The Minnesota School Boards Association set February 21-25 as Minnesota School Board Recognition Week to build awareness and understanding of the vital function elected school board members play in our society. Battle Lake is joining other public school districts from across the state to celebrate School Board Recognition Week to honor local board members for their commitment to Battle Lake and its students.

Superintendent Nudell said the key work of boards is to raise student achievement by:

• Creating a vision for what the community wants the school district to be and for making student achievement the top priority;
• Establishing standards for what students will be expected to learn and be able to do;
• Ensuring progress is measured to be sure the district’s goals are achieved and students are learning at expected levels;
• Being accountable for their decisions and actions by continually tracking and reporting results;
• Creating a safe, orderly climate where students can learn and teachers can teach;
• Forming partnerships with others in the community to solve common problems; and
• Focusing attention on the need for continuous improvement by questioning, refining and revising issues related to student achievement.

The members serving our district from left to right, and when they began their service is as follows:

Rachel Logan - July 1, 2020

Jonathan Hartman - January 1, 2021

Aimie Hallberg - January 1, 2021

Sheila Newark - January 1, 2017

Ashley Altstadt - January 1, 2019

Paul Ness - January 1, 2009

Each month, the Battle Lake School celebrates staff and students that exhibit characteristics of the "Battler Proud" way. Students and staff have the opportunity to nominate anybody within the school they feel exhibit these characteristics. For December, the Character Focus was Personal: Tolerance.

Please join us in congratulating the following recipients:

Elementary Teacher (5th Grade)

Ms. Moxness

High School Teacher

Mr. Daniel Ukkelberg

Students

2nd Grade - Aurora Stock, 3rd Grade - Bella Scholten, 4th Grade - Damien Gunnon, 5th Grade - Calista Fleischauer, 5th Grade - Korbin Wedeking, 7th Grade - Brayden Meyer, 7th Grade - Olivia Roberts, and 11th Grade - Haylee Ferarri.

“I Love to Read Month” is common in many schools. It takes place in February and the goal is to promote a love of reading. Each year Battle Lake School has a theme for "I Love to Read Month" and this year it is "All About Books." The pictures below show Mrs. Young's 3rd grade class working on their door poster for the "door contest." Many more activities are taking place the entire month of February so make sure to check out our next edition of the newsletter to check out all the fun the students had during February!

Giving Hearts Day is a 24-hour fundraising event for charities in North Dakota and northwest Minnesota. Since the first event in 2008, generous donors have given more than $112 million, 100% of which goes directly to participating charities. Giving Hearts Day 2022 was held on Thursday, February 10.

$26,236,099 Raised

89,890 Total Donations

40,714 Total Donors

803 Volunteerism Pledges

248 Goods Pledged

Giving Hearts Day is more than one day. It leads to a lifetime of generosity.

Much activity took place in the Elementary on Valentines Day, including exchanging of valentines. But in order to exchange, you need a box. Take a look at some of the amazing boxes made by Mrs. Young's 3rd grade!

The Battle Lake School 5th grade and our High School Ag Department recently collaborated on a homemade butter lesson. The Ag student’s guided the 5th graders through the butter making process. The end product was delicious!

FFA has been busy, so we thought we would check in to see what they have been up to!

Has anyone made it to State?

Yes, soils, forestry, milk quality, crops, poultry, and small animals.

Where is the State located?

At the U of M State campus.

Where are Regions located?

Willmar, Albany, Alexandria, Fargo, and Morris.

How many different teams are there?

Thirteen different teams. Some teams still need to compete, but those previously mentioned in this article are going to state.

Anything else you want to add?

February 19 - 26 is National FFA week. There will be dress up days and different activities taking place throughout the week at school. Check out the next edition of the newsletter for more details and pictures of what took place during FFA Week!

We sat down with Mrs. Heggem, advisor for Mock Trial, to learn more about this activity, this is what she has to say!

What is Mock Trial?

The students take on the role of completing a legal trial that is based upon a realistic lawsuit, taking on the roles of lawyers, witnesses, etc. They get to understand the American legal system because they are putting it together in a real courtroom with real judges…under regular circumstances. This year it is online. Students are responsible for defending and trying to convict the person in the case.

Who can be in Mock Trial?

Any 7-12th grader. Right now it is a pretty young team, they lost 5 seniors last year… a small group of returning members. Looking for people to join. People who are interested in law and good at arguing.

