The Country Manor Foundation proudly hosted its 13th annual Hometown Classic Golf Event at Blackberry Ridge Golf Course on June 15 to raise funds for End of Life patients and their families. Participants enjoyed wine, margarita and craft beer samplers and a variety of local fares. The day wrapped with awards and a casual dinner served by Blackberry Ridge Golf Course complete with a handmade rhubarb dessert prepared by Country Manor’s Culinary Team. With the help of local businesses, organization, families, community members and employees, the 2015 Hometown Classic raised $30,000. All proceeds from the golf event will go toward Country Manor’s End of Life program, also known as “Angel Arms.”
St. John’s Preperatory School is located within the 2,700 acres of woods and lakes of St. John’s University’s campus in Collegeville.
Pictured is the 2015 graduating class at St. John’s Prep.
St. John’s Prep recently announced the school’s faculty has been ranked as No. 2 on the list of the best private high school teachers in Minnesota. The ranking comes from Niche.com and is a comprehensive assessment of the quality of the teachers at private high schools in Minnesota. The ranking was supported by surveys of students and parents.
St. John’s Prep faculty is a highly educated team, 76 percent of faculty hold a master’s degree or higher. Many Prep families credit the personal attention they receive from faculty members to student success in the classroom. Prep’s average class size is 15 students. Prep’s student-to-faculty ratio is 9.5 students to one faculty member. The Class of 2015 mean score on the ACT was 26.5 versus a 23.0 state-wide score and a 21.0 national average. Justin Terhaar, a member of the class of 2016, scored a perfect 36 on the ACT and at least three of his classmates have scored over a 34.
“Our families already know our teachers are dedicated professionals,” said Headmaster Jonathan Licari, OSB. “We have a very supportive school community. This ranking is a nice tribute to a great faculty team. Our teachers live our mission every day in our classrooms, athletic fields and performance halls. They work tirelessly to prepare our students not only for college, but for success in higher education. Our teacher’s daily dedication to our school community instills a passion for learning and a spirit of compassion for a lifetime of leadership in a global society.”
St. John’s Prep students are part of a collaborative and global community. The majority are day students from communities across Central Minnesota including Sauk Rapids, Sartell, St. Joseph, St. Cloud, Cold Spring, Waite Park, Foley, Avon and Albany. St. John’s Prep serves students in grades 6-12.
The Sartell Legion baseball team can be seen here celebrating its 7-6 win over Sauk Rapids, which allowed them to advance to the Division I American Legion State Baseball Tournament in Chaska. This was the first Legion State Tournament for Sartell since 1998 and the team beat top-seeded Sauk Rapids twice in two days to get there.
The Sartell Legion baseball team competed in the Division I American Legion State Baseball Tournament July 31-Aug. 2. Sartell lost 3-0 against Prior Lake and lost 10-0 against Alexandria. The team, pictured here at their banquet are the following: (front row, from left to right) Braeden Dykhuizen, Ben Bierscheid, Nick Baggenstoss and Carter Neuenschwander; (second row) Keenan Lund and Jonah Nebosis; (third row) Andrew Grant, Zach Omann and Matt Rickers; and (back row) Coach Chris Koenig, Blake Weber, Austin Gohl, Isaac Dammen and Coach Bruce Thompson. Not pictured: Cody Rose and Garrett Roelofs.
This piece, “Fun at the Seter,” was painted by Suzanne Toftey of Sartell in the Telemark style.
Suzanne Toftey, of Sartell, won the People’s Choice Award in the annual “National Exhibition of Folk Art in the Norwegian Tradition” at Vesterheim, the national Norwegian-American museum and heritage center in Decorah, Iowa. This judged exhibition is Vesterheim’s major summer show and was on display from June 12-July 25. The awards were announced in conjunction with Decorah’s Nordic Fest celebration held this year from July 23-25.
Toftey won the award in the rosemaling category with “Fun at the Seter,” a plate painted in the Telemark style. Most rosemalers paint in a style specific to one of the different areas of Norway, and each style has very distinct characteristics. Rosemaling developed in Norway about 200 years ago, and was revived by Norwegian Americans in about 1930.
“It continues to be one of the most popular and refined of the Norwegian arts and crafts in this country,” said Vesterheim Chief Curator Laurann Gilbertson.
The exhibition also includes woodworking, knifemaking and weaving categories. Vesterheim, which has some of the most outstanding examples of decorative and folk art, established the rosemaling exhibition at the first Decorah Nordic Fest in 1967 and added weaving, woodworking and knifemaking in later years.
“Some of the best practitioners of these traditional Norwegian arts enter the exhibition, which attracts national attention,” Gilbertson said. “This year’s exhibition included over 150 pieces of beautiful contemporary folk art,” she added.
Each year, judges award blue, red and white ribbons representing points that accumulate during successive exhibitions toward a Vesterheim Gold Medal. Judges also present Honorable Mention Awards and Best of Show Awards. Visitors to the exhibition are invited to vote for their favorite pieces. The People’s Choice Award does not carry with it Gold Medal points, but it’s an important indicator to artists of popular trends and tastes in traditional crafts.
Two Sartell students recently graduated from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul.
They and their majors are as follows: Amanda Maricle-Roberts, bachelor’s degree in computer science, magna cum laude; and Nicole Sand, master’s degree in business administration.
