By Brenda Erdahl
The summer construction project is winding down at Maple Lake Schools where preparations are now beginning for the start of the school year on Wednesday, Sept. 4.
On Monday, Aug. 12 at the regular school board meeting, school board members approved contracts with five more instructors, which means they will start the school year with every position filled.
“We feel very good about all of our hires,” Supt. Mike Rowe told board members at the August meeting.
Teacher workshop week kicks off on Monday, Aug. 26 with the new staff orientation. The rest of the week, teachers new and seasoned will be in school making preparations for the upcoming school year. Throughout the week they will be treated to lunches courtesy of the Minnesota National Guard, Irish PATHS and PTA, and Star Bank.
Meet Your Teacher Day is Tuesday, Sept. 3 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. with classes beginning Wednesday, Sept. 4 for all students in grades 1-12. Half the kindergarten class (A-M) will start on Wednesday and the other half (N-Z) will start on Thursday, Sept. 5 with all kindergarteners in school on Friday, Sept. 6.
Final coaching hires were also completed at the August board meeting as fall activities such as football, cross country and volleyball get underway. The volleyball team already has a couple scrimmages under its belt. Its first varsity tournament is Friday, Aug. 23 in Albany. The football team will scrimmage on Saturday, August 24 with its first game scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 29 at Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City. The cross country team will kick off its competitive season on Friday, Aug. 30 at Ney Park.
Supt. Rowe also reported to the board that the new video scoreboard in the high school gym is finished and ready for the new sports season. The new video scoreboard will incur a lease payment of $25,807 a year for the next five years which Activities Director Dan Krause has been working all year to fund through sponsorships. He has filled eight large sponsor spots plus some smaller spots that will fund the expense. The goal is that once the lease payment is up, continued sponsorship by local donors who wish to advertise on the video board will be profitable for the school. The new video score boards will showcase the students and provide a more exciting experience for fans. The old high school score board, which is in perfect working condition, was to be moved to the elementary school.
The project to replace and move the side basketball hoops in the high school gym to allow all six hoops to be used when a large group of kids are practicing at the same time was also finished, Rowe reported. That project was funded by a private donation.
In other news:
• Maple Lake Schools received a $30,000 grant from Wright County which will go toward hiring an additional reading specialist at the elementary school.
• Supt. Rowe reported that enrollment is steady, and they are looking to start the new year with 765 students in Early Childhood through 12th grade.
• The next regular school board meeting is Monday, Sept. 9 at 7 p.m. in the district office board room.