RWHS Student Newsletter

Monday, December 8

• 1st Period: Concert Choir dismissed to choir practice

  3rd Period: Bella Voce dismissed to choir practice

• SENIOR PHOTOS DUE TO YEARBOOK!
• Music Department Winter Extravaganza

Tuesday, December 9

• Flight Path 2030 Community Gathering

Wednesday, December 10

• WEDNESDAY SCHEDULE
• LAST DAY FOR 10 DAYS OF GIVING drive!
• iTimes during Science

Thursday, December 11

• PAC field trip

Friday, December 12

• 🎅 FESTIVE FRIDAY!
• Holiday Train comes to Red Wing!

• Red Wing High School Music Department presents annual “Winter Extravaganza” Concert

  Monday, December 8th

  Hovda Hall, Red Wing High School

  Free Admission

  6:00 PM: 8th Grade Band, Symphonic Band, Mixed Choir, Bella Voce

  7:45 PM: Concert Band, Concert Choir, Ovation

  **Artwork by RWHS Student, Evelyn Biron

Please review the information below regarding next Tuesday's event. Catering will be provided for families and individuals attending, including those with special dietary needs, and it won't take up much of your time! This event will be held at the high school before the basketball game, and everyone is welcome, so please consider attending; you'll learn a lot and won't miss the game.

Why come? It's an excellent opportunity for lower-grade students and their parents to learn more about how AI is being integrated into the lives of high school students, and an opportunity for upper-grade students to learn, from a business, education, or marketing career perspective, how AI could potentially impact their future.

When and where: Flight Path 2030 Community Forum on December 9, 2025, at Red Wing High School. Doors open at 5:00 p.m. and the program begins at 5:30 p.m. The event will last only 45-50 minutes and will end around 6:30 p.m., but we encourage you to stay afterward for dinner and enjoy pleasant conversations with other members of the community.

The evening begins at 5:30 pm in Hovda Hall with an interesting informal talk with two inspiring experts: Jennifer Rosato, director of the Northern Lights Collaborative for Computing Education project at the University of Minnesota; and Hannah Weissman, manager of Strategic Initiatives at Data Science 4 Everyone (DS4E) based at the University of Chicago.

This special event will showcase our district's five-year journey to becoming a Center of Excellence in AI-Integrated Computing Education, and we want you to be a part of it. We'd love to see you there!

RSVP today !

Like Santa, the CPKC Holiday Train will be coming to town in December! Celebrate the season with music performances by the American Authors and Pynk Beard, and help support the Red Wing Area Food Shelf.

Date: Friday, December 12

Time: Train arrives at 7:15 p.m. and departs at 7:45 p.m.

Come earlier for holiday music, hot drinks, and food trucks!

Location: Near Bay Point Park/Riverview Skyway Pedestrian Bridge. Parking available nearby.

Cost: Free! Food shelf donations appreciated.

RWHS office: (651) 385 - 4600

RWHS website

651-385-4660 (attendance)

Email for RWHS attendance line

Our Administration is available for student and family needs:

Principal Joshua Fuchs

Assistant Principal Robin Pagel, grades 9 & 11

Assistant Principal Mandy Stokes, grades 8, 10 & 12

Ms. Frye: Students with last names starting with A-K

• CLICK HERE to make an appointment with Ms. Frye

Mrs. Clara Ballard: L-Z Students with last names starting with L-Z

• CLICK HERE to make an appointment with Mrs. Ballard

Paul Hartmann, Activities Director

Nicole Bolduan, Assistant Director of Special Education

Carla Contla, Cultural Liaison and Interpreter

• ¡Bienvenido! Por favor contáctenos directamente para asistencia en español.
• 651-385-4607

Mitch Skeen and Leah Ryan, Native American Liaisons

Struggling with your StudentVUE password? Is your account disabled?

Email Mrs. Borgschatz and she will help you out!

