Olga Brener Intermediate School

Fourth-graders at Olga Brener will have a chance to try snowshoeing at Navarino Nature Center. Tim Ewing, naturalist at Navarino Nature Center, starts the day with a history and explanation of snowshoes. He then leads the students on an excursion through the trails of the nature center, with races across the bogs and a trip to the beaver lodge. The students end their day with some sledding fun.

The following 12 students recently participated in the district spelling bee at Shawano Community Middle School: Carly Knope, Evelyn Schmidt, Seth Williams, Bryce Dixon, Ania Hoffman, Kaden Marcell, Miguel Razo, Brenden Stempa, Megan Dillenburg, Jackson Smits, Angelina Steinhoff, Brady Glysch, Jaida Hill and Jaden Giese. Seth Williams brought home the third-place trophy. All participants did a great job of representing Olga Brener.

Upcoming: Feb. 11, picture day; Feb. 16, no school; Feb. 27, PTO Family Movie Night.

Sacred Heart Catholic School

Hello, Everyone: My name is Megan Neveau. I am the new music teacher here at Sacred Heart Catholic School. I grew up in Kewaunee and still live there now. I come from a large family, one of 10 kids ranging in age from 3 to 30. Seven of my siblings are adopted through the foster care system. I graduated in December from Edgewood College in Madison. I sing and play the saxophone, clarinet and some piano. I received a ukulele for Christmas this year and I am very eager to learn more. When I am not doing something involving music, I enjoy knitting and crocheting. I am so excited to be a part of this faith-filled community!

Our third-grade students made handprint camels representing the three kings while studying the Epiphany. They also acted it out for their prayer service.

Our annual magazine sale kicked off this week. We will be accepting Reach Out postcards and magazine orders or renewals until Monday, Feb. 2. We will use the profits to supply our students with classroom magazines. If you would like to order or renew your magazines subscriptions and help our school, please contact us.

We had a great turnout for our second annual Winter Wonderland. Visitors, families and parish members enjoyed a Mass of celebration hosted by our school students. Everyone loved the free spaghetti dinner sponsored by our Home and School Association. Families of all ages were full of smiles throughout the school interacting in the various activities. Most adults left very exhausted from the indoor snowball fight against the kids! It was a wonderful day and we hope everyone marks their calendar for next year.

Currently enrolled families are due to return their registration commitment forms to the school office for the 2015-2016 school year by Feb. 13. Enrollment will open to everyone in February. If you would like to enroll in our great school community for the 2015-2016 school year, please contact Carolyn Reuter, admissions director, at creuter@sacredheartshawano.org or 715-526-5328.

Gresham School

On Jan. 23, almost everyone from the school, from middle school to high school students, went on a field trip to go sledding at Sylvan Hill in Wausau. Some people stayed inside where it was warm. The sledding was very fun.

Shawano Community High School

The SCHS Culture Club is having its famous Indian Taco Sale on Friday, from 4:30 p.m. until the tacos are sold out. The sale will be held in the SCHS Commons and is open to the public. Tacos are still only $5 and come in a convenient take-out box. Feel free to bring the family to dine in or carry out. Everything will be made hot and fresh right on campus. It is also parents night for the boys basketball program. Come and enjoy Indian tacos and some family fun. For information, call Melonie Dickie Reopelle at 715-526-2175.

St. Paul Lutheran School

Jan. 25-31 is National Lutheran Schools Week! We began celebrating by having the entire student body and staff sing at the Sunday morning services. The national theme this year is “Standing in Christ, Serving Others.” We are incorporating the theme into each day of the week.

We started on Monday by encouraging “Service at Home.”

On Tuesday, we focused on “Service at School” by looking for ways to be of help and service to classmates and teachers.

Wednesday’s theme was “Service for the Church” and individual classes looked for ways to show appreciation to the pastors or congregation volunteers, for example.

On Thursday, grades 3-8 will provide a “Service to the Community” by showing our appreciation for freedom by singing the national anthem and “God Bless America” at the state Capitol in Madison. With our tour of the Capitol, we can also personally thank our local representatives.

Friday, in addition to Parents’ Day, will be “Service to the World.” A chapel service in the morning will help us focus on our mission as a school to train faithful disciples. Parents will have opportunities to attend break-out sessions on finances, parenting resources and incorporating Bible reading at home, in addition to visiting classrooms of their children and joining them for lunch. The afternoon will again be the annual Lutherlympics, with some fun new competitions. Finally, the week wraps up celebrating Lutheran education with fellow students in other Lutheran elementary schools with a friendly Academic Expo at NEW Lutheran High School in Green Bay. Students are participating in an art fair, spelling bees, science and Bible bowl competitions.

St. Paul is one of 880 Lutheran elementary schools in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod in the United States. We are honored to help raise up the next generation of faithful Christian disciples by providing excellent academic preparation in addition to helping students and their families experience God’s lavish gifts of love, grace and mercy.

When Maria Fuller, the Shawano Community High School student playing Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz,” sings about waking up where the clouds are far behind her, she’ll be very close to the truth.

For this year’s winter musical, which opens Wednesday, a number of students will be flying across the stage as SCHS presents the classic tale of a Kansas farm girl whisked to a magical land. Audiences will see the wizard literally take off in his balloon, the wicked witch flying on her broomstick, Glinda descending from the sky to Munchkin land, and even Miss Gulch and her cursed bicycle going airborne during the cyclone.

This is the first time in the 15 years of music teacher Jonathon Kent’s directing tenure at SCHS that the school has even attempted something so daring and elaborate, and it is a rare sight to see in Northeast Wisconsin theatrical productions, he said.

Kent said he had the option of going with a nonflying version of the musical.

“We’re doing the Royal Shakespeare Comedy version … which came out in 1988,” Kent said. “It’s a big challenge for us. This is being professionally done.”

The high school’s auditorium does not have the equipment to simulate flying on the stage, so the school had to call in Hall Associates Flying Effects from DeKalb, Illinois, to install the harnesses and other gear needed to put Dorothy and company into the air.

For the last three days, the students who have flying scenes have been training with Hall officials.

“This show is a lot more expensive to produce, and I attribute that to the popularity of ‘Wicked,’” Kent said. “It led to a revival of ‘The Wizard of Oz.’”

The equipment and training cost the district about $7,000, according to Kent, but a number of community donations have helped to defray the expense.

