This video features Jim Harris, founder of We Help War Victims, detonating a bomb in Laos in March of 2010.  This bomb detonation was dedicated to the students of Marathon Middle School for their work toward fundraising for this organization.  The students put on a dance in April and with the help of the Student Ambassadors, the middle school students were able to raise $1000.00 to donate to Mr. Harris’ charity.  We Help War Victims helps to safely detonate bombs left in areas of Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War.  This nonprofit organization also helps provide prosthetic limbs to those who have been injured by leftover bombs.  For more information on this organization, visit www.wehelpwarvictims.org.
Click Here to Watch Video

Congratulations to Josh Luetschwager for being recognized in WSAW's Our Community School Staff series. Great job Mr. Luetschwager!  Click here to watch the WSAW video.

The Marathon Middle School students hosted a Celebration of Learning on Monday, April 26, 2010.  This was the first unit of Expeditionary Learning piloted by the middle school staff.  The event featured student work including pa’ndaus (Hmong story clothes), family immigration narratives, a Hmong history timeline, immigration census data and Hmong census data displayed in graph form, and lab reports on adaptation to a different environment.  The C.O.L. also included food from the Hmong-Style Deli in Weston.  Paokee Xiong, an E.L.L. teacher at Horace Mann Middle School, brought the Hmong Cultural Dance Club to perform.  Bao Vang, Channel 7 News Anchor, as well as Jim and Marty Harris of the nonprofit organization We Help War Victims spoke on behalf of the local Hmong community and the importance of the service learning work students completed.  This was the culminating event following a nine week study of both family history and the Hmong culture. 

Click here for photo slideshow.
Click here to watch CNN video. 

Expeditionary learning is a teaching method that ties all of the core classes together by studying one common topic. This way of learning helps the students both understand learning more thoroughly and enjoy learning while meeting state standards. “This way of learning allows the students to take charge and make their own decisions in their learning. It is proven that this way of learning is more affective than book teaching,” says Mr. Reiche. This expeditionary learning, entitled Becoming American, included a three week introduction subject, along with a six week lesson that covered the events and difficulties of immigrants and cultures as they moved to America. The students have worked hard throughout the nine week process and have been studying different cultures.

Middle School students have spent a lot of time working and preparing to lead up to a final celebration(C.O.L). The experience broadened the minds of students so that they could learn about life outside of the U.S. They were able to understand the cultures' values, expression, and difficulties so they can appreciate each other. They feel that they need to share there extraordinary work and knowledge for different cultures. The Celebration of Learning shows the excitement and feelings the students felt while studying.

The Celebration of Learning will be an event open to all public. Admission is free for an experience full of basket weaving, dancing, music, reading, drawings, and more. Food will be available for purchase and all purchases will go to Mr. Harris' foundation to help clean up Laos. Mr. Harris has been working in Laos cleaning up bombs that are scattered around the country from the Vietnam. All of the profit that is made at the celebration will be donated to help his non-profit organization.

Marathon Middle School students have been very busy as you can see. On April 26^th, 2010, you will be able to see all of their hard work on display. From 5:30 to 7:30 pm in the MAES gym, the Marathon Middle School students and staff will be holding a Celebration of Learning in honor of their expeditionary learning. This event will showcase what the Middle School students have learned and created through studies of different cultures. It is a new event your not going to want to miss!
Written By: Erica Stoehr and Zachariah Zunker

On behalf of the students and staff in “Raider Nation” I’d like to welcome you to our school.  I feel extremely fortunate to be the Principal of a school that is in a constant state of change in order to best prepare our students to meet the demands of the 21st century.

Our maxim here at MAES is “Our School Rocks!” This came into effect several years ago after asking a new student what he liked most about our school.  The new boy simply stated, “Our School Rocks!”  When I asked him what that meant by that, he quite eloquently stated “The kids are friendly here and the teachers really care!”  I like to believe this is how all of our students feel. This young man’s perception certainly parallels mine.

 Our building is 22 years old but is in great condition! Our staff is committed to carrying out a site improvement plan which reflects best practice in curriculum, assessment, instruction, and remediation. Technologically, our building is close to a “state of the art” facility, having 9 Smart Boards in our building.

 Currently, our ES has targeted implementation of balanced literacy and math improvement as its two priority areas of immediate concern.  Our middle school is presently going through a middle school reform initiative whereby we are addressing the “Big Six.”  These include technology implementation, reading in the content area, Differentiated Instruction, Understanding by Design, Build Your Own Curriculum, and principles of research.

We believe that our ability to make connections with students, families, and community members is of paramount importance in maintaining a standard of high student achievement in Marathon. Traditionally, we have had the highest WKCE test scores in all of North Central Wisconsin.

Lastly, we believe that through providing a variety of student leadership opportunities we can establish positive student and staff climate/culture.  Our kids thrive in our school because their leadership capacity has significant opportunities to be developed and exercised. Evidence of this is our student-led RNN TV 2 daily broadcast of the school news on the link on the left side of this webpage, as well as our monthly edition of the student newspaper. Also, check out our photo gallery for the most recent pictures of students’ involvement in the latest school initiatives. We hope you enjoy our website!

“Our School Rocks!"

Jeff Reiche
Principal