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In Photos: Go Bears!

Student News

Exciting Accomplishments

Senior Benedict Hoefer competed in the the MSHSL Boys' State Swim & Dive Meet this past weekend after placing second in the 200 freestyle during the Section 4AA meet. The State meet took place at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatics Center at the University of Minnesota. His time of 1:47.08 was also a new school record, breaking his previous record set last year. Benedict also placed fourth in the 100 freestyle. Other top finishers for the Bears during the Section meet were:

• Henry Bowlin who placed sixth in diving
• Finnian McVeigh who placed seventh in the 100 breastroke and tenth in the 100 butterfly
• Ridley Dittler who placed tenth in the 200 IM and 13th in the 100 breaststroke
• Dylan Allshouse who placed tenth in the 100 backstroke and 15th in the 200 IM
• Ethan Arrigoni who placed 13th in the 500 freestyle
• Sam Tarau who placed 13th in the 200 IM and 16th in the 100 Butterfly

Senior Jinet Demanou placed second in her respective weight group during the MSHSL Girls' State Wrestling tournament this past weekend. She was joined by teammates Calli Lacktorin, Isabelle Kane and Merrick Jensen. The White Bear Press highlighted the team's successes throughout the tournament. 

Indiana Kane, a member of the Boys' Wrestling Team, also competed in the MSHSL State  tournament after placing second in the Section 4AAA individual tournament in his respective weight group. The Sections tournament was hosted by the Bears. The White Bear Press highlighted the team's sucesses. All members of the varsity team who competed placed in the top six during the competition in their respective weight group: 

• Donovin Wolfgram and Alex Semelis both placed third
• Placing fourth were Hunter Lo, Muayeng Lee, Galvin Nathanson, Joseph Snaker, Alexander Davids and Alexander Kringle
• Nickolai Milligan and Asher Ludwig both placed fifth
• Tristan Moen and Alexander Wilson both placed sixth

The Girls' Gymnastics Team placed eighth at State, making their first team appearance 2005. Leading the Bears were Grace Mueller on vault, floor exercise and beam, while Harlie Peloquin lead on on bars and floor along with Mira McQuay and Madeline Conroy also on floor. Find additional team highlights in this White Bear Press article. During the individual portion of the competition, both Grace and Mira achieved personal best scores. Grace, who competed in all-around, placed 18th. Mira placed 25th on beam. There were 45 to 47 entrants in each event. Find additional information from the meet in this White Bear Press article. 

Corey Larson has been named the new head coach for the WBLAHS Boys' Cross Country Team. Larson brings strong combination of personal running experience, coaching expertise, and a decade of service in education to the program. As quoted in this News Story on the district's website, Larson said, "I am most excited about our community and look forward to continuing to establish a supportive and fun environment for our runners."

Central Middle School Knowledge Bowl teams wrapped up their season with some exciting wins! During the last two regular season meets, Team Machu Picchu and Team Suns in the Raisin won the Team Spirit Award - which is for sportsmanship including kindness, teamwork, and being helpful. Team Machu Picchu also won the team costume award at the cryptid themed State meet.

White Bear Lake Area High School had five Knowledge Bowl teams this year. The two ninth Grade teams, the Caffeine Addicts and the Gamblers, won the Arti-FRESH-icial Intelligence award for the ninth grade team with the highest score multiple times. Two of the older teams, the Sophmorons and Ankka, made it to Subregionals where they earned 20th and 25th place respectively. Our final team, Michael and the Pigs, made it to Regionals where they earned 13th place.

Working Together

Kindergartners in the Spanish Dual Immersion program at Matoska International are building skills and confidence together every day. Students worked on word recognition and awareness of the syllables ca, que, qui, co and cu. They matched words with their sounds while practicing pronunciation. See their lesson in action in this video issue of "The Week in 62.4 Seconds".

Transition Education Center students in the Work-based Learning program were captured in this video issue of "The Week in 62.4 Seconds" at their job sites. Some of their responsibilities include following sanitation procedures and restocking items. This program teaches students important job skills such as customer service, communication and working with others. 

Second graders in Ms. Humphrey's class at Lakeaires Elementary are learning about artist Vincent Van Gogh. During their lessons, students studied different facts about his life and his unique style of painting. Using one of his most famous works of art - Starry Night - they sketched and painted a replica using water colors, adding their own creative details to their master pieces. Watch their lesson come to life in this video issue of "The Week in 62.4 Seconds". All art materials were purchased through the White Bear Lake Area Educational Foundation's Ryan Family Art Grant. 

