Revenue (LTMFR). Also part of LTMFR this summer is the renovation of St. Francis Middle School tennis courts. The rest of the work continues to happen behind the scenes. We will continue to update you on the progress as we build our future together. Visit www.isd15.org/ bond updates.
referring to curriculum focused on science, technology, engineering, arts and math. She described how students learn mathematics to build sets, awareness of non-verbals, engineering devices, understanding colors and chemistry by mixing paint and much more. Morehouse Olson gave an example of two of her close friends that are professional electricians with careers working on Broadway productions. The 2018 Minnesota Thespian Conference theme was Full Steam Ahead, which emphasized the different aspects theater encompasses. “Everything is there. Music is counting measures and hearing the beats. Music theater is one of the only things I know that encompasses every aspect of STEAM.” “[Theater] also continues their literacy,” continued Morehouse Olson. “As a teacher of English, we see it all the time. Especially in the younger grades, they have been reading all year and during the summer some of them don’t—they just forget or don’t pick up a book.” “They have to read the script. This continues their literacy and for these younger students, this is probably above some of their reading level.” Morehouse Olson emphasized the importance of extracurricular programs throughout the year as a way for students to explore different interests. She added that summer programs such as sports leagues allows interaction with peers and builds character. “It gives students an activity,” added Morehouse Olson. “Their minds are active. They are not sitting in front of a screen. They are not sitting in front of a television set. They are not sitting on their phone. They are interacting with human beings which is so important.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 21
Inside Schools in Action..................................... 2 School Board Highlights........................ 8 Community Education......................... 10 Community & Business........................ 13 Meetings, Events & Benefits................. 25 Sports & Outdoors................................ 26 Life........................................................... 28