A groundbreaking ceremony is set for 11 a.m. Thursday at the future site of the Pulaski Community School District’s baseball/softball complex, east of Saputo Stadium.

The first portion of Phase II includes two baseball fields and two softball fields at Pulaski High School, a press box and storage area, concession stands and bathrooms.

The second portion of Phase II will include three additional tennis courts at PHS, additional practice fields, and upgrades to the Pulaski Community Middle School soccer complex

The baseball/softball portion of Phase II is expected to cost $2.3 million, with about $1.5 million yet to be raised. The remaining Phase II work will occur after the baseball/softball portion of Phase II is completed.

“The Pulaski Community School District is blessed with the generous support of our community and is thrilled to be breaking ground on Phase II of the Field of Dreams,” said PCSD superintendent Bec Kurzynske. “With the support of the board of education and district leaders, the steering committee has worked tirelessly to bring these outdoor facility improvements to our school and community, which will benefit countless students in years to come.”

The community has stepped up to develop one of the best facilities in the area, said PHS head baseball coach Dennis Bogacz.

“I am excited to lead the baseball program in a new era of sports in the Pulaski Community School District,” Bogacz said. “Our kids, families and coaches are truly blessed to have this opportunity.”

The $3.2-million Phase I of the project was completed in September 2016 and was fully paid by pledges and in-kind contributions of materials and labor.

Phase I included a football and soccer field with synthetic surface at PHS; new track and areas for field events, the band and a community plaza at Saputo Stadium; a press box, concession stand, restrooms and stadium seating at Saputo Stadium; and bathrooms added to PCMS soccer stadium

To learn how you can support Phase II of the Red Raider Field of Dreams project, go to www.redraiderfuture.org.

Most of the students at Shawano Community High School are fortunate enough to have eyes to see, ears to hear and the gift of their own voice.

That didn’t stop some students from diving into the amazing story of Helen Keller as they bring “The Miracle Worker” to life this week.

The play follows along the lines of Keller’s autobiography, “The Story of My Life.” As an infant, she suffered an illness that left her both blind and deaf, and she became mute as a result of losing two of her senses. Keller’s parents took pity on her and never taught her discipline, resulting in her becoming a wild child by the age of 6.

The Keller family hired Annie Sullivan to be Helen’s governess and teacher but were surprised by Sullivan’s no-nonsense methods. Having once been blind herself, she saw the potential in unlocking the box that Keller had been trapped in and turning her into a functioning member of society.

To reach Keller, Sullivan used persistence and discipline, teaching her language through hand signals. It took two weeks of the pair being left alone without any interference from the rest of the family, but the end result changed everyone’s lives forever.

Madeline Stuewer is in the director’s chair solo after co-directing last year’s spring play with SCHS theater alum Addison Lewis. Stuewer said she chose “The Miracle Worker” because of her interest in Keller’s life.

“I was always interested in the story of Helen Keller,” Stuewer said. “I think it has a great message about how to treat people with disabilities or people who are different from you.”

Stuewer added the play highlights the importance of patience when dealing with others, as well as the value of teachers.

“When I read the script, I really liked it, and I could see Shawano doing it,” Stuewer said.

The play is not as dependent on dialogue as other shows. Stuewer noted that it requires a lot of emotion, particularly for the roles of Keller and Sullivan, as it requires a lot of physical performance.

“Emma Etten, who plays Helen, does a lot of rolling around and kicking and screaming, and it’s very emotional,” Stuewer said. “She’s like a dancer choreographed.”

Stuewer said that she watched many versions of the show, both the film adaptations and the theatrical versions, the latter she viewed via YouTube.

“I did a lot of research on Helen Keller’s life, who she was as a person, and I read some of her work,” Stuewer said. “She was very literate and a political activist, which I found interesting. She’s a very inspiring person.”

At one time or another, everyone needs a helping hand.

Shawano Community Middle School has plenty to go around.

The school started the Helping Hands Club at the beginning of the school year, and already it has conducted two dozen service projects that help local organizations. Among the projects are making pet treats for Safe Haven, Shawano Area Matthew 25 and the Shawano County Humane Society; making supplies for autism awareness activities; making valentines for the veterans home in King and traveling there to play bingo with them; ringing bells in Green Bay for the Salvation Army; and helping to run the school’s Santa Shop.

Using fundraisers, community donations and Thrivent funds, Helping Hands has put over $3,000 into the community, according to Trish Berg, the club’s adviser.

Once a week, the club meets after school in Berg’s classroom, with an average of 26 students filtering in to enjoy snacks and get their hands dirty while doing something good.

“We do some socializing at the beginning of each meeting,” Berg said. “These kids have done quite a bit. We spend quite a bit of time devoted to different projects. We’re just students serving the community.”

This week, Helping Hands broke out the paint and helped Safe Haven to paint pieces of denim with sexual assault awareness messages in recognition of April being Sexual Assault Prevention Month.

Berg, a special education teacher at SCMS, noted that the school already has a number of clubs for students to participate in, but she felt there were some students who didn’t fit in with the academics or athletics that many of those clubs entail.

“I wanted to place for everyone to feel like they could be successful and they could be helpful and confident,” Berg said. “I wanted a social place for kids who don’t have those social interactions outside of school.”

Berg is not handling it alone, though. Other staff members and parents are getting involved to help guide students through the various projects, whether it’s helping them to bake gingerbread cookies or assisting with making fleece tie blankets.

“It has just been a great way to get families involved,” Berg said.

However, the motivation doesn’t come from staff or parents. The students are motivated to help whoever needs it all on their own, according to Berg.

As an example, SAM25 representatives did a presentation for the club and talked about how the Salvation Army helps the agency with funding for the homeless shelter. Berg said that, after the presentation, the students immediately asked what they could do to help.

About 40 students came out to ring bells for the Salvation Army, but with no place in Shawano big enough to accommodate that many ringers, the school had to work out a deal with a mall in Green Bay.

