CPS Board approves NR-S softball co-op

In a brief meeting short on action items held Tuesday, October 17, the Carrington Public School District Board of Education approved a co-op agreement for girls’ softball with New Rockford-Sheyenne.

The move comes after their counterparts on the NR-S school board gave the go-ahead for the co-op on their end on October 9, and allows CPS to formalize the agreement and submit paperwork to the North Dakota High School Activities Association (NDHSAA) for this spring.

At the meeting, it was stated that two NR-S students had shown interest in participating in the sport, and would bring the total roster numbers around 18 girls for 2024.

Carrington will assume all costs related to operation of the co-op, and the Cardinal nickname will remain as the team’s identity. Individual costs for NR-S players and transportation would be the parents’ or guardians’ responsibility.

In the other action item from the meeting, an open enrollment application for a student currently living within the Midkota district to attend CPS with transportation was approved.

Much of the meeting’s time was utilized for adminstrative reports, of which all three district heads gave updates.

First up was Elementary Principal Jenna Helseth, who discussed the completion of NWEA testing, along with other activities including the fifth graders’ annual trip to the Foster County Museum, the Kindergarten classes participating in Fire Prevention Week activities, and discussing additional incentives for the “Cardinal Way” program.

Helseth added that the students’ recent attendance at the high school and junior high Fall Concert on Monday morning, October 16, was a positive experience.

High School Principal Connor Weber also made note of NWEA tests administered to seventh and eighth graders, and made note of the district’s EasyCBM reading and vocabulary proficiency scores.

Weber also noted that the Mentoring Program will now be under the control of the CHS Student Council, and that a junior high student council has been established. The junior high president and vice president will sit on the high school council meetings, and report back to their classmates.

In other high school news, four students qualified for the Northwest International Festival of Music in Minot, and the school is slated to join the Vision Zero program with a formal rollout in December.

In her report, Superintendent Janelle Helm gave an update on her attendance at a superintendents meeting in Grand Forks, where one of the featured speakers was Shane Azure of the Northwood School District.

The Hatton-Northwood volleyball team was involved in a vehicular accident on September 14 where the driver of a vehicle which crashed into the bus was killed, and multiple members of the team suffered various injuries.

Helm said that Azure impressed upon attendees the importance of having an electronic version of their team roster on file to help in emergency situations and account for each individual student.

In addition, she added that CPS is one of five school districts in the state that is fully staffed at the moment.

She also attended the Choice Ready conference with counselor Taylor Matteson, and toured the NDSU Carrington Research Extension Center.

Helm noted that 26 kids worked at NDSU CREC last summer, and noted their attention to detail that comes with their agricultural work.

The board’s evaluations of Supt. Helm are due on November 15.

In another report to the board, Facility Committee Chair Joel Lemer gave an update on the process of submitting plans for a proposed addition to the high school, which would provide for a new office space/entryway and additional classrooms.

Other projects could include window replacement, cosmetic touches to the nearly-completed Cardinal Stadium grounds, and replacement of the old freezers in the vocational agriculture building.