Category Archives: Schools

September 16, 2014 · 5:28 pm

South Milwaukee Sports Update: Big Football Game This Friday Vs. Greenfield

From the school district …

VARSITY FOOTBALL

The Rockets improved to 4-0 on a rainy cold Friday night after a 13-6 win over Whitnall.

Justin Oliden (12) threw a 60-yd TD pass to Mitchell Dess (12) and Dess also picked off a Whitnall pass late in the game to help to seal the victory. This was a defensive battle and Coach Morse’s defense held the Falcons to 18 yards rushing. Joey Nelson (11) led the way on defense with 9 tackles and Mike Kowalski (11) had 2 sacks

The Rockets next game is this Friday at Spaltholz Field with kickoff at 7:00pm. The 4-0 Rockets will take on the 3-1 Greenfield Hawks in a key Woodland East showdown.

Friday forecast – High of 70 and sunny!

ROCKET GIRLS’ SWIM

The Rockets hosted their 8th annual Rocket Relays on Saturday and tied for 3rd place as a team! Great job by Coach Sarah Nowak and Coach Kasia Brzezicka and all of the Rocket swimmers & divers!

  • New Berlin Eisenhower 324
  • Franklin 254
  •  South Milwaukee 242
  •  Oak Creek 242
  •  Wauwatosa West 226
  •  Greenfield 202
  •  Racine Park 164
  •  Racine Horlick 158
  •  Greendale 148
  •  St. Thomas More/St. Francis 100
  • Cudahy 98
  •  Kenosha Bradford 62

1st Place in the 400 yd Individual Medley Relay (4:50.05)

  • Holliday, Alexis 10
  • Bocek, Haille 11
  • Uehling, Eryka 10
  • Bellis, Zoe 10

3rd Place in the 300 yd Backstroke Relay (3:36.46)

  • Conner, Morgan 9
  • Thayer, Mackenzie 9
  • Reed, Christine 11
  • Bocek, Haille 11

4th Place in the 850 yd Freestyle Crescendo Relay (9:28.54 26)

  • Bellis, Zoe 10
  • Uehling, Eryka 10
  • Swanson, Natalie 12
  • Holliday, Alexis 10

4h Place in the 400 yd Freestyle Relay (4:21.04)

  • Thayer, Mackenzie 9
  • Hernandez, Vanessa 9
  • Halama, Taylor 12
  • Uehling, Eryka 10

Results from 9/10/14 Dual Meet

South Milw Rockets defeated St. Thomas More/St. Francis on Wednesday!

Varsity Score was 39 STM/SF vs 134 SM.  The JV score was 29 STM/SF vs 103 SM.

200yd Medley relay

  • Haille Bocek, Zoe Bellis, Emma Hernandez, Taylor Halama took 1st with a time of 2:15.29
  • Mackenzie Thayer, Melanie Zabler, Kourtney Kaszuba, Morgan Conner took 2nd with a time of 2:27.69

200yd Freestylers: Alexis Holliday took 1st with a time of 2:10.87 and Natalie Swanson took 2nd with a time of 2:24.61.

200yd I.M.: Haille Bocek took first with a time of 2:41.59, Vanessa Hernandez took 2nd with a time of 3:01.53

50yd Freestylers: Zoe Bellis took 1st with a time of 27.20, Taylor Halama took 2nd with a time of 29.99

Diving: Allison Osell took 1st with a score of 184.60

100yd Fly: Emma Hernandez took 1st with a time of 1:30.92

100yd Freestyle: Natalie Swanson took 1st with a time of 1:04.77, Natalie Swanson took 2nd with a time of 1:05.99

500yd Freestyle: Alexis Holliday took 1st with a time of 5:38.07, Kelly Mildebrandt took 2nd with a time 6:34.28

200yd Freestyle Relays

  • Taylor Halama, Natalie Swanson, Alexis Holliday, Zoe Bellis, took 1st with a time of 1:54.11
  • Vanessa Hernandez, Kelly Mildebrandt, Grace Schneider, Emma Hernandez took 2nd with a time of 2:09.04

100yd Backstroke: Haille Bocek took 1st with a time of 1:12.75, Mackenzie Thayer took 2nd with a time of 1:15.36

100yd Breaststroke: Zoe Bellis took 1st with a time of 1:19.42, McKenzie Halwas (STM/SF) took 2nd with a time of 1:27.69

400yd Freestyle Relays

  • Mackenzie Thayer, Haille Bocek, Natalie Swanson, Alexis Holliday took 1st with a time of 4:20.93
  • Emma Hernandez, Vanessa Hernandez, Kelly Mildebrandt, Morgan Conner took 2nd with a time of 4:43.66

ROCKET CROSS COUNTRY

The 34th Annual Rocket Invite Cross Country was held at Grant Park last Saturday. As usual Coach Druckrey, Coach Watson, Coach Hiegel, Coach Oelschlager, and Coach Miller ran a fantastic meet! Great job by the Rockets!

