Christopher Whitson, son of Daniel Whitson and Anne Whitson, both of Sartell, was one of 598 students who recently graduated from Concordia College, Moorhead. Whitson is a graduate of Sartell High School who is majoring in international business and minoring in German.
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Sartell-St. Stephen Education Foundation is pleased to announce it has recently awarded more than $27,000 in grants to support leading-edge programming (preK-12) in the Sartell-St. Stephen School District 2013-14 school year.
The programs receiving grants include: Sabre Splash, Art in Motion, AP Summer Institute, Creative Spaces and Student Council Leadership Training, all at Sartell High School; Sartell Middle School Academic Extensions, Reluctant Reader Library, STEM Initiative, Student Mentorship Program and 7th-grade Team Quest Leadership Building, all at Sartell Middle School; Guided Reading Library and Elementary Academic Extensions, both at Oak Ridge and Pine Meadow elementary schools; Family Library Enhancements and Building Language Together Family Story Hour, both in Early Childhooed Family Education; and Expanding and Integrating with e-books at each of the above-named school.
SSEF has awarded more than $143,000 to ISD 748 since they started awarding grants in 2005. This is another record-breaking year for SSEF as they continue to increase the amount of funds awarded to programs in the district.
“The SSEF Board continues to reach record-setting goals, said Kay Miles, SSEF chair. “We owe our success to the outstanding support and generosity of our donors and volunteers who believe in our mission: to financially support leading-edge ideas and programs for the students of the Sartell-St. Stephen School District.
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Leah Nothnagel, a former Sartell resident, recently earned a major internship with Harvard Forest in Petersham, Mass. beginning this summer. According to Harvard Forest’s website, students research “the effects of natural and human disturbances on forest ecosystems, including global climate change, storms, forest harvest, wildlife dynamics, biodiversity and invasive species.” Nothnagel’s research will focus on the environmental effects of rural-urban boundary development. The 11-week experience includes a stipend, housing and meals, as well as mentoring from some of the top researchers in ecology. At the conclusion of her research, she will present her results at state and national conferences including Washington, D.C.
Nothnagel was selected for one of the 33 internship positions from a nationwide pool of nearly 600 candidates from colleges of all sizes across the country. She has been attending Minneapolis Community and Technical College and was recently honored at a recognition ceremony there. Her advisor Dr. Katherine Kragtorp says, “This will be a life-changing experience for Leah. She has wonderful enthusiasm and asks lots of intelligent questions. She clearly earned this intership.”
Nothnagel is the granddaughter of Evelyn and Kenneth Nothnagel of Sartell.
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Daniel M. Kotzer, son of Cathy and Dan Kotzer of Sartell, and a 2012 Sauk Rapids High School graduate, recently graduated from One Station Unit Training at Fort Leonard Wood, Waynesville, Mo., which included basic military training and advanced individual training. During basic military training, Army Pvt. Kotzer received instruction in drill and ceremony, weapons qualification, map reading, tactics, military courtesy, military justice, physical fitness, first aid, and Army doctrine, history, principles and traditions.
During AIT, Kotzer completed the military police specialist course to acquire skills to provide combat area support, conduct battlefield circulation control, area security, prisoner of war operations, civilian internee operations, and law and order operations. He performed as a team member in support of battlefield operations, installation law and order operations, and security of Army resources and installations. Additional training included providing peacetime support to the military community through security of resources, crime-prevention programs, and preservation of law and order.
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SMS student places third in Roadsides are for the Birds poster contest
Sartell Middle School 8th-grader Jarrett Janu placed third in the Roadsides are for the Birds poster contest sponsored by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
“The purpose of the contest,” said Carmelita Nelson, DNR prairie grassland coordinator in St. Paul, “is to help increase awareness of the growing importance of roadsides for wildlife, particularly for ground nesting birds. As wildlife habitat continues to disappear, roadsides nesting habitat is becoming more critical.”
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Krista Dale of Sartell, Minn., was one of 60 students recognized during the annual Student Awards Ceremony April 25 at the University of Minnesota-Crookston. Dale is a senior majoring in equine science. She was recognized for achievement with the Outstanding Equine Science Student Award.
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Two Sartell students were among 1,500 students who recently graduated from Minnesota State University, Mankato.
They are the following: Caitlyn Cardetti, bachelor’s degrees in human biology and psychology; and Sarah Schellinger, a bachelor’s degree in family consumer science, summa cum laude.
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Three former Sartell High School graduates and current advertising communication and design students at St. Cloud Technical and Community College recently competed in the 2013 Collegiate DECA State Career Development Conference held in February in Mankato, Minn. and the International Career Development Conference held in April in Anaheim, Calif.
They are Mike Bayless, Brea Keast and Brittany Rech. At the state level, Bayless placed first in professional sales, Keast placed first in advertising campaign, and Rech placed first in web design. At the international level competition, Bayless received a certificate of excellence in professional sales; and Keast was a finalist in advertising campaign.
Bayless and Keast are 2010 graduates, and Rech is a 2006 graduate, all of Sartell High School.
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St. Cloud Hospital Intensive Care Unit awarded gold
The Intensive Care Unit at St. Cloud Hospital recently earned the 2013 Gold Level Beacon Award for Critical Care Excellence. This is the third time the ICU has received the Beacon Award given by the American Association of Critical Care Nurses and the first time the Beacon Award has been awarded in three levels: bronze, silver and gold. St. Cloud Hospital achieved gold for sustained- unit performance and patient outcomes.
The award honors hospitals that: exhibit high quality standards; provide exceptional care of patients and their families; and
demonstrate excellence in collaboration, communication and partnerships that support the value of healing and healthy work environments.
The Beacon Award recognizes individual units that improve every facet of patient care. For patients and their families, the Beacon Award signifies exceptional care through improved outcomes and greater overall satisfaction.
St. Cloud Hospital ICU initiatives have: decreased mortality rate for patients with severe sepsis or septic shock from
48 percent in 2004 to 24 percent in 2012 ; decreased ventilator associated pneumonia rate from 3.26 to 0.83 (rate/1000 ventilator days), less than benchmark comparisons; decreased the incidence of ICU delirium from 10.4 percent to 6.4 percent;
decreased the average ventilator hours by 16 percent using an early mobility protocol; and reduced central-line-associated blood- stream infections by 40 percent.
St. Cloud Hospital ICU is one of two gold level Beacon units in Minnesota and is joined by two additional silver award recipients.