2017 MWHS Prom -- A Class Act!

Today's post is from MWHS Assistant Principal Marty Fischer

This past Saturday, MWHS Student Senate put on another incredible prom. The festivities started with the Grand March in the MWHS Gymnasium with dinner and dance at Lafayette Club immediately following. In my 20+ years of supervising prom, I have not been more proud of our students than I was on this particular Saturday.

Why? Simply put: Our students are always so respectful of the people and property around them. It was so refreshing to hear one of the Lafayette Club staff members say to another, “I can’t believe how many students are saying thank you!” What is so nice about that is they get to see what I see all the time in and out of school. Our students shine in some of the most respectful ways.

But what made the 2017 Prom even more special was the desire of our seniors to include two students with special needs on the Prom Court. I had the chance to talk to Nate Ogreen and Sienna Hackbarth after they were announced for Court. They were ecstatic! And so humble. Nate wanted to make sure everyone around him knew how grateful he was that his own classmates voted him to be on Prom Court. They both accepted this honor with grace and humility.

What they didn’t know was that the juniors and seniors were then planning to vote them in as King and Queen! They would have never predicted something like that. They were so honored to simply be named a Court member. I will never forget the moment. The ladies opened their reveal cards first and Sienna had won! All of the ladies surrounded her and gave the most emotional group hug that I have ever seen at a Grand March. The gentlemen opened their cards next to reveal Nate had also won! The look on Nate’s face was one of sheer disbelief combined with utter joy. Priceless.

WCCO heard of this possible story and came out to catch the moment on film. And I am so glad they did. The close-up of Nate’s face, followed by his and Sienna’s comments to the reporter were moments that would cause any eye to be filled with emotion. As a parent of a special needs child myself, I felt the emotion of two students, their parents, and the staff who work with them personally. And then my attention quickly turned to the students who saw their abilities, and not their disabilities, as they rallied to have them be THEIR King and Queen.

When I list my “most proud” moments as an Assistant Principal, the 2017 Prom will be right there at the top with the best of them! Way to go, students. You got it right!

Sienna & Nate

(If you want to see the WCCO story, please check it out here.)

WCCO coverage

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Living the DECA Dream

Today's post is from senior Tiffany Nguyen

DECA... where do I even begin to talk about this club that has brought so much joy, creativity, and confidence in myself. DECA is a business club that teaches students to be professional and prepares them for the business world through role playing and written projects.

Let’s rewind back to ninth grade... I was a shy, and awkward person who was afraid to raise her hand in class. I joined DECA because I kept hearing about how much fun it was. I didn’t really know what I was doing, so I stayed after school a lot and asked the advisors for help. I’m pretty sure they were sick of me by the second week of DECA. I made it to state my first year and I thought it was beyond cool how thousands of kids came together to compete in events that they were passionate in. I remember distinctly having so much pride whenever Westonka DECA was called on stage. After my first year, I was hooked.

Moving on to tenth grade... I was gaining more confidence in my speaking abilities and decided to take a risk. Because what is life without a risk? I ran to be an officer for DECA and was elected. After my speech, my brother and his friends stood on chairs and gave me standing ovations. I felt on top of the world. Being an officer was an amazing experience for me. I got to work behind the scenes and help fellow students with their projects as well as offer my own insight on creative aspects. That year, I worked on my first chapter project. In DECA, a chapter project is a yearlong endeavor that involves the entire chapter in promoting an idea or event. I did a creative marketing project on Westonka Tech Interns (WTI). With partners Taran Besant and Sheridan Nygard, we earn third place at state! I have had successes in the past, but this one mattered the most in my life so far because it showed me how far my hard work and dedication could get me.