The individual champion on the boys side was Josh Janusiak (12). Maddie Wood (10) took 2nd overall for the girls. Good luck on Saturday at the Racine St. Catherine’s Meet at UW-Parkside!

Boys Varsity (115 runners total)

1, Joshua Janusiak SR 16:03

13 Jordan Janusiak FR 16:49

14 Chris Sobczak SO 16:49

41 Justin Weber JR 17:43

75 Damon Dettmann SR 18:28

86 Wyatt Schlager FR 18:47

87 Sam Zakovich SR 18:48

Girls Varsity (95 runners total)

2 Maddie Wood SO 19:16

28 Rebecca Heller JR 21:13

45 Samantha Meszaros SR 22:01

53 Alex Krane FR 22:23

60 Madeline Smith SO 22:47

70 Rebecca Schoenike SR 23:26

Boys JV (257 runners total)

44 Andrew Gargulak JR 19:36

47 Andrew Wimmer SR 19:39

57 Nick Schultz SR 19:56

80 Aaron Sowinski SO 20:33

99 Ethan Lentz FR 21:17

108 Danny Rolefson SO 22:16

110 Max Moran FR 22:20

Girls JV (181 runners total)

117 Hannah Breher FR South Milwaukee 26:41.29

119 Melissa Merkel SO South Milwaukee 26:51.15

166 Alexis Evert FR South Milwaukee 30:53.23

168 Jordan Barnes JR South Milwaukee 31:03.15

ROCKET GIRLS’ VOLLEYBALL

The Rockets took first place at the Riverside HS Varsity Invitational last night! In doing so they avenged a close loss to Brown Deer from last week by defeating Brown Deer not once but twice to win the tournament! Congratulations Rocket Girls’ Volleyball!!

Good luck today at Greenfield to the freshmen, JV & Varsity teams!

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September 12, 2014 · 2:40 pm

South Milwaukee Alumni Sports Update

From the school district …

John “Boo” Gottwald (Class of 2010)

If you want to get a last glimpse of former Woodland Conference Boys Soccer Player-of-the-Year Boo Gottwald in action for UW-Whitewater, you have your best chance this Saturday!

The UW-Whitewater Warhawks travel to take on the MSOE Raiders at the Kern Center on Saturday at 3:30pm.

http://www.uwwsports.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=8665&path=msoc

Aly Pinkos (Class of 2010)

Here are some highlights from the summer for Aly Pinkos as she finished up her collegiate lacrosse career with some really great academic honors! Nice work Aly!

http://www.cuwfalcons.com/sports/wlax/2013-14/releases/20140617o6t9uq

http://www.cuwfalcons.com/sports/wlax/2013-14/releases/201408192zsaf3

Trey McKinney-Jones (Class of 2008)

After being an NBA D League Champ last season, Trey McKinney-Jones has signed on with Gravelines, a professional basketball team in the first-tier French basketball league. Best of luck this season Trey!

http://www.bcmbasket.com/saison-2014-2015/equipe-pro/ 

Gary Williams (Class of 1992)

Gary had been working at Carthage College Since 1997 and on June 1st became the new Athletic Director at Wittenberg University in Ohio. Congratulations Gary!!!!

http://www.wittenbergtigers.com/information/directory/bios/Gary_Williams

http://wittenbergtigers.com/news/2013-14/04_17

 

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September 11, 2014 · 10:06 am

Meet The Mayor … And School Leaders

In the spirit of cooperation, a couple of special guests are joining me for my next Meet the Mayor event: South Milwaukee School President Pat Bordak and Superintendent Rita Olson.

We’ll all be at the South Milwaukee Downtown Market from 4 to 6 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 25. Look for us at a picnic table near the stage … and then stick around for a South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center concert starting at 5 and the Guardian Credit Union Movie in the Market showing of “Frozen” starting at dusk.

Mark your calendars and stop by to join in the discussion. Questions, comments, concerns — all are welcome.

