November 2024

Holton Families,

We hope your family had a relaxing winter break. We are excited to get back to work with your student. Our winter concerts were a huge success with the students showing tremendous growth since the start of the year.

We will be hosting parent teacher conferences February 4th and February 11th. Parents, you should be receiving an email from your child's advisory teacher to sign up for a time using signup.com. If you do not receive information regarding this, please email your child's teacher to get scheduled.

Also, we shared in our last newsletter our plans to move forward with a schedule change for next year. Information about the schedule change can be found on the Frequently Asked Questions webpage.

We look forward to a great new year, please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have questions or concerns,

Mr. Schara

As we settle back into our school routine after a refreshing winter break, I want to take a moment to express my heartfelt appreciation for each of you. Your continued support plays a crucial role in the success and well-being of our students, and we are truly grateful for our partnership.

Important Announcements:

· Quarter Ends: Please remember that the quarter ends on Friday, January 10. It's important for students to stay caught up with their school work. Encourage them to reach out for help if needed!

· Upcoming School Dance: Mark your calendars for the next school dance on Friday, January 24. To ensure eligibility for attendance, students must continue to meet school expectations. Let's all work together to make this a fun event!

Celebrations from the Week:
I hope everyone enjoyed a wonderful winter break! It’s great to see our students back and ready to learn. As a reminder, please ensure your child dresses warmly as we will continue to enjoy outdoor movement breaks to keep our spirits high and our bodies active.

Additional Information:

Communication between school and home is vital for our students' success. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your child’s teacher or the office. Additionally, we have Parent-Teacher Conferences scheduled for February 4th and 11th. Be on the lookout for sign-up information coming later in January!

Thank you for your ongoing support in fostering a positive learning environment. Together, we can ensure our children thrive both academically and socially.

In Closing:

We appreciate your partnership and look forward to collaborating with you in the coming weeks. Let’s continue to work together to support our students’ growth and success!

Kane Malo

Assistant Principal

Welcome to 2025, Holton Families! The changing of the calendar always brings excitement for the new and unknown. Personally, I can’t wait for the start of the new year! Of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that the current success of the MN Vikings. Having one of the best seasons in recent memory can only mean one thing: We’ll be starting 2025 with an excruciating heartbreak! (See, that’s called “Reverse Psychology”. If I plan for it and expect it, I’ll get the opposite.)

Speaking of success, what an incredible PBIS Celebration Day we had leading into break! The students showed off their creativity by building roller coasters to run marbles through. Creativity was key while the students built their unique structures. Watching an entire building of students actively engaged in the learning process and having fun in the process is why a person gets into education in the first place. Trophies and medals were presented to the team that kept their marble moving the longest and to the team whose roller coaster was selected as the most creative by Superintendent Page and Mr. Schara. Congratulations go out to all our winners. A special thank you goes out to Mr. Zidlicky for planning and organizing this extra special event. We look forward to All-School BINGO in January!

On a different note, winter is here! (Although, as I write this on December 27th, it’s 41 degrees and raining, with very little snow on the ground.) That means preparation for being outside. As a reminder, students will go outside for recess if it is above 0 degrees air temperature or -10 wind chill temperature. It is extremely important that your child bring appropriate clothing. The children will not be allowed back into the building if they forget items. In addition, once the snow falls again, students MUST have boots on to walk through the snow. If they want to play in the snow, hats, gloves, snowpants are required. As much as the students dislike this rule, it serves two purposes: First, it eliminates much of the snow that gets tracked throughout the building. Being able to take the items off, minimizes the amount of snow brought into classrooms. Second, your child would never admit it, but no one wants to spend an entire afternoon sitting with wet shoes, socks, pants, etc. (Plus, a building full of wet children tends to develop a very “unique” aroma.)

At IJ Holton, we encourage our students to be Respectful, Responsible, Safe, and to Do Their Best! If at any time you have any questions or concerns, please email me david.brown@austin.k12.mn.us or call me at 460-1525. Bring on winter!

David Brown

IJ Holton Dean of Students

We are moving forward with our plan to change the schedule at Holton next year.

-We put a team together to develop the plan

-we met with the school board to share the plan

-we met with teachers to share the plan

-we have had three Wednesday staff meetings at Holton to answer questions

-We met with the Director of Special Education and her team as well as Dr. Baskin, we have a plan for Q&A and meetings with sped teachers

-We will meet with our English Language Staff next

-We have already started PD with social studies dept.

