Future mental health professionals gaining invaluable insights from the experts at Freeborn County Mental Health Center, shaping their path to make a meaningful impact in the lives of others.

🏆 Celebrating Industry Excellence! 🏆 Today in Rochester, the Southeast Service Cooperative hosted its annual Industry Partner of the Year award ceremony—an event recognizing outstanding partnerships that support student career exploration and workforce development. Among the honorees was Albert Lea’s own Lou-Rich, Inc. Lou-Rich has been a long-standing and exceptional partner with Albert Lea High School, providing students with hands-on manufacturing learning experiences, material support for the ALHS Welding Lab, and in-depth facility tours for our students that inspire future careers. As a state-approved Youth Skills Training partner, Lou-Rich plays a key role in preparing our students for success in high-demand fields. We are proud to celebrate Lou-Rich’s commitment to education, innovation, and the next generation of skilled workers! Pictured are Lou-Rich staff along with ALHS Teacher, Mr. Jeff Jenson (far right).

🚁 Take Flight with Discover Drones! 🚁 Curious about drones and how they work? Join us for Discover Drones, a hands-on summer camp where students will explore flight technology, build and pilot their own drones, and learn the science behind unmanned aerial systems! 📅 Dates: June 2nd – June 6th 🕘 Time: 9:00 AM – 12:00 Noon 📍 Location: Albert Lea High School, Room F203 This is an exciting opportunity for students to engage with STEM in a fun, dynamic way. Spaces are limited, so don’t wait! 👉 Sign up here: https://bit.ly/4m3SKBn

Early Learning families had a beautiful night for our Sky High Fun Event! Students enjoyed flying kites, making windsocks, sidewalk chalk, bubbles, parachutes and root beer floats! We enjoyed celebrating a wonderful school year of growth!

A huge THANK YOU to our amazing SPIRIT parent group for the delicious treats from Mom’s Bakery Co. and the refreshing iced coffee drinks this morning! What a perfect way to celebrate our last PLC of the 2024–2025 school year. Our teachers truly enjoyed the special time together—collaborating, reflecting, and feeling appreciated.

Halverson had a magical visit today from Miss Trish at the Albert Lea Public Library - dressed as Ms. Frizzle! She brought excitement and energy as she shared all the amazing opportunities waiting for kids at the library this summer. Thank you, Miss Trish, for inspiring our students to keep reading and exploring all summer long!

Our third graders took their math practice outdoors today! ☀️ They had a blast working on multiplication using area models and partial products - learning + fresh air = the perfect combo!

It's Teacher Appreciation Week, and we couldn't be more grateful for our incredible team at Halverson! Our teachers go above and beyond every single day to support, inspire, and meet the needs of ALL learners. Thank you for the heart, dedication, and love you pour into our school!

A big thank you to our incredible first grade families and to Miss Hamvas for a fantastic music informance! It was heartwarming to see everyone singing, moving, and making music together. Your support and participation made the event truly memorable!

A huge thank you to our amazing kindergarten families and to Miss Hamvas for a wonderful music informance! It was such a joy to see families joining in and making music together with their students. Your energy, support, and participation made it extra special!

Today was School Lunch Hero Day, and I had the privilege of serving lunch alongside this incredible team. Their care and dedication reach far beyond the lunch line. They serve with heart, kindness, and a smile every single day. I am grateful for all they do to nourish and support our students!

Kindergarten countdown is on. Today, the letter I is for Ice cream.

Concert Band starting the afternoon session at the 91st Annual Big 9 Music Festival

Time for choir at the 91st Annual Big 9 Music Festival

The 91st Annual Big 9 Music Festival starts now! The Albert Lea High School Symphony Orchestra is up first.

🎉🔥 Huge Congrats to Our ALHS Welding Students! 🔥🎉 Albert Lea High School students made a powerful statement at yesterday’s 3rd Annual SE MN Welding Competition in Rochester! Out of 25 schools and more than 150 individual welders, our students secured a 2nd place team finish with a score of 63.25 — just 0.25 points behind the 1st place team! Additionally, 4 of our welders finished in the top 13 out of the over 150 students competing 🏆💪 This level of success reflects the strength of our welding program— and the benefits of more than $65,000 in new welding equipment for our lab which was secured last spring via competitive grants. With welding recognized as a high-demand career by the MN Department of Labor and Industry, our students are developing in-demand skills for strong futures. Each school is invited to enter 6 students into the welding competition. ALHS students participating this year included: Theodore Bowman, Dakota Braund, Kaylyn Eide, Keaton Bremer, Daniel Flores (not pictured), and John Leland. Special thanks to ALHS graduate and longtime ALHS Career Technical Education teacher, Mr. Jeff Jenson, for his outstanding leadership and mentorship of our ALHS welding students!

Come check out Southwest Middle School's spring play, "Murder at the Art Show." Date: Friday, May 2nd Time: 7:30pm Where: Southwest Little Theater Cost: $5 for Students and Adults

Southwest Middle School had their exploratory day pick'em event and fundraiser celebration at the end of the day today. Students met the goal of selling $15,000 worth of items so several teachers agreed to have the top three earners from each team pie them in the face. Since students sold over $22,000 worth of items the top earner from each grade was able to shave Principal Johnson's head.

These students were drawn from our March/April Positive Office Referral jar and received ice cream certificates generously donated by LESO. We’re proud of their positive impact at Lakeview—way to go, Can Do Kids!

Halverson’s 4th and 5th graders had a blast collaborating on a hands-on science activity, dissecting owl pellets! Students worked together to identify the bones they discovered and determine which animals they came from. Lots of great learning and curious minds at work!