NYM to present findings from ICS listening sessions
Published on October 14, 2025 at 2:35pm GMT+0000 | Author: Tucker Henderson
0By Adam Johnson
NYM School Superintendent
Hello everyone, I hope the start of the school year has gone smoothly for everyone. At New York Mills Schools, we have had a great start so far.
The open house celebration and Neon Dance that was hosted by Close-Up were great ways to start the school year. Both were well-attended and it was awesome to see students and families excited to start the school year. Thank you to everyone for coming out and to our Parent’s Nest for helping organize so many aspects of open house.
In collaboration with Footprints, we have some new chairs to use in the Sports Center and at different student events. Thank you Footprints for helping with this purchase.
Lego League is rocking and rolling. The competition for Lego League is scheduled for Friday, December 12th in Bemidji. Thank you to Lund Boats for being the official sponsor of Lego League.
The third graders enjoyed an awesome trip to Itasca State Park and used our bike fleet to travel some of the trails. Jeff Rimpila has organized our bike fleet over the years, so a huge thank you to Mr. Rimpila for keeping this going. The students had a great time at the state park. Thank you to Ms. Blaha, Ms. Erickson, Mrs. Hotakainen, and Mr. Hotakainen for helping organize this opportunity for our students.
Homecoming week took place from September 29 to October 3. The dress up days this year were: pajama day, country vs. country club day, class color day, teacher/student swap day, and then spirit day. On Monday, the coronation took place. King and Queen candidates read letters honoring a person of impact. There were several incredible musical performances before Slade Doll and Annika Dunrud were crowned Homecoming King and Queen. On Friday, the elementary pepfest took place where the entire student body was wearing blue. The school also put on a parade featuring our band and fall activities and class floats. Thank you to everyone who donated candy and came out to watch the parade. After lunch, we enjoyed the high school pepfest that included football, volleyball, name that tune, lip sync, and a wrestling match. It was an awesome week with tons of excitement throughout the building. Thank you to everyone who participated and helped make Homecoming an incredible week.
On the activities end, cross country is moving towards sections, which take place on October 24 in Bagley. The runners continue to set personal records every meet and will be ready for sections! The football team is currently 1-5, after a 40-20 win against Menahga on Homecoming Friday. They have been close in every game this year. The final regular season game is set for October 15 against Wadena-Deer Creek. The tennis team is wrapping up their season. Aurora Jabas has advanced to the second weekend of individuals as of writing. The team finished 19-5 on the season, after a 3-4 loss to Becker in the section team tournament. Congratulations to the tennis team on a great season. The volleyball team is currently 4-16, with three regular season games to go (as of this writing) against Henning, Menahga, and Wadena-Deer Creek. Good luck to all teams in sections and Go Eagles.
Auditions were held and practice has begun for the fall play directed by Angela Wright. The performance of Peter Pan Non-Flying Version! will be open to the public on November 21 following the school carnival.
The ICS Listening Sessions have been completed. The next steps in this process will be a facilities presentation on October 27 at the board meeting which takes place at 5:30 p.m. in the HS Media Center. On October 20, there will be two presentations that share the information from the listening sessions: The first will be at the Senior Citizen Center at 9:30 a.m. and then another for the community at 12 p.m. More information will be coming soon on this. Thank you to everyone who helped in our listening sessions.
MEA break is already here. The students have an early release at 1 p.m. on October 15 and then no school from October 16-17. On October 20, the staff will continue working on LETRS training that is a part of the state required literacy training. There will be no school for students on October. 20.
Bella Huwe has organized a Blood Drive that takes place on October 17 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Activity Center. If you are interested in donating, go to redcrossblood.org to sign up. Thank you to all who will donate and thank you Bella for leading this.
Turkey Bingo is scheduled for October 28 from 5-7 p.m. in the Commons. Come on out, win a turkey, and support the Education Foundation.
Band and choir concerts are coming up as well. There is a 7-12 band concert on November 3 and then a 7-12 choir concert on November 6.
Elementary and high school conferences are scheduled on November 13 and begin at 1:30 p.m. There will be an early release at 1 p.m. on this date, with no school on November 14.
The elementary carnival is coming up as well. The annual carnival will take place on November 21 after school. We hope to see you there.
There is always plenty happening at NYM Schools. Please follow our facebook page and website to keep up to date with everything. If there are ever any questions, please feel free to reach out. Thank you and Go Eagles.