Central Public Schools - Education Is Central

It has been one week since the start of the school year! We have loved seeing more smiling faces of students from their first day of school. Here’s to an incredible year!

It's almost time for Homecoming, which means we are getting ready for the Homecoming Parade!

We love seeing our community get involved with this and are currently accepting entries for floats. The deadline for entries is Wednesday, Sept. 17 and the parade will take place on Friday, Sept. 26.

Get more information and complete the form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScB0foap-mSLyNq9onUDFVE65-dAJN7A0yB4UiN0LLt4Bu3EQ/viewform

We’re proud to share our next honoree in the Central Hall of Fame. Central’s very own former teacher and beloved basketball coach, Gary Lembcke!

Gary was a student-athlete at Morris Area High School participating in basketball, baseball, and cross country but basketball is where Gary shined. He became the school's first 1,000 career point scorer and held the school's points record of 1,291 career points for more than 20 years. Gary is a graduate of the Morris Area High School class of 1973.

After high school, Gary continued his education and basketball career at the University of Minnesota, Morris. Upon earning his Elementary Education degree, Gary started a teaching career at Chokio-Alberta Schools. Gary and his wife, Bobbi, then took teaching jobs at Central Elementary School.

Throughout his 30 years as a teacher at Central Elementary School, Gary taught a variety of grades and coached the junior high boys basketball team. Soon after, Gary was offered the position of girls' head varsity basketball coach and served in that role for 39 years.

During his time as head coach, Gary led the girls' team to 689 wins which is the 6th all-time record for girls' basketball in the state of Minnesota. He earned 13 conference championships and led teams to four state tournaments in 2007 (4th Place), 2015, 2016, and 2018 (3rd Place). Gary was not only appreciated by those who played for him but also by his fellow coaches. Gary was voted as Section Coach of the Year four times in his career. He also received the MRC Outstanding Coach award in 2015 and was inducted into the Minnesota Girls Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016. For his playing days, Gary was inducted into the University of Minnesota Morris Hall of Fame with his college basketball team.

Through the years, Gary can recall countless memories from standing on the sidelines including some of his most memorable experiences participating in the state tournaments and leading the team to seven consecutive conference championships. Gary has been fortunate to coach many great student-athletes who have come through Central High School and has left an impact on each of their lives. Gary will always be fortunate to be able to coach his two daughters, Anna and Danielle. Sharing the court with them will forever hold special memories for their family. Gary and Bobbi have three children, Nic, Anna and Danielle, and now they have seven grandchildren.

Thank you, Gary, for your commitment to Central Public Schools and our basketball program!

The 2nd Annual Raider Rally and Hall of Fame Induction will be on Saturday, Oct. 4 at 5 p.m. at the Hamburg Community Hall. Get your tickets to Raider Rally now: https://108raiderrally.com/

Before students arrived for the school year, staff were welcomed with a real treat! Taher Chef Tony Menk whipped up made-to-order omelets at the All Staff Breakfast. Also served was an egg bake, seasoned potatoes, sausage patties, a variety of danishes, coffee and juice.

Here's a quick shout out from our Food Services Director:

"On Friday, Firefighters from Norwood Young America and Cologne served lunch at the elementary school. A huge thank you to Brian Vos, Jonathan Wulf, Jamie Schrupp, Joey Molnau and Damon Klein for taking time out of their busy day to do this. A shout out to Joey for working all three days! We really appreciate it!"

We love seeing this kind of community connection and we know how much it means to our staff and students. Thank you!

Congratulations to our 2025 Homecoming court!
9th grade attendants: Ashlyn Evenski and Kolton Kley
10th grade attendants: Ellie Mackenthun and Brody Fahey
11th grade attendants: Ava Becker and Dylan Mesenbring
Senior King and Queen Candidates: Dane Pauly, Nate Venske, Taylor Hackbarth, Kyson Evenski, Micah Fenney, Raiden Slathar, Vanessa Schmidt, Marlie Beneke, Josie Kamps, Grace Cummins, Ava Dose and Avery Smith.

Homecoming week is coming up fast! Fun starts Monday 9/22

Families are invited to the first Coffee with the Principal of the school year! Following morning announcements at 8:10 a.m. this Friday, Sept. 12, Secondary School Principal Rich Larson will be answering parent questions. Bring your questions or concerns and enjoy a cup of coffee with us.

We are excited to welcome our PreK students on Monday, Sept. 8 and to start the year with our Little Raiders!

During the first few days of school, Mrs. Raduenz's art classes took on a unique team-building challenge: creating large-scale origami paper cranes. Working together in small groups, students practiced collaboration, problem-solving, and creativity as they brought these oversized cranes to life.

The final works will be displayed hanging from the ceilings in both the art room and the library, creating a colorful installation for all to enjoy. A great way to start the year with creativity and connection!

Central Public Schools is proud to partner with the Carver County Free Produce Market and serve as a pick-up site during the summer.

Check out these great highlights from this year:
-389 Unique Families, 1,270+ people, and 1,784 visits
-26 people volunteered 459 hours
-61,697 pounds of food were distributed for an estimated 51,414 meals with 27 varieties of fresh produce offered.

Thank you to everyone who works so hard to make this program a reality for our community!

This morning, our senior football players welcomed elementary students as they got off the bus, continuing the tradition of inviting them to tonight’s big game! Tailgating and food trucks start at 5:00, kickoff at 7:00. Go Raiders!

The Raider Room is ready for the 2025-2026 school year! Thanks to the Food Shelf in Norwood and the Cologne Fireman Relief Association, we were able to provide over 5,000 snacks to students. We also provided backpacks and school supplies to 50 students, 34 students received brand new winter coats and boots as well as numerous students received clothes. What a great way to support our community!

LAST CALL!

The Class of 2027 Student Council Representatives have designed a special T-shirt for homecoming to show our Raider Pride.

https://isd108.revtrak.net/HS/#/v/class-of-2027-shirts

If you'd like to purchase a shirt, orders will be accepted until Friday, September 5th (tomorrow) at noon.

For any questions, please contact Student Council Advisor, Mrs. Hammers, at shammers@isd108.org.

Thank you for your support!

Who says teachers can't take first day of school photos too? The first grade team is ready to rock!

We hope everyone had a fantastic first day of school! We'll see you tomorrow!

What a fantastic way to start the school year! We are so glad to have our students back. Thanks to everyone for sharing photos!

Our families are doing a great job sharing first day of school photos! Send yours to communications@isd108.org to be featured.