The Oriole Newsletter

March 2025

Cold or warm, snow or rain - at OSH we mark March with the anticipation of spring and all things new again! New trimester, new activities season and new chance to end the year right! While reflecting on the past month, we remain thankful for our scholars and staff filling our hallways, athletic events, dances, offices, club meetings, professional development days and classrooms with true Osseo Excellence. Our focus has been on how we can show up courageously for others and working together as a community. Starting off with innovative scholar lead professional development. This is Osseo Excellence in action and we showed up and out for our Osseo community this past February! Our future is bright because of our conscientious scholars and staff. We continue showing up for ourselves and for one another in Excellence.

Thank you to our scholars and staff for your collective commitment to our community!

• March 6: Last day of Trimester 2

• March 7: No School - Mark Reporting

• March 24-March 28: No School - Spring Break
• April 21: Asynchronous (remote) learning day for scholars
• April 22: ACT Exam Day
• April 23: In-person Academic Conferences, 3-7PM

On February 3rd, AVID scholars lead staff through the Tutorial Process they utilize in the AVID classes to support all learning. The Tutorial Process utilizes higher level thinking skills, collaboration skills, and class content to deeper scholar understanding of topics. Scholars courageously walked our staff through the steps of the AVID Tutorial Process:

1. Identify initial question.
2. Provide 60 second explanation.
3. Engage in academic conversation to check for understanding with others.
4. Summarize and reflect.

Our staff benefitted from hearing scholar voice and our building level commitment to our AVID programming made it a great opportunity for innovative collaboration!

On February 24, our Black Student Union presented the 8th annual Osseo Speaks: A Black History Month Showcase. The event included dance performances, poems, spoken words, drum performances, singing, scholar-written skits, and the fan-favorite tradition, fashion show.

As always, our scholars were innovative and focused as they worked incredibly hard on this years showcase celebrating Black History Month themed around Black Love & Excellence!

On February 11th, AVID 9th and 10th grade scholars had the opportunity to attend General Mills Headquarters in Golden Valley, MN. They toured of the impressive office facility and engaged with a very accomplished career panel. Students learned about the history of the company as well as the vast number of careers available - allowing them to focus on and imagine what their own future might hold with an organization like General Mills!

Abigail Douglas, a 9th grade AVID student at Osseo Senior High School, received a top 20 award for her art entry in the BestPrep Student Spotlight Competition. The BestPrep Student Spotlight competition, sponsored by Thomson Reuters, is held in conjunction with BestPrep's Educational Forum. The Educational Forum broads awareness of national and global issues affecting our community through thought-provoking discussion.

Students were asked to respond to the prompt "Take a position on the pros and cons of using artificial intelligence." Abigail entered a painting that won her a place in the top 20, a gift card, and a free ticket to the award ceremony and educational forum. Attached is a picture of her receiving the award along with her AVID teacher, LeRoyce Boldt, and the BestPrep representative.

Congratulations to Abagail and Ms. Boldt on their courageous work!

The Osseo Chamber Choir performed at the State Minnesota Music Educators Midwinter Conference on Friday, February 14, at 3:45pm. They created an innovative, exciting program that not only told a story, but included a World Premiere piece written for them by a MN composer, Catherine Dalton with text from a book called, "The Song Poet" by Hmong writer, Kao Kalia Yang. They also featured music from South Korea, France, and Haiti.

Director’s notes:

Imagine a day, any day, perhaps a day like today? This program is about one single day, from waking up and gathering together with family, friends and neighbors to returning to our homes and finally going to sleep. The songs and texts come from all over the world displaying a shared experience no matter where we are from. As this day progresses, our community gets side-tracked by gossip, foolishness and irresponsibility. Unfortunately this leads to some damage that needs to be repaired. As we repair that damage, we work to repair our community as well.

Composer’s notes about the composition, “I Will Mend the Fence”

When asked to set a new choral work with text from a Hmong writer for Osseo High School’s Chamber Singers, I immediately thought of Kao Kalia Yang. Kalia is one of those rare writers that has a gift for making ordinary moments feel extraordinary. I selected a story from The Song Poet about her father when he was a boy growing up in Laos because it speaks to the universality of everyday tenderness. Young children often make mistakes and sometimes adults get frustrated. But mistakes can also be a moment for tenderness and the opportunity to extend unconditional love. I believe it's important to sing about everyday moments in order to bring an attention and a noticing to them, so that they can find a home in our hearts, for ourselves and to be shared with others.

Nordic Skiing

Raleigh Rundquist and Quinlan Rundquist both qualified for Minnesota State Nordic Skiing Event.

Unified Basketball

Our Unified Basketball Division "A" team participated in State Championship game on February 11 at the Target Center, and brought home the 3rd place trophy!

Gymnastics

Ella Hagelin took 2nd in state on the beam! She also finished 9th on the floor exercise.

Wrestling

Carter Williams, Taleah Zeon, and Vivian Schroeder all qualified for the Minnesota State Wrestling Tournament. Vivian Schroeder placed 2nd in her weight class.

Congratulations to all of our focused and dedicated scholar athletes! We are proud of your accomplishments!

