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White Bear Lake Area Schools Community e-Newsletter |
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December 16, 2011 |
Leading
minds to learning, hearts to compassion and lives to community service. |
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In This Issue ·
Lasting Gifts of Great Value ·
General Information ·
Opportunities ·
Awards and Honors · Chinese language added · In the spirit · It’s all good in the neighborhood ·
Speedy exchange ·
Activities updates ·
Upcoming meetings Upcoming · No School – Winter Break · ”Get to Know White Bear Lake Area
Schools” events · High School Registration Night · Welcome to White Bear Week · High School Registration Night · Preschool & Family Ed Open Houses · High School Pizza with the Principals · Kindergarten Registration Night · No School – Martin Luther King Jr. Day · End of 2nd Quarter/1st Semester · Preschool & Family Ed Registration Night · Middle School Registration Night
WBLAS In the News · Afton
charm keeps them coming back · Locals
in national event · Longtime
Bears coach hangs it up · Gingerbread
kids · School
levy grows slightly · Alumni
news story - Bruins: Adams and Wahlin reunite · Alumni
news story – Hansen sweeps eight · Activities
News Archives
e-Newsletter Published By Office of
Communications Please contact Marisa Vette (x7695) to submit
information for inclusion in publications. |
Lasting Gifts of Great
Value During the weeks between our national
celebrations of gratitude and gift-giving, we Americans are busy. At
Thanksgiving we draw together with family and friends. Throughout the world,
wherever Americans are stationed, visiting or living, they too gather to give
thanks, to feast, and to remember our common heritage. Feelings of gratitude spill over into the
December weeks that follow. We give
more generously to others, especially to those in need. Simultaneously, we
prepare for gift giving associated with Christmas, Hanukkah, and other
religious and secular celebrations. Thus, while we feel gratitude for what we
have and compassion for those less fortunate, we face competing expectations
for pleasing and delighting others with our gifts. "What gifts are of
most lasting value?" I wonder. As superintendent of White Bear Lake Area
Schools, several times during the year I meet with my student advisory
committee. Drawn from our high school campuses, grades 9-12, they arrive to our
meetings prepared to offer a student perspective on challenges they face and
ideas about how we can help them learn and thrive. After each meeting, I come
away more impressed by their insight, honestly, and maturity. Last week, I reserved time at the end of
our meeting to ask them one final question: "Consider the adults in your
lives: your parents, grandparents, and others. What gifts of great value
would you wish from them this year? One important detail - this gift can have
no monetary value." The room was quiet for a minute or more.
Then one by one, voices spoke simply and eloquently. I offer you a list of lasting gifts of
great value, in their words. First, the gift of time: “time for deep
conversations we will remember,” “an ear to listen to me,” “advice for a
tough decision,”, “meaningful conversations.” Second, the gift of affirmation:
“acceptance,” “understanding what is important to me,” “seeing the good side
of things,” “trusting me.” Third, the gift of supporting dreams:
“encouragement and support to help me find and follow my passions” and
“open-mindedness.” The gift of joy: “fun being together” and
“laugh lines.” The gift of being open: “opening up and
letting me know what their mistakes were.” Finally, the gift of example: “patience,
love, kindness,” “wisdom, respect,” “compassion.” All these gifts are within our power to
give. And they will last. Dr. Michael Lovett General Information DID YOU KNOW?
Find details about the Welcome to White Bear
events here.
Information forms
for the 2012 White Bear Lake Area Schools Teacher of the Year nomination
process are available as a PDF here and as a Word document here.
Nominations are due January 20, 2012.
Disability
Awareness Parent Notices: ·
Welcome to White Bear! - While parents are welcome to visit our schools
at any time, there are several special opportunities in January for parents to
learn more about the White Bear Lake Area Schools. Find information here. ·
Early Childhood Family Literacy Program - Classes meet Tuesdays and Thursdays, 12:30-3:30
p.m. Find information here. ·
Assistive Technology - Click here to find
an Assistive Technology in White Bear Lake Area Schools website. The Driving
Statement of Assistive Technology is to promote independence and optimize the
education of students with special needs through the integration of assistive
technology into educational programming.