“I’ve never seen commitment like this,” Berg said. “These kids are always ready, whatever it is. They are full in. They’re incredibly helpful and have such big hearts.”

Some of the projects have included travel, and Berg said the school adminstration has approved every trip and fundraising project so far.

One of those trips included going to the King Veterans Home. Fifty students came out for that project, Berg said.

The club received a letter of thanks for the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs for the hygiene drive it did, collecting toothpaste, clothing, facial tissue, puzzle books, playing cards and more.

“We do all we can to meet and exceed the needs of veterans,” the letter stated. “We appreciate your support of Wisconsin veterans. It’s through contributions such as yours that we’re able to provide an enriched quality of life that each has earned through selfless service to our country.”

The pet treat fundraiser was a highlight for the students; Berg noted most of them love animals. After selling the treats, the students took the money and bought fabric to make tie blankes for Safe Haven, the humane society and SAM25.

“You would not believe how many we sold, and people have been asking about it, so that might be something we do again,” Berg said. “We made well over $500 just on the dollar-bags of dog treats.”

Alicyn Poulos, one of the club members, said her parents enjoy helping others, so she wanted to do the same thing.

“I wanted to help the community with different projects that are fun,” Poulos said.

Poulos said she enjoyed the dog treats project most, noting that there were peanut butter treats and pumpkin treats.

The club’s next two projects involve making bookmarks to give to the school and community libraries, and raising funds to buy books for Shawano County’s Birth to 3 program.

Benjamin Grignon grew up in a traditional Menominee household. He knew the native tongue, and he practiced the traditional arts.

Now, Grignon spends most of his days teaching what he knows to students at Menominee Indian High School as the traditional arts teacher. Besides teaching, Grignon also heads up the school’s gardening and language clubs, and he works with the community to run summer culture camps.

His hard work to keep the Menominee culture alive has not gone unnoticed. Grignon will be receiving a fellowship from the Herb Kohl Educational Foundation on April 28 at Denmark High School, one of 100 in the state and one of only three in CESA 8 so recognized.

Grignon started his career at MIHS 10 years ago as the school’s librarian. About five years ago, the position for the traditional arts teacher opened up, and he got the job.

Grignon teaches beadwork — he has beginning, intermediate and advanced classes. A new class he introduced this year is described as “wood, stone and bone.”

“We look at some of the traditional artifacts or artifacts in museums, and we try to recreate them,” Grignon said. “It’s more of an experimental archaeology, where we try to figure out how it was done.”

There is also a traditional pottery class, and Grignon shows students how to make the clay the way their ancestors did it, using pit firing to harden the clay. He also teaches about basketry and weaving, and he shows how to use plant materials to recreate the textiles needed for the baskets.

Grignon has a film class at the school where he showcases films of indigenous peoples and discusses how accurately they’re portrayed. The course does not limit itself to American tribes; Grignon delves into the cultures of all First Peoples in the world.

Grignon also co-sponsors a language club at the school with Jennifer Gauthier, Menominee County University of Wisconsin-Extension community, natural resources and economic development coordinator. Although the club incorporates 4-H traditions, it mainly immerses students in the Menominee language.

“We use the language to teach about healthy foods, and a lot of times it’s bringing back some of our traditional foods like wild rice,” Grignon said.

Grignon’s work to teach and preserve the Menominee Culture extends beyond the classroom. He sits on the tribe’s cultural preservation commission and works to keep the Menominee language classes going in all schools on the reservation.

“Part of what I do in my classroom is incorporate language into our day-to-day activities,” Grignon said. “It’s not necessarily a language course, but we use language heavily in my classroom. All of the teachings and cultural practices are incorporated into everything we do.”

It’s easy enough for students who weren’t taught the traditional language at home, according to Grignon. He starts off with simple things at the start of the school year and eases them into more complex words and sentences as time goes on.

“We not only use the words, we incorporate them into the classroom,” Grignon said. “I think that’s very effective for maintaining language.”

Grignon noted that are some students that he describes as “squirrely” in other classrooms, but when they come into his classroom and are contending with the language intertwined with the art form, they tend to pay more attention.

“They realize that we have a strong background in math and science, and they’re more comfortable doing things that maybe our ancestors have done,” Grignon said. “Kids are working, and they’re working independently. I teach a lot of creative problem solving, so I don’t have them walk through their projects. It’s kind of like discovery learning.

“It works really well for what I’m doing, and I think it could be incorporated into other classrooms.”

There are only about five elders in the tribe that still speak Menominee fluently, Grignon said. The tribe is trying to counter the language’s slow demise by starting a language immersion at the preschool level.

“These young ones are starting in the language, both English and Menominee,” Grignon said. “What we’re going to be focusing on in the future is creating a space for them to grow within the language. We need to pull out the math, the science and the history that’s already embedded in the things we do as a Menominee people.”

Grignon’s fellowship includes $6,000 for himself and $6,000 for the school. He plans to use his personal award to go back to school at University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and pursue his doctorate. He hopes that the school will put its award toward improving the art room, noting that the tables have been at the school since the 1980s.

“It’s really humbling,” Grignon said about getting the fellowship. “I’m really grateful to be a part of this school district and to be able to share the arts that I’ve grown up learning. I think that’s important for our people. I tell my students all the time that you need to go out and learn these things and bring them back to share what you’re learned. That’s vital to keeping our community strong and resilient.”

Two Bowler FFA members will receive state recognition for outstanding work in completing their proficiencies and will be honored at the state FFA convention.

Noah Bestul and Alyssa Strassburg had to successfully complete their Supervised Agricultural Experiences to be eligible for the awards. The competition, in which there are roughly 50 areas of study ranging from agricultural communications to wildlife management, has four types of proficiency awards.

Students can enter the categories of agriscience research, entrepreneurship, combined or placement, in which a student commits to working for a business or completing an apprenticeship or internship. Both Bestul and Strassburg completed their placement proficiency.