How has the season been?

They won one trial and lost two. They feel good about how the season has been going though. It is mostly younger students on the team and they are going up against bigger teams. The losses have been really close.

How long have you been the Mock Trial coach?

Eleven years. Her husband is the attorney coach. Every team needs a teacher coach and a legal coach.

Anything else you want to add?

It’s a very unique competition, it is kind of like speech, a play, or debate. Students have to work really hard and there is a lot of studying going into it. The biggest challenge is this year is all competitions are over zoom.

We asked Knowledge Bowl team coach Brian FItzgerald to explain what the Battle Lake Knowledge Bowl is, take a look at what he had to say.

Knowledge Bowl is a competition that combines quickness, teamwork, and, of course, knowledge in a variety of scholastic subjects.

Students compete in teams of 5, and they are able to work together to come up with correct answers. This year's regular season is almost complete. The sub region tournament is in mid-March.

This year's seniors on the Knowledge Bowl team are: Ellie Gibbs, Blake Alonzo, Kaitlyn Brandner, Isaac Scherfenberg, and Fiona Schmid.

Juniors: August Wicklund, Morgan Malone, and Annika Lukken.

Sophomores: Gibson Fleischauer, Cainen Crouse, Laney Frost, Cadence Hartman, Cora Walker, Ky Shebeck, and Victor Johnson.

Freshmen: Cayden Mansker, Trevor Stans, Jarren Hill, Izzy Brandborg, and Emily Christensen.

We sat down with Mrs. Scherfenberg to learn more about Speech, here is what she has to say!

Speech is a MSHSL activity where 7-12 grade students can compete in one or two of 13 different speaking categories. These categories are divided into two types. The first is public address, where students present information in a professional manner and the second type is interpretative, where the presenter acts out the speech. There are categories for everyone! The season is still early but many speakers have already gotten going and some, especially the senior speakers, have been already placed in events. Our junior high speakers also found success at the JH meet. Everyone is learning and improving. Mrs. Scherfenberg has been the assistant coach for 4 years. Speech is very competitive and it is hard to get awards and hard to go to state. When people get awards they are pretty impressed. Regardless of winning or not, speech can still improve speaking skills. Most speech students want to be critiqued by the judges so they can learn from their mistakes.

Relationships. Education. Accountability. Character. Hard Work.

Want to learn more? Watch the video, featuring Mrs. McClure, the REACH advisor at Battle Lake School.

What is Black History Month?

Black History Month is an annual celebration of achievements by African Americans and a time for recognizing their central role in U.S. history. Since 1976, every U.S. president has officially designated the month of February as Black History Month. Other countries around the world, including Canada and the United Kingdom, also devote a month to celebrating Black history.

Who do we celebrate on Black History Month?

Black History Month was created to focus attention on the contributions of African Americans to the United States. It honors all Black people from all periods of U.S. history, from the enslaved people first brought over from Africa in the early 17th century to African Americans living in the United States today.

The Battle Lake Lions sponsored their annual Drug Awareness Poster contest with a total of 35 entered. The club chose their winners and then went on to District's. Lions, Dennis Quam, presented Lenny Hochstein as Best Overall and second place at District's.

Battle Lake 3rd Grade Receives “Legs!” Brenda Mathiesen came to Mrs. Young’s 3rd grade class after she donated “Legs,” their prize box. She talked to the students about art and all of the repurposed materials that she used to make “Legs” with. The kids loved it! And a bonus, they got to sit on their brand new rug!

Click on a link below to get the athletic schedule for that week.

February 28 - March 6

March 7 - 13

March 14 - 20

March 21 - 27

March 28 - April 3

March 4

1/2 Day of School for Students

Buses leave at 12:20 pm

March 14

School Board Meeting

6:30 - 8:00 pm

March 30

High School Parent/Teacher Conferences

4:00 - 8:00 pm

Catch up on school updates - download the BL Schools' app today! With the app, you can access sports scores, cafeteria menus, news updates and even emergency notifications. Download the app on Android: http://bit.ly/2noE8Ec or iPhone: https://apple.co/30W2O4A.

Website: www.battlelakeschool.k12.mn.us
Location: 402 Summit Street West, Battle Lake, MN, USA
Phone: 218-864-5215
Facebook: facebook.com/BLSchools
Twitter: @BLSchools