Paw-some News

• November 25th-29th: No School
• December 5th: Pizza and Bingo Night, 5-6:30pm
• December 23rd-January 1st: No School

2024-25 School Year Calendar

We had a great meeting last week. There was a presentation by Pike Lake's instructional coach, Shelby Winters. To watch the presentation, click here. To see the slideshow, click here. Our next PTA meeting will be December 12th at 7:00 p.m.

Please check the Lost and Found located by the playground doors at the school. There are pictures of what is currently there on the PTA Facebook page. We will be clearing out all items right before winter break so be sure to look through everything before then. If there's something specific you see in a picture please feel free to message us and someone from the PTA can grab it for you.

Have a wonderful break!

Pike Lake PTA

pikelakepta@gmail.com

Pike Lake PTA Facebook Page

As the temperatures drop, we are reminded that winter is just around the corner! Heading into winter, please make sure your student is prepared for going outside with labeled cold weather gear (hats, coats, gloves or mittens, snow pants and boots). If you are in need of assistance in getting cold weather gear for your student, please contact Kirsten at kirsten.kane@mvpschools.org or Nicole at nicole.rasch@mvpschools.org

Please note: students go out for recess unless the temperature drops below 0 degrees and/or windchills are colder than 10 degrees below zero.

Students occasionally need a change of clothes over the course of the school day. Please remember to send a labeled set of extra clothing including pants, shirt, underpants and socks in your student's backpack.

The health office is in need of clothing donations. We are looking for new or gently used pants, elastic waist preferred, size 6 through size 12. Donations can be dropped off in the office.

If your student borrows any clothing from the health office, please be sure to wash and return them as soon as possible.

With the weather getting colder, we are finding more students coming to the health office for chapped lips. This takes time out of their school day. Please send chapstick in your student's backpack, in order for them to easily access it during the day.

We wanted to share a friendly reminder that head lice is unfortunately relatively common among elementary-aged students. We are not seeing a current increase in cases at this time, but we want to offer some reminders you can share with your children about how they can help prevent the spread.

• Encourage avoidance of direct head-to-head contact

• Discourage the sharing of hats, combs, brushes, headbands, etc.

• Frequently (weekly) check your child’s head for head lice

For more information on how to identify, prevent and treat head lice, you can check out these links:

• Healthychildren.org - Head Lice: What Parents Need to Know

• Hennepin County Head Lice Fact Sheet

Thank you for your partnership!

As the weather gets colder, we recognize it can often take longer to prepare for a school day. However, we ask that you please still plan ahead to ensure that your child is prepared for the scheduled bus arrival time every day.

As a reminder, a parent or designated responsible person must always be at the bus stop in order to provide "eye-to-eye" transfer of kindergarten students. Bus drivers are not allowed to release kindergarteners off of the school bus without this type of transfer.

Please plan to be outside at the bus stop with your child for bus pick up and drop off 5 minutes prior to the scheduled bus arrival time every day. Buses will always try to run as close as possible to their scheduled stop times.

Science: In November, we continued exploring forces like pushes and pulls. We used pushes and pulls to change the speed and direction of a number of objects. We also shared examples of pushes and pulls that we use in everyday life and that we observed in books, songs, and experiments. Students have done an amazing job asking questions, finding answers to their questions, and sharing their observations! Next month, we will begin learning about living things.

Music: In November, students continued to explore high and low pitch with their voices through singing and exploration exercises. We continued our work with the song “Autumn is Here” by adding more instruments into the song. Students also got the opportunity to explore basic improvisational skills by working with Rory’s Story Cubes. For the final week of November before break, students explored movement, barred instruments called resonator bells, and performed for others using puppets during classroom centers. Ask your child about a silly song called Mr. Turkey Man – we listened to this silly song by Rob DelGaudio and students really got a hoot out of it in class.

Art: In November students practiced using liquid glue with control. Students also learned about plant and mushroom parts in order to draw, color, and paint a realistic vegetable garden. Students had four chances to mindfully taste organic vegetables like a culinary artist. (Note: The voluntary tasting station is only organic vegetables that no students in our school are allergic or sensitive to and prepared without any chance of cross-contamination).

Physical Education: In November we continued to work on body movements and balance. This included movement patterns and activities. We learned a few new tag games and continued working on taking turns and sharing equipment. We also used manipulatives such as paddles and scoops to work on hand-eye coordination.

We are excited to be working with your students this year! It is so fun to watch students learn and grow throughout the kindergarten year! The contact information for the specialist teachers are:

Art - Jessica Silk, jessica.silk@moundsviewschools.org, 651-621-7460

Music - Ashley Morben, ashley.morben@moundsviewschools.org, 651-621-7497

Physical Education - Joe Persuitti joe.persuitti@moundsviewschools.org 651-621-7431

Science - Susan Lee, susan.lee@moundsviewschools.org, 651-621-7443

The monthly school lunch menus can be found here.

The school district has online interactive menus which include nutritional information and allergens. To view the menus, along with instructions on how to print them if you choose, click here.

Second Step is a program that we use at Pike Lake Kindergarten. Second Step is a social-emotional learning program that teaches skills to help students succeed academically, socially and emotionally. Second Step skills and concepts are designed to help children both in and out of school. Four units will cover the following: Growth Mindset & Goal-Setting, Emotion Management, Empathy & Kindness and Problem-Solving.