Bestul filled out his placement proficiency for food processing while working at Wright Place Bar & Grill in Tilleda. His responsibilities included making pizzas, ensuring proper food storage and getting toppings and condiments ready for use.

“My skills have increased in the way of time management, following directions and communication,” Bestul said.

Through the experience, he said he also learned how to be more efficient with his time and identified that he is good with numbers.

“I found that I love making and preparing food,” Bestul said. It helped me change my minor from dairy sciences to food sciences.”

Bestul will be recognized for receiving a gold on his proficiency as one of the eleven FFA members competing in the agricultural processing category.

Strassburg completed her placement proficiency in dairy production while working at Strassburg Creek Dairy.

“I have been lucky enough to be able to learn from not only my father, but also other people wiser than me through this Supervised Agricultural Experience,” Strassburg said, adding that she learned to “work smarter, not harder,” and become a more independent thinker.

“I have had to learn how to do a lot of paperwork and how to manage my time better,” Strassburg said. This is a very important skill for anything I do, but especially helps prepare me for my future, as farming requires very detailed planning and keeping track of information.”

Strassburg was one of 93 FFA members competing in this proficiency category and received a silver.

Both members will be honored at the 89th Wisconsin State FFA Convention in June in Madison.

An educational celebration Friday at Gresham Community School was done by the numbers, with certificates and medals — and pizza.

Gresham had plenty to celebrate, as the small school beat out larger competitors like Stevens Point, D.C. Everest and Wisconsin Dells to be the top-ranked Wisconsin school in the Matific contest, an online program that makes solving math problems fun. If that wasn’t enough, the local school was ranked 15th in the nation out of 3,000 participating schools.

Sean Tiernan, a Matific representative from Greenville, Wisconsin, noted that Matific got its start eight years ago in Australia and Israel but didn’t become prevalent in the United States until three years ago. The program is designed to help bridge the historic gap between students learning math, he said.

“We’re in 47 different countries, and the program is in 30 different languages. It’s pretty interesting,” Tiernan said. “It’s to get kids to have a love for math,” as well as introduce students to Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, or STEM, programs.

Tiernan said he was working at a sixth-grade math level when he was a high school senior. The difference between then and now is the way math is taught, he said.

“It uses mini-games to get kids to learn something through growth mindset,” Tiernan said. “It helps them understand that math is hard work. It’s about seeing a concept, failing at it, but getting right back into it and solving the problem.”

Students are not automatically dinged for incorrect answers, Tiernan said. They get several chances to come up with the solution.

“It’s great for me to see a local school succeed in a national contest,” Tiernan said. “The contest was designed to be fair to all schools, not just the bigger ones like Madison.”

This was the first year that Gresham had participated in the contest. Superintendent Newell Haffner received an email on the K-6 program and asked his staff if anyone would be interested in presenting it to students. He said that Taylor Welcing, a middle/high school math teacher, volunteered and worked with other teachers to integrate it into their daily lessons.

“It was our first year with a new math curriculum, and Taylor kind of jumped on it and organized it,” Haffner said. “I was shocked by a lot that we did as well as we did.”

According to Welcing, students had their own user names with the program and signed on each morning to solve problems and brain teasers. She said she set the program up so that the Matific problems they dealt with on a given day would be in conjunction with what they were currently learning in the classroom.

“Based on how well they did, they got a certain number of stars for each mission, so they could get between one and four stars,” Welcing said. “It was very engaging; it was like a game to them.”

Welcing noted that one mission at the sixth-grade level involved turning on light bulbs in a certain order with a goal of getting all of them lit, and sometimes incorrect steps would turn off already-lit bulbs.

“There’s also a monster book, and when you get a certain number of stars, it would unlock a new monster,” Welcing said. “They wanted to see how many monsters they could unlock and collect.”

She knew about Gresham’s ranking early on, but she did not know until the day before the celebration that Gresham had been competing against 3,000 other schools. Welcing noted that, until the closing days of the competition, Gresham had been ranked in the top 10 nationwide.

“I thought Gresham could do very well because we’re a really motivated bunch of people, and we really hyped the kids up on it,” Welcing said.

The school had 153 students participate, and three classrooms received trophies for breaking into the top 20 among classrooms. Kindergarten ranked 18th nationally, and the second and fifth grades finished 19th.

The weather was challenging, but that didn’t stop several hundred people from attending the sixth annual Menominee Indian School District scholarship gala Friday. The event, held at the Menominee Casino and Resort in Keshena, raised a record $35,813.

“We had a great turnout, and it was a lot of fun,” said Kate Mikle, gala coordinator. “People were definitely in the mood to help build our scholarship fund. In fact, four pies — part of the live auction — raised a combined total of more than $2,800. People really got into the spirit of friendly competition during the bidding.”

The event featured a dinner, bucket raffles, 50/50 raffle, meat raffles and live auction. Attendees also heard from Menominee School alumnus Ron Frechette, who talked about the importance of the ongoing scholarship programs. He is attending Northeast Wisconsin Technical College and pursuing a criminal justice degree.

The naming sponsors for this year’s event were Menominee Tribal Enterprises and the Menominee Nation. Educational sponsor was the College of the Menominee Nation.

Additional sponsors and donors included: Draeger Propane; Industrial Roofing Services Inc.; J Pfarr Consulting; Menominee Casino Resort; Tumbleweed; Nsight-Cellcom; Buss Motors, Davis & Kuelthau; Floors Unlimited; Green Bay Packers Give Back; LeBakkens Rent to Own; Leonard & Finco Public Relations; M3 Insurance; the Menominee Tribal Clinic; Charlie’s County Market; Ed Christensen; Creative Signs; Carol Dodge; Richard and Pauline Dodge; Pamela Frechette; Susan Finco; Bert Huntington; Knights of Columbus; Krueger’s Sign & Electric; Menominee Transit; Miller’s Action Office Supply; North Star Casino; Pine Hills Golf Course; Paul Schwaller; Shawano Lake Golf Course; Betti Souther; Springside Cheese; Terry Strebel; SuperValu Lakewood; the Timber Rattlers; Wendell and Lori Waukau; and Dawn Wilber,

“It’s so good to know that area businesses are willing to support our students,” added Superintendent Wendell Waukau. “We thank them for stepping up to sponsor and attend our event. They are making a difference in the lives of our students and our community.”