The following colleges will be visiting students during lunches at RWHS:

• MN National Guard: Monday, December 8
• United States Marines: Wednesday, December 17

• Kristel Garcia: Your spoken English is really improving! I'm so excited to see what's next for you. -Ms. Jasin

• BSU: Thank you for putting together the hygiene drive and now the food drive. You are making a real difference and I am so appreciative of all of your work! -Ms. Kiecker
• Cheer Club: You have been such a fun group and I am so excited to see your team grow this season! And welcome to your new coach! -Ms. Kiecker
• Winter athletes: You're off to a great start! Keep up the great work balancing school and sports and THANK YOU for representing Red Wing so well! -Bray

Want to know what's going on after school at RWHS each day this week? Check out Winger Watch on the RWPS main webpage! You can also download the Activity Scheduler app to easily find the schedule for your favorite RWHS teams!

Did you know you can already purchase your tickets for the RWHS Musical?

The RWHS Theater Department will present "Once Upon A Mattress" at the Sheldon Theatre of Performing Arts from January 22-25.

Get your tickets early for this super fun and energetic RWHS theater production!

https://www.sheldontheatre.org/buy-tickets/

Use the QR Code below to upload pictures from RWHS events with our Yearbook Team! Tag the photos!

• There are no more free family/student/staff passes. We recommend you consider purchasing an annual activity pass, that will give you access to all home events. Download the GoFan app!

• Adults - $75

• District Staff - $30

• K-12 Student - $25

• 60+ and Red Wing resident - Free

• Single Game Tickets - Adults $10; Students $6

The Red Wing High School Black Student Union invites students in grades 5-12 to get into the holiday giving spirit. BSU will coordinate with Merchants Bank to bring the 10 Days of Giving to the community this year. Plus, Red Wing will welcome back the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train.

From Dec. 1-10, BSU asks students, families and staff to please drop off non-perishable food items in the collection barrels near the high school, Tower View and Twin Bluff offices. This is the first time Red Wing will participate in the region’s 10 Day of Giving campaign, which has collected more than 5 million pounds of food since 1989.

“The Red Wing High School Black Student Union is grateful to collaborate with Merchants Bank to continue our work in supporting and giving back to our community,” BSU leader Amari Williams said.

Anyone wishing to make a monetary donation should make the check payable to 10 Days of Giving and mail it to Merchants Bank, 2835 South Service Drive, Red Wing, MN 55066, or drop it at the bank. Please do not bring cash or checks to school.

Then on Friday, Dec. 12, the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train will stop in Red Wing for the first time in many years. The train will pull up at 7:15 p.m. near Bay Point Park, where professional musicians will play a free concert from a festive stage on wheels.

Since its inaugural journey in 1999, the CPKC Holiday Train has raised more than $26 million and collected approximately 5.4 million pounds of food for community food banks in Canada and the U.S. CPKC donates to the local food bank at each stop and encourages all attendees to make a monetary or heart-healthy food donation.

Yearbooks from last school year will be in later this fall, so stay tuned to pick those up.

Order your 2025-2026 Yearbook! The price goes up as the year goes on, so order early!

Want to be on the Yearbook team to create the 2025-2026 Yearbook? Contact Mrs. Hanson!

We can accommodate up to 30 families. If you could benefit from a meal kit, please complete the Winter Meal Kit Sign Up Google form by noon Dec. 15. Distribution will take place Dec. 17.

RWHS families: This is a friendly reminder that our RWHS Food Pantry is stocked and ready for you to access! Please contact Bethany Borgschatz or Nurse Vikki LeClaire and they will help you out!

My Life, My Quit™ is the free and confidential way to quit smoking or vaping. Text "Start My Quit" to 36072 or click to chat with a Coach. We are here for you every step of the way. It's YOUR LIFE and we're here to help you live it YOUR WAY. If you’re a teen between 13–17 and you want help quitting vaping, smoking or using other commercial tobacco products, this completely free and confidential program is for you. Talk or text with coaches and get other resources to help you when you are ready to quit nicotine. From practicing how to say “no” to tips for managing stress and peer pressure, we can help. Worried about weight gain or additional anxiety? Our coaches can get you through the rough spots. Do you have a friend struggling with smoking or vaping? Let them know we’re here to help.

