Mr. Casareto
Mr. Casareto has been teaching for a little over 34 years. Sadly he is going to be retiring; his last day of teaching is Nov 13, 2023. He started teaching in Yuma, Arizona. He taught there for two years then he moved to Chisago Lakes for six years, where he also coached hockey. He finished his last 27 years at FHS and has coached football, baseball, and is currently the head coach of golf. He started teaching because he had an excellent college professor and because of his love for science and coaching. His favorite part about teaching is doing hands-on activities with his students and also the excitement in the students.
He is going to miss many things like the students, faculty, and having two kids on the staff makes it a pretty special place for him to be. After he retires he plans on going to Florida in the winters where he plans on going to help in the schools and fish on the local waters.
In the past few years his son Mr. Casareto has become a gym teacher, and health teacher at FHS. Also his daughter Mrs. Balaski has become the KAPE director at FHS. So now he is getting called the old Casareto and he thinks that it is funny and he is happy there is a young Casareto to fill in. He also says He couldn't have found a better place to work his last 27 years.
The Falls High Ink asked some people what their favorite memory in Mr. Casareto’s class is. Mariah Hostetter said, “Making the egg drop project.” Sylvia Valenzuela said “the spinning stools and the spaghetti tower.” Fellow teacher Mr. Sandberg said “I’m going to miss talking about hunting, fishing, and students and his personality."
Mr. Vandamme
FHS has a lot of new teachers this year, including the new biology teacher Mr. Vandamme. Mr. Vandamme came to the Falls after the closure of Indus to take on the challenge of teaching 10th and 7th grade. Kids from Falls HIgh Ink sat down with Mr. Vandamme to ask him a few questions about himself and the start of the school year. First we asked if he was finding any challenges at his new school. He responded with “ Yeah, lots of challenges. It's a toss up between just dealing with larger classes and figuring out new software.” The next question was his favorite part of teaching. He said his favorite part of teaching was interacting with students and colleagues; people. “Is it hard going from teaching a wide range of classes to just two?” we asked. “ No, that part of the job is actually easier, when you have two classes to get prepared for,” he responded. After that we asked if his teaching style had changed at all. Mr. Vandamme responded with “ It hasn’t really, other than having to account for classes that are double or triple the size.”
Next we asked if there was anything he preferred about working in the Falls and if he’s settled in yet. He answered the first with “ The fact that I have only two classes to teach makes the job easier,” and the second with “I'm still working on that, that's a work in progress.” He said he looks forward to becoming more involved with the people of this community; students, parents, staff. Next we asked what his inspiration for teaching science was. He answered “ That's a big question, that's not just a…there's a lot to that. I love science, and I like having the pleasure to share that love.” Our last question pertained to any interesting facts about him. “I'm a pretty open book and I kind of like…share that kind of stuff like I have a farm with goats and chickens and all sorts of animals. Otherwise I don’t think I have any real interesting facts. Maybe that I read a lot and it's mostly science fiction.”
Mr. Casareto
Mr. Dominic Casareto is a new physical education and health teacher at Falls High School. His favorite part about being a Phy Ed teacher is having a wide range of kids from grades 6th-12th. The school year is going well for him so far, and he is getting to know the school and all of the other teachers and staff. Mr. Casareto attended Rainy River for his first year of college after high school, and then went to Bemidji State University to finish his teaching degree. His favorite part of his day is seeing the kids right in the morning, and seeing the excitement on their faces. He’s very excited because he's never taught high school aged kids before, and it's a new step in his life that he's looking forward to progressing through this year. He likes to play soccer handball with the students because they get very into the game. He wanted to become a P.E. teacher because he loves teaching kids, and he loves playing sports. He also likes to be standing and moving all day, and being active, so of course that's why he loves teaching kids to have healthy life skills.
