Principals report students are SOARing

NUPS Principals give building reports during study session

NEW ULM – Principals from all four New Ulm Public Schools gave start of the year reports during Thursday’s study session. 

Principal of Washington Learning Center (WLC) Dawn Brown said that staff were busy over the summer. 

"Our special ed team did a STAR training which [provided] special ed strategies for teaching based on autism research," Brown said. 

Brown said that 18% of students at WLC have an IEP (Individualized learning program), "whether it's for speech-only services or a combination of other special education services."

Brown also highlighted the changes to the SMART room and library location. 

"It feels really cohesive and good, [the SMART ROOM] is centrally located for our children so less transitions," she said. 

Brown said that there will be three school-wide celebrations this year and each kid will receive a good news call home to their parents. 

Principal of Jefferson Elementary School Denise Einck also touched on the topic of school gatherings. 

She and STEM teacher Amber McMullen opened the study session with a presentation about SOAR night. SOAR stands for self-control, on task, accountability, and respect. 

Jefferson will be hosting four SOAR nights (the first of which took place Thursday evening) where families can meet teachers and families while participating in activities that align with the core principles of SOAR. 

"Activities that you can do at home with your child to help engage your child in the things that we're teaching them at school too," McMullen said. 

By practicing skills both at school and at home, students get the repetition needed to develop the skills. 

"The goal is to build connections. We want our students to see that our families and their school are on the same team," Einck said. "And when students, family, staff, and community come together, we can build a strong sense of community for all." 

Students will be getting involved with the community by being sunshine singers at the CAST Senior Center. They will learn about dementia and sing their songs with the residents. 

At the New Ulm Middle School, Principal Michelle Miller said that their new teachers, Science teacher Kerrinne Fann and Social Studies teacher Nicholas Ehlers, are adjusting well. 

"One of the things I always feel proud about is that our staff are great mentors to those coming on board," Michelle Miller said." "I always hear how grateful the new staff is to our current [staff] for the support."

Miller also gave a special shoutout to Olivia Jones, who is teaching Choir both at the high school and middle school. 

"It's kind of interesting because she was planning on doing high school only but I think she's having fun with it so that's been nice."

Jones is one of the three new staff members joining New Ulm High School. 

During his report, Principal Mark Bergmann said that the main priority for the starting school year was to address staffing needs. 

This comes following district cuts in May, which resulted in the termination of nine New Ulm Public School staff members. 

Bergmann said that staffing needs were addressed by reassigning classes, altering schedules, and sharing staff between buildings, as seen with Jones teaching both middle and high school choir. 

Another focus was updating the school's plans navigating truancy. 

"We worked on an email that would go out every day to the parents that didn't call in for their kids," Bergmann said. 

Although New Ulm High School's attendance is above the state average (New Ulm's sits at 93% a day compared to the state average of 83% according to Bergmann) he believes it can always be better.