RECENT NEWS
Girls hockey team to play for consolation championship
February 21, 2019
After today's convincing victory in consolation play, the girls hockey team will play Saturday morning at 9:30 am for the Consolation Championship.
Go get 'em, Otters!
Special School Board Meeting minutes
February 21, 2019
A special meeting of the School Board of Independent School District No. 544 was held in the Otter Community Room at the Kennedy Secondary School. Chair Matthew Lemke called the meeting to order at 7:30 am. The following members were present: Kirby Anderson, Melanie Cole, Missy (Melissa) Hermes, Matthew Lemke and Stephen Vigesaa. Natalie Knutson was absent. Elaine Jahnke, HR Director, was also present.
Missy Hermes, clerk, established a quorum.
Melanie Cole made a motion to approve the agenda as presented. The motion was seconded by Stephen Vigesaa and carried unanimously.
Melanie Cole made a motion to extend finalist interviews for the office of superintendent to Mike Kolness and Jeffrey Drake. The motion was seconded by Kirby Anderson and carried unanimously.
The next regular School Board meeting will be held at 5:15 pm Monday, February 25, 2019 in the Otter Community Room at the Kennedy Secondary School.
Interviews for the finalists are tentatively scheduled for 2:30 pm Wednesday, February 27, 2019 in the District Office Conference Room - Kennedy Secondary School.
A special School Board meeting will be tentatively held at 7:30 am Thursday, February 28, 2019 in the Otter Community Room at the Kennedy Secondary School to extend an offer of employment for the Office of Superintendent.
Stephen Vigesaa made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:33 am. The motion was seconded by Missy Hermes and carried unanimously.
Supt. Ness: Congratulations...
February 20, 2019
Our girls’ hockey team earned a hard fought victory in the section final over Alexandria, 3-1, to return to state for the first time since 2009. Coach Lill and the team have had an excellent season – hard work and dedication has paid off for the Otters - Congratulations!! The team is scheduled to play Breck at 11 am on Wednesday, February 20.
The Otter Gymnastics team competed in sections this past Saturday. They were announced at the Section All-Academic Gold Award with a 3.97 GPA – Congratulations!!
School Board Recognition Week
The Fergus Falls Public School District will join school districts throughout the state to salute their local education leaders during Minnesota’s annual School Board Recognition Week February 18-22.
CNA Students Explore Geriatric Communication Techniques
February 19, 2019
The Nursing Assistant students utilized communication techniques specific to the elderly while attending a Field Trip to Ashby Living Center Friday, February 19th. The students had been exploring barriers to communication such as hearing and vision impairments as well as cognitive changes, all which can interfere with the communication process.
L to R Front: Jessie H., Angel G., Amy J.
L to R Back: Julia K., Annelise P., Atlanta G., Michaela H., Laci S., Ashlyn E., Hope F., Amelia B., Logan S., Makayla H.. Mrs. Risbrudt
Supt. Ness: Congratulations to Snoball Royalty!
February 11, 2019
After a difficult week of weather, the 2019 Snoball Coronation was finally held at 1:30 pm on Friday, February 8. Congratulations to King JB Sandahl and Queen Julia Swanson and to the royalty – Seniors: Amy Johnson, Kailyn Richey, Mitchel Tenneson, and Jarrett Huus; Juniors: Jacey Johnson, Audrey Mudford, Lulie Pessoa, Brita Sonmor, Sam King, Alex Anderson, Josh Thorstad, and William Pawlowski; Sophomores: Hope Fletchall, Paige Fyhrie, Izzy Strege, Isaac Young, Ian Stumbo, and Matthew Niblock; and Freshman: Jadyn Bye, Helaina Kremeier, Katelyn Metcalf, Luke Schroeder, Andrew Johnson, and Sam Sorum.
Fergus Falls Public Schools Supports Governor for Predictable, Forecasted State Funding
The Fergus Falls Public Schools is striving to prepare productive citizens through academic excellence. But we cannot do it alone. So, we're grateful for Gov. Tim Walz for recently stepping forward to share his desire to create more predictable funding model for schools that is less reliant on local property taxes.
MS Speech team takes 2nd in Parkers Prairie
February 5, 2019
Congratulations to the Middle School Speech Team for a 2nd place win in Parker’s Prairie Monday night!
MS Speech Team takes 2nd place
January 29, 2019
Congratulations to the Middle School Speech Team for taking 2nd place at the Underwood Lions Jr. High Speech Invitational on Monday!
Supt. Ness: One-Act Play and Competition
January 23, 2019
The community is invited to see this year’s one-act play, The Shape of the Grave, starting at 7 pm on Friday, January 25 and 2 pm on Sunday, January 27. The first round of competition is called subsections and our high school will go up against five other schools with the top three going on to sections and possibly state.
This year’s play is about the troubles raging through Northern Ireland costing sixteen-year-old Colleen the majority of her family, and she sees only one way to give her loss meaning: join the bloody fight for Irish independence from Britain. It seems so simple, but the IRA's reception isn't what Colleen expects and her older sister Brigid will do anything to stop her from making the same mistake as their father. How far will she go to make her path clear again?
Uggerud, Swanson move on in Spelling competition
January 16, 2019
Yesterday saw middle school students competing in the Spelling Bee. It was more convivial amusement than you could oscillate a ferrule at!
Congrats to our top two finalists, first place finisher Josiah Uggerud, and Runner-up Olivia Swanson! They move on the the next round of competition in February!
Thanks to Danielle Buckmeier for providing this opportunity for students!
CNA Success!
Jan. 14, 2019
The FFHS Nursing Assistant students successfully completed the requirements of the CNA program and took the National Nurse Aide Assessment Program (NNAAP) exams, both written and skills January 10th and 11th at M State Fergus Falls. Congratulations to all the students who were successful in the course and the NNAAP testing! Good work!
Supt. Ness: Emergency Drills
January 7, 2019
The Fergus Falls Public Schools, along with other schools in Minnesota and around the nation, are required to complete drills with students and staff on emergency procedures. Each year we are required to complete Fire, Code Yellow, Code Red and Tornado Drills, which may include evacuations of the building.
The most common drill is the fire drill. Each building must complete five Fire Drills per year including one in the first ten days of the school year. During this drill, the students and staff evacuate the building to predetermined meeting sites. Each staff member has a “Red Binder” containing emergency procedures and class rosters. The key during each drill is to exit the building quickly by a safe route and take roll at the evacuation site. To make sure all students are accounted for, they take roll again when they return to their classroom. If a student is missing, staff are to inform their building principal.
9th grade students help at McKinley
Jan. 4, 2019
9th grade students have been learning about careers in education as well as how children ages 4, 5 and 6 are growing and developing. As a culminating activity, students were able to spend one class period interacting with kindergarten and first grade students.
Students attend Career Expo
Dec. 5, 2018
"Where engaging is learning," is how one 9th grader described the Health, Tech and Trades Career Expo held at the Fargodome last Thursday. One hundred and ten 9th grade students from the Intro to Tech Ed classes of Dennis Wutzke, Mike Donaghue and Carrie Sikkink attended this highly interactive expo where the students had the opportunity to perform ultrasounds on a pregnant mannequin, sit in a semi, practice their welding skills, and play with robots, to name just a few activities.
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