Eagles Newsletter Winter 2023

Winter 2023

Coat and Snow pants donation: Thank you to the Knights of Columbus, with support from Premier Bank and the Osseo Lions, for donating snow pants and winter coats to Elm Creek Elementary. Kelly Deines, Elm Creek School Social Worker, has matched over 60 coats with students so far!

Third Grade Dictionaries: Thank you to the Osseo Lions for donating a dictionary to each 3rd grade student at Elm Creek!

PBIS & Outstanding Eagles: Remember to check out our Outstanding Eagle photos in Osseo-Maple Grove Press each week. As part of Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) we recognize classrooms who are doing a good job in the lunchroom with a golden tray that hangs outside their class door. We also recognize classrooms that keep their room neat and tidy with a golden vacuum-one classroom per week.

Referendum: Thank you, families, for passing the referendum. I am excited to see the upgrades to Elm Creek Elementary!

VOLUNTEERS-- We have 202 active volunteers as of November, and they have logged 1,220 hours so far this school year. That’s an incredible number! Volunteers have helped in classrooms, served lunch with our cafeteria staff, helped out during kindergarten lunch, prepped projects for teachers, planned PTO events, worked on laminating, helped out at Turkey Bingo, made crafts for our Holiday Shoppe, worked at our Fall Book Fair, attended a field trip to Feed My Starving Children and Eastman Nature Center and so much more! On behalf of students, teachers and staff, THANK YOU!!!

Conference Meals: Thank you to the many families who contributed food on conference nights-we appreciate you!

Elm Creek Twitter and Instagram Pages: Please join us on our Elm Creek Elementary twitter page @ElmCreekElem or on our Instagram page at https://www.instagram.com/elmcreekelem/?hl=en.

Sincerely,

Beth Ness

Principal, Elm Creek Elementary

December 1 - No School for Students - Mark Reporting Day

December 4 - Tri 2 begins

December 5 - PTO General Meeting

December 6 and 8 - PTO Holiday Shoppe

December 11 - 15 - Students Connecting Through International Service Supply Drive

December 12 - Report Cards post to ParentVUE

December 15 - Coffee with the Principal

December 19 - Spirit Day - PJ's and Stuffed Animal Day

December 20 - January 1 - No School for Winter Break

January 12 - Asynchronous Learning Day for students - Licensed Staff Planning Day

January 15 - No School - Martin Luther King Day

January 16 - PTO General Meeting

January 22 - Coffee with the Principal

February 5 - No School for Students - Licensed Staff Workshop

February 13 - PTO General Meeting

February 16 - Coffee with the Principal & PTO Family Fun Dance

February 19 - No School - Presidents' Day

All students will go out to recess every day unless the temperature, or wind chill, is below zero, or if it is raining. Please have your child dress appropriately with the knowledge that they will be going out to recess daily. Thank you.

Consistent attendance is essential for children to learn and make progress. When students are late, picked up early, or absent, they miss instruction. They also miss important relationship building and social opportunities that build friendships and relationships with their peers and school staff. Activities like interacting in the hallway as they arrive to school and at their lockers, watching ECTV each morning and participating in the classroom morning meeting are all important for students to feel included and an important part of the Elm Creek community. Students are required to attend each day.

Parents/guardians are responsible for seeing that their children receive instruction in compliance with MN Statute 120A.22. It is the responsibility of parents/guardians to ensure that their student is attending school, to inform the school in the event of a student absence, and to work cooperatively with the school and the student to solve any attendance problems that may arise.

ABSENCE REPORTING Please call your school’s absence line before 10 a.m. on the day your child is absent. Absence Message Line: 763-315-7692 or report absence through your ParentVue App.

Excused Absences: The following reasons may be sufficient to constitute an excused absence: student illness; serious illness in the student’s immediate family; dentist, doctor, mental health professional, orthodontist, legal matters, funerals, illnesses, out-of-school suspension or administration dismissal, late bus, religious reasons, or severe weather will be excused.

Unexcused Absences: All absences which do not specifically qualify as an “excused absence” will be marked as unexcused and may result in notification/reports of truancy (see below). Examples of unexcused absences might include the following: due to sibling childcare, no stated reason, missed the bus, and non-school extracurricular activities (dance, music, gymnastic lessons, etc.) will not be excused. Late arrivals for running late, over slept etc. will accumulate and be counted in the unexcused absence totals.

Continuing Truant: MN Statute 260A.02 Subd. 3 states that when a child under 12 years of age has three days of unexcused absences, he or she is considered a continuing truant. Families will receive a three-day letter notification. If excessive absences continue the school Social Worker will become involved and may result in truancy reporting to the county.

Late arrivals for running late, over slept etc. will accumulate and be counted in the unexcused absence totals.

Open enrolled student enrollments may be revoked if excessive attendance issues are identified.

Please check your child's attendance record regularly and email joness@district279.org or call 763-425-0577 to request corrections.

The lost & found is filling up with sweatshirts, jackets, hats and gloves! Stop by and take a look for lost items. The lost & found will be cleared out and unclaimed items will be donated after school on Tuesday, December 19th.

