“This is an acclamation of a whole lot of work over four years,” Fennimore High School Principal Boone Tollefson stated to those in attendance in the high school gym for recognizing the Laude honor students of the FHS graduating class of 2026.
The recognition took place at the beginning of the Fennimore School Board’s monthly meeting on Thursday, March 19. “The board and staff owe you a huge round of applause,” Tollefson went on to say before introducing this year’s Laude honor students.
24 of the 60 students in the 2026 graduating class of Fennimore High School have achieved recognition under the district’s Laude System. Students graduating with Laude honors are recognized with stoles as part of their robe upon graduation.
Laude honors are determined after the first semester of their senior year by averaging the students’ grades received in all courses taken at Fennimore High School as a full-time student over a period of seven semesters and multiplying that GPA with their number of honor points.
11 students earned Cum Laude Honors, earning between 17 and 31.99 laude points, and will be wearing white stoles at graduation: Nova Moon, Eden Richter, Kayahna Furrer, Bailee Bray, Rhylinn Seitz, Jenna Parrish, Tanner Kittleson, Corey Dresen, Shawn Jahnke-Fiedler, Corbin Demo, and Caitlin Dorsey.
Five students earned Magna Cum Laude Honors, earning between 32 and 44.99 laude points, and will be wearing silver stoles at graduation: Brooklyn Hall, Jessa Engelhart, Makenzie Lange, Peyton Lendosky, and Jonathan King.
Eight students earned Summa Cum Laude Honors, earning 45 or more laude points, and will be wearing gold stoles at graduation: Piper Lewis, Mallori Oyen, Kamryn Loy, Kylee Mumm, Owen Klaas, Rhiannon Nelson-Hahn, Trent Tollefson, and Griffin Fry.
After seven semesters, the student with the highest Laude point total was Griffin Fry, and the student with the second highest total was Kamryn Loy, therefore Fry was named valedictorian and Loy was named salutatorian of the graduating class of 2026.
“You seniors have 40 days left, so just a reminder that it’s not over yet and I’m still in charge,” Tollefson joked, but finished up on a positive note with, “Now finish up and finish strong.”
After some photos ops, it was back to regular school board business.
The board accepted a $650 donation from BD’s Eagles Nest from a contest held there. The funds would go toward co-curricular activities in the district.
Two resurfacing bids were accepted by the board for upcoming projects at the middle/high school. The first being from Hiller Commercial Floor to resurface the gymnasium floor at the school. Fennimore School District Administrator Jane Wonderling stated that the project would take two weeks to complete and would begin right after the school year ends on June 3.
The other bid was from Athletic Field Service (AFS) to resurface the now nine-year-old track. Wonderling stated that tracks typically need to be resurfacing every 7-10 years, and mostly likely can be resurfaced again before a total replacement would need to happen, giving the district another 15-18 years of use of the current track.
Wonderling stated the resurfacing would begin immediately after track and field season and take only a few weeks to complete.
Tollefson informed the board that 34 juniors and seniors had signed up for Start College Now in various programs, the majority being in general studies that are transferable to a four year college.
He went on say that parents in the district will be received info on summer courses offered through Southwest Tech soon.
Lastly, the board approved their service contract with CESA 3 for the 2026-27 school year.
The next meeting of the School Board of the Fennimore Community School District will be on Wednesday, April 15, at 6 p.m., in the cafeteria of Fennimore Elementary School.
