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On Wednesday, February 22, the Jubileers Choir from Little Falls Community High School performed for the students and staff of LFCMS. The performance was wonderful and was a fabulous display of talent.

Recently, LFCMS became a part of the worldwide unified club to build better relationships between regular education students and students involved in the special education program. Although the school has been a part of the Special Olympics for many years, bringing the unified club to the middle school has made the connections between all students stronger. Currently, there are about 49 kids interested in the new program, and they meet two times a month to discuss new activities to implement. For the most part, the experiences have been athletic-based such as a basketball camp that involved six special education students and nine Unified Partners. On Thursday, the 16th, the students traveled to a winter carnival called Camp Confidence. It included activities such as tubing, dog sledding, etc. 

After this trip, the group plans on expanding their ways of connecting with each other like creating a more welcoming lunch environment for the students. This has created an incredible learning experience for every single person involved with the club, and it creates an opportunity to gain an understanding of their classmates who may have different learning experiences than them. The program has immense potential to improve the culture of our school. Empathy and understanding has become a key lesson in learning how to communicate with everyone around you. There have been great strides in connecting the students, and it will be incredible to see how the kids bring what they learn into their everyday lives.

Teachers involved in the AVID program have been looking for a way to implement college tours for middle school students, but there are not many institutions that provide official tours for these grade levels. However, Central Lakes College in Brainerd responded quickly and eagerly offered an opportunity for students to see what not only CLC has to offer but also any post-secondary schools the students may be interested in. On Friday the 27th, around 45 AVID participants were able to attend the experience. The 7th and 8th graders were able to brainstorm what they want in a college and if they felt college was the best fit for them.  

Before the trip, the students were asked to create a picture collage of what they thought of when they envisioned college. The collages seemed to be based on television and social media, which made the benefits of an in-person tour expand immensely. Each department of CLC demonstrated the classes and the programs involved with them, such as the cooking labs and the mechanics labs. The hands-on involvement in the tour included participating in an excavator simulator, watching how a part was made in the metals lab, seeing robotics, etc. Kyle Connelly stated, “It got the kids excited about the future.” Overall the experience was incredibly beneficial for each student involved, and it was inspiring to watch the participants be exposed to the countless opportunities that lie ahead.

    The middle schoolers participated in a College and Career week, starting on Tuesday, January 24, and ending on Friday the 27. Implemented by the AVID site team, this week was designed for the 6th, 7th, and 8th graders to have the opportunity to explore their interests in possible career choices. Based on last year’s experience, the school added 45 minutes to the time set aside for this project to encourage questions and involvement. While participating in these various activities, students were able to learn more about why school is important and the role it can play in their bright futures. The sixth graders in Ms. Cota’s classroom were very excited to talk about the assessment saying, “it made you think about what you wanted to do instead of just saying something random.” 

     Some of the activities the kids participated in included researching lifestyles they could see themselves pursuing, prices of houses, apartments, pets, post-secondary options, etc. Prior to the College and Career Week, each advisory was assigned a college to research and use as a subject for decorating their door. The doors all turned out amazing, and it was interesting to see the teamwork that happened during this fun and educational project. Colleges all throughout the state also sent many trinkets such as pens and bookmarks to the kids for fun things they could take home and keep to remember the exciting places that lie ahead for them! It is fulfilling to be a part of a community that continues to show students the importance of their future and dreaming big.