STEM Newsletter

12/20/2024

Dear Weaver Lake Families,

Winter break is here, and it is time to enjoy our beautiful winter weather. I am aware some of you are traveling to warmer climates, but for those staying around, please let us enjoy winter. Cold weather should not keep us indoors all the time. Dress for the weather and go outside with the kids for a nature walk. It is a great time to practice observation skills trying to identify animal tracks or just go sliding, skiing, or play hockey at a local lake/ice ring. It is also a great opportunity to use our imagination to create snow sculptures, fortresses and castles.

Having the kids home for two whole weeks is also an opportunity for cooking and practicing some math skills at the grocery store and in the kitchen. Board games are another opportunity to engage in conversations and mental agility skills. I would also encourage taking time to tell your kids stories because they will use their imagination, which leads to creativity, and even helps with reading skills such as looking for main ideas, characters, and settings, besides helping them feel connected to the larger family structure.

My boys will come home beginning on the 21st, we will have a special dinner on the 24th where we will open presents. We will be traveling to Texas to spend a week with my wife’s parents (they are winter Texans). In the past years they came back to Wisconsin for Christmas, but this year they decided to stay in Texas and have their kids and families visit them.

Thank you for the opportunity to work with your wonderful kids. They bring joy to us every single day and it is an honor working with them. I appreciate your support and high level of engagement with the school.

Have a wonderful holiday and see you next year.

Dr. Ronald Salazar, Principal

If you're looking for things to do over the extended break, check out the Minnesota Academy of Science's "STEM from Home" webpage. The have activities including indoor science experiments, outdoor discovery opportunities, and online learning possibilities. Try some with your family!

The application window to attend Weaver Lake Elementary for the 2025-26 school year will close on December 31, 2024. Current students who are returning next year do not need to re-apply. However, siblings not currently enrolled must submit their application through Northwest Suburban Integrated School District by the December 31 deadline to be considered.

Click here for Magnet Lottery application. If you have any questions regarding the application or lottery process, please call NWSISD at 763-450-1300.

A flyer will be coming home with youngest and only students the first week of January with information about how to purchase a yearbook for this school year.

Reminder that all students will receive a FREE Grade-level Year-End Review book that contains pictures of just their grade level, with space for autographs.

Yearbooks for purchase will cost $10.00 each and contain all grades, activity groups, and candid photos, along with space for autographs. These purchased yearbooks will be able to be ordered online or using cash or check through the school. Look for the flyer for details!!

All yearbooks and Year-End Review books will be distributed at school the last week of the school year.

The 4th grade PBIS Committee just finished a Give and Glow Food Drive for Cross Services and our families donated 677 pounds of food! Thank you to all families who donated, as well as our amazing students who designed our giving display and did all of the advertising and collecting!

Auction Item and Prize Donations

If you own a business, work at an employer who would generously donate items or if your family would like to sponsor a gift basket, we would love to be in contact with you! We need silent auction items and Bingo prizes. Most new things are welcome. We’re looking for event tickets, company gift baskets, coupon books, memorabilia, family sponsored donations, and Western themed items (for an upcoming donation). Thank you in advance for your help!

Looking for a DJ

Do you know a DJ or someone energetic to get a dance party going? Maybe someone who has an awesome sound system they'd be willing to run a playlist for us? Please reach out, we need you!

5th Grade Volunteers

We need a group of 5th grade parents willing to throw a fun event for the kids graduating from elementary school at the end of the year.

Grade Level Volunteer Leaders

We’re looking for Volunteer Grade Leaders. There has been discussion about wanting meet-ups at the playground and we just need one or two people in each grade level who will volunteer to lead their grade level playgroup. Communication can be kept in the grade specific Facebook groups.

Parent Drop off/Pick up reminders 😊

• Please continue to drop your students off at the curb and have them exiting the vehicle curbside.
• Please have your child start exiting your car by 9:17 so we can get you cleared out in front of the busses that start to exit about 9:21.
• If you are using a parking space before or after school, please continue to walk up to the building to meet your child and return to your vehicle together using the crosswalk, or walk them through the crosswalk to the building in the morning.
• All students and parents need to use the crosswalk
• The lanes in front of the building are ONE WAY during the drop off and pick up times-please go the right direction
• If you are using the Student Drop off spots (spots are marked with a sign) please use the sidewalk that connects to the crosswalk ~this does keep pedestrians out of the parking lot and safer on the sidewalk and crosswalk area.
• Drop off bell rings at 9:30 and students arriving after that do check in through the office.
• Students start to exit the building at 3:55 (Kindergarten is about 3:54)
• Cars cannot be left unattended in the curbside pick up line
• We very much appreciate everyone following our safety procedures-it has helped tremendously.

As shared this fall, elementary and middle school attendance boundaries are being changed in order to balance student enrollment across the district. These future adjustments, set to take effect in 2026, will reassign the Osseo Area Schools elementary and/or middle school that some households are zoned to attend.

Proposed scenarios to be presented with feedback opportunities: Proposals are currently being created using the community-built parameters developed earlier this fall. These will be finalized over the next few weeks and shared online at district279.org/boundaries the evening of Tuesday, Jan. 14. Families and community members will be welcome to provide feedback on these proposals via an accompanying feedback form.

Additionally, Community Informational Meetings are scheduled for Jan. 15 and 23. These evenings will start with a half-hour presentation detailing the proposals and then transition to small groups, where community members will be able to share their thoughts and ask questions with district leaders.

• Wednesday, Jan. 15 at 5:45 p.m. in the Brooklyn Middle STEAM School cafe. Please fill out this Google Form if you’re planning to attend.

• Thursday, Jan. 23 at 5:45 p.m. in the Maple Grove Middle School cafe. Please fill out this Google Form if you’re planning to attend.

The presentation portion of the meetings will also be livestreamed via the Osseo Area Schools YouTube Channel.

Timeline: The school board is expected to approve final attendance boundary changes by May 2025. The new attendance boundaries will go into effect fall 2026 alongside the tentative opening of the new elementary school in the northwest region of our district.

Background: It’s common for communities to experience changing student enrollment. Our district’s Enrollment and Capacity Management Advisory Committee (ECMAC) has been monitoring these enrollment shifts in conjunction with our school building capacities for the last several years. Their most recent reports have detailed that a significant enrollment imbalance exists and that it should be addressed.

ECMAC’s work helped to form 2023’s Building a Better Future referendum. A new elementary school and additions to Maple Grove Senior High School were requested to address space constraints from continued growth. It was additionally noted that attendance boundary changes were needed no matter the outcome of the election. Thankfully, our community supported the 2023 referendum request so additional facility space will help to address growth needs, which limits attendance boundary changes to elementary and middle schools and impacts fewer families.

Stay tuned: Please continue to stay tuned for updates over the coming weeks and months. Detailed information will be shared on the district website, district279.org/boundaries. Any questions or concerns can be directed to BetterFuture@district279.org or 763-391-8990.

English: 763-391-8900, Español: 1-855-891-8364, Lus Hmoob: 1-844-577-9549, Soomaali: 1-855-891-5322 or Tiếng Việt: 1-855-891-8365

Monday, January 6: First day back from Winter Break

Friday, January 17: Student Asynchronous Day/Remote Learning

Monday, January 20: No School, Martin Luther King Jr Holiday

Monday, February 3: No School, Licensed Staff Workshop