Tappen Tidbits

Volume 18, Issue 6

June 2016

From the Principals Desk

Happy Trails

Special points of interest:

From the Principals
Desk
Graduation Celebration
Summer 2016 Activity
Calendars
High School Happenings
Its Elementary My
Dear
Farewell Celebration

Inside this issue:

Graduation, Sum- 2-3
mertime, ISEF
High School Hap- 4-5
penings
Comet Crusaders

A Letter of
Thanks

Field Trips

Pre-K & Kindergarten Celebration

1011

Tappen, North Dakota! What

a great place! I have nothing
but good things to say about
my experience here!
In case you havent heard, I am
leaving Tappen after this
school year. I have accepted a
superintendent position in Mohall. Yes, that is in North Dakota, north of Minot. So, as it
saddens me to leave such a
great environment here, I am
very excited about the opportunity that lies ahead of me. I
also recognize that it is because
of my Kidder County-Tappen
experience this past year that
the door was opened to me in
Mohall. So thank all of you so
much. I am forever indebted
to you.
Looking back on the school
year (how it began, the new
faces, the new responsibilities,
the personalities of so many
different people, and so much
more), it has been quite a journey. It is almost surreal thinking about the restructuring
meetings and all the conversations about that, all the sporting events, the science fairs
and the concerts. But, hey, we
got through it all and, lets
hope, for the better.
I ask myself what I will miss
most about Tappen and the
answer is easy. It will be the
kids. This is my first year in

having to work with the entire

school population every single
day. Shifting gears many times
a day, from elementary to high
school, is exhausting but I
usually didnt feel that until the
day was over. The reward has
been that the change of perspective was constant. The
concerns of a kindergartener
are so different from that of a
senior. The kids have been
great all year long. I tip my hat
of gratitude to you, guys and
gals.
I will also miss the staff members with whom I was gifted
the opportunity to work with.
These people should be used
as examples to define the word
awesome! The whole community has been great.
At one point this year, I was
considering compiling my articles that I wrote for Tappen
Tidbits into a sort of a book.
My leaving now makes that
seem a bit less appealing. I
thought that maybe I would
use what I write in Mohall and
continue the compilation. But,
you know, what I have written
this past year was for KCTappen and these need to stay
here. I wrote these articles for
us, about our situations and
the education of our students.
So it is at this point that I bid you
adieu
and leave you with a thought or two.
KC-Tappen has become a part of
me,

I feel I am a part of this community.

So when Im driving down the
interstate,
It wont take much of a debate
To convince me to drive on in
To find out how you all have
been.
Ill end this with a song
from the Roy Rogers and
Dale Evans Show that I
watched as a kid. Some of
you will remember it.
Happy trails to you, until we
meet again.
Happy trails to you, keep
smilin' until then.
Who cares about the clouds
when we're together?
Just sing a song and bring
the sunny weather.
Happy trails to you, 'till we
meet again.
Some trails are happy ones,
Others are blue. It's the way
you ride the trail that counts,
Here's a happy one for you.
Thanks for reading.

Graduation Celebration
To
remember
where you
came
from is
part of
knowing
where
youre
going.

Anthony
Burgess

On May 27th at 7:30 p.m. the 2016 Kidder County Graduates gathered together for one last
time. This year Kidder County Tappen High School had a total of four graduates: Kailee
Binder, Kaitlyn Dockter, Rodrigo Martinez, and Paige Schmidt.
Kailee Binder delivered her salutatorian address sharing that time spent at Tappen are just the
beginning of their journey. Paige Schmidt had the audiences laughing with her valedictorian
speech. She noted that even though they are a small class, she wouldnt have had anything
different.
Alexis Whitehorn, the English teacher at Tappen High School, was the guest speaker at this
graduation ceremony. She stressed the importance of coming home and knowing that your
past is a part of who you are.
Graduation continued with a slide show of the students, the gifting of the roses, and the
presentation of diplomas. The graduation was supposed to end with a balloon drop; however,
after some technical difficulties, the seniors just decided they wanted to be done and the balloons would have to wait until later to be dropped.

Activity Calendars Summer 2016

Page 2

Tappen Tidbits

Summer Time

By: Evaristo Imperial

The last day of school is today, and so is
the beginning of summer, I think all of us
can agree that summertime is the best time
of the year. If you disagree, Im going tell
you why summertime is the greatest time
of the year.
The first thing most of us do when we exit
the doors from our school is put a big
smile on our face and say goodbye to our
friends, and teachers, then we go straight
home and probably socialize on our
phones Facebook, Instagram, Twitter
whatever or watch TV and play video
games. But summer is the best time to be
free and have fun and enjoy life like we
always should, instead of counting down
the days to end.

