Grand Forks Summer Activities Available

Grand Forks Public Schools

Register for Elementary Summer Classes today! Everything from art and outdoor activities to space and math games. Also included are Intro to Kindergarten, 10th Month Remedial Summer School, Instrumental Music Lessons, SPA, and Middle School Transition.

For more information, see the Summer School Handbook.

Grand Forks Park District

The Grand Forks Park District is proud to offer a wealth of activities for the community. Residents, both young and mature in age, are welcome to participate in sports related activities and various special events throughout the year. Registration forms are available at the Park District office, on the Park District registration web page, and in the annual activities guides.

For more information, see the Activities Guide. Note: large file - download may take several minutes.

North Dakota Museum of Art

Kids Summer Camps

June 25 - 29: Michelle Brusegaard - Designing our World (ages 6-13)
July 2, 3, 5 and 6: Memo Guardia and Sue Fink - Mural, Mural on the Wall (ages 12 and older)
July 9 - 13: Memo Guardia - All "Around" Art Making (ages 6-13)
July 16 - 20: Sheila Dalgliesh - Art Odyssey "Visit" to New York City (ages 6-13)
July 23 - 27: Mollie Douthit - Expanding our 2-D Environment: Drawing and Painting (ages 6 -13)
July 30 - August 3: Adam Kemp - Art Ambassadors: Sculpture, Painting, and More (ages 6-13)

Registration begins April 17 for Museum Members, April 19 for all others. Schedule subject to change.

University of North Dakota Summer Activities

The University of North Dakota's Summer Programs and Events provide an opportunity for a variety of people to enjoy the campus facilities and to benefit from the expertise of UND's faculty and staff during the summer. UND's Summer Programs and Events include educational seminars, professional conferences, sports clinics, specialized workshops, and social events that are essential to UND's overall mission as an educational institution and as a member of the community. Take advantage of UND's enrichment activities for all ages.

Click here for more information and for a complete list of the Summer Programs and Events in 2012.

Soup in the Studio: A Community Event

Greater Grand Forks Young Professionals, Muddy Waters Clay Center, and Global Friends Coalition have teamed up to provide an evening of food, fun, and fundraising. Soup In The Studio will be held at Muddy Waters Clay Center on Thursday, March 8, from 6-8pm. Live music will be provided by African Arts Arena. All proceeds benefit Global Friends Coalition.

Global Friends Coalition hopes to establish this fundraiser as a signature event through collaboration with Greater Grand Forks Young Professionals, Muddy Waters Clay Center, and African Arts Arena. As a lifetime member of Global Friends Coalition, Don Miller initiated the soup bowl fundraiser about 20 years ago. During those years, the bowls were made at UND where Miller is an Art Department faculty member. This year the event will take place at Muddy Waters Clay Center of which Miller is a founding member.

“Making bowls, sharing a meal, and supporting our local community is a natural fit for Muddy Waters Clay Center,” Miller said.

Global Friends Coalition is a not-for-profit that works to foster New American integration into the Grand Forks community. “All proceeds from the Soup in the Studio will go towards our Guiding New Americans to Success mentoring and tutoring program. We have 60 volunteers serving approximately 130 New Americans,” said Program Director Cynthia Shabb. “This is a vibrant organization meeting a need in the community.”

“Greater Grand Forks Young Professionals is excited to collaborate with other organizations in our community for a great cause. Soup In The Studio is a wonderful way for everyone in Grand Forks to come together and experience some of the arts and culture that the city has to offer while giving back,” said Executive Director Stacey Heggen.

Soup in the Studio is open to the public. All ages are welcome. African Arts Arena will perform four percussion pieces. The event is also being supported by Happy Harry’s Bottle Shops. For more information visit www.soupinthestudio.com.

