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White Bear Lake Area Schools Community e-Newsletter |
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August 3, 2012 |
Leading minds
to learning, hearts to compassion and lives to community service. |
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In This Issue ·
Rising numbers ·
General Information ·
Opportunities ·
Awards and Honors · District MCA scores in reading and math continue to
rise · Students shine at District Marketfest
booth · Middle schools’ IB candidacy update · Activities updates ·
School Board recognitions ·
Meeting agendas ·
Upcoming meetings Upcoming · Parent Leaders Forum gathering · Meet the Teacher events · Labor Day · First Day of School · K/K+ Orientation · First Day of School · Homecoming Week
WBLAS
In the News ·
Risdall launches website for White Bear Lake Area Schools Please contact Marisa Vette (651-407-7695)
to submit information for inclusion in publications. |
This has been a warm summer by
any account. We don’t need the media to remind us that temperatures
in the summer of 2012 have been higher than in recent years. For those
of you who delight in summer activities, this is good news. Others eagerly
await the first cool nights that portend the
coming of fall. This month we learned that other numbers are also on
the rise, and for these we all have cause to celebrate. The State Department
of Education released student MCA proficiency results for 2012. For
the fourth straight year, the proficiency scores attained by our White
Bear Lake Area students rose. Our math scores are up an additional 5
percentage points and reading by an additional 2 percent. You’ll find
more detail referenced elsewhere in this e-newsletter. As we prepare for another school year, we want to acknowledge
the work of our staff, families, community members and students. Well
done! Dr. Michael Lovett General
Information
Find additional information about White Bear Lake Area Schools
here.
Find
a listing of the many, varied Community Services offerings in the Community
Services Catalog, recently mailed to District residents. Find an electronic
version of the catalog here. The
WBLAS Community Services and Recreation Department provides a wide range
of services and opportunities that enhance the quality of life for all
members of ISD 624.
·
School Supply
lists – School Supply lists are available online here.
·
Fare for
All – Save up to 40% on Groceries – Find information about Fare
For All Express here.
·
FREE Smoke Detectros for the hearing impaired – The White Bear Lake Fire Department
has approximately two dozen strobe smoke detectors for the hearing impaired
that they received through a FEMA grant. The detectors are available
(for free) to residents who live in the school district. Please contact
Mike
Turnbull
at 651-429-8568 if you would like to request a smoke detector.
·
Host Family
or Families Needed for Visiting Chinese Teacher – Hosting a Chinese
teacher is a fantastic way to enrich family life. Our first semester teacher, Stephanie, will
be arriving in late August and needs a family to host her. Since 2010 our partnership with the Hangzhou Foreign Languages
School has grown and has generated annual exchanges of staff between
our schools. Participating in
a host family arrangement can be a truly rewarding experience for both
parties if you are open and willing to learn from each other. Families can choose to host for periods of time from as little
as one month to up to five months. Host
families are expected to:
o
Provide
a bedroom/living space (with no expectations for monetary reimbursement).
o
Be willing
to share your family mealtimes.
o
Be open
to learn about a new culture/foreign language.
o
Be available
and willing to help the teacher as needed. As a houseguest, the teacher is expected to:
o
Keep his/her
living space neat and clean and do his/her own laundry. o
Help with
the preparation/clean-up of meals and household chores. o
Occasionally
help with grocery shopping. Please remember that each teacher is carefully screened by
their School/University and White Bear Lake Area School District staff
before coming to our schools to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our
students. Likewise, we will need to complete background checks on adult
members of households that host teachers to ensure the safety of the
teachers while guests in White Bear Lake Area School District. There
is not a cost to the family for the background checks. It is important
that needs are met for both the teachers and the students and their
families to make this a successful program. Senior
Program Updates: The White Bear Area Senior Center is a program of the
White Bear Lake Area Schools Community Services & Recreation Department
·
New/Used
Audio Book DVD Library – The White Bear Area Senior
Center (located at Normandy Park Education Center in White Bear Lake)
is starting an Audio Book DVD Library. If you would like to pass your
favorite audio book DVDs forward, please consider our Lending Library.