In my junior year of DECA I felt so confident going into that year. My partners and I decided to do a project on The Truth, which aimed to end smoking in teens. This project hit close to home for me because my dad used to smoke. At state I was very shocked when a project that that I put so much time and energy in didn’t make it. It just reminded me that sometimes really great projects don’t make it. However, I still worked really hard on a Fashion Merchandising Promotional Plan on a company called Great Lakes Clothing Co.. I fell in love with the brand and its values. I was able to make it to internationals for the second time

Senior year definitely stands above the rest in terms of my memorable experiences. I was selected the president of the chapter. I greatly enjoyed helping younger students with their projects, because they reminded me of myself. This year, I did a project on Because I Said I Would, which aims to make sure that people keep their promises. Sheridan Nygard, Zach Riffle, and I worked all year to explain Alex Sheen (the founder’s) vision of the movement. Since we consistently reached out to him on social media, we were able to actually bring him to our school which was a dream come true. This project will always hold a special place in my heart because we spent so much time creating opportunities for students and staff to become involved. But having Alex actually come to explain his movement impacted the school in a such positive way and will be a day that I will never forget.

I can’t thank all of the advisor and fellow community members enough for the support I have received throughout the years. Joining DECA was the best decision of my high school career. It gave me a place to call home. Thank you for letting me be your president, it has been an honor of a lifetime.

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Westonka always asks, "What's best for kids?"

Today's post is from Mark Femrite, Assistant Superintendent for Teaching & Learning

As I start to plan for the 17-18 school year, I am reminded about what a special place the Westonka Public Schools is for students, their families and staff.

Over the past 10 years our teachers have implemented new instructional strategies, embraced technology and have developed new ways to meet the individual learning needs of all of our students. It has been quite remarkable the work that has been accomplished on these fronts. The process to innovate has always been the same . . . starting with answering the question, “What’s best for kids?”, then doing our research, piloting and figuring out how best to implement.

This process has served the district well. In the last 10 years, we have implemented the following:

• The PLC (Professional Learning Communities) School Improvement Model 
• EDGE21 Technology Plan and K-12 1:1 technology device program 
• Westonka Tech Intern course at MWHS where students have the opportunity to become certified Dell Chromebook repair technicians 
• A state grant to provide effective intervention programs for students needing academic support 
• A new elementary literacy program that focuses on individual needs of students 
• Incorporation of 21st century skills (critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration, communication and creativity) into student learning 
• Personalized Learning strategies to deepen student engagement and learning 
• Implementation of a K-12 engineering program that includes elementary units on engineering, STEM (Stem, Technology Engineering and Mathematics) classes at the middle school and a certified engineering program at the high school leading to college credit 
• The development of an Integrated STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics) high school Physics course 
• K-12 Phyed implementation of the Heart Zone Fitness Program that has been a game-changer to make physical education more relevant and meaningful to students 
• The hiring of talented teachers to guide our efforts and support teachers with the implementation of technology and personalized learning strategies 
• The continued tradition of strong music, theater and art programs across our schools 

All of these innovations started with an idea, a can-do attitude, a supportive school board and a staff willing to step up to the plate to make it happen. Affirming our work have been numerous awards for our schools from outside organizations calling out the exceptional education provided to our students, best-in-state standardized test scores and school districts visiting our schools and engaging in discussions with our staff about our programming and approaches to learning. The greatest compliment was paid when the Minnesota Commission of Education, Brenda Cassellius paid a visit to our school district on Friday, April 21st to learn about approaches to learning and programs for students.

I am excited about what the future holds for Westonka. As I shared at the beginning, the Westonka Public Schools is a special place for students, their families and staff. It is an honor to be a part of this team.

MN Education Commissioner Cassellius visiting with students from the MWHS Integrated Physics Class

MN Education Commissioner Cassellius visiting with Westonka first graders

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Field of Dreams Experience for MWHS White Hawk Baseball

Today's post is from senior captain Hunter Ellis

As my time as a Mound Westonka baseball player winds down, I have begun to reflect upon my fondest baseball experiences. In my three years on the varsity team I’ve collected memories that I will cherish for the rest of my life. These memories include the privilege of playing the greatest game on earth in the beautiful, yet unpredictable Minnesota spring. Another cherished memory has been the friendships built by the sport. Colorful conversation between teammates constantly echoes throughout the bus rides and in the dugout. Perhaps the most recent memory that I have is playing Wright County Conference opponent Rockford at the newly opened U.S Bank Stadium.