Summer is about being with our

friends, spending all day with
them and when it gets dark outside get on the roof of our truck
and look up at the stars and enjoy
the beautiful view we never took
the time to look at, and get lost in
the stars. Thats a good way to
spend it.
You can spend summertime at a
lake, fishing with your friends and
family, seeing who can catch the
bigger fish; but, dont forget that
youre spending time with people
you love and to enjoy that time
with them because soon enough
were not going to have time to

spend with our family or friends

when were off to college or busy
with a job.
Were all going to have a summer
to spend on whatever we want to
do. Dont forget to enjoy it, with
the people you love or the things
you love doing, so you can remember the summertime when
its back
to
school
time.

International Science & Engineering Fair

By: Paige Schmidt

Participating in the International Science and Engineering Fair,

as a finalist, was the best way I
could have ended my science
fair career. I have been conducting science fair projects since
the fourth grade. My first project tested celery and I finished
by analyzing samples of manure
from twelve different farms
around the area and analyzed
them for parasites.
The trip to Phoenix, Arizona
started Friday May 6,2016. We
drove many miles that day and
continued driving in the evening, so all attending had to sleep
on a full charter bus. The next
day we visited the Grand Canyon and later stayed the night in
Williams, Arizona, right along
Route 66. We finally made it to
Volume 18, Issue 6

Phoenix on Sunday afternoon.

The first evening, the pin exchange was scheduled; there the
North Dakota kids exchanged
pins with other finalists from
across the world. There were
approximately 1,700 projects present so judges had to inspect and
analyze the projects individually.
So while this was happening,
Monday and Tuesday, the North
Dakota finalists and I had the
opportunity to visit the Phoenix
Zoo, an amusement park, listen
to Nobel Price winners, and of
course relax in the Arizona heat.
However, that was the end of the
relaxing days.

9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The next day the convention

center was open to the public and the finalist had
to present their project or answer any question
for the curious spectators. That even started our
first awards ceremony. Friday morning came
along which was the last awards ceremony. Although I did not win anything, I am still satisfied
with my project and how far it took me. After the
ceremony, it was time to head back to cold North
Dakota, but after a
straight through, 35hour bus ride, we
finally made it back
Saturday May 14,
2016!

Wednesday was presenting day.

Thirteen finalists from North
Dakota, counting myself, presented to about a dozen judges from
Page 3

High School Happenings

one years time how the students become like another set
of children. You end up caring for them like they are your
own; you worry about them over the weekend hoping
they make smart and careful decisions; you cry just a tiny
bit when they walk across the stage and accept their diploma; you fill with pride when they talk about their achievements and accomplishments. I being a teacher!

Aaaaand were done! Whew! What a busy last week!

Sorry for the exclamation marks, but that is exactly how
the last week of school felt. Im sure I was not the only
one who was stressed about final grades, final tests, graduation, cleaning lockers and rooms, and the last days at
Kidder County Tappen.
Let me start off by saying what an amazing year it was!
As everyone Im sure knows by now, next year I will be
teaching the 9th12th grade English Language Arts in
Kidder County Steele. The students from Tappen will be
bussed over to take their Math and English classes; so,
although I will be starting at a new school, I will still get
to see the wonderful faces of my students. (And you
thought you could get rid of me so easily!) It will be nice
to have some familiar faces in another new school.

3.

Having the most amazing mentor as I start my journey

with my masters in Educational Leadership. I know. I
know. Teachers are not supposed to like their boss but
its hard not to when the boss pushes you to strive for excellence in not only teaching, but also in the whole of education. THANK YOU, Mr. Fylling, for setting such a great
example and for pushing me to be my best.

Here are some not-so-great-highlights from my year:

I feel so extremely blessed to be able to have taught the
last high school English classes here at Tappen. Like I
said at graduation, its a pretty spectacular feeling having
come full circle. Being able to teach in my high school
English classroom, complete with the same posters, has
just completed the circle. (Yes, I will be taking the
Deadlines are closer than they appear sign with me
tradition right?)
Here are some of my highlights from teaching in this
classroom this year:
1.

Finding my old books with my name still written it.

2.

Creating my classroom family. Its crazy how in just

1.