Although a new sight for local audiences, the flying scenes are only a minor part of the show. The musical remains faithful to the 1939 film starring Judy Garland and includes all of the familiar songs.

The musical even restores a scene cut from the original MGM movie that features a song called “The Jitterbug.” The song was to be performed by Dorothy and her friends while they were on their way to steal the Wicked Witch of the West’s broom.

The Skylight Theater in Milwaukee, which recently closed its own run of “Oz,” provided the costumes for the main characters. Kent said the school district is paying less than it would have if the costumes were rented from a costume company.

There are almost 60 students involved on the stage, another 25 in the orchestra pit and 10 more working behind the scenes.

“This show was very well suited to the student body that we have, to the student talent,” Kent said.

The show will also feature a number of students from Olga Brener Intermediate School and Shawano Community Middle School. They will play the Munchkins.

Although it’s a high school event, Kent said the show has received significant support from outside the school, through funding and volunteer assistance.

“We’ve had a lot of additional participation from the community,” Kent said. “We’ve had many more parents involved in this show.”

The normal four-performance run of SCHS musicals has been expanded to five to help pay for the show.

A Shawano Area Fire Department captain went for a walk with more than 80 students Thursday at Sacred Heart Catholic School in Shawano.

Guest Chuck Felts and members of the school’s walking club took 1,300 steps — about three-fourths of a mile — together around the school’s track during recess.

Felts, an 18-year-veteran of the department, said walking is a good way to maintain good health.

“It is about maintaining the physical fitness. … Walking is a good physical activity,” Felts said. “It is pretty important to the kids, no matter what age. You still have to walk, as far as exercise.”

Physical fitness is an important part of being a firefighter, Felts told the students during his 30-minute visit.

Sacred Heart formed the walking club in October when the school joined the Transform Wisconsin program, a nonprofit effort to promote healthy communities by providing grants and funding for wellness programs.

Carrie Verkuilen, who invited Felts to be a guest walker, helped get the school involved in the statewide effort.

Verkuilen said the addition of guest walkers motivates children to remain fit and active even during the school day.

“It helps keep the kids engaged and excited about exercise,” she said. “We just get different people involved.”

Previous guest walkers have included the Shawano Police Department mascot, Eddie the Eagle; the Shawano Community High School cheerleading squad; and representatives of area businesses.

The Transform Wisconsin initiative challenged all students to walk a minimum of 20 minutes per day, with 2,000 steps as a benchmark.

“Some kids go well beyond that if they get to school right at 7:30 in the morning,” said Carolyn Reuter, acting principal while Principal Elisha Wagenson is on maternity leave. “The students walk every morning and after lunch time every day, with their pedometers on to track their steps.”

Reuter said the school offers rewards for the top walker in each grade level every month.

“They are surpassing their goal every month,” she said. “The top walker who has the most steps from each grade gets to eat lunch with Father Luke Ferris,” the parish’s pastor.

Sacred Heart staff member Jeannie Boyd tracks the students’ mileage and determines how far they’ve gone as if they were walking across the United States. As of Thursday, the students had collectively walked from Shawano to Philadelphia.

Olga Brener Intermediate School>

All students here at Brener are starting to gear up for the Jump Rope for Heart/Hoops for Heart program. We are thrilled to be supporting the American Heart Association to help teach our students and families how to take care of their hearts. Our school will be holding our own event during all physical education classes the week of Feb. 23-27. Every class will participate in healthy heart activities, jump rope activities and basketball activities. Parents and family are welcome to participate with the students. Students are encouraged, but not required, to fund raise for this event. Eighty percent of the funds raised go to teaching children the importance of the heart, how it works, how exercise affects their hearts and how to stay fit for life, and funding extensive research efforts and programs to help us all live healthier lives. When your child participates in this program, they will feel good knowing that they are making a difference in people’s lives. Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of all Americans, and more people die of heart disease than all forms of cancer combined. The American Heart Association is second only to the U.S. government in funding research in heart disease and stroke. In addition, the school earns money for physical education equipment so we can keep our kids moving!

Upcoming: Feb. 5, Family Write Night; Feb. 11, Picture Day; Feb. 16, no school; Feb. 27, PTO family movie night.

Sacred Heart

On Jan. 28, we celebrated St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Angela Merici. Both were very involved in Catholic education. St. Thomas was a Dominican priest who thought all young men should have the opportunity to have a Catholic education. St. Angela thought that all boys and girls should have the opportunity to have a good Catholic education and was involved with the Sisters of St. Joseph, who started our school. Depend on God.

Scott Marohl, Elizabeth Sanders and Carolyn Reuter were the teachers chosen to receive a pie in the face at the pep rally on Monday of Catholic Schools Week. Everyone enjoyed the events planned by Mr. Marohl.

Second-graders made potato pancakes, which they shared and enjoyed, by doubling a recipe.

More than 160 people came together for Mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church to celebrate Catholic Schools Week and enjoyed a delicious ham dinner served by Tanya Myerchin in the school cafeteria after Mass.

Our Geography Bee contestants were Eric Krueger, Autumn Bunker, Paul Meisner, Riley Tucker, Antonio Garcia, Adam Piantek, RJ Waukau, Nicole Piantek, Susan Shawanokasic and Dakota Miller. Congratulations to all students for a job well done. Our winner, Autumn Bunker, might have the opportunity to represent our school in the national Geography Bee in Washington, D.C.

The 2015 Bonduel School District spelling bee will go into the record books for two reasons: having the most rounds in school history (27 ) and having the final battle come down to two sisters.

Abby Timler, a fourth-grade student at Bonduel Elementary School, won the bee Wednesday after spelling “gaffe” and “ragout” correctly. This was Abby’s first year of eligibility for the spelling bee.

Her sister, Erin Timler, a sixth-grade student at Bonduel Middle School, finished second when she misspelled “laudable.”

After the bee, Abby said she wasn’t surprised that she had to face her older sister for the bee title. Besides practicing their words at home, the Timlers practiced with other students in school programs.

“I know that she’s a really good speller,” Abby said of Erin.

With 20 participants, this year’s bee was smaller than in previous years.

The bee featured a mixture of spelling rounds and vocabulary rounds, where the spelling was given but students had to recite the correct definition from two choices given.

Most of the spellers were out by the 12th round, leaving the Timler sisters to battle it out for almost 20 minutes as the audience packed into Sousa Hall watched. The girls spelled a number of exotic words with ease, including “ipso facto” and “dinero.”

