#PointerNation News

Congratulations to all the cast and crew involved with this past weekend's outstanding performance of "Seussical" at the Opera House! Your talent and hard work helped create such a memorable experience! Check out photos at this link.

We love this time of year!

Exciting times in 1st Grade!

Kye's dad, Chris, was transporting what they believe is the distal end of a Mammoth or Mastodon tusk that was found right here in Wisconsin! It's estimated to be at least 6,000 years old.

This tusk will eventually be on display in Boebel Hall at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. Thank you so much again, Chris, for sharing this memorable experience with our students!

Congratulations to #PointerNation for earning three more Wisconsin School Public Relations Association (WSPRA) Spectrum Awards at the annual Fall Conference November 13 in Elkhart Lake!

Awards of Merit

- Proud Tradition, Promising Future (Referendum Campaign)

- State Wrestling Champs (Social Media Campaign)

- White & Blue Review (Annual Report)

Mineral Point was the only school recognized this year in CESA 3.

The maximum number of awards a district could receive is three -- besides Mineral Point, 10 other, much larger, school districts in the state achieved this feat.

"It is an honor to work in school communication and share positive stories of our amazing students and staff. Congratulations to all who helped the District once again be spotlighted on the state level for our incredible efforts," said Joëlle Doye, Mineral Point Communications Director and WSPRA Immediate Past President.

More info can be found at this link.

Mineral Point Future Business Leaders of America had an amazing time at the Wisconsin Fall Leadership Conference in Wisconsin Dells!

Our students attended workshops, connected with other FBLA leaders from across the state, and came home inspired and ready for a great year. Proud of this group and all they continue to accomplish!

Members attending included: Kalea Biddick, Madison Nodolf, Ronica Thousand, Mady Knutson, Nolan Allendorf, and Carver Potterton.

Thanksgiving is this week and 4K makes the best pumpkin pie!

Kudos to our middle school scholars for earning academic accolades during the first quarter! #PointerNation is proud of you and your commitment to excellence in the classroom! Read the list at this link.

3rd Grade loved their time at the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra Arts Trek. The kids did an amazing job and were so engaged the whole time. We have a lot of musical interest in this bunch!

Mr. Hayden Hardyman's 7th Graders have been studying cells and how cells replicate! Body cells replicate through a process called mitosis. Students used cookies to represent cells and sprinkles to represent chromosomes to show what takes place during each phase (prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase) of the mitosis process.

Mrs. Valerie Martin’s Personal Finance class is currently studying an “In the Workforce” unit, with a recent lesson centered on developing interviewing skills.

Students were divided into four groups and given randomly selected interview questions to review before beginning. Within each group, students took turns answering questions drawn at random, while their peers scored responses based on clarity, use of examples, and enthusiasm.

After three rounds, scores were tallied, and the highest scorer from each group advanced to the Interview Showdown.

The finalists were Faye Schuette, Emily Heisner, Lilly Houtakker, and Violet Renwick. In the final round, each student participated in an interview conducted by Mrs. Martin, with questions again drawn at random from a pool of 36. The rest of the class evaluated the finalists using the same scoring criteria.

It was an extremely close competition; however, with an impressive 199 points, Emily Heisner earned first place. Excellent work by all students!

1st Graders traveled to Japan! They learned a man named Momofuku Ando invented instant noodles to address food shortages in post-war Japan and provide an affordable, convenient, and nutritious meal. They even tried a little!

Mrs. Kaelyn Martin's 3rd Grade students will be spotlighting AB Vintage Jewelry in their upcoming holiday ads! Students enjoyed a recent visit to learn more about their featured business.

Mrs. Courtney Steffes' 3rd Grade students will be spotlighting Aspen Ridge Home & Garden in their upcoming holiday ads! Students enjoyed a recent visit to learn more about their featured business.

Mrs. Keri Radtke's 2nd Grade students will be spotlighting Ben Franklin in their upcoming holiday ads! Students enjoyed a recent visit to learn more about their featured business.

Mrs. Bridget Doney's Kindergarten students will be spotlighting The Board Shoppe in their upcoming holiday ads! Students enjoyed a recent visit to learn more about their featured business.

