AFSA PreK-12 Family Update
January 10, 2025
It has been a great first week as AFSA PreK-12’s Executive Director and I am excited for what's to come. To help clear up some of the confusion I have been hearing, I have accepted the role of Executive Director while maintaining the principal role at the high school. My office is located at the high school, but I will be spending time at both the elementary and high school to provide support and leadership.
To stay connected with families I have decided to include a weekly message in the Family Update. This will include important announcements, event information and more.
Coming up next week don’t miss out on Thursday, January 16th, Literacy Night at the elementary school and “You Butter Believe It” at the high school. Stop by to meet local authors, make butter, and meet Herbie the Highland!
Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns that you may have.
Mr. Wakefield
All are welcome to join us at AFSA High School AND AFSA Elementary on January 16th for AFSA High School's Dairy Event and AFSA Elementary School's Literacy Night! We are also hosting an open house at both schools. Events run from 4-7 p.m. See below for more information about each event. Both events are open to the public.
You Butter Believe It - AFSA's Dairy Event is full of dairy fun! Join us for cheese making, butter making, FREE Culver's custard (Thank you to the Little Canada Culver's!), cow crafts and meet special guest Herbie the Highland! Join school board member and retired U of M professor, Dave Smith and ag teacher extraordinaire Ms. Laura Wyatt, as they teach the science behind cheese making while making fresh mozzarella cheese. Stop by the cheese making sessions at 4:00 p.m., 5:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. You Butter Believe It is coming up January 16th from 4-7 p.m. at AFSA High School.
More about Laura Joswiak: Laura's debut book is titled “A Rainbow of Orange” and is available on Amazon and Ingram. It’s a delightful story about a spirited little girl with reddish-orange hair, in search of her lost orange kitten. She is currently working on her second story, which is a rhyming children’s picture book about a monkey. She plans to release that book in 2025. She may even share a sneak preview of this story at the literacy event on January 16th. If you would like to pre-purchase "A Rainbow of Orange" please see attached form.
More about Elena Melling: Elena and her husband Michael (Yes, AFSA's very own Mr. Melling!) have been married for 21 years and live in the river valley of Wisconsin with their 6 sons. She is a homeschooler and small business owner. When their youngest son, Rhodes-who has Down Syndrome, was just 6 months old he showed he had a love for reading which inspired Elena to write a rhyming book about him!
Elena's book is titled Rhodes' Magnificent Toes. Join Rhodes, a spirited little boy, on an enchanting adventure that celebrates the advantages of being born with an extra chromosome! In Rhodes' Magnificent Toes , readers are invited into a day filled with fun, laughter, and toe-tapping excitement as Rhodes showcases his incredible hyper-flexibility and imaginative toe tricks.
THIS EVENT IS OPEN TO STUDENTS NOT CURRENTLY ATTENDING AFSA AT THIS TIME.
Current AFSA students in 6th -9th grade will have a special Taste of AFSA event this spring.
Please pass this information on to friends and family that are interested in learning more about AFSA High School! Thank you!
Get a Taste of AFSA High School! Prospective students, currently in 6th-9th grade (2024-2025 school year), are invited to join us at AFSA High School (100 Vadnais Blvd. Vadnais Heights MN 55127) for A Taste of AFSA High School on Wednesday, January 22, 2025 from 9:00 am - 2:00 pm.
This is a great opportunity to see and experience a day in the life of an AFSA High School student. Attendees will participate in a variety of hands-on subject-related activities. Event includes lunch.
To register for this event please click here.
The last day to register for A Taste of AFSA High School is January 17, 2025.
Please contact Sam Wakefield with any questions.
Support AFSA Athletics with your PIZZA purchase! Starting January 6th through January 29 AFSA Athletes are holding a special Heggies Pizza fundraiser to raise money for all AFSA Athletic teams! Pizza's are large (12") and range in price from $11 - $14. Choose from the following:
- Double Cheese
- Sausage
- Pepperoni
- Sausage & Pepperoni
- Sausage and Mushroom
- Inferno
- Deluxe Combo
- Six Pack
- BCB (Bacon Cheeseburger)
- Chicken Alfredo
- Breakfast Pizza
- Cauliflower Crust Sausage & Pepperoni
- Cauliflower Crust Marcherita
- El Jefe (Mexican style with Chorizo, jalapenos and more)
To purchase pizzas find an AFSA athlete or contact our Athletic Director, Ms. Vorwald, avorwadl@afsak12.com. Thank you for your support!
The elementary and high school are both hosting Scholastic Book Fairs the week of January 27th. Fair hours for each location vary. Please see below. Students will have time during the school day to shop at the book fair. Instead of sending money along with your student think about getting an eWallet. A book Fair eWallet is a convenient, simple, and secure way to give money to your student to shop at the fair. For more information about eWallets and the elementary and high school book fairs please click on the links below.
Did you know you can also shop online? Starting on the first day of the Book Fair, families can shop online for 14 days in The Scholastic Store. Just click on the links below to go to the website of either the elementary or high school.