The gala was planned by a volunteer committee of school district teachers, staff and administrators. In addition to Mikle and Waukau, committee members included Paul Schwaller, Terry Brooks, Robert Burr, Michelle Frechette, Kim Mitchell, Klint Hischke and Jim Reif.

Investing in high-quality early childhood education and educators will make America brighter, stronger and more competitive, according to the National Association for the Education of Young Children. To that end, Sacred Heart Catholic School of Shawano recently celebrated the association’s “Week of the Young Child” April 16-20, to help support its mission.

Though Sacred Heart’s 3-year-old preschool and 4-year-old kindergarten students were off school Monday due to a blizzard, they still got to celebrate Tasty Tuesday, Work Together Wednesday, Artsy Thursday and Family Fun Friday, under the instruction of teachers Stacey Dickmann and Michelle Powers.

Friday was a highlight of the week when nearly 70 percent of preschool and 4K families enjoyed breakfast, all-school Mass, classroom exploration, snacks and a music and movement activity in the gym.

A big thank you goes out to the teachers, parents, guardians and special guests who helped Sacred Heart Catholic School celebrate this week for the youngest of learners.

For information on enrollment or to schedule a school tour, call Autumne Gee, admissions director, at 715-526-5328, ext. 205, or email agee@sacredheartshawano.org.

Wayne P. Lubner of Wayne Lubner Consulting and Matt Sullivan of Express Employment Professionals, graduates of St. Norbert College and co-chairs of the Dargan Fellowship Committee at St. Norbert College, have announced two local students as Dargan fellows for the 2018-19 academic year.

Kathryn Kugel, of Shawano, is a sophomore business administration major with a concentration in management and finance and a cumulative GPA of 3.79. She is a member of the Student Government Association and vice president of both the Delta Phi Epsilon sorority and Panhellenic Council of Greek life at St. Norbert College.

Kugel is the recipient of the St. Norbert College Exemplary Leadership Award for two consecutive years and was the Shawano Area Community Foundation Youth Volunteer of the Year.

One of her anonymous references for the fellowship said, “In both her work and academics, Kathryn is an excellent student worker. Her peers look up to her for encouragement and guidance, and she stays organized and motivated easily. I am confident that she will continue to excel in her academics at St. Norbert College and in her work upon graduation.”

Kugel’s goal upon graduation is to pursue a career in finance and take her position internationally.

Cathryn Siolka, of Bonduel, is a junior business major with a human-resource-management concentration and pre-law certificate with a cumulative GPA of 3.93. She is a member of the St. Norbert College Society of Human Resource Management, is president-elect of SNC Colleges Against Cancer, and involved with the Bonduel Wrestling Club and Syble Hopp School. She is the recipient of the SNC Colleges Against Cancer Hope Award, is a Trustee Distinguished Scholar, was Bonduel High School valedictorian and has been placed on the St. Norbert College dean’s list.

One of Siolka’s anonymous references for the fellowship said, “I have no doubt that she is a cornerstone of the many organizations of which she is a member. It is a loss to the college that she is, despite all her extracurricular involvement, managing to graduate an entire year early. That should be a testament to her focus and work ethic.”

Siolka’s plans upon graduation are to pursue a career in human resource management and to further her knowledge, develop additional experience and increase her perspective through work and life.

The William E. Dargan Fellowship was created by alumni to honor the late professor and his 30 years of service to the college.

Northeast Wisconsin students will be receiving academic degrees and technical diplomas from the College of Menominee Nation in ceremonies at 10 a.m. May 26, in the Menominee Casino Resort Convention Center, N277 State Highway 47-55, Keshena.

In recognition of the college’s 25th anniversary, Menominee Tribal Chairman Douglas Cox will serve as guest speaker. As a chartered entity of the Menominee people, the college traces its origins to 1992 when Glen Miller, who was chairman at that time, and vice chairwoman Shirley Daly advanced the idea of a school to serve the reservation community. Dr. Verna Fowler was hired in fall 1992, and CMN opened in January 1993 with 42 students.

With this year’s ceremony, the college will bring its number of alumni to 1,180, with nearly 20 percent of all graduates having earned two or more CMN degrees or diplomas.

Among Class of 2018 graduates with multiple degrees is Sabrina Hemken, who has been chosen as student speaker for the commencement ceremonies. A native of Cecil, she began studies at CMN nearly a decade ago and earned an associate degree in CMN’s microcomputer specialist program in 2000. Hemken returned to the college a few years later and will graduate with both a Bachelor of Arts degree in public administration and an associate degree in digital media.

Hemken has earned academic honors and been awarded numerous scholarships throughout her years at the college. Her curricular and service activities have included work on many American Indian theater productions at the College, being a key volunteer worker on the 2016 and 2017 revivals of the historic Menominee summer pageants, and assisting with the Oneida Nation’s Wisconsin Native American Playwright Festival.

Cox is a lifelong resident of the Menominee reservation and graduate of Menominee Indian High School who continued his education at regional technical colleges before earning his bachelor’s degree at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. He has served the tribe professionally for 27 years in environmental and natural resource management roles, and is on leave from the post of coordinator for the Menominee Environmental Services Department while serving as chairman.

CMN is an accredited baccalaureate-level institution and one of only three Wisconsin institutions holding Land Grant status. Enrollment is open to all on CMN’s main campus in Keshena and its urban campus in the Green Bay metropolitan area. The college sustains a diverse student population. About two-thirds of its alumni are enrolled or descendant members of the Menominee tribe or more than 30 other American Indian tribes.

