Currents

Watershed Happenings

June 22 Mission/Vision Task Force, 5:00
June 26 Packing Day
June 29 Moving Day

July 14 Experiential Evening, 7:00
July 16 Board Meeting, 5:30

Sep 8 First day of school

ADMIN NOTES
–Phil Grant, Administrator

Great news department: Watershed is on the move to our new home at 4544 4th Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55419 in just a few days! I’m excited to share news of the new Watershed building with you, so let’s go.

• There’s more space for our community. The space will increase flexibility and improve our program. It also allows us to grow as planned, thereby offering the Watershed experience to more students. We’ll always be a cozy school with small class sizes (about 20 students per class), but a little bigger than we are now.

• It’s our space alone. That offers creative possibilities for art, music and theater inside and outside. (Did I mention the green space? We now have a yard and garden!)

• We’ll be even closer to partner schools where our students engage in service learning.

We’ve long planned and needed to move—the new Watershed home is like a dream come true.

Now we need your help to Smooth the Move. I’m asking all members of the Watershed Community, past and present, to contribute time, expertise and dollars.

Background: We usually hold our Annual Fund Appeal each fall, but decided this year to wait until spring, after completing our site search. Now it’s time—all are invited to donate to Watershed’s Moving Campaign. Send checks directly to Watershed, or donate online at our website. There are specific one-time costs associated with moving, so we want your help soon. Your generosity on behalf of our students is much appreciated!

Note: Your tax-deductible help is particularly critical this summer, given that state government support will be significantly delayed because of accounting shifts to balance the state budget.

Your dollars are vital to the success of our move, but another great way to help is to volunteer with the move itself. For example, Friday, June 26, is Packing Day. Volunteers are welcome to come to 2344 Nicollet between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. to help. We’ll be filling boxes and moving them and furniture close to the stairs and elevator.

Moving Day is Monday, June 29. The movers can use up to six volunteers to help speed the move and reduce our costs.

Please call the school office (612-871-4363) today to make a generous donation and also to volunteer your time. Let us know which day(s) you can come. Future Currents will keep you posted on our progress and the schedule of sneak previews and open houses at our new home.

Yearbooks are still available for $20. Call the office and we’ll set one aside for you. Bring cash or a check payable to Watershed High School.

Grades have been mailed out. If you didn’t receive yours, please call the school office.

Questions, concerns, ideas? Give Phil a call at 612-871-4363 x206, or email him at pgrant (at) watershedhs.org.

NEWS FROM THE FACULTY CHAIR
–Matt McElrath

Graduation: On Saturday, June 6th, Watershed held its graduation at the Downtown Minneapolis Library in a gorgeous and comfortable hall. Students had the opportunity to reflect on their experiences, while thanking their families, teachers and classmates. Riley Battis closed the ceremony with his senior project slideshow. Following the ceremony, faculty and families went to the Illusion Theater for a very nice reception.

Athletics: Although the Ultimate Frisbee team had not planned to participate in the state tournament (because the majority of the team were seniors), underclassmen were able to cobble together sufficient numbers to enter the tournament. The team played in torrential rain on Saturday, while the seniors were at graduation. Being outnumbered 7 to 4 in many of the games, some of the matches were less than pretty. Nevertheless, the main goal was to make it through Saturday’s games, allowing the seniors to play on Sunday. Watershed was victorious in all three matches on Sunday, including our tearful goodbye to seniors against Mounds View. Thanks to all players who contributed to a very fun and winning season.

New Faculty: Watershed would like to welcome new faculty members for the 2009-10 academic year. Linda Gavanda, most recently from Agriculture Food Science Academy, will be teaching the math courses and Emily Hanrahan, who taught at Coon Rapids, will be taking over the Language Arts Curriculum. The personnel committee is currently conducting interviews for a Spanish and ESL teacher. We hope community members will be able to meet our new faculty members at upcoming open house events at our new location in South Minneapolis. Look for these events to be posted in future editions of Currents.

COMMUNITY COUNCIL NEWS
–Nell Ubbelohde

The Mission/Vision Task Force is off to a good start. The next meeting is at 2344 Nicollet on Monday, June 22, at 5:00 p.m. The goal is to rearticulate our mission and vision as Watershed embraces its future in a new space. All Watershed community members are invited.

Call Nell at 612-251-9758 or email her at nellmorningstar (at) yahoo.com with questions.

Note: More meetings will be scheduled through June and July. Watch for more information in Currents.

ADMIN NOTES
–Phil Grant, Administrator

Site News: I’m delighted to report that the Watershed School Board has approved the final version of a lease with the Greater Minneapolis Crisis Nursery, effective July 1, 2009. This action came after negotiations concluded earlier this week. As I said in the regular Currents a few day ago, this means that Watershed will be moving soon to 4544 4th Avenue South, Minneapolis.

Starting next week, look here for information about the new space, our move there, and how you can help. I’m confident that by working together, the Watershed community will make our school better than ever!

Thank you for your support.

Questions, concerns, ideas? Give me a call at 612-871-4363 x206, or email me at pgrant (at) watershedhs.org.