Along with Music in Our Schools Month, March is also Theatre in Our Schools Month, a time to recognize and celebrate the vital role theatre education plays in shaping students and strengthening communities. Theatre programs foster creativity, confidence, and collaboration. These skills will benefit students moving forward as they continue their education and enter the workforce.

Read more about Theatre in Our Schools Month and the importance of theatre in building skills that extend beyond the stage in this Feature Column by Performing Arts Facilitator Patrick Thiel.

Congratulations to Davies High School senior Cady Wang on on being named a Coca-Cola Scholar and being awarded a $20,000 college scholarship. Wang is one of 150 students selected to receive the scholarship from more than 105,000 applicants from across the country. Wang will join the other Coca-Cola Scholars at the Coca-Cola Scholars Weekend in Atlanta from April 3-6, where they will be honored at a banquet.

A joint effort of Coca-Cola bottlers across the country and The Coca-Cola Company, the Coca-Cola Scholars Program is the largest corporate-sponsored, achievement-based scholarship program in the United States. With the addition of the 2025 class, the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation will have provided more than 7,050 Coca-Cola Scholars nationwide with over $87 million in scholarships over the course of 37 years.

Fargo Public Schools Information Technology Professional Joe Throw was honored with the Sanford Ambulance Citizens Lifesaver Award on Tuesday at Hornbacher's grocery store for helping save another customer's life in January. A customer at the store collapsed and went into cardiac arrest and Throw, a retired flight paramedic, and another customer, who is a retired emergency room physician, along with store staff, performed CPR and applied an AED to get his heart beating again and allow time for emergency services to arrive.

Congratulations to Officer Troy Nielsen, School Resource Officer at South High School, on being awarded the Distinguished Service Medal in recognition of his 25 years of service to the Fargo Police Department and citizens of Fargo! Officer Nielsen was presented the award by FPD Chief of Police David Zibolski on March 5.

Congratulations to South High School Activities Director Mike Beaton on being named the Eastern Dakota Conference Athletic Director of the Year! He was selected for the award by the North Dakota Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association. He was presented the award at the East Region Basketball Tournament on Saturday.

Congratulations to all Fargo Public Schools students who were state qualifiers at the National History Day regional competition held at North Dakota State University. Students from North High School, South High School, and Davies High School qualified for the National History Day state competition, which will be held April 16 at the North Dakota Heritage Center and State Museum in Bismarck. View all FPS state qualifiers.

Congratulations to the Fargo Public Schools students who placed at the North Dakota State Boys Swimming and Diving Championships held on March 7-8 at the Hulbert Aquatic Center in West Fargo! View the full results from the meet.

Congratulations to the Fargo Public Schools esports teams that have qualified for the Fenworks North Dakota Esports State Tournament on March 28-29 at the University of North Dakota.

The following teams advanced:

• Chess: Davies-A, Davies-B, Davies-M, South HH, South KF, South MK, South NF
• Rocket League: Fargo RL Alpha Centauri
• Valorant: Fargo Val Hardstuck
• League of Legends: Fargo LoL Caffiends
• Minecraft Bedwars: Fargo Minecraft

Congratulations to Davies High School's Jaylee Bornemann and Summer Thomas on signing their National Letters of Intent to compete in college. Bornemann will be attending University of Mary and competing in cross country and track. Thomas will be attending Bismarck State College and competing in volleyball.

The Fargo Public Schools Human Capital Department wants to shine a spotlight on its valuable employees who have a tremendous positive impact on the District's students, staff, and families. The District's employees are crucial to achieving our goal of educating and empowering all students to succeed. HC has selected FPS staff members who are deserving of greater recognition and will highlight them each week. Meet Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments Julie Anderson in this week's Employee Spotlight.

Fargo Public Schools will release students two hours early from school tomorrow, Friday, March 14. Contact your school for more information regarding early release days and how they will affect your child's schedule.

There will be NO SCHOOL from next Monday, March 17 through next Friday, March 21 for Spring Break. Classes will resume as regularly scheduled on Monday, March 24.

