Comet Connection - Cameron School District

Comet
Connection
Home of the
Cameron
Outstanding teaching
715-458-4560
PO Box 378
Cameron, WI 54822-0378
www.cameron.k12.wi.us
by Ashley Smith
School District Mrs. Sheri Hagen-Salm wins Teacher Fellowship Award
Cameron High School has many
outstanding teachers; however, it
isn’t every day that we have a teacher
being recognized for it. Last year,
Cameron alumni Jurnee Uetz heard
an announcement looking for nominations and wanted to show some
gratitude by nominating English
teacher Mrs. Sheri Hagen-Salm for
Joseph Leschisin
District Administrator
the Herb Kohl Award. This March,
715-458-5600
Mrs. Hagen-Salm found out that
[email protected]
she was selected as a recipient of the
2015 Herb Kohl Fellowship Award
John Meznarich
High School Principal
for teachers. Since it is the 25th
715-458-5900
year of this award, Mr. Kohl raised
[email protected]
the amount of the award to $3,000
compared to $1,000 in past years.
Thomas Spanel
Middle School Principal
Awards were given to 102 teachers
715-458-5810
statewide and their schools.
[email protected]
Recipients are chosen for their
superior ability to inspire a love
Patricia Schroeder
Elementary School Principal of learning in their students, their
715-458-5710
ability to motivate others, and
[email protected]
their leadership and service within
and outside of the classroom. Mrs.
Hagen-Salm does this every day in
her classroom and is well-deserving
of this award.
Mrs. Hagen-Salm, her family,
and Mr. and Mrs. Leschisin went
to Chippewa Falls for the Herb
Kohl luncheon on Sunday, April 12.
There, retired Senator Kohl gave a
speech reminding ev- Inside this
eryone that education issue:
is the greatest gift one
2 - 5 District
generation can give
6 - 7 Elementary
another.
The ever-so humble, school news
Mrs. Hagen-Salm
8 - 9 Middle
school news
said, “I work with
ridiculously talented 10-11 High
people and I hope
school news
more students will
take the time to nominate them next
year.”
Mrs. Hagen-Salm’s inspiration, leadership, and love of education is well-known
to her colleagues, students, and parents.
The community and District are lucky to
have Mrs. Hagen-Salm as a teacher.
Award winner. Mrs. Sheri Hagen-Salm receives the
Kohl Fellowship Award from retired Senator Herb
Kohl on April 12 at the luncheon in Chippewa Falls.
Our school . . . where staff, students excel and parents, community care.
2
Comet Connection
District
Going “Social”
by Abby Faulhaber
Following the
lot of costs astrend of social
sociated with
media, the Camprinting and
eron School
mailing the
District decided
newsletters. If
to join Facebook,
we can use soTwitter, YouTube,
cial media as
and Instagram to
an outlet for
keep connected.
information
#SocialSchool4ethat would
du, which was
typically come
founded by
Like us. If you have Facebook, the District would love to have you following what the schools are doing out in our
Andrea North, is and planning to do for the future.
newsletters,
the company that
we can look
helped set us up with all the pages.
at
more
efficient
alternatives
to our
schools. It is hard to “tell our story”
“It’s great to play a small part in
current district newsletters. Also, we
when we only have quarterly newsthe big picture,” said Andrea. With
letters going out. I simply wanted to cannot fit every story in the newsletthe District being on Facebook and
ter or newspaper, so it’s nice to have
have a more immediate way of “tellother social media sites, it’s easier to
ing our story,” said District Adminis- a way to get the stories that didn’t
get information to the people in the ter Joe Leschisin. Information having make the cut out to our readers.
area faster.
Emily Peterson, out of Woodbury,
to do with elementary school all
“We have a ton of good stuff hap- the way up to the high school is all
Minnesota, is the one behind the
pening each and every day in our
screen when it comes to posting and
on the page. All of the social media
instagramming. All of the staff in
arenas have throwbacks from years
back and what is going on right now. the District have the ability to email
their building secretary. The secreThe social media sites will allow the
tary emails Emily the information,
District to get announcements out
and makes sure the information is
quicker.
