Auto Prep Center in Shawano recently announced that Shawano Community High School is the recipient of this year’s ExxonMobil Educational Alliance Grant.

In 11 of the past 12 years, Auto Prep has been able to secure grant monies to supplement science and technology programs at local schools. This year’s award of $500 brings the total to nearly $6,000 that the fuel retailer has secured.

Work on the grant began last spring, with the identification of possible projects and SCHS indicating it was willing to accept a grant. Only Exxon retailers that maintain favorable rankings in their store operations are eligible to apply.

“Our schools work hard to make learning interesting and fun,” Pat Trinko of Auto Prep said. “We are proud to be a part of this program and to assist in that pursuit.”

The ExxonMobil Educational Alliance program was designed to provide Exxon retailers an opportunity to invest in the future of their communities through educational grants to neighborhood schools. Local retailers such as Auto Prep are allowed to work directly with educators to identify schools and programs in need of support.

Shawano School District

There will be no school on Monday.

Shawano Community High School

The Shawano Community High School hockey team is selling raffle tickets for an autographed Aaron Rodgers jersey. The jersey is professionally framed in a matted shadow box. Tickets are available at the Crawford Center concessions stand or from any SCHS hockey family members. Tickets are $5 each or three for $10; only 2,000 tickets will be sold. The drawing will be at noon March 12. The winner does not need to be present to win.

Shawano Community Middle School

SCMS Read-a-Book Get-a-Book kicked off on Monday. When SCMS students read a book, they can earn a free book to keep. After reading a book, the student can have a one-minute discussion with an ELA teacher, Kristine Bogacz or Sarah Schuettpelz. The student then can select a book to keep from the book bins, with everything from graphic novels to series sets. SCMS is very excited to help families build their own libraries at home through this program. A special thank you goes out to the following sponsors: New Threads of Hope and Dennis Brand, Forest County Potawatomi Foundation and Kaye Garcia.

The districtwide spelling bee will be held at 1 p.m. Wednesday in the LGI Room at Shawano Community Middle School.

Olga Brener Intermediate School

Olga Brener will host Hawks Gather2Gether from 6-8:30 p.m. Jan. 22. Hosted by Olga Brener PTO, the event will include a dinner, bake sale and basket auction.

Hillcrest Primary School

The next Hillcrest Family Game Night is scheduled 6 p.m. Friday. Bring your favorite board game and play with and against other families. Popcorn and water will be available for 50 cents each. This is a great way to have fun and meet other members of the Hillcrest family.

Gresham Community School

On Wednesday there was a blood drive at the school. Thank you to everyone who donated.

On Friday, the middle school and high school went to Sylvan Hills on an incentive trip. The students got to enjoy a day of sledding and fun.

Exams for all high school students start Wednesday. Thursday will be the last day of exams and the end of first semester.

There will be no school on Friday.

Olga Brener Intermediate School

Each month, our math coordinator, Joanne Edwards, meets with our Math Olympiads, a group consisting of 35 third- to fifth-graders who compete internationally against other schools. The students are given problems to solve and have a certain time limit to solve them. The students enjoy the challenge and excitement knowing that they are going up against students from all over the world.

The following students were chosen for demonstrating the December Hawk Trait, Caring: Brooklyn VerHaagh, Kennedi Myers, Evony Perez, Shayna Daney, Hannah Otto, Hannah Hoffman, Brooklyn Ihrcke, Gracie Hensel, Olivia Anderson, Ella Stuber, Jade Tourtillot, Kaitlyn Wojta, Jermaine Perez, Andon Chelberg, Maddigan Bakeberg, Kaden Persha, Bailey Parsons, Ella Quinn, Andre Lampinen, Emily Westphal, Riley VanWestenberg, Clarice Nauman, Jax Oertel, Brynlie Boyles, Tristan Tetting, Amanda Barkow, Canden Metko, Anastasia Cardenas, Clayton Thunder, Collon Griffin, Leslie Lemerond, Shawn Tourtillot, Kerstin Goetsch, Tucker Miles, Jaida Hill, Maddy Heling, Nathaniel Rohr, Jenna Ainsworth, Nolen Riemer, Anna Etten and Brayden Koenig. Way to follow the Hawk Way!

Upcoming: Friday, PTO Gather2Gether; Wednesday, report cards go home.

Students at Bowler Elementary are taking steps to benefit the American Red Cross through a friendly competition. Grades are competing in a Change War, which began Jan. 8 and continues through Feb. 8. The event is being coordinated by the school’s Cub Government.

