South school briefs: School supply drive honors fallen officer

The Minnesota Auxiliary of Wives Behind the Badge (WBTB) is organizing a school supply drive in memory of Mendota Heights police officer Scott Patrick, who was killed July 30 while on duty.

The goal is to support the community in which he served by collecting items for the Patrick family, with additional items going to children in District 197.

WBTB is asking the community to donate items needed by K-12 students — backpacks, lunchboxes, thumb drives, notebooks, pens, pencils, markers, crayons, and other supplies.

If donors prefer to give a gift card, it will go directly to the Patrick family. Consider stores such as Target, Wal-Mart, or gas cards for his college-bound daughter.

Gift cards can be mailed directly to Wives Behind the Badge MN Auxiliary, P.O. Box 251082, Woodbury, 55125.

Donations will be collected through Aug. 23. Drop-off locations include:

• The Dance Center, 1049 Dodd Road, West St. Paul. Donations accepted Monday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings, 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.

• Maplewood Police Department, 1830 County Road B East.

Sharon Shelerud, a social studies teacher at Metcalf Junior High in Burnsville, recently spent a week in South Korea learning about the country's history and culture.

The visit was funded by the Northeast Asian History Foundation. Shelerud was one of 14 American Advanced Placement (AP) Human Geography teachers selected to attend.

The trip included a one-day conference in Seoul, with a focus on the geopolitics of the Korean Peninsula. After that, teachers visited various historical and cultural sites, including the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea, as part of a field study.

The Burnsville-Eagan-Savage district has introduced a new app to help parents stay connected to the district and their child's school through mobile devices.

Users can customize what kinds of information they want to receive, and emergency notifications will also be sent.

The free app is available for iPhone through the App Store and for Android devices through Google Play. To find it, users can search for "Burnsville," or go to the district's website at www.isd191.org/app to download.

The Farmington district is retiring its eight-year-old logo in favor of a sleek new tiger.

The new logo was designed by Risdall Marketing Group, a Minnesota company. The old logo was designed by a student in 2006.

The district is already using the new image on social media and will soon use it on letterhead and the website.

Prior Lake High School will hold a blood drive from 12 to 5 p.m. Aug. 27 in its auditorium, 7575 150th St., Savage. Refreshments will be provided.

To register as a donor, go to redcrossblood.org and enter "Prior Lake High School" as the sponsor code in the upper right corner.

Then, follow the steps on the website to schedule an appointment.

Staff reports