Schools

A special Elf on the Shelf made an appearance at Merrimac recently.

A Sauk Prairie High School student is playing a part in the design of his own school. Jack Simonis developed his own architectural plans and renderings for the Drafting Classroom at SPHS. The classroom is scheduled to be renovated in the summer of 2023. Sauk Prairie School District Superintendent Jeff Wright explains: “I meet with teachers, staff, architects, and our contractors to plan for upcoming construction. These meetings include reviewing details of the design, setting a timeline for completion, and coordinating the moving and storing of existing supplies and classes to align with that timeline. During one of those conversations with some of our Career and Technical Education teachers, one of our drafting teachers, Jacob Brickl, shared that a student developed plans for our drafting classroom. Mr. Brickl shared the basics of the designs and we were intrigued to learn more. We also agreed that it would be an incredibly valuable learning experience to have the student, Jack Simonis, present those plans to our architect for review. Our architect, Plunkett Raysich Associates (PRA) agreed. We set up a meeting at which Jack formally presented his CAD drafts and explained his plan. The team from PRA, including a 2014 Sauk Prairie High School graduate, liked the plans and agreed to set up future meetings with Jack to help get his ideas into the final plans. The drafting classroom will be renovated during the summer of 2023, along with other spaces in our metals shop, wood shop, and advanced manufacturing teaching spaces.”

The November Above The Line theme was “Respect.” The students listed below received awards on Friday, November 18th, from their classroom teacher who felt that they are an individual that is respectful of others. Congratulations to these students! Bottom Row (left to right): Madden Bourland, Aubrey Hellenbrand, Taylor Ruhland, Mae Appleton, Hunter Weum, Jacob Schoepp, Alyssa McGuigan, Hadley Wheatman, and Evynne Lewis Second Row (left to right): Aiden Kalkofen, Owen Reinart, Nora Turner-Breunig, August Lenerz, Crosby Miller, Madison Kahl, Sofia Lopez, Rylin Murphy, Matthew Otto, and Xavier Ashley Third Row (left to right): Sam Appleton, Lyra Goetz, Anastasia Crowder, Paige Wood, Autumn Winkers, Hallie Ballweg, & Ethan Desso Top Row (left to right): Maelee Boda, Maycee Bradley, Natalie Nurkala, Ryette Smith, Alex Reible, Izabel Brickl, and Spencer Davis Not Pictured: Gracelyn Kleist.

Grand Avenue’s Food Drive took place the week of November 7th. Students brought in food and paper supplies to donate to the Food Pantry. Thank you to all who made donations. Here is a photo of Kris Ballweg from the Food Pantry along with students, Easton Weiss, Cora Warner, Addison Schulenburg, Hallie Slaney, and Anna Leaf.