The objective is to be the class that raises the most funds by the deadline. The winning class will receive an ice cream party. Proceeds for the event will benefit the lifesaving mission and work of the American Red Cross.

“I am really pleased to see the Cub Government facilitate such a meaningful fundraiser,” said Brandi Dove, second-grade teacher and Cub Government adviser at Bowler Elementary School. “Although they may feel ‘too small’ to make a difference, the impact they are making for the American Red Cross will help many people; some of which may even be from their own community. They can have the pride knowing that because of their hard work, they truly made a difference.”

The Change War is a collaboration between the elementary school and Dan Terrio, a 2002 graduate of Bowler High School and an active American Red Cross volunteer who is competing in the organization’s major fundraiser, “Dancing With Our Stars,” in Green Bay. Terrio and his pro partner, Mina Witte, from Simply Ballroom of Green Bay, will dance for the Bowler students at 9 a.m. Feb. 18. The performance is open to the public.

“It is always humbling to see what youth will do to better their community and better their world, especially when it’s students from the elementary school you attended,” said Terrio, who is employed as a learning facilitator with Humana in De Pere. “When the students approached me to do this fundraiser for the American Red Cross, I was impressed with their passion and energy to give back to their community and help those that are truly in need. Our community should be proud!”

To contribute to Bowler Elementary’s efforts to raise funds for the American Red Cross, contact Dove at 715-793-4101 or brandidove@bowler.k12.wi.us.

Three Bonduel High School technical education students visited with Gov. Scott Walker at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College in Green Bay on Jan. 20.

Walker was at NWTC to promote his plan to cut the costs of higher education in Wisconsin, announcing a plan to invest $3 million for dual-enrollment programs – programs where high school students can take classes at technical schools for college credit.

Bonduel senior Eric Bergsbaken and juniors Joshua Richter and Taylor Thiex attended Walker’s visit, representing students who participate in the dual-credit program at Bonduel High School, and chatted with the governor.

Bergsbaken plans to attend the University of Wisconsin-Stout to pursue a career as a technology education teacher. He has taken numerous NWTC-transcribed credit courses in the manufacturing field, including welding, CNC and CAD.

Thiex is exploring a career pathway for CNC machining. As part of her career studies, she has taken CNC and CAD classes.

The skills Richter obtained through the Bonduel Technology Education and NWTC transcribed-credit courses helped him get hired at World Wide Sign through the youth apprenticeship program. In his senior year, Richter’s academic studies will be career oriented, preparing him for a lifelong career in manufacturing.

In most places, kidnapping a women and trying to make her your bride is considered a horrific crime.

In “Seven Brides For Seven Brothers,” it’s comedy, especially when they break out into song.

The musical, which originally started as a 1954 film produced by MGM Studios, is the winter show for Shawano Community High School. The show opens Wednesday and runs through Feb. 6.

If the show seems familiar to longtime Shawano residents, there’s a reason. Jonathon Kent, who directs and produces the annual musical, also picked the show as the high school’s 2007 production.

Normally, Kent waits at least 10 years before he considers reviving musicals for local audiences, he said. However, he made an exception when he saw the number of talented boys at the school this year, and because “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” is a male-heavy show, it made sense to him to seize the opportunity.

“We always have as many girls as we need or more than we need, but the guy numbers come and go,” Kent said.

All told, there are 29 students in the cast, plus a full orchestra and several students working behind the scenes.

“It’s a really good show for this group of kids,” Kent said. “We have a good crop of guys right now, and we have seven brothers and six suitors, which brings us to 13. Then there are three fathers, which brings it to 16 (male roles).”

The show starts off with the eldest brother, Adam (played by Addison Lewis), traveling into town from his mountain farm in the Oregon Territory with the goal of finding a wife. After being laughed out of the general store, Adam finds Milly (played by Hannah Williams) at a local restaurant, and the two quickly rush to marry.

What Milly doesn’t find out until later is that Adam has six brothers, and the all need women to care for them. She tries to reform them and teaches them how to court women. Their first attempt at courting ends in disaster, however, when the ones they choose already have suitors. A huge fight ensues during a barn raising.

Things really take a turn when Adam tells his brothers the tale of the Sobbing Women, in which men just stole the women they wanted. The brothers return to town and each catches a woman. The suitors give chase but are thwarted by an avalanche.

While the SCHS musical is mostly based on the movie, there are a few subtle changes. There is one scene in the movie where Adam and youngest brother Gideon talk about women being all the same while Milly listens, but in the stage musical, a trio was added to bring the three solo voices into a song called “Love Never Goes Away.”

