Friday, October 14, 2016

Exeter-Milligan Welcomes Giada Miniussi




Giada Miniussi came to America to “see what is outside of Italy and open my mind.”

Coming from Trieste, which is a smaller town near Venice (small like Lincoln, according to Miniussi),  she has adapted well to living in Exeter with host parents, Larry and Bonnie Cudaback.

So far, Miniussi has not experienced any homesickness.  She misses her family, friends and pizza and pasta but has enjoyed tasting the different foods here.  “They told me there would be all junk food before I came but Bonnie makes really good food.  I really like how she cooks.”

Miniussi is also enjoying her extended host family, including the Cudaback’s granddaughters, senior Sydney Hall and sophomore K K White. She plays volleyball for Exeter-Milligan with the girls.  The daily practice is a new experience for her as she was on a club team in Italy that practiced two or three days a week.  She is looking forward to basketball and track season as new experiences for her.
She hopes to go on a ski trip to Colorado and visit the Cudaback’s daughter in Kentucky this year. 

She has enjoyed four wheeling and tubing at the lake with the Cudaback and their extended family.  When the school year is over she hopes to travel America coast to coast with her parents.  

While she is expecting “to learn the language” while she is here, Miniussi is also planning to explore different careers in America, “I don’t know what I want to do for a career.  Maybe this experience will help me understand what I want to do for college or career.  Maybe I want to go to college in American or Australia.”

In Italy, Miniussi goes to a Slovanian school and the village where she lives has a predominantly Slovanian population since it is near the border of Italy.  Her mother’s family is Slovanian and so she speaks the language as well.

This year in America will count toward her five years of high school but she may have to do some tests to advance.  She will have one more year of high school when she returns.  She had planned to go to business school and learn French but now after taking the health tour during career day she is learning in that direction.

While she is still struggling a little bit with the language, Miniussi is enjoying her year at Exeter-Milligan.


Thursday, October 13, 2016

Exeter-Milligan Soccer Teams




Exeter-Milligan Kindergarten and First grade soccer team front row left to right Brynnlye Johnson, Boden Graham, and Levi Jurgensen.  Back row from the left are:  Deacon Erdkamp, Gavin Mueller, Titus Petersen, Will Kallhoff, Kayden Hale, Scout Grummons, Coach Dan Kallhoff and student manager Tommy Kallhoff.



RJ Clevenger, Cohen Harre, Jonah Geiger, Coach T.J. Mueller, Tucker Svec, Adrien Mueller, Gavin Mueller and Alexis Bendig


Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Exeter-Milligan Update: Meet the Authors



Meet the Authors
by Rhoda Wahl, Exeter-Milligan Language Arts Instructor

Exeter-Milligan junior high students met Trent Reedy and Linda Sue Park at the Plum Creek Literacy Festival on September 23. These published authors shared their insights on writing and reading along with other authors and illustrators brought together by Concordia University in Seward, NE.

Before the festival, English students in 8th Grade read Trent Reedy’s book Divided We Fall, a story about a 17-year-old high school senior who serves in the Idaho Army Reserves. The author drew on his own experiences in Afghanistan as a member of the Army Reserves

Students in 7th Grade read A Long Walk to Water, by Linda Sue Park. This true story chronicles the challenges of Salva Dut, one of the Lost Boys of South Sudan, who was forced to flee his country during their civil war. A parallel story is also told of the current crisis in South Sudan. Nya, a young Sudanese girl, spends her days carrying water for her family and livestock. The two stories then merge when Salva, the founder of Water for South Sudan, comes to Nya’s village to drill a well.

Both authors shared experiences that inspired each of their stories. They also described their writing strategies and encouraged everyone to enjoy reading and write often. Everyone learned something new about literacy. Some of their reviews are as follows:

Alec Schlueter: My favorite author is Linda Sue Parks. One thing she said, ”Video games make two parts of the brain.” The second thing she said, ”Reading make your brain stronger.’

Briana Capek: I liked Trent Reedy the best because he told about his life story and you could tell it was real because he even cried. He told about all of his books and they all sounded interesting. I learned that it takes a really long time to write a good book and it has to go through a lot of different stages and versions. He was very inspirational.

 Kole Svec: My favorite was Trent Reedy. I liked him because he talked about football a little. He also likes the Hawkeyes so he has some issue. He went to Afghanistan  after the 9/11 attacks. He said that writing takes a lot of time and you are going to make thousands of mistakes while you write.

Daisy Kanode: Trent Reedy was one of the speakers at the Plumb Creek Literacy Festival. He got most of his ideas for his books from being in the army. He told us it was a very long process to get a book published. It takes a lot of patience to be a good writer. He also said it might be easier to write a book if you keep a journal. The last tip he gave us was that errors help you become a better writer so don't give up and keep making to book better. Another author that talked to us was Linda Sue Park. She told us that most of her books didn't just come from one idea. They have ideas from all over all put together in one. She gave us a lot of great tips too. I liked both of the authors very much but I liked Trent Reedy just a little bit more.

Blake Meyer: I like Trent Reedy because of what he told us that it is difficult to become a writer. I also liked Trent Reedy because of the stories that he told us about Afghanistan. I learned that is hard to become a writer. I also learned that it takes a writer about 4-5 different drafts before they publish the final copy. I learned it takes a long time to write a story. Linda Sue Park said that reading a paper book stimulates the brain and activates all parts of the brain. She also said that she wrote around 38 books. I liked Linda Sue Park because of the stories she told us. I also like Linda Sue Park because of the facts that she told us.




Pictured - Katelyn Babula had her book signed by Linda Sue Park


Wahl8thReading pic –
Front: Jackson Beethe, Sean Gibson, Dylan Bonds, and Blake Meyer
Back: Brock Steuben, Clint Oldehoeft, and Casey Jindra

Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Exeter-Milligan Sends High Plains Packing

 It was three straight sets for the win tonight in Milligan.  The Lady Twolves powered through three sets never letting High Plains put very many points on the board.  They will host East Butler in Milligan Thursday night.












Monday, October 10, 2016

Exeter-Milligan Update: Outdoor Ed Day Successful



Outdoor Ed Day by Lorie Sliefert, Exeter-Milligan Science Instructor

The Biology II and second grade classes had another successful Outdoor ED Day on Friday, Sept 22.  The Biology II students were in charge of setting up and teaching different centers about nature to the second graders.  Some of the Centers looked at Birds, Insects, Trees, Oceans and the water cycle, recycling, and Wind.  Students had several make and take activities.   They made animal tracks, wind vanes, rain sticks, and oceans in a bottle to name a few.  They played the Bat Moth game and Hugged a tree.   This was a great opportunity for the Bio II students to step up and be good role models for the 2nd graders. 

Pictured are:
Front – Sydney Engert, Brooklyn Oldehoeft, Logan Johnson, Truman Milton, Cheyenne Krupicka, Kaylie Schlueter, RJ Clevenger, and Adrien Mueller
Middle – Kayla Bonds, Tara Mueller, Clarissa Mounce, Katie Moody, Hannah Horne, Sydney Hall, Hannah Beethe
Back – Janey Erdkamp, Alexis Uldrich, Katie Mounce, Kelsey Bigelow, Kaitlyn Vavra, and Trevor Luzum