A look back at the 2018-19 school year
Published 7:01 am Saturday, June 1, 2019
- The Ellis Engineers, the VEX Robotics 8th grade team from Ellis Middle School, demonstrate the use of their robot that helped them secure multiple victories this season. The team competed at the World Championship in Louisville, Kentucky, just one of the many bright points for Austin Public Schools. Herald file photo
David Krenz
Austin Public Schools superintendent
As the 2018-19 school year winds down, we’d like to take a moment to look back at some of the amazing things our students have accomplished this year:
• Several of our robotics teams qualified for the US Open and one of our Ellis teams competed at the world competition, where they finished as one of the top 15 teams in the world and the highest US team in the competition
• Sumner Elementary again earned recognition as one of the Nation’s Healthiest Schools;
• The boys soccer team earned a second straight trip to the state tournament and took third;
• The dance team made their 17th trip to the state competition;
• The boys basketball team made another trip to the state tournament and finished third;
• The AHS wind ensemble was chosen to perform at the State Music Educators’ Conference; and
• The numerous other students, clubs and teams who earned honors or qualified for their individual state competitions
We would like to recognize this year’s High Distinction students, students earning a cumulative GPA of 3.9 or higher throughout their high school years, who will also serve as student speakers at the ceremony. Congratulations to Jordyn Aakre, Sarah Bachmeier, Emily Eich, Daniela Hernandez Espindola, Eleanor Hinchcliffe, Henry Hinchcliffe, Simon Hirst, Maia Irvin, Thomas Kroymann, Madison Lang, Brockdon Lawhead, Tarik Merzkani, Nathan Meyer, Kassidy Oldenkamp, Jacob Steinbach, Riley Wempner and Katherine Willrodt.
We also continue to move forward with innovative opportunities. This year we began the facility upgrade to the High School Annex which will enhance our Band, Orchestra, and Choir programs with facilities that reflect the quality of our programs and allow them to expand and offer new and innovative music opportunities for our students.
Superintendent of Schools Dave Krenz
This is all possible through the support of The Hormel Foundation, the commitment of the Austin School Board, and the outstate expansion of the MacPhail Center for Music.
We would also like to honor eight staff members who recently began or will be starting their retirement at the end of the school year.
We wish to extend our congratulations and a special thank you to these individuals for devoting their careers to education, where they have touched thousands of lives during their service to the district. Our 2019 retirees include Sherri Grimley, Cece Kroc, Mary Kruger, Kim Lundberg, Jack Morgan, Elaine O’Brien, Donna Skiba and Sherrie Voigt.
This year we will be honoring over 300 graduates at the graduation ceremony taking place at 7 p.m. on Friday, June 7, in Austin High School’s Knowlton Auditorium and Ove Berven Gymnasium with live streaming via the Austin Public Schools YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/isd492) and Facebook page (www.facebook.com/isd492) for those not able to attend or for families wishing to record the ceremony.
It is truly a wonderful and exciting time to be an Austin Packer.
Our focus is not just on the challenges our students provide, but more importantly on the strengths each child brings to our school and community. We want to reach each child at their level so they can use these strengths to grow and thrive.