“A true trio is rare in the world of musicals. It’s common in operas but not in musicals,” Kent said. “It’s the primary reason I decided to do the show in 2007.”

The show was easy enough for the students to relate to, as Kent uses the film when he teaches musical history at SCHS and Shawano Community Middle School. Kent said the musical has become a favorite for many of the students in the show.

The musical requires many of the performers to dance, so Kent brought back Corrie Beula-Kovacs to handle the choreography. She previously worked with many of the students during the 2015 musical “The Wizard of Oz.”

“We’ve had three Saturday rehearsals just for dance so far, and we’ll have one more to polish everything as best we can,” Kent said.

The director said he has received more positive buzz from community members over the announcement about “Seven Brides For Seven Brothers” than he has about any other musical he’s brought to Shawano. People have told him the musical is one of their favorites.

“It’s got great songs, great dancing. There’s the humor, especially in kidnapping the girls,” Kent said.

It was big sister’s turn again this year in a hotly contested 2016 Bonduel School District spelling bee.

Erin Timler, who won the championship two years ago but then finished second behind her younger sister last year, captured the title again Wednesday by correctly spelling “germane.”

Erin, a seventh-grade student, outdistanced 18 other competitors over the course of two hours, including runner-up Karter Schroeder, who stumbled on his final word “commodious.”

Erin’s younger sister, Abby Timler, won last year’s bee as a fourth-grader, just one year after Erin claimed her first title as a fifth-grader.

Their mother, Stacy Timler, said the family’s spelling bee dynasty leaves her feeling proud.

“They like spelling, and they like the trophies,” Stacy said. “They’re both very smart kids.”

Erin now advances to the regional spelling bee Feb. 16 at Clintonville High School, where she finished as runner-up two years ago.

The 12-year-old vowed to be ready for the regional competition this time.

“I’m going to practice even harder,” she said.

Taking home the Bonduel championship, however, was not easy in a field of spirited contenders from fourth grade through eighth grade. Abby Timler did not compete this year.

Getting down to the final three competitors took nine rounds, alternating between spelling words correctly and defining words correctly in vocabulary rounds.

Bonduel Police Chief Todd Chaney served as the pronouncer who gave each competitor his or her word.

Words that knocked out contenders along the way included “pinnacle,” “migraine” and “hodgepodge,” while the survivors advanced by correctly tackling such words as “splurge,” “balderdash” and “yurt.”

When third-place finisher Meghan Wondra, a sixth-grader, stumbled on “effusive” in the 17th round, the championship came down to Erin and Karter.

Karter, a fifth-grader, correctly spelled “augment” and “jurisdiction” before missing “commodious” by a single letter.

Erin safely navigated her way past “melee,” “nascent,” and “languish,” and then claimed her title with the final word “germane.”

She said later that hours of study did not prepare her for the butterflies she felt in the final rounds.

“I got kind of nervous, because everybody was doing really well,” she said.

Spelling bee coordinator Jennie Beaumier, a seventh-grade teacher, said she was pleased with the dedication of all the competitors, some of whom, she said, carried word lists with them and studied at every opportunity.

“I’m very impressed with them,” she said. “They’ve been really putting a lot of effort into it.”

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Youngsters at five local schools will bundle up to participate in the third annual Winter Walk to School Day sponsored by Wisconsin Safe Routes to School on Feb. 24.

Students at Shawano Community Middle School, Olga Brener, Hillcrest, Sacred Heart Parish School and St. James Lutheran School are expected to join schools around Wisconsin to celebrate the fun of walking to school during the winter months.

Over the last 30 years, the percentage of children biking and walking to school has declined from 50 percent or more to now closer to about 15 percent, according to a Safe Routes to School news release. Today, parents drive as many as 50 percent of the children traveling to school, and school bus trips account for an increasing share of the rest.

The purpose of Walk to School Day is to start to reverse those trends.

Terri Schultz, principal at Olga Brener Intermediate School, said events such as Walk to School Day get not only the students involved, but also the staff and parents. It also serves as an opportunity to focus on the importance of physical activity, safety, air quality, and building bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods.

Safe Routes to School is an international movement that promotes walking and biking to school in order to improve health, safety and the environment.

To join or learn more about Shawano Area Safe Routes to School, contact Nancy Schultz, family living educator for the Shawano County University of Wisconsin-Extension, at nancy.schultz@ces.uwex.edu or 715-526-6136.

