Chaska High School: Pride

Fifty-four CHS students earned college credit this year through Project Lead the Way.

The following have earned All-Lake Conference Honors for the spring 2008:

Boys lacrosse All Conference – Mark Scott HM – Pat Blake, Ryan Marek, Brennon Van Straaten
Girls lacrosse All-Conference – Tam Meuwissen, Rachael Goers, Alaina Doran HM – Michelle Hromatka, Bri Wahl, Mercede Davis
Softball All-Conference – Kelsey Kalkman (also All-State academic), Ari Althoff HM – Rose Heitkamp
Boys golf All-Conference – Alex Robb, Charlie West, Jake Erickson, Jon DuToit HM – John Pavelko, Grant Notvedt
Girls golf All-Conference – Katie Kettler
Boys track and field All-Conference – Paul Yerhot, Derek Jerde, Andy Keller, Ben Sathre HM – Pat Bigaouette, Eddie Van Pelt, Travis Brew, Michael Rodriguez
Girls track and field All-Conference – Lauren Rothschiller HM – Jessie Lynch, Jenna Franz, Ashley Fedie, Lindsay Rothschiller
Baseball All-Conference – Brad Hand, John Straka, Cory Glieden HM – Adam Peterson, Nate Murphy
Boys tennis All-Conference – Mike Geissler, Tyler Joe HM – Trevor Vossberg, Kyle Lamb, Louis LaCroix

Congratulations to the to the Baseball team on winning the State AAA consolation title. Brad Hand and John Straka were named to the Class 3A All-Tournament Team.

Congratulations to junior Derek Jerde who won the state high jump title at the Class 2A meet with a jump of 6 feet 10 inches.

Chaska's Brad Hand was selected as the 52nd overall pick in the Major League Baseball draft on Thursday by the Florida Marlins. Hand was the 10th lefthanded pitcher selected in the 2008 draft.

Hennepin Theatre Trust's 2007-08 SpotLight Musical Theatre Program is holding an awards ceremony to honor area musical theater. Honorees were selected from among 25 Minnesota metro high schools, including Chaska. Chaska High School received awards for its fall musical "The Pajama Game," including: * Outstanding overall production of a musical* Outstanding performance by a chorus ensemble * Outstanding performance by a dance ensemble* Outstanding performance by an orchestra* Outstanding performance in a leading role: Kate Hamilton (as Mabel)* Outstanding performance in a leading role: Tyler Ryan (as Hines)* Honorable mention, performance in a leading role: Joel Peterson (as Sid)* Technical achievement: Carmen Bernu (costume design) * Technical achievement: Alexis Waldin (stage management)

The Boys’ Golf Team finished 4th at the State Golf Meet at Bunker Hills Golf Course in Coon Rapids. Congratulations to Coach Jeff Rydland and the team! John Pavelko led the Hawks with a two-day score of 147 to tie for eighth place overall. Fellow Hawk junior Alex Robb finished in 148 to tie for 10th place.

The CHS Baseball Team beat Eden Prairie, 3-0 to win the Section 2AAA Championship! The Hawks will be making their first State Tournament appearance in 10 years. Congratulations to Co-Head Coaches Troy Stein and Dale Welter!

Jim Mason, our Head Boys’ Tennis Coach, has been named Section 2AA Coach of the Year!

The Hawks Track and Field team had four athletes in 6 events qualify for State Tournament competition. Junior Lauren Rothschiller qualified in the long jump and the triple jump. Senior Ben Sathre qualified in the 1600m run and the 3200m run. Senior Paul Yerhot qualified in the 100m dash and junior Derek Jerde qualified in the high jump.

The Chaska high School Supermileage Car teams achieved high performances at this years competition in Brainerd International Raceway on May 19th and 20th. Team 7 consisted of members Jon Van Sickle, Brandi Meyer, Brandon King, and Jake Kennedy completed 9 runs with an average of 110 mpg. Team 13 consisting of members Matt Wirtz, Justin Olson, Sawyer Dahl completed 17 runs with an average of 287 mpg. This was the most runs completed by any of the 92 vehicles competing at the competition. Congratulations to the Supermileage car teams for a job well done.

Valerie Hogan has received a $500 CHS Merit scholarship. This scholarship is given to students who have demonstrated an excellent academic record, involvement in school activities, and outstanding character. Congratulations, Valerie!