-We will begin setting up scheduled conferences for February.

-On January 18th, we will be hosting a Robotics Tournament with numerous schools from around Minnesota.

School visits to investigate BARR at Holton

• · Saw two schools both in White Bear Lake
• · Did a walk-through of one school and talked with the administration and the BARR Coordinator
• · Got to see a big block meeting with the other school
• · Both schools integrate MTSS and BARR
• Gives teachers direct input to MTSS
• Teachers drive what interventions are tried

-With our schedule change next year, we must make sure we have furniture and instructional items our teachers need.

-We are also beginning department staff development for next year so teachers have the curriculum outlines they need to teach three subjects.

Parents, Guardians & Students,

Planning for the 25-26 school year has begun with course registration coming soon.

For students entering 5th and 6th grade, students can select to participate in our wonderful music programs at IJ Holton. Students can choose from Band, Orchestra, Choir, Band and Choir, or Orchestra and Choir. (Band and Orchestra together is not an option). Students will visit IJ Holton later in the spring as part of this process.

For our students entering 7th and 8th grade, elective registration is fast approaching. Your student’s grade level counselor will be assisting with this process to enter your student’s elective choices for next year. A course verification sheet will be available later in the spring with details about what courses and alternatives your student has selected.

For our current 8th graders, we will be working on building student’s Academic Planner in Infinite Campus as a transition to the high school. The Academic Planner helps lay out the courses a student will take in high school. On January 3rd, the high school counseling team will be joining Mrs. Delaney at Ellis where students will meet with a counselor to discuss and enter their elective selections into their Academic Planner. In the spring, families will receive a copy of your student’s course verification sheet that will detail what courses and alternates your student has selected for 9th grade.

Registration is an exciting time for all our students as it begins their preparation of transition to the next grade level, and for some, to a new building.

If you have registration questions, please contact your student’s grade level counselor.

Kirstin Norby, 5th grade (507) 460-1536

Lynn Keenan, 6th grade (507) 460-1533

Zack Langreck, 7th grade (507) 460-1513
Farin Delaney, 8th grade (507) 460-1517

Lea Oelfke, REACH (507) 460-1510

Rebecca Gullickson, SSW (507) 460-8306

Orchestra, choir, and band students are off to a great start this school year! We are very excited to showcase what they have been learning at our upcoming concerts. Please read below for important information about concert dates.

Please mark this upcoming date on your calendar:

5th grade orchestra: Monday, January 16th at 6pm (IJ Holton Gym)

• January 6th, 2025- Art Club 3:05 PM- 4:15 PM (Red Group)
• January 7th, 2025 6th Gr 2nd Quarter- Medical Detectives Field Trip
• January 10th, 2025- End of 2nd Quarter
• January 13th, 2024- Art Club 3:05 PM- 4:15 PM (Blue Group)
• January 15th, 2025- Young Scientists
• January 16th, 2025- 5th Grade Orchestra Concert (IJ Holton Gym)
• January 20th, 2025- No School Staff Development
• January 24th, 2025- IJH School Dance
• January 27th, 2025- Art Club 3:05 PM- 4:15 PM (Red Group)

Attendance Drives Success

We want to highlight a key factor in student success: attendance!

The Impact

• Students with 90%+ attendance at AHS have a GPA of 3.037 vs. 0.827 for those below 70%
• Those attending 90%+ earn 6.45 credits on average; those under 80% earn only 3.02 credits
• 11th graders with 90%+ attendance score 4 points higher on the ACT than those below 80%
• 3rd graders attending 90%+ score 12 points higher on MCA Reading than those under 80%
• 8th graders attending 90%+ score 11 points higher on MCA Math than those under 80%

The Challenge 32.9% of APS students were chronically absent in 2022-2023. Missing 10% or more of school days can derail academic progress.

Our Response We're working with families to create attendance plans addressing barriers like transportation, housing, and health. Our community partnerships offer added support.

The Progress Our consistent attendance rate rose from 61.5% to 67.1%. This is progress, but there's more to do.

Bottom Line Showing up matters. When students attend, they engage, build connections, and succeed. Together, we can boost attendance and help every student thrive. To learn more, click here.