Shawano School District

There will be no school on Monday.

The Shawano School Board school start time ad hoc committee sent out a survey to all parochial and public school parents and guardians to gauge the most preferred option by families for a potential later start time. Paper copies will be available at all school offices for those without Internet or email access. The survey closes 9 a.m. Monday. For questions about the survey, email kortha@shawanoschools.com or call 715-526-3194, ext. 8014.

Hillcrest Primary School

Hillcrest Primary School will host a 4K open house from 2-7 p.m. Thursday. Families are invited to learn more about the 4-year-old kindergarten program, explore classrooms and meet the teachers. Call 715-524-2134 for more information.

LEADS Charter School

Are you interested in learning more about LEADS Charter School? Come to the fifth annual Charter Chat to get all of your questions answered. Charter Chat will be held from 5-6 p.m. Tuesday in the LEADS classrooms (Rooms 107, 108, 407 and 408 in the kindergarten and 4K wing). The LEADS enrollment period is from Feb. 15 to March 15.

Bonduel Elementary School

One hundred days of school have passed already! The kindergarten children at Bonduel Elementary had lots of fun celebrating the 100th day of school on Friday. They kept busy with lots of activities, which included making a 100-bead necklace, finding 100 surprises hidden in the classroom and sharing a collection of 100 items they brought from home.

The day concluded with a visit from Zero the Hero. The children were all so excited to meet him! Zero the Hero asked the children to count by fives, by 10s, by 20s and, of course, by ones to 100. He also read two stories centered on 100 to the children. Zero the Hero surprised the children with special stickers and bookmarks.

They will all remember their 100th day of kindergarten!

Sacred Heart Catholic School

Sacred Heart Catholic School invites prospective school families with children entering 3-year-old preschool through eighth grade to participate in its new “Shadow Days Program.” The free program gives prospective students a day of first-hand experiences in a faith-based, academically rich environment while meeting potential classmates and teachers, participating in fun daily classroom and schoolwide activities and experiencing the transitions between classroom activities, specials, recess and lunch. Participants will also have the wonderful opportunity to enjoy gym, music, art and a schoolwide Mass, depending on which day they attend.

The program is scheduled for three days, and participants can choose which day fits their schedule best: Monday, Feb. 29, Thursday, March 17, or Wednesday, March 30 (Mass day). Students can join us for an hour, two hours or stay all day if the family chooses.

Registration is required, as a limited number of students will be able to partake in each grade per scheduled date, so we can better ensure the success of the program for each visiting student. Families will also obtain a folder that contains valuable enrollment and tuition assistance information and materials.

The Shadow Days Program is set up to be highly flexible, with serving families as the primary goal. If a family is unable to attend one of the scheduled days, other tours and Shadow Days are available by appointment.

Full event details are available on the school’s Facebook page and at Sacred Heart Catholic School and Sacred Heart Catholic Parish. If you would like to speak to someone about the Shadow Days Program or would like to register your children, call the school office at 715-526-5328 or email Autumne Gee, director of admissions and development, at agee@sacredheartshawano.org.

Gresham Community School

On Feb. 10, the Quiz Bowl team played Marion. The B team lost, 107-69. The A team lost, 114-45.

Gresham had a red out on Feb. 16.

On Feb. 17, the Quiz Bowl played Shiocton. The A team lost, 234-57. The B team was also defeated, 102-80.

Olga Brener Intermediate School

The following students were selected by their teachers and/or classmates for following the Hawk Trait of the Month, perseverance, in January: Blazin Tepiew, Jerzy Brocker, Autumn Allord, Addison Uttecht, Sophia Castro, Ryan Buerman, West Bierber, Presly Potrykus, Kaden Ewert, Julian Weso, Lileigh Doud, Xoie Cook, Jocquin Boyd, Jenna Arens, Thomas Keszo, Natalia Boivin, Alex Kuhn, Noah Soto, Ellie Huebner, Aubrey Holsten, Drake Herm, Addison Devey, Roman Stempa, Carsen Herm, Natalie Husby, Carter Lang, Ava Kazik, Will Bieber, Mya Habeck, Jacob Landon, Hailey Rancier, Joshua Lyons, Jaida Koehler, Brieanna Luebeck, Bryce Popp, Sarah Carroll, Blaize Fernandez, Allison Brown, Connor Majeski, Julian Perez and Aidan Preston. Way to follow the Hawk Way!

Olga Brener is proud to share that a fifth-grade student, Jaida Koehler, recently took third place at the regional spelling bee in Clintonville. Jaida was the youngest of the participants and did a great job of representing Olga Brener.

