#PointerNation News

At April's School Board meeting Monday night, the Board officially accepted the retirement notice of Judy Pelton (Middle School Instructional Assistant) effective at the end of the 2023-24 school year. #PointerNation is grateful for your 46 years of service to our Mineral Point youngsters!

Three cheers for our amazing Future Business Leaders of America at the State competition in Green Bay!

NATIONAL QUALIFIERS (Nationals will be held in Orlando, FL June 29-July 2)

-- State 1st Place - Broadcast Journalism (Matthew Goninen, Madisyn Heim & Eli Lindsey)

-- State 2nd Place - Community Service Project (Kalea Biddick & Ella James)

-- State 3rd Place - Journalism (Julianna Cool)

-- State 4th Place - Business Communications (Kalea Biddick)

NATIONAL ALTERNATES

-- State 5th Place - Personal Finance (Derek Hottenstein)

-- State 5th Place - Introduction to Business Procedures (Violet Renwick)

Other Competitor in Top 10:

-- State 7th Place - Business Calculations (Colton Dochnahl)

Also a big congratulations to all of our State FBLA participants on a job well done and a fine season!

Hip hip hooray for our State Skills USA competitors in Madison this past week!

NATIONAL QUALIFIER (Nationals will be held in Atlanta, GA June 24-28)

-- State 1st Place - Cosmetology (Joss James)

NATIONAL ALTERNATES

-- State 2nd Place - Television Video Production (Madisyn Heim & Ellery Massey)

Also a big congratulations to all of our State Skills USA participants on a job well done and a fine season!

#PointerNation had an out of this world experience safely observing the solar eclipse! From awe-inspiring views to curious questions, it was a day filled with wonder and learning.

Kudos to our high school scholars for earning academic accolades during the third quarter! #PointerNation is proud of you! https://mineralpointschools.org/2024/04/mphs-3rd-quarter-honor-roll-9/

Kudos to our middle school scholars for earning academic accolades during the third quarter! #PointerNation is proud of you! https://mineralpointschools.org/2024/04/mpms-3rd-quarter-honor-roll-9/

Let's hear it for our Civics Games Team which is State Bound! Kudos to Bobby Allbright, Julianna Cool, Charlie DaVee, Matthew Goninen, and Ella James.

During the Regional competition held Thursday, our #PointerNation team won its four contests against West Bend, Waunakee, Lomira, and Cristo Rey Jesuit Academy and now advances to the State Championships May 10 at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison.

The competition, presented by the Wisconsin Newspaper Association Foundation, aims to promote civics education and encourage Wisconsin high school students to develop an interest in public service.

A big congratulations to our MPHS Drama Department for an outstanding production of their Spring Play, "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" at the Opera House this past weekend -- such talent on display! View more photos here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.921272146641335&type=3

We are so lucky to live in a community with many wonderful volunteer first responders! A huge thank you to our Mineral Point Rescue Squad EMTs for teaching 4K students all about how they help people in our community.

We are very excited to share that Pointer Gymnast Ally Baehler, a member of the Dodgeville/Mineral Point/Iowa-Grant/Highland Co-op, has received recognition from the Wisconsin High School Gymnastics Association and National High School Gymnastics Association!

-- All-American awards are very difficult to achieve and are a great honor to receive. Ally earned this honor on the Balance Beam and Floor Exercise!

-- NHSGA also awards gymnasts for their academic success. Gold level honors gymnasts with a GPA of 4.0 or above; Silver 3.75-3.99; and Bronze 3.5-3.74. Congrats to Ally for earning Silver status!

-- All-State awards consider each varsity gymnasts' top five scores on each event. Congrats to Ally for earning Second Team on Balance Beam!

-- WHSGA also recognizes gymnasts for their academic successes. Gold level honors gymnasts with a GPA of 4.0 or above; Silver 3.75-3.99; and Bronze 3.5-3.74. Congrats to Ally for earning Silver status!

-- The whole team also earned NHSGA Team All American honors!

Let's hear it for our two #PointerNation Wrestlers who earned Academic All-State Honors from the Wisconsin Wrestling Coaches Association! Congrats to: Roen Carey (First Team) and Mac Busser (Honorable Mention). Read more: https://www.wwca.org/page/show/6244514-academic-all-state

Our Elementary School Renovation and Addition project was honored as a Project of Distinction Silver Award Winner by Associated Builders and Contractors of Wisconsin!

The ABC of Wisconsin Projects of Distinction is an awards program that recognizes the most notable construction projects in the state. The general contractor for the elementary project was Kraemer Brothers LLC of Plain and the architect was HSR Associates, Inc. of La Crosse.

We remain incredibly grateful for the public's support to provide modern learning environments for our students!