Everyone also is welcome to utilize our library for your listening pleasure.
·
Strategic
Planning – The
District’s 30-member Strategic Planning Committee met in May to hear
an update on the Strategic Planning initiatives underway this year and
to review upcoming initiatives. The Strategic Planning process is one
we started during the fall of 2010 and has been helping us “write our
story” since. Strategic Planning updates can be found here.
·
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
Ryan
Art Grant – Jessica Hosmer, Kindergarten
teacher at Vadnais Heights Elementary, received the Ryan Art Grant late
this spring. Her project entitled “Early Bridges” brings a teaching
artist from the Children’s Theater Company into her classroom for four
sessions. He uses storytelling
and creative drama with puppets to help the young students transform
into storytellers themselves. “Early
Bridges” will enhance the art curriculum in Jessica’s classroom by exposing
her students to dramatic arts and creative storytelling.
o
Johnson
Student Enhancement Scholarship awarded – The WBLAEF awarded the Johnson
Student Enhancement Scholarship to District ninth grader Noelle Rivard. Noelle attended the Ordway’s Professional Theater
Triple Threat Training in July. Ordway’s Triple Threat Training is an
opportunity for talented young people to immerse themselves in singing,
dancing and acting classes taught by award winning theater professionals.
Noelle auditioned for this camp and was accepted.
o
Reunions – the
WBLAEF sponsors the White Bear Lake Area Alumni Association. Find information
about the Alumni Association, including scheduled reunions, here. Support
WBLAS students
·
Early
Childhood Screening Volunteer Opportunity - We are seeking volunteers to
help greet families, register children and collect information during
our Early Childhood Screening clinics. This is a fun way to meet families
in our district and spend time with preschool age children. The time
commitment is dependent on your schedule as we have many clinics scheduled
throughout the school year on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. For more
information or to volunteer, please contact Becki
Kvitrud, Volunteer Coordinator at 651-429-1504
or Danielle Mickelson, Early Childhood Supervisor 651-653-3102.
·
Flea
Market Fundraiser – The White Bear Lake Area Learning Center Is hosting
a flea market from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sept. 22. ALC students will facilitate
the process of renting out 46 spaces in the school’s gymnasium and hallways
to vendors who will sell their wares. The vendors get to keep the money
they earn, with rent and money earned from concessions funding the service
learning project. For more information on how you can participate as
a vendor, contact teacher Tim
McGraw at 651-773-6406. Partner Opportunities
·
Host Family
or Families Needed for Visiting Chinese Teacher – Hosting a Chinese
teacher is a fantastic way to enrich family life. Our first semester teacher, Stephanie, will
be arriving in late August and needs a family to host her. Since 2010 our partnership with the Hangzhou Foreign Languages
School has grown and has generated annual exchanges of staff between
our schools. Participating in
a host family arrangement can be a truly rewarding experience for both
parties if you are open and willing to learn from each other. Families can choose to host for periods of time from as little
as one month to up to five months. Host
families are expected to:
o
Provide
a bedroom/living space (with no expectations for monetary reimbursement).
o
Be willing
to share your family mealtimes.
o
Be open
to learn about a new culture/foreign language.
o
Be available
and willing to help the teacher as needed. As a houseguest, the teacher is expected to:
o
Keep his/her
living space neat and clean and do his/her own laundry.
o
Help with
the preparation/clean-up of meals and household chores.
o
Occasionally
help with grocery shopping.
o
Be willing
to teach the basics or encourage practice in speaking the language to
any family members. Please remember that each teacher is carefully screened by
their School/University and White Bear Lake Area School District staff
before coming to our schools to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our
students. Likewise, we will need to complete background checks on adult
members of households that host teachers to ensure the safety of the
teachers while guests in White Bear Lake Area School District. There
is not a cost to the family for the background checks. It is important
that needs are met for both the teachers and the students and their
families to make this a successful program. Awards and Honors
·
Extended
Day Program Accreditation – The White Bear Lake Area Schools
Extended Day programs at Lincoln and Vadnais Elementary Schools recently
were accredited through the Minnesota Afterschool Accreditation Project
(MAAP). Programs at Lakeaires, Matoska International and Otter Lake Elementary Schools
received accreditation earlier in the 2011-12 academic year.
