The Oriole Newsletter

June 2025

Thank you. Thank you.

As a vital member of our community, we express our sincerest gratitude to you for your support and partnership throughout this academic year! As we prepare to celebrate our 100th graduating class at Sunday's commencement ceremony, we reflect on where we began, and the progress & strength with which our scholars finished out the year. We end the year with pride in their accomplishments.

With grateful hearts and continued commitment toward Osseo Excellence, we wish each of you a safe, restorative and happy summer break.

• June 3: Inside Out - We Belong
• June 5: SENIORS last day
• June 6: Last day of school
• June 8: Class of 2025 Commencement

Join us for the most reflective and memorable event of the year!

We celebrate and congratulate our outgoing Class of 2025!

Ceremony Details

Sunday, June 8, 2025 at 3:30pm
3M Arena at Mariucci
University of Minnesota Minneapolis Campus
1901 4th Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455

Tickets are not required for admission to the Commencement ceremony, and there is no limit on the number of guests that may attend per graduate.

Graduates will be transported by bus to and from 3M Arena at Mariucci; families will take their own transportation to the venue. Buses load at Osseo Senior High at 1:15pm, and graduates should report wearing their caps and gowns. There will be no space to keep purses, backpacks, phones etc.

Please note: Graduates may wear only approved commencement regalia

(Here is the: 2025 Graduation Guide).

The Investment in Youth celebration was held May 4 at Park Center Senior High School.

Sixty-eight scholars, staff and volunteers were recognized and received awards for their outstanding contributions this school year. Each honoree’s story of strength, perseverance, leadership and courage were shared during the award presentation.

More than 350 attendees enjoyed a celebratory meal prepared by Osseo Area Schools’ Food & Nutrition Services. The Park Center Senior High School robotics and gymnastics teams assisted with serving the meal and cleaning up.

A recording of the award presentation is available from CCX Media.

Osseo Senior High School's Signing Day for the class of 2025 took place on May 5th. This is a celebratory day for our scholar-athletes, families, and staff members to celebrate the commitments of high school seniors who verbally commit to ahtletic participation at the collegiate level. We utilized this event as an opportunity to honor scholar-athletes and those who supported them to celebrate their commitment to their future program.

This year we celebrated the commitments of 26 focused OSH scholar-athletes who competed courageously in orange and black!

Congratulations and good luck, Orioles!

The OSH Latinx Club hosted an after school fiesta for our staff during Staff Appreciation Week. They welcomed staff with authentic food, taught traditional dances, shared laughs, and incredible live music. Thank you to our wonderful scholars for your conscientious show of support and appreciation of our staff!

Our staff reciprocates the admiration back to you and admires your leadership, authenticity, and the way you positively influence who we are!

Spring found our PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports) team sponsoring a school-wide Rock-Paper-Scissors tournament! Scholars and staff courageously competed all day, collecting beads & flower necklaces for their victories! We culminated the certain-to-be-yearly-tradition with a championship match at our Pep Fest!

Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month is celebrated annually in May in the United States to highlight the history, heritage and contributions of Asian Pacific American communities. Asian-Americans and Pacific Islander Americans (AAPI) play a large role in the history of the United States.

Our scholars at OSH play a large role in our OSH community as well. Our OASIS club continues to be innovative, courageous, focused, reflective and conscientious as they lead us and make our collective stronger. As we say, we ARE better together!

To our scholars and families - thank you for sharing your gifts, talents, and culture with us!

Across our state, The Polar Plunge is the biggest fundraiser for Special Olympics Minnesota. All funds raised by Plungers help Special Olympics Minnesota provide year-round training and services to thousands of athletes across the state. Our OSH Polar Plunge had 138 individuals participate, and along with the Osseo Police Department, we courageously raised over $9,500 to be divided between Special Olympics - Minnesota and Osseo Senior High Unified Club & Sports.

Special Olympics Minnesota is helping to create a world that accepts and welcomes every single person regardless of ability or disability. At Osseo, we live Unified! All are welcomed and all are accepted!

At our annual OSH Awards Ceremony we honored 268 scholars for their focused achievements, talents, and contributions to our school & community as scholars, athletes, and performers. At Osseo Senior High we watch scholars exceed our high expectations while showcasing their passions -- always leaving us speechless. Our scholars are talented, smart, exceptional, and work hard to achieve at the highest levels. They are Osseo EXCELLENCE in action! Please join us in celebrating:

• The President’s Academic Award winners,
• Students of the Year for each department in the school,
• Activity & Athletic Awards,
• And Specialty Awards.

Take a peek at our ceremony program for the full list of scholars!

We wrapped up our celebration of 100 Years of Osseo Excellence by unveiling an incredible community art project (100 portraits for 100 years) helmed by AP art scholars and instructor Jen Cramer in partnership with the MN Department of Education. Inside Out: We Belong, is a powerful public art installation that celebrates the faces, stories, and spirit of the Osseo High School community—past and present. Inspired by the global Inside Out Project, this exhibit features striking black-and-white portraits of current scholars and alumni displayed throughout our halls and courtyard, each one a testament to the diversity, resilience, and unity that define who we are. Scholars courageously reflected on the impact of the project and led tours at a reception held for the unveiling.

A heartfelt thank you to every individual who shared their face and vision to bring this project to life. Your courage and vulnerability are the foundation of this shared experience.

On Wednesday, June 4th we proudly honored 9 scholars in our Special Education program with a ceremony that embodied Osseo Excellence. Badou, Ashlynn, Emily, Dylan, Tina, Peter, Efren, Saadia, and Dylan were focused and courageous in completing all tasks to become an Osseo graduate. Their family members, staff members, and their peers conscientiously made the day joyous, uplifting, and memorable. Case managers were reflective in highlighting the innovative ways our scholars positively influenced OSH. We were honored to recognize and celebrate these 9 scholars and their families.

The scholars participated in the traditional graduation march. Members of the OSH choir and the Unified Choir both performed at the ceremony. Principal Vernig spoke about the scholars accomplishments. Assistant principals (Berling, Hegland, Stewart, Woods) shook hands with each scholar and handed out diplomas before heading to a reception with refreshments.

Thank you to the staff, families, scholars, and community members to made this a celebration to remember. A special thank you to our ESPs, nurses, and other support staff for your role in guiding these 9 scholars to graduation. Your care for our scholars and collaboration with staff made this a day to remember.

Through federally funded summer program!

Osseo Area Schools will provide free meals to children through the federally funded Summer Food Service Program from June 10 through Aug. 14.

Any child 18 years of age or younger may participate. Meals will be provided during the allotted time frames and must be eaten on site. More information HERE!

Procedures will uphold updated policy

In December, in accordance with recent state legislation, our school board approved an updated cell phone policy – 505 Policy: Student Cell Phone and Technology. Procedures are now being developed to guide how the policy will work day-to-day across our schools. Feedback from all stakeholders – staff, students and parents/caregivers – was considered and incorporated into the current draft of the procedures. Please take a moment to review the drafted cell phone procedures and share any feedback you might have on them via this online form. Comments will be accepted through Thursday, June 5.

Final cell phone procedures will be shared on the district website in June with implementation set to start this fall.