October 9, 2017 at 4:03 p.m.
New learning center dedicated in honor of late teacher
Maney: 'This would be the right place for her memory to be honored'
New learning center dedicated in honor of late teacher
The Lu Berndt Active Learning Center, located in the formally little-used lower level of the Rominsky Lodge in the Cedric A. Vig Outdoor Classroom (CAVOC), was made possible by a $25,000 grant from Berndt's husband Hal and family.
Berndt, who passed in away in 2015, retired in 1989 after 23 years teaching the district's youngest students.
At Friday's dedication, the district's director of instruction Teri Maney said she and district superintendent Kelli Jacobi met with members of the Berndt family last November at CAVOC to discuss what could be done to honor Lu.
"Who she was as an educator, as a person, as a mother, as a community member, and keeping alive her true passion for teaching and her love of nature, it just made so much sense that this would be the right place for her memory to be honored," Maney said. "It was decided that it was important to make a connection between her name and nature, keeping in mind what was really important to her drives the decisions and helping our youngest students have learning experiences and have a more connected feel with the school forest."
A group of district elementary educators then got together to brainstorm what the classroom would include. Manet say the brainstorming session "was probably one of the best experiences I've ever had in meeting people" as the planners learned more about Lu Berndt. She said the planners learned just how well loved Berndt was in the community, not just in the school district, but also through other activities she took part in.
"We learned about her passions, about her love for music, and the stories they shared with us, it was just so neat," Maney said. "I never had the fortune to meet Lu, but I felt that after speaking with her family, I had a pretty good feel for who she was. And that just made us even more dedicated to make this represent what she would have wanted it to represent."
Maney said the planners felt it was important that they capture Berndt's persona in creating the classroom. She said the goal was to make sure that the children would feel as if they were actually scientists doing field research while at the facility.
"We really wanted them to have the experience of what they could do," Maney said. "And we wanted them to know the importance of understanding Mother Earth and understanding the area right around them and that they can make a difference when they are adults in preserving nature."
She said students are asked to think of solutions to real world problems like erosion and other ecological concerns. The goal is to get them to think outside of the box in coming up with the solutions.
"And it is amazing with what little kids can do," Maney said.
The curriculum this year is targeted at grades K-5, with plans to expand it into the upper grades later.
"But right now, the natural excitement that comes from the younger kids is just so inspiring," she said.
Bob LeFebvre, who has been involved with CAVOC for over 40 years. He said the facility as a whole, with its four-season trails and outdoor activities, is a valuable asset for the district and the community it serves.
"It has always been about learning, in one aspect or another," he said. "And when you look around out here, there is a tremendous, tremendous opportunities for enrichment for our students, for our staff and for the community."
He said the addition of the Berndt Active Learning Center is another exciting component that enhances what CAVOC can do to help educate students and the community learn about nature.
"I think the main focus is, what we have here is really for future generations," LeFebvre said. "That's what makes this special. What we are doing here today is a legacy that will be carried on for future generations."
Chris Michlig, the leader of the planning team for the active learning center, explained the group's goals.
She said when the planning group was just starting their work, they took a trip to the Wausau school district's school forest.
"What I found teaching was coming out to CAVOC is that it is tough on teachers, it's a long, hard day for them. And when Wausau teachers go to the Wausau school forest, it's the greatest day of the year because everything is out and ready for us," Michlig said. "So we said we wanted that experience for our teachers, too."
So curriculum was designed and is stored by grade level that teachers can just grab the tote and dive right in.
"The idea was to make rooms user-friendly, and as far as activities, things are set up already. So the students can come down, the lessons are already made and they just come here and off they go," Michlig said.
Frank Harrington, former principal at West/Newbold Elementary School, shared a memory of meeting Lu Berndt as a rookie principal.
"I had the good fortune of meeting Lu in 1981," Harrington said. "Lu was an inspiration to all of us; she was always hands-on with her students. Lu taught me many valuable lessons."
Hal Berndt said that one thing his wife was proud of was that she taught at every school in the district except Pine Lake.
"Poor Pine Lake," he noted.
Even later in her career, she would report to West/Newbold first and teach there in the morning before going to another building to teach in the afternoon, he added.
There is also a separate room where all of the district's many mounted animals, fish and traps are displayed to further enhance the teaching of nature that goes on in the center.
In the main classroom, there are various areas where students can participate in many activities. Additionally, there are a number of binoculars that can be used to examine the wildlife at CAVOC. There are also microscopes the students can use to study samples they collect outside.
During the tour of the center, Berndt's great-grandson Graham Gifford showed his mother Emma Nelson and great-grandfather Hal how much he enjoyed one station that had a water basin on one side and a sand table with a simulated dinosaur fossil buried in it that students could "excavate" on the other.
A permanent nod to Lu Berndt sits in the corner of the new classroom, a piano that was once at West/Newbold Elementary School where she spent the majority of her career. The group was told that she would play tunes on the piano in her classroom that told the students it was time to line up, to clean their areas, and perform other tasks.
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