EAGLE NEWS

Jan. 29- Feb. 22: Elementary Art Show

February: I Love to Read Month

Feb. 2: Groundhog Day

Feb. 3: Winter Eagle Academy from 3:15-5 p.m. (first day)

Feb. 4: Kindergarten sing National Anthem at GBB

Feb 5:

• Early Out at 1 p.m.
• NYM Eagle Boosters Meeting (6:30 p.m. at VFW)

Feb. 6: Eagle Academy from 3:15-5 p.m.

Feb. 10: Eagle Academy from 3:15-5 p.m.
Feb. 12: 100th Day of School

Feb. 13:

• Elementary Celebrates Valentine's Day (M/W PreK will celebrate on Feb. 12)
• Eagle Academy from 3:15-5 p.m.
• Girl Scout Meeting in Commons for K-6th Grade 5:30-7 p.m.

Feb. 14: No school for students (staff development)

Feb. 15: State Hoop Shoot in Hutchinson

Feb. 17: No school for all (President's Day)

Feb. 17-21: Storybook Theatre in NYM

Feb. 18: BIO Girls begins

Feb. 20: Eagle Academy from 3:15-5 p.m.
Feb. 21:

• 4th Grade Wax Museum (see times below)
• Evening Storybook Theatre Performance

Feb. 24:

• Eagle Academy from 3:15-5 p.m.
• School Board Meeting at 5:30 p.m.
• Parent's Nest Meeting at 6:30 at the Senior Center

Feb. 27: Eagle Academy from 3:15-5 p.m.

Feb. 28: Elementary Trimester Ends

March 3 :

• Eagle Academy from 3:15-5 p.m.
• PreK Registration at 5:30 p.m. in the Pre-K classrooms
• 9-12 Band/Choir Concert at 7 p.m.

March 6-8: State BPA

March 6: Early Out for Parent/Teacher Conferences 1-7:30 p.m.

March 7: No School for all

March 10:

• Lost & Found will be donated
• Eagle Academy from 3:15-5 p.m.

March 13:

• Eagle Academy from 3:15-5 p.m. (last day)
• Kindergarten Registration for Fall 2025 6-7 p.m.

March 17: Kindergarten Field Trip

March 21:

• High School Quarter Ends
• World Down Syndrome Day (Rock your Socks)

March 24:

• School Board Meeting at 5:30 p.m.
• 7/8 Band/Choir Concert at 7:30 p.m.

March 28: 2nd Grade Poetry Cafe

March 29: Designer Purse BINGO for Close Up at VFW

April 1: April Fool's Day

April 2: World Autism Day (Wear blue to show support)

April 4: Donuts with Grownups in Kindergarten at 2 p.m.

April 8-May 9: MCA Testing Window

April 14: Bandwagon Meeting

April 17-21: Spring Break (4/17 is a staff development day)

April 19: Community Easter Egg Hunt

April 22: Earth Day

April 26: Prom and After-Prom Party

April 27-29: State FFA Convention

April 28: School Board Meeting at 5:30 p.m.

May 1:

• Kindergarten Concert 6 p.m.
• 1st-2nd Grade Concert 6:30 p.m.
• 34d-4th Grade Concert at 7:15 p.m.

May 7-11: National BPA in Orlando, FL

May 9: Muffins with Wonderful Women in Kindergarten at 2 p.m.

May 11: Mother's Day

May 12: 7-12 Band Concert

May 14: Track and Field Day for 1st-6th (Rain Date May 21)

May 15:

• Senior Breakfast by Kindergarten teachers
• Kindergarten Track and Field Day
• 5/6 Band and Choir Concert

May 19:

• School Board Meeting at 5:30 p.m.
• 7-12 Choir Concert

May 22: Senior Last Day

May 23: Graduation

May 26: No School (Memorial Day Program at 10 a.m.)

