Joyce Bensen has been involved with Park Christian School since the very beginning.

She was part of the founding board and served as school administrator during the 1986-87 school year. She has prayed for the school every day that PCS has been in existence. She has given financially to help the school on a monthly basis since 1983. Right up to the weeks before her death, at age 95, Joyce has stayed connected to the school and wanted to know what was going on. She has left a great legacy of care and prayer! We rejoice in the legacy that Joyce has left here on earth, and we rejoice that she is now at home with Jesus in heaven!

Nineteen Park Christian 7th, 8th and 10th grade students presented at the Regional Science Fair February 9 at MSU-Moorhead.

1st place, 11th grader Amy Anfinrud

This earns a free trip to the Intel® International Science and Engineering Fair® in May

2nd place, 10th grader Lexi Madlom

Lexi will get to attend the INTEL ICEF as an observer

I-SWEEEP trip winner, 10th grader Lexi Madlom

High School Paper competition

1st place for all high school projects: 10th grader, Jake O’Neill

Junior High Paper competition

1st place for all junior high projects: 8th grader, Sarah Herlihy

This qualifies both students for the state paper competition.

The following students were invited to present their projects at the MN State Science Fair held in April in Bloomington, MN:

Amy Anfinrud, Dan Stone, Josiah Militzer, Lexi Madlom, Jake O’Neill, Sarah Herlihy, Brock Aamodt, and Jared Motschenbacher.

Individual Student Awards given at the Regional Science Fair to Park Christian students:

Lexi Madlom: American meteorological society award, National Society of Engineers Award, Association of Women Geoscientists Award, NOAA Award, 2nd place MN Fisheries Award, The Stockholm Junior Water Prize

Jared Motschenbacher: US Metric Association Award, Broadcom Masters Award

Brock Aamodt: US Public Health Award, Broadcom Masters Awards

Isaac Sawchuk, Carmen Albrecht, Olson Langness: US Air Force Award

Jake O’Neill: The Stockholm Junior Water Prize

Carmen Albrecht: Broadcom Masters Awards

Katy S., Jerad N., Kaylen Q., and Austin N. participated in the Moorhead High School Speech meet on Saturday, February 9th.

Austin Noyes advanced to the final round in Extemporaneous Speaking and placed 6th out of thirty speakers. Twenty-five schools participated in the meet. Congratulations speakers!

Matt joins the following PCS basketball players at achieving this benchmark:

Grant Gunhus, Austin Pennick, Billy Hall, Tom Schwandt, Abby Passolt, Steph Porter, Emma Kiemele

Hannah Passolt, and Haley Nickel.

February 5th, Park Christian Team Purple (Scott S., Mike Richards, Josh Heideman, and Sam Quanbeck) took 1st place overall!

Park Christian Team Pink (Cole Satrom, Jake O’Neill, Jordan Kerr, and Sam Skarphol) received the Excellence In Written Round award for getting the highest written round score of the meet and took 3rd place overall for the day. They competed against 20 other teams from the region. The Knowledge Bowl team is coached by Ms. Alison Orgaard.

Six PCS students competed in the MSHSL Sub-Section One Act Play on January 26 at Hawley High School. Under the direction of Ms. Abby Passolt, they presented "We're Not making This Play Up As We Go---Honest," by Bradley Walton. PCS 2006 PCS Alumni, students performing the play were, Nick Skindelien, Joanna Hogness, Scott Schwandt, Alyssa Meyer, Josh Heideman and Amy Anfinrud.

Nick Skindelien and Amy Anfinrud were named Actors of Merit.

Amy Anfinrud was also named one of the four outstanding performers of Section 6-A-Subsection 23.

Congratulations to the 2013 Park Christian School National Geography Bee (held Jan. 10th) winners!

Tommy Stueland, grade 6, 1st place

Josiah Quanbeck, grade 8, 2nd place

Austin Noyes, 11th grade, was awarded first place for his speech written and video-taped for the V.F.W. District 9 Voice of Democracy Speech Contest. District 9 is composed of 31 posts.

Austin will be invited to attend the state competition and banquet January 25th in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The winner of the state competition is invited to compete at the national level in Washington D.C.

Update: Austin placed 4th at the State Voice of Democracy competition for the State of Minnesota and was awarded $500. Congratulations Austin!

On February 13th, Park Christian School participated in the MathCounts competition held at the Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM). The mission of MathCounts is to inspire excellence, confidence and curiosity in U.S. middle school students through fun and challenging math problems. Once a week during the past 3 months, PCS students in the 7th and 8th grades met after school to practice problem solving in all areas of mathematics.

The four Mathletes who qualified for the team were: 8th graders Jared Motschenbacher, Sarah Herlihy, Kate Lodewyk , and Josiah Quanbeck.

8th graders Kaylen Quanbeck, Kara Walton, Olson Langness, and 7th graders Anna Skarphol, Brock Aamodt, and Jacob Thompson competed as individuals.

Park Christian placed 6th out of 13 schools and Jared Motschenbacher ranked 16th of all participating students. Kathy Hanson, coach of the PCS Mathletes, would like to thank the students for all of their hard work in preparing for this challenging event.

