Paw-some News
Reminders and Updates from Pike Lake Kindergarten
Key Dates
- February 5th: Children's Museum Early Start
- February 6th: Children's Museum Late Start, PTA Meeting 7pm
- February 13th: Conferences
- February 17th: No School
- February 18th: Conferences
- March 24th-31st: No School (Spring Break)
Children's Museum Field Trip!
This week we are going to the Children's Museum! Early start classes (those who begin at 8:20) will be going on Wednesday, February 5th and late start classes (those who begin at 9:05) will be going on Thursday, February 6th. On your student's field trip day, please make sure they wear their Pike Lake t-shirt and arrive to school on time because buses will be departing shortly after the start of the school day. If you have any questions or need additional information, please reach out to your student's teacher.
A Message from the PTA
Our next meeting will be Thursday, February 6th at 7pm in the Library. Looking forward to a wonderful second half of the school year.
Did you take photos at any school events? We would love to add them to the yearbook. Send pictures to pikelakeyearbook@gmail.com. Yearbook ordering information will come out in March.
Please sign up to help us feed the teachers for conferences on February 13th and 18th. It is a long day for teachers and they always appreciate a good meal!
The PTA sledding and hot chocolate event has been postponed to Saturday, February 15th from 3-5pm. Hopefully we will get more snow!
On Wednesday, February 19th from 4–8 pm there will be a fundraiser event at Davanni's Pizza, 3673 N. Lexington in Arden Hills. Mention the Pike Lake fundraiser when ordering and 20% of orders will be donated to the PTA!
The lost and found is filling up again. We are looking for volunteers on a weekly basis to help clean it up and look for labels on lost and found items. Please message us if you lost something and we will do our best to look for it. If you are interested in purchasing labels for your student's items, while also supporting the Pike Lake PTA, please go here and type in Pike Lake PTA. 20% of your purchase will go back to the PTA.
The lunchroom staff is always happy to have lunchroom volunteers. Volunteers help with opening containers, assisting at the garbage station and cleaning up after lunch.
Note: A background check is required for any activity or event that takes place during the school day. Forms are available in the office.
Please let us know if you have any questions or need any further information.
Pike Lake PTA
Want to Spend More Time at Pike Lake?
Are you interested in subbing for our paras that supervise recess and lunch?
Para subs have great hours in the middle of the day (they don't conflict with your child's drop off and pick up)!
If you'd like to discuss the possibility of subbing for paras in our building, please contact April Notsch: april.notsch@mvpschools.org, 651-621-7402.
Specialist Spotlight! What are we doing in Specialist?
Science: In December, we began learning about living things. We spent time exploring the ways animals survive in the winter, and looked for evidence of animals that stay in Minnesota for the winter. Students enjoyed looking at and identifying animal tracks, and learning about animals that live over and under the snow. In January, we continued learning about living things. We observed different habitats, and the plants and animals that would live in them. We also learned about the needs of an animal.
Physical Education: This month students engaged with a variety of equipment and explored different movement patterns that develop strength, coordination and teamwork. We also continued to create multi step tag games and continued to work on last month's skills.
We are excited to be working with your students this year! It is so fun to watch students learn and grow throughout the kindergarten year! The contact information for the specialist teachers are:
Art - Jessica Silk, jessica.silk@moundsviewschools.org, 651-621-7460
Music - Ashley Morben, ashley.morben@moundsviewschools.org, 651-621-7497
Physical Education - Joe Persuitti joe.persuitti@moundsviewschools.org 651-621-7431
Science - Susan Lee, susan.lee@moundsviewschools.org, 651-621-7443
For Your Information...
Planning for next school year is underway. Your current kindergarten student will automatically be enrolled in first grade at the appropriate grade 1-5 elementary building (either Bel Air, Pinewood, Sunnyside or Valentine Hills) depending on your home address. There is nothing you need to do to make this happen. As we get closer to the end of the current school year our teaching staff will make class lists which we give to the elementary schools. Teachers work hard to balance the classes on a number of factors.
If you, a friend, or a neighbor has a child who will be attending kindergarten next year, please make sure the registration process has started. We have sent out letters to everyone we know who lives in our attendance area. If you or someone you know has not received the information, please have them contact our main office at 651-621-7400 so we can get their child's enrollment started. We want to know about every child as soon as possible because enrollment directly impacts our staffing and planning.
Winter Is Here!
Winter has arrived! Please make sure your student is prepared for going outside with labeled cold weather gear (hats, coats, gloves or mittens, snow pants and boots).
We are currently looking for donations of new or gently used snow pants and boots. Donations can be dropped off in the office. Additionally, if you are in need of assistance in getting cold weather gear for your student, please contact Kirsten at kirsten.kane@mvpschools.org or Nicole at nicole.rasch@mvpschools.org
Please note: students go out for recess unless the temperature drops below 0 degrees and/or windchills are colder than 10 degrees below zero.
Second Step
Second Step is a program that we use at Pike Lake Kindergarten. Second Step is a social-emotional learning program that teaches skills to help students succeed academically, socially and emotionally. Second Step skills and concepts are designed to help children both in and out of school. Four units will cover the following: Growth Mindset & Goal-Setting, Emotion Management, Empathy & Kindness and Problem-Solving.
To see what your student is learning and what you can practice with them at home, click here. Home links are provided in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Hmong, Korean, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.
Apparel stores open year-round
Show your school spirit! Starting this month, our apparel stores will be open year-round. Orders will be processed on the 10th of every month, with delivery approximately 3 weeks from that date. Find your school store and place an order at mvpschools.org/spiritwear.
Early Childhood Screening
Do you or someone you know have a child between the ages of 3 and 4?
