By Travis Anderson
N-O-W School District Superintendent
Wow, it’s hard to believe that the first quarter (nine weeks) of the 2022–2023 school year has come and gone and the second quarter is already underway! It has been an amazing start to the school year, and I want to compliment our entire student body and our amazing team of staff members on their outstanding work throughout the first quarter. The learning, teaching, collaboration, effort, and teamwork that takes place every day within our school district is simply amazing and is truly a sight to see!
Our school year started a few days earlier than normal this year (school started on Aug. 29 this year), when our district was granted an early-start waiver by the Wisconsin DPI, and our students and staff really hit the ground running. Brookwood students and staff have achieved a lot in the first quarter, and we can all be very proud as a school and community of those achievements. For example, Brookwood was named the recipient of the WIAA School of Excellence Award again this year for the fifth year in a row! This prestigious award is given to schools who promote and recognize the efforts and achievements of schools in the areas of sportsmanship, ethics, integrity, leadership, and character. Congratulations to Falcon Nation on this accomplishment!
The WIAA School of Excellence Award is just one of the many achievements earned by our students and staff thus far this year. Brookwood had numerous school organizations and individual accomplishments throughout the first quarter, and just a few of them are the following: Brookwood’s theatre program advanced to sectionals in the Wisconsin Interscholastic Speech and Dramatic Arts One-Act Theatre Festival, the girls cross country team won the conference championship, Brookwood had individual representation at the state cross country meet, we celebrated Students of the Week, Artists of the Month, and even had a student place fifth in showmanship at the World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wis. Not only are the students accomplishing a lot, but our staff is outstanding and being recognized as well.
One monumental staff recognition was awarded to Mrs. Nidia Alcantar, who received the Herb Kohl Helping Hand Award, which is an award given to acknowledge an individual who demonstrates leadership and commitment to address the needs of others. Mrs. Nidia Alcantar serves the N-O-W School District as a translator and Administrative Assistant. Congratulations to Mrs. Alcantar on this award, and congratulations to our students and staff on all of your achievements in the first quarter of the 2022–2023 school year! Brookwood is proud of all of you!
Throughout quarter one, the teaching and learning that took place every day was highly impressive. The first quarter has been full of many new opportunities for our students. Just to name a few, our Industrial Arts classes began restoring a donated Allis Chalmers WD-45 tractor and built a shelter at the Wilton Rod & Gun Club, art classes took a fieldtrip to the Minnesota Marine Art Museum to expand their knowledge of art, N-O-W Elementary students took fieldtrips to the Kickapoo Valley Reserve to explore and enhance classroom curriculum topics, choir students participated in the Viterbo Music Festival, our high school band played with the UW-L Screaming Eagles Marching Band, and Brookwood’s new Adaptive Recreation Program has been a huge success thus far.
Activities as such are just a fraction of the new learning opportunities that took place during the first quarter of the 2022–2023 school year! Our students and staff are doing wonderful things here, and it’s exciting to see what will take place through the second quarter of the school year!
As we move through the school year together, I want to take the time to thank our community for their daily support as well. Thank you to the local organizations and individuals who donate their time, learning materials, and monetary gifts that help our district continue to thrive and provide a quality education for our students.
We have some exciting times ahead of us as a school community, with a potential referendum project in 2023. I encourage everyone to attend community referendum sessions in the coming months to learn about the referendum process and goals that will undoubtedly positively impact our community for generations to come!
Once the session dates are finalized, they will be posted in the County Line newspaper, on our district website (www.now.k12.wi.us), and be posted on our district Facebook page. It’s been an exciting first quarter of the school year, and we look forward to more successes this year. There’s no better place to be than in Falcon Country!
