Two seniors have been named 2018 National Merit Scholarship Program semifinalists.

Jackson Holm (Red River High School) and Kacy Jiran (Grand Forks Central High School) are two of approximately 16,000 semifinalists in the 63rd annual scholarship program.

About 1.6 million high school juniors in more than 22,000 high schools nationwide entered the program by completing the 2016 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. The semifinalists in each state are proportional to the state’s percentage of the national total of graduating seniors.

Approximately 15,000 of the semifinalists are expected to attain finalist standing and will be notified in February of the designation. Scholarship winners will be selected from the group of finalists, and approximately 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth about $32 million will be announced in the spring of 2018.

National Merit Scholars are selected by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC). Established in 1955, the organization’s mission is to recognize and honor academically talented students in the United States.

Community High School has received a $1,075 Poets in Schools grant from the North Dakota Council on the Arts (NDCA).

This grant program is designed to support visits and performances by practicing poets at schools participating in the North Dakota Poetry Out Loud Program. Poetry Out Loud (POL) is a national program that encourages students to learn about poetry through memorization and recitation. In addition, POL helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about literary history and contemporary life.

Since 2005, POL has grown to reach more than three million students and 50,000 teachers from 10,000 schools in every state, Washington, D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

“We are excited to get this grant as it will help us be more intentional in writing poetry,” said Eileen Zygarlicke, English teacher at Community. “Having a poet visit the school and work with us will be amazing. The students are looking forward to it.”

"We are also looking forward to seeing our students be challenged in their writing of poetry and their self-reflection. Hopefully, this can become an annual event at Community High School," said Kelly Entzel, English teacher at Community High School.

This project is supported in part by a grant from the NDCA, which receives funding from the state legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts.

For more information about the grant, please contact the Council on the Arts at 701-328-7593 or visit www.nd.gov/arts.

Sources of Strength Community Presentation

Did you miss the Sources of Strength community presentation, held September 27th at Red River High School? Grand Forks Public Schools has you covered. A video of the event can be found on our official YouTube page through the link below

Community High School Holds Fundraiser for Rockport