Rendall Receives State Award
Julia Rendall, a 6th grade teacher at Post Falls Middle School, was recently named Idaho Middle Level Teacher of the Year for Region One. Julia has taught language arts and science at the middle school for 13 years. Ms. Rendall was nominated by PFMS principal Deborah Davis and vice principal John Myers because of the major contributions that she makes to the staff, students and community. Julia is an outstanding classroom instructor. She creates differentiated lessons and uses multiple, proven techniques. Students are challenged to think on many levels and students love to be in Ms. Rendall's classroom. Julia is currently finishing her National Boards for Teacher Certification and will be the first teacher at the middle school to have earned this distinction and only one of 347 teachers in the state of Idaho to hold this honor. She is an adjunct instructor for the teacher certification program at Lewis and Clark State College in Coeur d'Alene. She also teachers workshops and classes for the Post Falls School District. Congratulations Julia!
PF Seniors Awarded $1,500,000 in Scholarship
Post
Falls
High School
Class of 2009 has been offered over $1,500,000 worth of college scholarship money. Many of the recipients received their awards during the annual scholarship awards ceremony held on the evening of May 18. Over 100 students received scholarship money. A few of the scholarships are as follow:
| Cole Amende |
Michael Beck Memorial |
$500 |
| Justyn Arnold |
Marine Corp. GI Bill |
100,000 |
| Brittani Atwood |
Empire Vending |
500 |
| Ashley Bertsch |
Schneidmiller |
28,772 |
| Marisa Buffaloe |
BYU-Idaho |
1,640 |
| Kristen Carey |
Go Idaho |
6,000 |
| Deanna Daniels |
Panhandle State Bank |
500 |
| Ashlee Franco |
Ogg Memorial-NIC |
1,000 |
| Shane Garner |
Post Falls Booster |
250 |
| Rebecca Grosset |
McPherson College |
12,000 |
| Cherise Hensley |
Whitworth University |
48,000 |
| Kaylee Hirst |
Harris Dean |
1,000 |
| Amanda Jibby |
Post Falls Junior Miss |
1,125 |
| Kalan Kelly |
Navy ROTC |
85,000 |
| Adam Lippert |
Idaho School Boards |
400 |
| Karen Lohman |
Biological Science |
4,000 |
| Jessika Maatta |
University of Portland |
56,000 |
| Lauren Mamola |
Post Falls Rotary |
500 |
| Kyle Marshall |
Post Falls Lions |
1,000 |
| Chad Mehalechko |
Arizona State University |
42,000 |
| Nora Nielson |
Presidential Scholar |
12,000 |
| Colin O' Brien |
Seattle University |
20,000 |
| Kayla Possman |
Post Falls Kiwanis |
600 |
| Jesse Ramsey |
Hecla-Bunker Hill |
1,000 |
| Jordan Schoening |
Eastern Washington |
80,000 |
| Casey Thomas |
Royal Neighbors |
1,000 |
| Angela Whalen |
UI Leadership |
2,000 |
| Chris Wilson |
Christina Finney Memorial |
500 |
District Mentor Coordinator Receives National Award
Jerry Spreen, District Mentor Coordinator, was recently named a recipient of an Older Volunteers Enrich America Program Award sponsored by the Metlife Foundation. He is one of 25 senior volunteers nationwide to receive this award. In his capacity as District Mentor Coordinator, Jerry matches up students who would benefit from an adult mentor with community volunteers. He works in all the elementary schools and receives referrals from administrators, teachers, and parents. He then recruits adults from the community who would serve as role models to the students. They usually spend time each week at the school with their mentee. The district congratulates Jerry on his award and thank him for his many years of service to the students of the Post falls School District.
Forestry Teams Take State Titles
The Post Falls High School and Post Falls Middle School Teams recently won the Idaho State Forestry Contest Championship recently held a Farragut State Park. Students demonstrate and array of forestry skills such as tree identification, scaling and other science skills. The high school individual award winners are as follows:
Joshua Erickson, Junior, (Master Forester)
Nora Nielson, senior, (2nd place individual)
John Erickson, sophomore, (3rd place individual)
The PFHS team has won the championship a total of fourteen times.