Lisa Sorlie, the district’s spelling bee coordinator, said Bonduel’s most recent bees didn’t go past 11 or 12 rounds and never went past 16 rounds. Sorlie said she wasn’t too surprised with the result.

“I had a strong inclination that (the Timler sisters) would at least be in the top three,” Sorlie said. “They’re a very talented family.”

The school district received a list of words to use to prepare students for the bee, and during the bee, Sorlie, who also served as pronouncer, gave the spellers the definition of the word and informed them if there were homonyms.

“The dictionaries have 470,000 words in them, and (spelling bee officials) release 350 of them for you to work with,” Sorlie said.

Although going up against her older sister was a challenge, Abby Timler will face an even bigger challenge when she goes to the regional spelling bee at Clintonville High School on Monday. In January, Shawano Community Middle School student Karelyn Malliet, who won the state spelling bee in 2014, was crowned as her district’s spelling champion for the fourth year in a row.

Sorlie said she plans to drill with Abby on the words she already knows and is sending a dictionary home for Abby to practice with other words.

Although more than 10 years old, the Shawano Community High School Culture Club remains as relevant as ever.

The club’s mission is to raise students’ awareness of diversity in the school district, community and world.

“We try to include all different types of cultures and we like to learn about each other’s cultures,” faculty adviser Melonie Dickie Reopelle said.

The club has grown from about a dozen student members five years ago to 30 this year. It is involved in community service projects with organizations such as Toys for Tots, Safe Haven emergency shelter and the Salvation Army.

The students last year participated in a culture awareness week at Olga Brener Intermediate School, where they educated the youngsters about Asian cultures.

“Most people think that the culture club is for Native Americans, but it is not necessarily for Native Americans,” said senior Tichanel Waupoose, vice president of the club. “We have people that are Mexican and Asian. You don’t have to be Native American to be in the club. We have had Caucasian kids join in.”

Sixth-grade English teacher Lela Schwitzer’s twin sons, Nicholas and Jacob, are involved in the organization.

“Culture Club promotes education and learning about different cultures,” Schwitzer said. “My sons have benefited from being with other kids as they celebrate diversity.”

The Schwitzers and fellow club members will tour the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh campus in March as part of the school’s multi-cultural preview day. Students will hear a guest speaker and meet other students.

“It is a great experience because some people don’t get to tour colleges and it gets them excited about their future,” Reopelle said.

Club members will also attend a Youth Conference on Domestic Violence, being organized by Menominee Tribal Police Chief Mark Waukau, in March in Keshena.

The club’s major fundraiser is the annual Indian taco sale, which was held Friday at the high school. Proceeds help fund workshops, educational trips and fun outings.

Last year, the club visited the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago.

“It was a long drive and a lot of fun,” club President Rashawn Bell said. “We do a lot of different cool things, and years before that we went to Brewers games.”

Local children have plenty of experience reading about amazing characters engaged in curious situations, but some got the chance Thursday to write those stories themselves.

The only catch was they had to collaborate with their parents.

Olga Brener Intermediate School focused on writing during one of its regular family literacy nights, with literacy coach Carrie Ninham pointing out that writing is not necessarily something that families focus on at home.

“A lot of times we’ll do book clubs and we’ll do reading activities, but we’re trying to focus this month — even in the classrooms — on writing,” Ninham said. “Writing can be fun.”

The writing night was sparsely attended, but the four families that did participate were asked to create their own suspenseful stories with superheroes as the main characters. The families were given a few minutes to plan the story and then were asked to do tandem writing — where one family member writes the story for three minutes and then passes it on to the next family member.

Ninham encouraged the families to develop their characters and discuss their purpose in the stories.

“What is your character’s goal or purpose? Is it to save the world?” Ninham said. “What does the character look like? Any helpful gadgets? Does he or she drive a vehicle? What’s the landscape?”

Jackson Boucher and his father, Nathan, developed a hero who has a weakness for cold, so he lives in the jungle, where it is nice and warm.

Ninham told the group that it was important for key facts to complement each other.

“In the jungle, it’s warm, so if he’s going to go outside the jungle, that’s where he’s going to run into trouble,” Ninham said. “That will make for an interesting story.”

Sheila Raddant, who brought her daughter, Ashley, to the literacy night, said they spent a lot of time developing their character’s attributes, such as being super strong and having winged shoes, but almost forgot one detail until just before the writing began — the character’s name.

“I’m glad that Levan saved the day,” Raddant said, reading from the story.

Writing tends to be one of the more difficult subjects in the classroom, according to Ninham, because although parents work with their children on developing reading skills and math facts, writing is not always seen as a group project.

“It’s so abstract. It’s not something very concrete, and a lot of times (in school) you’re asked to write about things that you don’t find yourself interested in,” Ninham said. “To get kids to buy in, it’s good to have creative writing.”

Olga Brener is looking at doing at least one more literacy night before the end of the school year, and Ninham is looking at possibly combining reading and writing.

Seniors at Bonduel High School were dressed for success Friday as part of the school’s 19th annual Senior Career Day.

The event was organized by a group of teachers to improve student opportunities for success in the workforce.

“They decided that we needed to do something to prepare our kids for going out into the work world, so we wanted every student to have a resume and cover letter before they left high school,” English teacher Marcy Siolka said.

The 74 students were encouraged to dress as they would for job interview and were given an opportunity to be critiqued by 10 local professionals representing various career fields during one-on-one interviews.

The professionals also reviewed the students’ resumes and cover letters and offered pointers on how to improve them.

“We want to make sure everything is perfect on it and then we want them to practice interviewing so that they have those skills when they leave here,” Siolka said.

Prior to the interviews, KI senior human resource manager Kristy Hesse delivered a presentation on resumes, interviews and following up on interviews. She also encouraged the seniors to pursue their dreams.

Hesse was part of the inaugural career day at BHS as a student in 1996. She said it is important to pay it forward by helping students pursue endeavors beyond the high school classrooms.

“I live in the community and it is very important for me to give back and to prepare the students of tomorrow for future employment,” Hesse said.

She said the day includes practical, helpful advice.

“I think it better prepares them for when they are applying for their first job, and everyone wants to make an impact,” she said.

Siolka said she is grateful for the time and information the volunteers shared with the students.