To see what your student is learning and what you can practice with them at home, click here. Home links are provided in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Hmong, Korean, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.

Mounds View Early Childhood is holding a Coat and Winter Gear Drive, collecting items between the weeks of November 18th-22nd and December 2nd-6th.

Here is how you can help:

Donate gently used or new 3T, 4T, 5T, 6T, Youth Extra Small or Small winter coats, snow pants, and waterproof gloves or mittens. All items should be freshly washed, gently worn, or new. Please no holes, stains, or broken zippers.

Three ways to drop off:

1. Send to school with your child CLEARLY LABELED for donation. Feel free to bring donations to conferences as well!

2. Drop off items at the front office of Snail Lake Education Center, Pike Lake Education Center or Early Childhood Education Center during school hours

   between November 18th-22nd and December 2nd-6th.

3. Drop off items in the drop box in the vestibule of Early Childhood Education Center (500 10th Street NW, New Brighton MN 55112) between 8:00am-4:30pm between November 18th-22nd and December 2nd-6th.

All coats collected will be distributed to families within our school community.

If you are a family in need of winter gear this year for your child, or if you have any questions, please reach out to your child’s teacher OR contact Ellie McConnaughay at ellen.mcconnaughay@moundsviewschools.org or 651-621-8078.

Thank you for your support and generosity in helping us share warmth with children in need!

Of the five Standard Response Protocol (SRP) actions, HOLD is the most used. During a hold, students remain in classrooms and lessons continue.

Mounds View Public Schools uses common language and practices throughout all buildings and with emergency responders. This simplified language, called Standard Response Protocol, proactively identifies five possible actions that could be required during an incident or an emergency. Learn more at mvpschools.org/srp

The Lost and Found at our school fills up very quickly, especially with easily removable items such as:

• sweatshirts (most common unlabeled item)
• hats
• mittens and gloves
• jackets
• snow pants
• boots

Please label all clothing items with your student's full first name (not nickname) and last initial. Ideas for difficult to label items:

• permanent marker
• ball point pen (for tags that bleed easily)
• white or silver sharpie for dark colored material
• white out pen
• fabric pen
• iron or sew on labels

To ensure the office receives messages about your child's attendance, please use one of the two options below. Attendance messages sent directly to teachers will not be received by the office if the teacher is absent or does not read/forward the message.

1. ParentVUE - Select "Report Absences" on the Student List/Home Screen (See mobile device screenshot. Format for the desktop version is very similar). Click here for the ParentVUE login link. Note: For midday pickups, notify the teacher directly via email, please do not submit the absence on ParentVue.

2. Call the attendance line: 651-621-7401. This is a voicemail only line so you can leave a message any time of the day or night.

When reporting absences, please be sure to indicate the reason for your child's absence. If your student is ill, please list your child's symptoms.

Early start students (those who live in the Bel Air or Sunnyside attendance areas) may enter the building at 7:55. Their school day is 8:20-3:00. If you arrive at school after 8:20, please park in the visitor parking and walk your student into the office.

Late start students (those who live in the Pinewood or Valentine Hills attendance areas) may enter the building at 8:45. Their school day is 9:05-3:45. If you arrive at school after 9:05, please park in the visitor parking and walk your student into the office.

To find your child's home elementary school, click here and enter your address.

Our number one priority during drop off and pick up is SAFETY. Thank you for consistently following the instructions and expectations our staff provide during this busy time of day. When everyone follows the expectations for drop off and pick up the process is SAFE and FAST.

1. STAY IN YOUR CAR - DO NOT park and walk over to our staff. We do not want pedestrian traffic mixed with car and bus traffic.

2. STAY OFF YOUR CELL PHONE

3. PULL ALL THE WAY FORWARD

4. TEACH YOUR CHILD HOW TO BUCKLE IN. If your child needs help with this, please pick up your child and then pull forward to a parking spot in the front lot where you can assist them and not slow down the car line.

This video discusses how to safely enter and exit the parent drop off and pick up.

If you need to make a transportation change for the end of the current school day, please call the office (651-621-7400) at least 60 minutes prior to the end of the school day. Because teachers are not always able to check their email during the course of the day, reaching out to the office is the best way to make sure the message is received. Also, please do not rely on your child to communicate the information to their teacher. Unless we hear from an adult, the transportation change will not be made.

• If you are picking up your child early from school, please park in the visitor parking and make your way in to the office.
• Please be prepared to show your identification when you arrive.
• The front office staff will call your child down when you arrive to check them out. This enables the student to take part in as much of their school day as possible.
• Please try to give yourself a little extra time when picking up your child as we find that it can take some time for kindergarteners to gather up their items and make their way down to the office.
• It can often be very helpful to let your child's teacher know via email 1-2 days prior so they can help to have your child ready and awaiting the phone call from the office. Also, if at all possible, it can be helpful to try to avoid picking up your child during times when they are not in their classroom, such as lunch, recess, or specialist.

In order to provide a safe environment for our students with food sensitivities, all kindergarten and elementary schools have the following guideline for birthday celebrations: If you wish to bring something to share with classmates for a birthday celebration, please limit it to a non-food acknowledgement. Please do not send latex balloons. Donation examples include, but are not limited to: student's favorite book to the class collection, stickers, pencils, pens, markers, erasers, a board game to the class for indoor recess days, etc.