Decorah High School to host Veterans Day breakfast and program

Decorah High School will host a Veterans Day breakfast and program for veterans and their families on Friday, November 10. 

Breakfast will be served to veterans and their family members in the high school cafeteria starting at 8:30 a.m. 

The Veterans Day program will be held in the high school auditorium at 9:45 a.m. The VFW Color Guard will post the colors, and the DHS Wind Ensemble and the DHS Concert Choir will perform throughout the program. A special feature of this year’s program will be a video montage of local veterans, filmed by Mr. Josh Fenske’s government class and produced by Mrs. Molly Holkesvik’s media class.

An important part of the breakfast and program is to recognize military men and women who have a connection to Decorah.  Those who would like to submit a photo of a family member who has served or is serving in the military to be added to the “Wall of Veterans” should bring a copy of a photo (no larger than a 5 x 7) to the Decorah High School office.  Pictures can also be emailed with information to denise.gulrud@decorah.school. The following information should be included:

Name of person

Military branch

Years served or serving

Wars or conflicts fought in

The deadline to submit photos and information is Friday, November 3rd.   Those with questions can contact Denise Gulrud at Decorah High School, 563-382-3643, or at denise.gulrud@decorah.school.

Parking will be available in the parking lot located on the west side of the high school. Veterans and their family members can enter through either the auditorium doors or the doors located off the west parking lot. 

Veterans Day

SpongeBob makes a splash at Decorah High School Nov. 9-11

The Decorah High School Drama program is proud to present “The SpongeBob Musical” Thursday and Friday, Nov. 9-10 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 11 at 1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. in the DHS auditorium.

Audiences will enjoy the plunge into this exciting all-singing, all-dancing, dynamic stage show, featuring familiar characters from the Nickelodeon animated series. When the citizens of Bikini Bottom discover that a volcano will soon erupt and destroy their humble home, SpongeBob and his friends must come together to save the fate of their undersea world. With lives hanging in the balance and all hope lost, a most unexpected hero rises up. The power of optimism really can save the world!

“The SpongeBob Musical” features original songs by Yolanda Adams, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Sara Bareilles, Jonathan Coulton, Alexander Ebert of Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros, The Flaming Lips, Lady A, Cyndi Lauper, John Legend, Panic! At the Disco, Plain White T’s, They Might Be Giants, and T.I. as well as songs by David Bowie, Tom Kenny, and Andy Paley. 

NHS present Lunch with the Cast Nov. 11 

Decorah’s chapter of the National Honor Society is hosting a pre-matinee lunch on Saturday, November 11. The Decorah High School cafeteria will be transformed into the Krusty Krab, SpongeBob’s place of employment in Bikini Bottom. The menu for lunch is a choice of hot dog or hamburger with curly fries, pineapple garnish, and milk. Guests will be able to meet and take pictures with characters from the show during the event.

Tickets

Tickets to the show are $10 for adults and $5 for students. Cost of the pre-matinee meal is $5 per person, and tickets for the meal must be purchased by Monday, November 6. 

Tickets to the show and to the pre-matinee lunch will be available online through Ludus beginning Saturday, October 28 using this link: https://decorahschools.ludus.com/index.php.

Through the generosity of the Decorah Music Boosters, one adult ticket and children’s tickets are available for families who would like to attend the matinee but do not have the resources to purchase tickets. Please contact Shanna Putnam-Dibble at shanna.putnamdibble@decorah.school for assistance in obtaining tickets for the show and/or pre-show lunch.

Production staff, cast, and crew
The production staff includes Jason Rausch, music director/conductor; Karen Trewin, producer/co-director; Kristen Underwood, stage director/costume designer; Chris Hadley, technical director; Karmyn Bakken, stage manager; and Jackie Reckward, box office manager. Principal choreographer is Decorah High School senior Jensen Korsness, with additional choreography by Laurie Walter of Crave Dance Studio. Set design is by Matt Spencer of Singing Hammers Construction.