Eight PCS Jr. High students participated in the Region 6-3A Jr. High Honor Band in December, held at Hawley High School. The students rehearsed all day with conductor Dr. Peter Haberman (director of the Concordia College Band) and 72 other musicians from 9 area schools and presented a concert for their parents and friends. Sarah Herlihy, Taryn Nellermoe and Kaylen Quanbeck (flute), Emily Hultin (trumpet), Kara Walton (trombone), Anna Skarphol and AnnaGrace Ziebarth (French horn), and Olson Langness (tenor sax) did a fantastic job of representing Park Christian School.

Flutist Sarah Herlihy (8th Grade), represented Park Christian School at the Northwest Region Minnesota Band Directors Association 6th-8th Grade Honor Band held on Saturday, Jan. 19th in Fergus Falls. Sarah joined 150 students from twenty-five schools.

From Molly M., 6th grade:

On November 26, my dad and I went to Haiti with Convoy of Hope for a few days. We stayed in the city of Port au Prince. We were able to go visit kids in three orphanages, one school, and we also went to a rural village and a rice farm. We handed out suckers and soccer balls to the kids. I also played soccer with kids from the rural village. Lastly we stopped at a rescue house for teenage girls.

This trip was special to me because it made me realize how fortunate and blessed I am. It also challenged me not to take things for granted and to be happy with what I have. My favorite part of the trip was spending time with the kids in the orphanages and school. I also enjoyed playing soccer with the kids from the village. I was able to buy bracelets and a necklace that were made by the girls at the rescue house. It was a really inspiring trip and I hope I can go back to Haiti again in the future.

	Miss Ramstad's Speech Class

From Emily S., 11th grade:

This Christmas, our eighth period speech class and wonderful teacher, Miss Ramstad, decided to do something out of the ordinary. In October Miss Ramstad suggested to the class that we should do some type of service project. After talking it over, we chose to provide Christmas presents for two families from the Jeremiah Program. The Jeremiah program is a nationally recognized non-profit organization that helps families move from poverty to prosperity. Our class decided to assist two single moms by purchasing gifts for their Christmas.

We raised a total of five hundred dollars to put toward the gifts. Two weeks before Christmas, some classmates went to Kohl’s and were able to get really amazing gifts for the families. Hannah Conrad made an inspiring observation. “This made me realize all that I have, and it is so nice that our class has the opportunity to give back to people.” Doing this for the two single moms has really given our class joy, and we are thankful that we can help people that are in need.

Our students have put together a list of 100 reasons why they love Park Christian School.

Click here to view the full list!

The Park Christian School football team is part of the North Tri-County Conference. PCS athletes received the following Conference awards:

All conference Awards:

Seniors Josh Heideman, Simeon Reiswig, and Mike Morse; Juniors Matt Moberg and Hunter Nickel

All Conference Honorable Mention:

Seniors Colby Smith and David Tompkins; Juniors Josh Heinen and Duncan Hannestad

Coach of the year for the conference:

Park Christian School Head Coach: Dan Kowalski

Most Valuable Back in the Conference

PCS Senior: Simeon Reiswig

Simeon Reiswig broke the All-Time Conference record for passing yards in the North Tri-County Conference, passing for 1661 yards. The previous record was held by Nick Beiswenger of Climax-Fisher where he had passed for 1582 yards back in 2001.

Arianna Vidger has been named a Commended Student in the 2013 National Merit Scholarship Program. About 34,000 Commended Students throughout the nation are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise. Although they will not continue in the 2013 competition for National Merit Scholarship awards, Commended Students placed among the top five percent of more than 1.5 million students who entered the 2013 competition by taking the 2011 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT).

“Recognizing academically talented students plays a fundamental role in the advancement of educational excellence within our nation,” commented an NMSC spokesperson. “These young people recognized as Commended Students represent some of the best and brightest minds in the country as demonstrated by their outstanding performance in our highly competitive program. We sincerely hope this recognition will provide them with additional educational outlets and motivate them in their pursuit of academic achievement.”

From 2010 PCS graduate Josie Peterson:

"This summer, I interned in the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, D.C. for Rick Berg. I spent my days talking to constituents, doing legislative research, and working with the press team. I was also able to explore the city and attend political events on my own time.

My internship in Congress was one of the best experiences of my life. I am double majoring in journalism and political science, so the opportunity to put what I've learned into practice has been invaluable. In my free time, I found a wonderful church and made some great friends. The summer flew by!"

Michael Moran joins PCS to teach 7th grade Social Studies and 10th grade Evangelism. Michael completed his student teaching experience at PCS under the supervision of Mr. Jeremy Nelson in the spring of 2012. He is a 2012 graduate of MSUM and is an active worshiper at First Assembly in Fargo. We are thankful to have Mr. Moran join our teaching staff.

Andrea Ramstad joins the PCS teaching staff as our high school speech teacher. Andrea has her B.A. in Communication from Arizona State University, and her M.A. in Communication from North Dakota State University. Ms. Ramstad recently moved back to the Fargo/Moorhead community and is teaching classes at NDSU as well as our speech classes. Andrea loves to share her testimony, claiming Jesus as her Savior and giving God all the glory.

Sue Anderson rejoins the teaching staff at PCS. After one year away, Sue agreed to come back to PCS and fill our need of a Jr. High Art teacher. What a blessing to have Mrs. Anderson back at PCS this fall! She faithfully served at PCS for over 25 years before taking on additional classes at the college level. Sue continues to teach art at Concordia College and M State.