Mr. True
New teacher, Mr. True, steps up on the podium for his first year conducting at Falls High School. Mr. True is from Waseca, Minnesota and he studied Music Education at MSU-Mankato. He chose to teach music because it had a positive impact on his life and he wants to share similar experiences with others. This year, Mr. True said it was a bit crazy in the beginning, but it's been super fun for the most part. His favorite thing about teaching this year would be meeting all of his new students and getting to know them. The instruments he plays include; French Horn, Trumpet, Tuba, Baritone, Trombone, and Piano, with singing as well. His favorite to play out of the bunch is the French Horn. One of his favorite songs to play with the band this year is "Let’s Groove." Something that he wants people to know is that he writes music and that he wants to have a positive effect on the people around him. His goal for the end of the year is to get all of the bands to be play at a higher level then what they started with.
Falls High Ink asked him the following questions:
What’s your favorite thing to do when you are at home?
I play board games from my collection, and cook because it’s really relaxing for me.
How is International Falls different from where you’re from?
It’s a lot quieter than what I’m used to but I like it. It has a lot better nature here too.
What’s one thing you miss from being away from home?
Being close to my friends and family.
What’s a few things you want to see for the future of the FHS band?
I want the band to be able to play more difficult music and to eventually have a marching band for FHS.
Alex Robar
What's the best thing about being a senior?
Only having to be in the school for half the day!
What is your favorite memory from the years you have played?
Winning state!
What are some things you could work on this year?
Getting my ball to hook consistently!
What is something you would like to tell your younger self?
That listening to the coach actually helps!
What do you love most about bowling?
The feeling of getting a clean strike!
Who is your hero and why?
Barry Miller, because he taught me how to bowl!
We checked in with middle level math teacher Mr. Dowty to see how he feels the new middle school model is going this year.
How do you feel the new middle school is going?
- I feel as though the middle school model took some time to get used to, but after a couple of school days, kids and teachers seemed to adjust quite well. There are always some things that are difficult to adjust and take some extra time, but we will all keep working on those things and make the best of the situation.
- One big improvement for next year would be to try and limit teacher movement from one building to the next. Teachers are constantly moving from one classroom in the middle school to one classroom in the high school which can be a challenge for a lot of different reasons.
What is the most challenging part as a teacher moving back and forth?
- There are many challenges with having two different classrooms in two different schools. Making sure we have all the correct supplies each hour and having to log back into the computer each time can get to be a lot and take up extra time. Also, there is something about just having your own room and being able to put things where you want them and organize the way you want!
Do you prefer teaching in the high school or the middle school?
- I do not have a preference on the middle school or high school, I enjoy all of the classes I have this year!
- My family has a cabin on Rainy Lake!
MHS 2023
Members of the Falls High Minnesota Honors Society are looking forward to a new year full of activities and events for students and the community. President Mitchell Erickson hopes to host one big event or activities every month. MHS is a group of high school students who uphold 6 pillars of character; those pillars are respect, responsibility, trustworthiness, fairness, care, and citizenship. MHS is ran by seven executive board members and FHS teacher Mrs. Line. The president, Mitchell Erickson, runs the meetings and comes up with creative activities and events for MHS to host. The vice president, Karsen Korpi, helps the president lead and fills in when the president can not be present. Karsen also runs Kacie’s Closet. Kacie’s Closet is a place in the school where males and females can come and get formal clothing for any of the formal school dances. Kacie’s closet is also open for donations. The historian, Jillian Bilben, manages the bulletin boards around the school and the media for MHS. The treasurer, Gracie Swenson, manages the money that MHS has. The secretary, Adyson Wallander, organizes events and activities for the community. The student advisors are Jadon Frank and Adley Deedrick. They both represent the students of FHS and their ideas. Mrs. Line facilitates MHS meetings and activities. The members of MHS hope for a successful year of events and activities whether they are inside or outside of the school.
MHS EVENTS 2023-24 (What has been planned so far.)
October 10th- MHS students will bring in treats for conferences.
October 31st- Food Shelf trick or treating.
November 20th-21st- Making pies in Mrs. Line’s classroom.
December- Decorating teacher doors.
January- Possible Mitten and hat drive.
February- No one eats alone. (Eat with sixth graders)
March/April- Easter Eggs.
April- Serve at the elks club.
May- Senior Spotlights and Senior Signs.
