Category Archives: K-12 Education

Carrying a Torch for Kids Who Dream of College

December 2, 2008 – 10:25 am

Matt Hart, a student in Doug McGill’s journalism class at Carleton College, has written a piece titled Carrying a Torch for Kids Who Dream of College (PDF - full text below).
Carrying a Torch for Kids Who Dream of College
By Matt Hart
In 2001, two third-grade girls from Northfield had a dream.
They [...]

By Griff Wigley | Also posted in Colleges, Non-Profits & Civic Orgs, People | Comments (0)

Nationwide project soliciting participation from Northfield youth

November 17, 2008 – 6:44 pm

A Minnesota-based non-profit is spending the next few months partnering children in New York City, Washington D.C., and Northfield with children in Iraq in an effort to build closer ties between the nations.
“We thought about Minneapolis, but decided on Northfield,” said Pam Middleton, executive director of War Kids Relief, which is a program of the [...]

By Bonnie Obremski | Also posted in RepJ Stories | Comments (5)

Audio and photo album: Moravian Church town hall forum on heroin

November 16, 2008 – 8:26 pm

Amy Gohdes-Luhman, pastor of the Main Street Moravian Church, organized and hosted a town hall forum on heroin today. Panelists included:

Dr. Charles Reznikoff – Addiction Medicine Specialist, Opiate Agonist Therapy (OAT) Clinic - Northfield Hospital
Sarah Shippy – Program Director, MEd LICSW, Omada Behavioral Health Services
Scott Robinson – Sheriff’s Deputy, Rice County [...]

By Griff Wigley | Also posted in Health, Non-Profits & Civic Orgs, Photos | Comments (4)

Preschool and daycare enrollment down

November 4, 2008 – 6:12 pm

Barbara Howe, director of Open Door Nursery School on West Third Street, is worried about the number of vacancies in daycares and preschools citywide.
“I think a lot of parents are having to make decisions financially,” Howe said on Tuesday. “There are things that have to go and unfortunately, nursery school is one of them.”
Howe said [...]

By Bonnie Obremski | Also posted in Businesses, RepJ Stories | Comments (1)

NHS football players conduct at volleyball games

October 31, 2008 – 9:07 am

Jeff Wald, writing in his Nfld News column Wald’s Weekly Word, has a column this week titled  Students banned from NHS game in which he wrote:
NHS Activities Director Tom Graupmann issued a warning to several male student-athletes before that match.  “It would be a bad idea to show up,” he said he told them. [...]

By Griff Wigley | Comments (0)

Streitz plans to build Goddard School in city

October 23, 2008 – 6:05 pm

Update log: 10/27 9:30 a.m., 10/31 2:30 p.m.

Jesse Streitz received informal encouragement from the Northfield Economic Development Authority (EDA) on Thursday morning to move forward with plans to build a Goddard School for Early Education off Professional Drive.
Streitz, former mayor of Dundas, said he would plan on returning to the EDA in the future [...]

By Bonnie Obremski | Also posted in RepJ Stories | Comments (33)

Northfield High School’s PRIMEtime Fellows acknowledged for 2008 Red Wagon Award

October 14, 2008 – 7:55 am

I snapped these photos at last night’s Northfield School Board meeting. The Board recognized the PRIMEtime Grant Collaborative and its PRIMEtime Fellows — Northfield High School students who volunteered to help elementary and middle school students this past year. See the album or this slideshow:

The PRIMEtime Fellows won a Minnesota 2008 Red Wagon Award (one [...]

By Griff Wigley | Also posted in Non-Profits & Civic Orgs | Comments (1)

Student-Teacher Ratio in Northfield - Someone’s Numbers are Off

October 7, 2008 – 10:19 am

Bert Sperling has been generating “best places” lists for some time now. His lists are deemed more accurate and credible than many, owing to the proprietary algorithms he uses in calculating a number of weighted factors. Sperling is co-author of the book Cities Ranked and Rated, and regularly produces lists for Money magazine, USA [...]

By Tracy Davis | Also posted in Community | Comments (4)

Student cell phone use: What’s the policy? Is it fair? Is it working?

September 29, 2008 – 8:54 am

I see some confusion on the Northfield Public Schools’ website regarding policies on cell phone use.
The Parent FAQ page says cell phone use is permissible between classes and at lunch:
Q: Is my student able to call me from school?
A: If they have a cell phone, they can call at any time before or after school, [...]

By Griff Wigley | Comments (1)

Be a mentor! The Connected Kids program is showing me how

September 19, 2008 – 4:22 am

Last fall, Northfield Union of Youth Executive Director Josh Hinnenkamp posted a comment here on Locally Grown about youth drug use and it included these two paragraphs:
How can adults help with this problem of drug use? Going on a blog might teach you a few things, but [it] won’t fix a problem. The number [...]

By Griff Wigley | Also posted in Non-Profits & Civic Orgs | Comments (1)

Why not a 4-day week for City, School District?

September 14, 2008 – 7:31 am

In yesterday’s Strib: Workers, employers welcome 4-day week.
Public employers are at the forefront. In Minnesota, cities from Albertville to Zimmerman, counties and schools are making the switch or considering it… Higher energy costs are triggering the change, with employees saving 20 percent of their commuting gas money while building costs drop with less heating, [...]

By Griff Wigley | Also posted in Government | Comments (64)

Election 2008 discussion: Northfield School Board - candidates and issues

September 11, 2008 – 7:53 am

There are eight candidates for four seats on the Board of Education for the Northfield Public Schools, ISD 659.
The candidates and the (known) links to their web sites/blogs:

Kevin Budig

Diane Cirksena

Rob Hardy

Katy Hargis

Ellen Iverson

Anne Maple

Peter Millin

Jeff Quinnell

By Griff Wigley | Also posted in Elections | Comments (128)

The other Veterans Memorial in Northfield

August 24, 2008 – 7:40 am

 
While taking photos of the outdoor pool’s climbing wall last week, I noticed the commemorative plaque and flag pole for the what’s now called Old Memorial Park. The plaque  reads:
On October 1, 1948, this memorial recreation field was dedicated as a living memorial to the brave men and women who gave their lives in [...]

By Griff Wigley | Also posted in Government | Comments (0)

Whassup with the construction/repairs at the Northfield Middle School?

August 23, 2008 – 9:04 am

Anyone know what’s going on with the external construction/repairs at the Northfield Middle School? I took these photos earlier this week while biking the great bike/walking paths around the school.

By Griff Wigley | Comments (0)

Maltby’s Cannon River STEM School approved for a charter

August 12, 2008 – 6:32 am

I ran into Erica Zweifel and Catherine McBride last week as they emerged from a lunch-time celebration. As board members, they’d gotten word that the Cannon River STEM School’s (CRSS) application for charter status had been approved by the MN Department of Education.  The Audubon Center of the North Woods is the sponsor. See [...]

By Griff Wigley | Comments (0)