Colt Connection

Congratulations to the Richland #44 Senior Class of 2025! Graduation Commencement Exercises are set for Sunday, May 25 @ 2:00pm - Richland High School Gymnasium.

Greetings Colt Country,

It’s hard to believe we’re already in the final stretch of another fantastic school year! This spring has been filled with energy and excitement—from student accomplishments in the classroom and beyond, to scholarship announcements and award ceremonies that remind us just how exceptional our Richland #44 students truly are. With graduation just around the corner, we’re proud of our seniors and all they’ve achieved—and we’re gearing up to celebrate them!

At the state level, the recent legislative session brought a few changes that will impact our district. While there was an increase in school funding, it wasn't as substantial as hoped. A new law will also require schools to limit student cell phone use during instructional time, and we’re reviewing what that will look like in Richland #44.

You may have also heard about a measles outbreak in western North Dakota. While it hasn’t reached our area, we’re encouraging families to review vaccination records. Measles spreads easily, but two doses of the MMR vaccine are 97% effective. Please contact your provider if you have questions about your child’s immunization status.

Looking ahead, we’re preparing for a productive summer. One major project involves the property we recently purchased just east of the elementary school. We hope to expand parking to improve access and flow during busy events—and if bids come in within budget, we plan to break ground this summer.

Thank you for all you do to support your children and our schools. Let’s finish the year with two strong, joyful weeks of learning, celebration, and Colt pride!

Respectfully,
Dr. Britney Gandhi

Richland #44 School Board Election - June 10, 2025

For more information visit our website at https://www.richland44.com/page/school-board-election

There is nothing like getting your copy of the Richland #44 Yearbook in the fall and looking over all the fun pictures from the past year. Don’t let your student miss out on sharing and reliving the big events that will make this year special! Order HERE by May 16, 2025
Same great low price - $25/ea Add name to front cover - $5/ea

Dear Parent or Guardian,

We are excited that Summer EBT (Electronic Benefits Transfer) will be available to eligible families in North Dakota this summer. This program provides additional help for families with children to buy nutritious food when school is not in session. The benefit is $120 per eligible school-aged child and must be used within 122 days of issuance.

Please review information below and don't hesitate to reach out with any questions.

Important Reminders:

● Ensure your child’s school has your current contact information.

● Most communication with households will be through email. Ensure your email address is on file at your child’s school.

● Please monitor communications from the North Dakota SEBT Portal.

We are committed to helping families access nutritious food during the summer. If you need more information about Summer EBT benefits, please visit the North Dakota SEBT Portal. Thank you for being part of our community. We are here to support you and your family!

Sincerely,

North Dakota SEBT Team

For Customer Service email ndsebt@nd.gov or call 701-328-2332 (option 2 for SNAP and then option 4 for “Questions on your SNAP EBT Card”

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

As the school year comes to a close, I would like to thank everyone who contributed to a successful year at the elementary school.

Support from our PTO, Richland #44 Foundation, and other community partners made a big difference. Because of their generosity, students received snacks, attended educational field trips, earned incentives that kept them engaged and motivated and more!

Our teachers and staff worked hard each day to ensure students grew both academically and socially. Their commitment helped students build important skills that will carry them forward.

We’re proud of the progress our students made this year. Their hard work showed in both their learning and their personal growth.

There are still a few more exciting events ahead including the spring concert, more field trips, Track and Field Day, and 6th grade graduation. These days will go by quickly, and before we know it, summer break will be here.

Wishing everyone a safe, restful, and well-deserved summer break.

Mrs. Schmitz

Richland Elementary Principal

Thanks to the generous sponsorship of Richland #44 PTO, Richland Elementary hosted Missoula Children's Theatre in April. Students who were interested in being part of this event were first introduced to parts on Monday afternoon. With only 4 additional days to memorize their parts and practice after school, these students put on two amazing performances of Pinocchio!

Thank you, Richland #44 PTO, for sponsoring and bringing this opportunity to our school. Thank you, also, to all the parent volunteers for their time and dedication to make this event a success!