Cast members include Libby Phillips as SpongeBob, Oliver Brummel as Patrick Star, June Breitenbach-Dirks as Sandy Cheeks, Gabriel Hiner as Squidward Q. Tentacles, Liam Chamberlain as Eugene H. Krabs, Ezra Vorvick as Sheldon J. Plankton, Jensen Korsness as Karen the Computer, Vivian Searcy as Pearl Krabs, Joseph Stammeyer as Perch Perkins, Annaleissa Arnold as the Mayor, Elsa Johnson as the Foley Artist Fish (sound effects), Gwenyth Thompson as Mrs. Puff, Jameson LaBelle as Larry the Lobster, Caleb Johnson as Old Man Jenkins, Davis Coppola as Patchy the Pirate, Andy Kruger as Buster Bluetang, and Nathaniel Roberts as the French Narrator. Playing multiple roles as Bikini Bottom residents and other characters are Grace Blikre, Spencer Christensen, Davis Coppola, Mikayla Hiner, Greta Jones, Andy Kruger, Kamryn Steines, and Hayley Stowe.

Ensemble members are Ariana Albert, Elliana Brodbeck, Elsa Christman, Emma Cline, Esteban Fernandez, Natalie Goodner, Bethany Hanson, Lucas Hanson, Ezra Harman-Wood, Ella Jacobsen, Kaelyn Kuhn, Nora Lesmeister, Teagan Menke, Beau Newhouse, Clarence Nimrod, Noah Potvin, Elizabeth Pritchard, Olivia Rissman, Chloe Sheffield, Gavy Smith, Grace Stockman, Brynn Storhoff, Robin Suhr, Colin Thompson, Abbie Valkosky, Jillian Volz, and Kaylie Wemark.

Technical crews working on lights, sound, and backstage are Hanna Arendt, Elizabeth Bjork, Cody Carolan, Kathleen Delphey, Evynne Downing, Patrick Gallagher, Ava Hanson, Kealy Hines, Camryn Holland, Jayden Lundtvedt, Amelia Pankow, Olivia Paulsen, Nathan Rhodes, McKenzie Riley, Lily Sandhorst, and Kera Walter.

Creating the undersea melodies, harmonies, and rhythms are orchestra members Luke Arendt, Caden Branum, Thatcher Brown, Brian Brummel, Aitor Cuevas, Mikael Havens, Jay Hawthorne, Loren Hendrickson, Ansel Kowitz, Evan Madsen, Alex McGohan, Alex Mercado-Arneson, Aidan Nalean-Carlson, Brenna Parker, Susan Potvin, Spencer Rix, Nina Sessions, Julia Severtson, Lauren Severtson, Steve Smith, and Grant Zilka.

“The SpongeBob Musical” is produced with generous support from the Decorah Music Boosters.

Squidward patrick sb

(l-r): Oliver Brummel, Gabriel Hiner, Libby Phillips

Ensemble

(l-r): Front row: Noah Potvin; Middle row: Greta Jones, Hayley Stowe; Back row: Nora Lesmeister, Clarence Nimrod, Andy Kruger

Construction crew 1

(l-r): Front row: Evynne Downing, Kealy Hines; Back row: Karmyn Bakken, Camyrn Holland, Lily Sandhorst

DHS Students Receive Tour and Generous Donation from Gemini

Three senior members of the Decorah High School’s Robotics Team, their coach Brett Wilker, and principal Brad Hurst traveled to Gemini’s plant to take a tour of their facilities led by engineer Ben Woita. “I love going on tours of Gemini’s facility with the students because of the amazing technology they use at their plant. The students were able to discuss the real-world engineering problems the company was facing, and Ben was able to describe what they were doing to solve them, just like the students will be doing when they go off to college to study engineering. The students even brought back to the Robotics team solutions to problems to try to implement on our robots,” said coach Brett Wilker.

Along with the tour, Gemini presented the representatives of Decorah High School a check for $10.000. Through Gemini’s generous donations, the Decorah Robotics Club has been able to expand to supporting two teams at the school–a freshman/sophomore and junior/senior team–that includes more than 30 students. The funding will also allow the purchase of the latest parts and more sophisticated technology to work with as well as the continuation of developing the outreach opportunities the club can provide to the school and community.

The Decorah Robotics Club competes in the international competition known as FIRST Tech Challenge. Each fall students are presented with an obstacle-course style scenario where they are asked to design, build, and program a robot that can complete the different tasks assigned. This season competition, named Centerstage, requires robots to perform a variety of tasks, including picking up hexagonal “pixels” in order to stack them on a slanted board, launching paper airplane “drones” into target zones, using sensors to determine the random positions of different obstacles, and lifting their robots off the ground by hanging from a suspended pipe.