The District realizes that not every- correct and posts it online as soon as
she can.
one is hooked up with social media,
Don’t forget to “like”, “follow”,
but for those who are, it will get
and subscribe to the Cameron
information out much faster than
“But first let me take a selfie.” District
School District pages to be updated
through the mail. We spend a lot of
Administer Joe Leschisin follows the selfie trend
on everything fun and exciting that
time and effort putting together our
to show his excitement about the new Facebook
is happening!
quarterly newsletters. There is also a
page.
Giving Opportunity
Are you a member of Thrivent
Financial or do you shop on Amazon? If you answered yes to either,
please consider designating Cameron
Area Scholarship Foundation for
your choice dollars or selecting the
Cameron Area Scholarship Foundation upon checkout through Amazon when you qualify for Amazon
Smiles.
Your donations will be used
toward scholarship awards to help
Cameron students fund their post
secondary educations. All donations
will be appreciated. Thank you!
3
Comet Connection
Making dreams come true
District– continued
by Sam Gerland
“A dream is a wish your heart
benefiting the cause for Brody; it
makes . . .” Making a wish, however, was showing the character and love
is not quite the same as having that
of the community. “It was really
dream come true. What it takes
a heartwarming feeling when I
to make a dream become a reality
heard students and teachers talk
is a lot of hard work and caring.
about sending root beer floats to
Fortunately, for one young man in
other people . . . ‘just because’,”
the Cameron District, big hearts
commented Mrs. Carla Kuffel, NHS
and hard work were plentiful. When adviser. “Most of these people did
the Cameron community heard that not even tell the recipients who
eighth grader Brody Hellendrung
the treats were from.These acts of
dreamed of going to Washington
kindness and love were directed
D.C. to visit the Smithsonian,
toward Brody, a young man many
people gathered together in groups
had not even met,” explained Mrs.
small and large, to find a way to
Kuffel. “It’s so humbling.”
make this 14-year-old CMS student’s
Middle school principal Mr. Tom
wishes possible.
Spanel was also a major contributor
Brody was diagnosed with a rare
to the campaign to help Brody
form of cancer in August of 2013.
achieve his dreams. Mr. Spanel,
After a 19-month fight, the disease
along with his staff and students,
kept progressing despite his many
came up with multiple ways to raise
weeks in the hospital.
bucks for Brody. The middle school
Brody and his family created a
hosted a Pajama Day on Friday,
dream list and posted it on their
March 13. The students and staff
Facebook page. Many community
could wear their bedtime clothes to
members saw it and decided to take
school. Everywhere you looked, you
action.
could see someone in
High school
pj’s. This fundraiser
clubs got together,
brought in $1,235.
“THESE acts of
kindness and love were directed
and their
“And, from there, it
toward Brody, a young man many
organizations gave
just snowballed,” Mr.
have not even met,”
a total of $1,900.
Spanel said.
-CARLA KUFFEL
That was the
Just like what had
just the beginning.
occurred in the high
During the week of March 9-13,
school, students and staff donated
the high school NHS sold root
money without wearing their
beer floats for $2 for two days.
pajamas. The student council gave
They also sponsored a hat day that
$500, as well.
Friday. After paying $5, the staff
The Cameron School District
and students could wear hats of
has done similar things in the past
their choosing for the day. These
for Brody. Last year, he went on
fundraisers brought in $580.
the hunting trip of a lifetime with
This fundraiser was not only
Mr. Jeff Ladd (the high school
Hat day! The NHS students Holly Winiarczyk, Michael Timblin, Michael Semon, Brooke
Hom, Rachel Bartsch and Hannah Bailey put
on a Hat Day to support Brody’s cause.
agriculture teacher) and Mr. Travis
Ebner (Special Education teacher in
the middle school).
