STEM Newsletter
2/28/2025
A Message From The Principal
Dear Families,
On Wednesday, we received our budget for this coming school year (2025-2026). This year, the Department of Education (MDE) is using a new way to determine compensatory funding for schools (districts). Compensatory funding is determined by the level of need of the schools (AKA free-reduced meals). Under the new system, Weaver Lake would receive about $150,000 less than this year. Our district decided to use its reserve and other savings to support schools with an amount similar to this year’s. The State may decide to fund schools at the same level as last year, but it has not been decided yet. We will be receiving a bit less than this year, but it is much better than missing $150,000.
School districts tend to support magnet programs using Achievement and Integration funds. This funding category is dedicated to support schools with large percentages of students of color (racially identifiable schools) to integrate and improve academics. Our district has been using this fund almost exclusively to support magnet programs. This coming school year, the district is distributing this fund among the qualifying schools and magnet programs. Therefore, we will be receiving less funds than last year for Achievement and Integration. I understand the need to distribute the funds among all qualifying schools, thus I support this decision.
However, the reduction in Achievement and Integration will have a negative impact on our staffing. Please be aware that classroom teachers, special education teachers, specialists (music/media/PE), and social emotional team are assigned directly to schools. Therefore, they are not being impacted by this reduction. Still, I will be making cuts while working hard to protect our magnet programing.
Weaver Lake has been very successful using our Achievement and Integration funds. Our school meets the integration goal because our demographics match the district demographics. Our achievement is across all the different ethnic groups at our schools. We are not exactly at the achievement level we would like to achieve, which is at least 90% in the MCAs. But we have been achieving higher than similar schools, and higher than most schools in general. Also, all of our students demonstrate growth in learning as measured with different district-assigned assessment tools for reading and math. The hard work of our staff, the support we receive from all of our families and the hard work of our students are recognized consistently with Magnet Schools of America’s Awards, including this year’s Top Magnet School of Excellence.
I appreciate your support and dedication to excellence and community building. Enjoy the warmer weather.
Thank you
Principal Salazar
Yearbook Sales End on March 21st!
Yearbook sales are now available for purchase online (click HERE) OR you can send the yearbook order form (yellow sheet that was sent home the first week of January) to school with your student. If you need another order form, please call the office. Paper order forms are due FRIDAY, MARCH 21st!
Yearbooks are $10 each. Please note that there are fees applied if yearbooks are purchased online.
ALL students will receive a Grade-Level Year End Review book, regardless of if they purchase a yearbook or not.
- The Grade-Level Year End Review book has student photos of ONLY that student's grade level. There are 2 pages of candids that are the same across the school and there is space for autographs.
- The Yearbook has ALL student photos, plus activity group photos (band, orchestra, patrol, tour Ambassadors, WVR TV NEWS crew, PBIS Ambassadors). It also contains many pages of candids and space for autographs.
Yearbooks and Grade-Level Year End Review books will be delivered to students in their classrooms during the last week of school.
Cell Phones and Smartwatches
Cell phones and smartwatches are highly suggested to not be brought to school due them being disruptive to learning. If these items are brought to school, students are expected to leave their cell phones in their locker. Smartwatches are not to be used during school hours.
Please refer to Weaver Lake's Family's Handbook for more information.
Parent Pick-up Reminder - Parking Lot Safety
Parents/Guardians must either pull up in the pick-up line OR park and then walk across the cross walk to get their student. Students are NOT allowed to cross the crosswalk by themselves. This is for their safety, as it is easier for a car to see an adult than it is a child, even with our Safety Patrol doing their job.
Please try to not stop on the crosswalks when waiting to exit the parking lot. We need them clear for patrols to use their flags and cross pedestrians safely.
If you are using the parking spots marked Drop Off, please utilize the sidewalk that leads to the crosswalk. We are trying to keep as much foot traffic out of the parking lot that continues to have a large amount of moving vehicles during arrival and dismissal.
By this time of the year most of our students are able to exit along the curb with little to no assistance that would require you to have to get out of the car. Please call us over if your child needs help-we are always happy to do so!
Don’t forget to call the office by 3:30 if your pick up plans have changed so we can keep our communication with staff current. 😊 We do our best everyday to ensure all the students get where they need to be on any given day.
Please see the image below for a refresher on the parking lot flow.
Lost and Found
Our lost and found is overflowing! Please stop by the tables near the gym when you come in for conferences. There is also a "Wall of Lost Hats" in the cafeteria. Please watch this video to see if you spy anything that might belong to your child. All items that are labeled with names have already been returned to the student.
Upcoming events
March 6th: Winter Conferences and Scholastic Bookfair; 7:50-9:10 am & 4:30-6:30 pm
March 7th: No School for Students; Marks Reporting Day
March 10th: Start of Tri 3
March 12th: PTO Meeting; 6:00-7:30 pm
March 24th-28th: No School for Students: Spring Break
March 31st: First day back from spring break
April 8-9: MCA Reading (grades 3-5)
April 23-29: MCA Math (grades 3-5)
April 30-May1: MCA Science (grade 5 only)
Maple Grove Project
We will be installing about 3 miles of underground electrical infrastructure from the Rush Creek Elementary area to the Weaver Lake Road and I-94 interchange area. This line will allow us to continue to provide reliable power to our customers in the Maple Grove area and enhance system resiliency.
How it May Affect You:
During work hours, you may notice:
- Marking of utility lines and utility survey holes
- Road and sidewalk closures
- Traffic control
- Temporary changes to access
- Construction noise
Traffic control will be used only in the areas currently undergoing work. Please allow extra time to travel safely through the construction areas as traffic flow will be reduced.
Osseo School District: Updated Attendance Boundary Proposal
Community feedback from January and early February helped to narrow and refine proposed attendance boundary scenarios. Specifically, scenarios 1 and 2 moved forward with some adjustments based on comments received. Visit the following webpages for details on newly proposed scenarios 1A and 2A and search tools to see how your household may be impacted:
Learn more about each of the updated scenarios by visiting the following webpages. Make sure to check out each scenario’s search tool to see how your household is impacted.
Community input is important: Please share your thoughts on the two updated scenarios by filling out the online feedback form or participating in an upcoming community informational meeting.
Community Informational Meeting on Tuesday, March 4 at 5:45 p.m. in the North View Middle School cafe
Community informational Meeting on Wednesday, March 19 at 5:45 p.m. in the Osseo Middle School cafe
Timeline: These events in March will likely wrap up districtwide feedback opportunities. The school board is expected to approve final attendance boundary changes in May. The new attendance boundaries will then go into effect fall 2026.
Stay tuned: Detailed information will continue to be shared at district279.org/boundaries. Feel free to reach out if something additional needs to be addressed via BetterFuture@district279.org or 763-391-8990.