Upcoming: Feb. 29 to March 4, Read Across America Week; March 10, KAT Quiz Day; March 18-27, no school.

Bonduel High School

On Feb. 16, the seniors on the Bonduel varsity basketball team and the managers honored teachers who inspired them. Each player honored two teachers. Here is the list of the seniors and the teachers they selected:

- Eric Ballestad: Ben Warning and Dan Verbruggen.

- Trevor Pedersen: Tim Treptow and Whitney Ness.

- Jack Thiel: Doug Raymakers and Danielle Piparo.

- Preston Robaidek: James Westrich and Dave LaBerge.

- Gage Petcka: Bobbi Jo Martinson and Luka Zischka.

- Bailey Dingeldein: Brad Peterson and Travis Schindel.

- Peyton Czarapata: Duke Copp and Tim Mayer.

- Dayton Engel: Lisa Sorlie and Marcy Siolka.

- Nicole Reinkie: Dan Liebergen and Tina Hertzfeldt.

Creative juices were flowing in future potential business leaders Wednesday during a Junior Achievement competition at Shawano City Hall.

High school students from Shawano, Bonduel and Gresham competed in teams to develop the best strategy for introducing a simulated new product to the marketplace.

The winners in the daylong competition took home $500 scholarships and the title of champions in the Junior Achievement Business Challenge. The second-place team members each got $250 scholarships.

All of the competitors enjoyed a robust introduction to business under the tutelage of mentors from the real business world who assisted in the competition.

Junior Achievement district director Sue Schwartz said the exercise gives talented students a chance to glimpse inside business decision-making and test themselves through simulation.

“This gives them a foundation of how business is run,” Schwartz said. “It really is about exposing them to that.”

Mentors volunteering to work with teams during Wednesday’s challenge came from BMO Harris Bank, State Farm Insurance, Walmart, Premier Community Bank and elsewhere.

Each mentor assisted a three-person team of students, as 10 teams worked through a variety of challenges to score points in developing, marketing and selling a simulated futuristic product that was called the “hollow generator.”

“It gets to be a real competitive game,” master of ceremonies Todd Raether said.

Students spent several hours with their mentors for the event Wednesday inside a City Hall conference room.

Capturing first place was a Bonduel High School team that included JaKen Spreeman, Scott Gunderson and Janel Wudtke. Second place went to a Shawano Community High School team that included Teagen Monfils, Kathryn Kugel and Lauren Roloff.

Junior Achievement, a nonprofit organization, works with more than 3,000 students annually throughout the area to promote financial literacy and other business skills.

Jeff Ballwahn, a financial representative from Premier Community Bank, enjoyed mentoring a team of students from Bonduel. Ballwahn said he urged the students to take risks in developing and advancing their business strategy.

He was impressed by the talent demonstrated by students at the event.

“I’m just amazed,” he said. “I absolutely think every one of these people are going to be successful in what they do.”

Gresham Community School

Gresham Community School celebrated National FFA Week with dress-up days each day. On Tuesday, guest speaker Kayla Knaack spoke to the students about FFA and all of the opportunities it provides. On Monday and Wednesday, FFA handed out ice cream and cheese and sausage. It was a great week.

Solo and ensemble was on Feb. 20-21. Eighteen entries made it to state from Gresham. The people headed to state are Tatelyn Ferguson, Taylor Hoffman, Alyssa Roe, Arthur Boucher, Tom Seidler, Kali Jones, Ava Retzlaff, Missy Anderson, Meckenzie Roe and Aryanna Simonsen. “It was a good time and it’s awesome that a lot of people are going to state,” Tatelyn Ferguson said. Way to go, all choir and band performers!

The middle school girls had a tournament. Gresham’s fifth-grade team took second place.

The Gresham quiz bowl team faced Iola on Wednesday. A team crushed Iola; B team came out with a loss.

Juniors prepped all week for the ACT test.

Seniors had an opportunity last Monday to meet with a representative to discuss FAFSA. It was a great help, the seniors said.

Gresham had its Jump Rope for Heart event at school last week. There was lots of participation.

Pulaski High School

“Music 4 Moderns” will be presented at 7 p.m. March 22 in the Pulaski High School Performing Arts Center.

The concert featuring the school’s band and choir groups will focus on instruments that helped to make modern music popular. A guest band, Feel Good Kids, of Green Bay, will provide help keyboards, guitar, bass guitar, drums and vocals. Students of the PHS music theory class arranged most of the pieces that will be performed.

