SRRMS Students Unite for Fellow Student Alex Landwehr

May 1st, 2012

Students at SRRMS knew they could do something to help Alex Landwehr, a fellow eighth grade student, who has been battling Hodgkin’s Lymphoma since May of 2009.  To help raise money, they designed a custom T-shirt that they plan to sell, with all proceeds going to support Alex and his family.  Order forms will be sent home with students soon. For more information on ordering please click here.

The Landwehr’s have been faced with many ups ad downs over the last three years. You can show your support and give them something wonderful to celebrate! A benefit will be held at Mississippi Heights Elementary School, 1003 Fourth Street South, Sauk Rapids, on Sunday, May 20. The event will be held from 8:30am – 1:00pm. A pancake breakfast, carnival games, and a silent auction will be a part of the event.

An account has also been set up for Alex R. Landwehr (Medical Expense Account) at any Wells Fargo Branch.

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Battle of the Books Champions

April 26th, 2012

The School Board recognized Battle of the Books building champions from Rice on March 26, 2012 for their accomplishments.  Students had their pictures taken with Rice Principal Nate Rudolph, Superintendent Daniel Bittman, School Board Chair Lisa J. Braun and District Differentiation and Enrichment Coach Amy Burski.

Third grade champions
Front row, L to R: Rebekeh Kimman, daughter of Duane and Michelle, Mrs. Louden’s 3rd grade class and Allyson Carstensen-Boe, daughter of Robert and Brenda, Mrs. Louden’s 3rd grade class.

Not pictured: Nicholas Chantry, son of Todd and Amy, Mrs. Louden’s 3rd grade class.

Fourth grade champions
Front row, L to R: Emry Godwin, daughter of David and Melissa, Mrs. Hennes’ 4th grade class; Ally O’Brien, daughter of Keith and Kristi, Mrs. Hennes’ 4th grade class; and Ashlynn Strandberg, daughter of Brian and Alicia, Mrs. Hennes’ 4th grade class.

Fifth grade champions
Front row, L to R: Emily Roberts, daughter of Heather, Mr. Dargis’ 5th grade class; and Staci Meyer, daughter of Joe and Amy, Mr. Dargis’ 5th grade class.

Not pictured: Kendal Ganz, daughter of Thomas and Joann, Mr. Dargis’ 5th grade class.

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8th Graders Celebrate 10th Annual Pi Day

April 26th, 2012

8th graders at SRRMS celebrated Pi Day in grand style again this year. March 14th is known as Pi Day since π is approximately equal to 3.14 and March 14th is 3/14. As part of the celebration, 8th graders entered one of five Pi Day contests:  a 2-dimensional artwork contest, a 3-dimensional artwork contest, a story/poem contest, a song/rap contest, and a Pi digits memorization contest.

The artwork contests had the greatest number of participants. Students in these contests designed some form of artwork that had to include the π symbol or digits of Pi. The story/poem contest was very difficult. Students wrote poems or stories in which the number of letters in the words had to follow the digits of π. The first word had to have 3 letters, the second word had to have 1 letter, the third word had to have 4 letters, etc. The song/rap contest was really a fun one to watch and listen to! Students in this contest wrote & performed songs or raps about Pi. The last competition that we had was the Pi digit memorization contest. Students memorized and then recited as many digits of Pi as they could. If any mistakes were made it resulted in a loss of three points for every digit missed. Mason Hertz wrote out 403 digits of Pi without any mistakes.  This broke our previous school record of 320 digits set by Ashley Kaufman in 2004.  Amazing!

Pictured in the photo above:

L to R: Lindsey Montag (2D art), Megan Ackerman (Pi poem/story), Mason Hertz (Pi digit memorization), Britney Munson (3D art) and Staci Smith & Hannah Henderson (Pi song/rap)

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Rice Students Recognized for FERMI Math

April 26th, 2012

At the March 26, 2012 School Board meeting, Board members recognized students from Rice for their participation and academic excellence in the FERMI Math program. One of the challenges they solved was: “How many theoretical crows can be packed into a straw bale? How many bales of crows would level-fit in the back of a standard pickup truck?”

Pictured in the photo above:
Front row, L to R: Renae Robarge, daughter of Rick and Bonnie, Mrs. Hennes’ 4th grade class; Nikita Presler, daughter of Kent and Therese, Mrs. Hennes’ 4th grade class; and Talina Nunez, daughter of Timoteo and Amanda, Mrs. Louden’s 3rd grade class.

Back Row, L to R: Rice Principal Nate Rudolph, School Board Chair Lisa J. Braun, Superintendent Daniel Bittman, and District Differentiation and Enrichment Coach Amy Burski.

Not Pictured: Nicholas Chantry, son of Todd and Amy, Mrs. Louden’s 3rd grade class.

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Word Masters of Rice Honored by School Board

April 26th, 2012

At the March 26, 2012 School Board meeting, Board members recognized students from Rice for their participation and academic excellence in the Word Masters program. Word Masters is a national competition for students in grades 3-8 that encourages growth in vocabulary and verbal reasoning by helping students learn to think both analytically and metaphorically. For information about this program, visit www.wordmasterschallenge.com

Pictured in the photo above:  
Front row, L to R: Logan Hackett, son of Shawn and Judy, Mrs. Hennes’ 5th grade class and Alexandra Freihammer, granddaughter of Tom and Veronica, Mrs. Vadnais’ 3rd grade class.

