The father of one of the students in Linda Applegate’s advisory class at Southwest Middle School returned from deployment to Iraq this past month.

Ron Sundve, stationed out of Ft. Hood, Texas, came to his son Levi’s advisory class to speak about his time in the Army and his deployments to Iraq. He talked about his job in the infantry, and that what people see on television is pretty much what he does.

He told about the 70-plus pounds of equipment that each of them carries around while they are on duty or marching. He talked about the 130-degree temperatures and how they deal with them. Only in his second deployment did the soldiers have air conditioning when they slept.

Sudve also talked about being wounded and losing his best friend. He shared how glad he was to be an American, though he would like to be stationed in Germany sometime and to be able to travel.

His next job will be in Kentucky learning to work on Chinook helicopters.

Sundve also stayed to talk with Applegate’s first-hour class.

Early childhood screening planned

The state requires a check of vision, hearing and developmental growth of all 3- to 5-year-olds before starting kindergarten.

The Albert Lea School District conducts free screenings each month at Brookside Education Center. If your child has not been screened, please call Julie at 379-4843 or e-mail jsager@albertlea.k12.mn.us to schedule your child’s 60- to 75-minute appointment. The next screening will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 26, from 1 to 6 p.m.

Sibley gears up for Prairie Fire Theatre

Sibley Elementary school is gearing up for Prairie Fire Children’s Theatre the week of Jan. 25-30. This year students in third through sixth grade will present “Sleeping Beauty.” Two directors from Prairie Fire will bring their expertise, music, scripts, costumes and sets. Sleeping Beauty is a new musical written by past directors Megan Pence and Daniel Stock. This year’s directors are new to Sibley. In one week’s time, all after school hours, they will have a musical ready for parents, classmates and the community. Show times will be 7 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 29, and Saturday, Jan. 30, at 10:30 a.m. at Southwest Little Theater.

Exploratory day at SWMS

On Thursday, Southwest Middle School students participated in the second exploratory day of the school year. They had the opportunity to sign up for activities such as: ice fishing, Risk, scrapbooking, ice skating, bowling and more.

ALHS students take part in Dorian Festival

Six vocal students from the ALHS Concert Choir were selected to participate in the Dorian Vocal Festival at Luther College Jan. 9-11.

Ben Knutson, Aaron Thomas, Noah Christopherson, Mikaela Pierson, Maddy Ruble and Samantha Petersen were all chosen for the Select Chamber Choir of 100 voices. They rehearsed under the direction of Craig Arnold, Sandra Peter and Tim Peter and presented a concert on Monday night with 1,300 other high school students from six states.

Each ALHS student also sang a solo for vocal teachers and received helpful comments on their vocal technique and song interpretation.

Eighth-graders to register soon for ALHS classes

The time to register for classes for the 2010-11 school year at ALHS is quickly approaching. The high school guidance office will be at SWMS meeting with eighth-grade students in their science classes during the week of Feb. 1 to begin this process. Registration information will be distributed and the course offerings previewed with students. When students bring registration information home, parents are asked to review the material and help make course selections for their ninth-grade year. All registration materials may be found on the guidance office web page: http://es.albertlea.k12.mn.us/hsdeans/default.aspx.

High school registration approaching

The time to register for classes for the 2010-11 school year at ALHS is quickly approaching. The ALHS guidance office staff will work with students in ninth through 11th grades on registration during the week of Feb. 1 in English classes. Registration information will be distributed and the course offerings previewed with students. As parents and students review the registration materials and discover they have questions about which classes to choose, they are strongly encouraged to contact current teachers or an administrator about courses and recommendations for the next year. All registration materials may be found on the guidance office web page: http://es.albertlea.k12.mn.us/hsdeans/default.aspx.