There is a certain buzz that surrounds our team whenever we have a great opportunity ahead of us. Whether it’s the anticipation to see which team we will face in an upcoming section playoff game, or the childlike giddiness that fuels our passion before a crucial inning, our team has passion. That passion was amplified as the entire team was ecstatic for the chance to play at the massive downtown sports cathedral on Wednesday. Each and every one of us made sure that our uniforms were extra clean, and that our cleats had an extra shine the night before. Each and every one of us carried excitement, and had an extra hop in our step throughout the afternoon and into the late evening.

The game couldn’t have gone much better for the White Hawks. A 14-1 win in five rapid innings. The victory was a complete team effort. The pitching was nearly perfect. The offense knocked the ball throughout the park causing echoes of bat-to-ball contact to ring throughout the massive stadium. In a game that exceeded our expectations of success, the win is not what I will take away from that humid April night in Minneapolis.

What I will take away from my experience of playing at U.S Bank Stadium is the thrill that I saw in my peers. It wasn’t necessary for the stadium employees to turn on the overhead stadium lights, because the smiles coming from the White Hawk bench were enough to light up the stadium in it’s entirety. Baseball is, has, and always will be a kids’ game. For one final time for many of the White Hawks, we were kids again. With the overwhelming cloud of the adult world hanging ahead of the seniors on the team, it was an incredible escape into the exuberant realm of childhood dreams once more. We escaped into our own Field of Dreams, and dipped ourselves into the magic waters of happiness.

Playing at U.S Bank Stadium is an experience that I will cherish for the rest of my life. It’s moments such as this in our lives that we relish in, and that will be a conversation piece for quite some time to come. There is no other group of peers that I would rather have experienced this opportunity with, as we truly came together as a team, and sank in the magnitude of our experience. I feel that the team pride is at an all time high, and that we will continue to give it our all, not for ourselves, but for the team, for the remainder of the season.

2017 MWHS Boys Baseball Team at US Bank Stadium

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Pride in the MWHS Speech Team!

Today's post is from senior MWHS Speech Captain Megan Martin

It’s hard to believe my time on the Mound Westonka Speech Team has come to an end. After five years of dedication and having the privilege of being captain senior year, I could not be more proud of our team. Although we may not always have brought home the most ribbons, trophies, or medals, one of the things that has always stuck out to me is the camaraderie and dedication this team possesses.

As an eighth grader, the upperclassmen welcomed me to the team and I immediately felt like I was a part of the family; speech team has always been a place where I felt accepted and where no amount of craziness was judged. For example, I distinctly remember the sophomore boys singing “The Ultimate Showdown” (a song about superheroes) at the top of their lungs on the bus to speech meets. These same boys also used a GoPro as seniors to film their shenanigans during speech meets. I will also never forget a group of upperclassmen girls who made me feel especially welcomed in my 8th and 9th grade years; these three girls included Lily, Emma, and Claire. These girls always encouraged me and their dedication to the team still inspires me to this day.

During my freshmen year, we lost all three of our coaches. Lily, Emma, and Claire were the captains of the team this year. Since we were only able to find one coach, the captains also helped coach the kids on the team. The next year, Claire’s mom helped coach; Claire and Emma helped us meet the requirement for judges as well. Although this was not a perfect situation, these girls truly helped the speech team survive and built the backbone of our speech team today. As a captain, I looked to these girls as my role models and aspired to have the amount of dedication that these ladies have. Without their hard work and dedication, we most likely would not have a speech team today. Furthermore, the dedication of our current coaches and the hard work and energy of my teammates has helped make this season incredible.

One of the reasons I am so proud of the Mound Westonka Speech Team is because of the improvement we have shown from last year to this year. Last year, we only had thirteen kids on the speech team, many of whom were first year members. As a result, we did not have many kids breaking into finals or receiving awards. However, after members of the team recruited kids and Coach Rhys sought assistant coaches (Coach Hamilton and Coach Rausch), our size has more than doubled. Fortunately, more experienced coaches and members has allowed our team to thrive and grow. Going from zero kids breaking in Varsity Finals at Marshall, to having nine kids place at Conference, and finally having two kids break into semifinals at Sections, our team has improved tremendously throughout the season. Although we may not have brought home first place at every meet, I am so proud of the growth our team.

