Photo by Samantha Davis: (Left to right), Marshall Public School District students Maite Runck, Harper Derigisch, Emery Podratz and Kallen Watts stand with their Tiger Spotlight certificates for being Students of the Month for May, presented by the school board on Monday night. Not pictured is Antonio Pablo Ortiz.

MARSHALL — As another school year begins to wrap up, the Marshall Public School District School Board presented its final Tiger Spotlight for 2025-26 at Monday night’s meeting, where they recognize a student of the month from each school site from staff and faculty nominations.

Maite Runck has been selected as Park Side Elementary’s Tiger Spotlight student, nominated by Katie Hjermstad.

“Maite Runck is a great writer and has shown wonderful growth this year in first grade. Maite works hard throughout her entire day, and her hard work has paid off,” Hjermstad said in her nomination. “Maite’s handwriting has improved so much, and she takes her time to do her best work. Maite is writing five-star sentences daily throughout her writing. Maite has a positive attitude about school and is a friend to many kids. Maite is a great kid and (is) always ready to help someone out.”

For Southview Elementary, principal Peter Thor selected Harper Derigisch to receive this month’s honor.

“Harper Derigisch is a hard worker. She tries her best on any task that is put in front of her. Harper is being recognized this month because of her immense growth recently shown in the Capti ReadBasix Word Recognition and Decoding subtest taken by our fourth graders,” Thor said. “Based on beginning-of-year data, Harper started with the UFLI phonics intervention, and then moved to the REWARDS (mutlisyllabic) intervention with Mrs. (Jill) Gordon. Her hard work moved her beginning-of-year score of 217 to end-of-year score of 254, making her our greatest growth-reading student in the subtest.”

Emery Podratz was selected as the middle school’s Student of the Month, selected by Claire Boersma.

“Emery is a student who consistently shows up as her best self, and through that, encourages others to do the same. She is dedicated in her schoolwork, taking the extra time to stay organized, check her work and ask helpful questions,” Boersma said. “When she leaves early for activities, Emery communicates with teachers and gets her work ahead of time. While in class, Emery is a team player, always helpful towards her classmates and teachers. Her frequent smiles and positive attitude add light to whatever class she is in. Emery is kind, respectful, and a joy to have in class.”

For Marshall High School, Bessie Skalicky nominated Antonio Pablo Ortiz for Tiger Spotlight.

“Throughout the year, Antonio consistently demonstrated a strong commitment to his learning, even when faced with challenges. He regularly took the initiative to seek additional help, often working with Ms. Skalicky during lunch to deepen his understanding of course content,” Skalicky said. “His willingness to put in extra time and effort reflects his dedication to academic growth. What sets Antonio apart is his resilience. Even when concepts proved difficult, he remained persistent, continuing to ask questions, practice skills and improve his performance. His perseverance and determination serve as an example to his peers and embody the values we strive to instill in all students.”

Kallen Watts is this month’s Area Learning Center Student of the Month, selected by Nicholas Kline.

“In an environment that requires perseverance and personal accountability, Kallen has shown a commitment to staying engaged, completing work with purpose and making thoughtful choices each day,” Kline said. “Kallen’s ability to remain focused despite challenges reflects a growing sense of responsibility for his own learning, while his respectful interactions with staff and peers contribute positively to the school community. These achievements speak not only to academic progress, but to meaningful personal development that will support Kallen’s success beyond the classroom.”

As another year of Tiger Spotlight comes to a close, the school board will plan to continue doing the same come next year, with board members noting it as their favorite part of board meetings.