But this fundraiser for the trip
to DC was different. The whole
community was involved. Local
businesses pitched into the cause
in a big way. Rice Lake Weighing
Systems donated four plane tickets,
Michelle Bailey from Thrivent added
a $250 gift card. Chippewa Vally
Airport Service came to Cameron
to pick up the travelers. The Grand
Hyatt in D.C. donated a suite, and
American Christian Tours in D.C. a
tour guide, Nolan, and a tour bus.
It brought everyone closer
together. It turned into something
much more. Not only was this about
sending Brody to the East Coast, it
was about helping each other.
“The community stepped up,”
commented 5th grade teacher Ms.
Diesterhaft, “It’s the little things
that add up; stuff like that makes
us slow down and appreciate the
small things.” The community was
happy to be able to make Brody’s last
memories really matter.
4
Comet Connection
District– continued
Mr. Hellendrung goes to D.C.
by Mandy Outcalt
Brody Hellendrung, a Cameron
Middle School student battling
cancer, had a Dream List that
contained a multitude of things-from a pair of virtual reality
goggles to visiting the Smithsonian
Institution. In March, the school
district banded together to help
Brody achieve as many of his dreams
as possible. Along with community
Smithsonian bound. Hannah and Brody
hang out with their guide, Nolan.
support, the district was able to raise
enough funds and donations to send
Brody on his dream trip—a tour of
Washington D.C.
The community gathered together
in the Cameron Middle School
parking lot bright and early March
16 to send Brody, his sister, Hannah,
father, mother, grandmother and a
family friend on a trip to our nation’s
Capital.
Upon arrival, Brody and his
entourage met with Nolan, a tour
guide from Christian Tours. Nolan
guided them throughout their
entire trip to Ford’s Theater, where
Abraham Lincoln was shot, and they
learned the history from their tour
guide, Leon. They got to see the .44
Derringer that killed Lincoln, his
famous top hat, and his torn coat.
The group went to the Botanical
Gardens and took in all they had to
offer, from the desert garden to the
rainforest.
“My favorite part was the World
War II Memorial, because my
grandpa served in the war,” Hannah
described. While at the Memorial
they got to see the states’ pillars and
the Field of Stars. Nolan took them
to the Smithsonian Institution where
they saw many amazing artifacts and
exhibits.
All in all the trip was a success and
the community helped Brody cross
off an item on his dream list and
made his final days memorable.
Youth Art Month
by McKenzie Otto
Art is in the air and it shows all
over the area. March represents Art
Month. Cameron School District
helps join in on the celebration of
art by participating in an art show
Striking a pose. Sixth grader Addy Adams
shows off her artwork, “Interacting with
Animals.”
which took place at WITC in Rice
Lake. K-12 art students from Cameron, Barron, Rice Lake, ChetekWeyerhaeuser, Cumberland, and
Prairie Farm all displayed art pieces.
The teachers from these schools, (elementary, middle and high schools)
each selected 30 different pieces of
artwork to be displayed. Once the
teachers have selected the artwork,
they have an opening ceremony
which was held on March 7. “It’s an
honor to have your art displayed,”
says Addy Adams.
The art is then left on display for
the following two weeks. It allows
students, their family and friends
to come check out the artwork they
have created. “It’s just our way to
showcase our talented artists,” says
Standing proud. Junior Jordan Lipp stands
next to her displayed artwork.
high school art teacher Mrs. Leschisin.
Comet Connection
5
District– continued
Farewell faculty
Principal Spanel retires
by Mandy Outcalt
When Mr. Tom Spanel was young,
he dreamed of playing ball, either
playing as the quarterback for the
Green Bay Packers or as shortstop
for the New York Yankees. Lucky for
us, those dreams weren’t his reality,
however.
