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Brookside Elementary news & events
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In the Know- March 2023
March 28, 2023
Upcoming events
April 4- Last day to order a yearbook
April 7- No students, staff development day
April 11- Dine Out Night at Acapulco
April 18- Kindergarten Welcome Night
April 21- Spirit Day, Pop Up Shop, and Movie Night
A Message From The Admin Team
Dear Parents and Guardians,
The MCA testing window will be from April 17-May 12. All third, fourth, and fifth grade students will be taking the reading and math MCA tests this year. Fifth grade students will also be taking the science MCA. These tests will take place Tuesdays -Thursdays with most make ups on Thursdays and Fridays. Please schedule vacations and appointments around these dates when possible. Teachers will be sending home the class testing dates and subjects when it gets closer. Remember that your child should get a good night's sleep and eat a healthy breakfast on the days that they are testing.
We invite you to be part of the student placement process for next year by providing specific information about your child. Your observations and experiences regarding your own child will be valuable to us as we determine next year's class lists. We are not able to accommodate specific requests for teachers because of the need to create well balanced, heterogeneous (boy/girl number) classrooms at every level. If you are interested in providing us with some feedback, please complete this form and turn it into the office by April 14, 2023.
Thank you,
Admin
School Reminders
Reminders
Parent drop off is between 9:15-9:30 AM. Students should not be dropped off any earlier than 9:15 AM.
The last day of school for elementary students
The School Board votes to amend 2022-23 school year calendar
The last day of school for elementary students will now be Wednesday, June 7, while secondary students will have their last day Thursday, June 8
The School Board approved a change to the district calendar at its December 12 meeting, converting June 8 to a non-student contact day at the elementary level. There will be no change to the schedule at the secondary level. The last day of school for elementary school students will be Wednesday, June 7, while the last day of school for secondary students will remain Thursday, June 8.
This change will allow elementary staff additional time to prepare for transitions that will occur from the current school year to the next, including the closing of Franklin Elementary School and boundary changes across the district.
Back to School Registration
If you are a current family in Anoka Hennepin with students already attending an Anoka Hennepin school, you should be able to use your current parent username and password to complete the 23-24 Back To School registration. To do so, follow these steps:
Log in to AH-Connect
Enter “My Student Information”
Click on “Online Registration” and complete the “2023-2024 K-12 New Enrolling Students” for your incoming Kindergarten Student.
Families that have never logged into an Anoka-Hennepin parent/guardian account, may follow the steps below:
Visit ahschools.us/enroll.
Click “Get started.”
(This step is required for families that don’t already have login credentials.)Expect to receive two emails in the next 36 business hours to complete the registration process. The emails you receive will provide you with the steps necessary to move forward with enrollment.
During the online enrollment process, you will be asked to upload the following documents:
Address verification documents (two forms) These documents must contain your name and current address on them. One document must be a copy of your purchase, rental or lease agreement. Second document can be a utility bill, insurance policy, drivers license, etc.
Birth Certificate - It is required by Minnesota State Law and the Anoka Hennepin School District that we receive a copy of the original birth certificate. This provides proof of age eligibility to enter kindergarten as well as a legal name verification.
Immunization records
If you are not able to upload them, feel free to attach the forms to this email and return them to me as soon as possible. You can take a photo with your phone and send it as an attachment or you can contact Brookside Elementary at 763-433-5200 to determine how you can most easily submit these documents.
Our Kindergarten Welcome Night is coming up on Tuesday, April 18th from 5:30-7:00 pm. We would appreciate you having your Kindergarten student registered before this event. Be sure to mark your calendars for this event.
If you have questions with the login process, please reach out to 506HELP@ahschools.us or call 763-506-HELP (4357). If you need language assistance, please call the Family Welcome Center at 763-433-4680.
Please call us at 763-433-5200 if your child will not be attending Brookside in the fall.
Thank you and we look forward to meeting your Kindergartener on April 18th!