Earlier this month, Richland #44 students in grades 4-6 competed in both team and individual events alongside students from 15 other school districts in our region. Our sixth-grade team earned 2nd place in their division, and Grace H. placed 2nd in the individual competition for sixth grade. Great job to all who participated!

Every month one outstanding individual from each classroom that exemplifies being respectful, responsible, safe, and achieving will be selected to be inducted into the Richland Elementary Hall of Fame. Congratulations to our March and April/May Student Spotlights.

As we approach the final weeks of the school year, there’s much to celebrate—from recognizing our incredible staff during Teacher Appreciation Week to applauding our students’ hard work and preparing to honor the graduating Class of 2025.

This week, we proudly celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week. Thank you to all our teachers, as well as our paraprofessionals, custodians, food service workers, and support staff, who help our students grow and succeed every day. A special thank-you also goes to the PTO for keeping our staff fueled with food and caffeinated beverages this week!

Our 7th–10th graders have completed summative assessments and the ND A+ benchmark testing for this school year. I’m incredibly proud of the effort our students put forth and the dedication they’ve shown throughout the year. These results will help guide our instructional planning, and we look forward to reviewing the data this fall when full reports become available.

We are also filled with excitement as we prepare to celebrate the Class of 2025. Graduation will take place on May 25th at 2:00 PM in the new gym at the high school, and we look forward to honoring this important milestone with our students, families, and staff. We hope you can join us!

Thank you for your continued support throughout the year. Go Colts!

All the Best,

Mr. Davison

This year, eight senior students from Richland had the incredible opportunity to attend the Close Up program. During their trip, they explored both Washington, D.C. and New York City.

In D.C., students visited numerous memorials, Arlington National Cemetery, the U.S. Botanic Garden, and even had the chance to sit in on a Senate hearing. They also received a tour of Capitol Hill, guided by a member of Senator Cramer’s office.

In New York, the group experienced Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, and walked across the iconic Brooklyn Bridge. One of the highlights was seeing the Broadway play Boop.

It was a memorable trip filled with unforgettable experiences and stories that will last a lifetime.

Each month the Southeast Region Career and Tech Center recognizes students with the Award of Excellence. This award is set up to recognize students who demonstrate academic excellence, outstanding service, a positive work ethic, and achievements above and beyond the call of duty.

Alexa A. received this award in April after being nominated by Mr. Boehm, Ag Ed IV teacher. Boehm shares, "Alexa has consistently impressed me with her willingness to try FFA activities and the success at which she has had. In the classroom, Alexa is always at the top of her class. She provides quality discussion, works hard to earn good grades, and works well with everyone. She is extremely helpful to both staff and her peers. You could not ask for a better student."

Each month, the high school faculty votes on the Rotary Student of the Month. The Student of the Month is selected from the junior class. The faculty looks at students who excel in many areas including academics, extra-curricular activities, character, and community involvement. On the third Tuesday of the month, students are recognized at a luncheon put on by the Wahpeton Rotary Club. Congratulations to the following on being named Student of the Month:

Our students have stayed busy in their academic and extracurricular pursuits, as well as their future planning! Students picked out their schedules for the Fall semester early this week and had a variety of exciting and new classes to try out like accounting, public speaking, and human anatomy! 7th, 8th, and 10th grade students have wrapped up their ND A+ state testing for the year, and the 10th graders are preparing for the PreACT while the juniors are preparing for their ACT and Accuplacer tests. We are excited to wrap up the school year and prepare for our futures!

Our Seniors were honored this week at the Senior Awards Banquet on May 5. Honor students, awards, and scholarships were all announced. At this time, the Richland #44 Class of 2025 has earned over $300,000 in scholarships!! Congratulations, graduates!

The Richland #44 Speech Team knocked it out of the park at the State B Speech tournament in Mandan!

Emma E. placed 3rd in Dramatic.

Cora H. placed 4th in Radio, and is also the 1st place STATE CHAMPION in Extemp!