A big congrats to our #PointerNation players that will be participating in the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Senior All-Star Games this summer -- Landon Thousand and Belle Watters! Mark your calendar for June 26 & 27 in Wisconsin Dells. More info:

- Boys: https://wisbca.org/allstar-game/allstar-boys-teams.php?s=b&d=4&t=Red

- Girls: https://wisbca.org/allstar-game/allstar-girls-teams.php?s=g&d=4&t=South

Beautiful spring flowers are popping up in the school garden!

Brad "The Book Guy" Van Epps from CESA 3 visited 6th graders to share his love for books and some recommendations for our young readers! We love our Brad visits!

Thanks to Avon Locker Plant in Darlington for stopping by and educating our students on breaking down a half hog and training them in trimming, cutting, and wrapping different cuts from the pig! The students will then be using the meat to learn different cooking methods.

The Birthday Book Cart is getting an upgrade! Students are helping build a new spinner display for our birthday books. Each elementary student is able to select a book to keep on their birthday (or their half-birthday for our summer students).

Our Kindergarten unit on telling time is about to begin and these adorable clocks will be helping us!

Article and video from Monday's School Board meeting has been posted: https://mineralpointschools.org/2024/04/april-school-board-notes-votes/

This week is Spring Sports Officials Appreciation Week! Let’s give a big hand to those WIAA licensed officials who have, or yet will, officiate our home Mineral Point and Dodge-Point high school athletic contests this spring. We are grateful!

-- BASEBALL: Brian Alvin, Alex Ames, Thomas Barnes, Gerald Benish, Bob Boyle, Kenneth Bruck, Daniel Callaway, Charles Chamberlain, David Farrey, Jeff Fellenzer, Scott Garthwaite, Adam Haas, Eric Heisner, Eric James, Shelby Jones, Blaine Krantz, Trevor Nichols, Eric Rohowetz, Jerry Schewe, Terry Schrobilgen, Tyler Simmons

-- GIRLS SOCCER: Gary Balgord, Mahmood Darvish, Bob Fasick, Bob Ladwig, Paul Lassance, Stephany Marten, Scott Mueller, Ananda Sathasivam, Si Shabtaie, Mike Van Sicklen, Bennett West.

-- SOFTBALL: Dustin Alfred, Daniel Callaway, Charles Chamberlain, Scott Garthwaite, Jeff Fellenzer, Mark Flanagan, John Fullerton, Adam Haas, Eric Heisner, Brian James, Steve Kaiser, Rick Laufenberg, Daniel Murray, Trevor Nichols, Chris Redfearn, Andrew Riechers, Tyler Simmons, Alan Stoltz, David Viertel

-- TRACK & FIELD: Knight Wynn

Mineral Point Community -- we will be having a mock accident learning demonstration for 8-12th graders at our middle/high school Wednesday, April 17 from 12-2 pm. Please do not be alarmed if seeing emergency personnel at school. If weather does not cooperate, the makeup date will be Thursday, April 25. Thank you!

#PointerNation is very excited to welcome Neil Argall as this year's National Honor Society Alumni Speaker! Thanks to Mineral Point Kiwanis for sponsorship of this event and selecting the speaker.

The ceremony will be held Wednesday, April 17 at 6:30 pm at MPHS. All are welcome. We look forward to celebrating our students committed to scholarship, service, leadership, and character!

Neil Argall was born and raised in Mineral Point, graduating from MPHS in 1989. He is the youngest of Larry and Mary Faith Argall’s nine children. Neil attended the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, where he majored in both mathematics and business administration. He has also earned the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU), Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC), and Associate in Risk Management (ARM) designations.

Neil has been with Acuity Insurance in Sheboygan for nearly 30 years. Acuity protects nearly 150,000 businesses and more than 550,000 homes and private passenger autos across 32 states, employs over 1600 people, and is rated A+ by A.M. Best and S&P. Neil started with Acuity in 1994 as a Commercial Lines Underwriter and was promoted to Commercial Field Underwriter in 1998. In 2002, he was promoted to Senior Commercial Field Underwriter, and later that year to Area Underwriting Manager. In 2006, he was promoted to General Manager – Commercial Lines. In 2020, was named General Manager – Staff Commercial Lines and later that year was promoted to Vice President – Commercial Insurance. In this role he oversees over 430 people in the commercial underwriting, loss control and premium audit departments and helps manage $2 billion in commercial written premiums.

For the past six years Neil has been a member of the Plymouth Education Foundation, serving two years as President.

Neil and his wife, Traci, currently live in Plymouth. Their daughter, Nora, is a Senior at the University of Minnesota, and their son, Tate, is a Freshman at the University of Wisconsin.

Your help is needed! Each year, our #PointerNation Personal Finance class visits Southwest Tech in Fennimore to participate in SWIFLE: the Southwest WI Financial Literacy Event.

