Lighthouse School Newsletter
See translation information below / Consulte la información de traducción a continuación.
NOVEMBER 30, 2022 - NEWSLETTER
Dear Lighthouse families,
Hope you had a good break and were able to enjoy time with your family! Now it’s December, and we’re in the final days of the first trimester and working to finish strong. It has been so fun seeing students present on the inquiries that they have worked so hard on throughout the trimester. It is evident that students are passionate and knowledgeable about their topic of choice.
As a reminder, there is no school Friday, December 2 and Monday, December 5. Our staff will use these days for grading, communication and professional learning. The Second Trimester begins on Tuesday, December 6.
Lighthouse Report cards for Trimester 1 will be ready for parents to view on Campus Parent Portal on December 16. Elementary student report cards will have a new section on the report card for career and life competencies. Student progress on these skills will be reported in grade bands for grades K-2, 3-4, 5-6 with performance levels of consistent, progressing or emerging. Please take a few minutes to review a high-level overview of what you will see on the elementary report card in today’s newsletter.
Reminders and Updates
- Conferences: Lighthouse staff will have office hours each month. In addition, they may reach out to schedule a time to meet with families about their child’s learning and growth. These office hours and scheduled meetings will take the place of our typical winter conferences. This will allow families more opportunities to engage in communication with facilitators.
- Winter Bazaar: Save the date! We will be hosting a showcase of student work on Tuesday, January 10, 4:30 - 6 p.m.
Happy December!
Lisa Cisewski
Changes to K-6 Report Card
When you access your child’s K-6 report card, you may notice some shifts in the career and life skills portion. The career and life skills section now reflects our set of career and life competencies. These are skills and mindsets that will be consistent over grades K-12 and become more complex over time.
The career and life competencies you will see on the K-6 report card are:
- Self-direction: Recognizes and regulates emotions, Focuses attention to achieve results, Uses tools and strategies to achieve results, With support identifies goals and monitors progress (Grades K-1), Identifies goals and monitors progress (Grades 2-6),
- Collaboration: Works productively and responsibly with others
- Civic and cultural awareness: Shows care for others in our school community
- Communication: Listens to make meaning and connections, Asks questions to make meaning and connections
- Digital literacy: Uses digital tools and information responsible
For these elementary years, the competencies describe what we hope to see by the end of second, fourth, and sixth grades. Because of this, student progress on these skills will be reported in grade bands for grades K-2, 3-4, 5-6. On your child's report card, you will see a current performance level based on what your child is demonstrating right now for each competency. The levels are:
- Consistent: I can usually do it on my own, in various situations
- Progressing: I'm working on it and can do it in familiar situations
- Emerging: I'm just learning about it
It is quite likely students in the younger end of the grade band will show more "emerging" skills. For instance, kindergarteners may remain in “emerging” all year long and show growth over the K-2 years. It may take varying amounts of time for each student to reach "consistent." The report card is a snapshot of where your child is currently at with each competency in the grade band. Reach out to your child’s teacher with any questions you may have and for more information about the competencies and how we are measuring student growth and progress.
Fueling a passion and a plan through Pathways
Through career and college pathways, students like senior Sam Larson are finding their passions and making big plans for their future. After spending sophomore and junior years exploring courses in the Technology, Engineering & Design Pathway, he entered his senior year with purpose.
Sam will attend North Dakota State College of Science (NDSCS) next year as a student in the John Deere Tech program. He’ll learn through classroom and hands-on lab work. It’s a combination he already knows he's passionate about from his experience at Spring Lake Park High School.
Get to know our 2022-2023 student school board reps
Seniors Kennedy Cuddihy, Emilia Holm and Maria Horst are this year's student representatives on the Spring Lake Park Schools school board. Each year, the board welcomes student representatives from the high school’s student council to join their board meetings and update members on student life and the SLP experience.
These student board representatives come with long-time Spring Lake Park Schools experience and have discovered many passions and interests along the way.
Keep the Reading Going!
Over 100 books have been checked out from the Lighthouse School library during Trimester 1! Great job with your reading!
Upcoming Westwood Theater Performances
You don't want to miss upcoming theater performances put on by our talented Westwood theater students. Purchase tickets at our box office today.
First up is Snowy Off-White and the 8 Little Dudes performed by 5th and 6th grade students, December 1 and 2 at 7 p.m. Follow the adventures of Snowy Off-White, Hansel and Gretel, and of course the 8 Little Dudes as they fend off the wicked and horrible Queen Ermengarde and bring happiness back to the kingdom. Full of fun songs and good humor, it's a wacky musical. Purchase tickets for Snowy Off-White and the 8 Little Dudes. Watch a promo of this performance.
Next is Einstein's Brains performed by 7th and 8th grade students, December 9 at 7 p.m. and December 10 at 2 p.m. IT’S ALIVE! Albert Einstein’s brain, that is. Sci-Fi geek and pizza delivery boy Otto and dog, Swamp Thing, must make the most important delivery of all time. Zombies and an evil mad scientist stand in their way. Can they make it? Purchase tickets for Einstein's Brains.
- Thursday, December 1 –
- End of Tri 1
- Grade 5-6 play – “Snowy Off-White and the 8 Little Dudes” – FAC, 7 p.m.
- MN Orchestra Field Trip (For those who signed up)
- Friday, December 2 –
- No school for students
- Grade 5-6 play – “Snowy Off-White and the 8 Little Dudes” – FAC, 7 p.m.
- Monday, December 5 – No school for students
- Friday, December 9 - Grade 7-8 play - "Einstein's Brains" - FAC, 7 p.m.
- Saturday, December 10 –
- SLP Winter Market – SLPHS, 10 a.m.-noon
- Grade 7-8 play - "Einstein's Brains" - FAC, 2 p.m.
Translate This Message / Traducir Este Mensaje
To translate this information to another language, please click anywhere on the message to open it in a web browser and at the top of the page, select your language from the dropdown menu.
Para traducir la información a otro idioma, por favor presionen en cualquier lugar del mensaje para abrirlo en un navegador web y en la parte superior de la página seleccione su idioma del menú.