Saturday, April 12, 2014

Exeter-Milligan Update: Band Contests and Honor Band

Twelve Exeter-Milligan students participated in the Class D All-State in Kearney on Saturday, March 22.  Pictured (Row 1 L-R) Samantha Horne, Ella Wilkins, Maitlyn Thomsen, Erica Yound, Janey Due, Madison Horne, Haylee Sheffield (Row 2 L-R) Amber Pribyl, Trystan Brandt, Broc Mueller, Jordyn Brandt, Ashley Benorden
Exeter-Milligan had several students participate in the CRC Honor Band and Choir Clinic in Central City on Monday, March 24.  Kimberlin Ruhl and Hunter Stride sang in the honor choir under the direction of Mr. Mike Morris. Jordyn Brandt,  Ashley Benorden, Haylee Sheffield, Maitlyn Thomsen, and Meredith Emshoff were all first chair medalists in the honor band directed by Mr. Eric Fahrlander. Other E-M members of the honor band were Ella Wilkins, Erica Yound, Madison Horne, Devin Sheffield, Trystan Brandt, Amber Pribyl, Samantha Horne, Broc Mueller and Jack Dinneen.

Seated on the Floor  (L-R) Haylee Sheffield, Maitlyn Thomsen, Erica Yound, Meredith Emshoff, Ella Wilkins; Middle Row (L-R) Devin Sheffield, Samantha Horne, Broc Mueller, Jack Dinneen, Amber Pribyl; Back Row (L-R) Hunter Stride, Kimberlin Ruhl, Trystan Brandt, Madison Horne, Ashley Benorden, Jordyn Brandt

Friday, April 11, 2014

Exeter-Milligan Update: Economics Class




Mr. Jordan Marr’s economics class at Exeter-Milligan recently finished their year-long business project.  The students learned various aspects about economics while being able to create their own business.   The students were able to raise over $1,000 for various charities, such as Skate for Change and the I’ve Got A Name organization.  Students making this project possible, from left to right, are Front: Ingrid Remmen, Toni Bossaller - Back: Deidre Stevens,Felix Richter,  & Kaitlyn Hertzel.


Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Exeter-Milligan Update: Jump Rope for Heart a Success!



JUMP ROPE FOR HEART EVENT AT EXETER-MILLIGAN A SUCCESS!


 

 
On February 27, 2014, students at Exeter-Milligan Elementary School in Exeter jumped all over heart disease and stroke by participating in Jump Rope For Heart. The students raised more than $1,500 for the American Heart Association, which funds research, programs and education to fight heart disease and stroke, our nation’s No. 1 and No. 4 killers.

“I’m so pleased with the success of this year’s event,” said Darcy White, Jump Rope For Heart coordinator. “We all had a lot of fun, and the kids enjoyed learning about the importance of physical activity and how they can play a role in saving lives.”

Jump Rope For Heart is a program that promotes physical activity and heart health through jumping rope. It is co-sponsored by the American Heart Association and the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance.

To make a donation or to find out more about Jump Rope For Heart, call your nearest American Heart Association office or call 1-800-AHA-USA1 (1-800-242-8721). You can also visit us online at heart.org/jump.
Pictured is 2nd grader Tyler Due, who raised the most donations of $315

Exeter-Milligan Update: English 7 - 12






Discovering the “AHA!” of Reading
Rhoda Wahl - English 7-12

The scene is a high school English class. Students are reading chapter 14 of Ender’s Game, and journaling their reactions to the chapter. After finishing the chapter, one student responded aloud, “I didn’t see that coming.” This reaction was repeated during discussion and in journals, as the readers reacted to the surprising end of the story. This collective “AHA!” moment made dread of reading a 50-page chapter melt into the light of new understanding. This is only one example of how students at Exeter-Milligan High School are discovering strategies that help them discover the “AHA!” of reading.

This path to discovery began with defining the reading process, experimenting with a variety of reading strategies, and concluding that learning is a lifetime process. Approximately 30% of the high school student body was surveyed. This 5-question survey asked each respondent to define the term “reading”, describe useful reading strategies, rate his or her reading ability, and vote on which genre (type of reading) each found easiest and most difficult to read. Their definition of “reading” fell into two main categories.
·         25% - Recognizing familiar words, being able to sound them out clearly, and the ability to read fluently (in a smooth manner) and quickly.
·         75% - Finding meaning in written words (both printed & digital), understanding the writer’s message, and learning something new.

When asked to rate themselves as poor, average, good, or outstanding readers, the readers that limit reading to word recognition and fluency rated themselves as average. In the survey, average means that the readers only understand SOME of what is read. Most of the readers that define reading as a meaning-making process rated themselves as good or outstanding readers. Good refers to understanding MOST of what is read, and outstanding readers understand EVERYTHING they read.

Good and Outstanding readers are more effective because they regularly use simple strategies that transform learning to read (word recognition) into reading to learn (comprehension). Based on the survey, the strategies are listed from most frequently used to those used less often.
1.    Self-Monitoring – All students who use comprehension strategies recognize when they are stuck or don’t understand what they are reading.
2.    Re-reading – Most of the time, students who re-read a difficult section several times, or more slowly, will understand what they are reading
3.    Questioning – Most effective readers ask questions as they read. These questions could be about words or elements that are confusing, or related elements they wonder about.
4.    Visualizing - About half of the effective readers create pictures or movies in their head to visualize what is happening in the text.

In his introduction to Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card encourages readers to create their own story, or find their own “AHA!” moment. He writes:

“The true story is one that the audience members create in their minds, guided and shaped by my text, but then transformed, elucidated, expanded, edited, and clarified by their own experience, their own desires, their own hopes and fears.”
(Card, Orson S. Ender’s Game. Introduction, © 1991)

pictured reading are Katie Mounce, Kaitlyn Vavra, Janey Erdkamp and Kelsey Bigelow.