South metro school briefs: Magnet schools earn awards

All three District 196 elementary magnet schools — Cedar Park Elementary STEM School, Glacier Hills Elementary School of Arts and Sciences and Diamond Path Elementary School of International Studies — recently received 2014 School of Excellence awards by Magnet Schools of America (MSA).

In addition, Diamond Path Elementary School of International Studies is one of only five schools in the country being considered for one of MSA's top national awards. Representatives from the organization will visit Diamond Path and the other four schools before announcing the award winners this spring.

The three recipients are among six magnet schools in Minnesota and 76 nationally selected to receive the School of Excellence award this year. Enrollment at the District 196 magnet schools is open to any elementary school student in the district through an application and lottery process each January. For more information, go to www.district196.org/mag netschools.

Thomas Ryan, an eighth-grader at Metcalf Junior High in Burnsville, has been selected to participate in the Minnesota Band Directors Association honor band for this school year. Ryan was one of 85 students selected for the band out of 313 Minnesota students who auditioned. The state honor band will perform at 2 p.m. on April 27 at the Edina High School auditorium.

Burnsville High School senior Scott Svare has been awarded the 2014 National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) Upper Midwest Chapter Foundation Scholarship. Each year, several high school or postsecondary students from the region are picked to receive the $3,000 scholarship.

Svare has been involved in video production at BHS for three years, where he has been a member of the weekly news broadcast, a videographer for the football and boys' hockey team and has created other videos outside of school. A documentary he created won two awards at the 2012 EDU Film Festival and a NATAS award. He won five NATAS awards in 2013 and was nominated for eight more NATAS awards this year.

He plans to attend Normandale Community College and wants to eventually study video production. He will receive his scholarship March 30.

Nominations can be submitted by going to www.isd191.org/halloffame or by picking up a form in the BHS office. New inductees will be honored during a ceremony before a home football game on Sept. 5 at the Mraz Center.

Farmington High School Principal Ben Kusch has accepted the position of principal at Shakopee High School. Kusch will replace Kim Swift, who will retire after this school year.

Before serving as principal at Farmington, Kusch was principal at Tartan High School in Oakdale and, before that, a Spanish teacher.

Kusch's contract was set to be approved at the March 17 school board meeting.

Four Shakopee schools have earned Energy Star certification from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Eagle Creek Elementary, Jackson Elementary, Pearson 6th Grade Center and Sun Path Elementary all received the designation, and were also named among the top 10 percent in the nation for energy efficiency.

The district has been participating in an energy savings program with McKinstry, a design-build company that helps raise awareness and implement strategies to reduce energy use.