Author Archives: ElizabethHedlund

First, my apologies to the Owatonna community. I had prepped and planned to be virtually present for the school board meeting on 8/28/2023 while my family was spending a long weekend in Wisconsin Dells. When I attempted to connect to the meeting with the Google Meet invitation received last week, the wheels were turning butContinue reading “Update/News”

The application process is open for anyone to apply for the District Curriculum Advisory Committee. This committee allows up to 25 members and will meet once monthly during the school year. Membership is one year, but could possibly be longer if desired and space allows. District meetings are “closed” meetings, meaning that the general publicContinue reading “Curriculum”

The school board met on August 7, 2023 for a four-hour retreat at The Learning Zone and again on August 14, 2023 for our monthly work session at the district office. The retreat was led by Dr. Ray Queener from TeamWorks (https://teamworks4ed.com/). We engaged in a team building exercise and Ray led us in discussionsContinue reading “Retreat and Work Session”

The only school board meeting for July was held in the school district office, 5 school board members attended. I was not able to attend this meeting but have listened to the recording on the district website. The link to the meeting video: https://youtu.be/_fBdhY9RVRE As per all regular school board meetings, public forum was anContinue reading “July 10, 2023 Regular Meeting”

Our school board meeting was held at the district office, beginning at 5:30pm, where all meetings will be held until further notice. Save the date! Grand opening for the new Owatonna High School will be held September 23, 2023. This fall, there will also be a farewell open house at the old high school building.Continue reading “June 26,2023 Regular Meeting”

The school board meeting on June 12,2023 began with a Special Meeting due to the need to approve an updated copier/printer lease agreement and an updated personnel report. The board approved a 5 year lease agreement with Marco after reviewing comparative results and recommendations from Lori Volz, our director of finance. The new company MarcoContinue reading “June 12,2023 Special/Closed Sessions and Work Session”

We held our regular school board meeting in the small group forum room at the high school for the last time. Until further notice, all future school board meetings, regular and work sessions, will be held at the district office. We said thank you and goodbye to Hailey, our student school board member who isContinue reading “May 22, 2023 Regular Meeting Update”

Our school board work session was held at 5:30pm May 8, 2023 at the district office, all 7 board members were in attendance, and we concluded at 7:30pm. Nutrition services began with a presentation and updates for the year. Sarah Brooks is a registered dietitian and leads our team. Owatonna schools have 7 kitchens withinContinue reading “May 8,2023 Work Session”

In follow up to the earlier post this week, I want to clarify that there are existing portions of current high school that will remain in place and updated with the previously approved referendum money. Hope this helps! This link will answer some of the questions people have had: https://engageowatonna.com/the-high-school Based on the information inContinue reading “Clarification”

Twenty-one years ago, I was pregnant with my first-born child. Growing up, all I ever wanted to be was a mommy and here I was, finally anticipating and excitedly preparing for my own baby! I carefully chose my baby’s crib based on design, color, functionality and our budget. When the baby’s room was complete, IContinue reading “The Old and the Beautiful”