Steph Lien is welcomed to the PCS staff. Steph has three kids attending PCS: Brandon – 8th, Ally – 5th, and Phillip – 1st. After spending the past 8 years pouring into their lives as mom, Mrs. Lien joins our staff as one of our Noon/Recess Supervisors. Steph and her family are active members at Brookdale Baptist Church.

Heidi Daugherty joins PCS as the Lunch Supervisor. The Daugherty’s daughter, Andrea, graduated in 2010, and Austin -11th, and Allan – 5th, currently attend. The Daughertys attend Eagle Valley E Free Church in Wolverton. We are delighted to have Heidi greeting and serving our students each day through the lunch line.

Other new staff were highlighted on page 8 of the August Falcon Flier.

Congratulations to the PCS chili cook off team for winning the Triumph Lutheran Brethren East Campus Chili Cook off for the second year running! Thanks shoppers, choppers, servers, and voters!

Congratulations to the 2012-2013 PCS Singers, under the direction of Cheri Reiswig.

PCS Singers is a select singing group chosen from students in grades 10-12 who are members of the high school choir. The students in PCS Singers serve as musical ambassadors in the FM community and participate in MSHSL Vocal Festivals, in addition to the regularly scheduled concerts.

Women:

Haley Dyer, Sierra Ellefson, Tia Kjelland, Emily St. John, Emily Tsen, Amanda Walton, and Cora Williams

Men:

Micah Jasperse, Daniel Lewis, Adam Lutz, Austin Noyes, Sam Quanbeck, and Ander Sawchuk

Congratulations to the 2012-2013 Student Council, under the direction of Amy Rogness and Brook Spaulding.

President: Adam Lutz

Vice President: Nick Skindelien

12th Grade Representatives: Ricky Feir, Sarah Fletcher, Simeon Reiswig

11th Grade Representatives: Austin Daugherty, Courtney Nepstad, Ander Sawchuk

10th Grade Representatives: Chris Borgen, Jordyn Viland, Sydney Weber

9th Grade Representatives: Jessica Engler, Morgan Nepstad, Everett Schauer

8th Grade Representatives: Paige Beach, Taryn Nellermoe

7th Grade Representatives: Chloe Drummond, Anna Skarphol

The Council meets every other Wednesday during lunch to plan fun events to make the PCS experience unforgettable!

Popular events include but are not limited to: Fill the Dome, Homecoming Dress up days, Pep Fests, Powder Puff Football Game, 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament, Power Punch Volleyball Tournament, the Infamous Dodge ball Tournament, Eggnog Chugging Contest, etc. Thank you Student Council for your hard work!

More than 80 friends of Park Christian School enjoyed a great day of golf and fun at the 1st Annual PCS Golf Scramble, held at the Hawley Golf and Country Club on Monday, July 9. The 21 teams enjoyed a brilliant day of sunshine and warm fellowship, all in support of PCS students and programs.

First prize in the scramble format was awarded to the team of Tim Rubis, Matt Rubis, Jim Marchand and Adeline Johnson.

Richard Rix won the Closest to the Pin Contest.

Ryan Nelson won the Longest Putt Contest.

Bill Malone won the Longest Drive Contest.

A special “thank you” to many who helped make this event a great success …

Event Sponsors ($500)

Pearle Vision - Don Gunhus

Advanced Business Methods – Tom Ysteboe

Petro Serve USA – Kent Satrang

Eagle Enterprise – Ivar Berge

NAI North Central – Tim Kerr

Nexus Innovations - Bob Pope

AM Realtors – Arnie Kuhn

Clubhouse Sponsors ($250)

All-Terrain Grounds Maintenance – Ryan Such

Hole Sponsors ($100)

Liberty Business Systems-Ron Fuhrman

State Farm Insurance – David Eggers Agency

Century Financial Advisors, Inc. - Jim Sanders

Event Co-chairs and Registration Helpers:

Ivar Berge, Don Gunhus, Dan Heckaman, Gary Walton, Tom Ysteboe, Jodie Stueland, and Angie Heckaman

Project Zelus is a nine part short film series directed towards high school students, and created by current Park Christian students and past graduates of PCS.

From the Project Zelus website:

Zelus is the Latin word for zeal. To be zealous or to have zeal means to have an ardent passion or an intense enthusiasm.

Project Zelus is about Jesus. It's about bringing Him to the students at Park Christian School (or anyone for that matter) through the media format of videos. We hope to inspire a fire and a passion for students, and you, to live like Christ. We hope to inspire zeal. It's about bringing Jesus to students from students.

Visit their website at: http://projectzelus.webs.com/

Or join them on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/ProjectZelus

28-Feb-2012

Park Christian School students from the middle school grades (6,7,8) participated in the Tri-College Mathlete Competition at Concordia College Monday, February 27th. 303 students from the region participated at the middle school level in the competition.

One of the PCS teams placed 2nd out of twenty one teams. The members on the 2nd place team were: Jonah Jelinski (6th), Josh Janssen (7th), Jared Motschenbacher (7th), Sarah Herlihy (7th), Jordan Kerr (8th), Tyler Walton (8th), Seth Heinen (8th), and Adrianna Kallis (8th).

Jordan Kerr placed second as an individual and Tyler Walton placed sixth as an individual.

Congratulations PCS Mathletes!

The 2011 Park Christian Football team was named as an ACADEMIC ALL STATE team by the Minnesota State High School Coaches Association.

