August 2016 Maple Grove Magazine

In the annual Prep Elite issue, get to know five exceptional area seniors and find out where they're headed next.

Rachel Arntson has more than 30 years of experience working as a speech language pathologist. Though she started her career working in adult rehabilitation, Arntson quickly realized she had a passion and knack for working with kids.

 

“Mom, why don’t you ever buy Brussels sprouts?” a boy asks as they shop in the produce department.

“Where did you ever hear of Brussels sprouts?” his mother asks, surprised.

 

Jason De Rusha emceed the 2016 District #279 Gala Foundation Fundraiser to raise money for educational projects.

 

Eleven years ago, Maple Grove Parks and Recreation youth outreach coordinator Tanya Hilger reached out to Jennie Zafft, the marketing manager at the Shoppes at Arbor Lakes, with an idea.

 

Choosing the right preschool for your child is a significant decision. Luckily, there is an abundance of excellent local options, making it a great time to be a kid in Maple Grove.

 

Today’s top students have more opportunities than ever before to take advanced coursework, compete in sports, play in state-wide music competitions, display leadership and excel in general. The sky is the limit, but that also means that there is enormous pressure to achieve.

 

The competition is fierce and if you don’t get ahead of the game, you likely won’t play at all. Over the past 10 to 20 years the mentality around sports competition has shifted.

 

Barbara McDonald with items from her travels: a wooden inlaid music box from Damascus, Syria that plays a famous Arabic lullaby, a hand-carved wooden vase with pastoral nature scences from Beijing, China, a hand woven tribal bowl from South Africa, and a throne seat carpet circa the late 1800s, u

 

Most people in Maple Grove are aware that the Osseo Area School District encompasses a very large population of students (more than 20,000), constitutes the fifth largest school district in the state, and draws from an area over 66 square miles.

 

The Facebook entry begins with a meme that is both humorous and candid, much like Lexi Willey herself, the 17-year-old Maple Grove Senior High School student who posted it. “Keep Calm: It’s Only Cerebral Palsy” is the opening to a few things she’s had on her mind for, well, the past 17 years.

 

For the eighth year in a row, the Natl. Assoc. of Music Merchants Foundation recognized Osseo Area School’s music education programs with a 2016 Best Communities for Music Education designation.

 

This year, three Osseo Area Schools teachers—Dennis Loeks, vocal music teacher at Palmer Lake Elementary, Kristin Pengra-Anderson, fifth grade teacher at Edinbrook Elementary and Lisa Wisti Schutte, fourth grade teacher at Basswood Elementary— were named semifinalists for Minnesota Teacher of the

 

Maple Grove Senior High grad Evan Skaja was honored to be a U.S. Presidential Scholar* candidate this year.

 

Having a baby is exciting, but not without its intimidations. This weekly class is designed for expectant parents in the 28 to 30th week of pregnancy who have not previously taken a childbirth class.

 

The editor’s family—Nate, Sage, Huck and Piper Haynes— made sure the latest issue of Maple Grove Magazine made it to the iconic canyon in Arizona during their vacation.

 

Wastebasket Revue (WBR) first started in 1967 when Osseo district music teacher/ supervisor Duayne Malewicki suggested finding a unique way to raise scholarship funds for graduating seniors.

 

Birch Grove School for the Arts and Weaver Lake, A Science, Math and Technology School, were two of six Minnesota schools named 2016 National Magnet Schools of Excellence by Magnet Schools of America.

 

Celebrate the near-end of the work week on Thursdays at Broadway Bar & Pizza and bring your best trivia knowledge to compete for points during Scotty T’s Team Trivia Blast.

 

Lunchtime isn’t what it used to be. With ongoing concerns about youth obesity and the overall trend in healthy eating, school lunch menus have undergone a massive overhaul.