Globally Competent Individual

Edina High School senior Eliza Neumann traveled to Morocco to combat inequities in science education as an extension of her Global Scholars capstone project. She raised nearly $1500 to develop an educational garden and purchase lab equipment for Sidi ou Sidi Lycee, a school in Taroudant, Morocco.

The Edina community is invited to gather for the next One Town, One Family community conversation on Thursday, June 23, 5-8 p.m. at the Normandale School Auditorium. Participants will begin to build upon the conversation begun at the initial April 14 event. All are invited to attend regardless of whether you were able to attend the first event.

Two EHS students, Jimmy Vu and Ansel Erol, placed first in two economics competitions.

Twenty-three students are set to graduate from Edina High School as Rotary Global Scholars. The Rotary Global Scholars program, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Edina and the Edina Education Fund, was designed to help students develop global competency skills, prepare for a global career, develop understanding of world issues and learn to apply academic content to solve social and global issues.

60 students from South View Middle School advanced to regionals in the National History Day competition, with 25 of those students qualifying for the state competition. Students Ainsley Hannermann, Anushka Narielwala, Elizabeth Tesky, Ishani Shah and Sydney Bethune placed in the top five in their categories.

EHS senior Dedeepya Guthikonda is one of two Minnesota students recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as a Presidential Scholar. Scholars are recognized for their demonstration of leadership, scholarship, contribution to school and community, and outstanding accomplishments in the arts, sciences, humanities, and other fields of interest.

Nearly one-third of this year’s Edina High School graduates will receive recognition with their diploma for bilingual or multilingual proficiency. This year, 186 seniors will be awarded Bilingual or Multilingual Seals or Certificates for their proficiency achievements in languages including Spanish, French, Italian, Russian, Portuguese, Chinese, and Latin.

Rayika Sheikhosman, an EHS sophomore, will present her research paper as a participant in the Minnesota Youth Institute at the University of Minnesota on May 16. The theme for the event is global hunger issues. Rayika will present her paper on hunger and potential solutions in Malawi.

Kawthar Benarouch and Carmela Cadja, both EHS 10th graders, have been selected as scholarship recipients for the 2022 AFS Global STEM Academy in India. They are two of 113 students currently in the Edina Rotary Global Scholars program at EHS.

A team of four EHS juniors are finalists in the Project Green Challenge, which drew competing teams of high school and college students from around the world.

Edina Public Schools would like to welcome international students to high school classrooms this fall and is looking for families interested in hosting a student.

Congratulations to Edina Senior Allie Murphy for being named the Star Tribune All-Metro Sports Difference Maker for the 2020-21 school year!

Being in distanced learning for a prolonged period was challenging for many students and that was the case for Keya, a third grader at Highlands Elementary with a passion for music.

With an increase in anti-Asian incidents, Zhuo Wang, Chinese teacher at South View, Valley View, and Edina High School, knew that she and her students needed to do something to raise awareness.

Every school year, Edina Public Schools hosts around 25 French Interns in classrooms at Normandale, Valley View, and Edina High School. Working alongside school staff, the interns prepare lessons, assist with teaching, and enrich the classroom.

When Atman Jahagirdar, an 11th grader at Edina High School, noticed hesitancy in his community during a measles outbreak in Hennepin County, he felt inclined to dig deeper. After reading an article about vaccine hesitancy by Dr. Anita Shet, a researcher at Johns Hopkins, Jahagirdar reached out to her to learn more.

Four EHS students, Ellie Karthus, Norah Kennedy, Anika Rasmussen and Ananth Veluvali, placed third in the state Academic WorldQuest competition. The top three teams will represent Minnesota in the national Academic WorldQuest competition, presented virtually by the World Affairs Councils of America in April.

Two Edina High School senior Global Scholars, Aashna Kumar and Emma Johnson, won Exceptional Ministerial Delegates awards at the Model G20® Youth Leadership Summit, which took place February 12-20. The theme of the summit was “Addressing Climate Change.”

Devarsh Borah, an eighth grader at Valley View Middle School (VVMS), took first place in the middle school division with his video submission for the Minnesota Urban Debate League and Star Tribune-sponsored essay/video competition on criminal justice reform.

Twenty-one Edina Latin students participated in the annual Ludi Romani State Latin Competition on January 16 . The students represented Valley View Middle School and Edina High School.

The Human Rights & Relations Commission recently honored organizers of the summer “Seeds of Change” art installation at 50th & France with the 2020 Tom Oye Human Rights Award for championing human rights in the community.

Twenty-six Edina Public Schools students are being recognized for their achievements in the National Latin Exam. The 40-question multiple-choice test, sponsored by the American Classical League and the National Junior Classical League, promotes the study of Latin and encourages individual students.