Students who eat breakfast at school should arrive at school at 8:35 a.m. and enter door #12. Students who ride the bus should get off the bus at 8:35 and enter door #12. The goal is to have students in class at 8:50 when school starts. Please remind your child to eat a quick breakfast and get to class on time.

The first trimester of the year is busy in the media center with digital citizenship lessons, learning about using online resources, learning about using the library catalog and getting excited about books! There is a document that shows how you can access some of these resources from home on your own device. MackinVia is where we access our ebooks, PebbleGo and PebbleGo Next have interesting non-fiction articles, as does Brittanica Online. Choose Culturegrams to learn about other states, provinces and countries. Flipster is where you can access our magazines online. Check out the resources!

If you have a 3rd, 4th or 5th grader, you may have heard about the Maud Hart Lovelace student book award. Students all over Minnesota read the nominated books and students will vote for their favorite. Students who read three or more get to vote and if they read 6 or more, they are invited to a party in April. It’s a great way to expand to try new books and authors.

Coding is coming up in December. K-3 will be coding using the Botzee robots and 4-5 will code using the Lego WeDo 2.0. Both robot kits include building a robot using instructions and coding the robot using Blockly.

The APEX fun run was a success. Students did an outstanding job completing laps, with numerous students running over the goal of 36 laps. Many, many thanks to our generous families who supported the APEX run that raised $49,413.76 - the most ever raised! These funds support PTO events and extra school activities. For more specific information on how the funds are used, please visit: https://ecepto.org/ and scroll to the bottom where it says treasurers report.

We appreciate your support during the CROSS food drive! With your help we collected 750 food items to help those in need! Elm Creek community is the best!

Many students are bringing cellphones to school, and the latest trend has become smart watches. We highly suggest that these do not come to school. If you would like your child to have a cellphone for before or after school, we ask that students keep their phones in their backpacks until those times. If your child needs to reach you during the day, students will be allowed to use the phone in the office. If you need to get a message to your child, the office will take the message and get it to your child at the end of the day. Please do not text your child during the day.

If your child has a device out during the school day, staff will take the device and notify parents. Students may be given the phone at the end of the school day. If this happens more than once, or a student is doing something very inappropriate, parents will be notified and will have to pick up the device.

Below, you will find the information from the Osseo Area Schools Elementary Handbook about electronic devices.

7118. ELECTRONIC DEVICES Use of cell phones and other electronic devices is allowed during school hours, for educational purposes only, at the direction of a staff member. Misuse of any electronic device may result in temporary confiscation or disciplinary action. Bringing any of these devices is at the student’s risk. School personnel are not responsible for investigating lost or stolen items. Students are permitted to use the school telephone in emergency situations only, or as directed by a staff member. As stated on page 7, electronic devices are restricted during school hours and will be confiscated if a situation occurs where they cause a disruption. Visitors are requested to silence personal cell phones while at school. ISD 279 is not responsible for lost and/or stolen items, or for investigating lost or stolen phones/electronics. Students should be aware that all school issued technology should be used in an appropriate manner regardless of the time-of-day or location. Electronic communications that disrupt the educational process or causes discomfort for students in the educational setting can be investigated and may result in disciplinary actions regardless of the device that was used. Students should not use their personal phones during the instructional day unless for academic purposes. Parents/guardians should call the school office if they need to speak with their child(ren). Communication regarding change of plans at dismissal should be communicated directly to school staff and not through your child.

We continue to make safety in the parking lot a priority at Elm Creek. We would like to remind you of the pathway painted between the center parking area for students to walk to the crosswalks. Cars will not be allowed to pull through the pathway to get to the line to exit the school parking lot. Please see map below.

The parking lot is a very congested area, and it is important that we keep student safety as our priority, even if it means a slower experience for the driver. Please stay patient and follow the procedures noted in the map below. Thank you for your patience and support!

WALKERS: Students are not to arrive before 8:40 a.m. There is no supervision prior to that time. Students will enter the building at 8:40 a.m. Students must cross with the patrols using designated walkways. There are no patrols on 99th Avenue by the path leading to school.

Bus: Schedules are mailed from the Transportation Department in late August. Please remember that students are only allowed to ride on their designated bus. Please review the bus safety information with your child prior to the start of school. Riding the school bus is a privilege.

CARS: Students are to be dropped off and picked up in the front parking lot only. Please do not enter the bus area. Children should enter and exit the vehicle using the curbside door. If you desire, you may park your vehicle in the parking lot, meet your child at their outside door, and escort them across the parking lot crosswalks. At no time should children be walking through the parking lot unescorted. This is extremely important for the safety of each child.

Maple Grove Police/Fire Department will ticket cars parked in the NO PARKING zones. Due to space limitations, cars must continue moving around the circle when dropping off or picking up. If you chose to wait with your child, please park and walk your student across using the cross walk.

Courtesy to pedestrians and busses is a top priority, providing safety to all.

Please yield to busses at the entrance to the school parking lot and let them in first.

Thank you!

Elm Creek Twitter and Instagram Pages: Please join us on our Elm Creek Elementary twitter page @ElmCreekElem or on our Instagram page at https://www.instagram.com/elmcreekelem/?hl=en