They announced the top 6 schools at state - and while we weren't quite there...we were number 7.....out of 69 schools!

In the lead-up to the state competition, team members participated in several meets, achieving success at every turn.

Congratulations to all team members for their hard work and dedication this season.

State Music was a success! Congrats to all of these musicians for their performances in Bismarck yesterday.

All received at least an Excellent rating, and the following entries also received a Star rating:

Cora - Trumpet Solo

Abbie - Vocal Solo

Evie, Abbie, Cora - Vocal Trio

**Special congrats goes out to Abbie F. for receiving an Outstanding Performance in addition to her Star rating for her solo. Each judge has the option of awarding just one of these titles. Way to go, Abbie!

The Richland Academic Team has had another fun and successful year, showcasing the dedication and intellect of our scholars. Throughout the season, the team participated in three Knowledge Bowl meets. Knowledge Bowl is a Jeopardy-style competition where students work together to answer questions spanning a wide range of subjects, including history, literature, mathematics, science, current events, pop culture, and everything in between.

In December, the team traveled to Concordia College for the first meet of the season, earning an impressive first-place finish! The January and February meets saw the team head to Fergus Falls, where they continued to shine. At these meets, they earned excellence in Math and Science awards for answering the most questions correctly in those specific content areas.

The season ended in March with Richland hosting the Region VI Acalympics. With 14 schools competing, Richland came close to making the lightning round, finishing just shy of the top three in their division. Oak Grove won the large school division, and Wyndmere took first in the small school division.

Congratulations to the Academic Team for a fantastic season!

Best of luck to our Track & Field, Golf, and Clay Target teams as they look to finish their respective seasons strong!

Looking ahead to the fall, the Volleyball and Football schedules for all levels are now posted on the activity scheduler. Cross-country will be added at a later date. Please note that games and matches are subject to change. Below are the first day of practice for fall sports:

• Varsity Football: August 7

• Junior High Football: August 7

• Cross-Country: August 11

• Junior High Volleyball: August 12

• Varsity Volleyball: August 18

• Elementary Volleyball: August 18

It’s never too early for students to get their annual sports physical. All students participating in grades 7–12 school sports must complete a yearly physical. Per NDHSAA guidelines, sports physicals completed after April 15th are valid for the entire upcoming school year. If your student-athlete plans to participate next year, we encourage you to schedule their physical early to avoid the fall rush.

Thank you for your continued support of our student-athletes and programs in Richland #44.

Go Colts!

Mr. Davison

Congratulations to senior football player, Otto Dockter, on being selected as 1 of 26 team members for the 9-Man EAST team in the Shrine Bowl this summer!

In addition to promoting awareness and raise funds for Shriners Children, the ND Shrine Bowl All-Star Game was created in 1974 to honor high school athletes who have excelled on the football field, but also display the qualities of a young man with high character.

Dockter will spend the week practicing with new teammates and coaches from a variety of 9-man schools on the east side of the state. On Saturday, June 21 at 6pm, the 9-man teams of EAST vs. WEST compete in one last game for these senior players. Congratulations, Otto, on this honor!

For more information, visit https://www.ndshrinebowl.com/

Richland 44 elementary boys basketball had a successful year. The 5th graders in there first year of organized basketball learned the importance of the fundamentals of basketball, and how to work together to be good team players. They picked up a couple of wins this year including a come from behind double overtime thriller at Hope-Page, which taught them not to give up even when you are behind early.

6th grade boys have come along ways showing that there hard work has paid off over the last couple of years, ending there season with just one loss. They continued to improve this year individually and more importantly as a team playing very unselfish team basketball. Good luck in the future boys!!!

The weather has been great for spring golf in North Dakota! The boys have worked hard to improve theirs skills and knowledge of the game this season. From practices at Leonard Country Club to skill development sessions at Golf NXT in Fargo, our golfers have worked hard to improve their game.