Michael Gehrtz and Jessica Nellermoe, both seniors, have been nominated to represent Park Christian School as Triple A Winners. This award, given by the Minnesota State High School League, recognizes students who show excellence in the Arts, Academics, and Athletics. School winners go on to a section competition. Section winners go on to the state competition where a committee choses two state winners. Winners of the state Triple A Winners competition receive a $1,000 scholarship a year for four years of college.

Congratulations Michael and Jessica!

PCS athletes earning recognition for fall sports include:

All Conference Awards:

Congratulations to Simeon Reiswig and Matt Moberg for earning “All Conference” Honors in football. Honorable Mention honors go to Michael Morse and Josh Heinen.

All State Academic Team:

Amber Schauer and Jessica Nellermoe, were awarded All State Academic team (for receiving a 4.0 g.p.a. while competing in athletics). Congratulations girls for your impressive work in the classroom all the while playing a sport.

Volleyball All Star Team:

Congratulations to Jessica Nellermoe for being nominated to play in the 2011 North Central Volleyball All Star Games Nov. 19, at Bagley High School in Bagley, MN. Jessica is a three-year PCS Volleyball letter recipient. Thank you for your hard work and contribution to the team in leadership both athletically and spiritually, Jessica.

Each year, Park Christian 9th grade students and chaperones have the privilege of visiting Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Washington DC. This year, 30 students and 10 chaperones embarked on this PCS annual pilgrimage exploring our nation’s capitol and historical beginnings.

Students saw and heard how our nation was forged on Godly principles. They experienced this through stories, visiting the National monuments and memorials, by the Christian tour guide, and by class research before the trip.

George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Holocaust victims and survivors, George Washington Carver, and many others, were brought to life through a variety of experiences.

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier: Students laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and had the opportunity to talk with a soldier from the memorial.

Honoring Veterans: While at the Iwo Jima Memorial, a group of World War II veterans arrived from an honor flight giving opportunity to the students to thank them for their service and hear stories about their lives as soldiers. Talking with these veterans was a highlight for many of the students.

Exhibits, movies and devotions: Stories and examples of godly character and legacy were also shared at various memorials and sites as the lives of former presidents and citizens were explained through exhibits, movies, and devotions.

At the Newseum, students had fun making short newscasts of themselves and even saw copies of the Fargo Forum for the current day and from 9/11.

In Williamsburg, students went through a shortened version of training camp with sergeants commanding different orders.

This trip is a highlight in our student’s high school career. The memories and shared experiences add to this truly amazing trip. Students and chaperones alike want to go again!! The 8th graders are already looking forward to their turn next year.

When a student takes an advance placement (AP) class, they can take an exam and depending on their testing performance the student can earn college credit for their high school course. This year, we had two AP classes take exams for college credit. The exams are scored 1-5 with 5 being the highest score.

AP European History, taught by Jeremy Nelson, was offered for the first time this year at Park Christian School. In Mr. Nelson’s class, eleven students took the exam and ten passed. Of those students that passed, two students earned a 4 and eight students earned a 3. Nine of the ten students will be eligible to earn college credit as a result of their exam score. The class averaged a score of 3.09, which is considered a passing score. Globally, there were 104,000 students that took the exam and the global average was 2.82 (which is not considered a passing score). Congratulations to Mr. Nelson and AP European History students!

AP Calculus has been offered at Park Christian for two years and has been taught by Amanda Biebighauser for both years. All five of Mrs. Biebighauser’s students took the exam and all five passed! All of her students will received college credit. Two students earned a 3, one student earned a four and one student earned 5. Congratulations to Mrs. Biebighauser and Calculus students!

01-May-2011

The Juniors in Pre Calculus have become authors of their very own children’s books! Four groups of students worked together to create a children’s story that teaches a fourth grade math topic. They combined this math topic with an adventurous or silly storyline and some great illustrations! It was fun to see how their understanding, of topics that they once learned in fourth grade, increased as they taught about polygons, symmetry, angles, circles and more through their books!

Now that the books are completed, each group has spent time in Mrs. Militzer’s fourth grade class reading their story to the students. The books that the Juniors created are incredibly unique and their time with the fourth graders was a great opportunity to teach and interact with those students!

The books created this year are:

- Mrs. Gymmetry's Stringency of Symmetry by Amanda Walton, Christian Ogaard, Jacob Skarphol, and Jonathan Tsen.

- The Secret of Aenaria: A Pirate's Tale by Melody Nash, Dirk Jasperse, and Joshua Militzer.

- Samuel's Great Adventure by Jessica Nellermoe, Michael Ghertz, and Andrew Nelson.

- Polly's Gone and Polygons by Stephen Appel, Loida Guajardo, Tate Petry.

These books are available for purchase by visiting this website and can be shipped directly to your home.

PCS junior Melody Nash reads The Secret of Aenaria to Mrs. Militzer's fourth graders. Juniors Andrew Nelson, Jessica Nellermoe and Michael Ghertz display Samuel's Great Adventure.

07-April-2011

Park Christian faculty and junior and senior high students spent much of their day on Wednesday (April 6th) helping with sandbagging efforts across Moorhead as the city prepares for a major spring flood from the Red River of the North. The 6th was the first day of the main sandbag levy construction work as the Red River has exceeded major flood stage of 30 feet.

Moorhead Mayor Mark Voxland voiced a special thanks the PCS faculty and students in today's daily flood press conference (see video here).

