Month: December 2020

Highland School fifth-graders wrote essays on what Highland School means to them for National Education Week in November.  We have 14 of the essays listed below.

Highland Essay
Abi Bruley
Mrs. Brantner’s Class
Highland is an amazing school for so many reasons.  I can’t wait to tell all about it and why I love Highland.
I love all of our teachers and our great education!  I love all of the teachers here because they are helpful and they are kind when they do it.  We get a great education and we have tons of books.  I really like our classroom read-alouds.
I love that we can be closer to music by being in choir, band and orchestra.  It is so much fun to play instruments with all of your friends.  It is also great to be in choir with all of your friends!
It is so much fun to have field trips at the end of the year.  I’ve been to Bemidji and that was so much fun because we went to a museum.  I love field trips because we have the whole day off to learn in a fun way!
I love Highland for so many reasons.  I love that you get an amazing education and get to learn with friends.

What Highland Means to Me …
by Finn Barlow
Mrs. Brantner’s Class
What Highland School means to me is the teachers, books and gym.  The teachers help us, the books help us learn and gym makes you strong.
I love the teachers …  I love the teachers because they can teach you lots of things.  I love the teachers because they help you whenever you need it.
I love all the books … I love the books because you can learn about old and new things.  I love the books because you can learn things you never knew before.
I love gym … I love gym because you can learn sports and do exercises!  I love gym because you can get strong and get good at things.
I love the teachers, books and gym because they help us get strong and smart.  They let you know what you need to know and they make you strong.

Why I Like Highland
Lukas Helgeson
Mrs. Brantner’s Class
Highland is great because you get to do all these great things while learning.  There is lots of great things in Highland like:
Swimming – you get to go to the Crookston Pool and you get to play with toys and go on the diving boards.  We get to go to the pool at the end of the quarter as a reward.
I like gym class because there is fun games in PE like Dodgeball and Brawn Kick/Football.
I like seeing friends at Highland, and I have lots of friends too, so I can talk to them.
That’s why I love Highland.  There is lots of fun stuff to do at Highland and you have fun while learning.

What Highland Means to Me
By: Josiah H
Highland Elementary School is the best school. It means everything to me, and it gives me the best education.
Highland Elementary School is a really good school. It lets you go on the snow hill in the wintertime, which is really fun. We are lucky to have computers, tablets, and other good technology. I like going to gym class. Gym gives me a mask break when we are outside and spaced out. It’s really fun to play sharks and fish. Gym gives us a good break after all the work we do and gives us good exercise.
Mrs. Macho is a great teacher and helps me. Mrs. Macho is the best teacher ever. She helps me with a lot of stuff. If she sees me mad in reading class, she will let me take a reset. On Friday, she lets us play games after we read for 30 minutes. Sometimes if we make our goals, she lets us play games during the entire hour. At Highland, we get to do art. Art is super fun. You can be super creative and you can draw anything you want. After a lot of hard work on the art project, it will look amazing. Art lets you show your creative side in so many ways. Highland is a great school. We have gym class, I love my teachers and we can do art.

What Highland Means To Me
By: Cameron M.
Highland is an awesome school to learn. Highland has janitors that work hard to keep our school clean and safe from covid. Teachers are really patient and kind and helpful. Teachers will let your class have an awesome party.
I like breakfast in the classroom. When I do not have time to eat at home I can go to school and eat there. I like eating in the classroom because when I am working breakfast helps me calm down. I also like breakfast in the classroom because it helps me to focus on my work.
We are lucky to have kind teachers. When we are stuck the teachers will help you. Teachers are teaching kids in the classroom and on a chromebook and it is a lot of work! There are more kids and less teachers so the kids have to be good listeners.
My favorite special is gym. I like that we can run around with friends and have a great time. We can play team dodgeball with our friends and have a lot of fun. We are lucky because we have free day Fridays the kids pick what they want to play.
Highland is an awesome place to learn and grow. There are a lot of kind and patient teachers. I like computers because you can learn about internet safety. In the gym you can play basketball, and football.

What Highland Means to Me
By: Kylie D.
Highland is an awesome place to grow. We have janitors that work hard, our teachers keep us safe and we have a lot of extras like music.
The janitors work hard to take care of our school. They clean up after us even though they should not have to. We really do appreciate them. They spray everything down to keep us safe from covid cause they care about us.
Teachers keep us safe by rules so we don’t get hurt or sick. Lots of teachers are on a look out in case someone is not following the rules. Also the teachers are very patient with us if we need more help they will help us until we understand, and I come every day and get to see my friends and hang out with them until work time.
We do music like choir, band and orchestra. Kids can express themselves with music and get creative with it. So kids can get out of the room and get lessons to get good. You get a break to go play some music and get your feelings out and it might calm you down, but it’s not for everyone if you don’t like it your not forced to play.
So you should send your kids to Highland because we have great safety to keep your kid from getting hurt. The teachers will help if they need more help. We also have great ways to learn.

