Crookston Public Schools are celebrating American Education Week Nov. 15-21 under the theme “Great Public Schools: A Basic Right and Our Responsibility.” The theme, set by the National Education Association, spotlights the importance of providing every child in America with a quality public education from kindergarten through college, and the need for everyone to do his or her part in making public schools great.
Highland fifth graders, as they have for decades, wrote essays reflecting the theme after pondering about what their school means to them. The four fifth-grade teachers – Beth McDougall, Kerri Brantner, Dan Halland and Marcia Scholler, chose 11 to be published in the Times. In addition, nine students read their essays for KROX Radio, which is airing them several times throughout the week.
Great Public Schools: A Basic Right and Our Responsibility
By Hannah Nash
Many things come to mind when I think of our great public schools.
I have a great teacher, Mrs. Scholler. She laughs a lot. She makes learning everything really interesting. We get to have school parties as well as working hard.
We have a therapy dog named Bella who works with us as well as therapists. We also have great art projects and great music to sing.
My classmates are really nice and I get treated with respect.
For students, it's important to treat people with kindness and respect. We need to be quiet and listen to all the people who work here. We also need to cover our mouths when we cough and wash our hands a lot. We need to come to school every day unless we are sick.
And, talk to God when you see trouble to know what you should do!
It is also our job to be polite and use good manners, to be willing to wait and take turns.
I am really glad we moved to Crookston and I get to be part of this
great school!
By Jake Widseth
Our school helps and guides us to be better people when we grow up, such as responsibilities.
Things that make schools great are having responsibilities and the right to learn. Schools help us build self confidence, and help us get a job when we get older, and I myself (Jake Widseth) want to be successful when I get older.
Kids have responsibilities to stay safe, learn many different things, and be respectful. Not only is it a choice, but it is also a right.
That is why I think school is a great place.
By Noah Metzger
School can be a fun place to be. I like school because friends are there and you can make new friends. A very big responsibility is to work hard, pay attention,and get your work done on time because education is very important. You must also respect other students and teachers.
Those are the most important things about school.
By Callie Boucher
I have a lot of good things to say about public schools. The teachers are so funny and nice. We also have so much space! Quality....who doesn't like quality? I certainly love it, and Highland has so many things that work well.
The computers here are excellent because of wiring, high speed, and no fuzzy screens. The bathrooms also work well. They are clean, and they work (most of the time!) That is enough about good upkeep.
Moving on to staff. As I said before, the teachers are awesome, but there is still more. Janitors keep Highland clean, and the aides who help out in our school help kids with special needs. We have a lot of choices, too. We get to choose if we want to be in Band, Orchestra, Math Club, and Choir.
Last of all, I'd like to thank the taxpayers for providing money to keep
this wonderful school open for children to come and learn!
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By Skyler Thompson
Highland School gives us a good education. I look forward to coming to
school because we are lucky to have a very awesome classroom and the best teacher. Our teacher is never boring. We are very thankful to have staff to help us learn. I'm thankful for getting good food for lunch. Some kids in other countries don't get lunch every day. Thanks to ALL the staff of Highland School because they help us with whatever we need. Highland gives you lots of choices. We can be in orchestra, band, or choir, or we can be in all three! The nurse takes care of us if we are not feeling well. The secretaries in the office are the best. We have the nicest princial, Mr. Thorvilson. He likes to make the kids happy.
So you see, there really are a a lot of good things about Highland, our public school!
By Perla Rangel
Public schools are very good for our country. Highland School's teachers are nice, and our classrooms are always clean. Mr, Thorvilson, the principal, wants everyone to have a good year. He is always there for everyone. Our school has secretaries that help our principal and us.
I love orchestra because Mr. Buchmaier is so cool. He is really cool because he taught me how to play the violin. Now I feel like a star! Orchestra is the best, and choir is too. Choir is great because I like the songs that we sing.
I think Highland has the best cooks. I love lunch. They give us healthy food to eat. Mmmmmm! That's is so good! Thank you, cooks!