“I think it is very wonderful that the people of our community are willing to leave their jobs for a couple of hours and come here and help our kids prepare and give them a lot of good advice,” Siolka said.

The volunteers included Greg Tauchen, part-owner of Tauchen Harmony Valley Farm; Phil Heldt, Kwik Trip store leader; Patti Rosin, office manager of Rosin Woodwork; Mike Rodman, production manager with World Wide Signs; Sarah Heinrichs, insurance agent, Thiel and Associates; Ryan Alexander, branch manager of Co-Vantage Credit Union; Geoff Dowden, assistant vice president, Bonduel State Bank; Tracy Kleist, benefits consultant, Cottingham and Butler in Appleton; and Tom Wonderling, a former school superintendent in the Fond du Lac area.

Karelyn Malliet was expecting the word that would get her a third regional spelling bee victory would be challenging, like “subpoena” or “pneumatic.”

The last thing she expected was “easel.”

However, “easel” was the word that allowed the eighth-grade student from Shawano Community Middle School to win the CESA 8 Regional Spelling Bee on Monday in Clintonville, beating out five other competitors for the title of top speller. That, coupled with the word “loquacious” in the 17th round, will allow Malliet to go to the Wisconsin spelling bee for the third year in a row.

The word “easel” came after Emma Zwirschitz, a seventh-grade student from St. Martin Lutheran School, misspelled “appurtenances,” which means an accessory or adjunct that is attached and incidental to something that has greater importance or value, after going several rounds with Malliet after the other competitors dropped out.

Malliet said after the bee that she was excited to win again, but she was expecting a harder word along the lines of “zeitgeist,” which she spelled in round 12, or “Machiavellian,” which came in the 16th round.

“When the other person got out, I was like ‘Give me a hard word. Give me a hard word,’ because I finally wanted to have something that was slightly difficult,” Malliet said. “Then it turns out to be ‘easel,’ and I’m like, ‘Are you kidding me?’”

Craig Ferch, the coordinator for Shawano’s spelling bee, was thrown by the final word, too.

“I was wondering if this was a kindergarten bee,” Ferch said with a chuckle.

Malliet wasn’t surprised that, despite the simplicity of her final word, Zwirschitz stayed toe-to-toe with her for several rounds, not showing much hesitation.

“She seemed to know the words,” Malliet said.

Malliet has won Shawano’s spelling bee for the last four years and the regional for three years. She won the state title last year and represented Wisconsin in the national spelling bee. Her goal there was to make the semifinals, but she bowed out after coming up one point short in the vocabulary test.

Malliet said she wasn’t sure what her goal would be this year, although she hoped to make it to the national bee again.

Despite her success, Malliet said she doesn’t worry about getting overconfident and stumbling at the lower levels.

“I don’t get overconfident when I’m up there,” she said. “When I’m up there, I get a little nervous and I make sure I spell really slow, or else I spell too fast, and they might not understand what I’m saying or I might just throw in a random letter. I do not want to do that.”

Gresham Community School

The Student Council sold Crush sodas for students to buy to send to others for Valentine’s Day.

The seventh grade went to Camp U-Nah-Li-Ya from Wednesday through Friday to learn about the outdoors and team-building skills.

The fifth-grade participated in a Math Football League competition. The first-place winners were the Cowboys.

Olga Brener Intermediate School

Several of our third grade classes recently celebrated the 100th day of school. Students took turns rotating through stations with one thing in common, the number 100! Some of the stations were cup building with 100 cups, Lego building with 100 Legos, 100-piece puzzles, and many more!

The Hawk Trait for the month of January was perseverance. The following students were chosen by their teachers and/or classmates for demonstrating the Hawk Trait: Isaac Welander, Will Chelberg, Jocelyn Seay, Payton Stuhr, Ethan Onesti, Eliza Collins, Elizabeth Schroth, Mason Theis, Matthew Boucher, Danika Smith, Hunter Jones, Jacob Landon, Addison Olsen, Lincoln Walker, Emily Alvarez, Alexis Christopherson, Connor Majeski, Renza Anthony, Alison Moede, Braiden Mott, Ely Williams, Riley Dreier, Ava Huntington, Julian Perez, Ashley Warren, Sterling Schreiber, Emma Otto, Brenden Stempa, Nicole tePlate, Brennan Boda, Macie Kammerer, Zac Jurmu, Ivy Vahl, Denzyl Franco, Hazel Tepiew, Chase Nuthals, Mitchell Soto and Faith Lammers.

Upcoming: Feb. 19, no school; Feb. 27, PTO Family Movie Night; March 12, KAT Quiz Day; March 13, half day; March 24, Showcase of Brener Students; March 30-April 3, no school.

St. Paul Lutheran School

During the month of January, chapel offerings went toward an item on the Camp Luther Wish List: a new waterfront splash mat. We exceeded the $900 goal and donated the remaining $46 to the Every Kid to Camp Scholarship program, which provides children who have never attended camp before a week of summer camp as a gift from a donor.

At Monday’s PTL program, St. Paul was awarded four “gifted” weeks of summer camp! Congratulations to winners Hailee Thompson, Reid Schwerin, Ava Pleshek and Grace Thorne.

February’s chapel offerings will support the North Wisconsin District’s Hearts for Jesus mission offering, which will be combined with other Lutheran schools from across the district to benefit an orphanage in Peru, Colegio NOE. Scholarships and bricks are needed for a bathroom there. A $30 scholarship will help a student for a month; $10 will purchase a brick to help build a much needed bathroom.

Congratulations to the following students who entered the Academic Expo at NEWLHS on Saturday, Jan. 31, and competed against other students from Trinity, Pilgrim, Celebration and St. Paul Luxemburg Lutheran schools: Emma Schneider and Mady Schneider, first in art; Anika Schneider, second in art; Anika and Mady, fourth in fifth-grade Science Quiz Bowl and third place in fifth-grade Bible Knowledge Quiz Bowl. In addition, teacher Peggy Buchholz entered some seventh-grade art, which earned, among other awards, a first-place blue and Best Among Class to Alexia Folkman. Congratulations!

Keshena Primary School

A new program has been implemented into our school this year called Trauma-Informed Care. Children and adolescents who are exposed to traumatic events are helped by numerous child-serving agencies, including health, mental health, education, child welfare, first responder and criminal justice systems to assist them in their recovery.

