This is just a friendly reminder that Ordean has a no cellphone policy. Cellphones are to be placed in your child's locker during the school day. If your child is not feeling well, please encourage them to see our school nurse. This is to promote active learning and engagement. We appreciate your cooperation and support to help us create an enriching learning environment.

Overdue book notices were sent out after school on Friday May 16. We have many books that are overdue and while we don't charge late fees, if a book is not returned a fine will be placed on your students account for the replacement cost. We would like to have all library books returned by May 30. Textbooks will be returned at scheduled times. Students can return books to the drop slot in the hallway outside the library or to the basket on the counter inside of the library. Thank you for your help in getting the books back home.

On Thursday June 5th, OEMS will be celebrating a phenomenal school year with a school-wide celebration. The schedule for that day will be as follows:

All students will start the day with their advisory, and will rotate with their whole grade level through several stations: Yearbook Signing in the gym, Media Arts showcase and Minute to Win It in the Auditorium, and Outside Time in the back field.

Following the first three periods of rotations, students will get to sign up for different activities being hosted by teachers throughout the building (Activities include: Yard Games on the front lawn, Friendship Bracelets, Snack and Chat, and many more!) 6th and 7th graders will get to attend 4 different activities and 8th graders will get to attend 2. Every grade will get to enjoy an ice cream treat generously provided by the Duluth Police Department following their lunch in the cafeteria!

To celebrate our 8th graders' very last day of middle school, our incredible PTA is planning a party just for them out on the back field during the last two periods of the day. There will be a dunk tank, music, games, face painting, and more! If you are an 8th grade parent and you're interested in helping out, please check out the PTA facebook page and sign up! They are also looking for donations for a raffle and store that they are planning for kids to use up their BARK bucks.

We love our students and we can't wait to spend the day celebrating and enjoying our last day together. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to our MTSS coordinator, Kristin Paschen (kristin.paschen@isd709.org). Thanks so much!

Animals are coming to Ordean on May 29th from 3:20-4:10 p.m. Did you know that about 70% of people reported reduced stress and anxiety while around animals? With the end of the school year around the corner we’ve decided to team up with Animal Allies to hold this “pawsome” event. If you are interested in attending, you must fill out a permission slip found in Ms. Seglem’s room (or Ms. Costley's or Ms. Kedrowski's, and have your guardian sign it. Be sure to turn it in to your counselor by May 23rd

Work Cited

“Americans Note Overwhelming Positive Mental Health Impact of Their Pets in New Poll; Dogs and Cats.” American Psychiatric Association, 1 March 2023, https://www.psychiatry.org/News-room/News-Releases/Positive-Mental-Health-Impact-of-Pets. Accessed 28 April 2023.

Hello Parents/ Guardians of 8th graders,

We are looking forward to our Valley Fair Field Trip on June 2nd. If your student is NOT attending the field trip and you plan on keeping them home and excusing them, can you please notify our attendance office asap so we can plan accordingly for the students who will be staying back at Ordean. You can call 218- 336-8940 ext. 4201 or email ordeanattendance@isd709.org. Thanks

8th Grade Team

A huge congratulations to all Orchestra students for an amazing Pops concert. Ordean is one proud school...Thank you to the teachers that stayed after to assist at the concert and thank you to ALL staff for your support for lesson time, repair time, dress rehearsals and for helping all of our spunky Ordean music students as their excitement fills the school with laughter, humming of songs during your classes and for supporting their high energy. Ordean is nothing with out staff and Music appreciates all of you.

Mr. Thorson and Ms. Kiero's 6th grade math classes extended their MN Studies learning about the early 1900's MN logging industry by visiting the OEMS front lawn's beautiful pine trees. We learned about the role of the "Timber Cruiser" in the logging industry. The Timber Cruiser was responsible for visiting land coming up for sale, approximating the value of its board feet of potential pine lumber, and recommending whether or not the logging company should bid on the land for the next logging season. Students used a "Cruising Stick" to estimate the diameter and height of our pines and used a formula to calculate the available board feet of lumber in each pine. This helped us practice our order of operation and calculator skills. We found that our front lawn could have been worth about $3,000-5,000 in 1900. We currently value our pines for their beauty and the shade they give us when we get to have class outside!