Help your school, register for kindergarten for Fall 2025 as soon as possible! It is important to register your child soon to give FPS and your future school enough time to plan ahead for the school and year and give all students the best experience possible. Your child is eligible to attend school in the fall if they turn 5 by July 31, 2025. If you know somebody with a 5-year-old, please pass the word and tell them to register their child for kindergarten! Visit the FPS kindergarten registration webpage to learn more about the registration process and register.

Registration for Fargo Public Schools' Summer School 2025 is open. FPS Summer School offers opportunities for students from elementary through high school to participate in programs focused on academics, athletics, arts, and more. View Fargo Public Schools' Summer School 2025 offerings and register for summer school.

Light up your summer! Spark your creativity, radiate confidence, and focus the spotlight on you at Trollwood Performing Arts School this summer with performing arts classes and performance opportunities for students currently in Grades K-12. Trollwood summer registration is now open.

Trollwood offers a full array of classes, performing opportunities, and technical theater experiences for every skill level, from elementary to middle school to high school. Learn more about Trollwood's summer programming in this special edition of SchoolTalk.

The Red River ZOOMobile is visiting third grade classrooms at Fargo Public Schools elementary schools this February and March. A representative from the Red River Zoo brings several animals into the classroom and gives the students an up-close look and information about the animals. As part of the presentation, the students learn a number of facts about each animal, including what it eats, who their predators are, where they live, the lifespan of the animal, how old that specific animal is, and other fun facts.

Members of the Cass County 40 & 8, Fargo AMVETS, and Fargo American Legion are visiting elementary schools in the Fargo-Moorhead area this February and March to give Flags for First Graders presentations, focused on the history and importance of the United States flag.

During the presentation, Flags for First Graders Coordinator Dave Rice covers the history of the flag from its creation in 1777 through the modern day. He explains the significance and symbolism of the stars and stripes and the colors red, white, and blue, and explains how the flag’s design has evolved over time. He covers flag code, including proper ways to display the flag, etiquette for the National Anthem, folding the flag, retiring the flag, and more. At the conclusion of the presentation, each student is given a U.S. flag and a brochure about the flag provided by Fargo AMVETS Post 7.

The Fargo Public Schools Development Foundation is celebrating its 25th anniversary with the Swing for Success Suite Shots Golf Scramble from 6:30-9:30 p.m. Thursday, March 27. The entry fee for the four-person, 9-hole scramble is $100 per player, which includes prizes, food, and non alcoholic beverages. Non-golfers can come for the fun for $35 to enjoy the non-golf festivities.

Enjoy delicious food and drinks from Suite Shots while supporting a great cause — every dollar raised will help enrich educational opportunities for Fargo Public Schools students. Register here.

The Fargo Public Library has several events coming up for kids and teens, including the Know my Culture: China event on March 15, Traditional Japanese Toys & Games event for teens and adults on March 18, and the Northern Narratives Writing Projects for kids and teens, accepting submissions through March 31. Visit the Fargo Public Library website for more information about these events and more.

The Board of Education's Planning Committee exists to make sure the full Board has all the information it needs to make decisions regarding FPS resources and physical assets. In addition to overseeing the District’s budget, one of the main focuses of the Planning Committee is to work with administration to develop, update, and implement our long-range financial and facilities plans.

Read more about the considerations of the Planning Committee in this Board Column by Board of Education Planning Committee Chair Greg Clark.

The Board of Education of the City of Fargo meets in regular session on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month, beginning at 5:30 p.m. To find Board meeting agendas and schedules, a broadcast link, an archive of past meetings, and more, visit the Board of Education webpages on the FPS website.

Read the Board Briefs from the March 11 regular meeting of the School Board.

This newsletter is published weekly on Thursdays during the school year when classes are in session. Material for publication is due by noon on Tuesday of the week of desired publication.

Email: comments@fargo.k12.nd.us
Website: www.fargo.k12.nd.us
Location: 700 7th Street South, Fargo, ND
Phone: 701.446.1000