Now, Mr. Spanel has been the
Cameron Middle School principal
for 17 years. Before his many years
of being principal, he taught middle
and high school level Social Studies
with an emphasis on Economics.
Being the middle school principal
has affected his life in a good way.
He learned to understand a wide
variety of children and their needs.
He also learned how to interact with
Working hard. Mr. Spanel fills out paperwork in his office.
the adults, the parents, and faculty.
more time together. Mr. Spanel
Mr. Spanel thinks the best part
answer was a surprise. He is going to
wants to fish and hunt more, but
about being principal is getting
miss standing in front of the school
he also wants to catch up on the 20
to work with the kids, while the
waving at all of the children arriving
or so books he has been too busy to
changes from the state make the
each morning.
read. He and his wife also plan to
job difficult at times. “My favorite
We wish Mr. Spanel good luck on
memory of being principal, is seeing become “snowbirds,” and head to
his retirement, but we will miss him.
Texas for the winter.
the smiles on
He is retiring now
everyone’s
simply because he
face each
can. Everything fell
first day
into place. His wife is
of school,”
Also leaving the Cameron
retiring
and
both
his
Mr. Spanel
School
District this year is
memory of being
sons
are
graduating
remembered.
Ms. Jaime Keef. She has been
principal is seeing the
from
college.
Mr.
Mr. Spanel
interpreting for
smiles on everyone’s
Spanel’s general feeling
has plans
William Warner,
face each first day of
towards
retirement
is
for his
school.”
a senior graduat“tired excitement.” He
retirement.
-Mr. Tom Spanel
ing this year. We
is looking forward to
He and his
wish her the best
a break and spending
wife are both
of luck in her new
time with his wife.
retiring this
endeavors.
When he was asked
June. They
what he would miss the most, his
plan to visit their sons and spend
, Ms. Keef
“My Favorite
6
Comet Connection
Elementary School
Track and Field Day
Cameron Elementary has set May
29 as Track and Field Day for the
2014-2015 school year. Track events
will take place on the elementary
school football field. Events will
begin for grades 1 - 4 on the football
field at 12:15 p.m. and will end with
relays. Kindergarten will participate
in the 50-yard dash at the start of
Track and Field. Track and Field is
a great tradition, and we know that
students, parents, other family members friends and staff members look
forward to it each year.
Cameron Elementary
“Vacation Education”
Vacation education will run from
June 15-26, 2015. Registration
forms were sent home with students. Contact the office if your
student would still like to sign-up.
Second grade savers
by Hannah Bailey
Learning how to manage and save
your money can be a hard skill to attain. But, the second graders at CES
are getting a head start in the game.
The Community Bank of Cameron paid a visit to the students to
teach them about using a bank and
how to save their money in a responsible way. Bank employee Cara
Duekrop read the students a story
about a boy visiting his bank. While
she read, she taught the students
bank vocabulary terms like interest
and savings. The students then used
these terms to play Bank Bingo. “My
favorite part of the visit was bingo
and I learned the vault is the most
important part in the bank,” said
second grader Frankie Robel.
Cara and bank
mascot, Polly
the Parrot, also
talked to the
students about
the importance
of saving their
money. Polly
told the students:
“Polly save a dollar!” Along with
playing bingo
and storytelling, the students “Polly Wanna Cracker?” Mrs. Martens second grade students pose with
Polly the Parrot after learning about the importance of saving money..
participated in
the bank’s colorsecond grade teacher Mrs. Stacey
ing contest. “It was a fun presentaMartens.
tion for the students to learn from
Overall, the bank’s visit was a great
our community members,” said
success.
The Wise Men of Chelm
by Rachel Bartsch
First and second graders at CES
spent an entertaining and exciting
afternoon in the school gym on April
14. The students and staff had the
privilege of attending a play presented by the UW-Eau Claire Theater
Department.
