Wolves Newsletter

If your child is registered for the Next Gen Ski Race (tomorrow), please call the school by noon TODAY and your commitment fee will be returned.

Next Gen Ski Race

12:00 p.m. - 3:50 p.m.

Saturday, February 1, 2025

Friday, January 31, 2025

Dear Park Brook Families,

February is most definitely a busy month, yet full of excitement as well, with conferences, weekend field trips to celebrations such as Black History Month.

At Park Brook, as long as I am principal, I expect to see individuals who are Black, as well as other races, represented in our curriculum throughout the year. It is not enough to have one month to highlight individuals, rather the lives of Black Individuals, as well as other races, must be evident throughout the year.

This year my intention for Black History Month is to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. more so than we do near his birthday. Generally I do not highlight Dr. King during Black History Month as we do so in January. Most years I highlight a variety of individuals, but this year my thought is to dig a bit deeper into his life and how do we live out his dream. While in 1964 discrimination became illegal in the eyes of the law, the law did not change reality, we need to continue to bring true equality for all to the United States of America.

One of the ways that I try to live out my personal belief that everyone is created equal and has rights is with our Focus on Fitness Initiative. I have had numerous conversations and workshops to deepen my own understanding, yet I know that if all I do is talk about my desire to bring about change, nothing actually will change. When I came to Park Brook seventeen years ago, I made a commitment to myself that students who come here, regardless of their race, would receive a quality education with strong academic outcomes. I am pleased, while striving for greater, that students at Park Brook are making academic growth based upon standardized scores.

Focus on Fitness is designed to increase academic growth and positive behaviors. This initiative has also opened up a plethora of experiences for students. As I stated towards the top, February is busy, and there is an activity outside of the regular school day every weekend in February. I prefer to have fun with the students to increase academic growth, rather than responding to low academic growth.

Conferences begin next week. This is a time to review with your child's teacher the growth, the success, and the needs for your child as we continue on in the school year. I cannot highlight enough the need for students to be in school, read at home, get the sleep and exercise they need, so that they can thrive each day.

Sincerely,

Mr. Scott W. Taylor

No School on Monday, February 3, 2025. Staff Workshop Day.

Girls on the Run (GOTR) will begin after Spring Break. GOTR meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:20 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Girls who register need to attend both days. Space is limited. This program is open to all girls in grades 3, 4 and 5.

Girls on the Run incorporates running, activities and leadership/character education.

Click on the link to register. Once full, a wait list will be created and Girls on the Run Minnesota maintains the waitlist.

Winter Conferences will be held from 3:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. on the following dates:

• Tuesday, February 4, 2024
• Thursday, February 6, 2024
• Monday, February 10, 2024

Please call the school as soon as possible if the time for your conference does not work. We want to meet with every family, and rescheduling conferences is not easy.

Park Brook is honored to receive the RAMP Award by the America School Counselor Association which only 1% of schools in the United States of America Receive.

RAMP stands for Recognized ASCA (American School Counselor Association) Model Program.

Park Brook Elementary and Mrs. Booth, Park Brook Elementary Counselor, will be recognized at a ceremony in Long Beach, CA this coming summer.

Please call the school by noon on the Friday before the weekend field trip to have your commitment fee returned. This allows us time to adjust the number of buses.

There is not a commitment fee required for the Boys Climb event, however, space is limited. Please call as soon as you know if your son will not be participating so we can fill the space from the wait list, if there is a wait list.

The commitment fee is not returned if a student does not show up for the event that they registered for, unless, the family notifies us the day before that they will not be coming. The commitment fee is returned to all who show up for the event. The purpose is to have an accurate count for buses, staffing, and so on. This system has greatly reduced/eliminated wasting money on buses not needed, and so on.

Friday, February 21, 2025

5:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

The Park Brook Winter Funland began as a health fair to support Park Brook's Focus on Fitness Initiative. The first event was paid for through a grant Park Brook received from Allina Health.

