Education

The schedule was rougher last week for the Pipestone Area Schools baseball team, which included a game against state-ranked Windom on Tuesday, April 23. Big South Conference games versus Worthington and Windom were wild, with both games accounting for a garish 29 runs in each contest. Home plate was the site of the stomp, so to speak.

A Regular School Board Meeting of the Board of Trustees of Pipestone Area Schools was held Monday, March 25, 2024 beginning at 7:00 p.m. in Conference Room 1148, MS/HS. This is a summary of those proceedings, which are not to be confused with the official minutes of the PAS School Board meetings, which are maintained by the Superintendent’s Office. Complete official minutes, and resolutions are available at meetings.boardbook.org/Public/Organization/1058 or in the District Office located at 1401 7th St SW, Pipestone, MN 56164.

The graduation rate at Pipestone Area Schools (PAS) dropped from 84 percent in 2022 to 80.8 percent in 2023. That’s according to information released by the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) at the end of March. According to MDE, 63 PAS students graduated in 2023, nine dropped out, five were continuing to work toward their diplomas and the status of one was unknown, which means they were either incorrectly reported or were not reported as enrolled elsewhere, according to MDE.

The Pipestone Area Schools baseball program finally put some demons to bed during an 11-6 victory over Luverne in Big South Conference action Monday, April 15. Nohel Vivanco pitched well enough for the win and the triumvirate of Landon Quist, Weston Reinhard and Xavier Banjoko all scattered two hits as the Arrows generated 12 of them in an 11-6 conquest over the Cardinals at Westview Park.

1, Russell-Tyler-Ruthton, 55; 2, River Valley, 38; 3, Murray County Central, 37; 4, Jackson County Central, 22; 5, Minneota, 20. Creative Expression: 1, Joe Dagel, RTR; 6, Zoey Williams, RTR. Discussion: 4, Xander Glynn, RTR. Dramatic Interpretation: 1, Addison Bedow, RTR. Duo Interpretation: 2, Brianna Pattison/Natalie Nielsen, RTR; 3, Aiden...

REDWOOD FALLS — Speech students gathered in the rotunda at Redwood Valley High School around 1 p.m. Saturday. These students were anxiously awaiting to see who would make the Section 3A finals, and tournament officials then dramatically unfurled long white sheets of paper indicating those who attained such a standard.

Pipestone Area School head softball coach Robert Petersen and Russell-Tyler-Ruthton skipper Darren Baartman were Viking teammates back when Ruthton was on its own. The pair also won a national fastpitch softball title (sanctioned by the Amateur Softball Association) together as the Ruthton Rookies in 1986 at Sioux Falls, S.D. Both...

The sound of hammering and saws filled a shop at Minnesota West Community and Technical College on a recent Thursday morning. The sounds didn’t come from college students, but a group of Pipestone Area Schools (PAS) students. The students were building a shed and, as they did so, they were applying math skills they’d learned as part of a new class at PAS called Geometry in Construction (GIC).

Pipestone Area Schools’ freshman athlete Kaysa Douty is used to the spotlight. Douty smacked what proved to be a game-winning double, scoring Sienna Rieck, as the Arrows salvaged a Big South Conference split against a rapidly-improving squad from Marshall. “She kept her composure,” said PAS head coach Robert Petersen....

The Pipestone Area Schools and Edgerton/Southwest Minnesota Christian softball teams conducted a scrimmage on Thursday, April 4, at Paulsen Field in Pipestone.

Murray County Central School Board held their monthly meeting on April 8th at 6pm. The agenda was approved. The financials for the month were also reviewed and approved. They accepted the personnel changes presented by Superintendent Joe Meyer. These include the resignation of Brittany Berndt (Junior High Math Teacher) and Taitum Timm (ECSE Teacher) both at the end of the year, as well as the hiring of Payton Braun (ECSE Teacher) and Erin Scandrett (4th Grade Teacher). There was no one present for public forum.

In my last message, I shared the importance for school attendance. However, beyond school attendance, for our Pipestone Area School students to be as successful as they can be, we must also work together to establish and maintain high expectations for students in and out of school. We know that the school experiences play a pivotal role in shaping students’ futures. By working together and challenging students to excel academically, encouraging them to pursue extracurricular activities, and finding ways to support the social and emotional development of our youth, we can lay the foundation for lifelong achievement and success for our students.

A regular meeting of the School Board, ISD #2689, was held in Conference Room 1148 at the MS/HS on February 26, 2024 at 7:00 p.m. The following members were present: Katie Wiese, Tyler Fruechte, Chrissy DeBates, Lance Oye, and Daphne Likenss. Absent: Brad Carson and Mark Hiniker. Also present – Jacque Kennedy, Jennifer Moravetz, Deb Peschon, Sonja Ortman, Travis Dethlefs, David Downing, Bailey Imhoff, Kristofer Eischens, Logan Hailey, Cynthia Cunningham, Nancy Stiles, and Kyle Kuphal. Vice Chairman Oye called the meeting to order. Motion by Wiese, second by DeBates, approved the agenda as presented. Motion carried unanimously. Public Forum: None. Presentation: Travis Dethlefs and students presented on Robotics. The first ArrowBots Team 3298 was founded in 2010. This year’s competition is in Grand Forks March 7-9. FIRST Robotics has expanded from 2 teams in 2006 to 224 in 2020. More than 4,850 students are actively involved on Minnesota teams. Robotics is a great option for students that want to join an extracurricular activity. Robotics is part of the MSHSL and they feel Robotics is as important as any sport and should be treated equally. They would like to see the school district to pay for additional competitions and also expenses for mentors. Motion by Fruechte, second by Likness, approved all items in the Consent Agenda. Items approved were minutes of the regular school board meeting of January 22, 2024; minutes of the school board organizational meeting of January 22, 2024; minutes of the special school board meeting of February 15, 2024; minutes of the special school board meeting of February 23, 2024; contracts and or work agreements for Sonja Ortman, District Coordinator of CTL, and Continuous Improvement; Cody Heidebrink, baseball assistant; Grant Everson, girls golf head; Cristin Winter, junior high golf; James Skyberg, boys tennis head; Skylar Mendro, junior high boys tennis; Michelle Neece, junior high track; Robert Petersen, softball head; Shelby Bloemendaal, softball assistant; Morgyn Carson, 7th grade softball; Todd Texley, track assistant; Sylvia Newell, 3-Act play; Marlys Viland, long-term teacher sub; Andy Yost, STEM/Ag teacher; Mara Taubert and Tami Nelson, new teacher subs; retirement letters from Todd Tinklenberg, MS teacher and Bev Slinger, elementary teacher; letter of resignation from Lauren Olson, language arts teacher; volunteers Jennings Wallace, track and field; and Carmen Skyberg, softball. Oye thanked Tinklenberg for his 33 ½ years with the district and Bev Slinger for 42 years with the district.