Anthony won the MSHSL Class AA Individual Wrestling State Tournament’s 120-pound championship

Worthington’s Carson Hagen, ranked 10th at 195 pounds entering the Class AA state tournament, finished fourth after dropping a 2-1 decision to Mankato West’s Tyler Jakes

2013 Seniors must complete a written request form to have their final transcript and records sent to a college/university/military, etc.  For additional questions about this process, please call 507-727-1133. 

If you have questions, please call the high school at 376-6121.

Locally, the band marched in the annual Wood Duck Festival Parade held June 16 in Fulda, MN. The Trojans scored an 85.0 to capture First Place in the Open Class Division competing with Fulda and Fairmont, MN respectively. Mr. Wayne Ivers, of the Marshall Tiger Band, adjudicated the band competition portion of the Fulda parade. The Trojans begin their fall marching season in September with appearances during WHS Homecoming and King Turkey Day - 2012. The 'Spirit of Worthington' Trojan Marching Band are defending Parade Grand Champions for the Luverne, MN 'Tri-State Band Festival'; Sioux Falls, SD 'Festival of Bands'; Chamberlain, SD 'River City Band Festival' and Anoka, MN 'Halloween Grand Day' Parade.

Worthington Dollars for Scholars Chapter awarded nearly $23,000 to 26 students on May 9th, 2012. WHS students receiving 2012 awards from the Worthington Dollars for Scholars chapter include Aric Ablog, Emily Anderson, Claire Bents, Brianna Darling, Haley Gravenhof, Mariah Haffield, Taylor Heidebrink, Lucas Henning, Megan Juber, Heather Loy, Jacqueline Martin, Hannah Mick, Tuyen Nguyen, Jonah Oberloh, Erin Peterson, Whitney Prins, Tanner Rogers, Matthew Sorensen, Rachel Sternke, Anna Tims, Kami Vogt, Mandi Vote, Travis Vuong and Jennifer Walker.

Participating in the award ceremony were alumnus Mike Patrick, Beth Habicht and her brother, Harold Shipman. “Attitude makes the difference, and an education takes you where you want to go,” Patrick stated. Buoyed by the presence of two of his WHS classmates whose daughters were among those receiving scholarships, Patrick, who was tragically injured during a Sept. 3, 1971, football game at Trojan Field, urged the students to embrace their educational opportunities as well as their loved ones. “Appreciate the people you’ve got while they’re still here,” he said.

“My mom loved school and she was always an outstanding student, but as a young adult during the Great Depression, going to college was not an option,” Habicht said of her mother. “But she never lost her passion for learning and experiencing new things, and she loved the idea of helping students, even in the least little way, to realize their dreams. The Anna Lois Shipman Memorial provided a $1,000 scholarship and this year’s beneficiary was Claire Bents, a senior who will attend St. Olaf College with intentions of becoming a history teacher.

Appropriately, Mariah Haffield, a senior bound for Minnesota State University-Mankato, received the $1,000 Mike Patrick/Milt Osterberg Endowed Scholarship; her father, Dwayne, was one of Patrick’s classmates. Similarly, Rachel Sternke was the recipient of the $900 Fredi Lowry/Doris Rubsam Memorial Endowed Scholarship. Her parents had been students of Rubsam’s in their elementary school years.

Those awards were merely happy coincidences, as the Dollars for Scholars applicants are selected through a blind review process and the 10-member local board makes the award allocations before knowing the names of the students.

“We don’t see the names until after we’ve decided, based on the criteria and the scores the students receive from the objective reviewers, which scholarships in which amounts will be awarded,” said Jan Larson, a Dollars for Scholars board member.

Students wishing to be considered for Dollars for Scholars awards must complete applications, which are then sent on to the non-profit Scholarship America office in St. Peter where they are evaluated anonymously. Students are ranked based on personal data, employment and extracurricular involvement, teacher appraisals, class GPA and ACT scores.

