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White Bear Lake Area Schools Community e-Newsletter |
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February 3, 2012 |
Leading
minds to learning, hearts to compassion and lives to community service. |
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In This Issue ·
Mom, I know what I want to do in high
school ·
General Information ·
Opportunities ·
Awards and Honors · Act one · Long “Day’s” Night · A perfect score · Middle school college prep · Black History Month activities · Activities updates ·
Meeting agendas ·
Upcoming meetings Upcoming · Parent Leaders Forum · School Board Meeting · No School - Presidents' Day · School Board Work-Study Meeting
WBLAS In the News · Theater
company partners with schools · Snow
Jam in Hugo · Local
students place in archery competition · Cool
Things Kids Do (inspired by WBLAHS “speed mentoring” program) · Program
Bringing Reading Dogs to WBL School · Activities
News Archives
e-Newsletter Published By Office of
Communications Please contact Marisa Vette (x7695) to submit
information for inclusion in publications. |
“Suppose we develop a mentoring program for
younger students. We have heard a lot about the challenges that students
face, especially as they go from elementary to middle school. Rather than
leaving a bench or sign or something that will wear out, what if we develop a
program to mentor students and then let the students after us carry it on?” That winter and spring students came
together and met with staff leaders, and developed the CAMP program which
began during the 2009-10 school year. This year, after two years serving one
elementary school, more than 70 juniors and seniors joined to be mentors and
the program has expanded to two elementary schools. High school students go to an elementary
school site once a week to mentor fifth grade students, giving them the
confidence and inspiration to finish their fifth grade year strong, enter
middle school with poise, and to dream big for the future. This week’s high school experience was a
field trip designed by the high school students. If only the students could see what high school students actually do,
the high school students thought. Let’s give them a fieldtrip to see the
Chemistry Club. Your picture of Chemistry Club may be a few
nerdy students hanging out and talking about chemical formulas. In contrast,
the first thing you need to know is that more than 60 students turned out
this year to be part of the club. This week on two consecutive nights,
members of the Chemistry Club, dressed in capes and costumes, played to a
young audience. They performed magic and created explosions and displayed
indoor fireworks, astounding the fifth graders, all under the calm guidance
of their chemistry teacher, and the generally calm oversight of the high
school principal. It was quite an afternoon. After the
demonstrations, the fifth graders made an amazing substance that stretched
like rubber, and afterwards had an opportunity to meet the biology teacher
and hold live snakes. As they headed out to the bus or were
picked up by their parents, one of the teachers overheard a particularly
excited young man. “Mom, I know what I want to do when I go to
high school!” “What, dear?” “I want to be in the Chemistry Club. You
get to light things on fire and make stuff explode and the teacher lets you
do it!” Dr. Michael Lovett General Information DID YOU KNOW?
Find details about White Bear Lake Area Schools here.
Daddy and Daughter
Dance – This fun event will take place from 6:30-8 p.m. on Friday, February
10 at Oneka Elementary School. $30 pre-registration
and $35 at the door. Register online here. Find
a listing of all Community Services offerings in the Community Services
Catalog, mailed to District residents in January. Find an electronic version
of the catalog here. New/Used Audio
Book DVD Library Library & Audio
Book DVD Drop Hours: Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. The White Bear Area Senior Center is a program of the White BearLake Area Schools Community Services & Recreation Dept. Parent Notices: ·
Early Childhood Family Literacy Program - Classes meet Tuesdays and Thursdays, 12:30-3:30
p.m. Find information here. ·
Early Childhood Screening - The White Bear Lake Area Schools Early Childhood
Program will host Early Childhood screening sessions from 8:30 a.m. - 1:45
p.m. on Feb. 1, Feb. 10, Feb. 24 and Feb. 29. Please call 651-653-3154 to
schedule a screening appointment. Find Early Childhood Program information here. ·
ADD/ADHS Support Group – Find information about an ADD/ADHS Support
Group meeting on Monday, Feb. 13 here. ·
Smart Parenting, Smarter Kids – Find a flyer about a free resource fair and
speaker event on the evening of Thursday, March 8 here.