Shawano FFA members are seeing green, not only in the plants growing in abundance in their greenhouse but in the amount of cash that will be rolling their way.

The students in the horticulture class at Shawano Community High School have been diligently tending to the plants during class and often during their own free time. The tradition has been in existence for more than 20 years, and the reward is providing the community with beautiful plants and flowers to put in their homes and gardens.

For some students, though, rewards come in other forms. The hands-on class provides students an escape from the sterile classroom into a place where life and death are literally in their hands.

“It’s calming. Because I spend so much time in nature, for me, this is just like being outside,” said Kayla Clark, a SCHS senior.

Clark said she grew up helping her mom take care of the garden at the family home just outside of Shawano, and she also helped her grandmother tend her garden near Red River.

She isn’t completely committed to it yet, but Clark thinks she might continue her plant and agriculture studies into college.

The class is also very relaxing for Lydia Williams, another SCHS senior. She eagerly described what she was working on in one corner of the greenhouse.

“I’m just taking all of the dead leaves and things, kind of prettying up the plants, since we’re getting ready for the sale next week,” Williams said. “Also, I’m rotating them so the growth is better overall.”

Not rotating the plants would result in some plants having more growth than others due to the advantage of a better position to access sunlight, according to Williams.

“It makes you feel a lot better when you come out here, rather than sitting in a classroom,” she said. “This is stuff that I can use in the future.”

The students started working on the plants in late January. Having the greenhouse has allowed them to prepare the plants in a controlled environment.

Of course, even the safe confines of the greenhouse did not guarantee safety for the plants, according to horticulture teacher Missy Goers. The blizzard in April created a snowdrift that covered much of the greenhouse and cut off the light plants need to grow, and because the greenhouse is connected to the school itself, there was not another side where sunlight could come in and keep the plants thriving.

“When you came out here, there was no light coming in,” Goers said. “I couldn’t open the side vents. It took a good week for that (drift) to recede enough so I could open the vent and get air in here.”

Despite the snowdrift, most of the plants made it through, according to Goers, and a new greenhouse that will break ground this summer will be freestanding so that even if another historic snowstorm rears its ugly head, the plants should make it through.

“This structure has been here since the new school, and that’s been 20 years,” Goers said.

The plant sale is the biggest classroom project, but there is also a mum sale in the fall and poinsettias grown for the Christmas season. The money from the plant sale, which begins Wednesday, goes back into the horticulture program.

“It’s literally the seed money for next year,” Goers said.

The plant sale is also the most challenging for the students, according to Goers, because there is such a wide variety of plants, compared to the single plants grown for the other two sales. She said the students have to know about the different plants’ needs — the amount of water needed, which plants need more sunlight than others, pest identification and control, etc.

“I have these kids all year long, so it’s a good, gradual step,” Goers said. “The mums they don’t have for real long, and the poinsettias they have longer, but it’s just one plant. By the time they get to spring, they’re more prepared for the diversity.

“During the fall semester, we spend more time in the classroom learning about photosynthesis. They have to know about plant requirements, why we have to do the stuff we do the second semester. They put that into action here.”

The snowstorm was a unique situation, but there have been other issues, such as pests harming certain plants. The greenhouse provides a living lab where students see what works and learns from any mistakes made.

Goers didn’t know how many plants there were for this year’s sale, but it was hard to move around in the greenhouse without encountering a planting bed or hanging basket.

“The hanging baskets I know we have over 200,” Goers said. “That’s the most we’ve ever had.”

There will be even more than that next year with the new greenhouse, she said. The new facility will be double the size of the current greenhouse, which will continue to be used as a sustainable agriculture facility for the FFA’s aquaponics program and other things.

“They’ll have the greenhouse ready for us to go in at the beginning of the next school year,” Goers said. “It’s going to provide more opportunities, and we’re going to be taking on new projects.”

One of those new projects is already under way. The FFA has partnered with the Shawano Business Improvement District to provide the hanging flower baskets to beautify Shawano’s downtown area, but now that partnership is expanding to provide plants and flowers for the freestanding pots.

“To have those community connections, we’ll give the students the experience of working with a real client where they have to stay within budget, they have to meet with the clients and give them their ideas,” Goers said. “It’s more than a mock kind of experience. Then, in the summer, they get to see their plants and their design in place.”

The plant sale can last anywhere from one to three weeks, according to Goers said, depending on the rush of people coming in during the opening days.

Many of the students coming into the class have little plant experience, but when they’re done with the class, some of them go to apply for summer jobs at Qualheim’s True Value and other greenhouses in the area.

“It’s a win-win. They get a job, and the business gets an employee that has the experience,” Goers said. “I have a couple of students going back to True Value for their second summer.”

Like the students, Goers finds being surrounded by living plants to be soothing.

“It’s nice for me, too, because at the end of the day, I get to come out here and relax in the greenhouse,” Goers said.

Students and parents at St. James Lutheran School showed that education can be good for the sole.

The shoe leather was definitely put to the test Friday after it was announced that the school had exceeded its goal in the Race For Education fundraiser. St. James had hoped to raise $25,000, but supporters decided $26,725 was what they needed.

As a result of the fundraiser, students spent the afternoon walking or running laps in the hopes of winning prizes for the most laps. Younger students stayed at St. James for their race while the upper grades traveled to the track at Shawano Community Middle School.

More important than the exercise to benefit the students’ health is the money providing things for the parochial school that are not normally in the budget. In previous years, the Race for Education has been spent for technology, scholarships, curriculum, new lockers and even renovating the gymnasium floor, according to principal Susan Longmire.

“As a parochial school, you can’t put that money in the budget,” Longmire said. “It doesn’t work.”

For the fundraiser, letters are sent to parents, who are asked to reach out to friends and family members to donate whatever monetary amount they wish, Longmire said. There are no magazine subscriptions, rolls of wrapping paper, or boxes of chocolate involved.