PFHS Girls Golf Place 2nd at State
The Post Falls High School Girls Golf Team recently placed 2nd at the Idaho State Championship Tournament. The girls shot a total of 727 over the two days, led by senior Genna Dodge who finished fifth overall. She scored a 76 and an 84 followed by Maddie Dodge who scored a total of 173, good enough for ninth place overall. Rachel Westby shot a 179, Hayley Serdahl a 223 and Makena Schervenius a 215. Genna Dodge will attend Gonzaga University on a golf scholarship next year. Twin Falls took first place with a team total of 678.
District Honors Staff
Post Falls School District and the Post Falls Education Association sponsored an awards banquet on May 1 to celebrate staff accomplishments and impending retirees. Over 120 staff and family members and friends attended the affair. Eight retirees were honored for their service to the district along with staff members whose job performances in 2008-2009 were exemplary. The award winners are as follows:
Retirees
| Meredith DePrisco | 30 Years | Mullan Trail Elementary Special Education |
| Kathy Reynolds | 30 Years | Ponderosa Elementary 1st Grade |
| Don Bishop | 32 Years | Post Falls Middle School Math |
| Leasa Hansen | 13 Years | Post Falls Middle School English |
| Dave Kuntz | 16 Years | River City Middle School Special Education |
| Jackie Skillens | 23 Years | Post Falls High School Special Education |
| Dorothy Ley | 22 Years | Post Falls High School Special Education |
| Mary Edmonds | 21 Years | Post Falls High School Media Specialist |
Teacher and Support Person of the Year
| BUILDING | TEACHER | SUPPORT STAFF |
| Frederick Post Kindergarten | Pam Juliano | Julie Beck |
| Mullan Trail Elementary | Meredith DePrisco | Holly Cox |
| Ponderosa Elementary | Janet Gilbert | Jean Anyan |
| Prairie View Elementary | Sandra Doering | Joy Lake |
| Seltice Elementary | David Hirsch | Jan Litzenberger |
| West Ridge Elementary | Julie McCoy | Nancy Haas |
| Post Falls Midle School | Diane Haney | Loyce Sumpter |
| River City Middle School | Nancy Hicks | Cindy Peugh |
| New Vision High School | Bill Dean | Pam Shields |
| Post Falls High School | Trina Tinder | Pat Hoskins |
Lorenzen Receives Governor Otter’s G.I.A.N.T. Award
Post Falls High School electronics/robotics teacher was one of three teachers statewide to earn a Governor’s Industry Award for Notable Teaching in Science. Lorenzen received $2,000 and another $500 that is awarded to PFHS. Lorenzen is the leader and adviser of the First robotics team. His students not only learn about robotics but they compete against other schools with their own large scale robot that is controlled by the students through complicated computer programming. The team, in its first year, competed in two major events and placed eighth out fifty four teams. Lorenzen has also worked with local industry to create a professional-technical advisory committee focused on expanding the relationship between business and education. Mr. Lorenzen was in Boise on April 21 to receive his award from the Governor.
Supplemental Levy Passes
Post Falls voters overwhelmingly approved a two-year supplemental levy on Tuesday to provide school funding to help cover some of the lost revenue due to state budget reductions, maintenance projects, students programs and curriculum adoptions. 82.4% of the votes were in support of the measure. The $1.735 million per year levy will not increase school property taxes. Board of Trustees Chair Donagene Turnbow stated that “the district owes a debt of gratitude to our community for continuing to support its children during difficult times. We believe that the proposal was a win-win proposition. While the approval of the levy will not raise taxes, it will provide the district with some additional revenue to help to lessen the impact of the reduced state appropriation." The district expects to receive $1 million less next year from the state.
A breakdown of the vote is as follows:
| Location | Yes | No | Total |
| PFMS | 134 80% | 33 20% | 167 |
| Frederick Post | 216 79% | 59 21% | 275 |
| Seltice | 144 85% | 26 15% | 170 |
| Ponderosa | 251 82% | 55 18% | 306 |
| Prairie View | 268 86% | 44 14% | 312 |
| TOTALS | 1013 82% | 217 18% | 1,230 |