Newsletters 2018-19 Focus newsletter, [4] Spring | Page 6

COLLABORATING FOR EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE
PAGE 6
Evergreen Park fifth grader earns
leadership award from city of
Brooklyn Center
City partnership a
catalyst for energy
education effort
The campus of Anoka High School hosts
both an energy producing wind turbine and
solar panel array, and now an education
program made possible by the Minnesota
Municipal Power Agency (MMPA) is bringing
lessons of energy creation into the classroom.
The two-day “Energy Days” program coordi-
nated by MMPA, the energy supplier for Anoka
Municipal Utilities, encourages students to bet-
ter understand in-depth energy topics and
provides insight into various energy-focused
career opportunities.
According to Rana Nestrud, the AHS STEAM
(science, technology, engineering, arts and
math) coordinator, on the first day of Energy
Days, students worked with the Science
Museum of Minnesota getting an “Electronics
101” crash course. There, students were able
to hop on a bike to convert their personal
energy into electricity, make simple circuits
and work in groups to solve a case study.
On the second day, students interacted
with a panel of six adults in the energy field.
Representatives from Avant Energy and Anoka
Municipal Utilities shared their educational
backgrounds and day-to-day activities, Nestrud
said.
Kris Bakkum, a science teacher at AHS, said
having community members come into the
school to work with students was a pretty big
deal. “This makes the students feel important
and valued,” he said. n
Shiloh Ayitey pictured at the Police and Citizens Award ceremony with his family, teacher Samantha Goodman
and Brooklyn Center Chief of Police, Tim Gannon.
Shiloh Ayitey, a fifth grade student at Evergreen
Park World Cultures Community School, received
the Dennis Winfield Leadership Award from the city
of Brooklyn Center on April 17. Ayitey was honored
at the Police and Citizens Award Ceremony by
Police Chief Tim Gannon and Mayor Mike Elliot.
The award is given to one student from each
elementary school in Brooklyn Center for going
beyond the expectations set by his or her school
in regards to helping others.
Ayitey stood out to the fifth grade teachers at
Evergreen Park, including his own teacher Samantha
Goodman, as the perfect fit for the award.
“Shiloh is a student who stands out as being a
strong leader, a positive influence and he always
does the right thing,” Goodman said. “He encour-
ages and inspires others to work harder and make
good choices.”
Ayitey said that he mostly helps kids in his class,
but he does enjoy visiting with the younger stu-
dents at Evergreen Park when his classroom visits
younger students. When asked what motivated him
to be a good leader, Ayitey said he just enjoys
doing good for others. n
MnDOT engineers discuss
Highway 65 corridor, route career
options for Blaine students
Engineers from the Minnesota Department of
Transportation (MnDOT) visited Blaine High
School (BHS) to meet with civil engineering stu-
dents, promoting career pathways, and more.
The civil engineering class is part of the BHS
Center for Engineering, Mathematics and
Science (CEMS) program, and according to its
director, Jenny Birkmeier, the main topic of the
visit was the Highway 65 safety and mobility
corridor study.
“This was a good opportunity for students to
hear about a potential project in their commu-
nity,” Birkmeier said.
Calendar change
approved for
2019-20 school year
Students in the Anoka-Hennepin School
District will not attend school on Election Day,
Tuesday Nov. 5 due to a calendar change
approved by the School Board. The action also
adds Wed. Oct 17, 2019 as a school day, with
the staff development day switched to Nov. 5.
These changes will be reflected in all future
published calendars. n
One of those who met with the students is
Melissa Barnes, MnDOT’s North Area engineer,
and project leader of the study. She said the
visit with the students had two goals: one was
to educate them about the Highway 65 study
and hear their thoughts about the project; and
the second was to give students an idea of
what a civil engineer does every day.
Barnes is a member of Women’s
Transportation Seminar (WTS) International, a
professional organization dedicated to building
the future of transportation through the global
advancement of women. The group also has a
youth outreach foundation, Transportation YOU,
which is a mentoring program for high-school
aged girls who may be interested in working in
the transportation field in the future. It’s
Melissa Barnes, MnDOT Engineer discusses the Highway
65 corridor study with BHS students.
through Transportation YOU that Barnes’ visit was
made possible.
“The program is meant to encourage young women
to consider careers in the transportation field,” she
said. “And we have been presenting on different
aspects of transportation (at schools) all year.”
According to Birkmeier, the chance to talk to a
MnDOT engineer like Barnes benefits students. Every
year MnDOT offers internships to students that are part
of programs like Blaine’s CEMS program. “Each year
we have students who apply and get hired to work as
engineers in various positions while they are in high
school,” she said. n