“They look forward to it every year. We spend the afternoon walking and running,” Longmire said. “It’s not a hard fundraiser for our parents. They don’t want to buy any wrapping paper or stuff like that, and 100 percent of it goes back to the school.”

Parents donate all of the rewards and funding for the school carnival in two weeks so that the money goes toward the essentials. Longmire said some of the money might go toward school safety unless it gets a grant from the state. She noted that some of the money will be spent on a new bell system, which just recently died after being in service since the 1950s.

“Let’s just say everybody’s a little late,” Longmire said.

Some of the money will go toward the school’s athletics and booster clubs, and the remainder will go toward curriculum and more technology as the school strives to complete its one-to-one technology initiative.

“We do spend it all,” Longmire said.

Parent participation in the laps around the schools has increased, according to Longmire. Grandparents are also getting involved, and many family members came out to watch the students walk and run.

“We only have three weeks of school, so they’re all wound up,” Longmire said.

Children at Bonduel Elementary School might have previously seen hawks and other birds of prey from afar, but they got the chance to see the birds close up Monday.

Raptor Education Group Inc. visited students in the third through sixth grades to educate them about the birds — emphasizing why it’s important to leave them alone in the wild, and why they would not make good pets. REGI’s presentation was made possible by the Mason Woods Lodge in Cecil.

“We want to teach the kids, and the best way to do that is to show them what the birds are and how they survive,” said Carl Loving, who coordinated the school visits on the lodge’s behalf. “I think the kids learned a lot. They were very attentive.”

This was the first time the Masons had invited representatives from REGI, based in Antigo, to the area schools, and Loving hopes to expand the visits in the future. After Bonduel, REGI also presented at Gillett Elementary School.

“I’ve had these people with the birds at Mason Woods,” Loving said. “I’ve been associated with REGI for a number of years, back to when I lived near Antigo. I think a lot of their program, and I want to get it out to as many kids as we can so they can have a better idea of what’s going on.”

REGI’s main mission is to rehabilitate birds injured in the wild and release them back to their native habitats. However, some birds are not able to return to the wild for various reasons, and those birds remain at REGI for the rest of their lives. Some of them become the group’s education birds and are taken to schools and civic groups to promote better understanding of the raptors and the role they play in nature.

The first bird students got to view was Ruby, a red-shouldered hawk. Ruby came to REGI in 2013 after falling out of the nest as a fledgling and breaking its wing. Because it was not brought to REGI for care until a day later, the bones healed incorrectly, and Ruby is unable to fly more than a few yards.

“We want to make sure our birds are 100 percent better before we release them into the wild,” said Katie Ibsen, a raptor educator with REGI. She noted there are 20 bald eagles alone in REGI’s rehab facility. “We want to make sure they can survive on their own.”

The Bonduel students were also introduced to Benji, an American kestrel, which is a type of falcon; Storm, a barn owl; and Fonzie, a great horned owl.

Benji was an example of a human imprint. Ibsen said he was brought to the facility sitting atop an 8-year-old boy’s shoulder. She said that meant Benji had bonded with the humans and saw them as his family.

“Benji thinks he’s a person,” Ibsen said. “Because of that, Benji would have no idea how to survive in the wild, because he thinks all food comes from all people like us. He wouldn’t be able to communicate with other kestrels.”

Ibsen encouraged the students to remain quiet during the presentation, as the birds have keen hearing and could spook from loud noises. She pointed out that Storm’s hearing was sensitive enough to hear the heartbeats of everyone in the gymnasium.

Barn owls like Storm are disappearing, Ibsen warned. They don’t build nests like other birds, so they settle in the nooks and crannies of wooden barns. But with many of those barns being replaced by metal and steel barns, their habitat is changing, she said.

Barn owls also nest in grassland areas, she noted, but many grasslands are being altered due to housing developments.

Ibsen pointed out that great horned owls like Fonzie have tufts that allow them to camouflage themselves.

“Now, I know you’re thinking, ‘How can these tiny feathers help with camouflage?’” Ibsen said to the students. “Darker forests with lots of evergreen trees, that’s where great horned owls would live.”

REGI was started in 1990 by Marge and Don Gibson originally just to educate, but it soon became obvious that education was not enough to help the birds; rehabilitation had to be a factor, too. There are 25-30 education birds, but REGI has rehabilitated more than 100 birds so far this year.

“It’s really rewarding,” Ibsen said about visiting schools like Bonduel Elementary. “I think sometimes birds of prey get a negative view because they are predators. People think they’ll go after their dog or their pets. But birds of prey have some amazing adaptations, and sharing these adaptations is something that we enjoy doing.”

Nearly one-third of Gresham Community School’s students traded bus and automobile transportation for something with two wheels Thursday.

Close to 100 students rode their bicycles through the street to get to school, with teachers and staff guiding the way and keeping motor traffic off their tails. The bicycle ride was part of the National Bike to School Day, which was rescheduled for Thursday in Gresham due to rainy weather on Wednesday.

Some students traveled two to three in a group, while some traveled in larger packs. The school has two racks available for students to park the bicycles, but teachers had to scramble to find available spots as they quickly filled up.

SoHappy Davids, a Title I teacher at the school, greeted students outside the school and encouraged them to fill out slips for prizes. She was pleased to see that such a large portion of the school’s 300-plus student population took part.

“I’m really happy to see all the participation,” Davids said. “We were talking about it a lot. The kids were very excited yesterday.”

Tim Wild, the school’s physical education teacher, coordinated the local event. Even though Shawano schools have been participating for several years, this was the first one for Gresham in recent memory, Wild said.

“We might have done it a long, long time ago, but in the last 12 years, we haven’t,” he said. “We were notified about the event and thought it would be a good idea and a good way to get kids out and active.”

Wild said he saw the excitement was building among the students as the day grew near, but he was taken aback by how many of them participated.

“I was impressed by the turnout that we had,” Wild said.

Wild was eager for his students to learn about alternative ways to get to school in ways that promote good health. As the teacher responsible for promoting physical activity, he wants students to know they can be active outside of his class.