The Osseo Senior varsity Chess Team won first place in the Under 1000 rating division in the MN High School chess league Friday, February 28th. The competition was fierce and our scholars were focused and driven in their strategy. It was epic! Congratulations to the following scholars:

Captain: Bobby Shell (12th)

Captain: Elisha Gordon (12th)

Ethan Backes (12th)

Nic Walsh (12th)

Aria Reickard (11th)

Momo Khang (10th)

Gavin Weiss (10th)

Carlos Nistler (9th)

Now the team is off to the 132nd Minnesota Open Chess Tournament! Good luck!

The Minnesota Association of School Administrators (MASA) recently announced their 2025 Regional Administrators of Excellence, and our very own Osseo Area Schools Superintendent, Dr. Kim Hiel, has been recognized as the organization’s award winner for region nine!

MASA award recipients are chosen based on their leadership, concern for students, and active involvement in professional and community affairs, along with their strong communication skills and high expectations for themselves and others. Dr. Hiel has been Osseo Area Schools’ superintendent since 2023, and she will be recognized for her award at the organization’s spring conference.

“It was such an honor to be chosen for this award among a field of peers who do truly outstanding work each day for their respective school districts,” Dr. Hiel said. “I care deeply about the academic success and overall well-being of our Osseo Area Schools scholars and staff, and I’m going to continue to work my hardest in collaboration with others to serve them and reach the goal of Osseo Area Schools becoming the best place to learn and the best place to work.”

We congratulate Dr. Hiel for her innovative and courageous leadership!

THE ACT IS COMING! The ACT will be given to all junior students (and those seniors who have not had the opportunity to take it) and the Pre-ACT to all sophomore students on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. Begin preparing for the exam now! The CRC will host informational sessions with tips and strategies starting this month. This document outlines additional free supports for students looking for help to prepare. Reach out to Michelle Mazanec (mazanecm@district279.org) with questions.

WALLIN 2-YEAR SCHOLARSHIPS The Wallin Education Partners 2-Year Program application opened March 1, 2024. There are multiple pathways to receive a scholarship. The Opportunity Pathway for students that plan to attend one of the MN partner community colleges (up to $6000.)The Aspire Pathway is for students that plan to attend Dunwoody. The HealthPartners Pathway is for students interested in healthcare. The Mortenson Pathway is for students interested in construction management. In addition to financial support, scholarship winners receive advising and professional support to help navigate college, as well as access to college-to-career programs, internships and other opportunities.

COLLEGE FINANCIAL AID OFFERS After completing the FAFSA, you will receive a financial aid award letter from the colleges to which you have been accepted. Financial aid award letters can be confusing. So how do you figure out what college will actually cost? This 18-minute video from Niche can be helpful. You can also make an appointment to visit with Maz in the CRC to walk through what your award letter(s) means. Some things to consider:

1. Yearly costs, such as tuition, fees, books, room and board, travel, etc

2. Financial aid that you don’t have to pay back (scholarships, grants, work-study)

3. Financial aid you DO need to pay back (federal loans)

4. What’s left after accounting for the above 3 items? That is the amount you will need to pay out of pocket.

Remember: some grants and scholarships are not offered every year. Also, work-study is not a guarantee.

AVIATION OPEN HOUSE Lake Superior College’s Aviation Open House. Tour LSC’s Center for Advanced Aviation and learn about exciting programs like professional pilot and aviation maintenance technician. RSVPs are encouraged, but not required. Those interested also have the opportunity to schedule a tour on a different date and time. An admissions representative will follow up with registered guests to provide additional details. For more information, click here.

ICATT APPRENTICESHIPS The Industry Consortium for Advanced Technical Training (ICATT) is the leading apprenticeship program for high-tech manufacturers. The ICATT works with local companies such as Buhler, J&E Manufacturing, KEB America, Kobra Molds, PAR Systems, Sonic Packaging and Turck to train future employees. ICATT Apprentices gain hands-on experience while working at one of these companies and attending classes at Hennepin Technical College (HTC). Apprentices earn a living wage and receive a debt-free associate degree. More than 85% of ICATT apprentices complete the apprenticeship program. There are virtual opportunities to participate in an ICATT Info Session - check the Events page.

UPCOMING CAREER SPEAKERS The CRC offers students the opportunity to learn about potential careers by inviting experts/professionals to the CRC to share their experiences. Here is a list of scheduled, upcoming speakers:

• Medical School Information Session (current U of M Medical School student), February date TBD

• Forensic Science (members of the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations), date TBD

• Nursing Career Panel, March 18 at 9:40am

• Minnesota State Patrol Career Options, March 20 at 10:20am

• Students must sign up in advance to attend at https://forms.gle/fGso6VcnbbrSnoBWA

QUESTBRIDGE COLLEGE PREP QuestBridge partners with top colleges to offer select College Prep Scholars the opportunity to take college-level courses at a top-tier university and learn more about the college experience. These scholarships offer high-achieving students from low-income backgrounds a special chance to experience life beyond high school and to learn more about the experience of attending a selective college. Quest for Excellence Awards, such as $1,000 for a new laptop or other resources to help the student enhance their college application. Or, an award may include a full scholarship to a college summer program hosted by Yale, Emory, UChicago, and more. Academically outstanding high school juniors from families earning less than $65,000/year for a family of four should apply in February! https://www.questbridge.org/apply-to-college/programs/college-prep-scholars-program