Education News

The following area students recently graduated from Buena Vista University: • Melanie Brashears of Storm Lake earned a master of science in education in professional school counseling. • Jasmine Demers of Storm Lake earned a master of arts in organizational leadership...

Buena Vista University has launched a new track within its existing Teacher Leadership, Curriculum, and Instruction (TLCI) master’s degree program designed from the ground up for the full-time K-12 educator powered by Discovery Education, the leader in standards-aligned digital curriculum resources, engaging content, and professional learning for K-12 classrooms. ...

With teachers in short supply, the Storm Lake School District has a new idea on where to get tutors for students in the Alternative High School program who may need extra help. “We have a whole high school full of kids who are really good at math,” says Superintendent Stacey Cole, adding that such people “don’t just fall out of the sky.”...

On May 22 the MMCRU physics class (Robert Russel, Daymion George and Lucas Sanchez) competed in a Milk Jug Boat Race at ValleyFair Amusement Park. This was the culmination of a semester long project of gathering milk jugs, designing, planning, and finally building with the help of Mr. ...

Kendall Snyder from Buena Vista County, was awarded the Northwest Iowa 4-H Scholarship through the Iowa 4-H Foundation at the recognition ceremony Sunday, June 2 in Ames. The Iowa 4-H Foundation has announced the recipients of over 100 Iowa 4-H scholarships valued at over $115,000. ...

Brea Baumhover from Buena Vista County, was awarded the Persinger-Asmus-Ferrin Family 4-H Scholarship through the Iowa 4-H Foundation at the recognition ceremony Sunday, June 3 in Ames. The Iowa 4-H Foundation has announced the recipients of over 100 Iowa 4-H scholarships valued at over $115,000. ...

The Sac County Extension and Outreach Office held its annual babysitting clinic at the East Sac County Elementary School last week. The participants were split into groups and observed the different aged rooms at Kids World. Ben Ringgenberg, Charlie Peyton and Bob Murley from the Sac County Ambulance showed the participants what to do when a child is choking or not breathing, Justin Ortner of Iowa State Bank taught the youth how to manage their money, and Annette Koster of BVCS ECI taught the youth ages and stages of children. ...

Dennis Young, a longstanding servant leader for Buena Vista University, was recognized as a Sir John Marks Templeton Life Trustee during a ceremony that capped off the spring meeting of the BVU Board of Trustees in Storm Lake. “Induction as a Sir John Templeton Life Trustee is a special honor,” BVU President Joshua Merchant said in a presentation. ...

Verizon awarded a technology grant to the Friends of the Storm Lake Public Library to implement an Inter-generational robot program for parents and their children this coming autumn. Ozobot Evo robots and other teaching materials will be purchased to teach basic coding to those with preschool or early elementary school children. The program will end with an Ozobot Race. Registration will be required due to limited materials...

In an ongoing effort to continually better serve their students, St. Mary’s High School added a Heritage Language Learners Spanish course for native Spanish speakers to fine tune their overall Spanish communication skills. St. Mary’s Spanish Educator Anne Dahlhauser said when she arrived at St. ...

Storm Lake St. Mary’s Elementary School STEM program will be receiving a robotics kit from the Science Center of Iowa Making STEM Connections, awarded by the Governor’s STEM Advisory Council. Fourth grade educator Denise Hull earned the award for the school...

The Storm Lake High School band performed at the recent Memorial Day ceremonies held at the school auditorium.

At the State Conference in Ames it was announced that Sydney Herrig was the Iowa Society DAR 2019 Memorial Scholarship winner. Sydney graduates this May from Sioux Central High School. Her entry was sponsored by Buena Vista Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution...

Dr. Nathan Backman, associate professor of computer science, was named the 33rd recipient of the George Wythe Award, Buena Vista University’s highest honor for excellence in teaching, at the conclusion of the University’s Employee Recognition Celebration on Friday, May 24...

Buena Vista University Commencement was held Saturday. Students made the march to the fieldhouse, top. Above, some of the creative mortarboard decor celebrating the students achievements, and in one case (center) bemoaning student debt.

The 2019 DAR Good Citizens from six area schools are proudly announced by Buena Vista Chapter. Anna Tiefenthaler of Newell-Fonda, Rachel Kenny of Ridge View, Ben Hargens of Sioux Central, Kylee Lange of Storm Lake, and Alondra Melendez of St Mary’s were selected by their local schools. ...

The Buena Vista University Concert Choir has been named a finalist in the prestigious American Prize national nonprofit competition in the performing arts, the only Iowa choir to earn the acclaim this year. “It’s an extreme honor for us,” says Dr. Merrin Guice, BVU’s director of vocal studies. “With this advancement to the position of finalist, we are joining some very big-time ensembles.”...