The DTF Recommendation

Recommendation: New school for Grand Forks, no north end closures
A Grand Forks School District task force made preliminary recommendations that include keeping Winship and Wilder elementary schools in the north end open, building a new south end school, closing one school at Grand Forks Air Force Base, adjusting middle and high school boundaries and creating a task force to look at the future of Community High School.
By: Pamela Knudson, Grand Forks Herald

A new elementary school should be built on Grand Forks’ far south end as soon as feasible and Wilder and Winship in the north end should remain open as elementary schools, a schools group is recommending.
The Demographic Task Force, which met Tuesday, will present its preliminary recommendations to the School Board on Monday.
The 30-member task force, formed by the school district to address the imbalance between overcrowded south end schools and underutilized north end schools, had reviewed more than 60 options.
Wilder parents were pleased with the task force’s decisions. Some of the options had called for the school’s closing and conversion into a new home for Community High School.
“It’s a favorable outcome,” said Lucas Kindseth. “We were not going against the tide, but we shifted the focus.”
The decision “is in the best interest of Grand Forks, said Eric Burin. “The task force took its job seriously and carefully weighed the evidence-based arguments we presented. It shows the virtues of citizen engagement, especially at the local level.”

North end parents
The task force heard from 11 parents of north end elementary students who implored the group to consider the consequences to educational quality and the neighborhoods of closing a school.
Nikki Berg Burin, a teacher and parent who grew up in Grand Forks and attended West Elementary, cited research studies that link neighborhood blight with school closure. She said small neighborhood schools raise productivity of students, especially minority students, of which there’s a significant number in the Wilder attendance area.
“I am so grateful to live in a community that values elementary schools and what they provide,” she said. “I desperately want that this for my children. I want it for my community.”
Revitalization of the north end and the vision for new growth in the city’s south end support the recommendations that the task force will advance to the School Board, Superintendent Larry Nybladh said.
“Birthrate and Census data project that we should see moderate growth in our enrollment base,” he said. “Perhaps the decline has bottomed out and we’ll see revitalization and growth of neighborhoods in north Grand Forks.”
Gail Kalenze, principal of Wilder and Winship and task force member, said she “would like parents to begin some problem-solving with me, as a partnership, to allow them to promote” and attract more students to Wilder.

New school

Kelly and Century elementary schools in the south end faced the opposite problem. New residential developments in that area put too much pressure on the schools.
The new south end elementary school would alleviate that pressure.
It would accommodate 300 students initially, with capacity to add a wing to allow for growth up to 600 students in the future, similar to Century’s initial building design.
The school district owns two lots in south Grand Forks that could be developed for a new school, or the district could explore a land trade if necessary, Assistant Superintendent Jody Thompson has said.
Century is on track to be over capacity in two years, he said, and a new school would take two years to build.
The task force also made two other preliminary recommendations that affect elementary schools.
Addressing safety concerns from parents and others, the task force redrew Wilder’s boundary to capture a “wedge” on North Washington Street, a major thoroughfare some students must cross to attend Winship.
It also recommended closing closing Carl Ben Eielson Elementary School and send students to Nathan Twining Middle School at Grand Forks Air Force Base, which has seen a smaller population since the loss of the air refueling mission.

Other schools
The task force also recommended modifying middle school boundary lines to align more closely with high school boundaries.
New lines include an area where students are choosing, through in-district transfer, to attend Valley Middle School even though they live in Schroeder’s attendance area.
Central High School boundary lines were adjusted south and west to relieve some pressure on Red River High School, but allow for continued growth at Central.
Thompson said students can complete their careers at the schools where they’re enrolled, and families can apply for in-district transfer until the schools reach capacity.
The future of Community High School drew comments from several committee members.
“Moving Community High School to an elementary school is not the best answer in the long run,” said Judy Paukert, a task force member.
Some options had called for converting Wilder or Winship into a home for the alternative high school, which now uses leased space.
Paukert asked that the administration form another group to study the issue.
“This would allow for more time for creative thinking and exploring other options,” she said. “I believe there’s not an urgent need to change, but concerns do need to be addressed.”

Reach Knudson at (701) 780-1107; (800) 477-6572, ext. 107; or send e-mail to pknudson@gfherald.com.