The teams have been getting more successful each year, with the junior/senior team winning their league competition and sub-state competitions last season. Both teams are hard at work designing, building, and programming their robots for this season as their first competition is on November 11th at Waverly High School. 

Gemini gives 2% of their profits to local nonprofit organizations as part of their stewardship core value.

Megan Martin, business partner for Gemini shared, “Gemini is committed to our employees and the communities we live and work in. Our charitable contributions committee has had the opportunity to partner with Decorah Schools to further advance their STEM and Robotics programs. We pride ourselves on living out our core value of stewardship, providing students the opportunity to tour our facilities and engage with our team members to better understand the career pathways available at Gemini.  We’ve enjoyed developing a partnership with the students to increase their knowledge of advanced manufacturing and help build on their skills as they prepare to enter the workforce.”

Gemini is a wholesale manufacturer of solutions that identify, direct, and protect the world. For over 55 years, Gemini has been an industry leader producing made-to-order dimensional signage, plates, plaques, cast bronze memorials, industrial protective cases, and plastic parts. Gemini is a second-generation family-owned business headquartered in Cannon Falls, Minnesota, with production facilities throughout North America. For more information, visit https://geminimade.com/signage/.

Decorah HS 10.12.23.Geminijpeg

Photo ID (l-r): Gemini engineer Ben Woita; Contribution Committee Member Lauryn Breitsprecher; Robotics coach Brett Wilker; DHS senior robotic club members Nathan Swarbrick, Montana Jump-Gerleman, and Brock Christensen; DHS Principal Brad Hurst; and Contribution Committee Member Jenn Zweibohmer.

Decorah High School’s Pride of the Vikings Marching Band Continues their Legacy of Success

On , the DHS Pride of the Vikings Marching Band performed at the Iowa High School Music Association’s Marching Band Festival in Waterloo and the Muskie Marching Invite in Muscatine.  

The Iowa High School Music Association’s Marching Band Festival is a divisional rating festival with scoring ranging from poor (Division V) to superior (Division I). The Pride of the Vikings Marching Band performed well, scoring their 21st consecutive Division I rating.  At the Muskie Marching Invite the band placed 5th in Class 3A out of 11 bands and 10th out of 23 overall.  The band also was awarded Best Drum Majors in class 3A.

The marching show is entitled “Thor’s Hammer” from composer Randall Standridge.  Soloists include Lucas Hanson, trombone; Aitor Cuevas, trumpet; Amelia Wadsworth, mellophone; Brenna Parker, alto saxophone; Jensen Korsness, color guard; and Alex McGohan, snare drum.  The color guard choreography was created by Abigail Toussaint, Jensen Korsness, Evon Leitz, and Kiele Eberling.  The drill was designed by Andrew Classen from Drake University.  

The Pride of the Vikings Marching Band is under the direction of Dustin Bliven, Matt Cody, and Emily Hahn.  The drumline is under the direction of Kassidy Steines, and the color guard is under the direction of Laurie Walter.  This year’s drum majors are Elizabeth Pritchard and Grant Zilka.  

Mr. Bliven states, “This was one of the best marching bands I have had the privilege of working with in my 22 years as a teacher.  They worked hard every rehearsal and really bought into the show this year.  Having the opportunity to compete this year was educational for this ensemble.  We were able to watch other groups we haven’t been able to see perform before and learn from how they performed, which was the biggest reason for attending a new festival and competing.  We were completely honored to place 5th in our class, to receive the Outstanding Drum Major award, and to receive our 21st superior rating. It truly was a wonderful day for this group, and our success really stems from our outstanding students.”

2023 Marching Band 1

DHS to Host Speech Judge Certification

Decorah High School is hosting an Iowa High School Speech Association judge certification meeting on Saturday, October 21st at 10:00 am in the high school study hall for anyone interested in getting certified. The meeting also works as a recertification clinic for current judges who want a refresher or need to renew their license. 

The speech department is always looking for judges–people who care about students, who want to help students gain communication skills, and who are up for having a lot of fun.

