- Details
- Hits: 3007
MAKING IT LOOK EASY - Senior wrestler Makota Misgen had no issues pinning Medford’s Kamilo Gonzales for the win this past Thursday.
Star Eagle photos by Chris Schlaak
The NRHEG High School wrestling team placed a solid fifth in the 2022 Stewartville Darrell Jaeger Invitational Saturday, Jan. 15.
The Panthers totaled 119 points, putting them firmly in the upper half of the 13-team field. Rochester Mayo won with 201 points, followed by Byron with 162.5, Cannon Falls 140, Medford 136, NRHEG 119, Grand Meadow-LeRoy-Ostrander 116, Stewartville 105, Austin 63, St. Clair 72.5, Rochester Century 54, Crosby-Ironton 42, Triton 15 and Rochester John Marshall nine.
The Panthers brought back two individual championships, Ralph Roesler at 195 pounds and Makota Misgen at 285. Roesler scored three falls and a bye en route to his title. improving his record to 23-3. Misgen got three falls and a bye to improve to 20-3.
Nikolas Petsinger was second at 132, receiving a bye and getting two falls before falling 5-3 in the finals. He ran his record to 20-5. George Roesler finished third at 170, registering two falls.
- Details
- Hits: 2548
By Asa Holdeman
Panther Press
With first semester coming to an end this Friday, the Panther Press decided to check in with two teachers to get their perspectives on the school year so far. Ashley Hoefker teaches science to students in grades 7 to 12. This is her first year as a teacher and, of course, her first year at NRHEG.
Ms. Hoefker comments that the best part of her job is getting to know her students and being able to say hello to them, not only in her classroom, but in the hallways and around town. She feels that students are friendly and cooperative, but admits that, “They bring me new challenges every day.”
Hoefker’s first love in science is chemistry, which she teaches one class hour a day. She also has three sections of ninth-grade physics, a subject she says she has spent some time reviewing to be sure she could teach it well. She finds herself putting in a lot of time to devise a curriculum which meets her students’ needs. She is also working hard to keep up with the many demands of being sure materials and expectations are prepared each day for the three different types of classes on her schedule. “It seems like there’s never enough time,” she observes.
- Details
- Hits: 2312
These nearly life-sized characters are lining the middle school hallways after being created by Mr. Domeier's seventh-grade students.
By McKenna Schiell
Panther Press
Each quarter, middle school English teacher Mark Domeier has his students read a book of their own choosing, then produce a book report to share with the class. Second quarter’s report took the form of producing a life-size version of a character from the book. Domeier says he has been using this format for quite a few year, and that he feels it is an opportunity for students with artistic interests to enjoy depicting what their chosen characters would look like.
“It’s a new way of looking at literature,” he says. “And it gives us a chance to decorate the halls and let students in other classes think about books and stories.”
Seventh-grader Cameron Christopher says he enjoyed the project. He created a picture of a girl named Cheyenne from the book Count all of Her Bones. He says it was fun to use his creative side, so much so that making the life-sized illustration didn’t seem like work.
In addition to creating the large illustrations, Domeier has students report to the class about the action and conflicts of the stories they read.
- Details
- Hits: 22351
Superintendent Mike Meihak demonstrates the use of the new large-scale poster printer acquired by the school in the past few weeks.
By TORRI VAALE
Panther Press
A new, specialized printer acquired in December will, according to superintendent Michael Meihak, help “pantherize” the school. Capable of printing documents up to 42” by 100”, the printer will be available to produce signs and posters for display in school buildings and for school events and activities.
Meihak mentions that similar printers have been used in other districts where he has worked, and have proven to be highly beneficial. “It can be a bit of trouble learning all its abilities and how to access them,” he observes. “But generally speaking, once people have become acquainted with its potential, they begin wondering how they ever did without it.”
The printer, acquired with district equipment and technology funds, cost about $3,000. Thanks to “supply chain” difficulties, it was on order for about a month before being delivered. Once it is fully connected to other school technology, staff members will be offered an opportunity to learn more about its operation and its capabilities. The poster printer will be kept in the media center to allow access for all staff.
- Details
- Hits: 2427
This 30-foot long wall decoration is one of the very visible upgrades in the library, with more improvements to follow.
By Trevor Lenort
Panther Press
The high school library is in the process of receiving a facelift which was planned last summer and has been proceeding gradually as each step could be scheduled.
One very obvious change is the new carpeting, installed over the holiday break after the walls had been given a fresh coat of paint last fall. Equally obvious is a 30-foot wall graphic which says “Empowering students with knowledge and skills to succeed.” More subtle, but perhaps equally important is some new lighting. Even more, a total of a dozen or so overall, are scheduled in the near future, including some new furniture and additional school-spirit-centered decorations.
According to superintendent Michael Meihak, school board members decided on a facelift for a number of reasons. One was that the space was looking kind of tough after social distancing rules from COVID caused the district to use the media center for student dining; the extra traffic, busy seating arrangement and food service practices took a toll.
Since school board meetings and other public events take place in the media center, and since it has so many important resources for student use, there were many reasons it needed to be inviting and welcoming. Said Meihak, ”We want to have an area that is warm and welcoming for students to go to and to be proud of. I am very optimistic that once the project is finished, students will use the area more and take pride in our school and facilities.”
In addition to the facelift, media center manager Carma Pederson has added over 500 new books to the library since she started in September. She has also withdrawn many books that have not been checked out for some time.