Mrs. Penny Wiegel's 1st Grade students will be spotlighting Mound City Bank in their upcoming holiday ads! Students enjoyed a recent visit to learn more about their featured business.

Mrs. Katelyn Dunham's 1st Grade students will be spotlighting ROO + CREW in their upcoming holiday ads! Students enjoyed a recent visit to learn more about their featured business.

Thank you to everyone who supported our Key Club with their Community Wide Food & Hygiene Drive Sunday!

Because of your generosity, we were able help many people in need.

Thank you again!

Thank you to our #PointerNation Seniors who have been involved with the musical for their years of amazing performances! Their talents have graced our stage, and behind the scenes, and they will be missed.

Kudos to our #PointerNation Volleyball team members who earned All-Area honors from The Dodgeville Chronicle!

- Co-Player of the Year: Maddy Kabat

- Tri-Coach of the Year: Kari Kabat

- First Team: Maddy Kabat

- First Team: Ava Ingwell

- First Team: Kinlee Prust

- First Team: Brynn Swenson

- Honorable Mention: Bree Swenson

- Honorable Mention: Sophie Miller

Kudos to our #PointerNation Football team members who earned All-Area honors from The Dodgeville Chronicle!

- Co-Offensive Lineman of the Year: Keegan Wenger

- Co-Defensive Player of the Year: Sawyer Dannenberg

- First Team Quarterback: Liam Carey

- First Team Running Back: Grady Finley

- First Team Receiver: Thorin Vamstad

- First Team Offensive Line: Sawyer Dannenberg

- First Team Offensive Line: Keegan Wenger

- First Team Kicker: Liam Carey

- First Team Punter: Sawyer Dannenberg

- First Team Defensive Line: Sawyer Dannenberg

- First Team Defensive Line: Jake Dannenberg

- First Team Linebacker: Thorin Vamstad

- Honorable Mention Wide Receiver: Brett Bossert

- Honorable Mention Offensive Line: Garren Dochnahl

- Honorable Mention Defensive Back: Elliot Kite

- Honorable Mention Defensive Line: Cole Ripp

Kudos to our #PointerNation Boys Wrestling Team for starting out the season ranked 2nd in the Division 3 State Team Rankings this week! Read more at this link.

Be Prepared

As weather events occur, it is sometimes necessary to close our schools. We’ve compiled this sheet for you and your family to help prepare and plan.

Students/Staff will not have virtual learning days on the first 27 inclement weather hours during the 2025-26 school year. Any additional hours beyond 27 may turn into virtual learning to ensure compliance with state instructional minute mandates. There may be some days when a 2 hour delay, or early dismissal, is necessary instead of a full day off.

* No buses will run on days off. They will run on 2 hour late starts and early dismissals.

* Pointer Kids Club will not operate on days off or early dismissals. It will open at 9 am on 2 hour late starts.

How We Will Communicate

We will communicate, as technology allows, through the following channels:

- District Website

- District Facebook

- Family/Staff phone, email, and text (if enabled)

- Local media outlets

* Please check your Skyward Family Access account to ensure your contact information is accurate and that you are signed up for phone, text and/or email notifications.

We Take the Decision-Making Process Very Seriously

Student and staff safety is always our number one priority. The bus transportation director, and our school superintendent, jointly monitor weather, specifically when an event is approaching our area. Every effort is made to make and communicate a decision regarding possible school closure before 6:00 am based on the safety and timing of bus travel and the status of the weather events. Each weather event is unique, and the response may be different for different events.

A reminder -- no classes will be held in #PointerNation Wednesday, November 26 through Sunday, November 30 due to Thanksgiving Break. Enjoy the time off!

We'd love to have you join our sub pool! There will be a Substitute Teacher Training held at CESA 3 in Fennimore at 9 am on December 8.

This training is one of the requirements for a sub license in Wisconsin (including the minimum of an associate's degree).

Participants can register using this link.

Join the middle/high school choirs and bands for their Winter Concert Monday, December 8 at 7 pm in the middle/high school gym for some outstanding sounds of the season!

