Wrenshall News

The Wrenshall graduating class of 2019 was honored last Friday with a ceremony at the school. (There they all are, below.) Twenty-five students received their diplomas. Representatives from the class spoke, as well as retiring teacher David Blinn. A recurring theme in the student presentations was how the Wrenshall school community felt like a family and how the nurturing relationships they have with peers, teachers, and administration can set them on a path for professional and personal success.

Blinn spoke of the special role the school plays in the development of community. He talked about how gratifying it was to see students that he had in class turn into colleagues as teachers, administration and board members and how those transitional relationships drive home the importance of positive education.

“The whole evening felt good for our souls,” said resident Caroline Johnson. “I felt so proud of our students, of our community. It made you realize that all that work we have put into our school is worth every bit of effort — this is our heart.”

Following is a letter from my parents, John and Elizabeth Dugan, about the Wrenshall school and the recent election:

We are proud. We are proud of a prosperous Wrenshall community. Farmers, herders, and orchardists make food and flowers; entrepreneurs provide services in construction, well drilling, concrete form manufacture, excavation, food and drink, automotive and small motor maintenance, fuel and retail convenience products, auctions, assisted living care. Large companies maintain installations in the district. For entertainment, there are a corn maze and haunted house and a film and art barn. Retirees and young families choose to move and settle here.

We are proud of the Wrenshall School: the parents who send eager youngsters, the teachers and staff who devote careers to promote learning. ...

... In recent years, three times the community considered projects for the school’s future and turned them down. Each time, officials presented a prudent detailed plan and led a thorough consultation with district residents. Positions for and against were debated in forums and the press, through the mail, and in homes. Turnout at the polls was high. ...

... A town that fosters youth in a school setting is nurturing people who see the community as their home; it is guaranteeing its future. Those men and women and young people who work to secure that future are heroes.