Solar Reunion at Lake Marion Elementary
May 24, 2022
Six high school students returned to Lake Marion Elementary on Monday, May 16 to see the new solar panels on top of their former school. Five years ago most of the students were in fifth grade. It was then that they made a presentation to the Board of Education about how the District could benefit from using solar energy at its schools. Five years later, those students’ ideas are now a reality.
Sophie Leinenkugel (grade 11), Nathan Barnes (10), Joseph Parske (10), Ray TeHennepe (10) and Nick Kulig (10) of Lakeville South High School and Bella Boos (10) who now attends Southwest Christian High School in Chaska, all came back to see the result of their initial work for solar energy.
One by one, they climbed up the ladder onto the roof of the school, a place many students never even get to see! Principal Bret Domstrand and STEM Teacher Kim Mendard led them over to an area where they were able to see two large sections of the solar array with hundreds of panels spanning across the roof. For the first time, these students were able to see firsthand what kind of real-life change they had sparked five years earlier as elementary students.
“I was really excited because it was so strange after five years to finally see what we put so much effort into in elementary school finally pan out and actually become a reality,” said Boos after seeing the panels for the first time.
“It’s so surreal because, as a fifth grader, you don’t think anything is really going to be coming out of this. So to see it here now, while all of us are still in high school and it’s only been five years, I don’t think my fifth grade self really understood what this could amount to,” said Leinenkugel.
Back in 2017, a group of eleven students held a small solar club before school. They researched solar energy, talked to stakeholders like parents, community members and teachers, called people who already had solar arrays at their schools and more. All of their research ended up in a presentation that they gave at a Board of Education work session.
“I feel like the school board meeting was a bit of a blur because we didn’t know what was going to happen,” said Leinenkugel of the board meeting.
“I just remember standing in front of so many adults just feeling scared. But once I got up there and I started presenting, I was just really excited to see where this would go,” said Boos.
“It was an interesting moment. We were presenting something that we were passionate about and hoping that other people were passionate about,” said Leinenkugel.
Principal Domstrand and Ms. Menard told the students more about the project and the process the school and District went through to make it happen. Both of them gave a lot of credit to the students for their hard work and how it helped Lake Marion become one of the first schools in the District to get solar panels.
“It all started with your presentation,” said Principal Domstrand to the students. “Think about that. That’s like a pretty powerful thing to think that fifth graders can go in front of people who make decisions at that level and have this kind of impact. It’s a pretty big deal.”
“It started with you guys and now it’s on the roof. It’s saving money, it’s helping the environment and it’s part of education. So the same three things that you listed at the board presentation, they’re all true. They’re all coming true,” said Ms. Menard.
Some of the students wanted to share a message with current elementary students to tell them that no matter how young, their voices can matter and make a difference.
“Follow your dreams. There will be mentors all around you listening to you, advocating for you. So if you are truly passionate about something, don’t let anyone tell you that your age is lesser than you think. Don’t let anyone tell you that because you’re so young that this can’t turn into something big because this project right here proves that it has,” said Leinenkugel.
“I just really think that you’re never too young to make a difference. We got together and we worked really hard to get solar panels into our district and really make a lasting impact on the school, the environment, and ultimately the world,” said Boos.
Lake Marion Elementary was the first school in the District to get solar panels in December 2021. The District is in the process of installing solar panels on McGuire Middle School, John F. Kennedy Elementary and Lakeville North High School. The panels at McGuire and JFK are already installed and are awaiting final tests before going live. The District is aiming to have all four arrays up and running in late summer 2022. Once all four schools are live, the District is expected to save more than $50,000 a year in energy credits.