All Physical Education students will be turning in their assigned PE lock and cleaning out their locker on Monday, June 2nd and Tuesday, June 3rd. Students who do not turn in or have lost their locks will owe $6 to the school to replace the missing lock for next year. If students are missing anything, they can check the lost and found tables outside the locker rooms. Any items left behind in the lockers and/or locker room after locker cleanout will be put on the lost and found tables.

Fine Arts Night will be Friday, May 30th from 5:30-7 PM. Jazz Band, Orchestra small groups, visual arts, graphic arts and snacks! In the OEMS Cafeteria. Free with cash donation for snacks.

Volunteers will be needed to help during our last day of school activities. Watch the Smore newsletter and ParentSquare for sign-ups coming soon.

Congratulations to our incoming 2025 - 2026 Ordean East Middle School PTA officers! They cannot do this work alone so be sure to sign up and show up for our students and school! For more information about our PTA, check out our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/OEMSPTA and website https://ordeaneast.givebacks.com/

The Ordean East staff will be working harder than ever through the end of the school year. The PTA invites you to help us show our appreciation by providing a delicious breakfast the morning after the students' last day of school. Please sign up to bring a breakfast item via this link: https://signup.com/go/VdfciqM Every contribution, big or small makes a difference!

May 27th - Boys Soccer Informational Meeting

May 29th - East Debate Team Informational Meeting for Incoming 9th Graders

May 30th - Fine Arts Night

June 5th - Students' Last Day of School!

Some highlights from last week's meet at East include:

Callie Kleiman winning the girl's 800 meter run

Robin Laaksonen winning the girl's 1600 meter run

Helen Lindello winning the girl's 100 meter dash

Maggie Schmidt winning the girl's 55 meter hurdles

Jasper Robinson winning the boy's 400 meter dash

Peter Ahrens winning the boy's 55 meter hurdles

Ethan Kolquist winning the boy's 1600 meter run

Somadina Igwe winning the boy's 800 meter run

The Ordean East boy's 4x100 meter relay team made up of Peter Ahrens, Robby Forsman, Simon Liddle, and Everett Johnston won with a time of 52.20!

Further, Somadina Igwe broke the 6th grade boy's mile time on May 7th!

Congratulations runners! Way to represent Ordean East Middle School!

Jerseys will need to be returned to Coach Thums following the last meet. Failure to return a jersey or returning a damaged jersey may result in a fee.

The OEMS track team ran their final meet of the year yesterday, the City Meet at Denfeld.

There were FOUR city records broken by Ordean athletes!

Maggie Schmidt broke the girls 55 meter hurdle record.

Som Igwe CRUSHED both the boys 1600 and the 800 meter run records, by a whopping 10 and 7 seconds!

The 8th grade boys 4x100 relay team consisting of Peter Ahrens, Everett Johnston, Simon Liddle and Robert Forsman broke the boys 4x100 record that had been set in 1985 and hadn't been broken since!

Some other athletes were very close to breaking some of the records and many athletes ran personal record times for themselves.

We wish our track students a big congratulations!!!

This week our Spanish club painted rock "alebrijes" and made "flor de seda" (tissue paper flowers).

All 6th, 7th and 8th grade boys who are interested in playing soccer on any of the school teams this coming fall, should attend a short meeting next Tuesday, May 27th at 4:00pm on the Ordean Turf Field.

If you have any questions about this meeting, you can contact Coach Whitehill:

East Boys Soccer B and C teams Head Coach

whitehillmatt@gmail.com

For any interested in trying out for Duluth East Girl's volleyball in the fall: There will be an informational meeting in the East library on May 20th at 6pm. Parents and players are encouraged to attend. Information about tryouts, expectations, and summer opportunities will be shared. Contact Coach Susan Schmidt at East with any questions.