Besides the endowed scholarships the Worthington Dollars for Scholars chapter has received, other regular fundraising endeavors include the “points sponsorships” to which local businesses contribute ($2 per touchdown at WHS football games, 50 cents per point at WHS basketball games) and an annual four-person golf scramble tournament, scheduled this year for June 25.

The local chapter is also grateful for donors such as Gaylin Ziegler, a Worthington-area native now retired in California, who has presented over $6,000 in funds to the program in the past few years.

Since the chapter’s reorganization in 1998, nearly $300,000 in scholarship funds has been distributed to about 450 local graduates.

“These scholarships can be very meaningful and make a big difference in the lives of some of the student recipients,” stated Louise Wickstrom, Dollars for Scholars’ board secretary. “It’s so valuable for the students to hear from past recipients and donors like Mike Patrick and Matt Entenza, who have overcome many obstacles and are now successful, but still find it important to give back.”

Habicht, whose distinguished 40-year teaching career was largely spent in District 518, enjoyed the chance to witness the awards ceremony and see the potential in students advancing to post-secondary education.

“This is kind of passing it on, paying it forward,” Habicht said. “As a retired teacher, you don’t lose your love of helping students, and my mom just loved children, too. My mother would want nothing more than to have her name associated with something that would help another young adult to accomplish their goals and dreams.”

For more information about the June 25 Dollars for Scholars golf tournament, contact Dick Schlichte at 376-3337 or schlicht@iw.net. For information about volunteering with or donating to the Worthington Dollars for Scholars chapter, contact Chuck Moore (372-2610) or Marilyn McDowell (372-5247).

Article contributed by Jane Turpin Moore,Worthington Daily Globe.

During the ceremony these returning seniors will receive pins:
Aric Ablog, Hannah Mick, Emily Anderson, Jonah Oberloh, Claire Bents, Whitney Prins, Brianna Darling, Angela Robinson, Mariah Haffield, Rachel Sternke, Megan Juber, Matthew Sorensen, Kayli Kuhl, Kari Suby, Heather Loy, Rachael Terhark, Jennifer Majerus, Anna Tims, Jackie Martin, and Sarah Meiser

Congratulations to all of the 2012 inductees

The Trojan Girls Basketball team defeated Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial 55-48 on Friday, March 9 at SMSU in Marshall to claim the Section 3AA championship. The Trojans play Sauk Centre in the quarterfinals of the Class AA State Tournament on Wednesday, March 14 at 8 p.m. at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

The 4 winning students in each category will have their images in the 2013 Aviation Art Calendar. They also received free art supplies, and a free 30 minute flight at the local airport, a print of their original work. These 12 students moved on to the National level competition

Last year, with the financial support of several local businesses, and the coaching by Ben Weber of Bedford Industries and Deb Steinle from JC Penney, the JC Penney/Worthington High School team #3871 participated in their rookie year of robotics. Every year, a different challenge is given to the robotics teams at a regional kick-off. Our kickoff took place in Mankato, where teams learn about the challenge, are given a kit-of-parts and

have the opportunity to visit with veteran teams. Each team then has six weeks to build, test, modify and program a robot to compete in a regional competition.

There are several competitions that take place throughout the world. Minnesota has three competitions, two at the U of M Minneapolis and one in Duluth. The U of M has roughly 165 teams that compete at Mariucci and Williams arenas. Teams are randomly selected and placed on different alliances for each competition. Each team gets placed on a different alliance for each competition. The teams get to compete seven to 10 times over the course of two days. On the third day, top performing teams choose two other teams and form an alliance. The new alliances compete in a single elimination tournament to determine a winning alliance. The winning alliance travels to St. Louis to compete against other winning alliances from around the world.

This year, our robotics team has grown to more than 14 students. The students, with help from several parent volunteers, have already designed and built a functioning robot. The most important part of robotics is, and always has been, students. Although mentors and sponsors have stepped up and answered the call for help, the students are the ones doing the work. The robot is designed, built and programmed by students. Students are also the people who compete with the robot. Mentors and coaches are encouraged to help with the building process, but are discouraged from doing the actual work. This allows students to get the maximum experience out of their involvement with FIRST Robotics.