I am incredibly grateful to have been a part of such a dedicated and hardworking team. Although the season has come to an end, the friendships I created with fellow teammates and my coaches will allow me to keep speech team a part of my life forever. As A. A. Milne once said, “How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”

2016-17 Speech Team

Ms. Rausch and Megan

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MWHS Wind Ensemble & Concert Choir Tour visits New Orleans!

Today's post is from junior Diana Hoernemann

This past Monday, I came back from spring break and I could tell who had taken a trip to somewhere warm and sunny. However, my spring break trip was a little early this year. The week before break, I had the opportunity to travel to New Orleans as a part of Wind Ensemble. I traveled with other members of the top band and choir at MWHS. I had been down South before, but this was my first time visiting New Orleans, so I was excited.
Now, I can’t write about our trip without mentioning that we took 2 coach buses (unofficially known as the “loud” and “quiet” buses) down south with nearly 100 people. Since we drove through the night both there and back, there was little chance for a good night’s sleep on the 22 hour ride. However, we still had fun with card games, bus-wide music and attempts at homework to keep ourselves busy.

The next few days we explored New Orleans and the bayou. One highlight was going on a swamp tour. A guide took us on a boat through the swamp, and we saw wildlife such as alligators, bald eagles, and herons. We even had the chance to hold a baby alligator; something you can’t do everyday in Minnesota.

In addition to its unique wildlife, New Orleans is a city like no other. I’ve never been to a city where you can walk down the street and see numerous live bands playing and people dancing. On the first full day in the city, my small group was finishing dinner, when outside the restaurant a parade went by. They were throwing out beads and flowers to the people lining the street like a classic New Orleans parade. It was so much fun to be in such a lively city. Even when we visited the U.S Mint Museum, we danced to the music of a local band, the Pinettes. We also spent time shopping in Jackson Square and the French Market, as well as strolling through the Aquarium of the Americas.

One of my favorite parts of this trip was our riverboat cruise on the Steamboat Natchez. The steam calliope (an organ-like instrument) that played before departure was terribly out of tune, but the quality of the cajun-style dinner alone made up for it. After dinner, we roamed about the boat and took pictures as we cruised down the Mississippi. Music on the boat was provided by another live band, so the evening was full of jazz music and dancing.

As this was a music tour, I saved the best for last. Both the band and the choir performed three times each this trip. We played near Jackson square and in a master class conducted by a university professor. The coolest performance was an exchange concert with a local high school band from East Jefferson High School. Their band marches in Mardi Gra each year, and their strength was in their impressive drumline. As we got off the bus, they lined up and performed for us. In turn, they were impressed with our band and choir’s strong musical talent. It was so cool to talk with the students from the other school and to hear about how they approached music in different ways.

This trip was an amazing experience. I loved visiting a new city and experiencing the culture of the people who live there. Not only that, but we got to share our love of music, and in turn listen to the music of others. This trip opened my eyes to new things and I enjoyed every minute of it. Since this was my last tour, I’m glad I got to explore a city where music is an integral part of its culture.

Collaboration with East Jefferson High School

22 hours on the bus!

Riverboat cruise on the Steamboat Natchez

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Pride in our Wrestling Program!

Today's post is from MWHS head wrestling coach Todd Munsterteiger

I’m sitting here today, Friday, March 17, 2017, reflecting on my 21st year as the head wrestling coach at Mound Westonka High School. We had our end of the year banquet on Tuesday, so for all intents and purposes the season is over, although it never completely ends, because I am already planning and looking forward to next year. Although this is a bittersweet time of the year- I miss the intense schedule, action, being in the moment-I also appreciate the time off and enjoy planning our next journey. One thing is crystal clear as I evaluate where we are at: we have a quality program, top to bottom, and this is a direct result of a tremendous amount of work and support from our parents, athletes, coaches, administration, and community. 