School Yearbook
Yearbook Ordering Information
Dear Brookside Families,
If you have not ordered yet make sure to order your yearbook! The FINAL order date will be April 4th. There will NOT be any extra yearbooks to purchase at a later date and the online ordering system will automatically close that day. When you order a yearbook make sure to keep the confirmation email as proof of purchase as well.
Thank you from the Brookside Yearbook Advisor.
Mrs. Schultz
Click HERE to go to the yearbook ordering page!
Brookside Elementary
Yearbook ID: 14137023
Lunch Guests
Here is the Lunchroom Sign-Up Links for April and May 2023. You can also sign up through the Brookside Elementary Home page. Please see directions below.
Directions to Sign-Up to Have Lunch with your Child
- Go to the Brookside Elementary Home Page: https://www.ahschools.us/brookside
- Click on "About Us"
- Click on "Daily Schedule"
- Click on the link "Sign up to have lunch with your child in December"
Directions to Add Funds to Your Student's Meal Account
- Log in to your A-H Connect parent account at ahschools.us.
- Click on the My Student Information/Synergy icon.
- Once in ParentVUE, click on the "Fee" tab.
- Click on "Pay Fees" to enter the SchoolPay payment system.
- Click on "Food Services" to add funds to your student's meal account.
Become a Reading Tutor
Put Your Passion in Action ─ Become a Reading Tutor!
Brookside is looking for two Reading Corps tutors for the 2023-24 school year. You can take action in our community by giving your time and talent to help students build their skills and confidence!
Tutors work one-on-one or in small groups with students during school hours throughout the school year. Whether you are a recent grad, career changer, stay-at-home parent or retiree, you can make a great tutor! No experience? No problem. With training and on-site coaching, our tutors are prepared to help kids succeed.
Part-time and full-time positions are available ─ apply now to start in August 2023. Positions are also available to start in October 2023 and January 2024.
Tutors receive a paycheck every two weeks plus up to an additional $4,800 for college tuition or loans (tutors 55+ may gift the education award to their child, grandchild, stepchild or foster child). Free health individual health insurance is provided for tutors serving 35 hours per week, and child care assistance is available (based on family size and income).
Ready to put your passion in action to help to help more children succeed? Learn more or apply at Join.ReadingandMath.org. Questions? Email join@ampact.us or call 866.859.2825
Universal School Meals
Universal School Meals program to begin in the fall of 2023
Last week, the Minnesota Legislature approved and the Governor signed a bill providing “Universal School Meals,” which means every student may receive free breakfast and lunch beginning in the fall of 2023. The program will cover one breakfast and one lunch for every student, however ala carte and other meal choices will not be covered.
Families will need to continue purchasing meals for their students for the remainder of this school year, as the new bill will not forgive or pay for any meal debt accrued before Sept. 2023.
If your family needs immediate assistance with free or reduced-priced meals, or access to other educational benefits (such as high school athletics and activity fees; ACT, SAT and AP fees; Comcast internet and SNAP membership discounts; Xcel Energy account assistance and more), please visit ahschools.us/childnutrition to complete an application.
The district’s child nutrition program is working to provide details for all families in preparation for the 2023-24 school year. Stay tuned to your back to school communications for specific details about this benefit for your family in the summer of 2023.
Character Strong
We began rolling out our Character Strong social emotional curriculum this fall. Students are receiving daily lessons with an emphasis on conflict resolution, emotion regulation, and executive functioning skills. Below is the family newsletter for each grade level. Please take a peek to see what your child is learning.
Student Council News
A HUGE thank you to all who donated shoes for our Cinderella Kenya Shoe Drive service project! We filled almost 4 boxes! Through your generous monetary donations we also raised $565 at our Pop Up Shop! That money will go directly to Cinderella Kenya to help offset the shipping costs of sending so many shoes overseas!