Also, stay tuned for more special guests at future Meet the Mayor sessions. My goal: Give residents a chance to speak with not only me, but other local leaders.

In other words, invest in transparency and communication.

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September 6, 2014 · 9:35 am

Crazy Good: Rockets Move To 3-0 In A Thriller At Brown Deer

“It was definitely the craziest, most fun game I’ve ever played in my life.”

Four lead changes, four ties and 1,065 yards of total offense. Decided on the final play. Not a bad night, as the South Milwaukee football team moved to 3-0 with a 41-35 victory over Brown Deer on Friday.

Justin Oliden completed 17 of 25 passes for 257 yards and three touchdowns, including two to Mitchell Dess, who had eight catches for 115 yards. Running back Ian Pribyl — who uttered the quote above in the front-page story in this morning’s Milwaukee Journal Sentinel — had 177 yards rushing and three touchdowns.

Next up: The Rockets host Whitnall this Friday. Here is the schedule.

Let’s keep it going!

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September 1, 2014 · 8:19 pm

Sharing Perspectives: Joint School Board, City Council Meeting Set For Wednesday

As mayor, I want to work closely to build on our already strong partnership with the South Milwaukee School District.

That’s why I’m glad to report that the South Milwaukee School Board and City Council are holding a joint meeting at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, at the district office.

The meeting actually begins with the district’s annual budget meeting, where they set their tax levy. (I’m looking forward to seeing what one of these meetings looks like.) Then we’ll meet together to talk about our budgets, construction and development updates and potential areas of collaboration.

Here is the formal agenda. I hope you can attend.

It only makes sense for our two governmental bodies to work together where we can. We are already doing that, and this is another example of that commitment.

(And a special thanks to Superintendent Rita Olson and School Board President Patricia Bordak for their work in organizing this. They brought forward the idea, and I’m happy we can make it happen.)

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August 22, 2014 · 10:34 pm

Commitment To Excellence: South Milwaukee Schools Earn Accreditation

As the proud parent of two South Milwaukee School District students, I’m not surprised to hear this news …

The district has become the first in southeastern Wisconsin to earn school system accreditation from the AdvancED Accreditation Committee. From the press release …

This distinction by the most rigorous accreditation organization in the United States means that the School District of South Milwaukee and all of its schools meet international standards of quality and demonstrate a commitment to excellence.

The accreditation process involves three ongoing components: 1) meeting high quality standards; 2) implementing a continuous process of improvement; and 3) engaging in quality assurance through internal and external review. The system’s accreditation is for a five-year term with regular monitoring of progress and reporting occurring during the term.

Congratulations to the district and the administrators, teachers, staff and students who worked (and work) every day to help make this happen.

We have lots to be proud of in South Milwaukee, nothing more so than our schools.

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August 22, 2014 · 9:14 am

Ready For Some Football?

Update: South Milwaukee 55, Milwaukee Marshall 24. That’s your final score.

New coach, same high expectations.

There may be big things in store for the South Milwaukee football team this season, with Derek Hoff taking over the reins after the Rockets finished 8-3 with a Woodland Conference East championship in 2013.

The season gets underway tonight with Milwaukee Marshall visiting Spaltholz Field. Kickoff is 7 p.m.

  • From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Woodland East preview: “South Milwaukee is loaded with experience and has a two-time all-conference quarterback in (Justin) Oliden, making the Rockets the favorite with first-year coach Derek Hoff.”
  • On senior running back/linebacker, Ian Pribyl: “The 6-2, 225-pound standout teams up with quarterback Justin Oliden to give the Rockets an explosive backfield. He was a two-way all-Woodland East first-team pick last season and is drawing Division I interest.”
  • And from the Merrill Foto News (Hoff is from Merrill), which has a feature on the new coach: “My plans for this current team are to win conference and make a run at a state title. My plans for the program include winning multiple state titles and being a perennial powerhouse in the state.”

In other words, this should be a fun year. Learn more on the team website.

Go Rockets! See you tonight!

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July 11, 2014 · 4:13 pm

Free Lunch For Kids This Summer At Two South Milwaukee Schools

Lakeview lunchKids can get a free, healthy lunch at two locations this summer.

The South Milwaukee School District is again offering free lunch at the high school, through the federal Summer Food Service Program. The program started June 23, and on days when summer school is in session, they are regularly serving more than 300 kids. It continues through August 8.

Learn more here.

