March 2025

Holton families:

We are proud to say that I.J. Holton has been accepted as a BARR school (Building Assets Reducing Risks). Ellis is in it’s first year of the BARR process. Below, I have included a message from Karen Dunbar describing our process for BARR at Holton:

My name is Karen Dunbar, and I will serve as the BARR Coordinator at IJ Holton and Ellis starting in the 2025-26 school year. I want to take this opportunity to share information about BARR and tell you a bit about myself. Before coming to APS, I worked as a teacher (pre-school-college) and a school counselor (6-12). This is my 10th year working for APS. I started as the Dean of Curriculum at IJ Holton, then worked as an assistant principal at AHS and then at Ellis. Currently, I am the BARR Coordinator at Ellis. I am SO excited that 2025-26 will include serving both IJ Holton and Ellis! I truly believe in the BARR Program and can’t wait to go through the implementation process at IJ Holton. Below isa summary of BARR and how it will work at IJ Holton. After reviewing, feel free to email me any questions that you have.

Sincerely,

Karen Dunbar

8 KEY STRATEGIES of BARR (Building Assets, Reducing Risks)

2. Provide professional development for teachers, counselors, and administrators.
This starts with a 2-day implementation training in June for staff. It will continue with 60-minute BARR Professional Development sessions on many PD days throughout the 2025-26 school year.

3. Use BARR’s U-Time Curriculum to foster a climate for learning.
U-Time lessons will be facilitated once a week during Connect. The lessons will focus on building a connected community, goal setting, self-discovery, communication, strengths/assets, grief & loss/stress management, bullying prevention/accepting others, risk-taking, and dreams.

4. Create teams (cohorts) of students and staff.
IJ Holton will have 12 teams of about 64 students each.

5. Hold regular meetings of the cohort teacher teams.
At these meetings, staff will talk about every student in the building at least once during the school year. These conversations are strength-based with the idea that every student is valued.

• Small Block will take place once a week from 2:15-3:00.

• Big Block takes place once a week from 3:00-3:40.

6. Conduct Community Connect meetings.

These meetings will be held weekly. Attendance will include the BARR Coordinator, counselors, administrators, school nurse, school resource officer, success coaches, and others as needed.

7. Partner with families in student learning.
This includes communication home, conferences, positive postcards, and sharing information about BARR in the parent newsletter. Please let us know if you have any more ideas for us; we would like to hear your thoughts!

8. Engage administrators.
Administrators will attend Big Block and Community Connect meetings regularly. Administrators will also meet with the BARR Coordinator regularly.

Dear IJ Families,

We hope this newsletter finds you well and enjoying the beautiful beginnings of spring! As we continue to grow together, we want to take a moment to share some important updates, celebrate our recent achievements, and provide some helpful reminders.

Important Announcements:

• Spring Break: March 10 - 16. Enjoy this time with your family!
• No School: March 17th will be a teacher professional development day.

Please mark these dates on your calendars, and make sure to plan for the break!

Celebrations from the Week:
We are thrilled to announce that ACCESS Testing for our multilingual students has been successfully completed! Thank you to all the families for ensuring that your students arrived at school ready to perform their best on these important assessments.

Additionally, our Culture Day was a tremendous success! It was wonderful to learn about and celebrate the diverse cultures that make up our IJ community. Thank you for sharing your heritage with us and enriching our school experience.

Additional Information:
As we transition into spring, please remember to dress your children appropriately for the varying weather conditions. Dressing in layers will help them stay warm in the mornings and comfortable in the afternoons. Remember to send all layers home at the end of the day!

We also encourage you to swing by the lost and found. There are many items looking for their rightful owners, and we would love to see them returned.

We are grateful for your ongoing support and partnership in your child's education. Your involvement makes a significant difference in our school community.

Thank you for being a vital part of our journey. We look forward to continuing our collaboration and creating many more positive experiences together!

Kane Malo

Assistant Principal

Wait, could it be? Could Spring actually be making an early appearance? It appears that Mother Nature wants to tease us a little bit. There are even some golf courses around the state that are beginning to open. Of course, this can only mean one thing—MUD. During this sloppy, messy time of year, we still have our outside Movement Break, but we try to limit it to activities that only take place on cement (Gagaball, Basketball, 4-Square, Walking Path, etc.). Unfortunately, sometimes it seems that herding cats is easier than getting students to stay out of the mud. The constant announcements and reminders to stay on the sidewalk frequently fall on deaf ears. Inevitably, every day we have several students that end up taking a fall and covering themselves in mud. Regrettably, the student then has to spend the rest of the day wet and muddy. We do not allow students into the building to clean up or to get a change of clothes if they fall. Please remind your child to follow expectations and to stay on the sidewalk or cement to prevent any accidental slipping. We appreciate your assistance with this.

On a more entertaining note: What an incredible day our Cultural Celebration Day was! Success Coaches from across the district and beyond came to Holton on 2/28 and showed us what amazing things their culture has to offer. Our students had the chance to sing and dance and experience what life is like in other countries. Some students even came to school in his or her traditional dress. It was a spectacular event! A huge shout out goes to Mr. Zidlicky for organizing this fun and informative day. We also want to thank our Success Coaches for taking time out of their schedules to make this happen.