What Highland Means to Me
by PJ Bruce
(Mrs. Garmen’s 5th Grade Classroom)
I really like Highland Elementary School. It’s fun! I get to see wildlife and I learn about several different subjects in Mrs. Garmen’s class. I like getting to see my friends at school every day.
Highland School is a lot of fun. There’s a giant blacktop. It used to be a basketball court. Now we play tag and draw on the cement there. I like that they don’t have the Merry-Go-Round on the playground anymore because people don’t throw up as much.
At Highland School, I have the opportunity to see wildlife. I get to see squirrels, deer, and birds. It’s interesting to watch them sometimes.
Highland School is a great place to learn! I learn for about seven hours a day. I get to learn about math, science, social studies, music, gym, computers, reading, and writing. My favorite subject in school is reading because I really like stories.
I like going to Highland School. I’ve been going there for four years. I’ve met a lot of people there and have made some good friends.

HIGHLAND ELEMENTARY
by Lily Peck
(Mrs. Garmen’s 5th Grade Classroom)
I love Highland School because of the lunch ladies, custodians, the aides and paraprofessionals, and the ladies in the office.
I love Highland School because of the lunch ladies and the custodians. They work all day non-stop just so I can eat and have a clean school.
I love Highland School because of the aides and paraprofessionals. They help me learn, grow, and help me learn things I did not know before.
Lastly is because of the main people in the office. They are Jana, Crystal, Tara, and Jessica. They all help every kid in Highland. They all have separate jobs to keep the school together. Tara talks about kindness and is the heart of our school. Jana and Crystal give us our days and food. Jessica helps kids grow and fix their mistakes. Together, they are Highland School.
Everyone that works in Highland keeps our school together. That is why I love Highland School.

Highland School
by Isabel Goulet
(Mrs. Garmen’s 5th Grade Classroom)
What does Highland School mean to me? This is what Highland means to me. It means nice custodians, nice teachers, and nice lunch ladies. These are some of the reasons Highland School is important.
The custodians are friendly. Custodians are cordial because they smile at us. They clean all of our mess up. They help us clean the rooms and clean the lunchroom so we don’t have to eat in a mess.
The teachers are courteous and respectful. The teachers are nice because they help us find friends. They help us with some homework, fire drills, and lockdowns.
The lunch ladies are friendly. The lunch ladies are great because they pick good food for us to eat. They make sure we are safe by wearing gloves when they give us our food.
Highland School means many things to me. Highland School has nice custodians, lunch ladies, and teachers. This is why I like Highland School.

Highland School
by Makenzie Ness
(Mrs. Garmen’s 5th Grade Classroom)
What does Highland School mean to you? This is what Highland School means to me: music, friends, and gym. These are my favorite activities.
Music is something I like about school. The music teacher is really nice and helpful. I love to play the violin in orchestra and the flute in band.
Friends are the best thing about school. I like to talk and visit with my friends. I play with them and sometimes I get to work with them.
Gym is really fun! We play Dodgeball, Guard the Castle, and Cheese Movers. We also play basketball and football. This is why I think gym is fun.
These are all the reasons why I like school. Music is enjoyable. My friends are terrific. Gym keeps me healthy. This is what Highland School means to me.

What Highland School Means to Me?
By: Kolton B.
Highland School means to me that all the teachers are nice. They help me be smarter. The cooks do a lot of cooking. I love the food. It’s so good. The playground is so big that I can have fun. The school is just so amazing. The reason I love this school is because it is such a great school. What makes it a great school is everyone is very supportive. People are supportive by always caring about us students and they are always trying to make you smarter.
Highland School is big enough that there are a lot of opportunities. Students learn  how to be a better version of themselves.  The students are always trying to do their best to get smarter. Their teachers are teaching them how to do the right thing. That is how all the teachers are nice. They help all of the children be smarter.
Highland School is just so amazing. The school and teachers have done so much for us in our lives. The cooks help us. I have fun with my friends when we eat. Thank you Highland School and staff for everything you have done for me.