We have 32 girls out for fourth- and fifth-grade girls basketball. We have two different teams, with 16 girls on each of the teams. So far, we have a record of 2-2. Some of the girls have come in knowing the fundamental skills and rules of basketball, so we are appreciative of the gym teachers for including this in their yearly lesson plans. Without their help, the girls would not be as far as they are in their skill sets. All in all, we are having a great time and wonderful season.

In third grade, students have been creating a PowerPoint on Native American tribes throughout the United States.

At the end of each quarter, students who receive at least six out of eight Thunderbirds are treated to a special activity. This quarter, students went to Silver Birch, where they were able to participate in many different winter activities, such as tubing, skating, snowshoeing and skiing. Students can earn a Thunderbird each week if they are at school every day, turn in homework and are respectful.

The third-grade class was very busy. They had a fundraiser for a student in their class. They sold popcorn for 50 cents a bag, and it was a huge success. Thank you, third-graders, for getting involved in helping others.

In the halls of Shawano Community High School, Jeff Kammerer is known as a physical education teacher and 20-year faculty member.

When class dismisses, Kammerer is known as hypnotist Jeff Michaels, who has performed in shows across the country for about seven years.

“I really try to separate them,” Kammerer said. The kids know I do this. They ask me to do hypnosis during school, but it is mostly keep it at the door.”

Kammerer played the role of Michaels before 150 students and parents Wednesday at a fundraiser for the Shawano girls basketball youth program. He entertained the crowd through an hourlong show, which included nearly two dozen participants believing they were beauty pageant contestants.

Prior to the show, he told the audience he would not “cause participants any embarrassment” and “it is just a fun show.”

Kammerer has long been attracted to the world of entertainment, serving as a disc jockey and hosting karaoke at area establishments before he saw a hypnotist show nearly a decade ago.

“I happen to be in Gresham, and I saw a hypnotist show and discovered that this is something I wanted to do,” he said.

It took about two years of extensive training to develop his skills, Kammerer said.

Varsity girls basketball coach Ryan Koenig, who has known Kammerer for years, would like to make the show an annual fundraiser for the girls youth basketball program. The proceeds will help offset expenses such as uniforms and travel for the program serving girls in second through eighth grade.

“Next year, we know we can do better,” Koenig said, “and hopefully it will be even bigger next year when we do it.”

Kammerer coached the girls high school varsity from 1995-2002 and 2006-09.

“I have a lot of stock tied into it,” Kammerer said. “It’s fun to come back and help out a little bit. Although you are not on the court, you can still feel like you are helping.”

Sacred Heart Catholic School

Students in grades 6-8 have completed math and spelling tests for the Knights of Columbus Knowledge Contest. The following students were given the opportunity to compete at the Green Bay Diocese Knowledge Contest on Saturday: math — Riley Tucker, Erica Krueger, Max Oreskovich and Nicole Piantek; spelling — Kaleigh Smith, Jonah Zuiches, Mya Zeeman, Dakota Miller. Congratulations!

Our Home & School Association is sponsoring a fish fry from 4-7 p.m. Friday. It costs $10 for adults and $5 for children under 10.

Our boys B team took second place in the tournament at Trinity in Marinette on Feb. 7.

Students and staff participated in Jump Rope For Heart on Friday. We enjoyed an afternoon of snacks and exercise to get our bodies heart healthy: jumping rope, hula hooping, shooting basketballs and jumping on pogo sticks. We realize there are kids out there in need of our help and prayers. We also made cards to send to families who are struggling with heart conditions.

If you are interested in our 3K-grade 8 programs, give us a call at 715-526-5328. We are taking enrollment for the 2015-2016 school year.

Gresham Community School

From Feb. 11-13, the seventh-graders took a field trip to Camp U-Nah-Li-Ya. They were able to sled, ice skate and have lots of fun with their classmates and the advisers.

On Monday, Gresham students had a day off of school, while the teachers had an inservice day.

The middle school girls played at Menominee Tribal School on Tuesday. Gresham’s eighth-grade team lost a close game by two points.

Mystery meat is gone from the school lunch menus, but sometimes it takes a little prodding to get students to try new things.

For Josh Good, a regional chef with Taher Inc., it takes more than toiling over an elaborate dish to get students to try some of his cuisine. Many times, it requires a bright smile and an appeal to students’ adventurous sides.

Taher, which runs the food service program for the Shawano School District, has a roving chef program where chefs such as Good travel to districts for a day or two each month to cook up a meal that wouldn’t normally be part of the menu. This week, Good prepared a Thai noodle bowl with chicken and vegetables for students at Shawano Community Middle School and Shawano Community High School.

“We have chefs that, every year, go to a different country, and for an entire week, all they do is eat, take pictures, take notes,” Good said. “They come back and write recipes off of all that. The idea is that, with our customers, we want to come in and make food that is ethnically authentic.”

Most middle school and high school students don’t get the chance to go to other countries to try different cuisine, Good said, and rural areas such as Shawano County do not offer an abundance of ethnic eateries where people can sample new things.

“I’ve done Vietnamese, Moroccan, all these different countries,” Good said. “They’re not going to get the chance, unless they go to Milwaukee or Chicago, to try these dishes, and most kids are not going to waste their money on trying something different because they’re scared to.”

The Thai noodle bowl was a hit with Ben Cook, a sixth-grade student at SCMS. He tried the noodles with the curry lime coconut sauce for lunch Wednesday and enjoyed it.

Cook said he tries the special dishes whenever Good or other chefs come to school.

“The Thai noodle bowl is my favorite,” he said. “It’s just the flavor.”

While students like Cook show Good he is succeeding with his dishes, he has to work to break through the stereotypes that certain things are too hot, too sour or too exotic

Good went to the high school Tuesday with the same Thai dish, and he noted that some of the students were apprehensive about the curry sauce. There was a homemade sweet-and-sour sauce as an alternative, but Good pushed for the curry sauce.

“They think with curry that it’s going to be super spicy, and they’re not going to be able to taste anything. That’s not the case,” Good said.

While the Thai dish was fun to prepare, Good’s favorite meal for the current school year is the Israeli turkey shawarma he prepared in January for students. The dish is prepared with turkey and a variety of vegetables on flatbread with a mayo honey sauce that contains sweet yellow curry.

“It’s roasted turkey that I shred up by hand. I cook it until you can’t even pick it up. It’s basically falling apart,” Good said. “The kids think it’s chicken or tuna, and I’m like, ‘No, it’s roasted turkey that I cooked for four hours and shredded it all.’”