CHS senior Brad Hand has been named the Gatorade Minnesota Baseball Player of the Year. This is the second straight year this honor has gone to a Hawk. Last year Brynne Dordel earned the recognition.

The second annual Chaska Rock Festival occurred last Saturday at CHS. Autobahn, a band of CHS students won second place and will perform at the Minnesota State Fair this summer.

The Boys Golf team advanced to the State Tournament with a win at the section 2AAA finals and have achieved a number one team ranking.

CHS juniors Jordan Dahlke and Chris Beckman were selected to attend Boys State this summer. Sponsored by the American Legion, the Boys State program is an exercise in applied government. High school seniors from across Minnesota gather at SMSU for one week to learn about government, patriotism, and citizenship.

CHS junior Scott Miller was awarded 1st place and a $500 scholarship in the 2008 Student Essay Contest sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. The title of his essay is “Alexander Hamilton: Founding Father and Economic Genius”. Here is the link to this award-winning essay: http://minneapolisfed.org/econed/essay/results/1-08stan.cfm

Chaska High School Health and Physical Education teacher Arlene Borner was named District 112 Teacher of the Year. Arlene was honored for her many years of positive influence in working with students and her leadership across the district in areas like Community Values and Service Learning. In a letter supporting the nomination of Arlene Borner for District 112 Teacher of the Year, the CHS Student Council noted that her “excitement for life, service, and education has rubbed off on us, providing continual inspiration.” Thanks to Arlene for her long-term commitment to bringing out the best in students and her leadership in making District 112 the place it is today.

Over 14,000 students from every state, Canada, Guam, and Mexico competed in a variety of events at the International DECA competition in Atlanta. Eighteen CHS students competed in ten different events and placed in the top eight in 40% of our events, which is a chapter record! Special accolades go to: 2nd place in Automotive: Sammy Sites, 3rd place in Business Services: Hannah Rongitsch, Top 8 in Marketing Research: Sarah Thune and Danny Elenz, and Top 8 in Learn & Earn: Sydney Wolf.

Congratulations to Chaska’s Knowledge Bowl team who placed sixth in the State Tournament. The tournament brought together the best of the 800 teams that started the season, so this high of a finish is very impressive. The team consists of seniors Tyler Ryan and Hope Magness and juniors Scott Miller, Christine Nygren, and Sam Peterson. CHS science teachers Chris Lenius and Krista Hammann coach the team.

Kristen Knudson has been selected as the 2008 CHS Athena Award winner. The award recognizes outstanding female athletes for athletic and academic achievement as well as community service. Kristen is a gymnast.

Chaska High sent 10 students to the annual River Valley Student Writers Conference. Congratulations to Mandee Driggers, Joey Wise, Emily Nygren, Katie Haaheim, Mackenzie Hine, Aaron Bartholomew, Talia Slocum, Bryan Wachter, Maggie Reichow, Etta Berklund.

The National Honor Society Blood Drive was a success in surpassing their goal of 105 donors in 5 hours. They actually had 112 donors with 100 of those donating blood for the 1st time!

Congratulations to CHS Senior Ryan Fajdetich on being selected as a Upper Midwest Region Student Emmy winner in the Hubbard Family Public Affairs/Community Service/Public Service category within the Midwest Region. His video, “Depression is a Disease,” (QuickTime needed) was produced while he was involved in a TV Broadcasting class at Chaska High School. This marks the 6th Student Emmy Award winner in the last 7 years for a Chaska High School student.

Congratulations to the Chaska High speech team for advancing 8 members (Regab Brown, Scott Logan, Rachel Chang, Megan McClosky, Connor Howe, Ellyn Daniel, Joel Peterson, and Noah Anderson) to the MSHL State Tournament!

Congratulations to CHS junior Sam Peterson for earning an almost unheard-of perfect score on his SAT exams. His score, 2400, reflects a perfect 800 on all three tests – Critical Reading, Math and Writing. Last May, he scored an 800 on the SAT U.S. History Subject Test.

More than 200 students, 140 parents, and 90 different colleges/educational options took part in the CHS College Fair. Feedback has been great. Thanks to Emily Mattran and the CHS staff for making it so successful.