Our middle school  basketball program wrapped up their season. Their final home game was captured in this video issue of "The Week in 62.4 Seconds". Registration is now open for all middle school spring sports - which includes golf, track and field, and boys tennis. Information can be found on the Community Ed and recreation page of the district’s website.

North Star Elementary students and staff wrapped up their school-wide fundraiser with an exciting activity - an indoor obstacle course. Students had so much fun climbing and sliding through the inflatable courses and running and jumping through the ninja inspired equipment!

Collaboration and Engagement

Otter Lake Elementary wrapped up a month-long Read-a-thon event last week. This year’s theme was "Be Kind to Your Mind". Classes enjoyed listening to books about kindness with special guest readers from their community, district leaders, first responders and University of Minnesota student-athletes. Their guests also shared how they show kindness to others everyday. Watch the activity come to life in this video issue of "The Week in 62.4 Seconds".

Speaking of special guest readers, first and second graders at Birch Lake Elementary enjoyed listening to a story read by White Bear Lake Mayor Mary Nicklawske. She read One-Dog Canoe by Minnesota author Mary Casanova. The students also enjoyed asking questions about her role as city Mayor and having fun conversations about the story.

The Robotics Team - Team 2207, the Bright Bears - is getting together to build their robot for the competition season with help from their mentors at Medtronic. One of their recent practices was highlighted in this video issue of "The Week in 62.4 Seconds". District middle and high school students participate in this activity, which is a member of the FIRST program - For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology.

Our Nutrition Services Department served a special menu to students in honor of the Lunar New Year. High school students enjoyed Chicken Gua Bao, which featured a steamed bun from a local company. Middle school and elementary students were serving Lemon Chicken. Everyone also enjoyed fresh clementines (fresh citrus is a symbol of good luck and prosperity), and a yummy treat: a fortune cookie.

Staff and families celebrated the accomplishments of Mariner Middle School AVID students earlier this month. AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) is an elective course that prepares students for success in high school and beyond. Students shared speeches on their interests and future plans, accepted awards, and displayed their best classwork.  

Bears in the News

White Bear Lake Area High School's recent "Black History Month Showcase: African Americans & The Arts" was highlighted by the White Bear Press. Students showcased their many talents from singing and dancing to hosting a fashion show where they were able to present different traditional clothing from around the world. 

WBLAHS grad Wyatt Hawks was interviewed by WJON as he and the St. Cloud State University Men's Basketball Team entered the NSIC tournament as regular-season champions - the first conference title for the Huskies in 23 years. Wyatt averages 12 points and nine rebounds per game. He is also closing in on the third most blocked shots in program history.

The White Bear Lake Area Educators recently announced its 2026 class of WBLAE Teacher of the Year nominees.  In accordance with Education Minnesota’s Teacher of the Year Program, eligible nominees, who are members of White Bear Lake Area Educators - Local #7286, now have the opportunity to submit written responses to a series of questions regarding teaching and learning as well as their personal educational philosophies for consideration by a panel of readers. From those responses, six finalists will be selected to interview with members of the community, administration and their fellow teachers later this spring.

 Activities Updates

The Girls' Gymnastics Team placed eighth at the State meet. Find additional team highlights in this White Bear Press article and additional information from the individual meet in this White Bear Press article. Boys' Swim & Dive Team member Benedict Hoefer qualified for the State meet in the 200 freestyle after placing second at the Section 4AA meet. Read more about the meet in this White Bear Press article. Senior Jinet Demanou, a member of the Girls' Wrestling Team, placed second in her respective weight group during the MSHSL Girls' State Wrestling tournament this past weekend. Read more about the tournament in this White Bear Press article. Boys' Wrestling Team member Indiana Kane qualified for the individual wrestling State meet after placing second during Sections. Read other team successes in this White Bear Press article. Corey Larson has been named the new head coach for the WBLAHS Boys' Cross Country Team. Read more about his experience and connection to the team in this News Story.

Hudl Ticketing is the exclusive provider of online tickets for all of our White Bear Lake Area High School home regular season athletic ticketing needs. Find games and purchase tickets here. 

Senior community members (age 65+) who live in the District are invited to participate in the Senior Activities Pass program and enjoy complimentary admission to most school activities. Find out how to receive your free pass here.

Please contact the Communications Department (651-407-7695) to submit Student News for inclusion in future publications. 

The Week in 62.4 Seconds

Enjoy The Week in 62.4 Seconds videos highlighting weekly district activities throughout the school year.

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