This year, we are short of community volunteers for the event Wednesday, April 24. If you'd be willing to help, we'd be very grateful! No experience necessary—materials will be provided.

SWIFLE is an interactive hands-on experience for high school students designed to demonstrate the importance of sound money management skills. This event provides an opportunity for over 400 local students to connect with community business representatives in an authentic situation where students test their budgeting skills.

To sign up, use the link here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0C4FA8AE28A5FE3-48495734-southwest#/

1st graders are super excited to perform their Earth Day Program! The event will begin at 2:30 pm Thursday, April 25 in the elementary gym.

Some of our Mineral Point Middle & High Schoolers who have qualified for the State Solo & Ensemble competition will be performing a recital at the Mineral Point Opera House Thursday, April 25 beginning at 7 pm free of charge. Come on out and support these talented musicians: Julianna Cool, Josie Dunn, Libby Dunn, Gracie Foster, Anthony Luu, Lilly Murn, Abby Webb, and Elliott Webb.

Unfortunately, the Snow Day prior to Spring Break on Friday, March 22 has caused us to be short on our required number of instructional minutes needed by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction for our middle/high school (elementary students need less instructional minutes and are ok at this time). Please see below for the latest regarding both buildings.

ELEMENTARY

Friday, April 26 will still be a day off for students EC-5th grade. Teachers will report for a Work Day.

MIDDLE/HIGH

Friday, April 26 will now be a Virtual Day of classes for 6-12th grade students. Teachers will be on site. April 26 was a previously scheduled student day off for a Teacher Work Day.

BOTH BUILDINGS

If we need any additional full days off, we will need to conduct virtual learning (for all grades) instead of having a traditional Snow Day. We still have a couple hours to spare, should we need a late start or early release.

During a Virtual Learning Day, you would still receive a Skylert notification. Students do not report to school and Pointer Kids Club would be canceled. Expectations for student learning will vary by grade level and classroom and will be communicated by teachers.

These updates will allow us to keep June 4 as our last day of school.

We hope winter is done with us soon! Thank you for your flexibility and understanding with these changes.

Our MPHS Key Club is the proud sponsor of the upcoming Mineral Point Blood Drive this Friday, April 26 at St. Mary's/St. Paul's Church from 11:30 am to 5:30 pm. Give hope this spring!

The Mineral Point High School Junior Class is proud to present Prom 2024 Saturday, May 4! This year's theme is "The Golden Hour." Doors will open at 8 pm with Grand March at 8:30 pm (cost is $2 for spectators). Prom ends at 12 am and Post Prom is from 12:30-2:30 am for all 9-12th grade students. Make plans to attend and see our Juniors in their finest attire!

#PointerNation events coming up this week -- join us! (Please note these schedules are always subject to change)

Monday, April 15

-- Varsity Girls Soccer vs. Wisconsin Heights/Barneveld 6 pm. Livestream: https://www.youtube.com/@DodgevilleSchoolDistrict

-- JV & Varsity Golf at Barneveld 4 pm

-- Softball at Fennimore (Varsity 4:30 pm, JV to follow)

-- Varsity Baseball at Riverdale 4:30 pm

-- Track & Field at Prairie du Chien 4:15 pm

-- JV Baseball vs. Iowa-Grant 4:30 pm

Tuesday, April 16

-- Girls Soccer at Galena, IL (Varsity 5 pm, JV to follow)

Wednesday, April 17

-- Early release 2 pm (every Wednesday)

-- 8-12th Grade Mock Accident 12 pm

-- National Honor Society ceremony 6:30 pm

Thursday, April 18

-- Softball vs. Iowa-Grant (Varsity 4:30 pm, JV to follow)

-- Varsity Baseball vs. Fennimore 4:30 pm

-- Girls Soccer vs. Galena, IL (Varsity 5 pm, JV to follow). Livestream: https://www.youtube.com/@DodgevilleSchoolDistrict

-- MS Track & Field at Dodgeville 4 pm

Friday, April 19

-- State Forensics at DeForest

-- JV Baseball at Fennimore 4:30 pm

-- MS Track & Field at Riverdale 4 pm

Saturday, April 20

-- Varsity Softball at Waterloo 9 am

-- Varsity Girls Soccer at Big Foot/Williams Bay 9 am

-- Track & Field at Platteville 11 am

Please be aware of other companies claiming to livestream our games, especially if there are links different than posted above and ask for credit card and personal information -- these are scams. We will update this pinned post as available livestream information is relayed to us.

"Grounded by our history as one of the oldest publicly supported schools in Wisconsin, Mineral Point Unified School District is the heart of a small community that educates and inspires our students for a bright future in a big world."

Email: joelle.doye@mp.k12.wi.us
Website: mineralpointschools.org
Location: 705 Ross Street, Mineral Point, WI, USA
Phone: (608) 987-0740
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MineralPointSchoolDistrict