The Chaska High FIRST Robotics Team placed 5th in the standings out of 54 teams at the FIRST Robotics Competition held at Williams Arena last month. This is the first year the team has existed and to place 5th is a fantastic accomplishment. Last night, the School Board also honored Lake Region Manufacturing for its support of the program. Its engineers mentored the team and attended the competition. They also made a major financial contribution to the program. Our team members are Bryan Cermak, Carl Daniel, Matt Olson, Jacob Thill, Zack Franz, Begum Burgutoglo, Alex Lamoore, and Elvis Cudjoe.

The following have been honored as Chaska High School's winter All-Lake Conference award-winners and honorable-mention honorees:
Boys basketball HM – Paul Yerhot, sr. and Tyler Goetz, jr.
Girls basketball All-Conference – Courtney Boylan, sr. and Brooke Brown, so. HM – Kelsey Kalkman, sr.; Brianna Tisch, so. and Tiffany Van Haaften, jr.
Boys hockey All-Conference – Parker Plucinak, sr. HM– Jordan Calpus, sr.; Brad Hand, sr. and Jake Erickson, so.
Girls hockey All-Conference – Danielle Williams, so. F; Tamara Meuwissen, jr. F HM – Samantha Meuwissen, jr. D; Sam Krause, sr. F; Catie Ladner, so. D
Boys swimming and diving All-Conference – Ben Nelson, so.; Alex Stern, sr.; Casey Palmer, sr. HM – Anthony Burandt, jr.; Connor Howe, so.; Austin Lanners, fr. Nick Madrinich, sr.
Gymnastics All-Conference – Kristin Knudson, sr.; Kayla Sonnicksen, sr.; Sam Carlson, so.; Cady Nielsen, so. HM – Lauren Rothschiller, jr.; Nicole Koehnen, jr.
Wrestling All-Conference – Pat Smith, jr.; Cabe Miller, sr. HM – Gavin Larsen, fr.; Alex Fogarty, fr.; R.J. Hallman, so.; Kyle Larson, sr.
Nordic skiing All-Conference – Andy Keller, sr. HM – Hanne Guthrie, so.
Dance team All-Conference – Andrea Hammann; Christina Hamari; Abbie Goedert HM – Jillian Bagley; Lindsay Selinger; Lauren Fischer; Becca Porter

The CHS Girls Basketball team took 4th place at the 2007-2008 State 4A Tournament. Guard Courtney Boylan and Center Brianna Tisch were selected to the All-Tournament Team for Class 4A.

CHS DECA had 62 students compete in 124 events at the state DECA competition and took 67 trips to the awards stage (1st place: 16 2nd place: 7 3rd place: 6 4-8th place: 32 9-12th place: 6). These students qualified for International Competition in Atlanta by earning a top three placement: Blaine Beety, Sydney Berry, Jessica Blum, Travis Brew, Ryan Buschmann, Steph Famelis, Hillary Gagnon, Abbie Goedert, Maddie Hirsch, Kelly Hogan, Nicole Iskierka, Nick Madrinich, Laura Mertes, Parker Nickolay, Taylor Parten, Hannah Rongitsch, Sammy Sites, Ethan Stuckmayer, Brittany Travis, & Sydney Wolf.

Chaska High School won 4 awards at the Lake Conference Art Show, which was more than any other Lake Conference school. The following students received awards: Mallory Heyer – Award of Excellence (Collage), Paul Yerhot – Award of Merit (Ceramics), Christina White – Award of Merit (Acrylic Painting), and Bailey Cahlender – Award of Merit (Watercolor).

CHS Girl's Basketball Senior Courtney Boylan was selected on the All-Metro First team by the Minneapolis Star and Tribune. Courtney was also selected as one of the five finalists for Ms. Basketball.

The CHS Girls Basketball Team advanced the 2007-2008 State Tournament after a thrilling 44-42 victory to win the Section 2 4A Championship.

The CHS Knowledge Bowl qualified six teams for the post season. No other metro area school had more than three teams qualify.

Senior Alex Stern won the State 2A Diving title with 490.40 points and fellow diver Casey Palmer took home 2nd place with 403 points.

Junior Pat Smith placed 3rd at the state 3A wrestling tournament at 130 pounds and ninth-grader Gavin Larsen placed 6th at 103 pounds.

Three Chaska High School students have been awarded the Chick Evans Caddie Scholarship which consists of a full tuition and housing college scholarship. The three CHS Seniors are Scott Cummings, Daniel Palmer, and Philip Dietel. There were just a total of 10 of these scholarships awarded in the metro area this year.

