STEM Newsletter

4/4/2025

Hello families,

We are happy to be back from spring break with renewed energies to move forward with all the exciting learning projects for the last trimester of the year. The Lu interactive playground/gym system was installed during the break and now we will have the opportunity to try it (https://play-lu.com/). We are the first site to have this system, and we appreciate the investment the district made in providing us with this new tool to teach our students.

Next week, Ms. Pedersen and I will be attending the Magnet Schools of America’s conference in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a wonderful opportunity to visit other magnet schools, attend workshops and network with magnet school leaders from around the country and our region. The award ceremony for top magnet schools of the year takes place during this conference.

We continue our journey learning and practicing restorative practices including community building circles and restorative circles. One of the core assumptions/values of circles is that “everything we need to make positive change is already here.” (Kay Pranis, online). This value comes alive at Weaver Lake every single day. We have volunteers, community members, organizations, and staff working to help students explore new ideas, concepts and projects. Students at Weaver Lake receive a holistic education surrounded by people who care about and love them. Together we are making positive changes in our students’ lives. We all are working on developing caring and knowledgeable young people. Thank you for making this value real at Weaver Lake.

As the days get warmer, we will be able to work in our gardens. It is an incredible opportunity to work with your family on growing plants. Window gardening provides an opportunity for growing plants if you do not have a yard for planting a regular garden. Planting season opens a door to connect reading, painting, science, and cooking with what we eat. It helps connect us with our surroundings. I recommend also taking a nature walk looking for the latest wildflower this makes for a beautiful weekend outing.

Have a wonderful April!

Principal Salazar

Parents/Guardians of K - 4th Grade STEM Scholars, we are beginning the process of planning for the 2025 - 26 school year. To plan accurately, we will need to know if your child will be returning to Weaver Lake Elementary, moving out of the district, or planning on attending another school (i.e. parochial, out of district, in-district, etc.). We are also looking for your input when placing your child in a classroom next year. Complete and submit a separate form for each student by no later than May 9th.

Please click the link for the Weaver Lake Family Newsletter. Click “Translate” at the top to translate the newsletter into many different languages.

Thov nias qhov txuas rau Weaver Lake Family Newsletter. Nyem "Translate" nyob rau sab saum toj los txhais cov ntawv xov xwm ua ntau hom lus.

Haga clic en el enlace para acceder al boletín informativo de la familia Weaver Lake. Haga clic en "Translate" en la parte superior para traducir el boletín informativo a varios idiomas.

Vui lòng nhấp vào liên kết để xem Bản tin Gia đình Weaver Lake. Nhấp vào "Translate" ở trên cùng để dịch bản tin sang nhiều ngôn ngữ khác nhau.

Maaloo linkii Barruu Oduu Maatii Weaver Lake cuqaasaa. Barruu oduu afaanota adda addaa hedduutti hiikuuf gubbaa "Translate" cuqaasaa.

Fadlan guji isku xirka Warsidaha Qoyska Weaver Lake. Guji "Translate" xagga sare si aad ugu turjunto warsidaha luqado badan oo kala duwan.

Please report your student’s absence from school before 10:00 a.m on the day your student is absent or will be late to school. Absences and late arrivals must be reported directly to the school (not the teacher) by calling the Attendance Line.This procedure also applies to extended absences such as vacations, family concerns, etc.

Please call the Attendance Line at (763) 420-3337 and Press 1 to leave a voicemail.

If your student is not reported before 10:00 am on the day of their absence an automatic unexcused call will follow. The student will be marked unexcused unless the school is informed the same day with a valid reason for the student’s absence. Please see the Family Handbook attached for more information about the attendance policy.

Any end of day transportation changes (ex.changing from bus to parent pick-up) must be communicated directly to the front office by the student’s parent or guardian by 3:30pm.

Dismissal for end of day parent pick-up begins at 3:55pm. Students listed on parent pick-up must be picked up no later than 4:10pm. There is no adult supervision for your student past this time. Please plan accordingly for travel time, weather conditions and traffic to ensure your student is picked up on time.