·
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, with information about scheduling
room usage to save energy, 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 J. Stanley and
Doris Hill Legacy Award – Due Feb. 24 – nominations are
being sought for the J. Stanley and Doris Hill Legacy Award. The Hill Legacy
Award is a service-based award that celebrates someone who emulates Stan and
Doris Hill's outstanding spirit of volunteerism. The recipient will live
within the school district boundaries of White Bear Lake or Mahtomedi and
will have given a lifetime of service to the greater community as well as our
local areas. Nomination forms (due no
later than Friday, February 24, 2012) are available at the White Bear
Lake Area Educational Foundation. Find additional information here. o Glasrud Family Fellowship Applications
- Due Feb. 29 – Find an application for the grants, which fund
up to $4000 for teachers or groups or teachers for personal professional
growth, here. Find
information about 2 in-service workshops to assist teachers in completing
their Application Form here.
Opportunities Support
WBLAS students ·
Orange Out - The WBLAHS girls’
basketball team is hosting an “Orange Out” during their home varsity game at
7:15 p.m. vs. Stillwater tonight (Friday, Feb. 3). Fans who attend the game wearing orange
will receive a free bag of popcorn. ·
Elementary play performances – Four of the District’s
elementary schools are participating in Ashland Productions’ “Hansel and
Gretel” performances. Attend one of the following shows to see our elementary
students on stage: Lincoln Elementary performances Feb. 9-12, Oneka Elementary formances Feb.
16-19, Matoska International performances March
1-4, Otter Lake Elementary performances March 9-11. Find additional
information and purchase tickets here. ·
33rd Annual
Jazz Night - Join the
WBLAHS Jazz Ensembles for an evening of delicious Italian Cuisine and
outstanding Jazz Music. Enjoy a catered italian
dinner from WBL's own Donatelli's followed by the
Jazz Ensembles from North and South Campus playing jazz standards from 1920's
classics to current favorites. We also have a Special Guest Performer this
year: Saxophonist Peter Vircks, currently with
Rhythmic Circus' touring production of Feet Don't Fail Me Now. This annual
community favorite is Saturday February 11th at WBL South Campus. Doors open
at 5:30 PM, dinner served at 6:00 PM followed by dancing/entertainment from
7:30 PM to 10:30 PM. There will be door prize drawings throughout the night -
if you would like to donate a door prize, please contact either Shannon
Anderson or Jeremy Rockford. For tickets or information, see attached flyer
or contact Sue Wennen (651-271-3336). Find a
poster here and find a ticket order form here. ·
Donatelli’s Takeover – Willow Lane Elementary fifth graders will “take over” Donatelli’s from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. on the following days:
February 28, March 6, March 13, March 27. Students
will serve in the capacities of host, server, food prep, and cook. All tips
above and beyond 15% will go to a charity chosen by Willow students - Hope
Kids, which supports children with cancer. ·
Donate Greeting Cards - Staff
member Mary Pokorny is collecting used greeting
cards for school Media Center and bookmark projects. If you have any used
greeting cards to donate to the cause, please send them through
inter-district mail to Mary at Willow Lane or Oneka
Elementary. ·
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.
Provide input for
school counseling program ·
Take the survey for Middle School Students here ·
Take the survey for High School Students here
·
Take the survey for Parent/Guardians here ·
Take the survey for Teachers here The
list of needs on the survey may already be addressed in your school
counseling program. Even though all the topics may sound interesting or
valuable, some needs will rate more time and
programming than others. Parents, teachers, and students are being asked to
rank the items to determine which are the most important in their opinion.
Results will provide direction for the school counseling program. District's Recognition Program Review Survey Participate in the survey here. Awards and Honors ·
2012 Teacher of the Year Nominees - Congratulations to the White Bear Lake Area Schools educators who
have been nominated in the 2012 Teacher of the Year program. Find a full
listing here. ·
2012 WEM Foundation Outstanding Educator Award - Willow Lane Elementary Principal Barbara Kearn
has been nominated for a 2012 WEM Foundation Outstanding Educator Award for
her passion for teaching and learning, which has made a significant, positive
difference in students’ lives. ·
Glasrud Family Fellowship
Applications - Due Feb. 29 – Find an
application for the grants, which fund up to $4000 for teachers or groups or
teachers for personal professional growth, here. Find
information about 2 in-service workshops to assist teachers in completing
their Application Form here.
·
J. Stanley and Doris Hill Legacy Award – Nominations are being sought for the J. Stanley and Doris Hill Legacy
Award. The Hill Legacy Award is a service-based award that celebrates
someone who emulates Stan and Doris Hill's outstanding spirit of volunteerism.