“You’ve got a lot of smiles from the kids,” Wild said. “They’re out there with their friends coming to school, and they’re enjoying it.”

Wild plans to continue sharing the message of healthy benefits from bike riding even after National Bike to School Day is over. He noted the school offers a summer class on bicycle riding.

“If they enjoy doing this, that can be something they could sign up for and do in the summer for a longer period, as well,” Wild said.

Sacred Heart Catholic School continued its trend of uniting with other rural Catholic schools for the second annual Cardinal Invitational on May 11 at the Shawano Community Middle School track.

Over 135 students and 35 total volunteers participated in this all-day track and field event. Besides Sacred Heart, there was also participation from All Saints Catholic School in Antigo, and St. Rose St. Mary School in Clintonville.

The event was organized by Sacred Heart’s middle school teacher and athletic director Scott Marohl. His goal in organizing this event was to give all rural Catholic middle school students within the Diocese of Green Bay an opportunity to join together, be more active, and promote fellowship amongst each other.

This event was another way that Sacred Heart intentionally lived its mission to, work cooperatively to ensure the optimum academic, spiritual, physical and social growth of every student.

Students had the opportunity to participate in various track and field activities such as the 50-yard dash, 200-yard shuttle, 400-yard run, rope skipping, standing long jump, shot put, softball throw, and a girls and boys softball tournament. Each activity yielded winners who received either ribbons or a trophy.

Results were not available by the Leader’s press time.

The Shawano Country Chamber of Commerce hosted an information session May 11 at Northcentral Technical College – Wittenberg Campus to help local businesses and organizations learn more about the Inspire software program designed to help schools meet their academic and career planning (ACP) requirement.

“Workforce development is a huge priority for the Shawano Country Chamber,” said chamber director Nancy Smith, who also serves on the board for Education for Economic Development. “The better informed students can be before leaving school can increase their ability to be more productive workers.”

Two years ago, the state of Wisconsin mandated that schools provide academic and career planning in order to better prepare students for their entry into the workforce.

Career Cruising is a software program designed to help teachers reach those goals, but it is only funded through the state for two years. The state requires teachers to plan to spend a certain amount of hours per month on ACP. The amount of time is determined by grade level and school district size.

With Career Cruising, jobs are categorized into 16 clusters, which align with national clusters. It gives a general idea of what kinds of jobs are available. It’s also a tool for assessing skills and interest by utilizing interest inventory tests.

If a student is interested in accounting, they would be able to determine how much and what kind of schooling is needed, where those schools are located, and what is the salary potential.

Inspire is an extension of the Career Cruising concept. It helps the teachers to create lesson plans because there are more options. It also allows for greater interaction between students and businesses.

There are three different levels for business participation. The first level is to just post a company profile letting teachers and students know who they are and what jobs are connected with the business. The second level allows for online career coaching by someone in the company who can answer questions about their career and the company. The third level make it possible for students to learn by doing, working with the company and job shadowing to learn firsthand what it’s like to work at the company.

“If you build it, they will come, is the theory we are working with,” said Lynn Aprill, director of the Center on Education for Economic Development.

Ideally, Inspire will be funded by school districts and businesses. About half the businesses aligned with Inspire have made a donation to help fund the program. It is set up as a 501(c)(3) so that their investment is also tax-deductible.

“By investing in this program, businesses have access to a better informed and better equipped workforce,” Aprill said.

Currently, Inspire is approaching school districts according to CESA territories. The Wittenberg-Birnamwood School District is part of CESA 8, but Inspire includes the independent counties of Sheboygan and Door County as part of its marketing strategy.

The Clintonville Public School District has announced that this year’s recipient of the distinguished Alumnus Honoris Award will be Bill Jartz, a news anchor with WBAY-TV Channel 2, someone locals will remember as William Schmidt.

The award will be presented during Clintonville High School’s commencement on May 26. The award is the highest award given to a Clintonville graduate.

Schmidt was born and raised in Clintonville, graduating in 1976 as the class salutatorian. After high school, he attended Northwestern University on a football scholarship and graduated in June 1980 with a Bachelor of Science in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism. He then landed his first job at WSAU (now WSAW) as the 10 p.m. sports anchor and reporter.

In March 1983 he accepted a position with WBAY, where he started as a weekend sports anchor and reporter. In June 1985, he was named sports director and got a chance to do Packers preseason football with the likes of Paul Hornung, Willie Davis, Brian Noble and John Anderson.

Schmidt left the business for about 2½ years in June 1990. He tried his hand at being a stockbroker and industrial paper salesman, but eventually came back to what he loved in January 1993.

In addition to his career in journalism, Schmidt has spent countless hours volunteering his time to a variety of nonprofit organizations to help them with fundraisers, golf outings, auctions, and capital campaigns. He has stated, “If my celebrity can help those less fortunate, then that is a good thing.”

The nonprofits and charities that he supports extend throughout Northeast Wisconsin and beyond. Locally, he often serves as the master of ceremonies at the Jirschele Sports Banquet.

In 1998, Schmidt made a move to news anchor and has been there ever since. He anchors the 5, 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts for WBAY. In 2005, he was lucky enough to be named the public address announcer for Lambeau Field.

Married since 1984, Bill and his wife, Mary, reside in Maribel. When he isn’t giving of his time to others, he enjoys hunting, fishing and physical fitness.

On a very warm Friday evening, Tigerton High School held its 109th annual commencement exercise in the high school gymnasium and gave diplomas to 16 students.

The ceremony began with the traditional “Pomp and Circumstance,” performed by the Tigerton High School band, under the direction of Kayla Berndt. That was followed by “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Anna Watters, Class of 2018 president and salutatorian, shared memories with her classmates and encouraged success for the futures of the students.

Valedictorian Leah Jobe began her speech on a humorous note by tearing up what appeared to be a very long speech due to the warm weather. She then took on a more serious tone and talked about the hard work as well as the hopes and dreams of her fellow graduates, and she wished them all well in the years to come.