Tickets are $7 for adults, $4 for students and senior citizens.

Bonduel Elementary School

The kindergarten students are always busy with fun activities at Bonduel Elementary School.

The children recently had the opportunity to see the program “Marvelous Mammals” sponsored by the Navarino Nature Center, courtesy of United Way. This was an exciting part of our science curriculum. The students learned about mammals from our wonderful state of Wisconsin. They could see and touch at least 20 mammal skins, including a black bear, gray wolf, deer, skunk, beaver and red fox. The children were really amazed by the presentation. They even had an opportunity to make a plaster animal track from their favorite state mammal. They couldn’t wait to bring them home to share with their families.

Of course, we celebrated one of our children’s favorite author’s birthday, Dr. Seuss. The kindergarten children heard a variety of his stories. We also completed different literacy activities, incorporating the stories they heard. To conclude the week, the students wore their pajamas to school. They played a game of “Jeopardy” based on Dr. Seuss’ stories, graphed their favorite Dr. Seuss story, made turtles from his famous story “Yertle the Turtle,” and they even had a chance to eat green eggs and ham. Best of all, a special visitor came to visit them. They were especially happy to meet the Cat in the Hat in person! It was a fun way to celebrate one of their favorite authors.

The kindergarten students also have an upcoming field trip to the Building for Kids in Appleton next month. The museum has many hands-on activities to keep them all actively engaged. They will be participating in a class exploring the five senses, which will address another unit in our science curriculum.

There is never a dull moment in kindergarten at the Bonduel Elementary School!

Gresham Community School

On March 1, the juniors began taking their ACTs.

Our elementary students celebrated Dr. Seuss Week. Some of the dress-up days included Crazy Hair Day and Twin Day. The students also got to eat cake and green eggs and ham. On Tuesday, the students took some time to do some reading.

A referendum informational meeting will be held from 5:30-6:30 p.m. March 17 and 7-8 p.m. March 31. The school will host open houses and walk-throughs at 7 p.m. March 24, 10 a.m. March 28 and 2 p.m. March 28.

Our school is participating in Pennies for Patients. For two weeks, we will have penny wars schoolwide. Pennies for Patients is a fundraiser to help children diagnosed with cancer, specifically lymphoma and leukemia. Gresham has participated in this fundraiser for many years.

Pulaski High School

Over 500 Pulaski High School students volunteered their time in businesses and schools within the district and throughout the community during the school’s second annual Community Service Day on March 2. In the weeks prior to Community Service Day, students selected a volunteer project from over 30 options, met with the teachers running the project and planned ahead for the big day.

Soon after the first bell, students loaded into buses or trekked on foot to their service day locations. Over the course of the next six hours, students were involved in numerous activities. Band and choir students went to the Austin Straubel Airport and performed for the travellers and staff; they were warmly received and invited back to perform again. Groups of students went to elementary schools where they tutored, read to students and assisted teachers.

Artistically inclined students volunteered their time by painting window murals on local businesses to promote the upcoming Casimir Pulaski Week activities through Project Linus and “Blanketing Brown County.” Some students put their crafting skills to use making crafts to raise money for the Glenbook Elementary School’s Housing in Honduras Project.

The agriscience department hosted multiple projects: preparing equipment for spring operations, changing oil on loan mowers and snowblowers, completing woodworking projects such as a new bench for the post office, step stools for the elementary schools and chairs for special needs students.

Musicals are apparently like potato chips for Gresham Community School — it can’t have just one.

The school will debut its second annual musical, “Seussical the Musical Jr.,” on St. Patrick’s Day. Almost 30 students are part of the show, which features a number of Dr. Seuss children’s stories with characters such as Horton the Elephant, Cat in the Hat and the Grinch.

The school presented the “Honk! Jr.” musical last year.

Amy Doefer, the show’s director, took a music teacher position at Gresham two years ago and was asked to oversee the school’s drama club. She noticed that the group was not doing any major public performances.

“I was always involved with theater when I was in school,” Doefer said. “I knew I wanted to do a musical because that was the most experience that I had, and people told me, ‘Oh, you’ll never do one.’”

Doefer quickly proved them wrong when she got the drama club to perform “Honk! Jr.,” a musical based on the children’s tale, “The Ugly Duckling.” The community honked afterward that the school’s first musical was a success.

“The kids all begged me, the moment it was done, ‘We have to do it again, Miss Doefer,’” the director said. “In fact, my drama club doubled in size from last year.”