Also, through the resourcefulness and volunteer spirit of several area residents, lunches are also being offered at Lakeview each weekday this summer, thanks to a partnership with the Hunger Task Force and Salvation Army. Here are more details from Diane Carrier, who has helped lead the effort … the latest example of South Milwaukeeans stepping up to make a real difference.

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July 8, 2014 · 9:47 pm

Milestone: 400 Wins For Coach Galewski

Congratulations to South Milwaukee baseball coach John Galewski, whose Rockets recorded his 400th win on Monday!

South Milwaukee is also contending for its first conference title since 2000. From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel story …

“I was hoping they didn’t because we’re chasing a conference championship,” Galewski said. “I know they know about that, so that’s more important.”

It looked like the Rockets were unaware after their 4-0 victory over Shorewood behind pitcher Matt McCarty’s two-hitter on Monday at Henry Aaron Field.

There were the usual handshakes, but nothing out of the ordinary.

“Yeah, we all knew,” McCarty said. “We talked about it on the bus on the way here and maybe doing something if we got the win.”

So, as Galewski was being interviewed near his dugout, two players dumped the Gatorade bucket on their unsuspecting coach.

“It’s a real honor to play for him,” said South Milwaukee’s Anthony Marlowe, who had two brothers and a cousin compete in the program.

Only 14 coaches in summer baseball have more victories than Galewski (400-388), who is in his 27th season.

“It’s really about the history of the kids that have gone through the program,” Galewski said. “My son played for me. There’s some emotion there.”

Added McCarty: “It’s so awesome to know I could give my coach his 400th win. It’s a great achievement for him and the program.”

Here is the team’s schedule the rest of the way.

WIAA regionals begin next Tuesday.

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June 11, 2014 · 5:50 pm

Farewell, Mr. Nowak

Former South Milwaukee teacher and Rawson and Blakewood principal Erv “Mick” Nowak passed away this week.

Here is his obituary, and the online tributes show the impact this man had.

From the obituary:

His career in education spanned 34 years in South Milwaukee – as both a 6th grade teacher and math teacher at Parkway for seven years and then as principal of Rawson and Blakewood elementary schools. His philosophy was “do what’s best for the children.” Known to his students as “Mr. Kickball,” Erv was full-time pitcher and refereed the popular lunchtime recess games.

Erv was known for his flawless penmanship, likely the result of all the practice he received penning the thousands of hand-written notes he mailed to each and every student on their birthdays. He spent countless hours writing these notes on index cards, always with a reference to what made that child special and unique. He remembered former students and their families by name, even decades after they had been at one of his schools.

Please keep the Nowak family — and all who knew him — in your prayers. The visitation and funeral are Friday at St. Matthew’s in Oak Creek.

Did you know Mr. Nowak? Post your comments below.

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June 7, 2014 · 10:23 pm

Rocket Baseball Team Off To Hot Start

Baseball 6-7-14A quick shoutout to Coach Galewski and the Rockets, who are off to a 7-1 start after 10-3 win over Homestead on Friday …

Good luck the rest of the way.

Why not take in a game in coming weeks? Check out their full schedule here. Their next home game is June 16 against Whitnall. First pitch is 5 p.m.

(The photo is of my son, Christian, pitching to one of the Rocket players Saturday, when Little Leaguers were invited to practice with the team. Very cool.)

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June 2, 2014 · 12:19 pm

Welcome Back, Bookmobile

The Bookmobile is back, and I think it’s great.

The van, a partnership between the South Milwaukee Public Library and South Milwaukee School District, will make a number of planned stops this summer around the city.

It will appear at South Milwaukee Little League from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on these days  …

  • June 17
  • July 1
  • July 10
  • July 15

It will also stop at Grobschmidt Pool from 1 to 2 p.m. on these dates …

  •  June 26
  • July 10
  • July 24

The Bookmobile will have books for young readers through teenagers, and kids will be able to sign up for the summer reading program at the stops. There will also be story time.

Kids need to have a library card to check out books.

Sounds like fun … and I’m sure my family will be there.

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May 21, 2014 · 10:57 pm

What A Year At The South Milwaukee PAC

Chad and his team have a terrific recap of the year that was at the South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center … and some information on what’s to come, including a June 10 10th anniversary season announcement.

(Hard to believe it’s already been 10 years, right?)

Check out the newsletter here, and please continue supporting this community treasure.

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May 21, 2014 · 1:35 pm

Rocket Sports Update: Softball Team Clinches At Least Share Of Woodland Title

Congratulations to the Rocket softball team!

