Mark your calendars for fun! NBAPS, the City of North Branch, and Chisago County SHIP are again hosting Walk and Roll to School on Wednesday, May 8, at 7:05 am. We will meet at the North Branch Area Library and head out with our friends from the NBPD and the NBFD. Join us!
Congratulations to senior Peyton Verdon, NBAHS's 2024 Athena Award winner! Verdon was one of two senior female athletes nominated by North Branch Area High School head coaches, then selected for the honor by coaching staff vote, based on her athletic accomplishments. Peyton earned 4 letters for soccer, and 6 letters for softball, 2 All-Conference awards, 1 All-Section Award and was captain for 2 seasons in both sports.
Soccer team awards she earned include 2x Defensive MVP and Viking Award. In softball, she’s received the Vikings Award twice and was also Defensive MVP. Peyton was part of the 2021 and 2023 soccer section runner-up teams, 2021 softball section champion and state tournament participant, and 2023 softball team section runner up.
Peyton will be recognized at the St. Paul Athena Awards event on Wednesday, April 17th.
Congratulations to Libby Nielsen and Everett Thomsen, NBAHS’s nominees for the MSHSL Triple “A” award. The Academics, Arts, and Athletics Award, commonly known as the Triple 'A' Award, honors high school seniors throughout the state who have a 3.0 or higher-grade point average and participate in League-sponsored athletic and fine arts activities
On Thursday, state All-Around champion and two-time Bars champion, gymnast Dakota Esget, got the full Vikings treatment, with walk throughs celebrating her incredible achievement at every school! Dakota also finished 2nd on the Vault and 2nd on the Floor. Just look at all those medals!
The National Honor Society is hosting a blood drive at North Branch Area High School on Wed., March 27, from 8 am to 2 pm. You can register to give blood at www.redcrossblood.org. Use sponsor code NBHS. Those who donate will get a $10 Visa gift card.
Congratulations to Ashley Bistodeau and Jack Baker, the 2023-24 ExCEL (Excellence in Community, Education, and Leadership) Award nominees for North Branch Area High School! The Minnesota State High School League ExCEL Award recognizes high school juniors active in school activities, leaders in their schools, and who demonstrate a strong commitment to community service.
NBAHS hosted a walking pep rallly today to honor Vikings DECA participants who earned themselves the opportunity to compete at state!
DECA qualifiers include:
Amelia Bjerketvedt: 1st Place Professional Selling, 1st Place Marketing Communications, Top Test Score
Chloe Grube: 1st Place Innovation Business Plan, Top Test Score
Anna Randall: 6th Place Hospitality and Tourism Professional Sales
Chloe & Anna: 1st Place Hospitality Team Event
Blake Lelm: 2nd Place Sports and Entertainment Marketing, 5th Place Start Up Business Plan, Top Test Score
Leah Melton: 4th Place Financial Sales Consulting
Leah & Karissa Metzger: 4th Place buying and Merchandising Team Event
Brianna Bjerketvedt: 2nd Place Principles of Marketing
Jilian Hosfall: 1st Place Quick Serve Restaurant Management, 5th Place Soft Line Sales Demonstration, also Qualified with her Franchise Business Plan
The state conference takes place on March 10th-12th.
Congrats and good luck at state!
Thank you to everyone who joined us for FRC Team Robotics demo night, Thursday Feb. 29, at Chisago Lake High School!
Congratulations to the North Branch Knowledge Bowl Varsity 1 team! They finished 5th place with 91 points at the Subregional meet on Wednesday at St. Cloud State University.
The team will advance to the next level of competition on Tuesday, March 12 at the Region 7 Regional Knowledge Bowl Meet! They must place either first or second at this meet to advance on to the State Meet, which would make this the third year in a row that a North Branch Knowledge Bowl team made it all the way to state!
Pictured left to right, Elinor Tetzlaff (12), Camden Rafftery (11), Jackson Thelander (11), Hendrick Schroeder (12)
Students and members of the North Branch Area High School FFA chapter spent time learning about about public policy at “FFA day at the Capitol” in Saint Paul. Students had the opportunity to take a tour of the Capitol and hear from lawmakers and leaders in the agricultural sector. A highlight of the day include meeting with Senator Mark Koran to address the importance of career and technical education in our school as we work through our first years as an emerging Agricultural Education program.
FFA is a nationwide student leadership organization available to all agricultural education students at NBAHS. FFA prepares students for careers in agriculture and beyond. The North Branch FFA Chapter was chartered this school year and is led by students and advisor Amanda Cook.
You can support the Senior All Night Party by eating at the North Branch McDonalds on March 5, between 4 and 7 p.m. Twenty percent of proceeds will go toward creating a night to remember for graduating seniors! See flier for additional details.