Four local graduating seniors have received $1,500 scholarships through the Discovery Scholarship program sponsored by the Flint Hills Resources Arthur ethanol plant. The Discovery Scholarship recognizes outstanding achievement both inside and outside the classroom. Scholarship winners are selected based on academic performance, demonstrated leadership, entrepreneurial skills and their intent to pursue careers in STEM – science, technology, engineering and math – or agriculture...

Five siblings gathered in Storm Lake this weekend to watch their youngest brother graduate from high school, decades after their parents emigrated from war-torn Sudan to the United States. Cham Deng received his diploma Sunday from Storm Lake High School with a 3.4 grade point average, ranking him 28th in his class of 190 students, the Sioux City Journal reported. Storm Lake is a city in Buena Vista County with a population of roughly 10,600...

College graduates will be hitting a hot job market this spring if they’re ready to begin their careers, counselors and recruiters said. “The market’s pretty phenomenal for our students right now,” said Bill Watts, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s director of advising and career services. He said graduates have better chances this year to land good jobs than he’s seen in 20 years...

First Cooperative Association, headquartered in Cherokee, Iowa with 23 locations in Northwest Iowa has awarded 24 $500 scholarships to chosen graduates in their trade area. Since 1997 in excess of $178,000 has been given to local graduates to further their education in a variety of fields...

State Treasurer Michael L. Fitzgerald wants to remind Iowans May 31 is their last chance to celebrate 529 College Savings Day by registering for a chance to win a $529 College Savings Iowa account for a child in their life. “This year, we’re celebrating 529 Day with a College Savings Iowa account giveaway along with an informational video to go along with the contest,” Fitzgerald said. ...

Storm Lake High School has been selected as an Amazon Future Engineer school. The online giant offers a sponsored computer science education opportunity. The program is designed to inspire and train students from underserved schools and communities to pursue careers in computer science...

Six Buena Vista University students have been selected to participate in an on-campus question-and-answer program with Apple Computer, Inc., Co-founder Steve Wozniak on Friday, Oct. 4, during his appearance on campus as the 23rd William W. Siebens American Heritage Lecturer laureate...

Kiwanis honored top-performing students from Storm Lake Community School District and St. Mary’s from fifth grade up at Monday’s meeting. Front row, left to right: Bethany Pariseau, Karen Cortes-Zermeno, Brett Petersen, Neely Bacon, Brendon Petersen, Perla Arreguin, Jayce Vithayasab, Madeline Nera, Madison Stull. ...

Newell - Fonda FFA members attended Ag Day at Dordt College in Sioux Center, Iowa. These seven members composed two teams that competed in both the agronomy and livestock contest. The agronomy contest included the proper identification of 50 plants, insects, and diseases. The livestock contest included judging pens of market sheep, market hogs, dairy heifers, and market steers. Individual and team scores were calculated for each contest...

Buena Vista University’s digital media students and organizations earned 36 awards in the annual Society for Collegiate Journalists (SCJ) national media contest. These results afforded BVU top honors in the national contest’s newly established sweeps awards...

From Sunday, April 14 through Tuesday, April 16, members of the Ridge View FFA chapter attended the State FFA Conference in Ames, Iowa. While at the convention, several students received phenomenal awards and recognitions. Receiving their Iowa Degrees were Russell Brummer, Connor Pickhinke, Rayann Volkert, and Katlyn Wiese. ...

Storm Lake St. Mary’s School is happy to report that the school once again has achieved a perfect score on the Iowa Assessment standardized exams – a rare feat for a school of any size. St. Mary’s High School freshmen students achieved 100 percent proficiency level in reading where the state average is 83 percent. The St. Mary’s eighth grade students achieved 94 percent proficiency in reading where the state average is 75 percent proficiency...

The Iowa FFA Ag Impact Leadership Event was held at Iowa State University, Ames, on Monday, April 15, 2019. Eleven chapters participated in this year’s Career Development Event (CDE). Ag Impact is a CDE that challenges Middle School FFA members to explore the importance of agriculture in our state, county, and communities. ...

With help from a friendly robot named Dash, 17 Clover Kids from four counties practiced their skills in programming, problem-solving and creativity. They were participating in the Iowa 4-H Wonder League Robotics Exposition, held April 6 in Ames. “Iowa State University Extension and Outreach 4-H Youth Development strives to be a leader in providing young people opportunities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, also know as STEM. ...