The UW-EC students arrived
armed with traveling sets and amazing costumes, ready to spend time
grade teacher, Mrs. Madwith our youngsters. The
eline Leidl-Rykal. “The
department performed The
students are very engaged
Wise Men of Chelm, a jewish
and get to visit with the
folktale about a small town in
performers before and
Poland inhabited by some
after the show.”
very foolish people.
Thank you, UW-EC
“The department
actors,
for bringing us
always does a great
Moo! The children are in
an afternoon of fun and
job with these perawe of the performer in his
entertainment.
formances,” said first
cow costume.
Comet Connection
7
Elementary School – continued
Back in time
by Hailey Eckstrom
History is an important class that
teaches of our past mistakes, failures, successes, and adventures as
a country. Each year at Cameron
Elementary School, the fourth grade
students are given a project involved
with history. Mrs. Rebecca Ness is
the fourth grade teacher that assigns
the project. This project allows the
students to choose any historicallyrelated topic, create a visual aid of
the topic, and present the project to
their class. Many interesting projects
were created by the fourth graders,
but Sydney Leschisin took first place.
Sydney chose to paint a Wisconsin
Violet, Georgia O’Keeffe style. Mrs.
Angie Leschisin, Sydney’s mom,
was very proud of her
daughter. “Sydney is so
excited that her painting of a wood violet in
Georgia O’Keeffe’s style
is going to be in an ‘actual museum’. Georgia’s
paintings are beautiful
florals and landscapes-Sydney hopes that
Perfect projects. The winning students proudly presents their
people realize that this project. There are twelve presentations total, and all are unique to
world-renown painter the student, and what they chose.
is a Wisconsin-native.
project on a lumberjack camp, and
Her dad and I are so happy for her!”
Jazmine Tietz with her project on
All the projects turned out great.
the Lake Superior Ice Caves. Great
Some other interesting ones include
job students! Keep up the hard
Zoe Rubenzer’s project on Wisconwork!
sin Farming History, Devon Tasker’s
To the circus we go!
by Hannah Bailey
When you ask any former Cameron student about what their favorite
field trip was, many would answer,
“The Shrine Circus.” Each year, the
fourth grade class goes on a field trip
to the Shrine Circus at Warner Coliseum at the Minnesota State Fair-
grounds in St. Paul, Minnesota. The
a tradition,” she added. This year,
St. Paul Osman Shrine Circus is the
the circus featured elephants, tigers,
longest continuously running Shrine
miniature horses, pigs, the ring of
Circus in America and
death, sky masters,
hasn’t missed a perforand acrobatic acts.
“I’ve
never
mance in 92 years.
There was also a
been
This year prior to
very comical clown
to
the
circus
before
and
going to the circus, all
act that was a fait was really nice to go
fourth grade classes
vorite amongst the
there because I had so
read a book about the
students. But, the
much fun.”
-Laila
Peterson
Shrine Circus. Along
most popular act of
with reading this book,
all was the Elsa and
each class did some sort
Anna act from Froof special activity.
zen. All the kids were very excited.
“The kids get so excited every
Afterwards, the kids wrote letters
year to go to the Shrine Circus,”
to the Shriners about how much
said Mrs. Mary Brion. “Cameron
fun they had and thanking them for
Elementary students have been gopaying for their tickets.
Clowning around. Fourth grade student
ing
to
the
Shrine
Circus
for
the
last
Overall, the circus was a huge sucAllison Newland says cheese with two clowns at
42
years
and
it’s
definitely
become
ces.
the circus.
8
Comet Connection
Middle School
Upcoming dates
CMS track and field day will be
held June 1, 2015 at the new track
behind the high school. Start time
will be 12:30 p.m. and go until 3:00
Turkey hunt
p.m.
The 6th grade teachers and students
will be going to visit the St. Croix
Scenic Boat Tour and Fish Hatchery
CMS Awards Day will be held the
morning of Thursday, June 4 beginning at 9:00 a.m. Parents are welcome to attend.