The Viking Newsletter - February 2024 is now available and can be accessed at this link: https://www.smore.com/wmn8j
SKOL! and congratulations to Vikings Libby Nielson (right) and Dakota Esget (left)! Dakota finished as the state All-Around champion and two-time Bars champion! She also finished 2nd on the Vault and 2nd on the Floor. Libby finished 7th on beam with a score of 9.15! Way to go!!!
NBAHS celebrated two state-bound gymnasts with a walking pep rally this afternoon.
Senior Libby Nielsen earned 4th place on beam at sections with a score of 9.15. This is Libby’s first time qualifying for state.
Junior Dakota Esget will be making her 4th appearance at the state meet! She was last year’s Class A State Uneven Bars Champion. This year she earned the title of Section All-Around Champion with a total score of 37.075 and will compete in all four events at state. At sections, she placed first on beam with a 9.375, 1st on floor with a 9.4, 3rd on bars with a 9.05, and 7th on vault with a 9.25.
The girls compete on Saturday morning at 11am at Roy Wilkins Auditorium. Good luck Libby and Dakota!
Join us tomorrow for dinner and a treat! 🍦A portion of the proceeds help fund our We Are All the Same Sock Hop.
Thank you to all of the families that joined us for our Hmong Open House on Tuesday, Feb. 13, from 6 - 7:30 pm. If you were unable to attend and have any questions for North Branch Area Public Schools please be encouraged to contact Director of Teaching and Learning David Treichel at 651-674-1055 or dtreichel@isd138.org .
Spring sports meetings will be at NBAHS on Monday, Feb. 26 at 6 pm. Attendees enter doors 1, 5, or 11 and go to assigned rooms. Practice start dates and room numbers for each sport are listed here: https://nbskolvikings.com/2024/02/14/spring-sports-information-meetings-3/
Take the Alexis Challenge!
Miss Teen Minnesota Alexis Sway donated canned goods to the Viking Vittles program recently and now you can help too! Alexis and Supt. Paul are teaming up to ask you to take the "Alexis Challenge" and support Viking Vittles!
What is Viking Vittles? For students PreK-5, Viking Vittles organizes a weekend food backpack program that provides a bag of food to any student who signs up. Every week, hundreds of students go home for the weekend with food thanks to this program. Viking Vittles also supports middle school, high school and Norse Area Learning Center students by providing access to Care Closets at each location
There is more than one way for you to take the Alexis Challenge. You could attend the program’s upcoming Lenten Fish Fry fundraiser at Trinity Lutheran Church, happening every Friday, Feb. 16 through March 22, 5 - 7 p.m. Adults admission is $15, kids ages 5 - 10 are $5, and kids under 5 eat free! (See flier for details.) Or, stop by the Viking Vittles GoFundMe page and donate directly: https://gofund.me/defc8072.
To learn more about Viking Vittles and the Alexis Challenge, see Supt. Paul's most recent School News column: www.isd138.org/page/contact-the-superintendent
Good Luck to North Branch FTC Robotics Teams as they gear up for the state tournament on Saturday, Feb. 17, at River Center/Roy Wilkins Auditorium in St. Paul. Opening ceremonies begin at 8:15 am and competition starts at 8:45. Championship rounds begin at 2 pm. Way to go FTC!
NBAEF announces grant recipients!
On Monday, Feb. 12, representatives of the North Branch Area Education Foundation (NBAEF) made their annual trip through the hallways of North Branch Area Public Schools (NBAPS) to deliver good news to staff - grants have been approved!
This year the NBAEF, with a generous donation of $10,000 from ECMC Foundation (Educational Credit Management Corporation) Foundation, awarded nine grants to staff at the Sunrise River School, North Branch Area Middle School, the Norse Area Learning Center, and North Branch Area High School, totaling over $17,000.
The 2023-24 NBAEF grants will provide a wide variety of opportunities for students, including a “Zen Den” calming room and Outdoor Adventures field trip at North Branch Area High School, a classroom set of ukuleles, and a set of Sphero Robotics at the Sunrise River School, a mentoring and leadership program and behavior incentive items at North Branch Area Middle School, exercise equipment at the Norse Area Learning Center, classroom “clickers” for classrooms K-5, and recreation and field trip opportunities for the Chisago County Schools’ Life Work Center.
“We are so grateful, and so fortunate, to have the North Branch Area Education Foundation providing these incredible opportunities for our students and staff year in and year out,” said NBAPS Supt. Sara Paul. “Viking innovation is at the heart of how we become better every day, and the foundation provides the opportunity for creative ideas to be put into action!.”
Since 2010, the NBAEF has raised over $509,000 and awarded grants over $231,300.
