Greetings,
The first quarter is quickly coming to an end, which is hard to believe! It’s been a great start to the 2017-2018 school year!
-Homecoming 2017 had a different feel to it with all of the balancing of different sports schedules, but the students had a blast! The participation in dress up days was noticeably better and the school spirit in general, was simply awesome! The return of the Homecoming buttons was very popular with the Student Council selling 500 in only a few days! It was impressive to see the students having so much fun, yet behaving so well! We have great kids here at Minneota High School!
-Last week, a small group of coaches/administrators toured Brandon Valley High School in Brandon, SD, and Hills-Beaver Creek High School (built a few years ago) to see their locker rooms, coaches’ offices, and gymnasiums. We brought back some good ideas to incorporate into the blueprints as we get into the more detailed part of the planning for our upcoming building project.
-Last summer, I went to State College, PA, to learn how to create/design a new school website. It’s been a cumbersome experience, but we will be ready to launch the new school website on October 10, 2017. At some point during that day, you’ll visit the school website and it will be a completely new look! It will be the same address, just a brand new site replacing the old one. A detailed “how to” will be coming your way just before the launch date.
-We had our Hall of Fame ceremony on September 23 and it was a night full of live history, emotion, and Minneota pride. For someone who is relatively new to Minneota, I’ve enjoyed the first two ceremonies where I was able to learn about the history of this school/town and witness the immense pride these inductees have for our school/community. Our next Hall of Fame induction will take place in 2019, during Homecoming Week.
-I’ve been surveying other area schools to learn how/what they do for ACT preparation as a school. In advance of our April 3 test date, we will be offering John Baylor Prep http://www.ontocollege.com/ as an option for students who want to really prepare for the ACT. Our latest scores (class of 2017, where the state required everyone to take it) didn’t quite represent what we expect from our students. Each year, we continue to hover just above or just below the state average. The ACT’s are a little more difficult for the school to prepare students for because the test isn’t aligned to MN State Standards and it’s a timed test. Typically, students don’t have timed tests and it’s a big adjustment to have the pressure of a clock while taking a test! We will be working hard to make sure that our students have every advantage so they can take the ACT test, fully prepared.
Some important dates/information:
- The next scheduled grade check is October 4.
- The new school website will be launched on October 10.
- NHS Blood Drive is October 16
- The end of the quarter is October 17, a day where we will release students at 12:15.
Have a great week!
Jeremy W. Frie
High School Principal
