Central Public Schools - Education Is Central

During the After School Connections Program, the fourth graders designed and built tree houses. The requirements included having multiple levels, a way to get into and out of the house, a simple machine to get heavy items up to the top (ramp or pulley), and a place they could stay in for multiple days. They worked so hard!

Today’s Senior Spotlight is Preston Sprengeler! Preston’s favorite teacher is Mr. Halpaus and his favorite memory is “Wrestling Lucas before band.” He will be majoring in Finance at Iowa State University and tells underclassmen to “have fun!”

Be sure to get your "Golden" Spring Fling tickets at Old National and Citizens State Bank through Friday, April 25!

Let’s get another Central Elementary STEAM update! During reading instruction, second graders learned about the Westward Expansion. To extend their learning, groups made covered wagons using cardboard and other recycled materials. They were given length restrictions and a list of supplies to make to fit inside their wagon. After making them, the wagons were hooked up to Beebots, and students had to code the robots to "head west" on our version of the Oregon Trail. They had to make sure to stay on the path, even when there were steep hills, sharp turns, and narrow bridges. This project required a lot of creativity, problem solving, and collaboration! Another unit second graders spent time on in their classrooms was all about insects. In STEAM they used what they learned to design and create a realistic insect using recyclable materials. Students had to ensure their design included all the correct body parts, including a head, thorax, abdomen, six legs, etc. Most recently, the second graders have been learning about shapes in STEAM. They have been focusing on 2D shapes and made them with PlayDoh and toothpicks as well as Geoboards and rubber bands. Not only were they learning math, but they were also practicing their fine motor skills!

Wyatt Schutte is our Senior Spotlight today! He says that Mr. Hallquist was a favorite teacher and that his favorite memory was developing an app with Ms. Kester for job postings in the community. He is planning on going to Ridgewater for an Associate's degree in programming, then transfer to a state school to get a Bachelor's. He has great advice for underclassmen: “Turn in your work even if it's half complete, as you'll still get some credit. The amount of points I could've gained, but missed on forgotten partial assignments is crazy.”

Mental Health Day will be held on May 16 and is a day for students at Central Secondary School to decompress, enjoy time with their peers, and get a well deserved break for working hard all year! We are looking for donations of several items to make this day a success. If you are willing to donate any of the following items, it would be greatly appreciated! Items can be dropped off at either the elementary school or the secondary school (attention school counselors). -Plastic pencil boxes that stay closed (we need a couple hundred total) -Food storage boxes to use for zen gardens -Zen garden figurines -Smooth decorative small rocks -Kinetic Sand -Fine sand (decorative sand) -Bracelet Making Kits -Fleece for blankets Or you can easily shop from the Mental Health Day Wish List on Amazon: https://a.co/gRSqrFc

We have gotten a few new submissions for the Senior Spotlight! Let’s highlight Braden Ketcher who says that Mrs. Schurmann was his favorite teacher and FFA Week was his favorite memory of high school. He will be attending NDSCS for Robotics, Automation and Mechatronics Technology. He tells underclassmen, “Do your work and get good grades because later in life when you start applying for colleges you will realize how much good comes from getting decent grades.”

On the evening of Wednesday, April 30th Central High School will hold their annual Awards Night program at 6:30 p.m. in the CHS auditorium. The program is divided into two parts: grades 9-11 presentations beginning at 6:30 p.m. with Senior Awards to follow immediately after. This program is meant to recognize and honor those students at CHS who have done excellent work or made outstanding contributions to their school and community, both inside and outside the classroom this year. Among the awards presented will be school letters in academics, athletic, Student Council, Speech, Drama, and various other school awards. Also local scholarships will be awarded to the seniors.

Make plans to join our theater students at the Senior Directed play, "Almost, Maine" on THURSDAY, APRIL 24 at 7:00 PM, or SATURDAY, APRIL 26 at 2:00 pm!! This unique play follows a new set of characters in each scene and is set in the fictional town of Almost under the Northern Lights. It will make you laugh, and maybe even cry! Tickets are available at the door (CASH ONLY) Adults - $7, Students - $5

Third graders recently finished up a project all about paleontology. During STEAM they learned about fossils - how they are formed, where they are found, and the hard work that paleontologists do to preserve them. Groups then picked a specific fossil to focus on and created a stop motion video about it. To complete the project, they created props and backgrounds, used iPads to take many pictures and put them together to make a video, and wrote and recorded a script to explain what their videos were showing. It was a lot of hard work and fun. The finished videos turned out wonderfully!

Tyler Neubarth is today’s senior spotlight! He says Mrs. Raduenz is his favorite teacher and that FFA Week was his favorite high school memory. He will be attending NDSCS to become a John Deere Diesel Technician. His advice for underclassmen: “Do the sports, activities, and classes you want while you can.”

Mrs Klinkner & Mrs. Pysick from Central Public Preschool had a great time meeting families at the Bunny Trail event in Cologne on Saturday! This lucky kiddo won and was still there to collect his prize! We also would like to congratulate the Mohs Family, The Murphy Family & the Giles family on winning one of our busy baskets. Emails have been sent with pick up information or feel free to contact the community Education office to arrange a pick up time. If you would like more information about our Central Public Preschool please visit www.isd108.org/CE or give us a call! Tours are available and registration is open.

Here is the map for our annual Prom Car Cruise, starting at 4:30 on Saturday, May 3rd.

First graders have participated in various building challenges over the past couple of months in the STEAM room. A few favorites included building a tower at least 100 centimeters tall and making the longest chain. They also get free building time regularly to practice their creativity. Students often team up to build together and the results are always amazing!

Let’s celebrate the Class of 2025! Hailey Schwartz plans to attend Minnesota State University, Mankato to study Nursing. Her favorite teachers were Mrs. Raduenz and Mr. DeBower and her favorite high school memory was Junior Prom. Her advice to underclassmen is easy to follow: “Have fun!!”

Fifth grade classes each made their own city in STEAM. Students had to work in groups to design one block of a city and then we put them all together to make a city. Each student designed a created a building. Then, they practiced their measuring skills to find the dimensions of the building and use those to determine the volume and surface area. Lastly, groups added sidewalks and roads to their blocks and put them all together to form a city. They were a hit for all the students and staff to see on display!

In case you missed it, The "Golden" Spring Fling will be taking place on Sunday, May 4 at Central Secondary School. This is a wonderful event for senior citizens to have dinner and dance! Tickets are available at Old National and Citizens State Bank and can be purchased through Friday, April 25. Don't miss out!

CORRECTION!! Almost, Maine (our senior directed play) is taking the stage on THURSDAY, APRIL 24 at 7:00 PM, and SATURDAY, APRIL 26 at 2:00 pm. Join us for this unique play which follows a new character in each scene. It will make you laugh, and maybe even cry! Tickets are available at the door (CASH ONLY) Adults - $7, Students - $5

We’re proud to congratulate a few more of our student athletes on signing their letters of intent to continue their football careers at the collegiate level! 🏈Taytum Lund – St. Olaf College 🏈 Bradyn Daugs – Bethel University 🏈 Ben Molnau – Bethel University 🏈 Jack Strickfaden – Bethel University Way to go, guys! We can’t wait to see all you accomplish.

Due to the incoming weather we have moved some game times for today: JV/Var. Baseball DH @ Rockford - 3:00 MS Softball @ Rockford - 4:00 JV/Var. Softball DH vs. Rockford - 3:00 7th and 8th Baseball vs. Rockford - 4:00 Track @ Maple Lake - 4:00 C Softball @ Hutch - 4:30