Girls Varsity Golf Qualifies for Sectionals

Girls golf team standing with Coach Holland.

Hudson Raiders Girls Varsity Golf Team qualified for next week’s Sectional Tournament in Stevens Point with a team score of 391. First place went to New Richmond and second place went to River Falls. Eau Claire Memorial finished fourth which also qualified their team. Congratulations to the Raiders Girls Golf Team for this benchmark accomplishment with our program!

Raider Spirit Across the District

High school football players and Pep Band at elementary playground

Raider homecoming spirit spread across the district today, as the Spirit Bus along with the football team, marching band and the Raidaires visited our elementary schools; promoting Raider Pride, sportsmanship and having some homecoming fun. Go Raiders!

Elementary students meeting football team and pep band members.Elementary students meet high school football team and pep band members.Elementary students meet high school football team, pep band and cheerleader squad members.Elementary students meet high school football team, marching band and cheerleading squad members.Elementary students meet high school football team, marching band and cheerleading squad members.High school football team, marching band and cheerleading squad at playground pepfest. Elementary students meet high school football team players.Elementary students celebrate homecoming with high school cheerleaders in a gym.  Elementary students meeting football players and high-fiving in a gym.Elementary students high-fiving high school football players and cheerleaders.Elementary student standing with arm around high school football player.Students sitting on gym floor for homecoming spirit rally.

 

Girls Golf Places 2nd in Conference

Girls golf team standing with Coach Holland.

Congratulations to the Girls Golf team in their 2nd place finish in the Big Rivers Conference! Congratulations is also extended to team member, Paige Hillman who was again medalist at this tournament and awarded the BRC Conference Player of the Year along with being named to the All Conference 1st Team.

Next up will be the State Regional Tournament at Superior on Wednesday, October 2nd.

Calling All Creative Kids!

Destination Imagination Maker Day Announcement with watch gears in the background

It’s that time of the year to get signed up for Destination Imagination!

We are hosting a DI Maker Day so you can find out what DI is all about. on

Drop in any time, stay for the fun. We will provide:

  • A room full of crazy, creative things for you to create with!
  • All the information you need to join a DI team or start your own team (between 2 and 7 kids, any grade, K through 12)
  • Copies of the New Challenges!

Questions? Contact: Liz Malanaphy at malanaea@hudsonraiders.org or Anita Stilwell at stilwea@hudsonraiders.org 

Learning Civics with Gummy Bears

Two high school students working at their table with cups and gummy bears.

Earlier this week, students in the Senior Civics classes demonstrated their knowledge of the seven forms of government by making models of the various governments using Gummy Bears. The students photographed their models, uploaded them to a slide show and added an explanation of how their models represented each form of government. Added bonus – when they finished they were able to eat their Gummy Bears! Creative and fun learning!

Close up image of a gummy bear project with students taking phone pictures. Students taking photos of their gummy bears.

A group of students working at a table. Aerial view of a group of students working on a project.

Three students working at their desks.

Girls Golf Tournament at Turtleback

Members of the girls golf team standing together in a line.

The Girls Varsity Golf team travels to Rice Lake for the Varsity BRC Tournament at Turtleback Golf Course.

Last week the team scored a team total of 196 placing them second behind River Falls. Along with Paige Hillman, who placed second overall with a score of 41, Molly Nelson scored a 45 which placed her third overall.

The current conference standings by team are:

  • River Falls – 1st Place
  • Hudson – 2nd Place
  • Eau Claire Memorial – 3rd Place
  • Menomonie – 4th Place
  • Rice Lake – 5th Place
  • Eau Claire North – 6th Place
  • Chippewa Falls – 7th Place

Houlton Celebrates Art Bench Project

Close up of the art bench

Art bench trail poster

The Houlton Art Bench project began several years ago with a request from the Phipps Center for the Arts, asking Houlton Elementary to participate in the St. Croix River Art Bench Trail.  Hundreds of hours later, there is now a community “gathering place” in the St. Croix River Crossing Loop Trail Trailhead, located across the street from Houlton Elementary School.

The process began in 2017, with representatives from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, St. Croix County, Phipps Center for the Arts, Township of St. Joe, St. Croix Valley Bike and Pedestrian Trails Coalition, and Houlton Elementary School brainstorming what this Art Bench could become. As part of the Trailhead, it was envisioned to be the keystone “bench” on the Art Bench Trail. The idea of an Art Bench expanded, and soon it became a gathering space that would hold 20-25 people on terraced stone seating, to redefine a local place for the redesigned Houlton community.

An artist, Hudson architect John Kalmon, was selected and began to meet with Houlton 4th and 5th grade students the fall of 2018.  Background knowledge had been built, aligned to grade level social studies standards, so students were aware of the cultural, historical and natural resources of the area.  This was an integral part of the project, as its purpose was to represent the area in some way. Kalmon brought over 60 students through the design process, with monthly meetings for brainstorming and refining their ideas.  Careful synthesizing of the students’ vision resulted in a semi-circle of stones with a stage-like area, where community groups could come together to meet. Student groups identified a symbol that represented their learning, and these images have been incorporated into the space by being etched into the stone seating.  In addition, our Hudson High School students made steel images that are set into cement pavers throughout the space. Houlton students created a scavenger hunt that included their images and what each represented.

Once the design was finalized, Willow River Landscape was hired to work with the students to build the 20-foot diameter space.  Pavers were made, trees, shrubs and plants planted, and mulch spread. The result, Houlton Hawks Landing, will be officially unveiled on the morning of September 21st.  It has truly been a labor of love, by the hands of the Houlton students and community.

Donations and support were gathered, sometimes by pure luck, and the project wove together the resources and services of many community members and businesses.  Grant funding was received from the Friends of Perch Lake, Hudson Daybreak Rotary, Hudson Education Foundations, Hudson Home and Garden Club, Houlton Elementary Parent Association, St. Croix Bike and Pedestrian Trails Coalition, St. Croix County, St. Croix Valley Foundation, Thrivent, the Town of St. Joseph, the William H. Phipps Foundation and the Wisconsin Arts Board.  In addition, there was strong community support from Rivard Stone, Hartman Homes, St. Croix County Historical Society, St. Croix National Scenic Riverway, St. Croix Valley Master Gardeners, and the Hudson High School Tech Ed Department.

We invite the Hudson community to share our gathering space as you explore the St. Croix River Crossing Loop Trail.  The Houlton students think you will find it to be a beautiful place to land, if just for a moment!

Art bench from a distance Art bench close up

 

EP Rock Students Develop Tree Trek

Students seated in classroom listening to a presentation in the front of the class.

EP Rock 5th graders are partnering with the Hudson Urban Forestry Board to create a Tree Trek. The Tree Trek will be a self guided tree identification trail around the school. Students in Mrs. Shimon’s class began by learning how to identify tree types based on their leaf type, leaf shape, and a variety of other attributes. Students will work with a publisher to create a Trek Post with the description of the tree, its benefits to wildlife and humans along with other unique facts. Each post will have a QR code so people can read more information if they choose.

We hope to launch our trail this spring.