WSHS News

At the time, we chose Winona Area Public Schools because we fundamentally believed in the power of the public school system. We believed in the idea that a school system that is inclusive of all kids — from all walks of life, including those that need additional support — was a powerful asset to a community. We believed in the idea of inclusivity and the power it has in creating a vibrant, strong community. Why do we stay at Winona Area Public Schools? The reality of inclusivity.

For the second year in a row, students in the Winona Middle School AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) program donated more than $1,000 to the Winona County Warming Center.

With snow in the forecast tonight and tomorrow morning, we want to make sure you know where to go for school closing information and how we make those decisions. 

The WSHS Theatre Group will stage "The Sound of Music" as the fall musical this year. Performances are scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 17 and Saturday, Nov. 18 as well as 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 19 at the WSHS Auditorium.

Jakob Yearous, a senior at WSHS, has been named a Commended Student in the 2024 National Merit Scholarship Program. WSHS Principal Luke Madsen presented Yearous with his Letter of Commendation certificate Friday.

Dixen was one of 15 secondary teachers nationwide selected to participate in the GenEd Teacher Fellowship Program. As part of the program, Dixen traveled to Armenia for 10 days to take part in a unique, memorable and transformative professional development opportunity.

Madsen was approved Thursday night by the Winona Area Public Schools board as the next principal of WSHS. He said he can’t wait to get to work, and that starts with building relationships with everyone. And he means everyone.

The Winona Senior High School Theatre Group will perform "Family Album" by Robert Frankel on Friday, May 5 and Saturday, May 6 at 7 p.m., and Sunday, May 7 at 2 p.m. in the WSHS auditorium.

The Miller Mentoring program gathered for its annual Family Dinner on Wednesday, April 19. Approximately 270 people — including students, families, mentors, district staff and school board members and others dedicated to supporting Miller Mentoring — attended the event.

Graduation rates continue to soar at Winona Area Public Schools.

Nathaniel Dennis, a senior at Winona Senior High School, testified in front of the House State and Local Government Finance and Policy Committee at the state Capitol on Feb. 21 in support of HF274, a bill that would create a commission to redesign the state flag.

For the first time in a decade, Winona Senior High School is sending a Knowledge Bowl team to the state meet. 

Florness and Schultz were named as the Winona Senior High School winners of the MSHSL Academics, Arts and Athletics Award, commonly known as the Triple ‘A’ Award. The award honors high school seniors throughout the state who have better than a 3.0 grade point average and who participate in MSHSL-sponsored athletic and fine arts activities. 

Every graduate of Winona Area Public Schools over the next three years will have the opportunity to attend Minnesota State College Southeast — and they won’t need to worry about the tuition bill.

The WSHS Theatre Group will perform “Caution: Librarians Ahead” at 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 20 and 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 21 at the WSHS Auditorium. “Cautions: Librarians Ahead” is written by Bradley Walton and performed with special permission from Brooklyn Publishers, LLC. 

Claira Jordan, a senior at Winona Senior High School, was named a school winner in the Heisman High School Scholarship contest. This scholarship program celebrates and rewards male and female scholar-athletes for their work in the classroom, on the field and in the community. 

A community vision to invest in students through improving educational and activity spaces to inspire lifelong learning will go before voters in the Winona Area Public Schools district in April.

Jezabelle Wobig, a Winona Senior High School student, was named a winner in the "Hands are For" art competition. 

The ceremony honored the 2022-23 WEA Teacher of the Year — Jefferson third-grade teacher Kirstin Schultz — as well as Marianne Texley and John Casper as Education Advocates and the Winona State University Education Department as a Community Partner. 

There are three opportunities to attend concerts featuring talented student musicians at Winona Senior High School and Winona Middle School in December. 

It’s only a matter of time before winter will be here in all of its frigid glory. Before it does, we want to make sure you know where to go for school closing information and how we make those decisions.

The student councils at Winona Senior High School and Winona Middle School served more than 600 community members — 622 to be exact — at the annual Herky Turkey Community Dinner on Nov. 10. 

Thirteen Winona Senior High students were inducted into the Tertulia Chapter of the Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica (Spanish Honor Society) part of the AATSP (American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese) during a ceremony held at the high school by advisor Susan Larsen.

