News from Fisher School

Students participate in MathCounts
Four Fisher 8th grade students participated in MathCounts, a junior high math competition, at Northland Community College in Thief River Falls on February 19. The competition is meant to encourage and stimulate young students interested in technical careers.  The competition was administered by MSPE (Minnesota Society of Professional Engineers) and Northland College.  Some of the National Sponsors are Texas Instruments, Conoco-Phillips Oil, Raytheon and 3M. Local Sponsors are JOR Engineering, Floan and Sanders, MathTeachers Press, ShotCrete Technologies, and other private contributions from a local fundraiser golf tournament.

Over 7 million students participated in MathCounts nationwide.  Local teams and individual winners go to State on March 12-13.  State winners go to Orlando on May 7 for national competition.

Winners of team trophies were Bemidji Middle School (2nd large school) and Franklin Middle School (1st large school).  Small school winners were St. Phillips of Bemidji (2nd small school) and Kittson Central (1st small school).  The local competition attracted 83 students from 12 schools.  Schools represented were Kittson Central, Roseau, Bemidji Middle School, Fertile-Beltrami, Bagley, Crookston, St. Phillips of Bemidji, Cass Lake, Fisher, Franklin Middle School of Thief River Falls, Tri-County School, and Blackduck.  The top individuals were Monica Wittner of Bemidji (10th), Danny Davidson of Crookston (9th), Issac Dvergsten of Franklin Middle School (8th), Jack McKeown of Bemidji (7th), Anneliese Johnson of Kittson Central (6th), Terra Whitlock of Roseau (5th), Matthew Brang of Franklin Middle School (4th), Frances Marshall of Franklin Middle School (3rd), Henry Curtis of Bemidji (2nd), and Jacob Leier of Franklin Middle School (1st).

The two teams going to State are Franklin Middle School and Bemidji Middle School.

Fisher High School students nominated for Region 8A Triple 'A' Award
McKenzie Bruer and Dirk Tinkham, both seniors of Fisher High School, have been nominated to compete to represent Region 8A in the Academics, Arts, and Athletics Award Program.
 
Established in 1988, the Triple “A” Award is sponsored by the Minnesota State High School League.  The award goes to high school seniors who have a “B” or better grade point average and who participate in League-sponsored athletic and fine arts activities.
 
Bruer has been very active in volleyball, basketball and track. She was co-captain of both volleyball and basketball and has been named All-Conference for both of those sports.  In track, her relay team broke the school’s record for the 4 X 200 and 4 X 100 meter relays.  She has been in both band and choir throughout her high school career.  She is a member and vice-president of Fisher’s National Honor Society as well as senior class vice-president
 
Tinkham has been very active in Football, Basketball and Track.  He received the Ace Knight Award as a senior for football and earned a spot at the Sections meet for shot and disc for the past two years.  He is extremely active in band, chorus and drama.  He received the John Phillip Sousa Award for band.  He has attended both Honor Band and Honor Choir in Thief River Falls, received an Outstanding Choir Award and has earned numerous double star performances in ensembles.    He is also very active in the drama department having starred in numerous school plays and one act plays.
 
Triple “A” Award recipients are selected by a multi-level process involving the League’s member schools and administrative regions.  League officials will announce the four award recipients (a girl and a boy from both a Class “A” and Class “AA” school) at an on-court recognition ceremony held on Saturday, March 27, 2009.  Each award recipient will receive a four-year $1,000 scholarship.
 
Additional information about the Triple “A” Award may be obtained by contacting the Minnesota High School League at 763-560-2262 or by visiting the League’s Web site at www.mshsl.org.

Wagner serves as page, is a HOBY winner
Minnesota’s Hugh O’Brian Youth (HOBY) leadership program will recognize more than 30 leaders for outstanding spirit and service at the first annual HOBY Cheers Dinner sponsored by Great Clips.  The event takes places this Saturday, March 6, from 6 – 8 p.m. at Concordia University in St. Paul. 

HOBY will recognize 26 high school students, including Samuel Wagner of Fisher, who have completed more than 100 hours of community service since attending Minnesota’s HOBY leadership seminar at the end of their sophomore years. Wagner is the son of Joel and Diane Wagner.

Since 1958, more than 345,000 students nationwide have taken part in HOBY by attending leadership seminars in their home states.  Minnesota’s 2010 seminar will take place June 25-27 at Concordia University in St. Paul.

For more information on Hugh O’Brian Youth leadership programs, you can visit www.hoby.org and www.hobyminnesota.org.

Wagner, a Fisher High School junior, is serving as a page for the Minnesota House of Representatives this week. Only one student from each legislative district is chosen for the highly competitive program through an application process that includes writing an essay. Wagner is from District 1B.

Pages serve as support staff for all House and conference committee hearings and aid all departments in accomplishing their duties. During session, pages obtain copies of bills and other legislative materials and deliver messages. The also help prepare for daily sessions. Students benefit by experiencing the legislative process first-hand.