Everyone should be able to have a good education just like me. Thanks you, Highland teachers and Mr. Thorvilson for helping me learn new things!
By Megan Frisk
Highland School gives us a safe place to learn things that we can use when we grow up. It is really important for children to get a good education so that can have successful futures. The staff at Highland School is really good with helping students. The whole staff cares about the students and encourages them to make good choices.
The thing I like most about public school is that nobody is left behind or is unwelcome. We are free to choose what we want to do. For example, I chose to join orchestra.
We students have responsibilities, too. We have to get our work done and respect other people. Students need to be patient and cooperative with other students and teachers. We need to respect school property.
Our teachers and principal have lots of reponsibilities. They have to make sure they are teaching the things we need to know. The teachers and Mr. Thorvilson, the principal at Highland, care about the students they teach.They are kind and patient with us.
In closing I would like to thank the taxpayers for giving us a wonderful chance to learn so we can have bright futures.
By Gianvanna Bingham
Highland School must have been built by angels from the way I see it. Highland is a kid's dream come true. We've got a playground created by mad scientists, cooks that know how to make Las Vegas style food, and a music teacher that can really rock it. Our gym teachers knows stunts, and our computer teacher knows game sites to make our learning fun. Our librarian knows books. And the best thing of all, our teachers know how to make school fun for kids. All of this is because of you taxpayers out there.
I can't even tell you how much you help me and other kids. You make my learning fun! Thank you!
By Logan Prudhomme
Public schools let kids learn great subjects like reading, math, social studies and science. In every subject we do lots of fun stuff. Also, if you can’t eat in the morning at your house you can eat in school. There are some chances for us to have a snack time in class. Almost everybody in school likes a special time in school, and it is RECESS! Recess is very fun. We get to play on a playground. There is also a merry-go-round, and we have swings to swing on. There are tether balls out on the blacktop. Also, we can play tag on the blacktop or on the grass when there is no snow on the ground.
We also have many different teachers we learn with. There are many different extra activities like Bingo, and we get to go to a Bookfair. We can go to PE, we can check out books at the computer in the computer lab, and if we work hard we get Good Effort parties. That is why we have GREAT PUBLIC SCHOOLS!
By Gabby Pruneda
Highland Elementary School is important to me because we get to meet other teachers and play games, homework and have a lot of fun.
In math we do homework and learn new things like 58x35=2030. Math is fun too because you can play math games and get math quizzes on a math chapter. Math is hard, easy and sometimes just right.
In reading we read one or two books for read-to-self. We also have reading groups for us to talk and read together. We even talk about the book.
Other teachers are fun to be around and are cool. In Highland School there are 22 and more teachers in the school.
Bingo Nights are so fun because I can help and have fun with friends. Bingo Night was last Thursday.
My teacher is Mrs. Brantner. She is nice and funny. Mrs. Brantner shares me and my classmates with Ms. McDougall. Mrs. Brantner teaches me math, reading and social studies. Ms. McDougall teaches me science. Both of my teachers are so fun.
Our school library has a lot of books. When my class goes to the library I check out three books so I can read over the weekend.
That is why Highland Elementary School is important to me.
By Desiree Ramirez
I love Highland School. We get to learn about science, social, reading and math. We sometimes switch teachers for it. We get cool teachers.
We take walks. We take walks around the school. If it is sunny out we take walks outside the school, up the sidewalks or through our baseball fields. We even get to have computer classes, music classes, gym classes, library classes, orchestra classes, band classes and choir classes. I love to do mostly all of them!
My favorite part of school is recess. We get to socialize with other people and we treat people equally. Even though we are not the same or look the same, we are friends to each other. So then we all get to play with our friends at our playground. Our playground has five swings, four slides, two sliding poles, monkey bars, some bridges and a merry-go-round, but much more cool stuff.
We even get different kinds of parties, but only if we earn it.
I think my school is the best because I love it the most!
Crookston, Minn. —
