The Messenger

December 2022

North Pole Treasures and BIZ kids are back! After a two year hiatus, the McKinley PTO is excited to host this annual holiday event and give the fourth and fifth grade students a chance to participate in BIZ Kids.

Event Highlights:

• Bring a camera to have your picture taken with Santa.
• Santa's Secret Shop will be open for students to purchase gifts for family members.
• A silent auction will going on throughout the evening with biddable items for adults and students.
• Cookie decorating and holiday craft stations will be set up.
• Mansetti's pizza and pasta will be available for purchase.
• BIZ Kids tables will be set up in the gym and there will be many hand-made items available for purchase from our fourth and fifth grade students.

We hope to see you at North Pole Treasures next Thursday.

• Merry Monday, Dec. 19 - Wear Red and White like a candy cane
• Timber!! Tuesday, Dec. 20 - Wear your flannel like a lumberjack
• Warm & Wooly Wednesday, Dec. 21 - Wear your favorite holiday shirt or ugly holiday sweater
• Think Tank Thursday, Dec. 22 - Wear your holiday headgear on top of your think tank

McKinley Bulldogs raised $837.81 through our Slippin' Into Giving slipper day! All money raised went to help McKinley families who needed a little assistance over the Thanksgiving holiday! Thank you to all who helped with bringing in money for Slipper Day and to those who donated extra grocery gift cards! With help from McKinley families, Glen Cary church, and Oak Haven Church we were able to help 17 families! What an amazing way to show kindness to our community, Bulldogs!

With prices increasing for groceries and other necessities, McKinley is grateful to partner with the Every Meal program to provide bags of food to help families with food for weekends. This is a confidential program and there are no restrictions on who can sign up and no questions asked! Please contact me at (763)506-3479 or jessica.nessmanary@ahschools.us to let me know you are interested.

Kindergarten Explorations:

Kindergarten students are in the middle of the Economics Unit. It’s all about knowing the difference between wants and needs. (How timely–right before Christmas!) Students learn that needs are things we couldn’t survive without, while wants (such as phones) make life easier, but are not necessary for survival! Ask your child about their wants and needs.

First Grade Explorations:

In first grade, we are in our Social Studies unit on Geography. Students are making maps of familiar places. Encourage your child to make a map of a room at home. You will be surprised by their map-making skills!

Second Grade Explorations:

Second grade students are wrapping up their unit on Economics. Our next unit will be a Minnesota History unit, focusing on the Ojibwe people of Minnesota. Students will learn about how the Ojibwe people used to live throughout the seasons, as well as about traditions that Ojibwe people still practice today. Ask your students about the artifacts they have seen!

Third Grade Explorations:

Students are about to do their final project on Sound. This involves building their own instrument in class that can make a high and low pitched sound! Students love this! They will be presenting their instrument to the class, so please request a “private showing” of their amazing instrument at home. Ask them how they designed their instrument to vibrate faster and slower, to create different pitches.

Minnesota weather is shifting gears, and the Anoka-Hennepin School District has plans in place for when extreme winter weather arrives.

The safety of all students is the first priority when determining if schools should stay open in adverse weather. If a determination is made to close school due to extreme winter weather, the district will alert families in a variety of ways, including:

• Phone, text or email message from AHlert system (for Anoka-Hennepin parents/guardians only).

• District and school websites.

• District and school social media pages (e.g. Facebook, Instagram and Twitter).

• Media outlets including WCCO, KSTP, FOX 9, KARE 11, CCX Media, WCCO radio and Star Tribune newspaper.

Those responsible for activities scheduled in schools over the weekend will determine if adverse weather conditions necessitate a cancellation.

Read more about the district’s policies on extreme winter weather at ahschools.us/weather.

• Dec. 6 - 9 - Great McKinley Coin Collection
• Dec. 8 - Report Cards Sent Home
• Dec. 15 - North Pole Treasures & BIZ Kids
• Dec. 22 - Classroom Parties
• Dec. 22 - Fifth Grade Field Trip to Wild Mountain
• Dec. 23 - No School - Winter Break Begins
• Jan. 3 - School Resumes
• Jan. 9 - PTO Meeting