Do-re-mi and la-la-la have new meaning in District 742 this year. St. Cloud Area School District, through its community education program, started the 742 Youth Choir, an audition-based choir for kids in kindergarten through fifth grade. “It [youth choir] was really a perfect storm,” explains Stephanie Peterson, licensed coordinator of social studies and arts in 742. “I knew … Read more
Mark Weimer, technology education teacher at Apollo High School, comes from a family of teachers, the majority of them teaching math and English. However, growing up, becoming a high school teacher was the furthest thing from his mind. Weimer’s father, a previous industrial arts teacher, became his math teacher in seventh grade. “He [my dad] would … Read more
“If you can’t help someone, then don’t hurt [hinder] them,” says Ahmed Abdi, lead bilingual communication support specialist (BCSS) at St. Cloud Area School District 742. It is a motto that Abdi has lived by, a philosophy instilled in him by his father. Abdi was born in Somalia but grew up in Kenya due to … Read more
Music is in her blood. For 2014 Tech High School graduate, Jessica Backes, music is a way to connect with people. Backes just visited South Junior High School, her former middle school, to talk to students about music, but more importantly, to stop and say hello and thank you to her old band director, Anita … Read more
McKinley-ALC students gather in the early morning at the St. Cloud Veterans Hospital sporting their volunteer shirts and name tags. They venture to the Veterans Affairs Hospital (VA) twice a month to reconnect with veterans, some whom they now call friends. Kathy Lyerly and Mike Myers-Schleif, McKinley service learning project supervisors, await the students. They laugh … Read more