What Highland Means to me…    
By: Jayde U.
What Highland means to me is that it is a school that is very welcoming. Our classroom is a certified Choose Kind classroom.  Everyone who works at Highland will help you with anything you need. Mrs. Uttermark is one of the best teachers ever!  In her classroom, you will do stem projects, be able to code dash and dot, and a lot more with her like art projects too.
One thing  I love about Highland is that I can be with my friends, Abi, Maddie, and Sylvia. If I wasn’t at school,  I would have never met my 3 best friends, and that 1 of the reasons I love Highland. One thing I love about Highland is that the staff make you feel like you belong, that they will be there for you and that’s why if you have a kid,  I think that you send them to Highland.
The teachers here at Highland make you feel welcome like you’re part of one of their family. The one person who is most important in my life is Mrs. Geist because if I am having a hard time reading, she is always there to help.   She has made it a lot easier because she has taught me strategies and always believed in me. Her and Mrs. Brekken make a great team.
Coming to Highland helps you to have a bright future! All of the teachers and staff are so nice.  They all make you feel like you can do this even though it is really really hard.
Highland is amazing because of the people here. They are so kind they make you feel like you’re at home and just are kind to you. I love Highland! It is an amazing place where you can do fun things while learning and growing.  Another awesome thing about Highland is that you can choose to be in band, choir, and orchestra. I like playing the violin and I’m lucky enough to be using my great great grandpa’s violin
I want to say thank you to Highland Elementary School for helping me! I don’t know where I would be without Highland Elementary School.

What Highland Means To Me
By: Gavin R.
My school is Highland Elementary and I’m proud of it. I’ve made lots of friends and learned a lot. Highland is my school.
To me Highland Elementary is a place to learn and grow. It is where we make friends and learn new things.  The teachers are so kind and helpful to all the kids and help us to stay safe during this time. Our class is very kind and always hard working. It is a choose kind classroom. Sometimes we make mistakes, but that’s how we learn to be a better person.
The teachers want all the kids to grow in their learning. The teachers work hard to help the kids get smarter, kinder, and so much more. We all are here to learn. Sometimes we mess up, but we always fix it. They keep us social distanced, remind us to keep are masks on, and don’t get too close to each
The cooks work hard to keep us safe when serving us our lunches. They always make the lunches good and tasty. I am thankful they make our food so we don’t get hungry. They all are just trying to keep us all safe.
We do lots of STEM projects like candy towers and other stuff. They are fun and help us learn about science. I also love it when we get to build tones of big cool things for STEM.
In conclusion, Highland is the best school for me.

What Highland School Means to Me?
By Maddie H.
What Highland School Means to Me is that you can learn so much and that everyone wants you to smile or shine. Everyone is so welcoming and kind. We have the best teachers that are welcoming to everyone in the building.  The lunches here are healthy and have a lot of love. One thing that everyone loves to play in is the Nature center where we go to learn and make friendships. We love to have a library where we can go to learn about whatever we want to learn about.
There are kind people in school. Highland is so kind and helpful to everyone. The staff here want everyone to have a great time and equation. The staff want everyone to be safe and kind to others. The staff are so nice and sweet to everyone. Things might get out of hand but they always have it under control.         
Everyone is willing to help you. No matter what happens they always have your back. Everyone is willing to help you because they are setting you up for success. Everyone is on your side and they are willing to help you.  Some people that are important to me are Mrs. Uttermark, Mrs. Davidson, Mrs. Hanson (my mom) and Miss Nicole. They are so nice and I appreciate them a lot.
In choir and orchestra and when I’m there I have so much fun. My teachers are so kind and I am so thankful for them. When I´m in them, they are not on the same days. I have a lot of friends in both choir and orchestra and my teacher is kind. kids have a great time here and they have a lot of fun.  No matter what happens they always have your back. Highland is so kind and helpful to everyone. What Highland School Means to Me is that you can learn so much and that everyone wants you to smile or shine.

Students on the University of Minnesota Crookston campus are actively engaged in hands-on learning throughout the year. Eric Castle, associate professor in the Agriculture and Natural Resources department, has taken it to heart as he sought to show students in his Art 1353: Pottery Design and Techniques course they can make pottery from materials found in nature.

Castle learned the ancient technique of the Anasazis, a Native American people who inhabited the American southwest in modern-day Colorado, Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico, during a class he had taken this summer.

“One of the teachers I learned this from was contracted by the Bureau of Land Management, the federal agency that manages a lot of land out west,” Castle stated. “They paid him to go around the southwestern United States and assess clay deposits for their use of making pottery. He has been doing pottery since the 1970s. He has been trying to replicate ancient techniques. He was a good person to go out and assess clay sources, and he found a bunch of them that were suitable in making pottery-style clay.”

Castle brought back his teacher’s favorite clay, and it became the root of one of the class projects this semester. The process was an elaborate one as Castle taught his students how to utilize materials around them.