The performances will take place at 7 p.m. on November 18 and 19, as well as a 2 p.m. show on Nov. 20. They will be held in the Winona Senior High Auditorium.

The Winona Senior High School and Winona Middle School student councils will hold their annual Herky Turkey Thanksgiving Community Dinner on Thursday, Nov. 10.

The Winhawks are playing in the state soccer tournament for the first time in program history.

The Fastenal Company Distribution Center recently donated eight tool boxes to an industrial technology classroom at Winona Senior High School.

Joe Alexander (Class of 1994), Abbey Staats (Class of 2008), Al Nordsving (Class of 1968) and coach Bill Schmidt will be inducted in a ceremony held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 8 in the WSHS Learning Commons. 

Freyja Wolfe, a senior at WSHS, has been named a Commended Student in the 2023 National Merit Scholarship Program. WSHS Principal Heather Fitzloff presented Wolfe with her Letter of Commendation certificate Thursday.

The WAPS school board on Sept. 1 approved the district’s strategic plan, which will cover the 2022-27 school years. The plan is the result of a collaborative process led by the Minnesota School Board Association that included input from district leaders, staff, students, families and community members.

Several Winona Area Public Schools employees were honored for their years of service at the all-staff celebration on Tuesday at Winona Middle School. 

On Tuesday morning at Winona Middle School, the entire staff of Winona Area Public Schools gathered to kick off the 2022-23 school year. The all-staff gathering is the centerpiece of a week full of meetings, professional development, parent-teacher conferences, orientation events and more. 

Warneke joins WAPS from Zumbrota-Mazeppa, where he was a Special Education Teacher for Grades 7-12 from 2020-22. He also taught in Lake City from 2017-2020. 
 

The school board on Thursday night approved a two-question referendum to be held in April of 2023. If the community supports both questions, the district can begin work on a list of projects included in a recommendation by the WAPS Community Task Force, a group of staff members and community members which met 10 times over a span of four months to vet numerous facilities options. Earlier in Thursday’s meeting, the board accepted the recommendation as the base of a master facilities plan.

Oscar Uribe, an experienced coach and educator, has been named the next coach of the Winona Senior High School boys soccer team. 

The majority of district residents believe in Winona Area Public Schools and approve the recommendation of the Community Task Force to invest in and improve the current fleet of school buildings, according to a scientific survey conducted by one of Minnesota’s leading marketing and research firms. 

Congratulations to the students who made the WSHS Honor Roll.

The Senior Orchestra awards were announced at the WAPS Orchestra Festival Concert on Thursday, May 26 at Winona Middle School.

The accomplishments of the Class of 2022 at Winona Senior High School are quite remarkable: 

“We needed to make sure that we were balancing what our students need. That was the biggest push on this, was to really get that continuum of services for our students and balance that with adult preferences. … The ultimate end is: ‘How does it help the students?”

Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic over the past two years, nearly 80 students were inducted into the National Honor Society at Winona Senior High School in a ceremony Wednesday night. 

Students in Jerry Benedict’s Career and Technical Education classes at Winona Senior High School can get real life experience without leaving the building.

The orchestra, symphonic band and concert choir ensembles at Winona Senior High School will present the Big Nine Preview Concert at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 27 in the WSHS gym. 

The WSHS Theatre Group is hard at work getting ready to present the play “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” based on the book by C.S. Lewis and dramatized by Joseph Robinette 

The WSHS Orchestra traveled to New York City the week of March 21-26.

The community task force recommended the district continue to invest and improve the six current WAPS buildings. The task force vetted 12 different options — new construction, consolidating buildings, changing grade-level configurations and various combinations — before coming back to Option A. 

Students in Shelly Spelles Hansen’s Culinary Arts Classes held a chili cook-off as their end-of-the-quarter project. Students studied various chili peppers and the history of chili, researched various chili recipes and common ingredients.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $6 for students. All tickets will be sold at the door; there is no presale at either Winona or Austin. Fans are encouraged to arrive early, as the game will start on time. Seating is general admission.

