Graduation 2013: Details on Wayzata, Orono and Westonka Commencement Ceremonies

Each local school has established its own regulations and schedule for graduation.

Hundreds of high school seniors from throughout the Lake Minnetonka area will put a celebratory cap on their K-12 education over the next two weeks. Each local school has established its own regulations and schedule for graduation. Details on each can be found below. Mound Westonka High School: Orono High School: Some 215 seniors are expected to receive their diplomas at Orono High School’s 62nd annual commencement ceremony, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 6, in Pesonen Stadium. In the event of inclement weather, the ceremony will be held in the OHS gymnasium, which has limited seating. Two students have been selected to address their classmates. They are Spencer Cumming and Dorothy (Dorcy) Jaffray. Also speaking will be …

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Westonka 'Harlem Shake' Investigation Finds Students Acted Outside of Permission Boundaries

Investigator: "Although permission was given to film a Harlem Shake video, the actions of the students in the video that was filmed in the cafeteria were outside the scope of the permission given."

From the Westonka School Board: The investigation into the Harlem Shake incident that occurred on Friday, Febr. 22, 2013, has concluded. Sixteen sets of parents were contacted to request that they and their children participate in the investigation. The investigator interviewed six parents, eight students and 11 employees as part of the investigation. Other students, parents and members of the community submitted written statements to the investigator. The investigation resulted in approximately 179 pages of findings, conclusions, interview summaries and supporting documents.   Due to laws centered on what information can be shared, the Westonka School Board is limited in what we can say and what we can release. Data privacy is set by …

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Oscar Falls

2:26 pm on Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Double standards may not be acceptable, but they do exist. Realizing which ones are truly worth pursuing and which ones aren't worth the long time headache would be something to teach your children. If these kids are still fuming over this in four years it would be a sad statement. If MWHS hasn't learned from this, open enrollment is always an option.   more ›

Findings of 'Harlem Shake' Investigation on Tonight's School Board Agenda

Westonka School Board will make public the findings of an investigation into the Feb. 22 suspensions of several high school students.

District officials say the results of a recently-completed investigation into the February suspensions of several high school students for doing the "Harlem Shake" in the lunchroom will be released and discussed at tonight's school board meeting. The item is No. 6 on the agenda's list of board discussion items. The full agenda is attached to this post. The suspended students included several hockey players, and their suspensions came less than 24 hours before an opening round playoff game—which Westonka eventually went on to lose. Tonight's meeting may be moved to the high school auditorium if attendance warrants. Athletic Director Dion Koltes was first place on leave following the incident and later resigned in the face of intense public …

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Lake Minnetonka Women Enter Phi Beta Kappa

Kate Johnson and Mary Margaret Smith from the College of St. Benedict/St. John’s University are inducted into the prestigious honor society.

Mary Margaret (Maggie) Smith, a 2009 graduate of Mound Westonka, and Kate Johnson, a 2009 graduate of Holy Family, were accepted into the Theta of Minnesota Chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa Society at St. John’s University on Tuesday, April 23, along with 73 of their classmates. Johnson and Smith attended kindergarten through seventh grade together at Our Lady of the Lake Catholic School in Mound. In eighth grade, Johnson went on to Holy Family High School in Victoria, and Smith began high school at Mound Westonka. Both girls excelled at their respective high schools—both academically and in extracurricular activities. Smith was the 2009 MWHS class valedictorian and captain of the Westonka Alpine Ski and Cross County Teams. She was also …

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Westonka, Wayzata High Schools Make U.S. News & World Report Rankings

The school moved up in the rankings from No. 10 last year.

Several public high schools that draw students from the Lake Minnetonka area rated nationally in the new annual rankings by U.S. News & World Report. Mound Westonka High School is ranked 29th among 46 schools that U.S. News rated, and 1,446th nationally. In 2012, Mound Westonka ranked 17th in the state and 668th nationally.) Wayzata High School ranked fifth in Minnesota and 437th nationally. Minnetonka High School ranked sixth in the state and 484th nationally. More than 21,000 public high schools throughout the country were reviewed. Criteria include student-teacher ratio, a college readiness index (determined by percentage of students taking and passing Advanced Placement and/or International Baccalaureate exams), and students' …

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Molly Wollner is 2013 MWHS Athena Award Winner

Wollner will be one of over 50 outstanding senior women to be honored from public and private high schools in the greater Minneapolis area.

Summary of 'Harlem Shake' Incident Could be Released in Early May

Several Mound Westonka High School students were suspended last month after performing the "Harlem Shake" during their lunch hour.

From Westonka Superintendent Kevin Borg: I want to continue our communication regarding the Board’s investigation into the events surrounding the high school lunchroom incident. As promised last week, the Westonka School Board has an update on the investigation process. Board Chair Dave Botts had this to say:  The majority of the investigation into the February lunchroom incident has been completed, and the investigating attorney is in the process of assembling her report. Board Member Harrison, Vice Chair Bremer and myself will meet next week to review the preliminary investigation report and to decide if any additional areas require examination. Following this review, the ad hoc committee will draft a recommendation for the full Board. …

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Westonka 'Know America' Students Travel to D.C.

The students were accompanied by MWHS social studies/history teachers Marc Doepner-Hove and Robert Paul.

by Laurie Ham Five Mound Westonka High School students and two teachers traveled to Washington D.C. last month for the annual Know America trip. This year's students, who earned the trip with tops scores on a test of U.S. government and history, were Addia Troyer, Lily Frenette, Arend Turner, Grette Treat and Emily Ruud. Scott Harrison qualified for the trip, but he also qualified for cross country ski nationals in Alaska during the same time period, so only five students took the trip. The students were accompanied by MWHS social studies/history teachers Marc Doepner-Hove and Robert Paul. Students visited more than 30 sites on their trip, including the State Department Reception Rooms, the White House, Vietnam Wall Memorial, World War II…

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Pair of Westonka Speech Teams Advance to '13 State Tourney

Zack McDowell placed 1st in Extemporaneous Reading, making him the Wright County Conference Champion in that category.

By Lorrie Ham The Mound Westonka High School speech team traveled to Wayzata High School on March 14 to compete in the Section 6AA Tournament. Seniors Naomi Jackson and Zack McDowell and junior Claire Erickson advanced to Final Round Competition. Jackson placed 8th in Humorous; McDowell placed 3rd in Extemporaneous Reading and Erickson placed 3rd in Poetry. Both McDowell and Erickson will advance to the MSHSL Speech Tournament in Blaine on April 19. The MWHS Speech team competed in seven tournaments during the 2013 season. Standing out this season are seniors Jackson and McDowell. Jackson placed 2nd in Humorous at the Maple Lake tournament in February. McDowell took home 4th in Extemporaneous Reading at the Chanhassen Tournament in …

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Grandview Middle School Dean Named Westonka's Interim Activities Director

Jeff Peterson will assume district's activity direction following this week's resignation of Dion Koltes.

Jeff Peterson has been named interim activities director for the Westonka School District. The announcement follows this week's resignation of Dion Koltes, who stepped down after coming under public pressure for his suspension of several high school students for doing the "Harlem Shake" during a recent lunch hour. Among the suspended students were six Mound Westonka High School hockey players—who at the time were less than 48 hours away from an opening round playoff game. The boys were kept off the ice, and Mound Westonka eventually lost the game and were eliminated from the state tournament. In a letter to parents written Wednesday morning, Peterson—who also serves as head baseball coach—did not make mention of the "Harlem Shake" or …

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