Turtle Lake-Mercer

Today our staff highlight is Mrs. Samantha Slavik! Mrs. Slavik is our school counselor and is starting her third year at TL-M. This summer Mrs. Slavik and her family went on their first mini vacation as a family of four to Medora! She shared "We saw wildlife, hiked, swam, went to the musical, and even snuck in a round of golf at Bully. It was tons of fun disconnecting and being together as a family!" This year she is looking forward to using the 11 new VR (virtual reality) headsets she got through a grant to bring so many new virtual job shadow and career exploration opportunities for our students! She is going to "Make IT Count" by being mindful to make every interaction throughout each school day intentional and purposeful. Thank you, Mrs. Slavik, for being part of our TL-M team! We appreciate all you do!

Today our staff highlight is Mrs. Lisa Lelm! Mrs. Lelm is our 4th grade teacher and has been at TL-M for 25 years. She shared "spending time with my grandkids was the best!" They also did a lot of fishing and took a trip to California. A highlight of her summer was going to her daughter's graduation from UND where she earned her Doctorate of Nursing, CRNA degree. This year she is looking forward to teaching math to both the 4th and 5th grade. She is going to "Make IT Count" by building a positive relationship with each of her students and making learning fun! Her goal is to make her classroom a place kids love to come to each day! Thank you for being a part of the TL-M team, Mrs. Lelm! We appreciate you!!

Deb and Rhonda are excited to serve the watermelon from the Ag department's garden! The largest watermelon weighs 35 lbs! Thanks, Mr. B and students, for sharing your produce with everyone!

Ms. Gilseth's first grade has been learning about the life cycle of a plant! To see the cycle up close, they are growing lima beans in their classroom to study the stages. Things to ask the first graders: What does germination mean? What does a plant need to grow?

Today our staff highlight is Mrs. Brittany Sathren! Brittany has been a paraprofessional at TL-M for the last 2.5 years. This summer she took a family trip to the Wisconsin Dells. She is looking forward to watching the students learn and grow and getting to know them better. This year she is going to "Make IT Count" by always keeping a smile on her face and keeping a positive attitude! Thank you for being a part of our team, Brittany! We appreciate all you do!

Mrs. Schumann's 6th graders have spent the last week learning about the events of September 11, 2001. On Monday, they hosted a September 11: We Remember gathering at the Turtle Lake fire hall. They decorated the sidewalk with the American flag and other images to remember and honor the memory of September 11. As people arrived, the 6th graders served bars and beverages and worked on their interview skills. They asked guests about where they were when they heard about what happened and what they remember about September 11. Questions to ask these students: How do you approach someone to interview? Why is it important to remember Sept. 11?

Today our staff highlight is Mrs. Diane Cullum. Mrs. Cullum has been the 7-12 math teacher at TL-M for 43 years! This summer she and her husband traveled to Duluth, Minnesota. They then drove the scenic highway of the shoreline of Lake Superior to Grand Portage on the Canadian border. They stopped many times to view lighthouses and hiked trails to view and listen to amazing waterfalls. This year she is looking forward to observing how students have grown over the summer. She is also looking forward to being able to share her love of mathematics and to make a positive difference in the students' lives and help them reach their full potential. This year she is going to "Make IT Count by being kind, caring, patient, and listening attentively. She will be present and make sure every student knows they matter! Thank you, Mrs. Cullum, for so many years of dedicated teaching at TL-M school! We appreciate you!!

The rain cleared (for now!) and the pep band is playing! Come out and cheer on the Cougars at 7:00!

Thanks to the school garden, planted and watered by Mr. B, and the Ag students who have been working hard harvesting produce, Mrs. B’s Nutrition & Food Prep class is making salsa today! Thanks to Mr. Ziebarth for the recipe to use as well! A couple of questions for these students: 1. What are the ingredients in the salsa we made? 2. How did you prepare the produce for the salsa?

Happy Friday! Today our staff highlight is Mrs. Melora Buchholz! Mrs. Buchholz teaches Family and Consumer Science and Business at TL-M, she also does tech and FCCLA. This is her third year at TL-M. This summer she and her husband, Mr. B, bought a house north of Turtle Lake! This year she is looking forward to teaching a high school business class for the first time and seeing all of the awesome new and returning students we have! She is going to "Make IT Count" this year by giving it her all every day! Thank you, Mrs. Buchholz, for being a part of our TL-M team! We appreciate all you do!

In 3rd grade math we have been working on place value, to end our unit we created a Place Value Zoo. Students received an animal which was assigned a specific number. Students needed to create a zoo enclosure for their animal using base ten pieces that added to their exact number. Things to ask your students: 1. What is the value of each base ten piece? 2. What is the place value of each number in 783? 3. How do you write 546 in expanded form?

Today we enjoyed fresh sweet corn from the Grow It Forward sweet corn stand! Thanks Deb and Rhonda for taking the extra time to prepare corn on the cob for everyone to enjoy for lunch!

Our staff highlight of the day is Mrs. Courtney Volochenko! Mrs. Volochenko is our kindergarten teacher. She has been teaching kindergarten for 9 years at TL-M. This summer she spent a lot of time with her family enjoying the lake. She is looking forward to watching the kids light up when they learn something new! This year she is going to "Make IT Count" by working hard every day to help all children do their very best and enjoy their time at school! Thank you, Mrs. Volochenko, for being a part of our TL-M team! We appreciate you!!

The Turtle Lake-Mercer 6th Grade Students are hosting an event to honor service members in the community as we remember the events of September 11, 2001. All Turtle Lake and Mercer Community members are invited to join them at the Turtle Lake Fire Hall from 1:30pm-2:30pm for fellowship, treats, and refreshments.

Mini Cheer Camp today in Turtle Lake for grades PK-6. Thanks Coach Cailey and your cheer team for teaching the girls. Everyone be sure to catch the preformed on Friday during halftime of the football game.

The elementary girls basketball team has their first game in Washburn today. The Washburn school is under construction so they ask that all visitors park in their parking lot and use door #4 to enter the building. The game is in their big gym and will also be streamed on NFHS. Good luck, Trojans!💛🖤🏀

Today our staff highlight is Mrs. Kailee Wyman. Mrs. Wyman is our PreK-12 music teacher! She is starting her second year at TL-M! This summer she married her husband, Austin. They had a beautiful wedding up at Lake Metigoshe. This year she is excited to try new things in her classroom. Since it is her second year as a teacher she feels she will be able to expand on ideas she had last year. She shared, "I learned from my successes and failures and am ready to take on a new year!" This year she is going to "Make IT Count" by making the most of the class time she has with students. She shared, "I want to make sure that we are not only learning in my classroom, but also having fun!" Thank you, Mrs. Wyman for being a part of our team! We appreciate you!

The first eligibility report was completed today for students. This is a great time to check that you have PowerSchool access for checking grades, attendance and lunch balances. Eligibility reports will be run on Mondays or the first day of the week. Students have until 8:30 AM on Tuesday morning to get any missing assignments turned in.

Kindergarten has been working on letter recognition, letter sounds, and fine motor activities! We started Friday centers and worked hard in our groups! Some questions to ask the kindergartners: 1: What sound does each  letter make? 2: What was your favorite center?

The fourth grade class has been reviewing the treble clef notes in music this week. Today they created paper plate faces to remind them of the space notes FACE. Questions to ask: What kind of face did you create? What are the line/space notes on the treble clef? Can you sing the staff note song for me?