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Students earning top gains honored at Academic Growth Award recognition event
The Anoka-Hennepin School Board has a tradition of recognizing the academic , athletic and artistic accomplishments of students . In that spirit , the School Board also recognizes focused and intentional work made by students and their support systems to improve .
To do so , the district gathers standardized test data to identify the top five percent of students that made significant growth over the past school year in the areas of math , reading , and language acquisition . Growth was measured by comparing performance on two of the same assessments in any of the three examined areas .
This year , 2,932 were awarded certificates at the school level , and approximately 500 elementary and middle school students with the highest growth at each school were invited for School Board recognition to focus on celebrating their academic achievements at one of two events Feb . 6 at Anoka High School and Feb . 28 at Blaine High School
“ We know that gathering this data and organizing these recognition events are time consuming and sometimes difficult , but as a board , we are very grateful for the participation by students and families and the results of these efforts ,” said Cory McIntyre , superintendent of Anoka-Hennepin Schools . n
PREPARING STUDENTS FOR LIFE
Two students represent district at state math competition
John Downs , a junior at Andover High School , and Taison Scofield , a freshman at Blaine High School , represented Anoka-Hennepin at this year ’ s Minnesota State High School Mathematics League tournament held March 11 at Spring Lake Park High School .
Downs was the number one overall finisher in the North Suburban Division earning himself a spot in the state competition . Scofield placed third overall in the division and section competition to advance to state .
Math League is an after-school activity where students study to take two tests for each competition with topics ranging from Algebra 1 & 2 , geometry , precalculus , probability , statistics and more . Students begin practice in October in preparation for the first competition in
John Downs
Taison Scofield
November and typically compete in five events throughout the school year .
Each school then selects eight students for their varsity roster and those students ’ points count toward team totals in events . Every participant from each school competes as an individual in two events and the eight-member team participates in a team portion of the competition . n
Students demonstrate bus safety knowledge in annual poster contest
The Anoka-Hennepin transportation department held its 29th annual school bus safety poster contest this winter , which began during Winter School Bus Safety Week .
The winners were recognized at the district transportation safety committee meeting on March 6 .
This year ’ s theme was Driving Safely Into the Future .
Winners of the 2024 Bus Safety Poster Contest pictured after being recognized at a bus safety committee meeting at the Educational Service Center in Anoka .
The transportation department invited students in all grade levels to submit their best artwork for the competition . Each school held its own poster contest , with one winner chosen from each grade level . The winning poster for each school was then entered into the district contest .
The objective of the contest was to encourage students to think about school bus safety , while also presenting an opportunity for discussion during school bus safety week .
Winning posters will be entered into the state poster contest and displayed in buildings across the district to continue the promotion of school bus safety . n
The winners are :
• Kaeto Evuleocha , kindergarten , University Avenue Elementary .
• Benjamin Vu , first grade , Jefferson Elementary .
• Learning Center .
• Asher Dahl , third grade , Sunrise Elementary .
• Gianna Archer , fourth grade , Jefferson Elementary .
• Rosalyn Norton , fifth grade , Jefferson Elementary .
• Cameron Kelly , sixth grade , River Trail Learning Center .
• Fatima Muhamed , seventh grade , Northdale Middle School .
• Brielle Whitney , eighth grade , Oak View Middle School .
• Emilio Ramirez Magana , ninth grade , River Trail Learning Center .
Athena Award winners announced from all five district high schools
Five female student-athletes — one from each of Anoka-Hennepin ’ s five traditional high schools — have been recognized for their hard work in the classroom and on the playing field or court . The Athena Award is given to one senior female athlete from each participating school who has distinguished herself in a special individual athletic achievement or superior achievements in one or more sports .
Morgan Miller is a two-sport athlete for Andover High School , competing in basketball and volleyball . She is a three-time all-conference selection in both basketball and volleyball and owns 10 school records in the girls ’ basketball program at Andover . Miller will continue her academic and basketball career at Clemson University in South Carolina .
Kaelyn Nelson is a three-sport athlete at Anoka High School , excelling in cross country , track and field and nordic skiing . She has earned a combined 15 varsity letters , six each in cross country and nordic skiing and three in track and field . Nelson hods the school record time in the 5k race in cross country and was a conference champion in 2021 . Nelson will continue her academic and cross country and track and field career at Augustana University in Sioux Falls .
Morgan Miller Kaelyn Nelson Hannah Claussen Annabelle Johnson Casey Beck
Hannah Claussen starred in soccer and track and field at Blaine High School , earning all-conference and all-section recognition six times during her career . She is also a two-time state champion as a member of two winning relay teams at the state meet . Claussen will attend South Dakota State University and continue her track and field career .
Annabelle Johnson is a standout twosport athlete at Champlin Park High School , participating in lacrosse and tennis . She was a team captain of both teams and has earned all-conference honors five times during her career . She is the school ’ s all-time leader in assists , groundballs and forced turnovers in lacrosse . Johnson will attend Northern Michigan
University where she will continue her lacrosse career .
Casey Beck is a three-sport athlete at Coon Rapids High School where she excelled in basketball , lacrosse and tennis . She was a two-year letterwinner in tennis and once in lacrosse while earning four varsity letters in basketball . She was twice named the captain of the basketball team and ended her career as the school record holder in rebounds . Beck will continue her academic and basketball career at Saint Mary ’ s University .
The student-athletes were recognized at the 52nd annual Minneapolis Athena Awards luncheon on Friday , May 3 at the Heritage Center of Brooklyn Center . n