Krase and Brand, both students at Winona Senior High School, won the regional science fair competition at Winona State University to qualify for the state fair, which will be held virtually on March 27.

Winona Area Public Schools is join thousands of other school districts across the country in celebrating Youth Art Month this March. 

The 2022-23 school calendar has been posted.

Through both his words and his work, a Mexican immigrant filmmaker delivered a powerful message to Winona Senior High School students on Friday morning.

Each year Winona Area Public Schools and the Special Education Advisory Council hosts a Parent Network Night for the parents/guardians of students with disabilities. 

The Winona Senior High School Theatre Group will perform “The Waiting Room” by Noah Bennett at 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 28 and 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 29 at the WSHS auditorium. 

We are making several changes to our health and safety protocols. These changes were made in order to have sustainable, realistic practices and to align our requirements to the latest guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Minnesota Department of Health (MDH).

The Pulsera Project is a nonprofit organization that empowers and connects Central American artists with students through the sale of colorful hand woven bracelets, called pulseras. Students in the Spanish Honor Society raised more than $225 by selling these bracelets and other items. 

Students at Winona Senior High School will have fewer required classes to graduate and more flexibility in their schedule to pursue the classes that interest them after the school board on Thursday night approved new graduation requirements. 

Sixteen Winona Area Public Schools students participated in the 58th Winona Model Legislature on Nov. 18-19. 

According to the National Association of School Psychologists, school psychologists are uniquely qualified members of school teams that support students' ability to learn and teachers' ability to teach.

Tim Gleason was named the 2021-22 WEA Teacher of the Year in a surprise ceremony on Thursday.

The WSHS Theatre Group will perform 42nd Street on Friday, Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 20 at 1 and 7 p.m. in the WSHS Auditorium at Winona Senior High School, 901 Gilmore Ave. 

Five Winona Senior High students were inducted into the Tertulia Chapter of the Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica during a ceremony held at the high school by advisor Susan Larsen.

On Friday, students in Shelly Spallees Hansen’s Baking and Pastry Arts classes took part in a “Cupcake Wars” type competition. Working in groups, the students had to decide on a theme, use a secret ingredient and discuss their method with a group of judges. 

Applications are now being accepted for the Winona Area Public Schools Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee. 

The WAPS Online Academy is serving a total of 66 students — 15 in Grades K-5 and 51 in Grades 6-12. The numbers have fluctuated slightly since the beginning of the school year, as students and families found their comfort level with the program.

On Wednesday morning, members of the Winona Senior High School football team visited Winona Area Public Schools elementary students as part of Herkymania, a Homecoming Week tradition started by coach John Cassellius in 2008. 

Craig Scott, a motivational speaker and survivor of the Columbine High School shooting, will spend a day with Winona Area Public Schools students and teachers before hosting an event open to families in the community. 

Applications are now being accepted for the WAPS Community Task force, a group that will be charged with reviewing and analyzing data related to the district’s operations and its capacity for 21st century learning.

Tim Brown, Bob Grausnick, Kristine Kreuzer Loes and Bill Squires will be inducted into the Hall of Fame at a ceremony scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 2 at Winona Senior High School. The public is invited to attend the ceremony. 

A group of Winona Senior High School football players gave four young fans a moment to remember Friday night. 

We are excited to welcome our students back into our buildings for the 2021-22 school year. Before we do, we want to make you aware of our health and safety protocols for the upcoming school year. 

The WAPS Online Academy is a free comprehensive online learning program offered through Winona Area Public Schools. The WAPS Online Academy will provide a personalized online learning environment that values student engagement and offers rigorous learning experiences that lead to high levels of student success.

The Winona Area Public Schools board took the first steps toward a possible referendum Tuesday night, at times tossing off the hard hats of a construction crew focusing only on maintenance projects and instead discussing how to create spaces where students want to be.

Beginning Thursday, July 1, 2021, Winona Area Public Schools will not require students, staff and visitors to wear masks while in school buildings. 

Winona FFA Chapter members Trentton Denzer and K-LaRae Christensen were awarded the prestigious 2021 Minnesota State FFA Degree during the 2021 Virtual Minnesota State FFA Convention in April. The award is presented to 1% of the state’s 11,000 FFA Members each year.

