Five Hawks Parent Newsletter

Hello Five Hawks Families~

Congratulations to Caitlin Gardner who was selected as the Five Hawks 2023-24 Teacher of the Year! She was recognized on Monday, January 15th during the district professional day and MLK celebration. Many thanks to Caitlin for her dedication to our mission of educating all students to reach their full potential. It is a well-deserved honor for an outstanding teacher!

We also honored our paraprofessionals and support staff last week. They are the glue that holds us together and they are amazing!

Report cards will be sent home in student back packs on February 2nd. In addition to report cards, parents will also receive a copy of their student's Fast Bridge report along with a letter explaining how to read the report. Parents will also be able to access the report card via the parent portal on February 2nd after 4:00 PM.

In this newsletter:

• I Love to Read Month / Kindness Week
  
• Strategic Planning
• Inclusivity Award - Nominate a teacher!
• Conferences
• Yearbook Orders

In partnership,

Katy Schuerman

kschuerman@plsas.org

(952)226-0103

February is framing up to be another exciting month! We will kick off "I ❤️ to Read" month during our All School Meeting on Thursday, February 1st. There will be fun reading events throughout the month and we will end the fun on March 6th with a visit from Minnesota author Heather Boschke. Her books inspired our 2024 theme: READING IS TWEET! Please be on the lookout for weekly reading logs coming home each Monday. Parents/guardians are asked to help students record their nightly reading and return the reading log each Monday.

We also devote a week to celebrate friendship and kindness. This year Kindness Week is February 12-16 and activities include opportunities for students to be intentional about kindness and friendship. Check out the link below for a calendar of February events and keep an eye on teacher newsletters for more information about the special events, including opportunities to be a guest reader in your child's classroom.

Author Heather Boschke Website . *Families will have an opportunity to order signed and personalized books by Heather before her visit.

For more information regarding Holiday Recognition, please refer to our Parent/Student Handbook. Click here

We need your input! Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools has begun a strategic plan review and is seeking input to help establish a shared vision among community members.

To participate, families, staff, students and community members will have an opportunity to provide feedback during community meetings being held February - April. Input gathered from these meetings will be reviewed by a Strategic Plan Core Team of diverse community members who are working together to form a draft that identifies key priorities and defines the roadmap for learner success in PLSAS. The draft plan will then be reviewed by the School Board in May.

Please consider attending one of the community meetings outlined below.

• Feb. 3, 9-11:00 a.m. @ McColl Pond ELC, 13550 Dakota Ave S, Savage

• Feb. 7, 6-9:00 p.m. @ Prior Lake High School, 7575 150th St. West, Savage (RSVP for dinner to mwalz@plsas.org)

• Feb. 20, 1-3:00 p.m. @ Spring Lake Twp Town Hall, 20381 Fairlawn Ave, Prior Lake

• March 23, 9-11:00 a.m. @ McColl Pond ELC, 13550 Dakota Ave S, Savage

• March 26, 9-11:00 a.m. @ Club Prior, 16210 Eagle Creek Ave SE, Prior Lake

• April 9, 6-9:00 p.m. @ Prior Lake High School, 7575 150th St. West, Savage (RSVP for dinner to mwalz@plsas.org)

Our Special Education Advisory Group is initiating our third annual Inclusivity Award and is seeking nominations to recognize outstanding staff who go above and beyond to promote inclusion for students who receive special education services in our schools.

We hope to have many nominations for our awards team to review in our efforts to award recognition in each category including students, parents, special and general education teachers, paraprofessionals, related service providers (speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, physical therapist, psychologists, nursing) and other school staff (clerical, custodial, child nutrition, transportation, administrators) .

Responses are not limited to one nomination and we encourage parents/guardians (as well as staff) to help your student submit nominations celebrating inclusive peers or staff. Awards will be presented during Teacher Appreciation Week in May.

The link to the Nomination Form can be found HERE. Please complete submission prior to 2/20/2024.

Tips on Creating an Inclusive School and Why It Matters | Rethink Together

https://xqsuperschool.org/rethinktogether/tips-on-creating-an-inclusive-school-and-why-it-matters/

Your child’s teacher is excited to share news with you regarding your child and the progress they have achieved this year! Conferences are scheduled at a variety of different times on February 13th, 15th & 22nd. Please note, some teachers may have varying schedules.

Our goal is to connect with 100% of our families so if you have not yet scheduled a conference, please use the following link to sign up for a date and time using PTC Fast.

Conference Sign Up

Thank you for making a commitment to your child by coming to the conference. We look forward to our visit with you.

Yearbook order forms will be coming home with your student soon! There are a variety of options to choose from. You may order online by going to ybpay.com and entering Yearbook ID Code: 15199724.

The deadline to place an order is 4/5/2024. We can not guarantee that their will be extra yearbooks so NOW is the time to order!

February 2 - Report Cards Sent Home (in backpacks)

February 7 - Early Release at 1:00 PM

February 8 - 3rd Grade Music Program at 1:30 PM

February 12 - 16 Kindness Week

February 13 - Conferences (3:30 PM -5:30 PM)

February 15 - Conferences (3:30 PM - 7:30 PM)

February 19 - No School

February 22 - Conference (3:30 PM - 7:30 PM)

Email: kschuerman@plsas.org
Website: https://fh.plsas.org/
Location: 16620 Five Hawks Avenue Southeast, Prior Lake, MN
Phone: (952) 226-0100
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FiveHawksPLS
Twitter: @SchuermanKaty