·
Strategic Planning - The White Bear
Lake Area Schools Strategic Planning website allows community members,
students, parents and District staff members to follow the plan as it is
considered by the School Board. Updates can be found here. ·
Schools for Energy
Efficiency® (SEE)
- Find a newsletter from the SEE program here. ·
Activity Calendar – To request a
2011-12 Activities Calendar, pick one up at a neighborhood school or District
Center, or email Jody Reber to
request a copy be mailed to you (please include your full name and address in
the email). Find an electronic version here. Other calendars that are available
are: 2011-12 and 2012-13 Parent Calendar, 2011-12 Staff Calendar, 2012-13 Staff Calendar ·
White Bear Lake Area
Educational Foundation - The White Bear Lake Area Educational Foundation, Inc.
(WBLAEF) is an independent, non-profit corporation promoting excellence in
education in White Bear Lake Area School District 624 schools. Find the WBLAEF
website here. o
Year-end charitable giving - As you consider your year-end charitable giving,
please give the WBLAEF serious consideration. Find information here. o
Student Enrichment
Scholarship
- The Eugene D. Johnson and Kathleen J. Johnson Student
Enrichment Scholarship. Applications reviewed on a continual basis throughout the year until
a maximum per year has been awarded. Opportunities Support
WBLAS students ·
Hire WBLAHS students - White Bear Lake Area High
School - South Campus opened a new Career Center this year. The Career Center
will have a job board with all current local job opportunities for their
students. If you are looking to fill any positions at your business and are
looking for WBLAHS students to fill them, please contact Josie Robinson at WBLAHS to advertise on the Career Center job
board.
Awards and Honors ·
Grants accepted – The White Bear
Lake Area School Board recently accepted more than $50,000 in grants. Find
information here. ·
H.B. Fuller STEM Mini-Grants – Four mini-grants were given to the following Central Middle School
Staff members to fund various projects: o Science Department Staff - Fifteen of all Vernier
Probeware: Labquest,
Temperature Sensors, pH Testers, Hand Grip Heart Monitors, Dual-Range Force
Sensors. o Carol Hultman - LAB-AIDS Applied Science
Concepts Kit: Force & Motion –
complete unit with all materials for 16 hands-on activities. o Lynsey Fast and Carol Hultman - Two classroom sets of calculators and two
storage pocket charts for two teams of students. o Amy Jorgenson - Hands on Equations program set for classroom of 40;
SMART Board program, additional worksheets and training. ·
Otto Bremer Grant – For the
third year, the White Bear Area School District Senior Program has received
an Otto Bremer Foundation grant. This year’s grant is $15,000, bringing the
total grant amount from the Foundation to $45,000. The recent grant will be
used to support the Senior Program’s efforts to serve seniors who need
services and/or want to participate in activities. These services and
activities include Meals on Wheels, Transportation, Senior Connections and
the Senior Center. ·
RtI Study Finalists – The District learned this week that Lincoln Elementary and Hugo and
Oneka Elementary Schools have been nominated and chosen as finalists in a
national research study. We anticipate we will hear within a few weeks
whether we are among the 110 schools chosen throughout the nation to
participate in a congressionally mandated national impact evaluation of
Response to Intervention (RtI) in elementary reading. ·
J. Stanley and Doris Hill Legacy Award – Nominations are being accepted for the 2012 J. Stanley and Doris Hill
Legacy Award. Created by the Century College, White Bear Lake and Mahtomedi
educational foundations in 2007, the award acknowledges a local citizen who,
like the award’s late namesakes, has devoted a lifetime of outstanding
volunteer service to his or her community. Find additional information here. ·
The Eugene D. Johnson and Kathleen J. Johnson Student
Enrichment Scholarship. Applications reviewed on a continual basis throughout the year until
a maximum per year has been awarded. Please contact Marisa
Vette (651-407-7695) to submit District News, General
Information, Opportunities or Awards & Honors for inclusion in future
publications. Chinese language added Beginning in
2012-13, incoming Central and Sunrise Park Middle School sixth graders may
choose from French, German, Spanish and Chinese. Additional Chinese courses
will be phased in on an annual basis, with the option expanding to grades six
and seven in 2013-14 and to grades six, seven and eight in 2014-15. At the high
school, Chinese I will be offered as a high school course option for grades
nine through 12 for the 2012-13 academic year.