A slide show of memories was presented by Shawn Much and Wanda Tucker. Diplomas were presented by Benjamin Rayone, district administrator, and Jeremy Erdmann, school board president.

The recessional by the band was “Premiere Suite.” Class colors were maroon and silver. The class song was “Humble and Kind” by Tim McGraw, and the class motto was “Chase your dreams, but always know the road that’ll lead you home again,” also by McGraw.

Live a life without regrets. That was the message Faith Lundt, Class of 2018 valedictorian, had for her Clintonville High School classmates at the 133rd annual commencement exercises Saturday.

Lundt encouraged students in the 129-member class to be active participants in their own lives and not look back at missed opportunities. “Do not allow yourself to be placed in a box,” she said. “You are creating your destiny. What you put in, you get out. What you choose is up to you.” She plans to study molecular biology at Yale University.

Salutatorian Caitlin Kestell recalled some of the accomplishments of her fellow seniors and looked back at a few humorous events that had happened over the years. Overall, her advice to her class was this: “Remember where you came from, and make Clintonville proud.” Kestell plans to attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison to study evolutionary biology and ecology.

The musical prelude and recessional as well as the traditional “Pomp and Circumstance” were played by the Clintonville High School concert band under the direction of Josh Heyer, conductor.

The National Anthem was sung by graduates Seth Betz, Luke Crocker, Riley Hauser, Lacey Jung, Jack Klein, Morgan Mehlberg, Kelly Shepard and Savannah Wedde. “A Million Dreams” was sung by the Clintonville High School choir, accompanied by Ann Crocker and directed by Leah Armstrong.

Melany Lorge, class president, served as the master of ceremonies. Additional class officers included Kennedy Beyersdorf, vice president, Madi Lamia, secretary, and Lundt, treasurer.

The presentation of the class was led by Principal Lance Bagstad. Ben Huber and Laurie Vollrath of the board of education conferred the diplomas.

The class chose as its motto a quote by Anne Frank: “What a wonderful thought it is that some of the best days of our lives haven’t happened yet.”

Residents of 13 Wisconsin communities, including members of seven American Indian tribes, received academic degrees and technical diplomas in College of Menominee Nation ceremonies Saturday in Keshena.

This year, the college invited Douglas Cox, tribal chairman from Keshena, to present the guest address to graduates. Baccalaureate degree graduate Sabrina Hemken, of Gillett, spoke on behalf of the Class of 2018.

The ceremonies also honored Professor Vicki Besaw, who was named the American Indian College Fund Faculty Member of the Year. Besaw, who teaches humanities and liberal studies courses, holds a Bachelor of Science in Education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Master of Arts in English from UW-Milwaukee and is accepted for the First Nations Education Doctoral Program at UW-Green Bay. She is a member of the Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe. A resident of Shawano, she has served on the CMN faculty since 2006.

Participating in graduation ceremonies with other dignitaries were Dr. Paul Trebian, recently appointed college president, and Michael Delabreau of the board of trustees.

The graduates, listed by major and hometown with academic honors noted, are:

Bachelor of Arts

Public Administration: Sabrina L. Hemken, honors, Gillett; Joyce Wayka, Keshena; and Jerilyn Marie Johnson, Bowler. Hemken also received an associate degree in digital media during the ceremonies.

Bachelor of Science

Business Administration: Louise M. Madosh, Keshena.

Early/Middle Childhood Education: Whitney K. Nitzske, high honors, Shawano.

Associate of Applied Science

Nursing: Rachel E. Huested, Wrightstown.

Pre-Environmental Engineering Technology: Travis James Spice, Bowler.

Associate of Arts and Sciences

Business Administration: Kode-Ray C. Adams, high honors, Gresham; Marla Bellanger, Keshena; Rickie Lee Dodge, Shawano; Christa L. Lyons, Keshena; Dulce Maria Moeller, Shawano; Adam Joseph Schulz, honors, Shawano; David Skenandore, honors, Oneida; and Francis K. Skenandore, Suamico.

Early Childhood Education: Melinda R. Cree, Keshena; Leona A. Draghi, Keshena; Kasey Leigh Paiser, Waupaca; Theresa L. Smith, honors, Oneida; and Jordynne Nicolle Waupekenay, Shawano.

Liberal Studies – Humanities: Georgie D. Potts, honors, Keshena.

Liberal Studies – Social Science: Rhiannon M. Boyd, Oneida; Ravena M. Fowler, Cecil; Dallas M. Hawkins, Green Bay; Zachary John Skenandore, Green Bay; and Zachary Michael Wolterman, honors, Shawano.

Natural Resources: Lenayea R. Boyd, Gillett; Lacy Lee Dixon, Keshena; Zachary David Dobberstein, Shawano; Jamie L. Funmaker, Wittenberg; Denise A. Kasparzak, Keshena; and Catherine Ann Majer, Gresham.

Technical Diploma

Business Office Technician: Brittney J. Pamonicutt and Deneane Marie Wilber, both Keshena.

Electricity: James M. Cox and William Richard Waubananascum IV, both Keshena.

Welding: Anthony Dale Chevalier, high honors, Keshena; Brian Rashaun Waukau, Keshena; and Austin William Kaquatosh, honors, Suring. Waukau, also a 2018 Menominee Indian High School graduate, is the first person to earn a CMN technical diploma while simultaneously completing high school.

Thirty-two of the 39 graduates are enrolled members or descendants of American Indian tribes. Represented in this year’s class are Brotherton, Ho Chunk, Menominee, Oneida, Prairie Band of Potawatomi, Stockbridge, Stockbridge-Munsee and Turtle Mountain Chippewa.

The College of Menominee Nation is one of 37 federally recognized tribal colleges in the United States. The baccalaureate-degree institution with campuses in Keshena and Green Bay has awarded nearly 1,180 academic degrees and technical diplomas since opening in 1993.