The Co-Winhawks of the Week are Jenalyn Mangahas and Izzy Goettelman.

The annual awards ceremony was held in late May at WSHS. Because of COVID-19 restrictions, the event was closed to the public and held during the school day, but that didn’t stop dozens of students from receiving their awards and scholarships from local groups and organizations. 

Heather Fitzloff was approved by the school board on Thursday night as the new WSHS principal. She has served as an assistant principal at Prior Lake High School since 2012. Fitzloff is from the La Crosse area and has had her eye on openings in Winona for years — but this move is about more than a homecoming.

After the COVID-19 pandemic forced last year’s ceremony to be held in the high school drive-through, the Class of 2021 will be celebrated and recognized at a traditional ceremony to be held at 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 11 at Paul Giel Field. In case of inclement weather, the makeup date is 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 12. 

A new mural painted by a student at Winona Senior High School will encourage those who look at it to “not be ashamed of who they are.”

The WSHS Co-Winhawks of the Week for May 31-June 4 are Paige Hermsen and Chloe Hughes.

The Summer Lunch Bus is back — although it will have a new parking spot for 2021. And the free meals? Those will continue as well.

The WSHS Co-Winhawks of the Week for May 24-28 are Francesca-Rose Meyer and Zach Bostrack.

The Co-Winhawks of the Week for May 17-21 are Paige Hawkinson and Esther Mulkey.

Masks will still be required for all students, staff and visitors to Winona Area Public Schools for the remainder of the school year. 

Parents, understandably, have many questions about the COVID-19 vaccine and whether they should have their children vaccinated. I hope this information, centered around the questions we’re hearing from parents, is helpful to you.

Trentton Denzer and Colleen Halleck are the Co-Winhawks of the Week for May 3-7.

Prom will be held on Saturday, May 8 at the Winona Middle School. Students were part of the planning process for prom, which is also organized by adviser Tanya Corcoran and activities director Casey Indra. 

In-person learning is back at Winona Senior High School, and so is Hawk Now. The latest epsidoe of the web series from students in the Tech Nest crew features an interview with Chloe Porter, the amazing artist behind the "We are Winona" mural at the high school. 

The Co-Winhawks of the Week are Alex Charles and Emma Heinert.

Becky Kouba was and always will epitomize Miller Mentoring.

Looking back on the past 20 years, there’s a rich and vibrant history behind the Miller Mentoring Program.

On this week's Winhawk Q and A, Superintendent Dr. Annette K. Freiheit is joined by Miller Mentoring program director Drew Althoff to talk about the importance of volunteers and what they mean to the Miller Mentoring program.

Nicole Miller, a senior, recently received the 2021 Aspirations in Computing State Award, an honor bestowed by The National Center for Women & Information Technology that goes to students who have clearly and significantly demonstrated interest and aptitude for computing. It is the highest state-level honor a student can win from the NCWIT. 

Tim Gleason, a music teacher and band director in Winona Area Public Schools, has been selected to be a member of the American School Band Directors Association. 

The Winona Senior High School baking and pastry arts class taught by Shelly Spallees Hansen held a virtual Cupcake Wars.

Over the last year, the WAPS School Nutrition staff handed out 402,971 free meals to all students aged 18 and under in Winona, regardless if they attend a WAPS school or not. That number continues to rise each week, as all meals are free to students in school and also available to the community through a weekly pickup at Winona Senior High School on Wednesdays. 

We are beginning to plan for the spring sports season. Most spring sports will begin on Monday, March 29 — including middle school track. Baseball (pitchers and catchers) will begin March 22. 

The holiday season may be over, but the AVID Class of 2021 is still feeling grateful for the gifts they received from AVID this year.

The AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) Program at Winona Senior High School recently recognized the AVID Scholars of the Quarter for the second quarter of the 2020-21 school year. From the 9/10 AVID cohort, Emily Swartling was selected, while Ashley Roetter was selected from the 11/12 AVID cohort.

During the first semester, students in Susan Larsen’s Spanish 4 class at Winona Senior High School created 17 children’s books to donate to Wisconsin Nicaragua Partners (affiliated with the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point) for its library in Nueva Santa Celia, Nicaragua.

