Mendota Heights

St. Thomas ends Army affiliation

On May 18, St. Thomas Academy marked the end of its 99-year relationship with the United States Army and Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) program with a flag casing ceremony. The ceremony took place at the school's Founders' Hall Court.

A flag casing ceremony is a short ceremony marking the movement or retirement of a unit. The flag representing that unit is put in a case for storage or transportation. At the ceremony, the Corps of Cadets took down its JROTC flag and posted its new flag showing its status as an independent military academy.

Eagan

Eagan Foundation to hold fundraiser

The Eagan Foundation, a nonprofit organization that gives scholarships and funds community projects, invites residents and employees to its annual fundraiser, A Taste of Eagan.

The fundraiser, a wine-tasting event and silent auction, will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. on June 18 at the Eagan Community Center (1501 Central Parkway, Eagan). Tickets are available for $45 at the Eagan Foundation website, www.eaganfoundation.org, until June 11, when tickets increase in price to $55.

This is the organization's 25th anniversary. Over the years, the group has awarded more than $1,000,000 in scholarships to students.

Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan

New Echo Park principal chosen

Tina Haselius will be the next principal of Echo Park Elementary School in Burnsville. She will replace current principal Sally Soliday, who will take over as elementary education director at the end of the year.

Haselius will guide the school as it transitions into a magnet school with themes of engineering, technology and leadership. The new school officially begins in fall of 2016.

Haselius is currently the principal of Crestview Elementary and Nuevas Fronteras Spanish Immersion Elementary, two schools in one building in the South Washington County district. She previously worked for St. Paul Public Schools in various positions, from elementary school teacher to math coach and a teacher on special assignment.

Apple Valley High wins speech honors

Last weekend, 14 members of the Apple Valley High School speech team competed at the National Catholic Forensic League Grand National Tournament in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The team was a recipient of "The Founders Award of Excellence in Speech," an award given to the top five schools based on the event's results.

Cassandra Edlund was named national champion in the oral interpretation category and Keiareyona Brown was the national runner-up in original oratory. They were among the 11 Apple Valley High students who qualified for at least the quarterfinals. The others were: Jane Michaelson, Tessa Dahlgren, Trevor Taylor, Arianna Rotty, Moti Begna, Rickey Williams, Claire Doty, Lauren Troldahl and Stephanie Kahle.

The Apple Valley speech and debate teams are directed by Bryan Hagg and students are coached by many individual coaches.

Erin Adler