In May 2013, Marshall students sat for 174 AP exams in 21 subjects, up a considerable 40% from 2012.  In fact, this increase reflects a remarkable increase in AP exams over the last three years. The trend looks to continue in 2014, as registrations for AP classes next year currently stand at 225. The increase reflects the addition of many new AP offerings for Marshall students in the past three years. The three most popular AP courses at Marshall in 2013 were calculus, world history, and European history. In 2014, they look to be biology, world history, and chemistry. 

Over four years, the number of AP exams taken by Marshall students will have increased a whopping 313% -- from 72 in 2011 to 225 in 2014. 

The percentage of seniors sitting for exams also continues to increase, with 45% taking exams in 2011, 60% in 2012, and 66% in 2013. In the state of Minnesota, only 30% of seniors take at least one AP exam before graduation. That number is even lower among the sciences, with only 8% of Minnesota seniors last year taking an AP science exam. Next year, Marshall will have 77 students registered in AP biology, AP chemistry, AP physics or AP computer science, representing 60% of the junior and senior classes. 

Marshall students also continue to perform well above the national average. The School's AP pass rate in 2012 was 82%, up from 70% in 2011 and much higher than the national average of 58%. Scores for the 2013 exams won't be made available until July. 

Marshall's high school chemistry classes have been playing games -- that they invented.

Over the course of this week, middle school students have been invited into high school chemistry classes to play games such as "Chemopoly," "Chemistry Taboo," or "Fish Farming." The games were created by 10th and 11th grade students in Ms. Maas' chemistry classes as an exercise to apply some of the knowledge they've learned over the course of the year. 

Students worked in groups to create games of their choice, along with instructions and an explanation of the science behind the game. While you don't find them in regular games, bibliographies were required!

On Tuesday, the lab was filled with laughter, interspersed with some oohs and aahs as younger students went station-to-station trying the games. In Fish Farming, they saw the concept of Boyle's Law in action as they changed the pressure in a bottle to submerge a toy diver. They learned about static electricity playing with a homemade Van de Graaff generator. In the picture above, they learned about polarity and density by seeing how oil and water create the effect in a lava lamp. 

Areas of study during this year’s senior projects include exploring the fields of psychology and accounting, learning basic Chinese, writing and recording an original choral duet, Nabokov’s politics, creating a short film, and volunteering in the areas of healthcare, the environment, animals, housing and youth development.

Come and tell stories.  Remember the formidable force of Mari Casserberg on the basketball court; the multiple sports of Mitch Corbin--what didn't he play?; the sheer speed of Katie McGee; and the athleticism and leadership of Tom Paul.  It will be a great evening (4:30-5:30 PM).

Scholarship Awards

Marguerite Gilmore Scholarship ($40,000): Christopher Jarocki

Robert B. and Sophia Whiteside Scholarships ($6,000/year-renewable): Joe Hodge, Claire Kleinschmidt, Bailey Widstrom, Sophie Wilkowske

Steve Rolland Youth Peacemaker Award ($1000): Jeremy Lopez

Minnesota Power Community Involvement Scholarship ($2500): Joe Hodge

Dr. Mark Rathke Family Scholarship ($1000): Joe Fairbanks

Francis S. Kosmerl Scholarship ($6000): Molly Matthews

Gitchee Gummee Kiwanis Club Scholarship ($3333): Sarah Carter, Joe Fairbanks, Claire Kleinschmidt, Ian MacEneany, Kate Minke

Alice Tweed Tuohy Fund for Excellence ($1000): Joe Hodge

National Merit Commended Scholar: Joe Hodge

National Merit Finalist Scholar: Sophie Wilkowske

Yale Book Award: Adam Kneepkens

Harvard Book Award: Calvin Kosmatka

 The Class of 2013 is taking almost $2 million of merit scholarships with them to college!

Trig-Star Awards

Trig-Star is an annual high school mathematics competition based on the practical application of trigonometry.

Division First Place: Tina Wu, $250

Division Third Place: Sunny Wang, $100

Centurion Award

Awarded to students who perform 100 or more hours of community service in one year.

These students won the Centurion Award each of their four years of upper school: 
Brandon Channell, Joe Hodge, Kate Minke

Senior Centurion Award Winners
Lauren Alworth, Emily Couture, JunOh Jung, Killian McKee, Sophie Wilkowske

Junior Centurion Award Winners
Stefan Granados, Adam Kneepkens, Seamus Mackinaw, Ian Peters, Tim Porter

Sophomore Centurion Award Winners
Hannah Carpenter, Lea Christiansen, Allison Hall, Tiffany Isaacson, Brent Larson, Jonathan Lipovetz, Mary Sawin, Elle Scott, Jeremy Stephan, Emily Watson, Tiffany Wong

Freshman Centurion Award Winners
Gaby Herbertz, Jocelyn Kreager, Kate Kropid, Kiah Lindgren, Lucy Mischler-Philbin

During the 2012-13 academic year, upper school students performed over 5300 hours of service in the community!