On this week's Q and A, Superintendent Dr. Annnette K. Freiheit provides an update on the Climate Cohort, which is a collaboration with the Minnesota Department of Education and the Regional Centers of Excellence. The three-year partnership will focus on a multi-tiered transformative school climate in service of educational equity. Dr. Freiheit is joined by Joe Jezierski, who works with the Regional Centers of Excellence but is also on the School Climate Team with MDE that put together this program, and Karla Winter, WAPS Director of Learning and Teaching.

Congratulations to the students who made the WSHS Honor Roll for the first semester.

Check out these photos of a mural painted by Chloe Porter, a junior at Winona Senior High School. 

Shannon Helgeson has been named one of 75 candidates for the 2021 Minnesota Teacher of the Year Award. Helgeson, an instructional coach with Winona Area Public Schools, was named one of three Winona Education Association Teachers of the Year for 2020-21 in November. 

The WSHS Theatre Group will perform a collection of monologues, skits and tech demonstrations during “A New Adventure,” at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 5 and 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 6. While only parents will be allowed in the auditorium, the public will be able to watch the Friday performance on the WAPS Activities YouTube channel linked here. A recording will also be posted to the WSHS Theatre Group Facebook page. 

Students at Winona Middle School and Winona Senior High School will have dozens of new courses to choose from beginning next year. 

Winona Senior High School culinary classes competed in an optional chili competition before the winter break. Students were asked to create their own recipes using what they learned in class about seasonings, spices, simmering and boiling. 

Director of Activities and Transportation Casey Indra joined Superintendent Dr. Annette K. Freiheit and communications coordinator John Casper to discuss the resumption of athletics, as well as any potential changes to transportation as Winona Area Public Schools begins to return to in-person and hybrid learning.

We are delighted to announce our gradual return to hybrid or in-person learning. This timeline was developed in accordance with the Minnesota Department of Education Safe Learning Plan, as well as Executive Order 20-103.
 

The AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) Program at Winona Senior High School recently recognized the AVID Scholars of the Quarter for the first quarter of the 2020-21 school year.

Do you want to help a worthwhile cause while donning your most hideous holiday sweater? Then you are in luck. The WSHS UNICEF Club is holding its first ever donation drive. The event is being held in collaboration with its festive Ugly Holiday Sweater Contest. 

On this week's Q and A with Dr. Freiheit, Winona Senior High School Principal Mark Anderson joins WAPS Superintendent Dr. Annette K. Freiheit and communications coordinator John Casper to discuss a recent survey sent to high school students, parents and alumni about course offerings and the curriculum. 

Jacob Feldman has been at Winona Senior High School for a decade, developing strong relationships with staff, students and families. He's now ready to do more as the WSHS assistant principal.

Check out the latest WSHS AVID Newsletter here to learn more about the program.

The School Nutrition staff at Winona Area Public Schools is now able to offer daily delivery of meals to families who reside within the district boundaries.

Barrie Schank, a language arts teacher at Winona Senior High School, is the recipient of the Foundation for Winona Area Public Schools Dare to Dream Grant. 

On Wednesday, Superintendent Dr. Annette K. Freiheit shared with communications coordinator John Casper about why the decision was made and what the district looks for when making decisions related to COVID-19. 

To celebrate a school year in which teachers were asked to do more than ever, the Winona Education Association decided to expand its teacher of the year program to honor not just one — but three teachers in Winona Area Public Schools. 

Daniel Florness, a senior at Winona Senior High School, was recently identified as a College Board National Recognition Program Scholar.

The Winona Senior High School AVID program is pleased to celebrate the end of year AVID Notable Scholars from the spring distance learning period. This was a challenging time for many students, and we are proud to acknowledge some of the students who rose to the challenge and flourished during an unprecedented time at WSHS.

The Foundation for Winona Area Public Schools recently approved two grants that will help students in the Ríos Spanish Immersion Program as well as the LEO Program at Winona Senior High School.

To help repay all that WSHS has done for him, Jerry Raddatz made a $50,000 donation to Winhawks athletics and activities at a ceremony Thursday morning at the high school.