PAGE 3
PREPARING STUDENTS FOR LIFE
Front row , from left : Robert Bone , FBI acting special agent in charge , Steve Burrill , teacher , Lyhnsay Yang , Oak View Middle School , Grace Amell , Oak View Middle School , Madison Gruhn , Jackson Middle School , Gabe Adams , Northdale Middle School , Josh Determan , Roosevelt Middle School , Derek Kohen , Roosevelt Middle School and Bill Harvey , treasurer , Anoka-Hennepin School Board . Back row , from left , Cory McIntyre , executive director of student services / supervisor for middle schools , Gary Lundeen , Oak View Middle School principal , Greg Blodgett , Roosevelt Middle School principal , Jeff Leach , Northdale Middle School principal , Marci Anderson , vice-chair , Anoka-Hennepin School Board , Tom Hagerty , Jackson Middle School principal .
District eighth graders win FBI cyber safety award
A group of eighth-grade students from four Anoka-Hennepin middle schools recently won an FBI a ward for their performance on a program that tests cyber safety .
The students , who go to Jackson , Northdale , Oak View , and Roosevelt middle schools , as well as their computer explorations teacher , Steve Burrill , were recognized during the district ’ s March 26 School Board meeting by acting special agent Robert Boone , who is in charge of the FBI ’ s Minneapolis division .
“ These are the things that the FBI really does enjoy to do — giving these ( awards ) out to exceptional groups of students ,” Bone told the School Board .
According to Bone , the FBI Safe Online Surf ing , or FBI-SOS program was developed in 2012 by the FBI in conjunction with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children , and takes the form of inter - ac tive games students participate in , and a test at the end .
“ The idea was to teach children how to be more responsible and good digital citizens in the cyber world , as well as to ensure that they understand the online dangers that face them ,” Bone said .
Burrill used the program to teach his 267 eighthgrade students at the four middle schools about cyber safety , and in doing so , they competed against 96,000 students from 1,642 schools across the country .
“ I think that most of the time when society looks at internet safety and the responsibility piece , young adults and teens get a bad rap due to inappropriate usage with their phones , tablets , and computers ,” Burrill said . “ This means a lot to the students to get recognized and earn the award . It ' s real nice for them to be able to get recognition for being knowledgeable and responsible with this topic .”
How it worked , Burrill said , is that he registered all of his classes at the four schools , and then the kids participated in various grade-appropriate games and activities . After completion of all the activities , students then took the test , and Anoka-Hennepin ’ s middle schoolers had the highest composite score ( 93 percent ) nationally for the month of December , 2017 , winning the national award .
“ I realize I ' m the one who registered them and presented them the lesson , however this is all about the students from the four middle schools ,” Burrill said . “ At the end of the day , they ' re the ones who put in the effort and work .”
Since the pro gram be gan in 2012 , there have been more than 2 mil lion students who have participated , Bone said . ■
U . S . Sen . Tina Smith visits Anoka-Hennepin ’ s Secondary Technical Education Program ( STEP )
A number of students at Anoka- Hennepin ’ s Secondary Technical Education Program ( STEP ) recently had a chance to chat with a United States senator .
U . S . Sen . Tina Smith ( D-Minn .) visited the district ’ s STEP program March 27 , where she took a brief tour of the school located on the campus of Anoka Technical College ( ATC ), chatted with some of STEP ’ s manufacturing and welding students , and then held a panel discussion with leaders from the Anoka-Hennepin School District and its STEP program , as well as leaders from Anoka Technical College , and a number of county and local business partners .
“ The work that ( STEP and ATC are ) doing here , I think , is a national model ,” Smith said . “ I want to take what they ’ re doing and bring it back with me to Washington , D . C ., so I can help make sure the federal government is a good partner .”
STEP bills itself as a high school in a college setting where students in grades 11 and 12 can explore hands-on technical and manufacturing careers while earning both high school and college credit . It ’ s located on the ATC campus , and shares facilities , equipment , and supplies with the college .
During the tour , Smith met with a number of students who talked about their education at STEP . One was Anoka High School senior and full-time STEP student Julia Hoeke . The two chatted about her interest in welding and the opportunity she ’ s had to pursue it while at STEP .
“ I love it ,” she said about the district ’ s STEP program . “ It ’ s nice to be with different people and to have the college experience while in high school .”
Smith also spent time talking to Emmanuel Raymundo-Deleon , a second-year welder who created a violin that he will be submitting to the Skills USA Championships for a possible award , STEP senior Dylan Bratsch about his time at the school , and engineering and manufacturing teacher Mike Hilber about his classes .
U . S . Sen . Tina Smith poses with STEP welding students during visit to the school March 27 .
According to Jes Lipa , director of the district ’ s STEP program , the school has 700-800 students each trimester , who come from all five of Anoka-Hennepin ’ s five traditional high schools ( Andover , Anoka , Blaine , Champlin Park , and Coon Rapids ). Most are part-time students , which means they take core classes at their regular high school , and then come to STEP at some point during the day for technical and manufacturing studies .
In addition to meeting students and seeing firsthand what they ’ re doing while at STEP and at ATC , Smith was interested in learning about barriers in place that keep students from pursuing career and technical education offerings , or from going after highskilled and high-paying jobs in manufacturing and other technical careers .
