Fergus Falls Public Schools

SUPERINTENDENT’S COLUMN
By Superintendent Jerry Ness
• May 19, 2010 •

Graduation
Congratulations to the 206 seniors who will participate in
ceremonies as they graduate from Fergus Falls High School, the
Area Learning Center and the iQ Academy Minnesota online school. The ALC graduation is set for 7 p.m.
Thursday, May 20 at A Center for the Arts, and the High School graduation is at 7 p.m. Friday, May 21, in the
High School gym.
This class has excelled in academics, fine arts and athletics. Even more than that, they are good people
and citizens. Of the 206 graduates this year, 124 grade point averages of 3.0 or higher. The Class of 2010 is filled
with positive leaders who have made the 2009-10 school year an enjoyable and rewarding one for all who had the
pleasure of working with them.
The class motto is "Think of where you’ve been, When you think of where you’re going, Life goes fast, but
remember the past, Because the winds of change are blowing” — Andrew Sletten, Class of 2010. Class colors
are black and gold, and the class flower is the bleeding heart.
A special congratulations to the 16 students who earned GPAs of 3.9 or higher on a 4. 0 scale: Brandon
Bergerud, Amanda Breen, Eben Danielson, Molly Ekren, Nathan Johnson, Ben Kugler, Cristina Masten, Lauren
McGovern, Stefanie Miller, Joseph Moses, William Rader, Rose Saul, Haley Schroeder, Shelby Thomason, Ethan
Valentine and Tayler Vatnsdal.
Two other notable achievements for the Class of 2010 are Ethan Valentine’s recognition as a National
Merit Scholarship finalist (he will attend the University of Iowa on scholarship), and Rose Saul’s appointment to
the United States Military Academy at West Point. Representatives from West Point and the office of U.S.
Seventh District Rep. Colin Peterson attended the Senior Recognition Banquet to recognize Saul’s appointment,
which is the equivalent of a $202,000 scholarship.

Artists Selected for Mentor Awards

The Lake Region Arts Council has announced the names of high school students selected to receive
2010 artist-mentor scholarships, designed to enhance each student's artistic creativity, skill and personal growth.
The students will study one-on-one with a practicing professional artist from June through September or attend a
camp or workshop to strengthen their skills.
Fergus Falls students chosen for music mentorships are Keianna Vogel, Andrew Eerdmans, William
Eerdmans, Conor Lee and Abby Kiefer. Elayna Wagnild was selected for a dance mentorship. Congratulations to
these talented artists!

Region 6 Visual Arts Festival

Congratulations to Otter artists for a strong showing in the Minnesota State High School League Region 6
Visual Arts Festival. Lauren McGovern received a Superior Rating in painting, and Jacob Herrick received
Excellent ratings in sculpture and drawing. Also receiving Excellent ratings were Sarah Dutcher, Kaitlyn Stock and
Lauren Johnson in painting; Cassidy Tysdal in drawing; Jaci Ellingson in sculpture; Nathan Johnson and Brooke
Solheim in media arts; Jesse Laugen and Blayze Buseth in ceramics; and Tara Fielder in printmaking.

Distinguished Alumni and Hall of Fame

Congratulations to the 544 Education Foundation Distinguished Alumni Gary Spies and Robert Dreschel.
Congratulations also to Lee Leverson for his election to the Hall of Fame in the arts category, George Sawyer for
athletics and Paul Anderson for service. I would like to thank these outstanding alumni and staff for their
contributions to our school district.

The Noteables
Thank you for reading this column each week. This is my final column for the school year. We will have a
busy summer getting Kennedy Secondary School ready for business in August. The first big event scheduled for
the new school is the Air Force Band, “The Noteables,” which will perform at 2 p.m. Sunday, August 15, in the
auditorium. Tours of the building will follow the performance.