Back row, L to R: Rice Principal Nate Rudolph, Superintendent Daniel Bittman, School Board Chair Lisa J. Braun and District Differentiation and Enrichment Coach Amy Burski.

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SRRHS Students Advance to International DECA Competition in Salt Lake City

April 20th, 2012

After winning top honors at the Minnesota DECA Conference, twelve members of the SRRHS DECA Program have earned the right to attend the DECA International Career Development Conference that will be held in Salt Lake City, Utah, on April 28 – May 2.

Senior DECA members attending are Cori Becker, Jordan Carlson, Andrew Abraham, Devin Amberg, Kari Meyer, Becky Templin, Nate Krepp, and Carissa Gaffy-Sanford.  Junior members are Ellie Henkemeyer, Lindsay Massman, Rachel Paulsen and Miranda Wurdelman.

Congratulations to all DECA members who advanced to international competition and good luck in Salt Lake City!

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Hats Off! to Sauk Rapids-Rice Volunteers

April 16th, 2012

We appreciate the countless hours that our volunteers have spent in classrooms this year. Your remarkable dedication to Sauk Rapids-Rice students is deeply appreciated and we recognize your efforts. You have made a difference in the lives of our students. During National Volunteer Week, we especially want to send our thanks.

National Volunteer Week is about inspiring, recognizing and encouraging people to seek out imaginative ways to engage in their communities. It’s about demonstrating to the nation that by working together, in unison, we have the fortitude to meet our challenges and accomplish our goals.

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Culinary Teams Receive Top Honors

April 16th, 2012

Teams from Elk River and Sauk Rapids-Rice high schools took first place honors in the culinary competition and management competition, respectively, at the sixth annual HMEF Sysco ProStart Invitational, sponsored by the Hospitality Minnesota Education Foundation and Sysco Minnesota.

The event, held March 1 in St. Paul, showcased the cooking talents and business skills of high school students enrolled in the ProStart program at their schools.

Culinary Competition
Each of the competing culinary teams had one hour to prepare a three-course meal using two butane burners. They were judged on teamwork, sanitation, menu presentation and taste, as well as knife skills.

Placing second in the culinary competition was Sauk Rapids-Rice’s Team #1, which includes students Joel Bungert, Desirae Menden and Candyce Thompson, coached by Mary Levinksi, FACS teacher. Lexi Johnson from Sauk Rapids-Rice received honors for individual knife skills during the culinary competition.

Management Competition
Teams in the management competition developed a proposal for an original restaurant concept based on guidelines specified by ProStart. Students shared written and oral presentations with judges, as well as a visual display on their concept’s menu, décor, price structure, marketing plan and other considerations.

The first place team from Sauk Rapids-Rice High School developed a concept for “City Scape,” a fine dining downtown destination restaurant. Team members include Lexi Johnson, Desirae Menden, Candyce Thompson and Beth Zwilling, also coached by Mary Levinski, FACS teacher.

This marks the fifth year in a row the school has taken top management honors.

Judges
Serving as judges for the two competitions were nearly two dozen highly respected chefs, restaurateurs and culinary instructors, including Tim McKee from La Belle Vie, Michael Autenrieth from The Art Institutes International Minnesota, Jamie Malone from Sea Change, Tim Murray from Murray’s Restaurant, Todd Bolton from Parasole Restaurant Holdings and Tom Kavanaugh from Kavanaugh’s Sylvan Lake Resort.

For more information on the ProStart program, visit www.prostart.restaurant.org.

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History Day Competition Produces Results

April 16th, 2012

On Saturday, March 17th, dedicated and industrious students from Sauk Rapids-Rice Middle School participated in the Central Region History Day Competition with a total of eight entries. Congratulations to 6th grader, Olivia Krepp (The New York City Draft Riots Lead to Reform), and 8th graders Adrienne Bagley, Quinten Heder, Kristen Petron (Florence Nightingale), and Sophee Schwanberg and Shaelynn Waseka (Love Canal) for qualifying for the State History Day Competition at the University of Minnesota on Sunday, April 29th.

Compliments should also be extended Quinlen Marshall (Free Agency: A Revolution in Baseball) for receiving an Honorable Mention. All of the students who participated in the event are to be commended for their hard work and high quality projects. Projects are judged based on the quality of historical research, analysis, and connection to the theme: Revolution, Reaction, and Reform in History.

Pictured in the photo above:
Front row: Sophee Schwanberg, Shaelynn Waseka, Kristen Petron, Adrienne Bagley, Olivia Krepp.
Back row: Megan Ackerman, Morgan Tetzloff, Sydney Bitz, Gabrielle Otremba, Nicole Bukowski, Quinlen Marshall, David Hoeschen, Mason Hertz.

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SRRHS Marimba Choir Performs at “Day of Percussion”

April 16th, 2012

The SRRHS Marimba Choir performed at Concordia College in Moorhead for their annual Day of Percussion.  This performance was a part of a daylong series of featured clinics, performances and demonstrations.  The marimba choir is comprised of advanced music students who enjoy performing music on mallet instruments.

The Marimba Choir, along with humorous speech, vocal and instrumental ensembles, Winter Drumline, Winter Color Guard, Chamber Choir and Wind Ensemble will perform at the High School Fine Arts “Prism Concert” on Monday, April 23 at 7:00 p.m. at the SRRHS Performing Arts Center. There is no admission. Everyone is welcome to attend this 60-minute continuous performance as students share their talents.

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