The Hawks wrestling team qualified three individuals for the state meet. Junior Pat Smith will make his fourth consecutive state tournament trip after taking the section 2AAA championship at 135 pounds. Senior Cabe Miller qualified for the state tournament at 130 pounds while ninth-grader Gavin Larsen also qualified for his first state tournament at103 pounds.

Senior gymnast Kristin Knudson placed third in the Uneven Parallel bars and sixth in the All-Around at the State Gymnastics Meet. As a senior, she leaves our program with most of our individual and team records.

The Chaska High School Choir performed the National Anthem at the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers Men's Basketball game.

Chaska High School senior Alex Stern and senior Casey Palmer both qualified for the State Diving Meet at the Section 6AA meet. Alex Stern returns to the state meet after wining the diving competition while setting the Section 6AA diving record with 484.70 points. Teammate Casey Palmer qualified for his third state meet with a second-place total of 398.60.

Chaska High School had two team that competed at the Academic World Quest at the U of M against 18 other teams. One of the Chaska teams—Monica Jacobs (11), Christine Nygren (11), Sean Mussack (10), and Trevor Vossberg (10)—ended up with 65 points and in second place overall. The champions, with 66 points, was the other Chaska team—Scott Miller (11), Tyler Ryan (12), Sam Peterson (11), and John Thomason (12). As state champions, this team won a trip to Washington, D.C. in April to compete in the national version of World Quest. These students had to prepare for the event by following international news, memorizing world capitals and flags, and studying world geography.

The Chaska High School Concert Choir has been selected as one of five choirs around the state to participate in the 2008 Choral Arts Finale, a competitive festival featuring premier high school choirs.

The Chaska High Dance Team placed second in the High Kick/Precision competition at the state tournament. It was the best finish to date for this up and coming program.

Chaska High School Senior Gymnast, Kristin Knudson, took home the all-around section 2AA title and the chance to compete in her second consecutive state gymnastic meet. She will also be participating in all four individual events at the state meet after taking home firsts in the uneven bars and the floor exercise as well as seconds in the beam and the vault at the section meet.

The CHS Science Bowl team consisting of Tyler Ryan, Sam Peterson, Raymond Ortman, Ryan Dutoit, and Mitch Schooler placed second at the Minnesota Science Bowl tournament this year. Thirty teams from around Minnesota competed in a fast-paced Science Bowl event sponsored by the Minnesota Academy of Science and Ecolab. Chaska High fielded three teams; two survived the round robin and went on into the double elimination tournament. Chaska Team 2 placed 7th.

Chaska High School Senior, Andy Keller, placed 2nd overall in the Section 6 boys' Nordic Ski Championship earning him his 2nd consecutive individual trip to the State Meet on February 15th.

The CHS Dance Team earned a spot at the state competition in High Kick/Precision with a routine set to "Sha-Zungle," which features a high energy jungle beat.

Ninety percent of the Chaska High’s DECA Club membership has qualified for state competition. That’s 64 students headed on to compete in areas like marketing, sales, public speaking, and much more.

CHS Choir delivers “amazing” performance at state Choral Directors conference.

Talk about a tough audience! The venue was filled with people who direct choirs for a living. They know good singing when they hear it and they definitely heard it when our Chaska High Concert Choir took the stage. Selected from blind audition tapes, the choir, directed by Sarah Gilbertson, inspired e-mails like these: “What a thrill for all attending to hear a high school choir perform with such masterful musicianship.” “All of your selections were fluid and yet diverse and all were tremendously inspiring. The Stephen Chatman pieces were... well, there are no words. I literally had a constant flow of tears... unbelievable performance.”

Thank you to these talented students and to Sarah for representing our school district in such an inspiring fashion.

Chaska High School Senior, Derek Wagner, ranked 27th in the Americas, has just returned from the "SKUSA Supernationals" in Las Vegas, Nevada (http://www.superkartsusa.com/eleven/). Derek will be featured in the MAZDA Karting 200 lap enduro race that will be broadcasted on SPEEDTV December 2.

The Chaska High Boys and Girls Cross Country Teams both competed in the State Meet for the first time in school history! Congratulations to the teams and their coaches Andy Powell and Scott Stallman who were named Section 2AA Coaches of the Year. Following the competition, both teams were named the Section 2AA Academic Champions. The Boys Team then went on to be named the State Academic Champs!