Most of Good’s meals are prepared for the middle and high schools, although he travels to the elementary schools to teach them about various fruits.

Two main factors keeping dishes such as the Thai noodles and the shawarma from becoming a regular part of Shawano school menus are the expense of the ingredients and the time it takes to prepare them. Limited staff time, combined with Taher’s efforts to keep food costs down, are what make the roving chef program so vital, Good said.

“I’m using a lot more spices, and some of it is more technically challenging than a regular school meal would be,” he said.

Good has been involved with restaurants in one form or fashion since he was 12 years old. He spent a year in formal training at the Culinary Institute of America, but decided to leave after he spent more time helping the students with skills he already had.

“For me with food, I think it allows me to take care of others,” Good said. “I enjoy seeing people eat what I’ve made or created and be happy from that experience. I’ve always been that way. It’s not about what I’m going to get in return.”

Good has been coming to Shawano schools for two years now, and he is starting to develop a rapport with students. He said some students who normally bring their lunch to school will pay for lunch on the days he is there just to try what he prepares.

In the end, Good knows he’s not going to convert all the students, but those who do take the plunge always bring a smile to his face.

“You’re not going to hurt my feelings if you don’t try it. I’m just happy when you do try something different that you’ve never had,” Good said.

St. James Lutheran School

Gabi Bukoski and Ananya Wilson participated in a lap challenge to raise money for a fellow swim family in need. Gabi’s goal was to swim 50 lengths; she ended up swimming 124 in a little over an hour. That’s equal to 31 football fields. Ananya’s goal was not available, but she swam 88 lengths, which is equal to 22 football fields. The club is so proud of these girls and all the swimmers for going past their goals and opening their hearts for their fellow swim family. So far, the club has received $1,740. The kids all received a round of applause when they exited the pool and a heart-warming thank you from the family.

The St. James Lutheran School Spirit Squad won first place at the annual Big Six Cheerleading Competition at N.E.W. Lutheran High School on Feb. 14. The Spirit Squad competed against four other schools – Pilgrim, St. Martin, St. Paul, Sacred Heart – to take home the win. The team also received the Spirit Award for its overall performance during the season. Go, Saders!

Sacred Heart Catholic School

Our boys B team took first place in the tournament last weekend at Trinity in Green Bay. Members of the team are David Corn, Joe Mente, Paul Meisner, Demetrius Kaquatosh, Henry Smith, Wolfgang Stueck, Lelo Garcia, Jonah Zuiches and RJ Waukau, and coaches are Ron Waukau and Pete Smith. Our boys A team took fourth place. Congratulations to all of our teams on a great season!

Our parish will offer Stations of the Cross at 6 p.m. each Tuesday of Lent. The students will participate in Living Stations at 2 p.m. March 26. All are welcome.

Please contact the school office to set up your private tour by calling 715-526-5328 or e-mailing our admissions director, Carolyn Reuter, at creuter@sacredheartshawano.org.

VIRTUS Safe Environment Training will be presented at 6 p.m. Monday in the Kersten Conference Room at the Parish Center. Please register at www.virtus.org. Access code is gbdioc04. We recommend that at least one person per school family be VIRTUS trained to participate in volunteer opportunities and chaperone field trips.

The student council representatives worked with all the students and staff to collect food items during Catholic Schools Week. All the donations will stay here for families in need of assistance in the Shawano community. Thank you to all who donated.

Enrollment is open for the 2015-2016 school year for grades 3K-8. We are also offering an extended day option to our 3K students on Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons.

Forty-eight students from four area schools competed for scholarships Wednesday in a Business Challenge hosted by Junior Achievement of the Wolf River District at Shawano City Hall.

The Bonduel High School team of Austin Siolka, Isaiah Griesbach and Caleb Basten came out on top, and each student received a $500 scholarship.

“It feels pretty good,” Basten said. “I wasn’t expecting to win.”

Three Shawano Community High School students — Cole Huntington, Dalton Parson and Cole Rueter — received free tuition, valued at $500, at a business entrepreneur camp to be held in June for finishing second.

Students from Gresham Community School and College of Menominee Nation also participated.

The 16 teams utilized JA Titan, an online business simulator.

“It is global business competition program for high school students,” Schwartz said.

JA Titan creates a world, set in the year 2035, in which players are CEOs of their own companies. During game play, students must run a manufacturing company and master six key business decisions: price of product, production levels, marketing expenses, research and development costs, capital investment level, and charitable giving.

The success of each team is measured by a performance index, an evaluation of each fictional company based on retained earnings (50 percent), supply and demand potential (20 percent), productivity (10 percent), market share (10 percent) and growth (10 percent). The team with the highest company performance index wins.

Basten said he and his teammates focused a lot on setting the best price for their product.

“Our big job was making sure our prices matched with what was right,” Basten said.

Students were given a mentor from the local business community to help them through the process.

Adam Gafner, of Associated Investment Servies Inc., of Shawano, mentored the winning team. Eddie Sheppard, assistant city administrator and public works coordinator for the city of Shawano, mentored the second-place team.

Samuel Sykes, assistant manager of Walmart in Shawano, mentored three Bonduel students: Joey Lazzara, James Watry and Dylan Mueller.

Sykes said he was impressed with the students’ business decisions.

“The interesting thing was getting all three students together and engaged on a common goal,” he said. “They dealt a lot with the profits and dealt with the market share and how they can tie it together.”

The team also contributed some of its profits to charities.

“They were giving a percentage of their profits as charitable contributions to charities, and I let them know how important that was to any business and any company,” he said.

Sykes said he was happy to be selected as a mentor by the local JA board of directors.

“It is a great opportunity and I am honored that I was chosen,” he said. “It brings back memories of when you had a mentor in your life, and how you can share that learning experience with other kids.”

The entrepreneur camp that the three Shawano students will attend will be a first for the Wolf River District, which includes Shawano and Menominee counties and reaches 2,870 students in 149 classrooms.

“It is for college scholarships and camp scholarships,” district director Sue Schwartz said. “It has never been done before. It’s a pilot this year, so this is the first time we are giving this away.”

Hillcrest Primary School music teacher Craig Pynenberg was impressed with the turnout and participation at the school’s first annual Music Around the World concert Thursday night.