The recipient will live within the school district boundaries of White
Bear or Mahtomedi and will have given a lifetime of service to the greater
community as well as our local areas. Nomination forms (due Friday,
February 24, 2012) are available at the White Bear Lake Area Educational
Foundation. Find additional information here.
Please contact Marisa Vette (651-407-7695) to submit District News, General Information, Opportunities or Awards & Honors for inclusion in future publications.
The piece
performed by the students is “Radium Girls,” a story about factory workers in
1928 who became ill after being exposed to radium in the workplace. The story
continues as the company tries to cover the incident up while the women
struggle to let people know of the injustice and seek a settlement from the
company. The state
competition will take place on Friday, February 10 in St. Paul.
This year is Sunrise’s 15th year of hosting the
popular event, the first in a string of possible events in which students may
be competing. Students will find out by the end of the day today (Friday,
February 3) which entries will represent Sunrise Park at the next level of
competition. The Regional History Day will take place on Saturday, March 3rd
at St. Paul College. Find a program from last night’s event here. The District has a history of success in the
History Day competition. Last year, three District students traveled to
Washington, D.C. to compete on the national level. Sunrise student Anna
Solomon brought home a second place medal in the Junior Individual
Documentary category for her documentary, “The Universal Declaration of Human
Rights: Eleanor Roosevelt’s Diplomatic Achievement.” White Bear Lake Area
High School student Alex Westad earned fifth for
his performance on the Indian Occupation of Alcatraz.
Unlike
other language-arts contests, which emphasize grammar and punctuation, this
competition addresses higher-level word-comprehension and logical abilities
and helps students learn to think both analytically and metaphorically.
This
week, the Central Middle School counseling department hosted its first Career
Café event. The simple goal of the program, thorough which community guest
speakers connect with students over the lunch hour,
is to get students thinking about their futures and to help them realize all
of the possibilities that exist. The program kicked off with an orthopedic
hand surgeon guest speaker. Volunteers registered for future sessions include
a dance teacher and a community member who is in the field of marketing.
Community members interested in being a guest speaker may contact Guidance
Counselor Andrea Shoup at 651-653-2882. Beginning
in the 2012-13 academic year, 31 Central Middle School eighth graders will
participate in AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination), an elementary
through postsecondary college readiness system designed to increase
school-wide learning and performance that focuses on the least served
students in the academic middle. Students went through a rigorous selection
process, which included completing an application and essay and interviewing
with members from the AVID site team. AVID is a district wide program that
began at North Campus last year, grew to include grades 9 and 10 this year,
and will expand to include grade 8 next year. Black History Month activities The
District expects to welcome parents into the schools on Monday, February 13
for "National African American Parent Involvement Day.” WBLAHS – North
Campus will host a continental breakfast that morning before leading parents
on a school tour and visiting their students’ classrooms. That afternoon, Matoska parents will enjoy a building tour and choose to
join their student for a classroom lesson or lunch. This is the first year
the District has participated in this event. A
Black History Program will take place at 6 p.m. on Monday, February 27 in the
WBLAHS - South Campus Auditorium. Last year’s event was very successful with more
than 100 students and families in attendance, so we hope to welcome that many
or more to this year’s event. We look forward to student performances of
music, dance, poetry, and more from elementary to high school-aged students. Activities Updates The
WBLAHS girls’ basketball team is hosting an “Orange Out” during their home
varsity game at 7:15 p.m. vs. Stillwater tonight (Friday, Feb. 3). Fans who attend the game wearing orange
will receive a free bag of popcorn. Honored
student Alexis Foley, senior, girls’ basketball, was named Hardware Hank
“Nuts & Bolts” Athletes of the Week and Athlete of the Week in the Star
Tribune. Students sign Five WBLAHS seniors signed letters of intent this week.
Angie
Guenther will participate in track and field at University of Minnesota.
Angie’s activities include basketball and Track and Field. Alahna
Anderson will play soccer for Concordia-St. Paul. Josh Tismer
will play football at Bemidji State University. Josh’s activities include
football and basketball. Eric Gebeke will
run track at Notre Dame. Eric’s activities include football, basketball
and track. White
Bear Lake Area High School Athletics schedules can be found here.
Meeting agendas This
year’s White Bear Lake Area School Board meeting agendas are available to
District staff members at J:\ALL
DISTRICT\2011-12 School Board Agenda Packets.
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