The Fergus Falls Envirothon students took five of the top six places at the Northwest regional competition in Detroit Lakes last week. Fergus Falls took 1st, 3rd,4th, 5th, and 6th. The top four teams advance to the State competition Monday, May 15th at the Prairie Wetlands Learning Center. First Place Team (Jaden Miller, Logan Bredenberg, Clayton Peppel, Josiah Uggerud, Tommy Erickson,), Third Place ( Olivia Swanson, Ella Roberts, Kendal Hanson, Libby Lindgren, Alexis Wellman) Fourth Place (Logan Hovland, Cooper Batzlaff, Braden Bucher, Carson Grenier, William Brandt).
The Envirothon is an outdoor environmental learning competition for high school students. Area competitions are administered by the state's Soil and Water Conservation Districts, in partnership with conservation organizations, educators, and other natural resource agencies.
The Envirothon encourages students to learn more about Minnesota's natural resources, as well as public policy and the roles of government and landowners in managing the state's resources. The program helps students develop critical thinking, cooperative problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
Schools and teachers benefit by providing learning opportunities to students who excel in the sciences and ecology. The community and state benefit by having concerned and well-informed citizens who can make good decisions about the environment.
Teams of students compete by visiting five learning stations and taking a 20-point exam on an environmental topic. The topics are:
The exams are administered by a local natural resource professional, who also gives the students a brief overview of the topic and explains some of the core concepts. Teams also prepare and give an oral presentation on the current events topic.
Registration is open for summer 2023 Otter Adventures.
To learn more about Otter Adventures, and to register your child(ren), visit the Otter Adventures page:
https://www.fergusotters.org/programs/otter-adventures
From a personal standpoint, this column is one of the most challenging for me to write as my thoughts on the topic are complicated. The article itself is prompted by the conflict of ideals within our country and comments directed to the district during recent public forums.
The latest of these comments concerned sexually explicit excerpts from novels found in the Kennedy Secondary School media center and ALC library. The descriptions were graphic and would be considered offensive by many parents. I was uncomfortable listening to the reading of the passages which means that I would have been uncomfortable having my own children read the passages as well. But my opinion needn’t be the opinion of everyone else. The First Amendment could be considered the single most protective measure of our democracy and our freedoms. It is best known for protecting our rights to free speech and freedom of expression.
What is the school’s role in screening material and determining its appropriateness or inappropriateness? Most parents are likely to expect schools to screen out materials whose content may be too mature in nature for students. That’s a fair expectation. Parents send their children to school with the understanding that we will provide a safe and largely wholesome environment. We accept that responsibility.
The Application for P-EBT Benefits for Homeschool and Virtual Students requires families to provide specific documents that verify information including household size, children or dependents, and income level. Parents or legal guardians must attest the reason their child enrolled in homeschool or virtual school was due to concerns about COVID-19. Completed forms may be dropped off or mailed to the district office (601 Randolph Ave, Fergus Falls, MN 56537) or email your completed application to
If you have questions about the P-EBT program or about the newly eligible homeschool or virtual students, please visit the P-EBT webpage (mn.gov/dhs/p-ebt/) or call 651-431-4608 or 1-833- 454-0153 or submit questions through the P-EBT Help Form (pebthelp.state.mn.us).
Minutes from the meeting of the Fergus Falls Public Schools School Board.
News from Kennedy Secondary School, our grades 5-12 building.