The fun doesn’t stop there. On Tuesday, March 4th, the students of IJ Holton will be going to the Westcott Field Dome. At the dome, they will have a chance to play soccer, kickball, football, do gymnastics, walk the track, or simply hang out with their friends. In my opinion, it is one of the best days of the year! Another way we try and say, “Thank you” to the vast majority of our students that do their best every day.

At IJ Holton, we encourage our students to be Respectful, Responsible, Safe, and to Do Their Best! If at any time you have any questions or concerns, please email me david.brown@austin.k12.mn.us or call me at 460-1525. Bring on spring!

David Brown

IJ Holton Dean of Students

1. At Holton this year we are focusing on co-teaching in special education. Giving all students access to grade level material and standards is essential to improving our reading and math data. So, we have the goals below for this year:
   
   

Reading goal:

We want to move our co-taught classes in reading from an SGP of 49.66 (Fall->Winter) to a 50.0 or above (Fall-Spring). (compared to our pull-out classes SGP of 36.58)

Math goal:

We want to move our co-taught classes in math from an SGP of 41.62 (Fall->Winter) to a 50.0 or above (Fall-Spring). (compared to our pull-out classes SGP of 39.74)

1. We have planned, communicated, and moved forward with PD around our new schedule for next year. We have public FAQ page and info and received very few questions at conferences.
2. We have a plan for addressing advanced programming with Pi teachers. This allows us to expand offerings to 5th grade in math and reading.
3. We are moving forward with BARR next year. Leadership team and staff have been communicated with. Next step is public communication through the March newsletter and a web site.
   
   

Ellis/Holton:

1. We are refining our Crisis team and Threat Assessment procedures.

No updates here.

Ellis/Holton:

1. We have re-allocated our Social Worker to act as our Tier 2-3 support in our MTSS process. This has been very helpful.

2. We are monitoring our Co-Teaching work. Sarah S and Christine H have done a nice job providing support. This is the "foot in the door".

3. We are discussing ways to add BARR to our MTSS process next year.

Holton:

1. We are excited about the opportunity to have small group intervention at Holton next year.

1. What can we do to recruit a first shift custodian?

2. Classroom libraries will be an additional expense.

3. Classroom supplies: Can we still get in on the "big buy?"

Parents, Guardians & Students,

National School Social Worker Week is March 3-7 and we want to take a moment to recognize the amazing work of our school social workers. These dedicated professionals play an essential role in supporting students' mental, emotional, and social well-being. We encourage everyone to take a moment this week to thank our school social workers for all their hard work!

With spring break just around the corner (March 10 through March 14), it’s a great time to take a break, recharge, and have some fun. We encourage students to get outside and get some fresh air, unplug from your devices and find time to spend with family and friends. A few things that you can do to practice mindfulness are:

1. Take a Nature Walk Head outdoors for a walk or hike in a nearby park. Nature offers a peaceful setting for reflection and mindfulness.

2. Journal Dedicate a few minutes each day to write down things you are thankful for. This simple practice can help improve your mental well-being and foster positive thinking.

3. Check-in with Yourself Take time to reflect on how you’re feeling and what you’ve accomplished so far this year. Spring break is an excellent opportunity to set new goals, re-prioritize, and check in on your mental health.

4. Connect with Friends and Family Spring break can be a wonderful time to strengthen relationships. Play a board game, host a movie night, or have a family dinner where everyone shares something positive that’s happened recently.

5. Engage in Self-Care Take time for self-car! Read a book, listen music, go for a walk, or whatever it is that makes you feel good!

Whether you’re staying close to home or traveling for spring break, we wish you all a safe and fun well-deserved break! We look forward to seeing you back in school, recharged and ready to finish the year strong!

Kirstin Norby, 5th grade (507) 460-1536

Lynn Keenan, 6th grade (507) 460-1533

Zack Langreck, 7th grade (507) 460-1513
Farin Delaney, 8th grade (507) 460-1517

Lea Oelfke, REACH (507) 460-1510

Rebecca Gullickson, SSW (507) 460-8306

• March 3rd, 2025- Art Club 3:05 PM- 4:15 PM (Red Group)
• March 4th, 2025- PBIS Dome Day
• March 6th, 2025- 6th Gr Math Masters
• March 10-17th 2025- Spring Break
• March 20th, 2025- Group Photos for yearbook
• March 24, 2025- Art Club 3:05 PM- 4:15 PM (Blue Group)
• March 26th, 2025- Medical Detectives Field Trip
• March 28th, 2025- End of Second Quarter
• March 28th, 2025- IJH Dance
• March 31st, 2025- Art Club 3:05 PM- 4:15 PM (Red Group)

APDT Free Clinic!

Come dance with the Austin Packer Dance Team!

Learn skills, drills and a short routine to share with families at the end of the last day!

Open to students in grades 5 and 6.

March 24th, 25th, 26th

3:30-5:00 pm

@ IJ Holton Gym

Wear moveable clothing and tennis shoes. Bring a water bottle and dance shoes if you have them.

See you there!