“We brought the clay back (to Crookston) in a bucket with chunks of this lightish-gray colored clay,” Castle said. “From there, we needed to process it. We then processed the clay by going out in the nature nook and finding a good round rock from the landscaped areas. We used that to grind up the clay and turned it into a fine powder. If there were any rocks in the clay, we cleaned them out at the same time. Then we got it wet and mixed it to the right consistency for working. We had to add a little bit of sand to add structural support. From there, we made coil pots and let those dry.”

After the pots were dry, Castle and his class focused on painting the pots using a technique known as black and white style. “There is a lot of evidence of white-looking pottery, and the paint is black. To get that black color of the paint, the paint we used was made from Rocky Mountain Bee Plant. You take the whole plant, and you put it in a pot and mash it, and heat it up for a couple of days. It boils down to a tarry consistency. From there, we made paintbrushes using Yucca leaves. You have the stiff part of the leaf and the other part; we used our favorite rocks to mash the end of the Yucca leaves and scrape off the pulpy flesh, so we were left with just the fibers of the Yucca leaves. We then painted the pots.”

After the pots were painted, the focus became firing the clay to finalize the project. To stick with the Anasazi people’s ancient techniques, Castle needed to find sandstone and an area in which the class could dig a hole for an underground kiln. With the help of the Facilities staff at UMC, Castle was able to check both boxes off.

“We coordinated with facilities on campus,” Castle stated. “They were great with finding a location on campus where we could dig a pit about 14 inches deep and three feet wide and eight feet long. Ideally, in this pit, you have it lined with sandstone slabs. Unfortunately, sandstone doesn’t occur naturally around here. So I mentioned to Facilities if they knew anywhere we could get sandstone, and apparently, there were old parts of the Student Center made of sandstone. When they redid the Student Center, they saved pieces that went around the window that were sandstone. They took those and stored those for 30 years and apparently were waiting for a pottery class to come around. So they took their equipment and hauled them and arranged them in the pit how I had told them to.”

Now that he had a location, Castle brought his class out on Sunday, October 18, for the project’s last step as they fired their clay pots in the underground kiln. “We came out one Sunday and got the fire started. Students came in shifts with me, and we tended it. To create those oxygen-starved conditions, you heat the fire until it is peak temperature, and right at that point, you want to smother the fire. We took the dirt we excavated out of the pit and buried the kiln with all of the pottery inside of it still. We let that bake and cool overnight. The next day we dug it out and unearthed the pottery the students made.”

Castle was very pleased with the project and is excited to teach his future classes the same pottery style. He is looking forward to finding local clay and people who know more about the ancient traditions of the Red River Valley region.

“I would like to try to find some local clay. I would like to coordinate with some people who know more about the history of pottery in this region. The technique I am using here is from the southwestern United States.”

Castle believes the project met his ultimate goal of helping show students that they can make things with materials found right around them.

“I wanted to show the students they could make clay and fire pottery with things they could find around them,” Castle remarked. “You don’t need fancy clay. You don’t need a fancy kiln. It is just this very primal way of connecting with the place you are. If you can find clay around you, that is a part of the place you live. You can take that clay and make something beautiful or useful or something beautiful and useful.”

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The Northwest Regional Corrections Center announced the arrests of the following individuals:

Jerome Michael Ruud, 68 of Twin Valley, for a gross misdemeanor for interfering with 911 communications or calls. Released on personal recognizance.

Casey Don Jenkins, 34 of East Grand Forks, for careless driving

Isaiah Julio Dominguez, 18 of Crookston, for terroristic threats, reckless disregard risk

The Crookston City Charter Commission will have its annual meeting Monday, December 7 at 5 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall. The committee will review and recap the December 2019 meeting report and schedule a meeting for June 2021.

The committee includes Mayor Dale Stainbrook (Chair), Chris Fee, Tom Noah, Frank Lindgren, Donna Larson, Nick Nicholas, Betty Arvidson, Gary Willhite, Blake Carlson, Dan Johanneck, Scott Kleven, and Councilman Bobby Baird.

Governor Tim Walz has proclaimed Monday, December 7, 2020, as Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day in Minnesota, in honor of the 79th Anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor and the more than 2,400 service members and civilians who lost their lives that day.

“On the 79th anniversary, we lower our flags in honor and remembrance of the Americans killed during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941,” said Governor Walz. “We recognize the incredible courage and perseverance of our service members and civilians who sacrificed their lives while protecting the freedoms of the American people.”

Governor Walz has ordered all U.S. flags and Minnesota flags to be flown at half-staff at all state and federal buildings in the State of Minnesota, from sunrise until sunset on Monday, December 7, 2020, in honor and remembrance of those who served and died during the attack on Pearl Harbor and those who sacrificed their lives for our liberty and freedom during World War II.