Having the students show you your old high school yearbook pictures. Yes, students. That really is me. Yes, those
glasses were huge. No! I was not a nerd well maybe a
little. (I secretly think it is a trait you have to have as an
English Teacher.)

2.

Saying goodbye to my car-pooler, Ms. Berglund. We did

not know each other before this year, but I can honestly
say, were now besties. She is a very talented teacher
and I have absolutely no doubt she will continue to inspire
others with her life lessons and her ability to solve the
equation with the sensation of being one nation.

I am very excited for next year and cant wait to meet new students and staff and create a whole new set of highlights.

Classroom Corner
By Madelyn Schmidt
Creative, imaginative, smart, active, and friendly are five words
Mrs. Hust uses to describe her
Kindergarten class.
Throughout the year, Mrs. Hust
has found several ways for her
students to have fun while making progress on their sight words.
Earlier in the year, her class made
word tunnels out of toilet paper
rolls. Each tunnel had a sight
word on it and if they got the
word right, then they could drive
through the tunnel with their car.
Page 4

They created a parking garage,

with each parking space holding a
different word. They also built a
race track and raced words down
them after reading each sight
word.

rewarded a prize. This is a way for kids to be

respectful while getting rewarded.
Although Mrs. Hust has not taught Kindergarten
for 30 years, she says, I have enjoyed this year
very much and cant wait until next years Kindergarten class.

Mrs. Hust created a good behavior tracker. At the beginning of

the week, the students are rewarded a critter for working quietly, behaving well, or using their
manners. However, they can lose
these critter before the week if
over. Once they get five, they are

Favorite part of the year:

Chase: Painting sight words
Lily: Playing on the computer
Kyler: Building with blocks during playtime
Keagan: Playing ball tag at recess
Celety: Building with blocks under the reading

Tappen Tidbits

High School Happenings cont...

Activities Banquet
By: Madelyn Schmidt
The Kidder County Activities Banquet
was held May 11th. During this event,
athletes and involved students were recognized by their coach or advisor. Several awards are given out such as Highest
Free Throw Percentage or Student of the
Year.
Paige Schmidt was Named Offensive and
Defensive MVP for Basketball and also
for Volleyball. She was also awarded
several scholarships which will be used at
the University of Jamestown next fall.
Alec Stroh was awarded the Most Improved Player in basketball.
Tappen students were quite often recognized for their hard work and dedication
this past year. Students were also recognized for their time spent doing Year-

book, Student Council, FFA, and

their sports teams. Congrats to
the award winner of the 2016 KC
awards banquet.

A Kindness Countdown to the End of School

By: Allison Roth
To celebrate the nearing end of the
school year, Mrs. Whitehorn set up
a Kindness Countdown. The way
it worked was there was a countdown of the last days of school on
Mrs. Whitehorns door. Each day
showed a new kindness challenge
students could complete. There
were bingo cards that had the challenges randomized, and on them,
students who did a challenge on
the day it was shown could mark it

on the card. To win, a student

had to turn in a card with five
of the challenges done and
proof they did each marked
challenge. The winner was to
receive a $5 Caribou Coffee gift
card. While no one turned in a
card, the countdown offered a
way to tell the time before summer vacation and encouraged
students to be kind as the year
drew to a close. Thank you Mrs.
Whitehorn!

Tappen Tidbits
Greetings! We will continue to do the Tappen
Tidbits next year; however, with some of the
changes coming up in next years, we want to
get some input!
We would like to know the demographics of
our reader audience. With the price of paper,
ink and postage all going up, we have thought
about going to a digital format. If you could
please take some time and either fill out the
form to the right and send it to or drop off in
the Tappen High School Office or fill it out
online, we would appreciate it!
Link:
http://goo.gl/forms/xfpsKCfU7Udp5HYx1

Do you or another member of the house hold receive the Tappen Tidbits?
YES
NO
How many people are in your household? _________
How many people in your household actually read the Tappen Tidbits?
________
What are the age groups for the people living in your house hold ? (Mark
all that apply)
0-5
6-12
13-18
19 -29
30-49
50+
Do you enjoy reading the Tappen Tidbits? YES
Does your house hold have access to internet? YES

If the Tappen Tidbits would be turned in to a digital format (like a website), how likely are you to continue to read it?
More likely
Very likely
Depends on how bored I am

Volume 18, Issue 6

NO
NO

Somewhat likely
Not likely
Page 5

Maybe

Comet Crusaders
So long, Farewell

By: Madelyn Schmidt & Allison Roth

As the school year comes to an end, we say our goodbyes to some of the faculty we will not see next year.
Some of these faculty member include Ms. Berglund,
Mr. Fylling, Lori, and Linda. Although Mr. Fylling and
Ms. Berglund have only been here for a short year, they
have made a big impact on each one of students. However, Lori and Linda have been at the school every since
I was in Kindergarten. These four faculty member will
be greatly missed in the next years.

student council members. Along with the ceremony, Mr.