The Chaska High Concert Choir is one of only four Minnesota high school choirs invited to sing at the Minnesota American Choral Directors Association convention in Duluth November 16-17. In addition, eight 6th graders will be members of the State Elementary Honors Choir and five 8th graders will perform in the State Anacrusis 7/8 Boys and Girls Honor Choir.

CHS Senior Brittany Wenzel has been selected for the All-State Volleyball team by the Minnesota State High School League.

Our Co-operative Adaptive Soccer Team has qualified for the State Tournament (1st time ever) this weekend in Stillwater.

The Hawks made history last week when both the girls and boys CC teams advanced to the State Meet in the same year.

The girls’ team, coached by Scott Stallman, placed first in Section 2AA and advanced as a team. In addition 7th graders Jenna Urick and Claire Bulat were individual state qualifiers. Remaining team members advancing to state are Alyssa Gammelgaard, Kelsey Junget, Kaila Urick, Nicole Franz, Madison Miler, and Samantha Santjer.

The boys’ team, coached by Andy Powell, placed second in Section 2AA to earn a state meet trip. Individual qualifiers were 12th graders Ben Sathre, Kyle Larson, and Pat Bigaouette. Remaining team members running at state are Kyle Economy, Sam Peterson, Kellen McMillan, Michael Rodriguez, Andy Keller, and Matt Babcock.

Last spring’s outstanding Relay for Life event raised more than $54,000 for the American Cancer Society. This enormous effort represented the highest one-year increase among youth groups in the four-state division. In addition, the high school doubled the number of teams participating to 60. In recognition of an outstanding year, the American Cancer Society presented CHS with two Outstanding Achievement Awards. We’re very proud of the service to community this student-driven event represents.

Thirty-seven students at Chaska High School were named AP Scholars for receiving grades of 3 or higher on three or more AP exams. Seven CHS students were named AP Scholars with Honors for grades of 3.25 or higher on all AP exams, and grades of 3 or higher on five or more of these exams. Finally, nine CHS students were named AP Scholars with Distinction for earning an average grade of at least 3.5 on all AP exams taken and grades of 3 or higher on five or more of these exams. Students earning this highest achievement recognition are: Brynne Dordel, Nathan Doremus, Jason Ehrmantraut, Salah El Haddi, Jacqueline Gauer, Zachary Huber, Annie Krapek, Christina Miles, and Tyler Ryan.

Chaska High junior Ryan Buschmann was selected to participate in the National Youth Leadership Forum on National Security in October. All scholars who attend are in the 9th through 12th grade and have achieved a cumulative GPA of 3.7 or above on a 4.0 scale.

CHS Principal, Paul McMahan, is one of 30 educators from around the country invited to participate in a conference on the future of the teaching profession. The conference is sponsored by the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards. Mr. McMahan has received the additional honor of being asked to respond to a paper to be presented at the conference from Barnett Berry of the Center for Teacher Quality in North Carolina.

Congratulations to these seniors selected as Homecoming Royalty: King Travis Brew and Queen Christina White, Mitch Hercules, Pat Sharkey, Pat Bigaouette, Tyler Ryan, Ryan Huibregtse and Marin Werdahl, Whitney O’Connell, Lindsay Selinger, Racheal Goers and Sarah Thune. Kyle Economy and Chelsea Vogel represent sophomores and Neil Hulstrand and Tia Smith represent juniors.

Chaska DECA and Chaska Hawks Fall Dance Team co-chaired a very successful fundraiser for Abby Ostlie, a local four-year-old whose family needs help paying the medical bills for several heart surgeries. They raised nearly $18,000 at a Dance Show last Saturday at the CHS football stadium.

Chaska High School hosted POWZA this week, an event designed to create a positive transition for 10th graders by connecting them with seniors for a day of activities, discussion and fun. The POWZA program has been in place for more than a decade. We admire the leadership Chaska High’s Student Council is showing in its efforts to make CHS welcoming to all. POWZA is just one example of Student Council activities designed to bring people together.

Congratulations to CHS senior Tyler Ryan for being named a National Merit Scholarship semi-finalist. He will compete this spring for a scholarship.