With community and school support, Doefer decided to tackle the world of Dr. Seuss, which should be familiar to local theater goers, as the Box in the Wood Theatre Guild produced the full length “Seussical” in 2014.

The Gresham show will run about 80 minutes, but only one story that was in the full show has been cut from the junior version — the plotline involving General Genghis Khan Schmitz from the Seuss tale “I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew.”

Doefer said most of the other stories are still in the junior version, albeit with a few lines cut here and there.

Doefer said the students learned the songs easily enough, but the challenge has been to get them to stay in the characters they’re portraying while they’re singing.

Another challenge was sharing space — and students — with other programs. The school’s stage is in the gymnasium, and until last week, the high school boys basketball team needed the gym at the same time as the drama club.

It hasn’t been all challenges, though. Doefer noted the show has received technical and lighting support from Nathaniel Madsen, who is directing an upcoming play with Box in the Wood Theater Guild.

“Little by little, everything has come together,” she said.

Doefer chose the musical because it was something familiar to younger children, and it was a way to get younger students involved with the drama club. She is hoping the students will remain infected with the acting bug and continue well into high school.

The cast for “Seussical” ranges from third grade to high school seniors.

Doefer hopes audiences will take with them the show’s message of accepting people as they are.

“The show is just one big imagination,” Doefer said. “It’s promoting all that creativity in kids that has been in all of Dr. Seuss’ books, as well as the accepting of other people. I think it’s a good lesson for the kids.”

Sally (Kerchee) Hill, a senior at College of Menominee Nation, has been named CMN Student of the Year by the American Indian College Fund.

Hill is being recognized for her involvement in student government, extensive volunteer work and academic record.

Hill said it is an honor to represent her college as Student of the Year and she is thankful to the American Indian College Fund.

Hill was nominated for the award by CMN President Verna Fowler.

“Sally is a born leader — all we did was enhance her skills to the next level,” Fowler stated in the nomination. “She is committed, confident and courageous in moving projects forward, and totally dedicated to improving lives of American Indian people.”

Hill holds an associate of arts and sciences degree in sustainable development and is expected to graduate in fall 2016 with a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration. She and her two children live in Seymour.

Hill has been elected to three consecutive terms as president of the student government at CMN and was chosen for the AICF Women’s Leadership Fellowship project in 2014.

Hill said she plans to continue working for a graduate degree, work within tribal government and own her own business in the future.

Hill said she hopes to extend her knowledge “to the younger generations within the Native American communities in local areas.”

She said she would like to return to her tribe, the Comanche Nation of Oklahoma, located in Lawton, “to share my knowledge of sustainable development and business administration, to set up programs and activities that will better the future for my tribal people.”

CMN is located on the Menominee Indian Reservation in Keshena. It is one of 34 tribal colleges in the U.S.

Shawano FFA will celebrate its 75th anniversary in April, and co-advisers Steve Stomberg and Missy Braun are looking for some help in gathering information for the celebration.

“Anytime anybody celebrates 75 years it‘s a milestone,” said Stomberg, who has been an adviser since 1992. “What people have done is impressive.”

They are looking for members who had leadership roles and were state officers.

“We want the stories to see how it’s changed,” said Braun, who is the chapter’s first female adviser.

They also need the names of past chapter presidents for the following years: 1942, 1949, 1976, 1978, 1981, 1989, 1990, 1992 and 1994.

The FFA members have formed a committee to gather information about the group’s past.

“They get to learn more about the history,” said Stomberg, who was Braun’s first agriculture teacher in Gresham. After she got her degree, Braun taught in Gillett before coming to Shawano.

“I knew I always wanted to stay in agriculture, but I didn’t want to be in the production end,” said Braun, whose father and two brothers are dairy farmers. “It’s different every day. You get to see the kids get the real world connection.”

FFA began in 1928 when a group of vocational agriculture students from 18 states formed the Future Farmers of America. In 1988 the name was changed to the National FFA Organization to reflect the diverse interests in the agriculture industry.

“They wanted to get people to know there’s more to agriculture than the production side,” Stomberg said.

The mission of FFA is to develop leadership, personal growth and career success through agriculture education. The Shawano chapter officially formed on Jan. 15, 1940. In 1969, girls were allowed to become members.

“This year we’re ramping it up to celebrate,” Stomberg said.

The celebration will be held April 17 in the high school commons with a catered meal and awards program.

Anyone with information about the chapter’s history can call Stomberg at 715-853-9818 or Braun at 715-851-1810.