Quit Partner is Minnesota’s free way to quit nicotine, including smoking, vaping and chewing. We can support your quit with one-on-one coaching and other helpful tools. Whenever you need us, we’re here to help 24/7.

For questions regarding route changes, address changes and waivers:

Red Wing Transportation Department
651-385-4795
transportation@rwps.org

For questions regarding a bus or bus driver or FirstView App:

First Student Transit
714 Bench Street
Red Wing, MN 55066
651-388-8244

SENIORS! It's your year! Please continue to check the webpage for the RWHS Class of 2026 for important announcements, meetings and deadlines throughout your Senior Year.

Seniors! Use the QR code below to submit your Senior Photo for your senior yearbook! If you need help getting a photo taken, please contact Mrs. Bray ASAP for a free mini photo shoot.

Numerous scholarships are available to RWHS seniors through various community organizations. On Jan. 9, 2026, is the release date for the Google Forum application, then on Wednesday, Jan. 21, seniors may attend a Q&A session during club time (1:24-1:54 p.m.) The application deadline is 3 p.m. Feb. 20. After this date, no applications will be accepted.

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid portal is now open and is due no later than June 30, 2026. Completion is required to receive tuition assistance at post-secondary institutions.

Access FAFSA here.

ATTENTION 2026 SENIORS: As your graduation date approaches, remember you must place your order on Parchment to get your final transcript sent to your colleges, jobs, internships, etc. In addition, you must click HOLD FOR GRADES when choosing the timing for it to go out, otherwise it won’t contain your Semester 2 grades or your updated GPA. These transcripts are free to you until July 1, 2026.

Wednesday, December 17: iTimes during ELA

Thursday, December 18: 8th grade concert

🎅Friday, December 19: FESTIVE FRIDAY!

Friday, December 19: Activities and Athletics Grade Check

❄️December 27-January4: NO SCHOOL, WINTER BREAK❄️

January 5: Back to school

January 14-16: Semester 1 FINALS

January 16: End of Semester 1

Red Wing Public Schools is now accepting applications for summer STEM opportunities through the Milwaukee School of Engineering.

Through the generosity of Dwight and Dian Diercks, our students in grades 9-10-11 have the opportunity to apply for scholarships to attend summer programs at MSOE -- free of charge, including Amtrak fare to and from Milwaukee's Intermodal Station. These scholarships are part of Flight Path 2030, our long-term commitment to ensuring every student is prepared for success in computing, data, and artificial intelligence.

Scholarships make it possible for students — regardless of background or circumstance — to explore advanced topics, gain hands-on experience, and build confidence in college-level settings. Applications are due Jan. 16, 2026. Click the link button below to learn more and apply.

Contact Us or Stay Connected With Us:

Phone: 651-385-4565

Email: cedrec@rwps.org

Website: www.rwps.org

The Young Artists and Authors Showcase (YAAS) is an annual art contest that encourages youth worldwide to express the mission of Sister Cities International through original artwork, literature, poetry, photography, and music. Red Wing Sister Cities Commission is happy to host this contest once again for local winners, of which the first place winner will advance in the competition.

The 2026 Young Artists and Authors Showcase, invites youth from around the world to express their creativity through the theme “Voices of Today, Visions of Tomorrow.”

This year’s theme invites young artists and authors to raise their voices during a historic moment as the United States celebrates 250 years since its founding, and Sister Cities International honors 70 years of building global friendships and cultural understanding. It reflects the ongoing journey from the country’s founding ideals toward a more interconnected, peaceful world.

Open to artists, writers, photographers, and musicians aged 12–18, the Showcase provides a unique platform to explore how creativity can unite communities, celebrate shared humanity, and envision a better future. Submissions are accepted across various mediums, including visual art, essays, poetry, photography, and music.

By participating in this inspiring competition, young creators will have the opportunity to share their vision of a world where today’s voices shape tomorrow’s global community. Winning entries will be featured across Sister Cities International’s global network, inspiring people and partnerships around the world.