Rice Lake High School's Project Showcase was collaboration of skills

Rice Lake High School teachers and students in 10 different programs collaborated and presented a Project Showcase on the evening of March 26 at the school cafeteria. Despite the mixture of rain, sleet and wind, turnout was reported as steady throughout the event.

“This showcase exemplifies the ability of our talented students to embrace challenges and show resilience in dealing with setbacks,” Family and Consumer Education teacher Sara Eckstein said. “Throughout the learning process, students were able to experiment and problem-solve issues — all key aspects of career readiness. These traits exemplify the true spirit of learning and growth.”

She added, “Rice Lake High School is dedicated to providing opportunities where students can collaborate, think critically and strengthen these soft skills that employers demand. Teens crave validation for their efforts and the support of family and friends at these types of events provide them with the encouragement to persevere through these types of challenges.”

AgriScience teacher Pete Kolpack explained, “Students in the Food Processing Class manufactured three different types of brats using recipes of their own creation. In this class students have made a variety of products including a summer sausage, jerky, brats, Polish sausage, and a ground ham product.

“Using their knowledge they created recipes for this with cured and smoked brat sausages,” Kolpack said. “Students created the Sweet and Spicy Brat featuring jalapeno’s, pepperjack cheese and honey. The Wild Hog brat featured pepper flakes, mozzarella cheese, and bacon bits. The Hawaiian brat featured pineapple, chilli and teriyaki sauce, and honey. The Wild Hog brat was voted as the top brat at the showcase.”

“We want to thank any community members and parents that attended the project showcase,” said high school Principal Curt Pacholke. “This event celebrated the creativity and innovation of our students. It’s a chance for the community to witness firsthand the incredible potential within our schools and to support the next generation of thinkers and innovators.

“The showcase not only provides a platform for students to exhibit their hard work, but also fosters collaboration and knowledge-sharing among peers,” he said. “We are proud to offer a relevant and rigorous curriculum in our Career and Technical Education Department at Rice Lake High School. Our dedicated teachers create an environment that allows our students to excel in their area of interest. We are planning to continue to hold events like this in the future.”

See more photos of the Project Showcase at chronotype.com.