LPHT Drama Success with Buckshot and Blossoms!

Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity Drama Department presented Buckshot and
Blossoms, by Tim Kelly and directed by Julie Olson, on Friday, April
21 at 7pm, and Saturday,  April 22 at 7pm at Lester Prairie School.
Audiences enjoyed this fast-paced, western/melodrama and the students
enjoyed performing for them. This west was not only wild, it was
hysterically funny!
The cast for this rip-roaring comedy:
Cactus Kate … Kaylee Scheevel
Mrs. Juniper … Emilie Berry
Letty … Brooke Heimerl
Miss Gray … Sydney Sheehan
Gabby Ways … Grace Jeurissen
Alibi … Delaney Sebora
Hopalot … Trisha Nyberg
Whip Lash … Andrew Jackson
Pearl of the Pecos …Jamie DeBruyckere
Saddleblanket Rawlins … Nick Sponsel
Sally Sutton … Gerri Williamson
Minerva … Ellen Guggemos
Mrs. Norton … Hannah Hollister
Mayor Norton … Rodrigo Medina
Johnny Wright … Logan Groff
Henrietta Geyser … Erynn Amundson
Dolly Roger…Hope Feltmann
Annabelle Rawlins … Olivia Sanders
Judy Ford … Zoe Edlund
Nellie Rectangle… Paige Heimerl
The Durango Kid … Cody Roush

                                                                   Cast and Crew

 Ellen Guggemos, Andrew Jackson, Rodrigo Medina, Grace Jeurissen, Kaylee Scheevel, and Jamie DeBruyckere

Kaylee Scheevel, Brooke Heimerl, Sydney Sheehan, Emilie Berry

Andrew Jackson, Rodrigo Medina, Logan Groff, Jamie DeBruyckere, Kaylee Scheevel, and Hannah Hollister

Zoe Edlund, Olivia Sanders, Logan Groff, Andrew Jackson

Para Professionals at LP

According to the MN Dept. of Education, Paraprofessionals may work in a variety of positions in a school district including, but not limited to, instructional assistants, pupil support assistants, special education paraprofessionals, job coaches, lunch room and playground assistants, hall monitors and media center assistants. Many teacher assistants work primarily or exclusively with students who have special educational needs. Their duties vary according to the needs of the student from physical assistance and care to behavioral management and academic assistance.  In Minnesota, paraprofessionals must meet specific locally developed requirements depending on the role and duties they are assigned.

In the Lester Prairie School District, we have 8 paraprofessionals that work with our students.  They are a group of kind, compassionate men and women that assist our students with whatever they may need throughout the day.  Many of our paraprofessionals go above and beyond to ensure the students have a great educational experience each and every day!  They are all extremely cooperative and don’t hesitate a minute when we have to make changes to the schedule or if someone else needs assistance.   Many, many thanks to each and every one of you for your giving spirit, friendly smile, and big heart!  We all appreciate you and what you bring to the students and staff of Lester Prairie Schools!  J

From Cathy Scoblic, Lester Prairie Schools.

LITTLE LEARNER PRESCHOOL TAKES FIELD TRIP

Lester Prairie Little Learners Preschool took a field trip to Pinwheel Play the last week of March! Pinwheel Play is located in Chanhassen and opened in August of 2016 so it was a fun new place for the preschoolers to visit. There were plenty of fun costumes for the children to dress up in and a small stage if they wanted to perform and show off their skills. A separate room was devoted to art with supplies including sequins, dobbers, glue sticks, paper and scissors so that the children had lots of options when making a project. The preschoolers loved getting creative in the art room!

For those children who had some extra energy to burn, they could go in the large motor “sport court” area where there was a soccer net, hoola hoops, hopscotch mat, and balls. They could also head over to a room where they could walk on the zig-zag, straight, and curvy tape lines on the floor or play with legos and other games with smaller pieces. There was also a climber with slides, telescopes, a steering wheel and an open area underneath for the children to play in. Around the main room students could be found playing with puzzles and wooden blocks, reading, or walking on the balance beam and shaky bridge. Many of the children chose to play in the mini kitchen area that was equipped with shopping carts, play food, dishes, and a doll house.  They loved playing grocery store with the shopping carts. The final room the student could play in was an interactive game area with multiple games the children could play on the floor. A projector would shine the gam down on the floor so that the children would play using their bodies. There was also a really neat light table in the room. Highlights for the students included looking for letters hidden around the play areas, finding the fairy doors, and spending time with their friends and parents/grandparents, and taking a bus ride. 

Mrs. Lester - Preschool Teacher

BAND GETS NEW INSTRUMENTS

The band program has had a very exciting year adding and upgrading new instruments to their inventory. The first new purchase was a set of four copper bottom timpani that replaced a very aged set of three that dates back from the 1960’s. This was purchased with the help of the banner program, the Lester Prairie Booster Club and the Lester Prairie Parent Teacher Organization. The most recent instruments were made possible through the Foundation for Education’s Bulldog Bash on April 8th. They were able to raise over $6,000 for the band program alone to purchase a brand new tenor saxophone, a set of quad toms and a marimba. All of the new instruments can be seen in action at their next concert on May 18th at 7:30pm.

