[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Page 17129]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     LITTLE FALLS COMMUNITY MIDDLE SCHOOL, LITTLE FALLS, MINNESOTA

 Mr. DAYTON. Mr. President, today I honor Little Falls 
Community Middle School, in Little Falls, MN, which recently earned an 
Award for Excellence in Education for its exceptional and innovative 
achievements in educating children.
  Little Falls Community Middle School is truly a model of educational 
success. Every year since 1997, its Language Arts Department has 
invited well-known authors to work with the students to help develop 
their writing skills. Students are assigned beforehand to read one or 
more of each author's books. This approach to teaching both an 
appreciation of reading and improved writing skills works very well in 
a middle school setting.
  This year, Will Weaver was invited to work with the students. Some 
other authors who have participated are Will Durbin, Patricia Calvert, 
and Earl Fleck. The author spends 2 days teaching techniques for 
writing stories that allow the reader to ``feel'' what is happening. 
The authors discuss their favorite books, how they came up with the 
ideas for their books, how long it takes to write a chapter, and how 
they were able to get their first books published. Students come away 
from the experience believing that they, too, can become good writers.
  Another program unique to the school is its annual Water Festival, 
which allows sixth-graders to travel each year to nearby Camp Ripley 
for hands-on experience learning about the significance of water in our 
environment. The festival offers children an opportunity to discover 
how important water is in their lives and how we ourselves affect 
water, positively or negatively. They learn about water purification 
techniques, invertebrates that live in the water, wetland habitat, the 
history of the Mississippi River, and the characteristics of a 
watershed. The school makes use of National Guard staff, Department of 
Natural Resources Specialists, and representatives from the Science 
Museum of Minnesota.
  This year, Little Falls Community Middle School suffered a tremendous 
loss when one of its teachers, Mr. Lee Hochsprung, died suddenly. He 
had enjoyed spending time with his family, teaching at the middle 
school for 31 years in language arts, EBD, and social studies, hunting, 
fishing, camping, cooking, watching his children play sports, 
announcing wrestling matches, listening to all kinds of music, and 
reading history. He was a compassionate person, a motivator, and a 
loving husband, father, and loyal friend. The Little Falls community 
will remember Lee for his stories, jokes, great teaching skills, 
fabulous coaching ability, gift for connecting with students and 
parents, capacity for fun, and love for all children, especially for 
his own children, Laura, Paul, Phil, and Katie, and his wife Julie.
  Much of the credit for Little Falls Community Middle School's success 
belongs to its principal, Dr. Maxine Strege, and the dedicated 
teachers. The students and staff at Little Falls Community Middle 
School understand that in order to be successful, a school must go 
beyond achieving academic success; it must also provide a nurturing 
environment where students can develop the knowledge, skills, and 
attitudes for success throughout life. All of the faculty, staff, and 
students at Little Falls Community Middle School should be very proud 
of their accomplishments.
  I congratulate Little Falls Community Middle School in Little Falls 
for winning the Award for Excellence in Education and for its 
exceptional contributions to education in Minnesota.

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