The event, which was presented with the annual Showcase of Colors and Cultural Fair, drew more than 400 community members and nearly 140 students. Attendance was optional for the students.

“I was expecting about 50, so when I found out a couple of days ago that it was 140, I was blown away by it,” Pynenberg said.

The concert performed by students in kindergarten through second grade featured music of the Menominee, Spanish and African cultures.

Principal Troy Edwards, who sprung into action by providing more chairs for the standing-room-only crowd, said the concert was a nice addition.

“We even had better attendance than what we were hoping by adding the concert, so we were grabbing some extra chairs, and it was wonderful to see all of the parents and grandparents and community members attending the concert,” Edwards said.

The annual event also gave family members an opportunity to view student artwork and support the book fair sponsored by the Parent-Teacher Association.

Art teacher Reba Pozorski, said she was pleased with the turnout, saying it was the highest she has seen in her five years as an instructor at the school.

Edwards said the event accomplished its goal.

“Any time we can get the kids and everybody else learning about different cultures and the diversity, that is what it is all about,” Edwards said. “It is a nice opportunity for parents to come in and enjoy the art, the concert and the book fair.”

Pynenberg commended the students and parents for making the optional concert a success.

“The kids performed very well and I hope that we captured the essence of culture and let the families think and see other cultures,” Pynenberg said. “I am very pleased with the parental involvement, they got all the kids here, and without them the night would not have been possible.”

Sacred Heart Catholic School

While discussing Lent and the things we can do to help others, the children in Corrine Salerno’s 3K/4K class decided they would like to share some food with those who are in need. When asked what their favorite food is, the answers included chili, macaroni and cheese, and pizza. During a recent food drive, the 3K/4K students won the prize of a pizza party for donating the most food items. The children determined that they would like to donate their pizza meal so that the families at Safe Haven could have something special to eat. We are so proud of our young students for thinking of others. We should each ask, what can I do for others during this special time of Lent?

We received a post card from Ellen Ramlet who went to school here and now lives in Ohio but is spending the winter in Texas (smart lady). She read about our walking program in The Shawano Leader. Ellen is excited to hear about the routes the school will be traveling and to see how far our steps will take us. Keep up the good work!

The parish is taking orders for Seroogy’s Easter chocolates and signature coffees. If you would like to order some delicious treats for Easter and help our school/parish, please contact the school office by March 16.

Please reserve the date for our Spring Showcase, which will be May 14 and will feature art, music, science and a theatrical performance.

Our parish will offer Stations of the Cross at 6:30 p.m. each Tuesday of Lent. The students will be participating in Living Stations at 2 p.m. March 26. All are welcome.

Space is filling up in our new 3K program. We are offering 3K Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings, with an extended care option for the afternoons. We are excited to see families with little ones who are interested in being a part of our school community for the 2015-2016 school year. If you are interested in what our school has to offer, please contact Carolyn Reuter, our admissions director, at creuter@sacredheartshawano.org or call 715-526-5328.

Olga Brener Intermediate School

Third-grade students in Debbie DeFere’s class have been learning and reading about mysteries. The students have been busy being detectives by gathering clues, evidence and suspects to solve their book club mysteries. To add a twist to the students’ learning, Shawano Police Officer Jody Johnson visited the classroom and discussed her role as an investigator and showed the students the tools used in helping her solve investigations.

Students in Bethany Kwiatkowski’s class are getting ready to go on a field trip. The students have been working hard making shirts they will wear to the circus.

Upcoming: March 12, KAT Quiz; March 13, half day; March 24, Showcase of Brener Students; March 25, Grandfriends Breakfast; March 30-April 3, spring break.

Gresham Community School

On Feb. 26, the kindergarten to fifth-graders did Jump Rope for Heart all day! We also had ACT boot camp from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. We also had an FFA assembly in the gym. Allyssa (Huck) Verstoppen told how FFA played a role in her success and helped her become the woman she is today.

On Friday, the juniors had to complete the non-test portion of the ACT. In the afternoon there was a pep assembly for our basketball teams.

On Monday, it was pajama day to celebrate Dr. Seuss’ birthday.

On Tuesday, all juniors took the ACT. Also on Tuesday, Jimbo the clown came to promote the elementary school trip to the circus Friday.

There is softball open gym Saturday starting at 11 a.m.

On Feb. 18, both Gresham Quiz Bowl teams lost to Shiocton. The B team lost 197-70, and A team had a close match, losing 91-78. On Feb. 19, the B team defeated Tigerton 120-36, while the A team lost another close one, 99-85.

Congratulations to Tatelyn Ferguson, Alyssa Roe, Arthur Boucher, Kalisa Jones, Tom Seidler and Meckenzie Roe on qualifying for state with their solo ensemble performances. Good job to all those who attended.

On Feb. 23, Tatelyn Ferguson, Shyann Moreno, Erika Jonsson and Marisa Jensen qualified to advance to the district forensics competition, which will be held March 28 in Marinette. Marley Tejeda and Alison Reyes also participated. All the students did well.

St. James Lutheran School

The sixth-grade earth science class is completing its study of volcanoes. During the unit the students had to build a model volcano that could erupt. There were many concoctions and mixtures thought up to demonstrate a volcanic eruption, including fire extinguishers, “elephant toothpaste,” Mentos and Coke, and baking soda with vinegar. One student built a wide and gently sloping shield volcano like the ones in Hawaii. The students had a great time presenting their projects to their classmates and spending a day outside watching the eruptions.

Sacred Heart Catholic School

Our top walker of February was second-grade student Destiny Webster. Other top walkers by grade were Dacey Webster, 4K; McKenna Yeager, K; Alexia LaTender, 1; Maddie Krueger, 3; McKenzie Kaquatosh, 4; Dakota Miller, 5; Paul Meisner, 6; Lelo Garcia, 7; Erika Oreskovich, 8. Congratulations to all of our top walkers!

Our boys A team took third place in the Tournament of Celebration held at Sacred Heart Catholic School last weekend. Congratulations, A team (with a little help from some B team players). Thank you to Scott Marohl for all of the time and dedication to our athletic program this school year. Thank you to all the parents who were committed to making our athletic program a success. Thank you to Randy Panzer as athletic director and all of the coaches for a job well done.

Our Winter Walk to School Day is Wednesday. Safe Routes to School provided prizes, which include hats, gloves, headbands and Subway gift cards. Each person who walked laps will have his or her name entered in a drawing. Parents and staff were invited to participate, too!

