Husky Newsletter

February 2, 2023

Dear GHESAS Community,

We are thrilled to announce that Glacier Hills Elementary School of Arts & Science has been named one of the top 2023 Magnet Schools of Excellence by Magnet Schools of America! GHESAS is one of only 24 schools in the nation to be selected a Top School of Excellence. We are honored by this recognition as a Top School of Excellence and grateful for the opportunity to serve our school community. Many thanks to our students, staff, and families for their tremendous support in achieving this award.

The Merit Awards recognize magnet schools that show a commitment to high academic standards, curriculum innovation, successful desegregation/diversity efforts, specialized teaching staffs, and parent and community involvement. The School of Excellence Award is given to a select group of magnet schools that have demonstrated the highest level of excellence in all facets of the merit award application. Glacier Hills and the other Top Schools of Excellence represent the top one-fourth of the 94 Schools of Excellence this year. GHESAS will be recognized and receive a National Magnet School of Excellence Merit Award on behalf of the school during an awards ceremony held during Magnet Schools of America’s 40th National Conference in Dallas, Texas, April 18-22, 2023.

With gratitude and appreciation,

Adriana Henderson, Principal

All Eagan elementary schools were represented at the 196 Sings! concert for 5th graders!

Mrs. Utell had the honor of directing our singers as they performed “Shake the Papaya”.

February 8 - Winter Conferences @ 4:45 PM-8:00 PM

February 9 - Winter Conferences @ 12:00 PM-8:00 PM *No school for students

February 8 & 9 - Scholastic Book Fair at GHESAS Library *see below for details

February 10 - No School for Students & Staff

February 13 - Site Council/Booster Club Meeting @ 4:15 PM at GHESAS Library

February 17 - Orchestra Field Trip to MPLS Convention Center for Gr. 4 & 5

February 20 - President's Day *No school for students & staff

March 2 - Grade 5 Music Concert @ 2:45 PM & 6:30 PM

March 9 - Art & Science Family Fun Night @ 5:30-7:00 PM

March 9 - Last Day of Trimester 2

March 10 - Staff Development Day/Report Card Day *no school for students

March 13 - Trimester 3 starts

March 13 - Site Council/Booster Club Meeting @ 4:15 PM at GHESAS Library

March 27-March 31 - Spring Break *no school for students & staff

REMINDER: Winter conferences for elementary students are February 8th at 4:45-8:00 PM and February 9th at 12:00-8:00 PM at Glacier Hills. Sign up online for a 15 minute conference with your child's classroom teacher. To access our conference schedule online, click link below.

https://ptcfast.com/schools/Glacier_Hills_Elementary_School_of_Arts_and_Science

Fourth graders participated in Youth Frontier’s Kindness Retreat in January. Kindness rules!

GHESAS hosted our annual cultural family event this past month. We are truly grateful for the culture sharing, performances and food that was prepared for this evening.

A very special thank you to our parent volunteers, families and staff who participated in making this such a great event for our school community:

• Rebecca Chevaillier
• Heidi Anderson
• Colleen Cahill
• Rebecca Ellsworth
• Vanessa Utell
• Erin Weaver
• Erin Noeldner
• Lakshmi Gundappa
• Mehvish Imtiaz
• Mebrate Woldemichael
• Karina Norberg
• Kavita Rajput
• Kiran Banala
• Preethi Venkatesan
• Adarsh Baligar
• Zach Benson
• Preethi Kokku
• Huimin Mei
• Lily Huber
• Tasia Islam
• Lakshmi Gundappa
• Jae Cody
• Abhishek Sundararajan
• Iryna Podolyan
• Anahita Champion

Every year we celebrate and learn about the many different cultures in our school community at our annual Culture Family Event.

The 4th and 5th grade orchestra students have been invited to present an "informance" at the Minnesota Music Teachers Association Midwinter Clinic on February 17, 2023. Mrs. Rebecca Hahn, our strings/orchestra instructor, will be conducting students and looking forward to this wonderful opportunity for students.

GHESAS scientists presented at and attended the University of Minnesota’s Ecology Science Fair. Students have been working hard over several weeks to prepare their presentation and enjoyed breakout sessions as well! Thanks to Ms. Hosek and Ms. Lansing for preparing our students for this big day!

2023 is off to a great start in the STEAM Room! Classes wrapped up December with a variety of lessons and January and February are seeing much of the same thing. Here is a peak at what is going on at each grade level.

Mark your calendars for Thursday, March 9 from 5:00-6:30 for our annual Glacier Hills Elementary School of Arts & Science Family Night. I hope to see you there! ~ Ms. Hosek

Kindergarten

Students visited the STEAM Room during January and early February to learn about the Engineering Design Process as well as different materials. Students Imagined different ideas, Planned to make one thing, Created and Improved that project. The last step, Communicate, will be used for students to use their iPads to share out what they made, what materials it was made of, and how they would make it better in the future. We had a lot of creative kids this month!

First Grade

First graders wrapped up 2022 by visiting the STEAM Room to learn about the Ozobots and Dash robots. They practiced driving them in a straight line, around obstacles or driving them on a polygon. We have many good drivers at Glacier Hills! Students will be visiting the STEAM Room in February to go through the Engineering Design Process to create something that makes sound travel.

Second Grade

Second graders started off January with learning about Ozobots. They learned how to drive them straight, around obstacles, how to get them to follow a line, and how to code them to follow directions. They used their coding skills to try to help Shelia Rae find her way back home. This is from a story, Shelia Rae the Brave that they were learning about in their classrooms. Students will visit the STEAM Room in February to create something to represent their culture or a cultural celebration.