Answers from members of the panel discussion included increasing federal
continued on page 5
PREPARING STUDENTS FOR LIFE
PAGE 3
Front row, from left: Robert Bone, FBI acting special agent in charge, Steve Burrill, teacher, Lyhnsay Yang, Oak View Middle School, Grace Amell, Oak View Middle School, Madison
Gruhn, Jackson Middle School, Gabe Adams, Northdale Middle School, Josh Determan, Roosevelt Middle School, Derek Kohen, Roosevelt Middle School and Bill Harvey, treasurer,
Anoka-Hennepin School Board. Back row, from left, Cory McIntyre, executive director of student services/supervisor for middle schools, Gary Lundeen, Oak View Middle School principal,
Greg Blodgett, Roosevelt Middle School principal, Jeff Leach, Northdale Middle School principal, Marci Anderson, vice-chair, Anoka-Hennepin School Board, Tom Hagerty, Jackson Middle
School principal.
District eighth graders win FBI cyber safety award
A group of eighth-grade students from four
Anoka-Hennepin middle schools recently won an
FBI a ward for their performance on a program that
tests cyber safety.
The students, who go to Jackson, Northdale, Oak
View, and Roosevelt middle schools, as well as their
computer explorations teacher, Steve Burrill, were
recognized during the district’s March 26 School
Board meeting by acting special agent Robert
Boone, who is in charge of the FBI’s Minneapolis
division.
“These are the things that the FBI really does
enjoy to do — giving these (awards) out to excep-
tional groups of students,” Bone told the School
Board.
According to Bone, the FBI Safe Online Surf ing, or
FBI-SOS program was developed in 2012 by the FBI
in conjunction with the National Center for Missing
and Exploited Children, and takes the form of inter -
ac tive games students participate in, and a test at
the end.
“The idea was to teach children how to be more
responsible and good digital citizens in the cyber
world, as well as to ensure that they understand the
online dangers that face them,” Bone said.
Burrill used the program to teach his 267 eighth-
grade students at the four middle schools about
cyber safety, and in doing so, they competed
against 96,000 students from 1,642 schools across
the country.
“I think that most of the time when society looks
at internet safety and the responsibility piece, young
adults and teens get a bad rap due to inappropriate
usage with their phones, tablets, and computers,”
Burrill said. “This means a lot to the students to get
recognized and earn the award. It's real nice for
them to be able to get recognition for being knowl-
edgeable and responsible with this topic.”
How it worked, Burrill said, is that he registered all
of his classes at the four schools, and then the kids
participated in various grade-appropriate games
and activities. After completion of all the activities,
students then took the test, and Anoka-Hennepin’s
middle schoolers had the highest composite score
(93 percent) nationally for the month of December,
2017, winning the national award.
“I realize I'm the one who registered them and
presented them the lesson, however this is all about
the students from the four middle schools,” Burrill
said. “At the end of the day, they're the ones who
put in the effort and work.”
Since the pro gram be gan in 2012, there have
been more than 2 mil lion students who have partici-
pated, Bone said. ■
U.S. Sen. Tina Smith visits Anoka-Hennepin’s
Secondary Technical Education Program (STEP)
A number of students at Anoka-
Hennepin’s Secondary Technical
Education Program (STEP) recently
had a chance to chat with a United
States senator.
U.S. Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.)
visited the district’s STEP program
March 27, where she took a brief
tour of the school located on the
campus of Anoka Technical
College (ATC), chatted with some
of STEP’s manufacturing and weld-
ing students, and then held a panel
discussion with leaders from the
Anoka-Hennepin School District
and its STEP program, as well as
leaders from Anoka Technical
College, and a number of county
and local business partners.
“The work that (STEP and ATC
are) doing here, I think, is a nation-
al model,” Smith said. “I want to
take what they’re doing and bring
it back with me to Washington,
D.C., so I can help make sure
the federal government is a good
partner.”
STEP bills itself as a high school
in a college setting where students
in grades 11 and 12 can explore
hands-on technical and manufac-
turing careers while earning both
high school and college credit. It’s
located on the ATC campus, and
shares facilities, equipment, and
supplies with the college.
During the tour, Smith met with a
number of students who talked
about their education at STEP. One
was Anoka High School senior and
full-time STEP student Julia Hoeke.
The two chatted about her interest
in welding and the opportunity
she’s had to pursue it while at
STEP.
“I love it,” she said about the
district’s STEP program. “It’s nice to
be with different people and to
have the college experience while
in high school.”
Smith also spent time talking to
Emmanuel Raymundo-Deleon, a
second-year welder who created a
violin that he will be submitting to
the Skills USA Championships for a
possible award, STEP senior Dylan
Bratsch about his time at the
school, and engineering and manu-
facturing teacher Mike Hilber about
his classes.
U.S. Sen. Tina Smith poses with STEP welding students during visit to the school March 27.
According to Jes Lipa, director of
the district’s STEP program, the
school has 700-800 students each
trimester, who come from all five of
Anoka-Hennepin’s five traditional high
schools (Andover, Anoka, Blaine,
Champlin Park, and Coon Rapids).
Most are part-time students, which
means they take core classes at their
regular high school, and then come to
STEP at some point during the day for
technical and manufacturing studies.
In addition to meeting students and
seeing firsthand what they’re doing
while at STEP and at ATC, Smith was
interested in learning about barriers in
place that keep students from pursu-
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