Gobble, gobble. Nineteen hunters and mentors took to the fields on April 3 and 4. A lucky 13 of the students harvested their 1st turkeys.
Lights, camera, action!
by Crystal Gillett
One of the most valued things in
life is family. That is why it is important to have good family communications skills. Mrs. Laurie Adams has
been doing this project for years to
teach kids the good and poor ways
to communicate with the family. The
fifth graders in Consumer Education
class with Mrs. Adams were assigned
to create a play demonstrating good
and poor family communication
Play acting. Fifth grade students perform
their play in front of the class.
skills.
Each skit had to be at least ten
minutes long. They needed to use
props and costumes for their skits.
Some of the students were very
creative with their props. One group
made a TV with antennas sticking
out the top. Another group made a
gas can out of a cardboard box.
Each group consisted of about four
students. They had to work together
to write a script that included good
and poor family communication.
On example had the “family members” disagreeing about where they
should go out to eat for supper. They
all wanted to eat somewhere different and they were arguing about it.
In the end they decided that they
would take turns going to the different places they all wanted to go each
time they went out.
The young students
did
a great job writing
scripts, creating
props,
and performing
their plays.
According to
Mrs. Adams,
“The students really
enjoy being able
to creatively
demonstrate how
to comu- In character. Props such as
nicate ef- aprons were used during their
performances.
fectively.”
They really got into their acting
roles and had fun with their plays.
Communication is key to family
success and the 5th graders got a lot
of practice communicating!
Comet Connection
9
Middle School – continued
Battle of the books
by Ellie O’Flanagan
“Any book that helps a child
to form a habit of reading, to
make reading one of his deep
and continuing needs, is good for
him.” This quote by Maya Angelou
perfectly sums up the purpose of
Battle of the Books.
On March 27, Cameron fifth
graders traveled to Roselawn
Elementary School in Chetek to
participate in the Battle of the
Books. This was the 22nd annual
Battle of the Books, which is a
competition that encourages reading
as well as teamwork. The students
were required to read 20 books and
memorize the titles and authors. This
year was the first time that the whole
fifth grade was taken to compete.
K-12 librarian Mrs. Melissa
Longmire was in charge of preparing
the teams. The fifth grade teachers,
Mrs. LaVallie, Ms. Diesterhaft, and
Mr. Huseth helped out, too. Mrs.
Olson, the retired K-6 librarian also
came back to help. She selected the
three teams that would represent
Cameron. The three teams were
Clash of the Books (Brittany, Taylor,
Katelyn, Keenon, and Tanner),
the Cameron Slamdunkers (Cali,
Madison, Erin, Jasmine, and
Ariahna), and Live and Let Read
(Reagan, Sophia, Rylee, Madelyn,
Arsen, and Matthew). “The students
were enthused and worked hard to
prepare for the competition,” said
Mrs. Longmire.
It was a very close competition.
Each battle lasted ten minutes, and
teams were awarded two points
for each correct title answer. If
they knew the author of the book,
they received an additional point.
Cameron’s first team won by six
points. The second battle was neck
and neck the whole time and ended
with a tie. The final battle was again
Books books and more books!
The Cameron Middle School
Library Media Center held the 15th
annual “Book Swap” during the
week of April 13-16, celebrating
National Library Week. The Book
Swap is an opportunity for CMS
students to exchange books from
home. This year, the student
that donated the most books was
Brianna Saffert with 23 books.
This is a great way for students to
obtain new reading material at no
additional cost and to recycle in an
environmentally friendly way. The
LMC staff, Mrs. Longmire and Mrs.
Voelker, coordinate the program.
The LMC also hosts a bookmark
contest around the Book Swap
theme. This year’s theme was “Be
a star - READ!.” This year’s winner
was fifth grader, Ariahna Andersen
and honorable mention was awarded
to Grace Vincent.