Mrs. Schuft-Helland

Lester Prairie Second Graders Learn About Plants

Second graders at Lester Prairie Elementary School participated in all kinds of activities that taught them about plants. They read the books The Tiny Seed and Ugly Vegetables in reading class, which taught them the conditions that must be met for a plant to grow as well as how tasty a garden can be.  In science class, they planted and observed the growth of marigolds and beans, making sure the plants got enough sunlight and water to grow.  Writing activities included making a circle book showing the life cycle of a bean plant.  When folded properly the pages turned over and over making it a never-ending book—just like the life cycle.  When opened up, the book formed a big circle. They also made a diagram book that described the job of each part of the plant. To top it all off, the second graders had a visit from members of Holasek’s Flower Power Greenhouse, who taught them all about plants and sent a plant home with each of them.  All of these activities were part of the Minnesota second grade standards for science education.

READING COTPS

We are fortunate to have Minnesota Reading Corps at Lester Prairie School.  Ms. Bonnie Fries is our Minnesota Reading Corps Member.  As a full-time member, she completes about 45 service hours each week.  The service year began in August 2016 and ends in June 2017, for a total of 1720 hours.  She attended a three-day training in Minneapolis at the beginning of the school year to learn specific reading interventions to help our students become more fluent readers.

Ms. Fries provides tutoring in reading for Kindergarten through third grade students.  She works with a caseload of 15 students, tutoring the students individually for 20 minutes every school day.  Ms. Fries has an on-going support system from her Master Coach, Jeana Wibstad from Minnesota Reading Corps, and Krystina Peterson, Title I Instructor at Lester Prairie School.  Together as a team they decide which reading strategies Ms. Fries will use, and progress monitor the students’ growth each week.  Minnesota Reading Corps has been a beneficial program at Lester Prairie School to help our students become proficient readers.

Lester Prairie School is in the process of recruiting one full-time Minnesota Reading Corps Member to complete 1700 service hours during the 2017-2018 school year.  Interested candidates may inquire more information by contacting the Lester Prairie School Principal, Nathaniel Boyer, at 320-395-2521 or boyer@lp.k12.mn.us.  Additional information and applications are found online at www.MinnesotaReadingCorps.org.

Krystina Peterson - Title I Teacher

Birkholz Receives Award

Saturday April 1, Adam Birkholz of the LPHT Football staff received the Butch Nash Assistant Coach Award at the Hall of Fame banquet in front of 400 FB Coaches, wives, and family members.

The Butch Nash assistant coach award is awarded to those coaches who demonstrate total loyalty, coaching competency, outstanding rapport with players and fellow coaches, integrity beyond reproach, and many years of dedicated service.

“I am very pleased Adam was selected for this prestigious award” stated Head Football Coach Joe Scoblic. “He is very deserving and has worked very hard to earn it”.

LP/HT Drama Department Presents Buckshot and Blossoms!

Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity Drama Department proudly presents Buckshot and Blossoms, by Tim Kelly and directed by Julie Olson, on Friday, April 21, and Saturday,  April 22, 2017 at Lester Prairie School. Admission for adults is $6, and $3 for students. Wear your cowboy boots and cowboy hats because the audience becomes part of the cast!

This is a rip-roaring spoof of the old west! This west is not only wild, it’s hysterically funny! Down at the Trail Dust Hotel, the villainous Whip of the Whip Lash Gang is concocting nasty schemes to rob citizens while his partner-in-crime, Pearl of Pecos, deals marked cards. Meanwhile, the town has a new sheriff, our hero Johnny Wright, also known as “The Fastest Gun in the West.” Alas! The lovely Annabelle Rawlins, owner of the mine that Whip is trying to claim as his own, turns up with her campaign against guns inside town limits. She favors blossoms over bullets. The Durango Kid, the meanest gunslinger alive, and the Sheriff play High Noon in the hotel lobby … without a single shot being fired!

The cast for this rip-roaring comedy:

Cactus Kate … Kaylee Scheevel

Mrs. Juniper … Emilie Berry

Letty … Brooke Heimerl

Miss Gray … Sydney Sheehan

Gabby Ways … Grace Jeurissen

Alibi … Delaney Sebora

Hopalot … Trisha Nyberg

Whip Lash … Andrew Jackson

Pearl of the Pecos …Jamie DeBruyckere

Saddleblanket Rawlins … Nick Sponsel

Sally Sutton … Gerri Williamson

Minerva … Ellen Guggemos

Mrs. Norton … Hannah Hollister

Mayor Norton … Rodrigo Medina

Johnny Wright … Logan Groff

Henrietta Geyser … Erynn Amundson

Dolly Roger…Hope Feltmann

Annabelle Rawlins … Olivia Sanders

Judy Ford … Zoe Edlund

Nellie Rectangle… Paige Heimerl

The Durango Kid … Cody Roush

Produced by special arrangement with Pioneer Drama Service, Inc., Denver, Colorado.

Written By - Ms. Olson 

4th Grade Journal Writing

Every day, the fourth grade class gets a chance to write in their writing journals. In these journals, they get to write about anything they want. They can write about what they did over the weekend, they can write a poem, or they can even write a fictional story. It is a great chance for them to be creative and practice using new and exciting words. In the picture below, from left to right, you can see Edwin and Derek working hard in their writing journals. The students enjoy the opportunity to write and share their ideas with each other. 

Mr. Oie - 4th Grade Teacher