Special thanks to the students, faculty and staff who helped in this critical effort to protect Moorhead residents from flooding!

22-March-2011

Congratulations to the PCS Knowledge Bowl team. The team competed in the Section 6 Region tournament and qualified for the Minnesota State tournament by taking 3rd place.

The State tournament will be held in Brainerd April 7 and 8.

Congratulations to Coach Amy Rogness and the team:

Haleigh Larson

Sam Quanbeck

Matt Lee

Josh Heideman

Dirk Jasperse

The team previously took 1st place at the sub-region small school competition on Thursday, March 17, allowing them to advance to the region tournament.

21-March-2011

Under the direction of Mrs. Krista Rankin, PCS Science Teacher, 9 PCS junior and senior high school students will participate in the Minnesota State Science Fair on March 21st and 22nd in Minneapolis.

Jordan Fevig

Molly Jasperse

Lexi Madlom

Cailey Nelson

Anica Sawchuk

Dan Stone

Allie Bedore

Beth Errett

Michael Morse

12-March-2011

The following students represented Park Christian School at the NFL (National Forensic League) National Qualifier Event held in Grand Rapids, MN. March 10-12:

-Josiah Reiswig

-Loida Guajardo

-Dirk Jasperse

-Jon Tsen

Dirk Jasperse advanced to the semi-final round in the category of Extemporaneous Speaking- International Issues. He also was recognized for earning the most NFL points during the last year at Park Christian School.

31-Jan-2011

The One Act Play sub-section competition on Saturday resulted in a two-way tie for first place between Hawley High School and Park Christian High School. Judges deliberated to determine a ranking, based on a 300 point system. Hawley received 290 points and was awarded first place. Park Christian received 289 points and was awarded second place.

Both schools advance to the Section One Act Play competition in Perham on Saturday, February 5.

Kody Pilch and Christian Erickson were recognized by the judges as Actors of Merit.

Judges selected Melody Nash as an Outstanding Actor.

21-Jan-2011

The Life Coalition of the Fargo-Moorhead area challenged students to answer the question: “What can I do or say that might help my pro-abortion friends change his or her mind?”

Students in the 9th and 10th grade at Park Christian submitted their essays and three of our students were chosen to read their essays at a pro-life gathering at Grace Lutheran School in Fargo at 2:00 pm on Friday, January 21: Haleigh Larson, Hope Tranby, and Ander Sawchuk

Congratulations. We are proud of you.

Click here to learn more about the Fargo-Moorhead L.I.F.E. Coalition.

18-Jan-2011

Nine 7th and 8th grade students will represent Park Christian School at the MathCounts chapter-level competition at Minnesota State University Moorhead on February 9th, 2011. These students earned the opportunity to represent PCS by winning the school-level competition held on January 5th.

The mission of MathCounts is to inspire excellence, confidence and curiosity in U.S. junior high students through fun and challenging math problems. Click here to learn more about MathCounts.

Congratulations to these students for advancing to the next level of the MathCounts competition!

18-Nov-2010

Park Christian School is pleased to announce the hiring of Mr. Dan Kowalski as the first head football coach in its history. Mr. Kowalski has nine years of experience in coaching football including 3 years of being the PCS representative on the coaching staff with the Oak Grove/Park Christian co-op program from 2000-2004. He and his wife of 27 years, Jolene, have three children; two have graduated from Park Christian and one is a sophomore at the school. Mr. Kowalski is an active member and leader at Triumph Lutheran Brethren Church in Moorhead.

In addition to his role as head coach, Mr. Kowalski will also serve as offensive coordinator.

Also named to the coaching staff are:

• Mr. Donavan Rogness - Defensive Coordinator

• Mr. Chris Nellermoe - Offensive/Defensive Line Coach

• Mr. Matt Larson - JV Coach

• Mr. Jeff Risbrudt - Quarterback/Wide Receiver Coach

Park Christian School will launch its 9-Man football program in the fall of 2011. The Falcons will join Ada-Borup, Norman County East, Norman County West, Rothsay, Ulen-Hitterdal, Waubun, and Win-E-Mac in the North Tri-County Football Conference.

From left to right: Matt Larson, Chris Nellermoe, Dan Kowalski, Donavan Rogness, Jeff Risbrudt

15-Nov-2010

Athletes from several fall athletics programs were recognized recently at their respective team banquets.

PCS Volleyball

- Best Defense: Sydney Weber and Kelsey Kowalski

- Best Offense: Mariah Charon

- Ruth Award: Jess Nellermoe and Anne Slette

- Most Improved: Sydney Weber

- Most Valuable Player: Jess Nellermoe

OG/PCS Football

- Simeon Reiswig - Most Improved Player

Shanley/OG/PCS Boys Tennis

Three PCS students received awards at the Shanley/OG/PCS Tennis banquet:

- Michael Gehrtz - Most Improved Player

- Ander Sawchuk - Hardest Worker

- Brett Hanson - Deacon Award

Thank you for representing PCS with hard work and great attitudes!

01-Oct-2010

Falcon football will hit the field next Fall. The Falcons will have a junior varsity schedule and an 8 game varsity schedule including four home games. They will also be eligible immediately for the playoffs. The North Tri-County 9-man football conference has officially invited Park Christian to be a member joining Rothsay, Norman County West, Norman County East, Waubun, Ulen-Hitterdal, and Ada-Borup.