AFSA Elementary Book Fair:
Students will have the opportunity to go to the book fair during the school day with their class. The Fair is also open on Thursday, January 30 1:00 - 5:30 p.m. and 6:15 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. and on Saturday, February 1st from 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Click here to go to the AFSA Elementary Book Fair Website
AFSA High School Book Fair:
Students will have the opportunity to go to the book fair during the school day. Hours for the high school book fair are January 27-29 8:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. and January 30 8:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
AFSA Friends and Family are invited to the AFSA Elementary Winter Carnival Saturday, February 1 from 9:00 am-12:00 pm. Join us for games, concessions, silent auction and more
- Family friendly games in every classroom! ( Book Walk, Bowling, Ring Toss, Mitten Race, Plinko, Photo Booth, Duck Pond, Snowball Toss, Corn Hole, and Snowflake)
- Tickets are $1 each (1 ticket per game!)
- 5th & 6th grade group SAE projects for sale
- “Adopt a stuffy”
- Silent Auction open Jan. 27 - Feb. 1 (watch for more information)
- Scholastic Book fair
Tickets for games are $1.00 each and each game costs 1 ticket. Tickets can also be used for concessions and more (amount of tickets for concessions and other items varies). Tickets can be pre-ordered in any even dollar amount. Preorder your event tickets - click here. To redeem your tickets stop by the front desk during the event.
The Silent Auction is open Jan. 27 - Feb. 1 until noon. Winners will be notified by email. Winners may pick up their purchase at the end of the Winter Carnival or the next week at the elementary front desk during school hours.
Thank you to the AFSA Parent Group for hosting the concessions, silent auction, and “adopt a stuffy”! Thank you for your support of AFSA PreK-12!
Save the date! Join us for a special night highlighting the Minnesota Agriculture Industry Thursday, March 6th, 4-7 p.m. at AFSA High School. Rachel Visser the 71st Princess Kay of the Milky Way will be joining us along with a variety of MN agriculture businesses and organizations. This event is open to the public. Watch for more information on our social media and website! www.afsak12.com
Show off your school spirit with some AFSA gear! We have a ton of different sweatshirts, tshirts, sweatpants and so much more to choose from. Just click here to check out all of the options and place an order.
Be a part of this year's 24th Annual AFSA High School Science Fair! All students at AFSA must complete a science fair project and present their findings to a panel of judges. This year, we are holding two science fair nights, February 6 for grades 7-9 and February 20 for grades 10-12 and we need your help! For each night we need about 40 science fair judges. If you are interested in volunteering click here to register. Thank you for supporting AFSA Prek-12!
Elementary Yearbooks (PreK-6th):
Elementary Yearbooks are on sale now for $15. Yearbooks will be delivered at the end of the school year. If you would like to order an AFSA Elementary (PreK-6) yearbook online please click here. Cash and check payments can be made in the front office of the elementary school. Orders for the AFSA Elementary yearbook ends April 25th, 2025.
High School Yearbooks (7th-12th):
High School yearbooks are on sale now! Yearbooks are $45 if ordered by March 8, 2025 and after that the cost goes up to $55 until the last day to order, April 29, 2025. Click here to order the HS yearbook online. The HS yearbooks are ordered through Entourage (not SchoolPay). You can also pay for high school yearbooks with cash or check in the front office at the high school.
AFSA High School students are invited to design this years 2024-2025 yearbook! Students can pick up a template from the front office. Designs must be turned in to Ms. Vorwald by January 20th. Contact Ms. Vorwald with any questions.
Join us at Culver's in Little Canada (2880 Rice Street Little Canada) for our Culver's fundraising nights throughout the 2024-2025 school year! See dates below! Take your family out to dinner and support AFSA K-12 at the same time! AFSA receives 10% of all food purchases from 5-7 p.m.
- January 21, 2025
- February 18, 2025
- March 18, 2025
- April 15, 2025
- May 20, 2025
Special thank you to the Little Canada Culver's for their continued support of AFSA K-12!
Thunderbay Trail Sign Design Contest
The City of Little Canada needs your help to create signage for the Thunderbay/ Westwinds trail! Youth in grades K-8 are encouraged to submit a sign design that urges users of the trail to slow down and look before crossing the intersections of Edgerton Street, Vanderbie Road, and Payne Avenue. Three winners will be chosen. Visit https://bit.ly/LCSignContest for information and to submit an entry.
City of Little Canada Indoor Market - Join the City of Little Canada for their Indoor Market. The market will be held in the Little Canada City Hall Council Chambers (515 Little Canada Rd.) from 2 to 5 PM on January 13. The City is still accepting vendors. If you’re interested in being a vendor, contact Emelie Lindabaur at Emelie.lindabaur@littlecanadamn.org
The school directory is a great way for AFSA PreK-12 families to stay in touch! Click here if you are a current AFSA PreK-12 family and would like to be added to the 2024-2025 school directory. The directory will be emailed out to all participating families. If you have been in past directories you will still need to sign up this year to be included. Questions? Please contact Ms. Forliti