The 2022 BestPrep Annual Luncheon showcases BestPrep’s educational programs and celebrates the outstanding efforts of BestPrep’s volunteers, students, and teachers.

Mr. Schlagel has partnered with BestPrep since 2013, utilizing eMentors and now fostering more than 100 sessions per year.  The impressive growth of student engagement at Dassel-Cokato High School is a reflection of Mr.Schlagel and his commitment to giving students access to business professionals and real-world experiences.  

Mr. Schlagel reflected, "BestPrep has forced my students out of their comfort zone, making it very easy to give my students access to business professionals who are willing to share their experiences.  Coming from a rural community, this has been an experience that would have been nearly impossible for me to replicate."  

BestPrep is a Minnesota-based nonprofit organization that provides educational programs to students in grades 4-12. BestPrep offers programs that bridge the gap between classroom learning and workplace skills. 

Congratuations Mr. Schlagel!  Well done!

April Student of the Month winner is Emma Jo Tessman.
April Courtesy and Respect winner is Josie Utecht.

The Students of Excellence banquet is an annual celebration held in the spring that honors graduating seniors that are the top in their class academically. This year, the banquet was held on April 27, 2022 at the St. Cloud River’s Edge Convention Center in St. Cloud, MN and Dassel-Cokato High School honored 4 seniors for their exemplary high school achievements: Noah Jarosz, Ryan Johnson, Gina Raisanen, and Haydn Veith.

Students that are honored at this banquet are asked to invite a teacher or adult that influenced their life and helped them to find success, and those teachers invited this year included: Beth Carlson, Carlynn Lundeen, Jake Pavia, and Amy Schultz. 

Dassel-Cokato National Honor Society Students Travel to Washington DC

The Dassel-Cokato Chapter of the National Honor Society traveled to Washington, DC March 23-28, 2022. The purpose of the trip was to experience leadership at the national level and to visit numerous historical and educational venues. This year 21 students and four chaperones made the trip.

There were many highlights of the trip.  Visiting the Holocaust Museum was a painful reminder of the reality of the inhumane treatment and destruction of people on a large scale. The many memorials served as a reminder of the great men and women who have formed our country and the many sacrifices for those who have served to protect our freedoms. A visit to Arlington National Cemetery and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was an emotional experience, as well. Students saw firsthand, at the National Archives, the documents which formally established our country. The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights reminded students of the history and risks our nation’s founders took. Students also toured a number of Smithsonian museums and enjoyed the full bloom of the cherry trees around The Tidal Basin near the Jefferson, FDR and MLK Memorials.

Following are some quotes by students as they reflected on their time in Washington, DC:

“I feel a much deeper appreciation and gratitude to the founders and sacrifices given to make our nation this great. It’s overwhelming to me how much blood, sweat, tears, and sacrifices were given for our freedom and beautiful country. It makes me very thankful.”  Lily Borg 

“Gaining the feeling of having knowledge from school and being able to ‘see history’  just tied everything together.”  Dayna Terning

“The Holocaust Museum really opened my eyes to the horrors of that time. Everybody learns about it, but you don’t always see those images and objects”  Chase Rosenau

Charger Robotics competed in qualification matches on March 4th going 4-3.

Our bot was performing well and showing we were a valuable teammate even though we were ranking in the bottom half of the teams. On Friday night the kids stayed until the pits (work area) closed and started to work on a solution for fixing our climbing arms from flipping up while we played defense on other bots.We got reinspected and made it out to our first match on Saturday. 

On Saturday we knew our first match was not winnable as it was once again random and we were facing the number 1,2 and 7th ranked bots. We really wanted to play defense against the best bots there and slow them down to show we could be valuable in that way as well. In our last qualification match, we had some great teammates and put up a great high score and pulled us to a rank of 36/58. That is not where we expected to be at the end of quals. 

In our last match, we had one of our drivetrain motors burn out and it had to be swapped out so we could drive correctly. The pit crew once again met the 1 hour time crunch and swapped out a motor and motor controller. The Children of the Corn team 167 selected Rocori 4728 with their first pick in the draft. We were selected as their wrap-around pick and were in the 3rd ranked alliance. This was great as we made the tourney as well as we were on the opposite side of the bracket from the number one alliance. (they were going to be unbeatable) 

The tourney is best of 3. We won our first match against the 6th alliance in the quarterfinals. However, had climbing issues in the 2nd match and lost so had to play a tiebreaker. We picked up a win in the tiebreaker and moved on to the semifinals. We won our first match in the semifinals against alliance 2 which we led by Becker. We ended up losing the next two and were eliminated. 

It is hard to explain how intense robotics gets and the amount of thinking power that the kids have to do in a short amount of time. The amount of hands-on learning that these kids get from this experience is not understandable until you go and watch a competition in person. The team now is done for this season. Thank you for the support to the DC robotics team 5348

Patrick Schutte,
DC Robotics Mentor

It was truly an amazing day. We are blown away by the support we received for our first ever mobile polar plunge at DC. Thank you to all who participated, donated, and made this day one to remember! 