We are trying out a new spirit day on April 21 - Zoom Day! Students are invited to dress like they are in a Zoom meeting - business on top and casual on the bottom! For example, your child could wear a suit coat or a "fancy" shirt with pajama bottoms - be creative and have fun! Our next Pop Up Shop will also be on April 21. Look for more information coming soon in the Wednesday packet!
Brookside PTO
PTO UPDATE:
Spring Fundraiser:
Huge THANK YOU to everyone who participated in our school Butter Braid/Pizza Fundraiser! We raised just shy of $11,000 for our school!
Congrats to our TOP 5 winners...
Lincoln
Wyatt
Sophia
Maddie
Chane
We know we said 3 Top winners, but there were some ties, so we decided to do the Top 5!
Many people ask "Where does the money go from this fundraiser??"
This money will go into our general PTO fund.
1st we need to make sure we have money that we have allocated for different items/events for next year set aside. Each year this list gets longer and longer for all the needs and special requests in our building! Then we can add on to special requests or wish list items!
Our next BIG WISH LIST item:
We would love to get a projector and screen in the gym for use for gym class, all school functions, PTO events and Adventures plus. This will benefit our whole school in many ways! This will be between $8,000-$14,000.
Part of the money earned from this fundraiser will be put aside until we have enough to complete this purchase.
Donation Request:
Does your company offer a Directed Giving Empowerment Program? We would love for you to sign up for this! Send an email to brooksideelemschoolpto@gmail.com and we can send you our EIN number!
Money Raised:
Raising Cane’s we made $60.
Recent purchases from funds raised:
$171 of books for Kindergarten Welcome Night.
$110 of Target Gift Cards for Top 5 Fundraiser Sellers.
$500 for 1st Grade Field Trip to Children's Theatre
Upcoming Events:
April Dine Out Night: Tuesday April 11th Acapulco in Ramsey
April PTO Meeting: Thursday April 13th at 6:30 in the Makerspace Room.
Family Movie Night will be held on Friday, April 21st at 6:00 in the School Cafeteria. Acapulco Mexican Restaurant will be available for purchase that night!
Thanks again for all your support throughout the year! We couldn't make so many things possible for our students, staff and school community without the support of our amazing families!
Volunteer Update
- 4/11 - Dine Out Night at Acapulco in Ramsey from 11:00am-8:00pm *Mention you are with Brookside for 10% back to our school!
- 4/18 - Kindergarten Round Up from 5:30-7:00pm
- 4/21 - Movie Night hosted by our PTO at 6:00pm
- 5/3 - Art and Academic Night from 5:30-7:00pm
Volunteer Opportunities:
- Kindergarten Packet Assembly: Wednesday, April 12th from 9:30am-12:30pm
- Kindergarten Round-Up packet assembly sign-up
- We are looking for 3 volunteers to help put our Kindergarten registration packets together on Wednesday, April 12th from 9:30-12:30. Please meet in my office, Room #107 to sign in. The assembly will take place in our conference room within our main office.
- Mrs. Schultz, our Art teacher, is looking for extra volunteers to come to Brookside the week of April 17th to hang extra art projects in preparation for the upcoming Art and Academic Night. Any day or time is up to you. Please email me at jennifer.ames@ahschools.us if you can help.
- Kindergarten Round Up Night: Tuesday, April 18th from 5:30-7:00pm
- Kindergarten Round-Up Night sign-up
- Kindergarten Round-Up is an evening for new Kindergarten families to register for the upcoming school year, meet teachers, and see what school is all about! We would love help with our registration table, which will be located right inside the doors of our main entrance. The event will go from 5:30-7:00 on Tuesday, April 18th. We would like our volunteers to come from 5:15-6:30pm.
- PTO Movie Night: Friday, April 21st at 6:00pm
- PTO Movie Night Sign-Up
- Our PTO is hosting our spring movie night on Friday, April 21st at 6:00pm. We are looking for help to make popcorn and help with concessions. We would like 6 volunteers for this event from 5:45-8:00.
Links to Volunteer: