Spring Green, Wisconsin
Thursday, March 20, 2025 | Vol. 6, No. 5 FREE, Single-Copy
Inside this edition
Endorsements for the Village of Arena
Puzzles: Crosswords & Chess
Literary Festival announces ‘Plays Out Loud’
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Savor the River Valley announces 3rd annual Farm & Food Tour
Tour will be held April 26 and features 12 stops
animals. Buy cool-season vegetable and herb plants to plant at home. This family-friendly Farm & Food Tour is a chance for people to connect with a growing movement of small family farmers and other food producers who are producing wholesome food in ways that take care of people, animals and the environment. There will be many opportunities to taste and observe the differences that makes. For a tour map and more information, go to the Savor website: savortherivervalley.org.
Patti Peltier, Contributed Be sure to check out Savor the River Valley’s 3rd annual Earth Day Farm & Food Tour on Saturday, April 26, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. This free, self-guided tour extends from Plain to Ridgeway with stops at 12 small farms, food processors and local food businesses. What can you see and do on the tour? See locally grown grains milled into flour and buy some to take home. Watch milk being turned into cheese and taste the difference between cheeses made from cow, goat and sheep’s milk. Lunch on smash burgers made from grass-fed beef and walk through a silvopasture. Sample juices made from aronia berries, honey berries and elderberries and find
Picture by Shannon Boyce This free, self-guided tour extends from Plain to Ridgeway and will be held April 26. out why agroforestry is important. Walk through an orchard of specialty apples
and pears with the mother-daughter duo who grow them. See baby farm
Savor the River Valley is a grassroots initiative of small farmers, food processors, food retailers and restaurants in the River Valley School District working together to promote a dynamic food network.
River Valley School Board renames school buildings, sets 2025-2026 calendar, hears Title IX policy changes Luukas Palm-Leis, Reporter At the March 13 regular meeting of the River Valley School District Board of Education, the board did first readings on policies requiring updates due to changes in Title IX, discussed and voted on new names for some of the buildings due to district configuration changes and voted on the school calendar for the 2025-2026 school year. Building Renamings The board discussed new names for the district’s central campus buildings coinciding with the closure of the Early Learning Center in Plain which will consolidate the district into one central campus in Spring Green. The Curriculum and Instruction committee recommended the Elementary retain its current name, the Middle School be renamed to River Valley Intermediate
School, the seventh and eighth grades, which will be housed within the current High School building, be named River Valley Junior High School and the High School to retain its current name. The board voted unanimously in favor of using the recommended names. 2025-2026 School Calendar The board discussed the school calendar for the 2025-2026 school year. The Curriculum and Instruction Committee recommended the district start school on Sept. 2 for 4K through ninth grade and new high school students, Sept. 3 for tenth through twelfth grade and Sept. 8 for early childhood students. The calendar also includes a previously approved change which builds in an early release on all Wednesdays for teacher inservice time, with the Elementary and Intermediate schools be-
ing released at 1:45 p.m. and the Junior High and High Schools being released at 2 p.m. The board unanimously approved the updated 2025-2026 school calendar. Civics Course The board discussed the inclusion of a Civics course as part of the graduation requirements for the district. The board had previously discussed the policy during their November and December regular meetings, which includes the addition of a .5 credit Civics course required for students graduating 2027 and on, but had yet to take formal action to adopt. The board unanimously voted in favor of the addition of this course as part of graduation requirements Policy Changes The board did first readings on numerous policy changes, including 411
Student Nondiscrimination and Equal Educational Opportunity, 411.2 Student Anti-Harassment, 411.2 Rule Student Discrimination and Harassment Complaint Procedures, 411 Rule Student Nondiscrimination Complaint Procedures, 511 Nondiscrimination and Equal Opportunity Employment, 524.3 Employee Anti-Harassment, 511 and 524.3 Rule Employee Discrimination and Harassment Complaint Procedures, 411.1 Bullying, 443 Student Discipline and 443 Rule 1 Code of Classroom Conduct. These changes are to bring these policies in line with Title IX, which the Department of Education reverted to its 2020 form in January. The district had previously worked to update their Title IX compliance in July of 2024 to then-
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