The coaching staff will be named by the end of October. Officials are being scheduled. Equipment and jerseys are being ordered. The field next to the school is being prepared: goal posts, bleachers, concessions, bathrooms, and more will start to appear next spring.

Falcon football is on the way! Please pray that God would be glorified in this new endeavor!

07-July-2010

Recent PCS graduate Brett Harmelink has been named to the 2010 North Dakota Shrine Bowl 11-Man East Team. Brett received the distinction this year of being First Team, All State. Brett is the only player representing the Oak Grove / Park Christian team. Congratulations Brett!

The game will be held in the Fargodome 4:00 pm Saturday, July 10th.

12-June-2010

PCS Track Team Member Courtney Nepsted set a new school record of 58.83 seconds in the 400 meter dash today, placing 4th at the Minnesota State Track Meet in Mankato.

In the state preliminaries on Friday, Courtney achieved the 3rd fastest time in the 400 at 59.33 seconds, which had broken the previous PCS record. She also ran a 12.84 in the 100 meter dash.

Congratulations Courtney!

11-June-2010

Park Christian School is pleased to announce the hiring of Gary Walton to fill the role of Boy's Head Basketball Coach. Gary and his family are 13 year residents of Moorhead and have been active in the community. He has coached at a variety of levels, including four years of experience as the Athletic Director and Boys Head Basketball Coach at Fourth Baptist High School in North Minneapolis, from 1992-1996.

Also joining the PCS Boy's Basketball coaching staff as an Assistant Coach is Reed Roisum. Reed was a 2 year All-Conference selection at Pelican Rapids High School, finishing his basketball playing career at Fergus Falls Community College and Mayville State University.

Continuing on in his 2nd year as an Assistant Coach is Ben Bigouette.

Regarding his new role, Walton says, “I’m excited to be a part of the Park Christian School basketball tradition. I am passionate about mentoring young men and know how athletics can be such a huge part in building character in a young guy’s life. I believe the future of Park basketball is very bright and I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

01-June-2010

Congratulations to the 2010 Falcons Boys Golf Team as they head to the Minnesota state tournament after winning the Section 6A title today in Fergus Falls!

Pictured are:

Front, left to right: Isaac Berge, Jayden Masseth, Samuel Skarphol, Bryce Payne.

Back, left to right: Drew Eggers, Brett Harmelink, Tom Schwandt, Jacob Tranby, Coach Mr. David Eggers

13-May-2010

Park Christian School recipients of Spotlight on Scholarship certificates have been announced for the 2009-2010 school year.

"Spotlight on Scholarship" is a year-round recognition program co-sponsored by the Minnesota State High School League and Jostens. The program recognizes students for outstanding academic performance.

Through the Spotlight on Scholarship certificate program, the League and Jostens provide gold and silver certificates to every athlete and fine arts participant in the state who has a "B" or better grade point average and has been a member of a varsity, junior varsity, or "B" squad (sophomore) athletic or fine arts team. The grade point average for each student is computed from the grading period ending closest to the end of each activity season.

A total of 85 students in grades 9 through 12 earned certificates. Click here to view a list of those students.

Click here for more information about the Spotlight on Scholarship program.

13-May-2010

Park Christian High School Music Department qualified for 10 events in the Minnesota High School League State Section 6A Solo and Ensemble Music Festival at MSCTC in Fergus Falls on May 1.

All 10 performances received medals for Superior performances at the State/Section Festival.

The students and events were as follows:

• *Joe Overmoe, Snare Drum Solo

• Danielle Militzer, Mezzo-Soprano Vocal Solo

• Josie Peterson, Mezzo-Soprano Vocal Solo

• Mariah Charon & Haley Nickel, Vocal Duet

• Melody Nash & Jon Tsen, Vocal Duet

• Jessica Nellermoe & Hannah Sorensen, Vocal Duet

• Danielle Militzer, Josie Peterson, & Haley Nickel, SSA Trio

• Ally Bedore, Sarah Fletcher, Loida Guajardo, Kaatla Hoiberg, Melody Nash, Jessica Nellermoe, Amber Schauer, Hannah Sorensen, Katherine Williams, SSA Vocal Ensemble

• *Mariah Charon, Lindsey Henry, Brittney Kelley, Danielle Militzer, Maddy Murnion, Haley Nickel, Josie Peterson, Anne Slette, Julia Striker, SSA Vocal Ensemble

• Graham Andersen, Michael Gehrtz, Dirk Jasperse, Micah Jasperse, Matthew Lee, Daniel Lewis, Adam Lutz, Josiah Reiswig, Daniel Runck, Jon Tsen, and Griffin Williams, TTBB Vocal Ensemble.

*This solo and ensemble also received an "Honorable Mention" as a noteworthy performance (the highest rating given).

	Gary and Faith Walton

Park Christian School is pleased to announce the hiring of Mr. Gary Walton as Development Director.

Gary and his wife, Faith, have 5 children. Gary was the senior pastor at Brookdale Baptist Church in Moorhead, MN, for thirteen and a half years. Previously, he was the athletic director and boy’s basketball coach at Fourth Baptist High School in Minneapolis. He has a Pastoral Ministry Degree and a Greek Minor and a Coaching Minor from Northland International University in Dunbar, Wisconsin. He also has a Masters of Divinity Degree from Central Seminary in Minneapolis.

Gary began work on Wednesday, April 14.