May 27: Spelling Bee

May 28: Last Day of School (early out)

The New York Mills Regional Cultural Center is pleased to announce its new gallery exhibit: “Adventures in Art,” an interactive installation featuring nature-related projects along with “Kids Create,” a show of elementary-age student art, January 29 through February 21, 2025.

Bring your children, grandchildren, or your inner child to the New York Mills Regional Cultural Center to enjoy a unique interactive art experience for kids of all ages, along with their parents, designed to teach, entertain, and expand imagination.

This show combines art and the outdoors which you can enjoy inside the Cultural Center for everyone's comfort! You can go "fishing," find butterflies, identify leaves, figure out who or what made tracks, and enjoy many outdoor-related art projects. Art projects will be self-directed for parents and their children to enjoy.

There are 5 stations for self-guided activities including leaf texture rubbings; a “fishing pond” to catch, identify, and draw fish; making a butterfly; creating a hanging paper bird; and making animal tracks. There are worksheets to record the animals and items you identify and a scavenger hunt of animals and plants to find. Visitors can also take a break in the tent for that “out in the woods” feeling.

“Kids Create” is an annual exhibit of the talent of elementary-age students in the New York Mills region. 2D and 3D art will be on display.

This gallery exhibit is free to see/experience, and open to the public during regular business hours or other hours by special request. Groups are requested to please call the Cultural Center in advance to ensure the best experience. Additional art lessons led by Cheryl Bannes can be arranged by calling 218-385-3339 or emailing cheryl@kulcher.org.

The New York Mills Regional Cultural Center Gallery is always free to see and open to all, thanks to generous support from our donors. Open Hours are Wednesdays & Thursdays 10am-7pm, Fridays 10am-5pm, and Saturdays 10am-3pm.

Visit kulcher.org or call the Cultural Center at 218-385-3339 with any questions.

This activity is made possible in part by the voters of Minnesota through grants from the Lake Region Arts Council and the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

NY Mills Elementary celebrates I Love to Read Month every February. This year, students can participate in Reading Bingo! They can complete a bingo board with a blackout and turn into the elementary office by February 28. Ten names will be drawn at random for a prize. The month also includes Storybook Theatre (an afterschool activity from the Parent's Nest).

The NY Mills Winter Eagle Academy Program:

• Monday, Feb. 3 from 3:15-5 p.m.
• Thursday, Feb. 6 from 3:15-5 p.m.
• Monday, Feb. 10 from 3:15-5 p.m.
• Thursday, Feb. 13 from 3:15-5 p.m.
• Thursday, Feb. 20 from 3:15-5 p.m.
• Monday, Feb. 24 from 3:15-5 p.m.
• Thursday, Feb. 27 from 3:15-5 p.m.
• Monday, March 3 from 3:15-5 p.m.
• Monday, March 10 from 3:15-5 p.m.
• Thursday, March 13 from 3:15-5 p.m.

On Wednesday, Feb. 12, NY MIlls students will reach the 100th Day mIlestone! Each year, kindergarten and first graders celebrate with various activities in their classrooms. As part of these festivities, kindergarten and first grade students can dress like a 100-year-old!

Parent Nest will be hosting Storybook Theatre at the school from Feb. 17th-21st. Storybook Theatre is a touring children's theatre company [previously Prairie Fire Children's Theatre] where two actors come to the school and put together a show in a week with the students! The students will be performing an adaptation of the classic, Goldilocks and the Three Bears. It will be open to students in grades 1-12. Practices will be after school for about 4 hours Monday- Friday of that week, with a public show that Friday evening. Storybook Theatre provides the set, costumes, props, and everything needed to put on the show. All students that audition will get a role! The Parent Nest is working hard to get all of the funding covered for this so we can offer this at no cost to students. Interested students should complete the form below and bring it back to the school ASAP.

BIO. Beautiful Inside and Out. This is what BIO Girls is aiming to help girls believe they are; beautiful, inside and out. Stemming from the uphill battle adolescent girls face with low self-esteem, BIO Girls was born… with a mission to change that.