We’re now focused on wrapping up the year with the ND Class B qualifier tournaments at Crossroads Golf Course in Carrington and Maple River Golf Club in Mapleton. These events will be a great opportunity for our players to demonstrate the progress they’ve made. No matter the outcome, this season has been a success in terms of effort, growth, and team spirit. I’m excited to see how we finish and grateful to everyone who’s supported us along the way.

Go Colts!

The deadline for adding your family to our "Birthday and Event Calendar" is quickly approaching. Music Parents are continuing this decades old community tradition again this year and we would love to see your birthdays on the calendar!

We'll take orders until the end of May but we would appreciate orders sooner so we can safely wrap up our lists for the printer.

Thank you so much for all of your support for our Richland 44 young musicians! Order here.

Richland #44 Coltbackers hosted the return of an ALL SPORT Athletic Banquet on Sunday, April 27.

The purpose of this event is to recognize and thank our student athletes, managers, and coaches for your hard work, dedication, and heart - on and off the field. Whether they're practicing in the off-season, giving it their all in the final moments of the game, helping with camps for our younger athletes, or balancing academics with athletics, the efforts of our athletes do not go unnoticed.

Be sure to check out this video compiled by the school, sharing a year in review of our athletic programs and also a tribute to our seniors as we remember their final days on the field and court here in Colt Country.

New this year, Coltbackers hosted a 5k run/walk event. The weather was perfect and the atmosphere was amazing! Thank you to the 100 runners and walkers and the amazing volunteers along the route who shared in this beautiful event.

Also, be sure to check out our website for summer camp opportunities. The site is updated often as information becomes available. Find information at: https://richland44coltbackers.weebly.com/summer-information.html

Missoula Children’s Theatre

April brought an incredible week of creativity, teamwork, and talent to our elementary school! We were amazed by the energy, dedication, and enthusiasm that 47 participants showed throughout Missoula Children's Theatre week, culminating in two fantastic performances of Pinocchio! Check out the Wahpeton Daily News story about the MCT production.

From Monday’s auditions to Saturday’s final curtain call, our young actors and actresses lit up the stage, learned new skills, and had so much fun along the way. We are proud to have brought this opportunity to our students for the 4th time — and thrilled we could provide this experience at no cost to families.

While we work hard to secure sponsorships to help cover expenses, this incredible week still ends up costing thousands more. Your continued support—through donations, attending events, volunteering, or even just helping spread the word—makes all the difference in keeping programs like MCT alive in our district. Thank you!

Fun Night

This year we had another great night of games, prizes, and more at Fun Night! It’s a big endeavor and wouldn’t be possible without everyone pitching in. We were able to raise over $14,000 thanks to:

• The elementary students and families who sold raffle tickets

• The teachers, staff, and high school students who sold tickets and worked the games

• The volunteers who planned, cooked, and decorated

• The families who spent their time and money at the event

Fun Night has been a tradition at our school for decades and wouldn’t happen without the community effort that we are fortunate to see every year. Thank you!!

Staff appreciation week

We are so grateful for our wonderful staff and every May we love to shower them with gifts and treats to show our appreciation. Thanks to the volunteers who helped coordinate and the donations of money and treats, we were able to stock the teachers lounges with drinks and snacks - plus something special each day of staff appreciation week. Thank you again to our staff for all you do for the kids every day!

You can learn more about the PTO at Richland44PTO.org. We’re always looking for new members. If you’d like to join, you can sign up here. We’ll keep you informed of upcoming events, volunteer opportunities, and more. Thanks again to everyone who supports our PTO!

This year’s Dollars for Scholars scholarships have been announced. We are pleased to present $15,660.00 in scholarships through our local DFS chapter and outside organizations or individuals. Thank you to all who have supported our program and the students again this year.