Park Christian School in Moorhead, Minnesota, has been granted charter membership in the National Forensic League (NFL). This significant distinction is the highest school membership honor in the NFL.

As a charter member, Park Christian has demonstrated excellence in attaining new members and degrees. Park Christian is coached by Mrs. Tracy Striker

and was founded by teacher and coach, Mrs. Diane Olson.

To learn more about the National Forensic League, click here to visit their website.

On Wednesday, 2/10, Park Christian participated in the MathCounts competition held at the University of Minnesota (Moorhead).

The mission of MathCounts is to inspire excellence, confidence and curiosity in U.S. middle school students through fun and challenging math problems.

Twice a week for the past 2 months, PCS students in the 7th and 8th grades met after school with PCS Mathletes Coach Kathy Hanson to practice problem solving in all areas of mathematics.

Four PCS mathletes qualified for the team and four others competed as individuals. Almost 100 students from twelve schools in the Height of Land Chapter competed this year.

22-Feb-2010

PCS Athletic Director and Boys Basketball Coach Randy Schauer reached the 200-win mark on Thursday, February 18th as the Falcons defeated Wheaton/Herman-Norcross 76-58 at the PCS gymnasium. The team and fans celebrated the win after the game, and before Saturday's home game, Coach Schauer was presented with a plaque recognizing this milestone as well as a watch from the parents and 200 cans of his favorite beverage (Pepsi) from the players.

Coach Schauer has reached 200 wins in just under 10 seasons with the Falcons, and with one more win this season, the team will have reached or exceeded 20-wins in each of the past seven seasons. This is truly a testimony to his faithful leadership and stewardship over this program a well as the tremendous effort and commitment of his players.

In his own words, "We’ve been downright blessed. We thank the Lord for giving us good kids, and kids that work like crazy."

Congratulations, Coach!

PCS Seniors Haley Nickel and Tom Schwandt have reached the 1,000 career points mark recently.

Schwandt scored his 1,000th point on January 30th in the boys' televised game against Oak Grove, becoming the school's fourth 1000-point scorer.

Nickel scored her 1,000th point on Thursday, Feb. 18th in the girls' 50-42 win over Mahnomen, becoming the 5th to reach that mark in school history.

Both were recognized for their achievement prior to the February 20th home game.

Congratulations Tom and Haley!

26-Jan-2010

In just 3 short days, the PCS family raised over $1,100 for the Haiti earthquake disaster relief effort. All funds will be directed through World Vision.

Thank you to all who contributed!

	Click above to learn more about Operation Christmas Child.

30-Nov-2009

PCS students and their families filled 198 shoe boxes for the annual Operation Christmas Child program which brings joy and hope to countless children in desperate situations throughout the world. Students brought in gifts ranging from toys to practical personal hygiene items and the sixth grade class boxed them up and delivered them to the local OCC drop-off site. These shoe boxes go out with much prayer and with personal notes from our students.

23-Nov-2009

Several PCS athletes were honored at recent banquets for football and volleyball.

Football

North Dakota East Region football coaches voted senior Brett Harmelink as 1st Team All Region and senior Jacob Fletcher as 2nd Team All Region.

Brett also received 1st Team All-State honors and was named MVP of the team.

Volleyball

The following players were honored at the PCS Volleyball Banquet:

- Best Defense: Josie Peterson

- Best Offense: Jessica Nellermoe and Haley Nickel

- Most Improved: Beth Grosz and Emily Morse

- Ruth Award: Jessica Nellermoe

- Falcon Award: Haley Nickel

Congratulations to all of our athletes!

23-Nov-2009

PCS families donated a wide variety of food items as part of Fill The Dome 2009, an annual youth-led food drive to help stock the shelves of local food pantries. As shown in this picture, PCS students gathered, sorted and delivered a wealth of food items to the FargoDome and helped contribute to a total of 97.1 tons of food and $96,000 in cash donations!

Click here to learn more about Fill The Dome.

24-Oct-2009

The PCS Robotics Team, consisting of Jake Tranby, Nathan Johnson and Michael Richards, placed 11th out of 22 teams Saturday, October 24th, at the Bison Best Robotics competition. A special thanks to the mentors from Phoenix International, Mark Jones, Dan Rustebakke, Jeff Richards, and PCS Coach Darin Eisinger.

Click here to learn more about the Bison Best Robotics program.

06-Oct-2009

Congratulations to PCS senior Tom Schwandt who placed fourth at the North Dakota State High School Tennis Tournament with doubles partner Perter Frei. Schwandt and Frei are members of the Park Christian / Oak Grove / Shanley co-op tennis team.

16-Sep-2009

As we begin this school year, many concerns come to mind in regards to H1N1 (swine flu) and the impact on students throughout the region and here at Park Christian School. To help address these concerns and provide resources for our families, we have set up a special page on our site.

Click here for more information...

24-July-2009

Park Christian School is pleased to announce that Mr. Kent Hannestad has agreed to serve our school as President. We are blessed to have him ministering alongside us and serving the PCS family. Mr. Hannestad will lead Park Christian School spiritually and academically, facilitate an active development department and be an integral part of community outreach.

Click here to learn more...

16-Mar-2009

PCS students Ryan Anfinrud, Jake Nordick, and Maddie Schultz participated in the National Forensic League competition in Grand Rapids, MN, with Ryan and Jake advancing to the semi-final round in the Dramatic Duo competition.

Congratulations to all of our participants!

