RIVER FALLS – The River Falls School Board honored educator Steve Papp at the Feb. 19 meeting with a Wildcat Pride Award for his leadership of the Greenwood Carving Club.

Papp described himself as an outdoor enthusiast who was introduced to wood carving blocks a few years ago. He thought it would be a good opportunity for kids to work with their hands while learning perseverance. Wood carving takes time and patience without immediate results.

“I want them to walk away with something tangible, physical that they could look at,” Papp said to the school board.

He guides 23 fourth and fifth grade students in the club during lunch periods and after school.

A few of Papp’s students spoke to the school board about what they’ve learned. Emma Miller, a fourth-grader, said she learned to carve a duck this year.

“We didn’t just learn to carve a duck, we learned different character traits too,” Miller said. “One of the character traits we learned was perseverance. If we made a mistake on our duck, Mr. Papp helped us fix it and keep trying.”

Luca Bergseng, also a fourth grader, is grateful for his experience in the club.

“I want to thank Mr. Papp for all the time and effort he put into helping us with our ducks,” he said.

Fifth-grader Stanton Traynor echoed Bergseng’s sentiments.

Another student also thanked her mentor for what she has learned.

“My name is Claire Ruesink and I love to carve. It was fun to try new things and persevere through it because it was fun but really hard,” Ruesink said.

The students have been working on American Wigeon decoys, which is comprised of a carved basswood head and a cork body painted in acrylics. The students have been learning to use rasps, files and sandpaper. They entered their finished decoys in the Minnesota Decoy Collectors Youth Competition in Bloomington, Minn. Traynor’s decoy placed second.

Board President Stacy Johnson Myers said she is grateful for Papp’s hard work and dedication and she believes the kids’ perseverance will translate to other areas of life.

The Forward Foundation provided funding for tools and materials.

Human Growth & Development Committee

The district is looking for people to serve on the Human Growth & Development Committee. The purpose of this committee is to review the HGD curriculum and advise the school board on its design and implementation.

Members chosen to serve on the committee should plan on attending one or two (two-hour) evening meetings roughly every three years. Those interested in serving can fill out a survey on the school district website. Members will be chosen in alignment with state representation requirements. The committee will meet at 6 p.m. April 9. Members will be notified one month in advance.

For more information, contact Director of Academic Services Nate Schurman at nate.schurman@rfsd.k12.wi.us

Personnel

The school board approved the following personnel changes:

• Hiring Betsy Manning as part-time limited term special education teacher at River Falls Public Montessori Elementary School effective Feb. 14 through June 7.
• Hiring the following short-term, on-call substitute teachers: Lauren Shields, Jackie Lillico, Kaye Anderson, Josie Matti, Jared Mickelson, Mallory Busch and Kate Webster.
• The resignation of Whitney Sutton as full-time school counselor at RFHS effective March 8.
• The resignation of Ashleigh Olson as full-time special education teacher at Greenwood Elementary effective at the end of the 2023-24 year.
• The resignation of Kiersten Jacobson as a full-time fifth grade teacher at Greenwood Elementary School effective the end of the 2023-24 year.
• The retirement of Connie Roetzer as a full-time instructional coach effective the end of the 2023-24 year. Roetzer will retire after eight years of service with the district.
• The retirement of Chris Silver as full-time coordinator of the Renaissance Charter Academy effective June 30, 2024. Silver will retire after 25 years of service with the district.

Other business

• The board approved Panama STEM science trip to Panama in June 2025 for grades 10-12, led by Rachel Gjerde.
• The board approved the first reading of the following revised school board policies: drug free workplace (522.1), staff conflicts of interest (522.4), staff health examinations (523.1), employee assistance program (523.3) and resignation of support staff members (546.1).
• The board approved the second reading of the following revised school board policy 432 – public school open enrollment.

The next regular school board meeting will take place at 6 p.m. Monday, March 25.