Fylling was awarded a Jar of Smiles which contained
reasons why we think he is a good teacher, why we will
miss him, compliments, and memories that we had made
with him.
Each student enjoyed this time that we have had with
these four wonderful faculty members that will be greatly
missed.

On the 20th, students and teachers cleaned up throughout Tappen. The elementary cleaned up around town,
while the high school worked on the schoolyard. The
elementary students split up among their grade levels to
cover different parts of Tappen. The high school split
up into two groups - one went around towards the elementary and the other went off towards the back of the
school (thank you to Dwight Lachenmeier for helping
with his tractor).
After all the children had raked leaves and picked up
garbage, we gathered in the gym for a surprise farewell
ceremony for these wonderful faculty members. During
this ceremony, the students ate pizza, cake, and candy
and drank pop. Before all the fun began, Mr. Fylling,
Ms. Berglund, Lori, and Linda headed to the front of
the room to receive their jumbo cards make by a few

Page 6

Tappen Tidbits

A Letter of Thanks
I would like to thank everyone at Kidder County Tappen for making my employment a most memorable and rewarding
experience. Many fun memories I will take with me. Just one of those memories was when a little preschooler forgot their
donut moneyshe looked at us and said, Just charge it like at Marlins. Judy and Bonnie always made sure no student
had to go without when they forgot donut money. Thank You Bonnie & Judy.
Just the other day, I told a teacher that Kidder County has the most well-rounded and respectful young students. It is always Yes, please and Thank You as they come through the lunch line. And That was a great meal! as they walked
back to class was the best heart-warming reward you could ever get knowing you did your job.
Thanks to everyone whom I have worked with throughout the years. We have learned a lot from each other. Paulette,
thank you for always being there when we needed you. .
And so this is goodbye! Cooking was my job, but getting to know the teachers, staff, and especially our students for the
past twenty-two years has been my bonus.
Thanks for the memories,
Lori B.

Volume 18, Issue 6

Page 7

Its Elementary, My Dear!

From Caterpillars to Butterflies..
By: Mrs. Diegel
The first and second graders watched the life cycle
of butterflies. When we got the caterpillars they
were very small. Each day they grew bigger and
shed their skin. Then they formed chrysalises. Finally, they came out of their chrysalises as beautiful
butterflies. We let them go to enjoy some time outside.

Field Trip
By: EJ Imperial
The Third through Sixth graders went on an educational field trip on May 17th to the Lewis and
Clark Interpretive center. They learned about the
purpose and background of the Lewis and Clark
expedition; they also saw Seaman, Lewis dog he
bought for twenty dollars. Each student bought
something from the Interpretive center for five
dollars. Some students bought arrowheads, coins,
necklaces, mini buffalo figures, survival kits, and
polished rocks. The kids from the fifth and sixth
grade class rated the trip a 10; except for Joel, he
said it was a 7.5 because he had already been there.
The students walked down by the Missouri River,
and played a game called hoop and arrow where
student had to throw an arrow through a dreamcatcher and made sure it stuck for the points. That
was all the fun activities that happened on their
trip, the kids seemed very happy about explaining
everything that happened on the trip.

Page 8

Tappen Tidbits

Its Elementary, My Dear!

Celebrating The Younger Years
By: Bradyn Lachenmeier
The preschool and kindergarten classes had a celebration to recognize the
students and to show off the skills
learned this past year.
Each class sang a few songs and performed a couple of skits. They were
then presented with awards from their
teachers and their certification of
completion by Mr. Fylling.