April 13, Book Swap Week, kicked
off with a visit from author, Michael
Perry of Fall Creek. He has written
many magazine articles and adult
nonfiction titles, and he has recently
published a fiction young adult novel
called Scavengers. He talked to the
students about the types of activities
he has experienced to do the writing
We’ve got spirit. Fifth grade Battle of the
Books team, The Cameron Slamdunkers, dress
up in Cameron gear for the competition held
at Roselawn Elementary in Chetek.
won by Cameron by six points. The
final score was 111-99 in favor of
Cameron, which meant they got to
take home the traveling trophy. “My
favorite part was winning with my
team and getting the trophy,” said
fifth grader Erin Salm.
Overall, it was a fun day and a
great experience for all who were
involved. The Cameron fifth graders
did a great job representing their
school and community.
he has done: magazine articles and
nonfiction books, and how fiction is
a lot harder for him to write.
On April 16, every student in the
middle school had the opportunity
to select one book from the many
donated.
If your family is willing to donate
books for next year or have any
questions about the Book Swap,
please call Mrs. Longmire at 715458-4560. We appreciate your
support for this worthwhile activity.
At CMS, we will continue to
emphasize the importance of reading
as a lifelong activity. Happy reading!
10
Comet Connection
High School
A sweet treat
by Andrew Myers
What’s sweet, sticky, and abundant
this time of year? If you guessed
maple syrup, you would be correct.
On March 20, Mr. Ladd’s Forestry
class along with a few applied communications students, traveled to
Hustad’s Sugarbush. Senior Holly
Winiarczyk said, “It was a fun field
trip and I learned a lot, I would
definitley go again if I had the opThe giving tree. Mr. Jim Crotteau, standing next to a maple tree, teaches the second graders
portunity.”
about the process of making maple syrup.
Sugarbush is a maple syrup farm
about making maple syrup. The
owned by Al and Linda Hustad. The couple has been producing maple
products for over 40 years. The stu- children learned about how the trees
dents learned about the techniques are tapped, how the sap is collected,
used to harvest the sap and produce and how the sap is carried and stored
the maple syrup. Senior Aubrey
in large tanks. The students learned
Marcon said, “My favortie part was about how much sap it takes to make
tasting the maple syrup.” Then after a gallon of syrup.
their field trip, the group stopped
The second graders thought that
at McDonald’s and had lunch.
it was fun, and they felt that they
Not only did the Forestry class
learned a lot about making the maple
get to go, a total of 85 second
syrup. They also really enjoyed tasting
graders and their classroom teachthe maple syrup ice cream. They hope
ers, went on a field trip to a maple
they can go back and have the ice
syrup farm, too. The second graders cream again. From high schoolers to
Sugar sweet. Holly Winiarczyk stands in line
went to Mr. Jim Crotteau’s house
second graders, everyone agreed this
waiting to buy some maple syrup after trying
on
Tuesday,
March
31,
to
learn
sugary treat was well worth the visit.
the sweet delicousness.
Faces in the news
Ballers. Junior Peyton Dibble and Freshman
Gunner Wilder are playing AAU basketball
for the Wisconsin Jets. Peyton is playing on the
17U team and Gunner on the 15U.
State champions in the making. Middle
schoolers Ashtyn Waite, Tanner Gerber and
Remington Ladd made it to Wrestling State.
Additionally, elementary school student Reyana
Ladd made it to State in her age group.
Athletic geniuses. Comet standouts Chloe
Wanink and Kal Gerber were selected as
finalists for the WIAA Scholar Athlete Award.
Chloe has 10 varsity letters, Kal 11 varsity letters and they are tied for the top GPA.