This year’s competition requires robots to “shoot” small foam basketballs at four different “hoops.” The robots also need to drive over a center bar, or ride a teeter-totter over the center bar. Points are based on the number of baskets scored, and if they can get robots balanced on the teeter-totter at the end of the competition.

For more information about FIRST Robotics, please visit www.USFIRST.org. You can learn more about Worthington’s team, follow the build and see our sponsors on our school website. Go to: www.isd518.net, click on “schools,” click on “high school,” click on “activities” and then click on “robotics.”

DATES TO REMEMBER:

· Tues., Feb. 7 8th Grade Parent Registration meeting in High School Cafeteria (6:30 p.m.)

· Wed. & Thurs. Feb. 15 & 16           Registration for 8th graders at the Middle School (during homeroom)

· Tues., Feb. 21 Extended HR for next year’s grades 10, 11, 12—receive registration guide and materials. Senior Class of 2012 will attend cancer meetings (ALL SENIORS) during extended HR

· Fri., Feb. 24 Extended HR for next year’s grades 10, 11, 12 (CAMPUS online registration

  begins) Class of 2012 excused until 9:00 a.m.

Juniors should consider taking the ACT in April or June of this year.

Due to the excessive number of tardies to first block, WHS is implementing a new policy for tardies to first block classes. All students tardy to first block class will not be allowed to enter their first block classrooms without a pass from the office. If a student is tardy unexcused to the first block, that student is expected to go to the cafeteria for the remainder of first block, where they will be expected to work on behavior packets or homework. Students refusing to go to the cafeteria for first block will be given a day of OSS. Students who are late more than two times to their first block class will have to call home and explain to their parents why they are late for class. Teachers have the right to deduct points from assignments that were assigned on the day a student was late to class. Any homework that is due on the day a student is in the cafeteria, will have the opportunity to give the assignment to an SVS, and the SVS will turn the homework in for that student. Students who do not complete the assignment during first block, will be expected to stay in the office until the packet is completed, and will receive an unexcused absence for every block period they miss after first block. Each unexcused absence has a consequence of 2 hours of detention. 7 or more absences to class can also result in a “No Credit” for that class.

Past WHS policy has been to reduce grades for tardies and absences, 1/3 of a letter grade for every 3 absences. Several other school districts have a policy stating every 3 tardies equals an absence, and too many absences result in a “No Credit” for all classes. Some districts even require Saturday school, where failure to show results in grade reductions or sport ineligibility. WHS does not want to deduct letter grades for tardy and attendance concerns, so we are implementing this policy to help students understand the importance of showing up to school on time and ready to learn.

Art Show

Friday, March 2

5-7:00 pm

War Memorial Bldg

407 12th St.

Worthington

Worthington has a grand and lengthy tradition of supporting Worthington High School (WHS) students in their annual spring proms. From the careful chauffeuring offered by the Noon Kiwanis members to generous prizes and cash donations provided by area businesses and individuals, WHS and the community at large have greatly benefited from the involvement of local adults in making possible a fun, safe and memorable rite of passage.
We hope this year’s prom, set for April 28 with a theme of “Happily Ever After”, will be similarly enjoyable for the roughly 200-250 WHS students who are expected to participate.
As your child is eligible to participate in the 2012 prom, we are hoping you might consider joining us in our effort to defray the prom expenses (which include approximately $2,000 to $2,500 each for decorations, dinner, a disc jockey, prizes and evening entertainment (including a hypnotist/caricaturist) and keep ticket prices affordable for the student attendees.
A $10 donation will be considered an annual “family sponsorship” (like the Trojan Boosters Club or WAMBO), and names of all donors will appear in the 2012 Prom Program. In addition, you will have our sincere appreciation and the satisfaction of knowing you helped make your child’s prom an extra-special evening.
If you are interested in assisting with the 2012 prom in another way (for instance, serving as a volunteer chaperone or helping with decorating), please contact Assistant Principal David Rezny or WHS teacher and staff prom coordinator, Joe Landwehr at 376-6121.
Thanks in advance for your contributions to the 2012 Prom!