- Holly Niedzielski, DCMS Special Education Teacher

 The 2021-2022 female AAA recipient is Betsy Gallagher. She participates in the Fall Musical, One Act, Spring Play, Track and Field, Chamber Choir, and Drumline. Betsy has held numerous lead roles over the years. Additionally, she has been running varsity track since 8th grade, specializing as a hurdler. There are numerous fun memories that she has gathered over the years, but the bus rides to track meets, as well as the one-act play in her sophomore year, are some of the most memorable. She recalls how well everyone got along in the one-act play as well as the incredible performances that they had that year.

Over the years, it has been challenging for her to balance all of her activities and academics, but in the end, she is thankful to have done it. After high school, she is planning to attend the University of Wisconsin River Falls to major in secondary education. When asked if she had any advice for upcoming students, Betsy said “Even though you will be busy, join things. Whether it's the arts or athletics or furthering your academics, being a part of something will make high school all the more fun.”

 The 2021-2022 male AAA recipient is Haydn Veith. He is involved in Cross Country, Track, Math League, Drumline, Jazz Band, Chamber Choir, and Marching Band. When asked about successes in his activities, Haydn proudly stated “So far the only season that has been completed for me is Cross Country. The team ended up as Conference Champions and Qualified for State. Math League and Drumline are off to great starts and I am looking forward to seeing how they play out. I am also looking forward to Solo and Ensemble, which will showcase the chamber choir and Jazz Band, as well as Track and Marching Band this spring!”

Haydn has made a myriad of memories throughout his high school career, however, there are a few that stand out in his eyes. He recalls previous Drumline seasons. Being two-time State Champions as well as becoming National Finalists in 2019. Haydn also is proud of the previous Cross Country season where the team became Conference Champions and qualified for state. The biggest challenge that Haydn has overcome throughout high school was the COVID-19 pandemic. He stated, “Being limited to interactions with friends during distance learning was tough, but we made it through it and I think I became a better person in the process.” Next year, Haydn plans to attend college to double major in Actuarial Science and Percussion Performance. According to Haydn, the greatest things that a younger student can do is to get involved in as many things as possible and to work their hardest in school. 

The Fall Class of the Desire to Lead Athlete Leadership Program recently completed their “Better Together” Community Project. 

 

ReChargers is a group of retired Dassel-Cokato educators who meet periodically and have been loyally supporting DC student needs, through their donations, for many years.  The ReChargers members and other community members have been VERY generous over the past years in providing donations to each of the schools to support students and families.  These funds have been used to help cover field trip expenses, winter clothing, other clothing needs, school supplies, and other basic needs for families in financial stress.  We live in an extremely generous community of which the members strongly believe in helping each other in times of need.  This picture not only shows donations being received from ReChargers but also several winter coats donated by Dassel Covenant Church(?). A big thank you from the DC schools and all the families for the incredible generosity shown over and over again by so many people within our community. 

Anyone wishing to donate to ReChargers can write a check payable to:  Dassel-Cokato Youth Trust and mail it to: Joe Harmala, Box 531, Cokato, MN  55321.

A Wop Bop A Loo Bop was brought to the Dassel-Cokato area by the Dassel-Cokato High School’s theater program. DC has a reputation for amazing productions. A Wop Bop A Loo Bop was held in the Performing Arts Center on November 11, 12, 13, and 14th. The turnout was impressive, including people of all ages, friends, family, and strangers. We even had some people from the Hutchinson theater program come to one of our shows.

A Wop Bop A Loo Bop is a 50s-60s musical that is like a cross between Hairspray and Grease. It has the perfect ratio of romance, comedy, and drama. When Ruby, played by Betsy Gallagher, and Gary, played by Dylan Tessmer, performed the last scene of Act 1, Up on the Roof, the audience fell in love with the couple. The dance contest brought laughter from every mouth. Rick Parks, played by George Smith, has a unique and strong personality the audience could not ignore. 

Opening night was nerve-racking. The cast jitters could have shaken Mt. Everest but it was what we needed because the show was astonishing.  The crowd was engaged, laughter filled the PAC, cheers echoed after every dance, song, and scene. After final bows, the common area outside the theater boomed with congratulatory voices, proud family, and cast. 

When mistakes were made we easily got back on track and the audience had no idea. Often audience members would comment on how astonishing the dances looked. Their favorite collectively was Land of 1000 Dances. Judy, the main dancer for the show, played by Jessica Workman blew everyone away with her dancing skills when she taught us The Judy.  The pit orchestra really brought the Bop in A Wop Bop A Loo Bop. Directed by Dassel-Cokato 7-12 Band Director, Jake Pavia, the colorful sounds of our favorite 50s music bounced around the auditorium, making every foot dance just a little. Of course, none of this would have been possible without our tech team. They made sure the whole musical ran smoothly.

The last show brought tears to the cast's eyes as they realized it was the last time this classic would be played. Reid Wilson, who played Chester Lester, wrote a motivational speech that he shared with the cast. Ending with ‘Will you be there?” and the rest of us yelling “We’ll be there!”. Betsy Gallagher made almost everyone cry with her personal speech, where she individually talked to every member of the cast.  All of the seniors are beloved by the cast, and we are sad to see them leave. The final performance may have been the best of all. Congratulations cast, we went out in a boom!