Throughout the school students will be able to participate in a number of movement based activities, such as obstacle course on scooters, limbo, giant ring toss game, and the climbing walls.

Middle school and high school students are not permitted to attend UNLESS they are with their parent/guardian who is here with younger siblings, or they have pre-arranged to volunteer. This is an event for Park Brook Students.

Parents are welcome to stay, or they can drop off their children who attend Park Brook Elementary. Parents are welcome to take a bit of time for themselves on this evening.

Pre-K parents need to remain at Park Brook to enjoy the evening with their child. No charge for Pre-K Students.

Healthy snacks are included with the entry fee.

• Next Gen Ski Race - Saturday, February 1 - Grades 3 - 5 (Registration Closed)

There is still time to register for the following field trips!

• Luminary Loppet and Choir Concert - Saturday, February 8 - Grades 3 - 5 (Space limited)
• Kidarod- Saturday, February 15 - Grades 1 - 5
• Boys Climb - Friday, February 28 - Boys in grades 4 & 5 (On Feb. 10 if there is still space for additional students, on Monday, February 10 this event will be opened to boys in third grade.)

February: Students who are in the EL (English Language) program will take tests to determine their progress, which is also used to determine the effectiveness of our programs at Park Brook.

Please call the school in the morning if your child will need to leave early so we can adjust when your child will take the test. The schedule is complicated as there are different parts to the test, students are tested individually for some tests, and by grade and English Proficiency level. Sometimes we need to adjust the schedule if students are absent.

Students should prepare to do their best on the test by:

1. Sleep for 9 - 11 hours every night, (Keep electronics, including televisions, out of rooms where kids sleep.)
2. Get at least 60 minutes of exercise every day,
3. Eat healthy foods.

To increase academic growth:

1. All of the above, and,

• Read every night,
• Eat together as a family without the television or cell phones,
• Monitor and limit technology,
• Practice math facts.

1. Park your car next to the curb - DO NOT LOOK FOR YOUR CHILD.
2. After you have safely stopped next to the curb, look for your child. (This is what you would want others to do for YOUR child.)

The safety of students in the parking lot, and everywhere, is extremely important to me. I believe parents care for their children, love their children, and at the same truly do not see how dangerous it is what they sometimes do in the parking lot.

At Park Brook alone, I have stood out in front monitoring the parking lot for at least 2,500 times in the morning, and 2,500 times in the afternoon. I do call drivers out when I see something that is dangerous, and when I think about the percentage of drivers I have had to call out for what they are doing, it is a very small percentage. However, one child injured is too many for me.

Students need to come to school every day with their winter weather gear.

If you need assistance with winter gear, please call the school or send a note.

Osseo Area Schools is considering several options for boundary changes across the entire district to be implemented for the 2026 - 2027 school year. Click on the link below for information, including dates for community feedback.

Clicking on the link will give you access to elementary and middle school proposed boundary changes (four proposals under consideration), meeting days/times to provide input and learn more, as well as an online system for collecting feedback.

Information regarding proposed boundary changes was also in the December 20, 2024 newsletter.

1st Grade - World of Reading Club

February 5 - February 26 - Wednesdays; 3:20 p.m. - 4:15 p.m.

Please return registration forms to Park Brook by Tuesday, February 4, 2025

1st & 2nd Grade Students in EL Programming - Reading Club

February 6 - February 27 - Thursdays; 3:20 p.m. - 4:15 p.m.

Please return registration forms to Park Brook by Tuesday, February 4, 2025

1st - 5th Grade - Game Club

March 3 - May 19 - Mondays; 8:00 a.m. - 8:40 a.m.

Please return registration forms to Park Brook by Monday, February 24, 2025

The Wolf Way and District Student Handbooks are linked below for your reference.

• W - We will respect ourselves and others.
• O - Own our actions.
• L - Listen and Learn.
• F - Follow Directions.