GCHS Class of 2023 valedictorians and salutatorian announced at board meeting
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THE TOP HONOR STUDENTS in the Glenwood City High School’s Class of 2023 were officially announced during the board of education meeting held Monday, April 10. This year’s graduating class features four valedictorians and a salutatorian. Pictured above, from left to right are: Amalia Draxler (co-valedictorian), Owen Bauman (co-valedictorian and Academic Excellence Scholarship recipient), Elek Anderson (co-valedictorian), Nicholas Hierlmeier (co-valedictorian), Max Janson (salutatorian) and Wyatt Thompson (Technical Excellence Scholarship recipient). Glenwood City’s graduation is set for Saturday morning, May 20. —photo by Shawn DeWitt
GLENWOOD CITY — The top honors students for Glenwood City High School’s Class of 2023 were revealed and approved at the Board of Education’s April 10 regular meeting.
This year’s graduating class will feature four co-valedictorians and a salutatorian it was announced at Monday evening’s meeting.
The co-valedictorians are Nicholas Hierlmeier, Owen Bauman, Elek Anderson and Amalia Draxler. All four earned 4.0 grade points averages throughout high school. Max Janson was named the class salutatorian with a 3.9 GPA.
Marcy Burch, high school/middle school principal, introduced and recognized this year’s top academic achievers along with their parents who were all in attendance.
Each honor student then informed board members of their chosen institutions for post-secondary education and planned field of study.
Co-valedictorian Nicholas Hierlmeier stated that he will be attending the UW-Madison in the fall to pursue a degree in Political Science. He is the son of recently retired Glenwood City educators Angela and Gordy Heirlmeier.
Owen Bauman, the son of April and Brent Bauman, is another of Glenwood City’s Class of 2023 co-valedictorians. Owen is planning to attend either UW-Platteville or New Mexico Tech following graduation and will work toward a degree in electrical engineering. Owen is also this year’s recipient of the state’s Academic Excellence Scholarship, an award he will receive if he attends a Wisconsin college or university.
The third class co-valedictorian is Elek Anderson. Elek will be attending Lawrence University in Appleton this fall to run cross country and track and pursue a degree in either Biochemistry or Nueroscience. Craig and Julie Anderson are his parents.
The fourth and final co-valedictorian is Amalia Draxler, who is following in the footsteps of several family members who were also the top students in their respective graduating classes at Glenwood City High School. Amalia or Mali as she is called by family, friends and classmates, will also be attending the University of Wisconsin at Madison this fall where she plans to earn an agricultural business management degree. She is the daughter of Rebecca and Mike Draxler.
This year’s salutatorian, Max Janson, will be seeking a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Max is the son of Amber Hoffman and Paul Janson.
Also in attendance were Wyatt Thompson, recipient of this year’s state Technical Excellence Scholarship, and his parents Randy and Becky Thompson. Wyatt stated that he plans to attend Northwood Technical College for Ag Business.
The board officially approved the class of 2023 co-valedictorians and salutatorian during its consent agenda.
Also approved as part of the consent agenda was a cooperative operational budget agreement with the Boyceville Community School District to share the services of a Speech and Language Pathologist (SPL). Under the 66.03 agreement, Glenwood City will assume 40 percent of the SPL contract which is just under $40,000 for the 2023-24 school year. According to the agreement, Glenwood City’s financial obligations will include $23,800 for salary, $10,553.95 for health insurance, $572.11 for dental insurance, social security and retirement contributions of $1,475.60 and $1,618.40, respectively, $144 for disability and a $1,200 contribution to a health savings account.
During her report to the board, Principal Burch noted that several “senior-specific” events are being planned for the final two months of school including a senior trip to the Mall of America. She also reminded members that the senior scholarship awards night will be held May 17 at 6 p.m. with the commencement exercise slated a few days later on Saturday morning, May 20 at 11 a.m.
Burch also presented the board with several new student-led banner designs for the ten or so light poles in the high school parking lot. Members and administrators chose their favorite design from the 14 variations represented and return them to Burch. Their choices will help determine a final design that will replace the old and weathering banners that currently hang on the light poles.
In the final item of her report, Burch discussed preparations for the upcoming state Forward exam in the high school and middle school. Burch said that she will be meeting individually with students to review their Forward scores from last year and challenge each to set a goal to increase achievement.
In his board report, Superintendent Tim Johnson noted that the district had recently undergone an occupational safety inspection and audit by personnel from the state’s safety and professional services division. Johnson said the district did very well on the inspection and audit which focused on the tech ed, agriculture, welding and wood shop areas, science rooms and chemical storage and eye-wash stations. Johnson also noted that inspectors looked to see that staff had signed off on things such as the blood-borne pathogen policy and the proper disposal of chemicals. He said that the district did have a few minor violations that should be easily and quickly remedied.
The board also recognized and honored outgoing vice president Jon Mrdutt for his 18 years of service as a school board member. Mrdutt, who attended his final meeting as a member Monday night, decided to retire instead of seek another three-year term in last week’s spring election.
In its only action item, the board approved a request by elementary principal Betsy Haltinner to purchase approximately $30,000 of items with Common School Funds.
Finally, the board gave its approval to hire high school students Ben Standaert, Conner Gross, Garrett Gross, Sam Cassellius and Logan McVeigh as summer workers to help support the district’s buildings, grounds and technology needs.