Third Grade

Students spent time in the STEAM Room driving our Ozobots, Spheros, and Dash robots. They learned how to drive them in control, follow lines and code them to follow a polygon. Students were learning about geometry in their classroom so these robots helped them review polygons they should know.

Fourth Grade

Fourth graders participated in real-world investigations around erosion. They used stream tables and earth materials to make observations and collect data. They also wrote a question, hypotheses, a materials list, a procedure and a conclusion around a variable they chose as a group. This was a great unit focusing on erosion, deposition, and how water impacts how the land changes.

Fifth Grade

At the end of January, Several 5th graders participated in the Ecology Science Fair at the University of Minnesota. These students came in early over the last 3 months to work on their project that they presented at the Fair. It was an awesome experience for everyone!

In February, students will be participating in a challenge related to force and motion, which they will be learning about in their classrooms. Students will study topics such as gravity, inertia, slope, speed, energy and many others as well as learn about simple machines and how they help us do work. They will use what they learn in class to create a game involving these force and motion ideas.

K – Students in Kindergarten have been busy! They learned different mark-making techniques, and they learned that we can respond to sound to create art. Students created mark-making books, and took part in a listening exercise that demonstrated their reactions to variety of rain sounds played in Multimedia Art. Students are currently learning the basics of the Stop Motion app, and are in the planning stages of a chick life cycle animation.

1st Grade – 1st Graders created action paintings after learning about the life and work of Jackson Pollack. Then using our Green Screen, they were able to play with scale, and envision their work at the size of an actual Pollack painting!

2nd Grade – 2nd grade animators crafted stories in Stop Motion using animation clay and other props to demonstrate their knowledge of the plant life cycle. Students moved their projects into iMovie and learned basic editing techniques to control their animation’s pace, sound and credits.

3rd Grade – 3rd Graders built off the knowledge they gained in 2nd grade science and invented a plant in Multimedia Art. Their plant had to include all of the necessary parts, but students could multiply parts, change or juxtapose them in unexpected ways. After drawing their invented plant, students created simple animations with Flip a Clip, which was a fun first crack at drawn animations in their Multimedia Art experience.

4th Grade – 4th graders learned about the terra cotta warriors of Ancient China in art with Mrs. Paulson. They made drawings of a warrior of their choice, and took them to Multimedia Art to animate. Students created drawn animations in the Flip a Clip app that had to somehow tie to Water – which is a focus of one of their science units. Come view these Warrior and Water animations at Arts and Science Family fun night.

5th Grade – Students in 5th grade have spent many weeks working together in groups on an animation taking place in a particular Biome they have researched in science. In this project, students paint backdrops, write storyboards, and engage in Claymation animation with the animals and props their group created. Right now, they are finalizing their project in the editing stages by adding titles, music, sound effects and a voiceover element. Come check these out in our animation viewing room at arts and science family fun night!

Arts & Science Family Fun Night will be held on March 9th from 5:00 – 6:30 pm We invite the Glacier Hills Elementary School of Arts and Science Family and Community members to come view our hallways filled with incredible student art on display, view screenings of student animations and observe the results of their scientific discoveries in our STEAM lab. There will be make-and-take arts and science stations spread throughout the building and a special performance by some of our gifted musicians. We hope you can make it to this spectacular annual event, which celebrates the talents and hard work of our K-5 students and all they have accomplished in the areas of arts and science for the 2022-23 school year.

Kindergarteners created mark-making books and took part in a listening exercise that demonstrated their reactions to variety of rain sounds played in Multimedia Art.

In District 196, we are very proud of our Band for All program offered to all 5th grade students. This past week, students in grade 5 performed selections that they have been working on under the direction of Susan Smith, band instructor. Students have loved learning background information on music selections and sharing their music with our student audiences and families. Students engage in weekly lessons and come together once a week in the morning for large group band practice at GHESAS! Thank you to our families for their ongoing support!

The Scholastic Book Fair is here and will be open Wednesday, February 8th @ 4:00-8 PM and Thursday, February 9th @ 12:00-7:30 PM.

GHESAS received over $2900.00 from MN PeaceMakers with support from our Boosters Club to fully fund our annual Kindness Retreat with Youth Frontiers. This amazing event is a full day experience for our students in 4th grade and high school volunteers facilitated by trained staff from Youth Frontiers. Students build community and strengthen relationships through activities with a goal of fostering empathy, inclusion, and a sense of belonging. We are proud of our students and grateful for everyone who supported this very special opportunity for students.

On Feb. 8th, our parent volunteers will be hosting a dinner the first night of conferences for our teaching staff. This is a great way to show your appreciation!!! We will be catering our main dish and are seeking parent volunteers to contribute toward this special dinner on Feb. 8 through funding and food/supply contributions. Read below for the many ways you can help!

1. We have a goal of raising over $1200.00 toward a catered meal for the nearly 100 staff at GHESAS. To donate online toward a catered meal, go tohttps://glacier-hills-booster-club.square.site

2. We are seeking contributions for food and supplies. Click HERE for our Sign-Up Genius link and sign up from the list provided. Due to allergies, please no shrimp or shellfish.

Please bring items no later than 1 PM on Feb. 8th. Pick up your serving dish/supplies anytime after 7:30pm on Feb. 9th or the following week in the teachers lounge.

Thank you for the support!

Our next Site Council/Booster Club meeting is February 13th at 4:15 p.m. at GH Media Center. If you would like to attend, please email glacierbooster@gmail.com for the meeting information. All are welcome!

Email: GH.Attendance@district196.org
Website: https://gh.district196.org/
Location: 3825 Glacier Drive, Eagan, MN 55123
Phone: 651-683-8570
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GlacierHillsArtsandScience
Twitter: @GlacierHills