FRIENDS & NEIGHBORS LAFAYETTE NICOLLET LEDGER February 17, 2011, Page 12 A sheriff's department diver relaxed in the water be- fore the plunge started, left. b P.at The fifth annual Polar Plunge at lake Haliett in St. Peter Saturday was even bigger and better than the first four. A total of 424 'hmnan plungers" raised $73,000 for Special Olympics. Those numbers are up from 110, 165,196, and 313 plungers and $21J)00, $28,500, $30,000, and $44,000 in the first four. W'ah temperatures in the mid- to upper-30s and very little wind, it was also the warmest plunge held in St. Peter. The water temperature was reported to be 29 degrees. Nicollet County Sheriff Dave Lange and his group, top right, opened the plunge. Lafayette Ambulance's "Team McFreezies" was joined by four Lafayette Boy Scouts and a Lions member, top left and above. Taking part were Mark Dick, Daryl Trautmiller, Marti Uhde, Kim Reinhart, Bernie Reinhart, Jessica Gieseke, Wendy Gjerde, Dylan Burger, Nick Gjerde, Matthew Harfley, and Cody Guenther. The group held its annual tailgate party before and after the jump, below. / L [ Miss Mankato Natalie Davis ex- pressed shock as she came up for air after her jump. The "Icehole" team, above, included a number of divers with Nicollet and New Swe- den connections, among them Lisa Madson, Ken DePuydt, Laura Ander- son, and Jane Anderson. The expressions of the jumpers were priceless, left. Representing the Courtland Fire De- partment this year were Dave Ubel, Pam Meyer, and Jon Rewitzer. The boy in the left of the photo jumped with the group, but is not from Courfland. Fire Chief Ubel did his usual swan dive, left. Many organizations and businesses involved in success of Polar Plunge • 'q The Ledger, just $35.00 per year in Minnesota, $40.00 everyvhere else Nicollet County Sheriff Dave Lange, as organizer of the annual Special Olympics Polar Bear Plunge in St. Peter, reported that it takes the cooperation of numer- ous organizations and businesses to make the event a succes. A dozen law enforcement and fire departments played a major role in the event. They were the Nicollet County Sheriff's Office, Blue Earth County Sheriff's Of- fice, North Mankato Police Department, New Ulm Police De- partment, St. Peter Police Depart- ment, Mankato Police Depart- ment, North Mankato Fire De- partment, Courtland Fire Depart- ment, St. Peter Fire Department, Nicollet Fire Department, Hen- derson Fire Department, and River's Edge EMS. Local businesses making con- tributions to the cause were Hunter Hardwood Floors, Drant- tel Sales & Service, LJP Waste & Recycling, Volk Electric, St. Peter Rental Center, New Sweden Dairy, City of St. Peter, C & S Supply, Walt's Hook Line & Sinker, Kwik Trip, and Three Ea- gles Mankato. Volunteers from many of the organizations, along with family and friends, contributed a lot to make the plunge a big success. The St. Peter community has been very supportive in the five years that the event has been or- ganized locally--and the event keeps growing every year. At the end of the day Saturday, 424 plungers had participated and approximately $73,000 was raised for Special Olympics. Continued from page I Online noon--or until 2:00, or 5:00, or 8:30 pan. I had some long days my sopho- more year," Mollie recalled. "Some days I worked in the afternoon and did my classes in the evening." In addition to her classwork, Mollie works at Minnesota Medical Services in Courtland, doing filing, sorting, and scanning. Connections Academy provides students with a computer, books, and other materials they need. Her school day began by logging on to her home page and checking the classes she needed to do that day. She clicked on the course she needed and read and/or did worksheets and tutorials. "You can take however long you need for a class, sometimes a half hour, sometimes two hours. Live lessons are presented at set times, usually once a week for each class. If students miss one, the live lessons are recorded and you can watch them later," she said. At the end of every day, the learning coach checks that the student's work is done and records attendance which in- cludes number of hours the student did something educational--lessons, com- munity service, music, reading, physical education activities, even horse chores. Students drop their homework in a drop box or, in some cases, mail their assignments through regular mail. High school counselors also provide live lessons on college readiness and state testing preparation. Connections Academy administers all the state test- ing that's required. The school encourages students to travel and take family vacations. Teach- ers work with students to plan ahead to complete lessons so they won't be be- hind when they get back. "Connections Academy is good for kids who are forced to travel a lot. They can take school with them," Mollie said. She added, "Teachers are really great about building relationships with students. They' re like your partners in learning, rather than just your teachers. If you have questions, you can ask them privately or send an email. It's not em- barrassing-not everyone has to know if you're struggling." Renee also noted that teachers call every two weeks for conferences-- sometimes quite short, sometimes a half hour or more. After completing her seventh through tenth grade years at Connec- tions Academy, Mollie is now complet- ing her junior year as a full time Post Secondary Education Option (PSEO) student at South Central College in