If you do parent pick up at the end of the day and you park your car, we require that you walk across the crosswalk to get your student from the sidewalk and walk back across with them. They are much shorter than an adult and it is for their safety that you walk with them. We know that it can add extra time, but better safe than sorry!

All 3rd through 5th grade students will be taking the MCA tests starting on April 8th. All students will test in the morning hours.

MCA Reading: April 8-9

MCA Math - April 23-24

MCA Science (grade 5 only) - April 30-May1

You can help your student do their best by making sure they get a good night of sleep and breakfast at home or at school.

If you know that you will be gone for any of the testing dates, please let your student's teacher know.

If you have any questions about MCA testing, opting out, or to pre-schedule make-up dates, please email our School Assessment Coordinator, Jess Weaver, at weaverj@district279.org

On Saturday, March 29, the Minnesota String Teacher Association hosted Eclectic Strings Day at Champlin Park High School. Weaver Lake students, David Ruto and Peter Rodriguez, attended along with their Orchestra Teacher, Mrs. Pim. David and Peter learned new skills on their instruments like how to add to a group by playing without using written music and how to play the violin and cello like percussion instruments. At the end of the day, all students participated in a Jam Session. Students were encouraged to try new sounds on their instruments and take solos! We all learned so much and had a fantastic time making music together!!

Greetings Weaver Lake Elementary Volunteers!

As the weather continues to improve, we’d love to bring back the Blue Blocks for recess. We need volunteers to make this happen, so please take a look at the sign-up and let us know when you can help out to give the students a little variety at recess!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F48AAA72EAAFECF8-55431752-blue#/

Volunteer Appreciation week is April 21-25. Weaver Lake would like to show our appreciation for all of the time you’ve given this year by offering you a light breakfast and some time to mingle with other volunteers. The Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast will be on Friday, April 25 8:00-9:00am. Please take a look at the sign-up for all of the details and let us know if you can

make it!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F48AAA72EAAFECF8-55251122-volunteer

The PTO Family BINGO Night is coming on Friday, May 9. This is a new event for our PTO this year, so we hope you all can make it. We will need volunteers to fulfill a variety of roles that evening, so keep your eyes on your inbox for that request to come through!

We will also be looking for volunteers to make our Weaver Family BBQ a success, so watch out for that sign-up to come soon!

There are still a few field trips to come. To be sure you get the info, please make sure you are a registered volunteer and have completed the Field Trip Guidelines Form for this school year.

Volunteer Registration: https://apps.raptortech.com/Apply/Nzg0OmVuLVVT

Field Trip Guidelines Form: https://forms.gle/t6nGQis9rS4eYiEs7

Stephanie Clark, Volunteer Coordinator/ESP

clarks@district279.org

Office Hours M-F 9:15am-2:15pm

763-391-8873

https://bit.ly/WVRvolunteer

April:

• MCA Testing:
• Reading: April 8th - 9th
• Math: April 23rd - 24th
• Science (Grade 5 Only): April 30th - May 1st
• April 17th: 5th Grade Band Concert Rehearsal @ Oak View Elementary School; 4:30 - 5:45 pm
• April 21st: Student Asynchronous Day
• April 24th: 5th Grade Band Concert Rehearsal @ Oak View Elementary School; 4:30 - 5:45 pm
• April 29th: 5th Grade Band Concert @ Osseo Middle School; 6:30 - 7:30 pm

May:

• May 5th: No School for Students
• May 9th: Bingo Night; 6:30 - 8:30 pm
• May 15th: Kindergarten Orientation; 5:00 - 6:30 pm
• May 21st: PTO Meeting; 6:00 - 7:30 pm
• May 23rd: Weaver Lake Family BBQ
• May 26th: No School
• May 30th: DARE Graduation; 2:00 - 3:00 pm
• May 30th: 5th Grade Dance; 6:30 - 8:30 pm