This Week's Program: Tom Brennan- Principal of Cloquet Middle School

Tom started out by saying that he was a graduate of Cloquet High School and he was pleased to see his former principal, Russ Smith, in the audience. First, Tom showed us a video with drawings of the new middle school and photos of the building under construction. Then Tom talked about programming, which will be different since 5th graders will be added to the mix in the new building. All the 5th graders will be on the 2nd floor, so they will only need to move to another classroom for music, gym, and art. The 6th graders will also be on the 2nd floor, and will move classrooms only for half a day. The 7th and 8th graders will be on the first floor by the office and their classrooms will be pods with an open center where the students' lockers will be located. The 7th and 8th graders' pods will be separate. The gym will have 3 stations, and the pool will be active every day. Instruction is technical with Wi-Fi built in. All students will have their own iPod which connects to a smart touch screen TV. They can even log in at home if they are sick. The desks have wheels and some are for standing, since middle school kids need to move a lot. A computer lab will have 3D printers and a play area for tech games. These new programs explained that what's happening inside the new school is the most important part of the change coming up this fall.