North Mankato. She is simultaneously earning high school and college credits as she's taking generals in preparation for nursing--and currently has a 4.0 GPA. She still checks in with the Con- nections Academy faculty. "Connections Academy prepared her very well. She's doing well and en- joying it" Renee said. "South Central College is not your traditional school either," Mollie said. "It works well with Connections Acad- emy and the other way around. We did- n't know how to set it all up, but the Connections Academy counselors were very helpful in figuring it out. I'm taking a full load at South Central and they'll all work toward graduation." Mollie is enrolled in a three year program in nursing at South Central and will have two years completed when she graduates from Connections Academy. If she wants to, she can transfer to Min- nesota State University to get a bachelor degree. Although online students work alone on their class work, Connections Academy encourages students to get to know each other through live lessons, field trips, information sessions, fun events, and even sports teams. "They offer a lot of field trips. I only did a few--the Festival of Nations in the Twin Cities, the Science Museum, the Capitol, and a cave," Mollie said. 'q'hat's because we travel a lot as a fam- ily." Fun events include skiing, ice skat- ing, bowling, and an apple orchard trip. The information sessions are held in dif- ferent locations, among them Mankato. Teachers come to the site to answer questions. The school puts out a yearbook and a monthly newsletter provides a lot of ideas for students and parents. A traditional graduation ceremony with a speaker and student participation is held in Bloomington. "You're definitely not cut off from interaction with other students and teachers," Mollie said. "It's not that I didn't like being around people, I just wanted to get away from the drama. The kids in this program care about their ed- ucation. They're enjoying their learning more. Kids have more respect for their teachers and other students--they re- spect, enjoy, and appreciate their educa- tion:' She added, "Connections Academy is very similar, in a lot of ways, to tradi- tional schools, but different in others-- all the right ones. That's what I like--it's the differences that make it special." As parents, Renee and Rick always exposed their children--older son Samuel and Mollie--to a variety of ac- tivities. Music is a big part of their fam- ily and they all play one or more instruments. Mollie especially enjoys horseback trail riding with all ages of friends. "Having different ages of friends rounds out a personality. It's helped her to have a more mature attitude. It's been a great exposure, being with a wide va- riety of people and ages" Renee said. MTS Minnesota Connections Academy began in February 2005 with eight seventh and eighth grade students and one teacher. As grades were added, the school served kindergarten through ninth grade students in the 2005-2006 school year, kindergarten through tenth grade in 2006-2007, and kindergarten through eleventh grade in 2007-2008. Since the 2008-2009 school year, it has served kindergarten through twelfth grade. The school now has more than 50 teachers and 1200 students. The teachers all work from one location in St. Paul, something that's unique to online virtual education schools. The Connections Academy pro- gram is designed to meet the needs of students and their families who are looking for a unique public school op- tion-those who need a flexible sched- ule, leam at a different pace from their peers, need more individualized atten- tion, or live in isolated rural settings. Homebound and previously home- schooled students can also thrive in the program. Connections Academy operates its full-time Intemet school program in Minnesota through a partnership with Minnesota Transitions Charter School. Families interested in free online school with some similarities to home school- ing, but with the support of state-certi- fied teachers and the accountability of public education, can learn more by calling 800-382-6010 or visiting www.ConnectionsAcademy. Area Lions Clubs promote 'Lions Lights on for Life' "Lions Lights on for Life" is a community service project spon- sored by the Lions of District 5M2. During the season of difficult road and visibility conditions, driving safely is increased by using full vehicle lights 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The visibility of another vehicle with its lights on is GREATLY in- creased in any kind of weather. Think of it from a safety point, the better one is seen, the less likely he/she is to be an accident victim. Some vehicles come with automatic running lights, but the tail- lights do not come on. Visibility from behind in bad weather can be little to none, and rear-end accidents happen. Only when the light switch is in the "on" position, will all lights be visible. To remind drivers to turn their lights on, area Lions Clubs offer FREE "Lions Lights on for Life" materials--magnetic signs for the back of the vehicle or static cling signs for the inside back win- dow (2 inches by 20 inches) and small reminder static cling signs for the front window. All items are provided free as a public service to community resi- dents. For signs or more information, contact one of the three area Lions Clubs-- Courtland: Charlette Abbas, 320-212-8956 Lafayette: Ruth Klossner, 507-240-0048 Nicollet: Bob Wills, 507-232-3863