A group of EHS students are using their expertise on the college application process to raise awareness and funds for the Edina Meal Fund COVID-19 Response. The students are all members of the Youth Committee of the Edina Chinese Association (ECA) and they have already raised $2,500 to help provide meals to students who are experiencing food insecurity during the coronavirus outbreak.

Four South View eighth graders have qualified for the state History Day Competition. Ben Sanderson will present his research titled Apollo 11: One Giant Leap. Lila Emerson, Sonja Holtey and Kate Hagen will present their research titled Elizabeth Blackwell: Mending Justice.

Edina Public Schools is pleased to announce the hiring of Nicole Tuescher as Director of Human Resources/Administrative Services. Tuescher brings 12 years of public school HR experience, including six years in EPS.

The Edina French Intern Program is looking for 64 families to host a French intern for next year. French interns help provide the individual and small group attention students need to successfully learn a second language and are an important element of the Normandale French Immersion program.

Yash Mangalick, a junior at Edina High School, is one of two students selected to represent Minnesota at the U.S. Senate Youth Program (USSYP) in Washington, D.C. The week-long program provides students an opportunity to experience national government in action.

Olivia Pierce, a senior at Edina High School (EHS), was one of two recipients of Edina’s 2019 Tom Oye Award, which honors socially-minded residents and their pursuits of equity and fairness.

Edina High School (EHS) has partnered with the Rotary Club of Edina for a new program that will encourage and inspire students to prepare for global careers.

Edina High School (EHS) students traveled to Andong, South Korea last week as part of a student exchange program with Andong Schools.

Chris Holden’s ability to spark learners has not gone unnoticed. During a school assembly in September, Holden was honored as a Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques (Knight of the Order of Academic Palms) by the Consul General of France in Chicago.

Thirty members of the Rising Stars group will visit Minnesota exclusively, on a rare tour to the U.S., because of Edina’s unique relationship with them. On Monday, Oct. 7 at 7 p.m., the steel drum instrumentalists will perform in a joint concert that will feature more than 25 steel drums. The Rising Stars will share the stage with the Edina Concert Band and Concert Orchestra at Fick Auditorium.

Three Edina High School students have received College Board recognition in the Hispanic Recognition Program.

About one-third of the Edina High School (EHS) Class of 2019 will receive recognition for bilingual language proficiency with their diploma. This year, 213 seniors will be awarded a Bilingual or Multilingual Certificate or Seal for their achievement in Chinese, French, Latin or Spanish.

Thirty-nine Edina Public Schools (EPS) students were presented with medals and certificates for their accomplishments on the National Latin Exam.

Edina High School sophomore Ryan Zhu won the 2019 Federal Reserve Student Essay Contest. For the past 31 years, the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis has hosted an annual Student Essay Contest open to all high school students that live within the Ninth Federal Reserve District. This year’s prompt was: “Use economics to describe and defend an effective immigration policy.”

EHS senior Andrea Richardson received the 2019 Rose Rees Peace Award from the National Council of Jewish Women – Minnesota (NCJW) at a ceremony on May 1. 

Forty Edina Latin students participated in the annual Ludi Romani State Latin Competition at Minnehaha Academy on January 19. The students represented South View and Valley View Middle Schools and Edina High School.

Once a month a group of Edina High School (EHS) parents come together to learn more about each other. On the surface, they are a diverse group of cultures, religions and beliefs, but the parents have quickly discovered they have more in common than not.

Edina High School (EHS) junior Anushka Thorat has been selected to serve on the Minnesota Youth Council, representing Minnesota Congressional District 3.

 Edina High School teacher Lindsey Smaka has been selected as a recipient of the Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms program.

It is common for fourth or fifth graders to read in front of younger classes in Edina elementary schools. Most often, the stories heard are read in English, however this spring, classes at Cornelia Elementary School listened to their older classmates read stories in both English and another language.

Edina High School (EHS) senior Adrian Lampron received the 2018 Rose Rees Peace Award from the National Council of Jewish Women – Minnesota (NCJW) at a ceremony April 25. Adrian is one of 25 area students to receive the award, which is given to high school seniors who have a “demonstrated interest in and commitment to international relations and world peace.”

Edina High School students turned in all levels of “cum laude” scores on the recent Latin National Exam. Thirty-five students represented EHS in the competition; 24 of them received awards.

Eleven fifth graders in Normandale Elementary’s Young Scholars (YS) program are working to make a difference after reading a book that inspired them to share what they had learned.

Eliza Price, a ninth grader at Edina High School, has been awarded a full scholarship by the Department of State to study in China for six weeks this summer.

Six Edina High School students earned eight medals at the recent Ludi Romani state Latin competition at Minnehaha Academy, Jan. 13.

Normandale Elementary School students learned traditional Haitian culture through music, art and dance during an artist residency this fall.