Our Spring, 2007 National Honor Society Inductees are: Bach, Kaitlin; Belland, Mikaela; Bigaouette, Pat; Brown, Samantha; Fischer, Lauren; Goedert, Abbie; Gomez, Kelsey; Haines, Elsbeth; Hammann, Andrea; Kahler, Joshua; Klauda, Melissa; Klein, Kalie; Kraft, Allison; Lorier, Julie; Sites, Samantha; Souba, Katie; Swanson, Kelsey; Thune, Sarah; White, Christina; and Wolf, Sydney.

Last weekend’s Relay for Life at Chaska High School exceeded all expectations! More than 600 participants walked around the track through the night and when the event ended, the students had raised more than $50,000 for the American Cancer Society! These students and Brienne Nelson, their advisor, deserve the credit for planning and promoting the event: Kay Arneson, Sarah Bobertz, Kelsey Bohleen, Lauren Carlson, Jay Dekker, Caitlin Herby, Ali Henderson, Mary Holmes, Ryan Huibregtse, Melissa Klauda, Mara Litzer, Whitney O'Connell, Ian Ronningen, Lauren Rothschiller, Melody Schwartzbauer, Pat Sharkey, Steve Theison, and Briana Weigel

You may have seen in this week’s West Metro section of the Star Tribune a total of $2 million+ in scholarships given to Chaska High seniors. That was just the total known by May 11. Since that time students have reported approximately $100,000 more in scholarship money. The total doesn’t include those scholarships offered, but not accepted. That would raise the amount substantially. Of particular note is that of the total more than $100,000 in scholarship money is donated locally by our own citizens and service organizations. Thank you to so many who see the value in continued education for the community’s children.

I hope you have read the article in the Chaska Herald or Chanhassen Villager about this year’s Prom King and Queen at Chaska High. Two of our students were honored by their peers that night for an act of kindness. The two students, Annie Mae Krapek and Josh Finch, attended the prom with two special education students who otherwise would not have been able to attend. If you hear someone tell you that today’s young people think only of themselves, I hope you will counter with this story. These compassionate, kind seniors are a perfect example of living our Community Values.

You may have heard that the University of Minnesota’s College Quiz Bowl Team is this year’s national champion, beating a team from USC. What you may not realize is that three out of five team members are Chaska High alumni and members of our state champion Quiz Bowl teams. Congratulations to CHS alums, Andrew Hart and Rob Carson, class of 2006 and to Meredith Johnson, class of 2004, on continuing their impressive work.

Our new orchestra program will present a spring concert on June 4th at CHS in the auditorium. The orchestra concert will begin at 6:00 p.m., prior to the 9th grade choir concert.

Six Chaska High French students participated in the annual A Vous la Parole oral French contest held at the University of Minnesota and came away with top honors. Recognized for excellence in oral French skills with top four star ratings were Marcus Turen and Megan Ireland for extemporaneous conversation; Marcus Turen and Joel Peterson for prose and poetry; Jacqueline Gauer for song performance. Students receiving a three star rating were Lauren Olson for extemporaneous reading; Tracy Roy for prose and poetry. Congratulations to all!

CHS softball pitcher Brynne Dordel continues to grab the attention of sports writers. She was featured in Sports Illustrated’s webpage as a “Primetime Performer.” She is having an amazing year.

The Chaska High Golf Team has taken the Lake Conference championship for the first time! Congratulations to the golfers and their coaches!

What started as an assignment in Sara Gabrielson’s World Studies class at Chaska High School has turned into an amazing student fund raising effort on behalf of the tragedy in Darfur. As students began the assignment, to create an education campaign focusing on the situation in Darfur, their interest grew and they approached Ms. Gabrielson about actually launching the project once it was developed. Juniors Pat Sharkey, Steve Theisen, Emily Murphy, and Blaine Betty met weekly to plan the education campaign, adding a fundraising component as well.

With the help of the CHS International Club, the students sold t-shirts and raised donations through a website. Chaska High’s effort became part of a national high school challenge from the Save Darfur Coalition. About 2,000 high schools across the country participated. As of yesterday, May 3, our students raised just under $4,000 from the t-shirt sale and another $1100 in website donations.