$500 Cargil CARES – Cargil: Kalie Boehm

$2000 Richland PTO Community Builder Scholarship – PTO: Kalie Boehm

$1000 Richland PTO Community Builder Scholarship – PTO: Inger Holdman

$500 Richland PTO Community Builder Scholarship – PTO: Sydney Loff

$500 Richland PTO Community Builder Scholarship - Education – PTO: Emma Erdahl

$500 Richland #44 Dollars for Scholars Sammy Lodahl Scholarship: Sydney Loff

$500 Richland #44 Tannis and Dain Anderson Scholarship: Inger Holdman

$300 Richland #44 Dollars for Scholars Volunteer Scholarship - DFS: Sydney Loff

$300Richland #44 Dollars for Scholars Volunteer Scholarship – DFS: Inger Holdman

$300 Richland #44 Dollars for Scholars Volunteer Scholarship – DFS: Kalie Boehm

$1000 Richland #44 Dollars for Scholars 4-year school Scholarship – DFS: Inger Holdman

$1000 Richland #44 Dollars for Scholars 2-year school Scholarship – DFS: Otto Dockter

$750 Richland #44 Dollars for Scholars 4-year school Scholarship – DFS: Kalie Boehm

$750 Richland #44 Dollars for Scholars 2-year school Scholarship – DFS: Preston Schmit

$500 Richland #44 Dollars for Scholars Alumni Scholarship – DFS: Allison Heyen

$500 Richland #44 Dollars for Scholars Colt Scholarship – DFS: Inger Holdman

$1000 Richland #44 Dollars for Scholars Cass County Electric Scholarship – DFS: Alayna Schmitt

$1200 Richland #44 Dollars for Scholars Lora Workin Memorial Scholarship: Kalie Boehm

$1200 Richland #44 Dollars for Scholars Lora Workin Memorial Scholarship: Lillian Miranowski

$ 360 Richland #44 Dollars for Scholars Penny Wars: Kalie Boehm

$500 Richland #44 Dollars for Scholars Colfax Farmers Elevator Scholarship: Lillian Miranowski

$500 Richland #44 Dollars for Scholars Colfax Farmers Elevator Scholarship: Emma Erdahl

We were thrilled to award the 2025 Darrel Hendrickson scholarship to 17 wonderful seniors! The Foundation has now awarded over $1,000,000 in scholarships to Richland #44 graduates.

Pictured: most of the 2025 Hendrickson scholarship recipients at Senior Awards Night on May 5

The 44 Venue is on track to open this summer with a grand opening planned for July 24. General Manager Janna Koble is booking events like weddings, birthday parties, corporate events, baby showers, and more. June 2026 is almost fully booked with weddings!

As a reminder, no public funds were used to build The 44 Venue. All profit will go back to The Foundation which will benefit Richland #44 students and staff.

Pictured: The Foundation Board checked out construction progress before their meeting on May 7.

This school year we will individually feature our wonderful staff members so that our community can get to know more about them and we can recognize the important work they do.

Staff Features are posted on our school website Live Feed as well as on our Facebook page.

**Click the links below for event flyers and additional information**

• May 10 - Prom
• May 13 - Night of the Arts @ 5:30pm
• May 13 - Jr/Sr High Spring Concert @ 7pm
• May 15 - Elementary Spring Concert @ 3pm (Colfax)
• May 19 - Elementary Track & Field Day (Grade 4-6 @ Colfax) @ 1pm
• May 22 - Last Day of School - Early Dismissal
• May 25 - Graduation 2pm

There are several opportunities for your students this summer, both local and regional. Also, local community events for all ages. Check out the following links for more information:

Fort Abercrombie State Historic Site Events

Music Camps

Athletic Camps

KRAZ Dance

TWINS Youth Baseball Clinic

Eagle Valley VBS

Wondering where to find something? Most items can be found on our website and app!

Website:

• Lunch menu
• Home game livestream
• Events (all)
• Athletic events
• Daily Announcements includes upcoming meetings, events, community items, job postings, and more. Use the link to read today's announcements and/or to get signed up for daily emails.
• Much more!

Do you follow our group organizations on Facebook??

• Coltbackers Facebook
• PTO Facebook
• FFA Facebook
• Dollars for Scholars Facebook
• Richland #44 School Foundation

Visit the app store today on Apple or Android devices and search "Richland 44 School".