Administration will develop a plan that will allow the District to expand the
program to offer courses from Chinese II through the College in the Schools
(CIS) level in future years. CIS courses through the University of Minnesota
currently are available in the high school’s French, German and Spanish
tracks. A third level of ASL recently was added to the high school course
offerings beginning next year. The District
currently is conducting a review of the elementary world language program. It
is expected that later this academic year the review committee, comprised of
parents, staff members and administration, will present the School Board with
a proposed plan for a district-wide elementary world language program. Find the full
press release here.
The
White Bear Lake Area Senior Program hosted a Craft Corner Boutique event in
November, offering crafts hand-made by seniors for reasonable prices. A
portion of the proceeds benefits area seniors through various Senior Program
initiatives. White
Bear Lake Area High School - North Campus also is hosting a Christmas Craft
sale, which falls on the heels of a WBLAHS - South Campus Ambassadors hat and
mitten drive that encouraged kids to donate their old winter gear to St. Joseph's Home for Children in St. Paul. The high
school performance groups also have been busy providing holiday entertainment
at various event, including the White Bear Lake
Lion’s Club Holiday Party and an old-fashioned Christmas celebration in Afton
(see Star Tribune story and photo here). Middle school students also have gotten into the “doing good” action.
Central Middle School students and their families donated money and gifts to
the White Bear Lake Lion’s Holiday Toy Drive 2011. Through the efforts of
Central and other area schools, the Lions were able to give toys to more than
500 children in the area.
Even
the District’s youngest students participated in holiday giving. Staff,
families from all three Early Childhood sites - Normandy, Hugo and Tamarack -
and the Early Childhood PTO donated their time and more than $4000 in toys,
gifts and gift cards through the Early Childhood Giving Tree project. The
program provided a "Bag of Christmas" to more than 40 families -
including more than 100 children.
Each device was
programmed early in the stages of the Special Services Departments’
preparation process with buttons that help the students communicate their needs
more effectively. The buttons ranged from such phrases as ‘I would like…’ and
‘please pass the…’ to phrases as simple as ‘please’ and ‘thank you’. Just
having these buttons is not enough because knowing how to navigate to each
button and when to use them is critical. The team even
went as far as to program buttons to help the students hold conversations
while waiting for their food and during the meal. For additional
details of this special outing here. Find a video created about the project here. Editor’s note: December is Disability Awareness
month.
In recent years,
the White Bear Rotary Club has instituted the fast-paced event for the Strive
students at WBLAHS and the White Bear Lake ALC. The activity, modeled after
the “speed-dating” phenomenon of many years ago, is one in which Rotarians
and other adult volunteers in the community spend 5 minutes talking to each
student about their career, the educational requirements to enter their line
of work, and what they enjoy about their work. After 5 minutes, a bell is
rung and the students move to the next Rotarian (or adult volunteer) to begin
the process anew. Strive is a
program designed for students who enter their senior year in high school with
a lower than desired cumulative GPA, and work with the program throughout the
year to improve their academic performance. At the end of the year, Strive
awards financial scholarships to the most-improved students to help them pay
for their post-secondary education. Activities Updates Sunrise Hip Hop
Group won
first place in the middle school division at a hip hop competition last week.
Find a video of the performance here. WBLAHS Hip Hop Group won third place at the high school division.
The Cheer team hosted the White
Bear Lake Winter Classic Cheerleading Competition on Dec. 10. Find photos here. White
Bear Lake Area High School Athletics schedules can be found here.
Upcoming meetings
·
Wednesdays at 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. ·
Thursdays at 10 a.m. |
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