It is required that all children are screened prior to kindergarten and we recommend that you complete screening between the ages of 3 and 4. Beat the rush and sign up now!
To learn more and sign up CLICK HERE.
From the Nurse
Cold and flu season has arrived. We have started seeing an uptick in illnesses, including the flu, common cold and other respiratory illnesses across the community. Here are a few reminders to help keep your students, your family and others healthy as we head into the winter season:
- cover your cough
- drink plenty of fluids
- wash hands frequently
- keep your student home if they are not feeling well - find the guidelines here
If your child stays home due to illness, please be sure to list their symptoms when submitting their attendance on ParentVue or the attendance line, 651-621-7401.
Reporting your child's attendance to the Pike Lake office
To ensure the office receives messages about your student's attendance, please use one of the two options below. Attendance messages sent directly to teachers will not be received by the office if the teacher is absent or does not read/forward the message.
1. ParentVUE - Select "Report Absences" on the Student List/Home Screen (See mobile device screenshot. Format for the desktop version is very similar). Click here for the ParentVUE login link. Note: For midday pickups, notify the teacher directly via email, please do not submit the absence on ParentVue.
2. Call the attendance line: 651-621-7401. This is a voicemail only line so you can leave a message any time of the day or night.
When reporting absences, please be sure to indicate the reason for the absence. If your student is ill, please list their symptoms.
Label All Clothing Items!
The Lost and Found at our school fills up very quickly, especially with easily removable items such as:
- sweatshirts (most common unlabeled item)
- hats
- mittens and gloves
- jackets
- snow pants
- boots
Please label all clothing items with your student's full first name (not nickname) and last initial. Ideas for difficult to label items:
- permanent marker
- ball point pen (for tags that bleed easily)
- white or silver sharpie for dark colored material
- white out pen
- fabric pen
- iron or sew on labels
Notes from the Health Office
Students occasionally need a change of clothes over the course of the school day. Please remember to send a labeled set of extra clothing including pants, shirt, underpants and socks in your student's backpack.
The health office is in need of clothing donations. We are looking for new or gently used pants, elastic waist preferred, size 6 through size 12. Donations can be dropped off in the office.
If your student borrows any clothing from the health office, please be sure to wash and return them as soon as possible.
With the weather getting colder, we are finding more students coming to the health office for chapped lips. This takes time out of their school day. Please send chapstick in your student's backpack, in order for them to easily access it during the day.
Bus Stop Reminder
As the weather gets colder, we recognize it can often take longer to prepare for a school day. However, we ask that you please still plan ahead to ensure that your child is prepared for the scheduled bus arrival time every day.
As a reminder, a parent or designated responsible person must always be at the bus stop in order to provide "eye-to-eye" transfer of kindergarten students. Bus drivers are not allowed to release kindergarteners off of the school bus without this type of transfer.
Please plan to be outside at the bus stop with your child for bus pick up and drop off 5 minutes prior to the scheduled bus arrival time every day. Buses will always try to run as close as possible to their scheduled stop times.
School Start and End Times
Early start students (those who live in the Bel Air or Sunnyside attendance areas) may enter the building at 7:55. Their school day is 8:20-3:00. If you arrive at school after 8:20, please park in the visitor parking and walk your student into the office.
Late start students (those who live in the Pinewood or Valentine Hills attendance areas) may enter the building at 8:45. Their school day is 9:05-3:45. If you arrive at school after 9:05, please park in the visitor parking and walk your student into the office.
To find your child's home elementary school, click here and enter your address.
Parent Drop Off and Pick Up
Our number one priority during drop off and pick up is SAFETY. Thank you for consistently following the instructions and expectations our staff provide during this busy time of day. When everyone follows the expectations for drop off and pick up the process is SAFE and FAST.
1. STAY IN YOUR CAR - DO NOT park and walk over to our staff. We do not want pedestrian traffic mixed with car and bus traffic.
2. STAY OFF YOUR CELL PHONE
3. PULL ALL THE WAY FORWARD
4. TEACH YOUR CHILD HOW TO BUCKLE IN. If your child needs help with this, please pick up your child and then pull forward to a parking spot in the front lot where you can assist them and not slow down the car line.
This video discusses how to safely enter and exit the parent drop off and pick up.
End of Day Transportation Changes
If you need to make a transportation change for the end of the current school day, please call the office (651-621-7400) at least 60 minutes prior to the end of the school day. Because teachers are not always able to check their email during the course of the day, reaching out to the office is the best way to make sure the message is received. Also, please do not rely on your child to communicate the information to their teacher. Unless we hear from an adult, the transportation change will not be made.
Early Pick Up at Pike Lake
- If you are picking up your child early from school, please park in the visitor parking and make your way in to the office.
- Please be prepared to show your identification when you arrive.
- The front office staff will call your child down when you arrive to check them out. This enables the student to take part in as much of their school day as possible.
- Please try to give yourself a little extra time when picking up your child as we find that it can take some time for kindergarteners to gather up their items and make their way down to the office.
- It can often be very helpful to let your child's teacher know via email 1-2 days prior so they can help to have your child ready and awaiting the phone call from the office. Also, if at all possible, it can be helpful to try to avoid picking up your child during times when they are not in their classroom, such as lunch, recess, or specialist.
Birthday Treats
In order to provide a safe environment for our students with food sensitivities, all kindergarten and elementary schools have the following guideline for birthday celebrations: If you wish to bring something to share with classmates for a birthday celebration, please limit it to a non-food acknowledgement. Please do not send latex balloons. Donation examples include, but are not limited to: student's favorite book to the class collection, stickers, pencils, pens, markers, erasers, a board game to the class for indoor recess days, etc.