Self-esteem and mental health go hand-in-hand. In fact, high self-esteem offers protection against many mental health problems. In contrast, research shows that having low self-esteem is strongly associated with an increased risk of developing depression, anxiety, eating disorders, substance use, risky sexual behaviors, and suicidal ideation.

The first BIO Girls youth program was held in Fargo, North Dakota in 2013 led by Missy Heilman. The youth program serves girls in grades 2 through 6. The 12-session program is focused on both prevention and intervention to help participants before problems arise as well as during the crux of problem behaviors. Through life-skills lessons, positive mentorship and noncompetitive physical activity, BIO Girls is proven effective.

BIO Girls is evidence-based and research proven. In 2022, 7 of 10 BIO Girls youth program participants experienced increased overall self-esteem and 50% experienced decreased anxiety by the end of the program.

A program that once encompassed 40 participants, now encompasses around 2,700. The program spans across five states: North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin. The reason this kind of reach is possible is because of the thousands of BIO Girls volunteers region-wide.

The BIO Girls youth program is 100% volunteer-led. Site Director Stephanie VonRuden has volunteered with the New York Mills BIO Girls program for four years. Marketing Lead, Hailey Muehler will be here for her second year. Other amazing Mentors this year include: Sarah Carlson, Katie Geiser, Jessica Johnson, Mandy Schik, and Michaela Smith.

The programming in New York Mills this year will be ART based. The girls will get to express themselves and the lessons learned through multiple mediums of art!

Important Program Dates:

Registration is now open! Register, online at https://events.blackthorn.io/5f2aeNP7/4a3TUOTqG9

Start Date: Tuesday, February 18th

Meeting Day: Tuesdays and Thursdays

Meeting Time: 3:30-5pm at the Cultural Center. We will walk as a group from the school.

Finale/ End: March 27th

The NY Mills Monthly School Board Meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, February 24 in the HS Media Center. Everyone is welcome to attend.

The New York Mills School Board includes (back row, left to right) Superintendent Adam Johnson, Derek Braukmann (treasurer), Brian Schermerhorn and Derek Geiser. (Front row) Amy Mursu (chair), Kristina Ehnert (vice chair), Jodi Seelhammer (clerk), and Ethan Kern.

Juniors and Junior Parents—Starting in January, After-prom meetings will be held on the

fourth Wednesday of each month. Please make every effort to attend.

Time: 5:30 pm

February 26, 2025

March 26, 2025

April 23, 2025

Pre-K through 4th: Conferences are scheduled ahead of time. Please contact your child's teacher if you do not know your time.

5th-6th: The 5/6 Team is set up in the auditorium. Parents of 5th & 6th grade students should visit the auditorium between 1-7:30 p.m. and meet with teachers as they are available.

High School: Conferences are NOT scheduled. Instead, parents should come to the school between 1-7:30 p.m. to meet with the teachers you would like to meet with. Parents may have to wait a few minutes for an opportunity to meet.

Please make sure to stop by the NYM Elementary Lost & Found before March 10 to claim your children's items. The Lost & Found is located near the Elementary Office.

Share photos that may be included in the Elementay Yearbook here: https://photos.jostens.com/zq3kvu

Our school has adopted The “I Love U Guys” Foundation’s Standard Response Protocol (SRP). Students and staff will be training, practicing, and drilling the protocol.

The Standard Response Protocol (SRP) is based on an all-hazards approach as opposed to individual scenarios. Like the Incident Command System (ICS), SRP utilizes clear common language while allowing for flexibility in protocol. The premise is simple - there are five specific actions that can be performed during an incident. When communicating these, the action is labeled with a “Term of Art” and is then followed by a “Directive.” Execution of the action is performed by active participants, including students, staff, teachers and first responders. The SRP is based on the following actions: Hold, Secure, Lockdown, Evacuate, and Shelter.