One musical per year is no longer sufficient for Shawano Community High School.

The school will present “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” from Thursday through Saturday in the auditorium, featuring a number of characters from the late Charles Schulz’s comic strip “Peanuts,” which is still rerun in newspapers worldwide, including The Shawano Leader.

The 1999 Broadway musical, revised from the original created in 1967, follows the trials and tribulations of Charlie Brown, the round-headed kid who can’t seem to do anything quite right. While most of the other kids can send their kites soaring into the air, Charlie Brown’s kites crash like missiles. He can’t manage his baseball team to save his life, and his faithful beagle, Snoopy, is off living the fantasy life of a World War I flying ace.

The musical numbers include ditties on Linus and his security blanket, a looming book report Charlie Brown and his friends have to finish, and the not-quite-accurate facts about life that Lucy rattles off.

Jeanie Lewis, co-director for the show, said she offered to take on the show to prevent it from being cancelled, after the school’s regular drama adviser announced he would not have time to prepare the school’s regular spring show.

Lewis chose “You’re a Good Man” because she loved the “Peanuts” comic strip growing up and knew that her son, Addison, who plays the title role, would enjoy the show, as well.

“This was a favorite of mine. I was Peppermint Patty in this show and also in ‘Snoopy the Musical,’” Lewis said. “Addison has grown up on ‘Peanuts’ because I love ‘Peanuts.’”

Lewis wasn’t sure she was ready to direct a high school musical, noting a lack of directing experience and considering herself to be “just a mom.” Her son and other students who didn’t want the stage to be dark for the spring convinced her otherwise, and she joined forces with another parent, Cheryl Jones-Ritter, to bring the show alive.

Alex Konen, who has directed the non-musical shows for SCHS since 2014, agreed to provide technical support.

“I knew it would be a big undertaking to do back-to-back musicals,” Lewis said. “It’s the first time in 10 or 11 years that they did it.”

SCHS performed the musical “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” in February.

“You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” will be done with a recorded performance track, also a first in many years. The annual winter musicals have a live pit orchestra from the school that allows directors to be able to adjust the speed of musical numbers in whole or in part with relative ease, but the recorded performance track has forced the actors to keep pace with their performance, Lewis said.

The musical itself is written for six main characters, but when 32 students tried out for the show in February, Lewis didn’t want to turn away interested actors. Although some had to drop out due to sports or other commitments, there is still a cast of 21, and Lewis created parts featuring Schulz’s later-created characters such as Eudora, Peggy Jean and little Rerun.

“It was awesome to have that many kids come out, considering we had tryouts one day after ‘Seven Brides’ (wrapped),” Lewis said. “They had Monday off, we had auditions Tuesday, and we started on Thursday.”

Addison Lewis, who is acting in his 12th and final show at SCHS, is happy he’s getting to perform in a show he’s requested that the school do since he was a freshman.

“We’re going to be playing off the old nostalgia of everything,” he said.

Georgi Ritter, who plays Snoopy, said the show has come a long way in six short weeks of practice.

“I think we’ve pumped it up from where it was last week even,” Ritter said. “Playing Snoopy is one of the funnest roles I’ve had.”

The high school students will get their first chance at a live audience early next week, when classes from Olga Brener Intermediate School come Tuesday morning to see the show.

“It’s a fun show,” Jeanie Lewis said. “You’ll leave smiling.”

Bonduel Elementary School

April is National Occupational Therapy Month. What is occupational therapy? According to the American Occupational Therapy Association, occupational therapists help people across their lifespan to participate in, and establish independence in, daily living activities and tasks (occupations). Occupational therapists help children and adults not only adapt but also thrive in their environments. In the school setting, occupational therapists are part of a team. This team works to support students with disabilities. Therapists strive for students to achieve their maximum abilities and allow students to fully participate in all school-related activities.

Gresham Community School

On March 30, students in grades six, seven, eight and 10 began the Wisconsin Forward Exam. The test replaced the WKCE test throughout Wisconsin.

On April 1, the staff decided to play an April Fool’s joke on the students. One staff member announced over the intercom how they had made a mistake about the number of snow days the school was able to use. The staff member then proceeded to say that to make up for the lost time, we would have to extend the school day 10 minutes longer. Later on, after announcements at the end of first hour, the staff member told students that it was really a joke for April Fool’s Day.

Also on April 1, the staff kicked off Autism Awareness Month.

On April 2, the Gresham Scholarship Fund held its annual banquet at the Woodland. It was a very successful banquet.