Rosetta Stone Field Trip

           On Tuesday, March 8^th, the Rosetta Stone students went to the Wabasha Street Caves and the Swedish Museum. Mrs. Strehlow and Mr. Hulse chaperoned us. We took a mini bus and drove there. We explored the caves and heard cool stories about them, like mushrooms grew in them for a while. Gangsters hung out in them, and some were killed in the caves and never found. It was very interesting to learn about the types of things that went on in St. Paul years ago.

            After we left the caves, we went for an early lunch at Boca Chica’s. They had great Mexican food. Then, we just cruised around and looked at different gangster hideouts. We went to the Swedish Museum next. It was a mansion/castle and was gorgeous. When we got inside, we went on a tour of it. It was amazing. Much of it was restored to how it originally looked. We learned a lot about Swedish people and their traditions. It was also really cool to hear other things from history, like a very intricate stain glass window. The whole experience was fascinating and educational. We were glad that we got to do it.

By Monica and Jenny

Science Museum Experiential Trip

     On February 18, 2011, the whole Middle School got on a bus and headed to the Science Museum. During the field trip, we learned about optical illusions, the human body, rocks, and roller coasters.  Most of the groups watched the optical illusion show and learned about how the brain works hard to try to figure out what the image is. In the human body, we found out that if you weigh 80 lbs there is 5 pints of blood in your body. We learned that the main three types of rocks are igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic; we also learned that sand is made up of little rocks. Everyone took a roller coaster class during which we learned about speed, and how they are slowed down. We all had lots of fun and learned many new things.

By Bethany and Gaby 

Orchestra Hall Experiential Trip

 

                On January 27^th, 2011, the St. Croix Lutheran Middle School students all climbed on a bus and set out for Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis. We were accompanied by Mr. Russ, Mr. Hulse, Mrs. Strehlow, and for this trip, our music teacher, Mr. Pufahl. We were all dressed in our finest just as instructed and after a fairly short bus ride, arrived at our destination. We exited the bus and made our way into Orchestra Hall and then to our seats. 

                This year (we also took a trip to Orchestra Hall last year) we had seats on the main floor, which was very different from the previous year where we sat in the balcony. We heard several wonderful and unique pieces during the performance, including: Tubby the Tuba Kleisinger, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Bachianas Brasileriras No. 2: The Little Train of the Brazilian Countryman, Mi Chiamano Mimi Verdi, Haydn Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in D Major: II Un poco Adagio,  and Haydn Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in D Major: III Rondo all’Ungherse.   

                 The architecture of Orchestra Hall is also very impressive, there are large cubic figures sticking out of the walls and ceiling of the hall to improve the way the sound echoes throughout the audience. There are plans for Orchestra Hall to be remodeled in 2013, with how amazing the hall is currently, once remodeled it should be extravagant. So, after the performance ended and all of the clapping had subsided, we made our way out to our bus to enjoy lunch on the way back to St. Croix. I think that the trip allowed made us a difference for all of us, it really opened our eyes, and ears, to the beauty and importance of music.

By Sofie and Leah

Twin Cities Fine Arts Festival

On Saturday November 6^th the St. Croix Middle School students performed at the much anticipated Twin Cities Fine Arts Festival, TCFAF for short. We’d spent the music classes from the beginning of the year preparing the pieces that we were to perform. We sang the songs Bonse Aba with our entire Festival Choir, all of the middle school students, Night of Silence with just the St. Croix Girl’s Choir, all of the girls in the middle school, and finally, , with all of the other schools attending the festival because it was chosen to be the mass number for this year. We were directed by our music teacher, Mr. Pufahl.

We performed our pieces before a judge and over all received very positive feedback; we also took into consideration the tips that she gave us to make our performances even better.

TCFAF was also an opportunity for some individual performances. There were several vocal and instrumental solos, duets, and one ensemble that the students put together. Each performance was judged and scored into a certain category and the performer received the award corresponding to what category they’d been placed in. There was also the best in site award which was awarded to the top scoring performer in each site, vocal and instrumental. This year the Best in Site Vocal Award was given to our very own Erika Rider who sang the song, “Temporary Home” by Carrie Underwood, and Katya Gurgel, who is also one of our students, was awarded the Best in Site Instrumental Award for her flute solo. Those awarded best in site were also asked to perform in the Evening Concert at the end of the festival.

So, our school as a whole did very well at the festival. The Evening Concert was also a great experience; it was a chance for us to perform in front of the students from other schools and their families, and also to watch them perform and learn from them. St. Croix had some very exciting pieces to bring to the table. Our best in site performers also did very well with their pieces at the concert. So, the St. Croix Students brought a lot of great music to the Twin Cities Fine Arts Festival and hope to do the same next year.

by Sofie & Leah