The tangible results and numbers are undeniable. We have the best numbers program-wide that we have ever had, we have had a tremendous amount of success at the youth level with severals wrestlers competing well at the national level, and we had five state entrants and a section runner-up team at the varsity level. We have a booster club that raises thousands of dollars through countless hours of volunteer work, that gives our wrestlers more resources and opportunities to improve. We have a core coaching staff that has been together for 17 years and have added quality coaches as of late that have competed at the collegiate level. 

This alone would indicate the qualities of a successful program, but what sets us apart, and is most important to me, is that we are helping to raise quality men. Through the literal blood, sweat and tears that we share with our athletes in the toughest sport in the world, they are learning life lessons on a daily basis. Lessons on the value of hard work, dealing with adversity, and winning and losing with dignity and grace. I am confident that we are successful with our ultimate goal of turning boys into men that will be great sons, husbands, fathers and productive members of society.

So as I end my current reflection on the state of the program, I can rest assured that we are truly great and accomplishing our goals. I have an inner peace knowing we are making this world a better place one wrestler at a time, and has always been the case, I am proud and privileged to be the head wrestling coach at Mound Westonka High School.

2017 MWHS Wrestling Section Team 

2017 Section Place Winners

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Math students taking on a challenge for the love of learning!

Today's post is from AP Calculus teacher Lisa Paul

I am excited to write about Moody's Mega Math Challenge, an event in which five of our seniors took part: Ariel Crawford, Sean Engelhart, Adam Fish, Andrew LaFortune, and Garrett Ryan. But before I get started, let me share a bit of my background.

I am a blessed individual. I get to spend 48 minutes every single day working with talented, motivated and enthusiastic students in the math classroom, much like any math teacher in any district. But in our small and tight-knit community, I often get to observe the development of these mathematicians over the course of consecutive years. It gives me the chance to surely know my students. And yet, do I really?

Attending any extracurricular event in our district is a thrill. Knowing virtually everyone out on the field or in the game brings a huge level of excitement to every contest I see and an even bigger sense of pride in the students I teach. Observing them in an environment different from the classroom is eye-opening. The unique interests and aptitudes of our student body never ceases to amaze me.

Moody's Mega Math Challenge was no different. The five seniors mentioned above clocked into school at 7am on a Sunday. They had 14 hours from clock-in time to solve a problem. Now, being the expert problem solvers that these AP Calculus BC students are, one might think that 14 hours was a generous amount of time. Afterall, they've been successfully solving for x for many years:) However, the problem they were tasked with has no unique answer. It was complicated. It was messy. It was real. It was unlike anything they've ever faced. And these brilliant minds annihilated the challenge in a time of 13 hours and 24 minutes. In a nutshell, they created mathematical models to assess how vulnerable 5 national parks in the US are to sea level changes, hurricanes, and fires and to predict how these types of catastrophic events would affect the attendance and financial status of the parks. Those interested can find the exact question along with all of the details of the challenge here : https://m3challenge.siam.org/

I am incredibly proud of these five students. They set their minds to work until they solved the problem, even if it took almost 14 hours on a Sunday. Their collaborative efforts were a sight to behold. They each took part in the rigors of the problem and each took part in the technical writing of their detailed solution. Their solution paper was an exquisite, 16 page document, which included graphs, tables, equations, and expert analysis. Near the end of their exhausting 14 hours together, I walked into a room full of professionals. It looked like they had been through this punishing process many times over. They were typing furiously, proofreading each other's work, retesting their projections and recapping their conclusions. And they were doing it all respectfully with smiles on their faces. They were enjoying the moment and felt the well deserved pride I share with them in their accomplishments of the day.

These MWHS scholars took on this challenge for the love of learning and for the experience. They were one of 1406 teams in the country competing for one of 6 prizes. Though I am hopeful that their outstanding work will be recognized, the richness of the day is a prize in and of itself and the students know this. In this district, I am proud to say that our students find joy and take pride in so much more than just their classroom achievements. They have much to offer and many layers to get to know. I am fortunate to have seen a glimpse of another one of those layers in these five.

Sean, Andrew, Garrett, Adam and Ariel

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