The New York Mills Public School utilizes six sources to quickly inform parents about school calendar changes due to the weather. The three calls we utilize include the emergency early out, the weather-related late start, or the weather-related school day cancellation. Morning weather calls are typically made by 6 a.m.

1. Our first resource is the instant alert system called School Messenger. Parents will receive an automated phone call and/or an email through the system. More information about the School Messenger can be found on our website under the Parent Resources tab. Link: https://www.nymills.k12.mn.us/parentnotificationsystem Parents can update their contact information through the Parentvue system, or by calling the elementary or high school office.

2. The message will also be posted on the school bulletin board, which can be accessed when people call the school (218-385-2553)

3. Announcements will also be posted on the NY Mills Facebook page (Search New York Mills Public School ISD 553)

4. Announcements will be posted on the pop-up box on our website www.nymills.k12.mn.us

5. The message is sent to local radio stations to be announced

6. The message is sent to WDAY, KARE11, KSTP, and CBS/WCCO.

Lack of parental supervision of children at school events (both inside and out) has become a serious problem this fall. While we love to see students of all ages at the games cheering for our Eagles, we have had reports of large groups of unattended children causing problems, both in the school and at the football field. There have been reports of fights, unruliness, and disrespect. As a result, our adult volunteers who supervise games and our after hours custodial staff are being overtaxed with the added duties of chasing children out of places where they should not be after school hours which has become a major safety issue for staff, students and parents alike. We would love to continue seeing the turnouts and school spirit that we do at sporting events and have full confidence that these issues will be easily resolved if children remain with their parents during events. Thank you so much for your continued support! We have always been able to count on our amazing community and we know that the safety of our children is your number one priority as well as ours! Have fun, be safe and Go Eagles!

The New York Mills Education Foundation’s mission is to partner with our community to provide all New York Mills students with enriched, innovative learning experiences, guiding them to extraordinary opportunities.

What We've Achieved

• In the fall of 2023, we provided 10 grants totaling $5,000.

• Provided enriched and innovative learning experiences for NYM students.

• Provided reading comprehension materials, ball cart for the weight room, small playground equipment, gross motor equipment, STEAM, books for first grade reading program, MTSS Groups, MTSS in classrooms, benches for high school and books for Kindergarten reading program.

• Supported various opportunities throughout the year, such as inspirational, educational and/or motivational speakers.

• Supported Storybook Theater — coming February 2025!

Help us continue to offer enriched and innovative experiences by becoming a member!

This year school breakfast and lunches are free, however, there are fees for extra items. If students take a reimbursable meal (based on Federal requirements), there is no charge. If students only need milk to go with their lunch from home, there is a $0.40 charge per carton. If students purchase anything extra besides their meal, they will be charged (Powerade, seconds on food, extra drinks or ala carte items-uncrustable, breakfast bar, etc.). Students need to have money in their accounts to cover these costs.

Weekly emails will be sent to those parents that have students with a negative balance. Payments can be made online at https://www.payschoolscentral.com/ or cash or check can be sent to the District Office to be applied to student accounts.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact the District Office at 218-385-4201.

Regular school attendance is essential for student success. With consistent attendance, students will benefit both academically and socially. The NY Mills School also recognizes the myriad of benefits to family vacations. In an effort to have both good attendance and family vacations, we have provided a list of all long weekends in the upcoming school year. Please consider planning your family vacations during the school vacations. Thank you for your partnership in your children’s education!

Email: ajohnson@nymills.k12.mn.us
Website: https://nymills.k12.mn.us
Location: 209 North Hayes Avenue, New York Mills, MN, USA
Phone: 218-385-4201

Email: myoung@nymills.k12.mn.us
Website: https://nymills.k12.mn.us
Location: 209 North Hayes Avenue, New York Mills, MN, USA
Phone: 218-385-4211

Email: jbrockway@nymills.k12.mn.us
Website: https://nymills.k12.mn.us
Location: 209 North Hayes Avenue, New York Mills, MN, USA
Phone: 218-385-4207