From the school district …

SOFTBALL

Congratulations to the Varsity Softball team as they finished the regular season with a 19-3 record and 16-2 mark in the Woodland Conference. That record has earned them at least a share of the Woodland Conference Championship for the 2nd year in a row!

The Rockets swept a Doubleheader against Brown Deer last night, both games by run rule.

The Rockets put themselves in position to capture the crown with a 13-4 extra-inning win at Greenfield on Monday with a stupendous NINE (9) runs in the top of the 8th inning! Maddie Veres (9) had a HR and 5 RBI while Abby Mahsem (11) continued her stellar pitching throwing 13 K’s in the win.

Next up for the Rockets is the WIAA Playoffs. Seeding is yet to be determined, but they will either start next week Tuesday or Thursday at home, depending on their seed.

 GIRLS’ SOCCER

The Rocket JV Soccer team is on a roll! They beat Cudahy 4-0 on Monday and defeated Greenfield by the same score of 4-0 last night! Great job girls!

The Rocket Varsity Girls’ Soccer team lost a tough one last night to Greenfield 2-0 while playing pretty short handed, but they did beat Cudahy 3-0 on Monday in yet another crazy weather game (stopped in the 71st minute due to lightning). Nicole Adamec (10), Megan Hilbelink (11) & Emily Grunert (10) scored goals in the win!

The Rockets host Wauwatosa West tomorrow night (4:30pm JV and 6:30pm Varsity) so come on out and cheer the Rockets on at the SM Memorial Soccer Complex (old site of the Junior High).

BOYS’ TRACK

The Rockets took 2nd in the Woodland Conference Outdoor meet last night in a lightning-delayed affair. Alex Hoover (12) set the school record in the pole vaiult with a vault of 14’0″ making him the Woodland Conference Champion! Andrew O’Neill (12) also was Woodland Conference Champion in the Intermediate Hurdles and AJ Plewa (12) was Woodland Conference Champion in the Long Jump with a jump of 21′ 5″! Andrew O’Neill also took 2nd in the High Hurdles.

I will get an update on the Girls’ Track highlights later on today.

GOLF

Congrats to the rocket golfers for winning the 6th and final mini at Oakwood golf course shooting a team score of 168, making it a clean sweep 6-0 in the woodland east division! Matthew Boyle (10) lead the way with a 40, making him the woodland east division champion.  Ryan Graber (10) also shot a 40.  Ben Rosploch (11) andAndrew Manikham (12) shot 44’s, and Brian Hofer (12) came in with a 47.

The Rockets travel to Washington County Golf Course today for the Woodland Conference Championships. Good luck Coach Kubel and Rockets!!

BOYS’ TENNIS

The Rockets start day 2 of the Woodland Conference Tournament this afternoon at Hart Park in Wauwatosa. In the semifinals of the backdraw shooting for the Consolation Championship are #1 Singles player JP Saskowski (12), #1 Doubles team Tyler Stuhr (12) & Mathias Chapa (12) and #3 Doubles team Corey Wolf (12) & Adam Klosiewski (11). Matches begin to get called at 1:30pm.

Good luck this afternoon!

BASEBALL

The Rockets summer baseball season kicks off this Saturday at home at 11:00amagainst longtime rival Franklin! The forecast calls for 66 degrees and some sun…perfect baseball weather so come on out and check the Rockets out in their Home Opener!

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May 14, 2014 · 9:19 pm

REAL Academy Makes A Real Difference

REAL1REAL2

South Milwaukee High School’s REAL Academy — an alternative school within a school serving high-need, at-risk, special education youth — is a terrific example of education innovation, a sign of the district’s commitment to do everything in its power to educate all students and engage all students in the community.

Here is a recent example provided by academy teacher Joanna Rizzotto …

On Friday, May 9th, students from the South Milwaukee High School REAL Academy participated in rain garden planting and water quality testing at Grant Park in partnership with Milwaukee County Parks and the Great Lakes Alliance.  Students surveyed the natural areas, planted a rain garden in a parking lot median near picnic area 3&4, and evaluated the health of water on the beach and in creek beds.  This was the third event the students have participated in partnership with Milwaukee County Parks to prevent erosion and work toward coastal restoration at Grant Park.  Earlier in the year the students planted trees and removed invasive species.  Grant Park is a South Milwaukee community treasure.  The REAL Academy students will continue the partnership with Milwaukee County Parks into next school year and are proud to contribute to the stewardship of a park they use often and know so well.  

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