International Friendship Award

Johnny Chen, JunOh Jung, Herman Plentaytis, Julius Sengpiel, Nina Thorsen, Tina Wu

Scholastic Writing Competition

Tony Scrignoli, Nate Choi

Silver Key Award Winner: Clara Spencer

National Art Honor Society Members
Kiah Lindgren
Alexandra Meierhoff
Mary Baumgartner
Nate Choi
Meggan Goldberg
Gabriella Igboko
Natasha Khwaja
Asher Norland
HanVit Oh
Kori Ponder
Eric Qian
Toni Scrignoli
Madeline Johnson
Mikaela McParlan
Clara Spencer
Janica Tanner-Fahrlander
Sophie Wilkowske
Tina Wu

National Honor Society New Sophomore Members

Rosalie Birkeland
Cole Brashaw
Hannah Carpenter
Megan Coughlan
Tyler Cummins
Morgan Erickson
Ethan Fairbanks
Derek Farrell
Clayton Gunnarson
Allison Hall
Pentti Hanlon
Gavin Heller
Charles Hooghkirk
Grace Johnson
Joseph Johnson-O’Brien
David Kamper
Ann Kleinschmidt
Victoria Kucera
Brent Larson
Jonathan Lipovetz
Meghan Matthews
John McKenna
Anna Nordin
Payton Rengel
Nate Sepp
Jordan Spry
Jeremy Stephan
Weiting Sun
Tiffany Wong

 CONGRATULATIONS, HILLTOPPERS!

Students had many questions, and were able to meet the legislative aide to Erik Simonson, State Representative from Duluth. Students learned many things, including that being a MN State Representative is a volunteer position - Mr. Simonson is a firefighter.

After the Capitol tour, the group visited the Minnesota Historical Society, currently featuring a Civil War exhibit. Students learned about Minnesota Soldiers in the war, for example their important role in turning the tide towards the North in the famous Battle of Gettysburg.

Click here to view photos from the trip.

Could ever hear by tale or history,

The course of true love never did run smooth.”

The spring drama performance is upon us, and Marshall students will guide the audience through the tantalizing Shakespeare work, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. True love never did run smooth, but, in this play, it will reach such whimsical heights of complication that it could only ever be a dream. Or could it? With a focus on the humanity of the characters, human and otherwise, the production will preserve the clarity and beauty of Shakespeare’s language while engaging in universally appreciated silly, slapstick humor. Enter the heart of a true romantic comedy with this production by the Marshall Drama Department.

Performances in Fregeau Auditorium:

Friday, May 3 at 7 p.m.         

Saturday, May 4 at 2 p.m.

Sunday, May 5 at 2 p.m.

Tickets:

$7, General Admission

$5, Seniors

$3, Non-Marshall Students

FREE, current Marshall students and faculty

An official Minnesota State High School League activity, speech involves participation in one of 13 different events. Students work with coaches during the season 
to polish their presentation, and then compete against others in the same category at tournaments held each Saturday of the three-month season. Tournaments have three to four rounds of competition, with each round consisting of six competitors ranked against one another by a judge. Those with the lowest combined score after all the rounds wins.

State qualifiers this year are: 9th graders Emma Ehrhardt and Grant Roadfeldt; 10th grader Brent Larson; 11th grader Gunnar Roadfeldt; and senior Sophie Wilkowske.

Go 'Toppers!

The Duluth Art Institute celebrated YAM with an exhibit featuring the works of Twin Ports area youth, and pieces of artwork from four Marshall students were accepted for display. The students, including Nate Choi, Maddie Olson, Maddie Schenk, and Toni Scrignoli, created their pieces under the instruction of Mr. Anderson, and their artwork can be seen in the pictures below. The theme for the exhibit was ‘Scapes, as in “landscapes, seascapes, and the great escape offered through imagination, creativity, and art” (duluthartinstitute.org).

Congratulations to the students whose pieces were selected and a thank you to the Duluth Art Institute for recognizing the irreplaceable benefits of youth art programs. Marshall looks forward to seeing even more Hilltopper artwork in the show next year.

The seventh graders shared their handcrafted storybooks with the Nettleton first graders, who, in turn, shared what they have learned in their own science classes. The mutual lessons were followed by lunch and playground time for all students. This was just the beginning of the relationship for the students, who will write back and forth as pen pals for the remainder of the year and continue to exchange knowledge and conversation. As Mr. Gabler points out, “Duluth is a city where you can live your whole life and not know the people just down the street,” and this connection through science and learning will help students experience firsthand the value of community and friendship, even spanning schools and age levels.