Five of thirteen CHS students who qualified for DECA Nationals in Florida moved on to the final round of competition…Allie Yeakey and Alex Boleman placed in the top 20, Maddie Drill-Mellum and Mackenzie Fletcher placed in the top 10, and Sammy Sites earned a third-place finish. Sammy brings home the first ever top three finish for Chaska DECA. Amazing results when you consider that 12,000 “best of the best” from around the nation are competing.

In the region 6AA Vocal Solo and Ensemble Contest Chaska had 120 students participate with a total of 65 entries. We are proud to announce that 31 entries received a 'Superior' rating and 31 received an 'Excellent' rating.

Ten fantastic student writers participated in this year’s River Valley Writers’ Conference. The Chaska High students were chosen from many students who submitted writing samples for the event. The students heard Minneapolis author Robert Alexander speak about writing and met in small groups with local writers who critiqued their work and talked about their experiences. Congratulations to these outstanding students: Aaron Bartholomew, Bryan Wachter, Dan Barnard, Missy Williams, Taylor Hamilton, Micki Fujisaki, Katie Haaheim, Kirsten Hart, Paula Carley and Lauren Olson.

Chaska had 46 entries in the Region Music Contest - We earned 14 Excellent ratings and 32 Superior ratings. Tyler Adam (flute solo) and Thea Bennes, Kristina Empanger, Mara Litzer (mallet trio) earned perfect scores of 40. Elsa Haines (flute solo) was chosen as the "Best-in-Site" at the end of the evening by her judge.

The Chaska High Concert Choir will be featured Tuesday, May 1 as part of a concert sponsored by World Voices. The “Latino Groove” takes place at the Arts Center On 7, 18285 Highway 7, in Minnetonka, at 7:30

Congratulations to these students selected to participate in this summer’s Girls State and Boys State: Elsa Haines, sponsored by the Chaska American Legion Auxiliary; Gregory Jackson, sponsored by the Chaska American Legion; Noah Anderson, sponsored by the Chanhassen American Legion.

CHS senior Brynne Dordel was selected as KARE-11 Athlete of the Week and was featured in Friday’s StarTribune sports section. An outstanding pitcher!

Chaska High School completed this week in the Minnesota State Knowledge Bowl Meet and placed fifth. Of 769 teams across the state, the top 48 were at the state meet. Our team consists of Lauren Johnson, David Notermann, Tyler Ryan, Sam Peterson, and Taylor Sampson and is coached by Chris Lenius and Krista Hammann. Chaska’s Knowledge Bowl program has finished in one of the top five places at the state meet for a record 16 straight years.

Congratulations to these CHS juniors on their induction to the CHS National Honor Society: Kaitlin Bach; Mikaela Belland; Pat Bigaouette; Samantha Brown; Lauren Fischer; Abbie Goedert; Kelsey Gomez; Elsbeth Haines; Andrea Hammann; Joshua Kahler; Melissa Klauda; Kalie Klein; Allison Kraft; Julie Lorier; Samantha Sites; Katie Souba; Kelsey Swanson; Sarah Thune; Christina White and Sydney Wolf. Seniors inducted this year include: Jennifer Anderson; Amanda Bang; Shruthi Dayal; Lindsey Deserly; Brynne Dordel; Elizabeth Eickhoff; Salah el Haddi; Katherine Erickson; Jacqueline Gauer; Brittany Geissler, Tara Harlander; Allison Henderson; Megan Ireland; Emily Kendall; Alissa Korpi; Emily Laengle; Christie Miles; Michelle Modeen; Allie Oelke; Katy Oelke; Aubrey Rothmeier; Sammy Sarkis; Megan Siegle; Mel Smith; Dana Sonnicksen; and Allison Yeakey. Students are selected for this honor based on character, scholarship, leadership and service.

CHS senior track captain, Lauren Stelten, completed a pole vault of 11 feet, 6 inches last week, earning recognition as the KARE-11 Athlete of the Week. In addition, Brynne Dordel, a senior on the CHS softball team, has been selected as the High School Athlete of the week this week by KSTP-Channel 5.