A creative display at the Storm Lake Elementary School library helps to encourage reading, while the walls are covered with book reviews written by students, profiling their favorite stories.

Buena Vista University Army ROTC Cadet Jacob M. Heath was one of 10 ROTC members in Iowa to receive the Governor’s Cup ROTC Award for outstanding achievement. Iowa Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg made the presentation on April 12 at the Joint Forces Headquarters, Iowa National Guard, in Johnston...

The Storm Lake High School Building & Trades class has received a reprieve - for the second time in less than a year. The program is completing a home building project on the last lot it has available in an agreement with the city. Discussion has touched on the prospect of folding the program into the local Habitat for Humanity program so students could still learn about construction skills, but no longer be able to earn class credits or progress toward an Iowa Central Community College degree as the class now offers.. ...

As a further commitment to STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education, Storm Lake St. Mary’s High School chemistry students have been working on a real-world application of mixtures, solutions, freezing point depression and STEM careers that use these concepts...

Master Gardeners are passionate about serving their communities and sharing best gardening practices. They share their time and expertise as volunteers in the community. Master Gardeners spearhead community beautification projects, community gardens, youth education, local food events and much more...

The Iowa Department of Education is expected to grant “conditional approval” for the Iowa Principal Leadership Academy, after an accreditation visit that was held in 2018. The Prairie Lakes AEA board was informed of the situation at a meeting this week...

The Storm Lake Music Department recently performed in the state IHSMA solo/ensemble contest held at Sioux City North High School.  Students performed for a judge and received a rating for their performance.   Band Ratings: Soloists receiving a division I rating (superior):  ...

The Storm Lake Community School District’s focus on project-based learning continues to pay off in big ways. The latest example unfolded recently at the National History Day district competition, where 26 Storm Lake students qualified for state. The theme for this year’s competition was ‘Triumph and Tragedy in History.” Students spent hours researching topics before condensing their work into completed projects. ...

This year’s Ridge View Mock Trial team participated in the Iowa State Bar Association’s annual High School Mock Trial regional competition at NIACC college in Mason City. This year’s civil case “Kelly Crown v. Bryce Cutter d/b/a Charity Operations Network” was given to all high school teams in December to prepare for trial this March. ...

A crowd of preschool-age kids packed the latest installment of Nature Tots at the Storm Lake public Library this week, where county Naturalist Katie Struss brought a friendly rabbit to meet the children, in recognition of the approaching Easter holiday. Nature Tots is an ongoing program at the library. / Pilot photo by Dana Larsen...

With the student loan debt burden currently standing at $1.5 trillion and growing $100 million each year, the price of education is at the front of most student’s minds. With a new bundling program starting this year, Iowa Central Community College is aiming to alleviate some of that burden...

Ridge View choir students traveled to Onawa on April 6 for the 1A State Solo/Ensemble contest. Receiving a “I” rating were Jack Henderson - baritone solo, Adorable Epps- soprano solo, Jill Galvin - soprano solo, and Jill Galvin and Anya Kistenmacher - treble duet. Receiving a “II” rating were Owen Brent for his bass solo, and the male quartet of Jack Henderson, Alex Movall, Connor Pickhinke and Ben Todd. Adrian Robinson received a “III” on her soprano solo. /Photo Submitted...

How big is our solar system? How far away are the planets? The size of space is difficult to image. Join the O’Brien County Naturalist for a hike through the prairie to discover the distance to our near and far solar neighbors. We will be creating a walking model of the solar system starting at the center and heading off down the path. You may be surprised by how far apart our planets are spread!...

Storm Lake St. Mary’s Middle School girls were exposed to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) curriculum and careers for women at The Road Less Traveled at Iowa State University last week. They spent the day on campus learning about the wide variety of opportunities open to them and even worked on hands-on projects. ...

Brook Stephens and his BVU Beavers didn’t play baseball on Saturday, as Mother Nature’s gusty winds and cool temperatures postponed a double-header with Loras to Sunday. And yet, the Saturday result for the junior from Clarinda represented a win-win situation. ...

The 9th annual Ridge View FFA Banquet was held on March 23. FFA members, families, and supporters all gathered at Ridge View High School for this special event. Being the 25th anniversary of the FFA chapter, this years banquet was attended by past officer teams, going all the way back to ‘94...

Dr. Roger Powell, assistant professor of English at Buena Vista University, recently learned that his research team has earned the CCCC (College Composition and Communication Conference) Research Initiative Grant. Powell was joined by a trio of colleagues at various institutions in proposing a study to examine how first-year composition students transfer their writing knowledge and skills to other academic or personal contexts. ...