To learn more about the National Forensic League, click here to visit their website.

16-March-2009

Two PCS Boys Basketball players will play in the North Central High School All Star Game Saturday, April 4th, at Bemidji State University.

Congratulations seniors Noah Nash and Kyle Ulstad!

The boys varsity team just completed a very successful season, finishing with a 25-3 record and reaching the section semifinals. Congratulations to the coaches and team!

09-March-2009

Three PCS Girls Basketball players will play in the North Central High School All Star Game Saturday, April 4th, at Bemidji State University.

Congratulations seniors Hannah Passolt, and Emma Kiemele and junior Haley Nickel!

The girls varsity team just completed a very successful season, finishing with a 20-5 record and reaching the section quarter finals. Congratulations to the coaches and team!

09-March-2009

On Wednesday, March 4th, members of the PCS Junior/Senior High Band participated in the MSHSL Region 6-3A Solo & Ensemble Festival at Minnesota State University-Moorhead.

All of the students received either Superior or Excellent from the judges for their performances.

Congratulations to Lisa Kelly, Arianna Vidger, Joshua Militzer, Brett Hanson, Nathan Johnson and Joe Overmoe!

These students and the other members of the band will present their solos and ensembles at their concert on Monday night, March 30 at 7:15 p.m.

Also, flautist Hannah Sorenson has been chosen to participate in the Concordia College Honor Band Weekend to be held April 17-19. Selected by audition, high school students for this group will come from MN, ND, SD, MT, WI, IA and CO. Congratulations Hannah!

03-Feb-2009

Under the direction of Mrs. Reiswig, the 5 student cast performing The Wise Men of Chelm placed 3rd (out of 26 teams) in the MSHSL Section 6 One Act Play competition Saturday, January 31st in Park Rapids. Click here to learn more about this event.

PCS performers were: Ryan Anfinrud, Melody Nash, Jake Nordick, Cody Pilch and Daniel Runck.

Jake Nordick received Outstanding Performer. Only three students out of all the performers were given this award.

Well done team!

01-Feb-2009

A strong second half performance lifted the Falcons (15-1) to a 76-65 win over Fargo Oak Grove (9-3) on Saturday, January 31st. The game, played at the Fargodome and televised locally, was part of the annual KX4/Scheels Shootout. Senior Kyle Ulstad and junior Tom Schwandt led the team in scoring with 27 and 20 points, respectively.

05-Jan-2009

Congratulations to Hannah Passolt for scoring her 1,000th point at the PCS vs Rothsay game Dec. 19th! She joins Stephanie Porter, Abby Passolt and Emma Kiemele in achieving this milestone.

15-Dec-2008

Five PCS students participated in the Student Congress / National Forensic League Qualifying Congress on December 12-13. Mrs. Diane Olson and Mrs. Striker have been coaching the students for this event and Mrs. Striker and Ms. Hoven attended with them.

Participants included senior Katrina Johnson, juniors Andrea Daugherty and Jacob Tranby, and freshmen Jon Tsen and Dirk Jasperse.

Katrina advanced to Super Congress, and Jacob and Dirk earned excellent speaker awards in their respective chambers. Congratulations to all of our participants!

To learn more about the National Forensic League, click here to visit their website.

23-Nov-2008

Two PCS members of the PCS/Oak Grove football team were honored for their outstanding performance this year. Kyle Ulstad (offense) and Brett Harmelink (defense) were named as "1st Team - All Region" and "2nd Team - All State". Kyle was also named the team's Offensive Player of the Year.

Congratulations Kyle and Brett!

16-Nov-2008

Congratulations to Sara Markegard on her 6th place finish in the North Dakota State Diving Finals! Sara was one of three divers from the Shanley/Oak Grove/Park Christian School Co-op team to place in the top 10 in the State. They competed against 26 of the top state qualifying divers, at the North Dakota State Swimming and Diving Meet in Mandan on November 14 and 15.

20-Oct-2008

The Park Christian / Oak Grove / Fargo Shanley soccer team completed their season on Saturday, October 18th, as North Dakota State Champions, defeating Fargo North 1-0. PCS freshmen Stephen Appel and Jacob Skarpohl are junior varsity members of the team. Congratulations!!

15-Oct-2008

PCS senior Emma Kiemele was featured in and article on the front page of the sports section in today's Forum, highlighting her accomplishments and those of the Falcons girls volleyball team. Both the team and Miss Kiemele have had an outstanding year.

03-Oct-2008

ACT scores for our most recent graduating class (shown in graphs below) reflect the high academic standards at Park Christian School as well as the outstanding effort of our students. The 95% of our graduating class who took the ACT significantly outperformed the national average as well as those of both the states of Minnesota and North Dakota. Also, a much higher percentage of PCS graduates were deemed ready for college level courses.

Click here to view the detailed data.

01-Oct-2008

The Park Christian School National Honor Society has adopted a 2 mile section of US Highway 75 just north of American Crystal Sugar through the Minnesota Adopt-A-Highway program. As part of their community service requirements, PCS NHS members will be cleaning up litter along this section of highway twice this school year (the first being October 4th).

22-Sept-2008

Today PCS welcomed two new foreign exchange students from Guatemala City. Juan is a freshman living with the Fauls, and Carlos is a junior living with the Overmoes. Please help welcome them to the Park family and to the U.S.!

Click here to learn more about Guatemala City.