Congratulations to CHS student Dan Barnard on being selected as a Student Emmy winner in the Arts & Entertainment/Cultural Affairs category for his video on “Music Downloading.” To view his video: http://www.district112.org/chs/tech/jumpstart/show/06_07NATAS.mov. CHS student Pat Sharkey’s video, “World AIDS Day PSA,” earned an honorable mention in the Hubbard Family Public Affairs/Community Service/Public Service category of the Student Emmys. To view his video: http://www.district112.org/chs/tech/jumpstart/show/06_07NATAShm.mov Dan’s piece will be sent to the national Emmy award competition this spring. To view these, you’ll need QuickTime which can be downloaded at http://www.quicktime.com

Shelby Hagedorn, CHS 10th grader, member the Bremar synchronized ice skating team will be featured on channel 5 Sports Wrap Friday, 4/20 between 6:60-7:00 p.m. It is also on the KSTP 5 website. This is the team that won the World contest in Croatia in February.

Congratulations to the following CHS athletes for performances that earned each a trip to their state competition: Andy Keller, Nordic skiing; Megan Knutson, gymnastics; Pat Smith, wrestling; Matt Crees, swimming; Alex Stern, diving; Aaron Paul, Alex Wahbeh, Mason Hardy, Matt Crees, swimming - 200 freestyle relay; Matt Crees, Alex Wahbeh, Mike Delsing, Mason Hardy, swimming – 400 freestyle relay

46 Chaska DECA members competed at State DECA. There were over 1200 competitors from 53 different schools. Chaska had 38 students earned top 12 spots in the State (83%)! The following students earned top 3 places which moves them on to National DECA competition in Orlando:
Alex Boleman, Patrick Cihak, Maddie Drill-Mellum—1st place, Jamie Famelis, Mackenzie Fletcher—1st place, Abbie Goedert—1st place, Caston Johnson, Shannon Murphy—1st place, Samantha Sites—1st place, Adam Stroth—1st place, Sydney Wolf—1st place

Our Gymnastics team was named the Minnesota Overall Academic Champions for 2006 - 2007.

The artwork of three of our CHS students have been selected for inclusion in the prestigious 2007 Minnesota Scholastic Art Awards exhibition sponsored by the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Congratulations to Emily Thon, Courtney Billadeau and Alexa Thoen.

The Chaska High website was named “Site of the Week” by Technology Learning. Congratulations on this national recognition.

Two high school musicians earned honors by being selected for a spot in the Minnesota All State Orchestra. Congratulations to Tyler Adam, flute and Mya Scarlato, trumpet. Both also were selected for the U of M Honor Band.

FFA Results:

The Agricultural Sales Team placed 1st and qualified for state. Congratulations to Lindsay Budin, Taylor Hamblin, Brad Edstrom, and Tim Schmieg.

Proficiency Awards for specific areas of the supervised agricultural experience (job or project)

Michael Abraham Agricultural Processing- Placement 1st Place
Beth Carlson Agricultural Sales- Placement 4th place
Brad Edstrom Nursery Operations- Placement 1st Place
Taylor Hamblin Turf Grass Management- Entrepreneurship 2nd Place
David Jabs Fruit Production– Placement 1st Place
Jessie James Small Animal Production- Placement 1st Place
Becky Thuening Equine Science- Entrepreneurship 1st Place

Minnesota FFA Degree earners included: Michael Abraham, Clem Berger, Beth Carlson, Brad Edstrom, Laura Gjersvik, Jordan Goettl, David Jabs, Jessie James, Lisa Puncochar, Becky Thuening.

63 Chaska DECA members worked hard at the District competition with the following results:

77% of our students placed in the top 10 spots or better in their event which earns them a State competition spot.
94 medals were bestowed upon Chaska for placing in the top 10 and/or for earning high test scores
18 First, second and third place trophies were earned

Chaska High art students took top honors in the Minneapolis College of Art and Design’s competition for an MCAD scholarship at the Minnesota Scholastic Art Awards competition. Seniors Alexa Thoen, Courtney Billadeau and Emily Thon were award winners; Courtney and Alexa will be advancing to the national level competition after receiving Gold Key Awards. Alexa is also the winner of a $12,000 MCAD scholarship. We’re very proud of our art program and the accomplishments of these students certainly reflect the quality of the program.

Chaska High’s Quiz Bowl Team has qualified for national competition this spring. Congratulations to team members Lauren Johnson, David Notermann, Tyler Ryan and Sam Peterson on qualifying!

Four seniors have been offered an opportunity to receive special scholarships through the National Merit Scholarship Program. While not qualifying for National Merit semifinalist status, these students showed outstanding academic achievement. Congratulations to Josh Dingel, Allison Oelke, Caitlin Oelke, and Matt Zuzek.