Comet Connection
11
Learning the ropes
High School - cont.
by Sam Gerland
Cameron has two new student
teachers for this last quarter of the
school year. Ms. Jami Riley is assisting Mrs. Carla Kuffel in her PreCalculus, Algebra 1 and Accelerated
Math classes. And Ms. Amanda
Tainter is assisting Mrs. Leah Wintrone in her 3rd grade classes. Ms. Riley is from Fairmont, MN,
and she is currently attending UWEau Claire, where she ran Cross
Country and Track. Ms. Riley will
be graduating in May with a BA
in Secondary Math Education and
will have two minors; Spanish and
coaching. Ever since she was a little
girl, Ms. Riley has been excellent at
math. But she hasn’t always wanted
to be a math teacher. As a child
she wanted to be an artist, the only
problem was that she couldn’t draw.
She swore to herself that she would
never teach, but her high school
calculus teacher changed her mind.
“I had teachers that saw things in me
that I didn’t see in myself. I want to
do the same for other students,” said
Ms. Riley. Math has always held a
special place in her heart. She loves
to travel and in the spring of 2013,
she studied abroad in Spain for one
semester. She wouldn’t mind going back for future education or a
teaching position. In her free time
she enjoys running, hanging out
with friends and watching Netflix.
She loves the close knit community
of Cameron and really enjoys working with Mrs. Kuffel. Currently
her favorite subjects to teach are
Calculus and Trigonometry. In the
future, she hopes to be a high school
Calc teacher and from there possibly
teach college mathematics. Ms. Amanda Tainter is from Chetek, WI. She has been attending UWStout for the past four years. She will
graduate this coming December with
an Early Childhood Education major with a Spanish minor. She also is
certified to teach Special Education
and Middle Childhood Education.
Cameron is her third student teaching placement. Before this, she was
at the Childhood and Family Center
on the UW-Stout campus working
in a one-year-old Pre-Kindergarten
class, and from there, she worked at
Oaklawn Elementary in Menomonie
teaching kindergarten. In her free time, Ms. Tainter
enjoys reading Harry Potter books,
drawing, kayaking, and hanging out
with friends. Her family is also very
important to her. When Ms. Tainter
was young, she would play school
with her four younger siblings and
would help them with their homework. She has always wanted to be a
teacher, “I want to share my knowledge with the future generation and
guide them in the right direction,”
commented Ms. Tainter. She hopes
to teach first, second or third grade
and eventually wants to work toward
becoming a principal, then district
administrator. Both young ladies seem to have the
right mindset to begin this career.
We wish them the very best in their
future teaching careers. Math brain. Below: Ms. Jami Riley
is assisting Mrs. Kuffel this semester
in her Mathematics courses.
Busy gal. Above: Ms. Amanda Tainter
helps teach the third grade classes under
Mrs. Wintrone this semester.
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Our school . . . where staff, students excel and parents, community care.
A look in the future
Cameron High School held Career Day
by Hauke Carstens
Many high school students are un- School FBLA hosted a Career Day
certain which occupation they want on March 30.
to choose. To support them in their
Career Day was started by Mrs.
decision making, Cameron High
Hopkins in 1999 after she saw the
project at Cornell High School and
Fun facts
thought it was a good idea to show
- According to a survey in
students different jobs before they
2013, 1 out of 4 high school
graduate.
students older than 16 has a job.
This year, 14 different occupations
That makes about 3 million work- were represented from teachers to
ers nationwide.
National Guard to Aerospace Engi- A LinkedIn survey also listed
neers who presented their daily work
the most common dream jobs for to the students at Cameron. Every
men and women. Men dream of
presentation was supported by the
becoming a professional athlete or members of FBLA.
pilot while women want to be a
“I’m very happy with the results of
teacher or veterinarian.
this Career Day, I think it went very
- On average, a person changes well,” said Mrs. Hopkins. “I also
their career 5-7 times.
heard kids say that this changed their
career plans.”
The students were also excited
about the day. “I really enjoyed it,”
said junior Kelly Ferris. “Detective
Kuffel was especially interesting,”
added junior Abby Fjelstad.
FBLA hopes that this day helped
the students clear some uncertanties.
Doctor, doctor! Three CHS students are trying out the doctor’s equipment.