Find the press release here.
·
Ryan
Art Grant – Jessica Hosmer, Kindergarten
teacher at Vadnais Heights Elementary, received the Ryan Art Grant late
this spring. Her project entitled “Early Bridges” brings a teaching
artist from the Children’s Theater Company into her classroom for four
sessions. He uses storytelling
and creative drama with puppets to help the young students transform
into storytellers themselves. “Early
Bridges” will enhance the art curriculum in Jessica’s classroom by exposing
her students to dramatic arts and creative storytelling.
·
National
Publication awards – Congratulations to District staff
members who contributed to the following projects, which received awards
from the National School Public Relations Association:
o
Award
of Merit in the Finance Publication category for our "10 Facts
Every Voter Should Know" piece.
o
Award
of Merit in the Marketing Publication category for our 2011-12 Registration
materials, which includes our four registration guides: Early Childhood,
Elementary, Middle School and High School.
o
Award
of Excellence in the Annual Report category for our 2010-11 Annual Report.
o
Award
of Excellence in the Calendar category for our 2011-12 Activities Calendar.
o
Award of Excellence in the
Handbook category for our 2011-12 Academic Planner and Student Handbook. Please contact Marisa Vette (651-407-7695) to submit District News, General Information, Opportunities or Awards & Honors for inclusion in future publications.
The District's overall student reading proficiency is 79.4%, 4 percentage points above the state. Proficiency in reading continues a five-year rise, with more than 82% now proficient at elementary, more than 79% proficient at middle school and 81% proficient at high school.
Results of the GRAD Written Composition test, taken by ninth grade students, also were released. White Bear Lake Area High School students scored 94% proficient, more than 2 percentage points above the state average.
"We use this annual snapshot of student progress as one of several measures to assure all our students are above grade level proficiency or are on their way to gaining proficiency,” said Michael Lovett, Superintendent. "Our district's strategic plan commits us to the goal that all students will reach proficiency in math and reading by grade four and maintain proficiency at every grade level thereafter."
MCA scores measure proficiency, which is the percentage of students who meet the threshold designated by the state. They differ from other tests that measure growth during the school year. For example, White Bear Lake Area Schools and many other area schools use the MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) assessment to measure student progress during the year. For 2011-12, White Bear Lake Area students showed average growth of 1 year, 4 months in reading and 1 year, 7 months in mathematics. National average growth is one year.
Middle
schools’ IB candidacy update Central
and Sunrise Park Middle Schools received formal recognition last spring
as candidates for the IB Middle Years Programme.
The schools are pursuing authorization as IB World Schools and have
begun an intensive application process.
IB World Schools share a common philosophy—a commitment to high
quality, challenging, international education that prepares students
to be engaged citizens in their community and in the world. This
program, which will be offered to all Central and Sunrise Park Middle
School students, focuses on communication, intercultural awareness,
and holistic learning, or how the different subjects are connected to
one another and to the students’ experiences. Matoska
International IB World School currently offers families a White Bear
Lake Area Schools elementary IB option. Jill Pearson is the new International Baccalaureate Coordinator for Central and Sunrise Park Middle Schools. She has taught French, English as a Second Language, and English as a Foreign Language at the elementary, secondary, and college levels for ten years. She is not only a strong proponent of international education but has also had the opportunity to study, live, and teach abroad in France and West Africa. She joins White Bear Lake Schools after serving as International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (IB MYP) Coordinator in Brooklyn Center for the past four years, where she led their junior/senior high school through the implementation and authorization process. In addition, she is also an IB-trained workshop leader and consultant.
Find a press release about the middle schools' IB Candidacy
announcement here.
White
Bear Lake Area High School Athletics schedules can be found here.
Before the July 9 School Board meeting, the board recognized
the Trapshooting Team for state-level honors.
This year’s White Bear Lake Area School Board meeting
agendas are available to District staff members at J:\ALL DISTRICT\2012-13 School Board Agenda Packets.
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