Mrs. Juergens Preschool Class:

Abe Salazar-Araujo
Josh Juergens
Karis Juergens
Nikki Martin
Bentley Mittleider
Clayton Mittleider
Paytynn Mittleider,
Corey Sayler
Dane Stroh
Parker Whitehorn

Mrs. Husts Kindergarten Class:

Keagan Bodvig
Lily Krouse
Celety Martinez
Kyler Maw
Chase Mittleider

Pictures from
the Pre-K
2nd Grade
Field Trip
May 24th,
2016

Volume 18, Issue 6

Page 9

Dear Families,
At this time last year, I was packing up my 5th grade classroom and preparing for a career change that wasnt expected. I was
putting the final details on my wedding. I was being pulled in, what felt like, a million different directions. What a difference
a year makes! The uncertainty that I was overwhelmed by last year has been replaced by appreciation and excitement.
I am so appreciative for the amazing families and students I have had the privilege to work with throughout the year. The
cool conversations that came up in classroom lessons, the ideas that sparked from meeting with families and students, and
the endless number of jokes, giggles, and hugs transformed my uncertainty into an absolute confidence that made every day
better than the last. I feel that I learned more in these last 9 months from the amazing students of Kidder County than in
the majority of my college years (just dont tell my professors!)
In my classroom, the end of the year always brought tears. I was having to say goodbye to students that were my everyday
focus for the last 174 days and I would not have the opportunity to see most of them again. There is no doubt that I will
still have very full eyes, but I get the honor of working with these students again next year and for my 6th graders, I can take
a quite jaunt down the hall for some catch-up time. That is an amazing gift. The dreaded goodbye changes quickly to, see
you in three months. I am thrilled to see what next year brings. The ideas and suggestions students provided have caused
the end of year commotion to be more of a leap pad into next year.
I hope your summer is filled with sunny days, cool breezes, and memories that will spark writing ideas and delightful conversations next year. I hope you have the chance to put your toes in the water, swing beneath the tress, and hear the crack
of thunder as its bursts through the prairie. Above all, I hope you have time for family. Most of the stories of our graduating class begin with, They were just so little a few days ago. What happened? Moral of the story, time goes by too fast, so
make every moment count.
Its been a great year, so until next fall,
Mrs. Steiger
lindsey.steiger@kcschools.org
(701) 475- 2243

Come join Mrs. Kapp and me for Summer School, June 8-29 from
9:00-2:00, Monday-Friday. We will be working on reading, writing,
and math skills. We would like the students to bring a sack lunch to
picnic outside. The last day is our field trip to the Mandan Raging
Rivers water park!
Students who have completed k-6 are welcome to come. P lease contact the school if your child/children are attending summer school.
If you have any questions please contact me at the
school.
Thank you. Mrs. Hust

Volume 18, Issue 6

Page 10

Minecraft in the Classroom

By: John Kleiman: Chicago Tribune, adapted by Allison Roth

In classrooms across the country, students
dont need to look for historical information or news on the web. Instead, they
are presenting and understanding what
they learn through Minecraft.
This is no joke. While Minecraft seems
like something kids should be playing at
home or in their spare time, teachers
across the world are utilizing Minecraft
to build and explain things.
Minecraft isn't the only game being used
in the classroom. Its part of a movement
by teachers to use virtual games and technology in general to inspire kids. For example, Assassins Creed is being used to
show what the Revolutionary War looked
like, and World of Warcraft is being
used to inspire creative writing. Since these
games are all very popular and familiar to
so many students, teachers can engage students more and possibly get them interested in the subject they are discussing. While
games like World of Warcraft and
Assassins Creed are useful and popular
in their own respects, Minecraft has had
the most impact in the classroom.

sults in stunning structures and worlds ranging from

real life settings such as campuses and skyscrapers to
fantasy worlds like kingdoms and space battle stations. Not to mention YouTube is filled with guided
tours of entire Minecraft worlds that have been
constructed.
Dan Rezac, who is with Maple School in Northbrook, IL says that Minecraft can be amazing,
With Minecraft, they can build anything, Rezac
states. It can also teach students social skills to help
them work together with others, who may not even
be in the same room. Rezac goes on to say that there
is no end to what a kid could do in Minecraft.
Works Cited
Kleiman, John. For Your Next Assignment, Go Play A
Cool New Video Game For A While. Chicago
Tribune (adapted by Newsela staff).08 May
2014. Web.

Its virtual Legos, states sixth-grade

teacher Zachary Gilbert, who is an expert
in gaming in education, Thats what this
is, except its virtual and there's more
building and creating than you could ever
do [in the real world](Keilman).

The idea behind Minecraft was thought up

by Swedish game designer, Markus
Persson. He, with a team of game developers, went on to develop and officially release Minecraft in 2009 as the company
Mojang.
To sum up Minecraft, users are able to
build almost anything from their imagination out of hundreds of blocks. This rePage 11

Tappen Tidbits

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