Join the Debate Team! Are you ready to argue your case, challenge ideas, and think on your feet? The East Debate Team is looking for passionate students who are entering 9th grade next year. No experience needed. Compete in tournaments and make new friendships while having fun debating big ideas. Come to the Media Center after school on Thursday May 29 from 3:25-4:15. We will be done in time for you to take the activity bus home. All our welcome even if you are not in 8th grade you can learn about this exciting activity.

From now until the end of the school year, any student that takes the bus to East High School after school needs to take bus number 525. It will be near the front of the line of buses. This will be the designated bus that will take Ordean students to East High School for after school activities.

The Garden Crew will have their last meeting after school on Monday June 2nd. We will continue to meet throughout the summer! We meet Mondays at 9am in the school garden (one hour). Contact danielle.vang@isd709.org for questions.

This year’s Summer Reading Program runs from June 1st - August 15th and all ages can participate! Log your reading time, complete activities, or attend library programs to earn prizes. Any reading counts — including e-books and audio-books.

Read or be read to for 20 hours and earn a FREE book and an entry into our grand prize drawings! Keep reading beyond 20 hours for additional chances to win.

Click this link to get registered today: https://duluthlibrary.beanstack.com/reader365

This summer the greyhounds are hosting a baseball camp for 7-14 year olds.

The ultimate goal of our summer program is to provide the players within our program a great basketball experience at a low price. We strive to improve the fundamentals of each player in the program by working on footwork, ball handling, finishing, shooting, and overall defensive skill. These are essential components in becoming a better basketball player. When it comes to building a basketball player, there is NO more important time! We need our kids in the gym!

The Link Center at UWS Superior is launching a new educational camp for the summer of 2025. These programs are thoughtfully crafted to offer middle and high school students a mix of learning and recreation, fostering personal growth and career exploration. To learn more, visit https://www.uwsuper.edu/community-engagement/youth-and-high-school-programs/educational-summer-camps/

If you have any questions, please contact the Link Center at link@uwsuper.edu.

UMD will be hosting its Annual Football Youth Camp this year on July 10th - 11th from 9am-4pm each day. Please see below for the flyer and link for registration.

UMD will be hosting its Padded Development Camp for incoming 8th and 9th graders on July 10th-11th. Please see below for the flyer and link for registration.

If you would like to learn more about summer programs and activities through Duluth Public Schools, please see the link below.

This is a fun class to learn how to combine mixed media layers to create a zine. You will pick from a variety of different tools and art supplies to experiment with color and texture to create one of a kind designs. Then we’ll learn how to fold and assemble your creation into a mini zine. We will talk about ways that you may want to use text, pictures, embellishments, or artwork to fill your zine. Additional supply fee of $5 due to the instructor at class.

Class # 2272 Friday, Jul 11

Register here: Create a Mixed Media Zine

Instructor: Stephanie Brenning
Students will explore a variety of media during this camp. Projects can include clay, print, fiber, paint and more! Projects in session A and Session B will be different. Section C is for students who would like to attend both sessions.

Class is for students age 10-14

Class #7051 Mon Jul 7 - Thu Jul 10

Class #7052 Mon Jul 14 - Thu Jul 17

Register here: Summer Art Camp

Please see the flyer below if you would like to learn more about YMCA's summer opportunities for kids and families.

The program is for ages 10-18 and allows them to come into the facility for free Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 3:30-6pm. It is staffed and there’s a snack provided.

Children aged 10 & 11 would need to stay with the Teen Thrive staff (unless in the pool with the lifeguard supervision), but 12+ can feel free to utilize the facility on their own!

https://www.duluthymca.org/programs/family-and-community/community-programs-duluth-area/thrive

On the last Friday of each month, YMCA hosts Teen Night at their Hermantown location for ages 10-18. This event includes concessions, games, open swim, and more—a great way for teens to have fun in a safe and welcoming space.

Email: ordeaneast@isd709.org
Website: https://ordeaneast.isd709.org/
Phone: 218-336-8940