Brooke Gottschalk wishes she could teach fifth-grade in person but still searches for creative ways to make class engaging. Elementary teacher Brooke Gottschalk threw a tennis ball to her miniature Aussie, Juno, who backflipped before catching it in his mouth. Her talent for the virtual talent show Dec. 4 wasn’t exactly her own, but it didn’t matter because all of her fifth-graders were smiling and laughing the whole time. The acts of dancing, singing and puppeteering allowed the scholars to sh

Heart and Soul Drum Academy teaches at the last school it can during the COVID-19 pandemic. The administrator flicks off the lights. The director shouts the count off and the groove emerges from the darkness making every bone in the chest vibrate with more vitality than the heart. With no distractions, all that matters is the rhythm and feel of the beat of the drums. Voices join in and all the parts weave together to make one song. A strong flam hit together ends the song and the lights come ba

Bethel student was glad to have the opportunity to grow up in Omsk but settles now in Arden Hills, Minnesota. Erik Brecheisen grew up differently from most American children. Mostly because he didn’t grow up in America. Son of a missionary, Brecheisen spent the first 15 years of his life calling Omsk, Russia, home. It wasn’t until high school that his family permanently returned back to the United States after his father spent almost 25 years as a missionary in Russia. Before, Brecheisen would