The Cat in the Hat was our guest walker Tuesday.

Please sign the registry in the school office if you would be interested in participating in a communitywide talent show from 5:30-8 p.m. April 29 at Sacred Heart. The talent show is in the early stages of organization, and we want to check the level of interest before proceeding. The talent show is not a competition and would give participants of all ages an opportunity to showcase an individual or group talent. If there is enough interest to proceed, registration forms will be available shortly.

Gresham School

Gresham School was busy last week. On Thursday, the elementary students had their drama performance. On Friday, the first- and second-grade classes took a trip to the circus while the rest of the school had a half day.

Monday was a very eventful day as the Pennies for Patients campaign began, encouraging the students to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Also, the K-1 grades traveled to the Weidner Center and the children’s museum in Green Bay, the senior boys had dinner at the Woodland and practice began for our combined Gresham/Bowler high school track teams.

On Tuesday night, families came out to enjoy a visit from the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers mascot, Fang, and played games.

On Wednesday, there is a Quiz Bowl meet at Marion, as well as a performance of the play “Honk” by the high school drama club. There will be showings at 7 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Admission is $5 per person. Ages 10 and under get in for free.

Olga Brener Intermediate School

On Friday, Opera for the Young will be coming to Olga Brener. The performance will be at 9:30 a.m. and will showcase 16 of our students. What a wonderful opportunity for these students to sing with professional opera singers. This was made possible through grants obtained from the Community Foundation of the Fox Valley Region, Shawano Area Retired Teachers Association and Shawano Schools Grants for Excellence.

The Hawk Trait for the month of February was trustworthy. The following students were chosen by their teachers as the Hawk Award recipient for their class for demonstrating the trait of trustworthy: Lance Wendorff, Maddigan Bakeberg, Christian Norman, Sormie Pyatskowit, Alex Montour, Jermaine Perez, Neveah Selle, Kylaya Schwitzer, Ava Bendtschneider, Tyler Evans, Braden Teetzen, Kasmira DuChesne, Owen Curran, Madeline Heling, Aidan Preston, Shawn Tourtillott, Ania Hoffman, Aubrey Christian, Brady Anderson, Brieanna Luebeck, Dominic Helder, Riley Dreier, Nathan Ahlers, Aliegha Prokash, Isaac Hill, Kylie Bellingrath, Emerson Prey, Courtney Drengler, Sophie Guetschow, Josh Tomashek, Walker Theis, Kaylee Rindt, Jaden Lobermier, Emma Nunway, Gage Gorman, Hannah Hutchcraft, Elise Pyatskowit and Sam Edwards. Keep up the good work!

Upcoming: Opera for the Young, Friday; half day, Friday; Brener Showcase of Students, March 24; Grandfriends Breakfast, March 25; Spring Break, March 30-April 3.

Bonduel Elementary School

Bonduel Elementary first- through fifth-graders participated in the Jump Rope for Heart program the week of Feb. 9 in their gym classes. We used long jump ropes one day and short jump ropes the next day. The younger students learned how to twirl the long rope, and a lot of the older students learned how to get into the middle while the rope was twirling. They all discovered that jumping rope is great exercise!

We had 50 students collect donations for the American Heart Association this year, which was even more than participated last year in this community service project. The students collected $1,746! The top fundraisers were Evan Wilcox, a second-grader, and Joshua Zak, a fourth-grader. Thank you to all the students who went out and collected donations for the American Heart Association to benefit their research and educational programs.

We appreciate everyone who supported all of the students who collected donations for the American Heart Association.

Students at Olga Brener Intermediate School returned from the gymnasium to their classrooms Friday with a song in their hearts — or at least a song in their heads.

The entire student body and about 40 parents and grandparents were treated to a performance of “Beauty and the Beast” by Opera for the Young, based in Madison. The performance was sponsored by grants from the Shawano School District Grants for Excellence, Shawano Area Retired Teachers Association and the Community Foundation of the Fox Valley.

Some of the students had questions related to the version of “Beauty and the Beast” that Opera for the Young performed. They questioned why Beauty was wearing a blue dress rather than the yellow one she was in for much of the Walt Disney film from 1991, and why she was called Beauty instead of Belle like the Disney counterpart.

They also had a number of questions about how the performers could hold a note so long without pausing for a breath, and how long the group had been preparing for the show.

Fifteen students joined the opera troupe for the performance, playing birds and pieces of fruit. Olga Brener music teacher Lynn Johnson worked with the students once a week since early February on the music, but the students only had 35 minutes with Opera for the Young cast members to learn the choreography.

“They did great,” said Meg Stoltz, who played the fruit basket Tooty Fruity for the show. “They had very specific questions, and we were like, ‘Wow! You know this show really well. Now relax a little. It’s OK; we’re with you.

“It’s amazing. We get to bring something to these kids that just absolutely overwhelms them. They are the best audience to perform for. They’re so enthusiastic.”

Olga Brener’s fourth-grade music classes have a unit in opera. After Opera for the Young came to Olga Brener for a show in 2011, Johnson was eager to bring the troupe back, and she applied for grants to cover the cost.

“Having an opportunity for (the students) to see a live opera production with professional opera singers, it’s something they really needed to see,” Johnson said.

Getting the 15 students who performed to understand the music and to sing in operatic style was quite easy, she added.

“The cool thing about the Brener kids is they’re really receptive to all kinds of music because we talk about all different kinds in class,” Johnson said. “We’ve talked about opera in class … and that was very helpful for them. They were used to it already.”

Besides opera, Johnson provides access to other musical and artistic forms. For example, the third grade learns about ballet by studying “The Nutcracker.”

Johnson said it’s important to give students exposure to all different styles to give them a better understanding of how music works.

“I think it’s important because with our area having not as much access to different art forms, there’s much more out there than what they hear on the radio,” Johnson said. “Surprisingly, a lot of students latch onto it and really enjoy it.”

While most performances are a chance to expose children to the arts, Friday morning’s performance was a coming home of sorts for Steve Radke, the troupe’s pianist. He grew up in Shawano, living near Olga Brener.

“It’s really special. It’s full circle,” Radke said. “I was really grateful to have a musical community to grow up in and bring it back in a small way.”

Opera for the Young does 10 performances a week— made possible, according to Stoltz, by a copious amount of coffee.