As a native Minnesotan, I have always had a fascination with lakes and was especially intrigued with the ship the Edmund Fitzgerald. I cannot tell you when I first heard Gordon Lightfoot’s 1976 version of “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" or when I first went to Duluth and saw the waves of Lake Superior, but I can tell you that the song would float in and out of my listening experiences through my youth and into my adult life.
The Edmund Fitzgerald was an iron ore freighter ship and one of the largest to sail the waters of the Great Lakes. On November 10, 1975, about 17 miles north-northwest of Whitefish Point, Michigan, the great ship met an even greater storm in a significant mid-latitude cyclone. This day turned this voyage into its fateful final voyage on eastern Lake Superior. The “gales” of November created tremendous waves, eventually overwhelming the ship and forcing it to the lake bed, a quarter of a mile below the water’s surface. All 29 sailors aboard were lost.
Released in August 1976 on Lightfoot’s Summertime Dream album, the six-minute ballad turned a brief Newsweek item about the November 1975 wreck into an enduring folk epic. “I didn’t want it to be forgotten,” Lightfoot once told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Fifty years later, “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” rose to Number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Parade magazine reported that “according to Billboard, the song topped the Rock Digital Song Sales chart for the week ending Nov. 13, 2025 — a first for the classic. It drew 3.7 million U.S. streams and sold 5,000 downloads, up 140 percent and 328 percent week over week, as the 50th anniversary of the ship’s sinking renewed global interest. The single also soared to No. 2 on Country Digital Song Sales and No. 4 on the all-genre Digital Song Sales chart, marking its highest U.S. chart position ever.” It clearly was of interest to more than just me!
What grabs people’s attention, what motivates us, what endures, especially a half a century later? Most if not all who are reading this were not even alive during the years the Edmund Fitzgerald sailed (June 7, 1958 to November 10, 1975). Most if not all who are reading this were very young during the years the song about the ship’s demise was sung. Yet on the 50th anniversary of the sinking, The legend [has] live[d] on from the Chippewa on down/Of the big lake, they called Gitche Gumee, and now many more people know of that good ship. Events of the past can make an impact in the future.
As a school with relational discipline, our approach is always to look forward: "How can we do better; how can we impact the next day?" If the teacher, lesson, or topic does not grab attention or there appears to be no motivation, it is in our response that the future impact can be made. Society is often too quick to react, to blame, or even too fast to try and problem-solve when on the positive side. Posts, calls, and emails are too quickly made. Again on the positive side, we are too quick to accept or expect the offer to clean up a mess, handle a frustrating situation, or resolve a conflict. Spectrum elementary/middle has gotten better at slowing down despite the pressure to “take care of things.” This has positively impacted the future. While we might frustrate some for not responding fast enough, behavioral referrals are down, parent partnerships are up, and learning is our focus. We speak and act and respond in ways that students feel safe, they are noticed, and along with their learning, they achieve their sense of belonging.
If fifty years later a song about a ship that was written so as for it to not be forgotten can truly be remembered and earn a new No. 1 ranking, I am inspired to believe that the students that attend Spectrum will be deeply impacted and that their years here will not be forgotten. I work hard with the hope that over the course of the students’ next fifty years, the moments of today not only impact the day but also for when the days become the past and that they can impact the future as the gales of November [are] remembered.
Weeks at a Glance
- Winter Fine Arts Performances, Band Concert - Tuesday, December 16 @ 5:30, Spectrum High School
- Middle School Spectrum Spirit Leaders Winter Dance - Friday, December 19 @ 6:00 to 7:30, Spectrum Middle School
- Winter Break - Wednesday, December 24 - Friday, January 2: No School
Open Enrollment
Help us spread the word to your neighbors, friends, family, and community:
Spectrum Schools is accepting enrollment applications for NEW students for the 2026-2027 school year. Applications must be submitted by January 31, 2026, to be included in the mid-February 2026, Enrollment Lottery.
IMPORTANT: Siblings must submit an application to be considered for enrollment.
Sign up for an Information & Tour Session with the Spectrum Registrar or call 763-241-8703 for more details.
Thank you for helping us grow our Spectrum community!