Have you seen the beautiful Giving Tree in the high school hall near the gym, full with ornaments?

This year, Mineral Point Future Business Leaders of America are once again honored to sponsor six wonderful children from right here in Iowa County.

We’d love your help in making their holiday season a little brighter. If you feel inspired, please take an ornament (or two!) and shop for a gift that will bring a smile to a child’s face.

All gifts are due to the high school office by Friday, December 12.

Thank you for helping share the magic of the season. Your kindness truly makes a difference!

Elementary (grades K-5) students are getting excited to share their musical talents with you at their Winter Concert Thursday, December 18 in the high school gym beginning at 1:30 pm!

The Mineral Point Excellence in Education Foundation is again hosting a drive at both Winter Concerts (December 8 and 18) to help fill our school Care Closet. There is a need for these items in our schools:

• Personal Hygiene products such as: deodorant, laundry detergent pods, tampons/pads.
• Individually packed non-perishable snack items such as: granola bars, applesauce pouches, crackers (plain, cheesy, and peanut butter sandwiches), fruit snacks, trail mix.
• Heat and eat items for weekend meals such as: Easy Mac, Spaghettios, Dinty Moore, Ramen, Hormel meals
• Monetary donations
• Amazon wishlist

You may also drop off items at school offices.

Thank you for your generosity!

Save the date! Mineral Point Wrestling will induct its 2025-26 honorees to the Allen E. Bauman Wrestling Hall of Fame Friday, December 19 at the home match vs. Iowa-Grant/Highland. Congrats to Bobbyjon Bauman, Steve & Rita Gevelinger, and Cory Sokol! Read more about them at this link.

Alumni Alert! Renee (Sporle) Lund (#PointerNation Class of 2012) had the amazing opportunity to speak internationally in Vienna, Austria at DrupalCon Vienna 2025, a gathering of more than 1,000 designers, developers, and digital leaders from around the world!

In her session, she presented on the design of Drupal Canvas, a brand-new SaaS product she served as the lead designer for. She walked attendees through how her team built a scalable, flexible foundation that allows the platform to grow without sacrificing usability or consistency. She also shared strategies for integrating new features, contributed modules, and custom extensions in a way that keeps the user experience intuitive and future-ready.

It was an incredible experience to connect with the global tech community, represent this work on an international stage, and bring home fresh insights she can apply in her projects!

Renee is a Senior Product Designer at Bitwarden.

This weekend, our talented students performed "Seussical" the musical at the Mineral Point Opera House! When was the last time that show was performed on that stage? The answer is the 2012-13 school year and pictured for this week's Throwback Thursday #TBT is the group that did it!

#PointerNation events coming up this week -- join us! (Please note these schedules are always subject to change)

Monday, November 24

- MS Boys Basketball vs. Cuba City 4 pm

Tuesday, November 25

- Girls Basketball at Dodgeville (JV 6 pm, Varsity to follow). Radio: 106.1 fm. Livestreams: https://www.youtube.com/@queenbradiosports, https://www.youtube.com/@DodgevilleSchoolDistrict, and https://fan.hudl.com/usa/wi/dodgeville/organization/20161/dodgeville-high-school

- JV & Varsity Boys Basketball scrimmage at Prairie du Chien 5:45 pm

- MS Boys Basketball at Iowa-Grant 4 pm

Wednesday, November 26

- No classes (Thanksgiving Break)

Thursday, November 27

- No classes (Thanksgiving Break)

Friday, November 28

- No classes (Thanksgiving Break)

Please be aware of other companies claiming to livestream our games, especially if there are links different than posted above and ask for credit card and personal information -- these are scams. We will update this pinned post as available livestream information is relayed to us.

"Grounded by our history as one of the oldest publicly supported schools in Wisconsin, Mineral Point Unified School District is the heart of a small community that educates and inspires our students for a bright future in a big world."

Email: joelle.doye@mp.k12.wi.us
Website: mineralpointschools.org
Location: 705 Ross Street, Mineral Point, WI, USA
Phone: (608) 987-0740
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MineralPointSchoolDistrict