Even if a person has never been involved in speech before, help will be available to guide participants in learning about the variety of categories in speech and what the expectations are for judging such performances.

Certification is only $5.00, but judges get paid much more for their work during contests. Speech director Molly Holkesvik shared, “If this opportunity is even a bit intriguing to you, Decorah High School could use your help.”

Questions can be directed to Holkesvik at molly.holkesvik@decorah.school.

IHSSA Logo

DHS Vocal Music Department to Present Fall Concert Monday, October 16

The Decorah High School Vocal Music Department will present a fall choral concert at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, October 16 in the DHS Auditorium. The concert will feature four choirs: Ninth Grade Treble Clef Choir, Ninth Grade Bass Clef Choir, Viking Chorus, and Concert Choir.

Choirs will perform pieces by Elaine Hagenberg, G. F. Handel, W. A. Mozart, Jeffery Ames, Joni Mitchell, Victor Johnson, Jennaya Robison, and Nancy Hill Cobb. In addition, arrangements of the folksong “Uncle Joe” and the jazz standard “Fly Me to the Moon” will be performed.

The choirs are under the direction of Jason Rausch and Dean Beckman. The collaborative pianist is Chris Hadley.  The public is welcome to attend this concert.

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Decorah High School’s Pride of the Vikings Marching Band Releases Details about Upcoming Performances

On , the Pride of the Vikings (POV) Marching Band will be performing at the Iowa High School Music Association’s Marching Band Festival.  Their performance will take place at 11:25 am at the Waterloo Memorial Stadium at 1320 Katoski Drive, Waterloo, Iowa.  After this performance, this year the marching band will continue to travel down to Muscatine High School, located at 2705 Cedar Street, Muscatine, Iowa, to compete at 7:45 pm at the Muskie Marching Invite.  Admission for these performances are $10 adults, $7 for senior citizens (62+), and $5 K-12 students.  

The POV Marching Band would also like to invite parents and the community to watch the band’s performance on October 6th at 2:30 pm at Viking Stadium.  This performance will help prepare band members for the following day’s performances.  The band is also extremely excited to have students from John Cline in attendance, too.  

This year’s marching show is entitled “Thor’s Hammer” and features music from composer Randall Standridge.  Soloists for this year’s show include Lucas Hanson, trombone; Aitor Cuevas, trumpet; Amelia Wadsworth, mellophone; Brenna Parker, alto saxophone; Jensen Korsness, color guard; and Alex McGohan, snare drum.  The color guard choreography was created by Abigail Toussaint, Jensen Korsness, Evon Leitz, and Kiele Eberling.  The drill was designed by Andrew Classen from Drake University.  

The Pride of the Vikings marching band is under the direction of Dustin Bliven, Matt Cody, and Emily Hahn.  The drumline is under the direction of Kassidy Steines, and the color guard is under the direction of Laurie Walter.  This year’s drum majors are Elizabeth Pritchard and Grant Zilka.  

Mr. Bliven stated, “This year’s marching band has been a blast. These wonderful musicians have worked hard all season yet haven’t been able to perform their show since September 1st. Because of this, we are really looking forward to our 2:30 pm community/John Cline performance and at the football game that evening.  These performances will really help send us off the next day.”

Bliven continued, “We have added a lot of new aspects to our show this year that have included a higher intensity drill and electronics.  The DHS band will be fully competing at the Muskie Marching Invite, which has not occurred in over 30 years.  We feel this is a great beginning to build upon our wonderful history and traditions we have here at Decorah.  We are looking forward to performing our best to wrap up our marching band season this Friday and Saturday.”

2023 Marching Band

DHS Pride of the VIkings Marching Band 2023

Spots Available for Music Booster’s Annual Craft Show and Bake Sale

Decorah Community School District’s Music Booster’s Craft Show and Bake Sale will be held on Saturday, October 28th.  This annual event is a major fundraiser for this group that supports music throughout Decorah schools.

Seven spots are still open for vendors of handmade crafts and four are left for non-handmade vendors. 

The event website will direct interested parties on how to register online: Decorah High School Music Boosters Craft Show

Contact Denise Gulrud at denise.gulrud@decorah.school with any questions.

2023 Craft Fair
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