Weaver Lake Family Newsletter
November 2022
Message from the Principal
Greetings Weaver Lake Wolfpack,
November is upon us and it's a great time of the year to be grateful. I am grateful for the Weaver Lake STEM students, staff and community everyday! You all continue to amaze me with your hard work, dedication to STEM, and flexibility! I am thankful to be a Weaver Lake Wolf!
The weather seems to be changing on us everyday. Please make sure your child is dressed appropriately for outdoor activities and recess. It's important that you also label your child's outdoor apparel. If there's a name on an item, we will make sure to get it to your child instead of it ending up at the lost and found!
Part of the Weaver Way is wearing a name tag (badge) at school. This year it is especially important as the barcode on their name tag is now being used at breakfast, lunch and in the library to check out books. They are also important so that guest teachers, volunteers and staff can call a student by their name. Because nametags are required throughout the building, we will no longer be charging for a replacement. If you have already paid for a replacement this year and would like your money back, please call the office at 763-420-3337 and that can be arranged.
In the coming weeks, we will be revisiting our end of day parent pick up dismissal procedures. As we review our current protocols, we will communicate any changes to our families. Thank you for your continued partnership and support of our scholars.
I hope to see you all at the STEM in Action Fair on Thursday, November 17, 5:00 - 6:30 p.m. Come see your child's and many other projects! Please continue to reach out to your child's teacher, the office or me with questions, concerns and ideas around how we can better support your child(ren).
With Warm Regards,
Lena Christiansen, Principal
Important Dates - November 2022
Tuesday, November 1
Orders Due for Butter Braid Pastries, Luige's Pizza & Wooden Spoon Cookie Dough Fundraiser (PTO Sponsored)
Tuesday, November 1
PTO Meeting, 7-8:30pm in the Media Center & Google Meets
Google Meet - https://meet.google.com/yzk-pove-csd
Friday, November 4
Picture Retake Day
Tuesday, November 8
Licensed Staff Workshop - No School for Students
Tuesday, November 15
4:00-8:00pm Dine to Donate Fundraiser, Johnny Boy's Pizza (PTO Sponsored)
8419 W. Broadway Ave, Brooklyn Park
Tuesday, November 15 & Wednesday, November 16
Vision & Hearing Screening (Grades 1, 3 & 5)
Thursday, November 17
STEM in Action, 5:00-6:30pm
Friday, November 18
3:00-5:30pm - Pick Up for Butter Braid Pastries, Luige's Pizza & Wooden Spoon Cookie Dough Fundraiser (PTO Sponsored)
Tuesday, November 22
3rd Grade Music Program, 3:00-3:30pm
Thursday, November 24 & Friday, November 25
No School for Students - Thanksgiving Holiday
Friday, December 2
Mark Reporting for Pre K-12 - No School for Students
Monday, December 5
Tri II Begins
Picture Retake Day is Coming!
2023-24 NWSISD Magnet School Application
If a sibling is applying for admission to Weaver Lake for next school year, the application needs to be submitted by December 31, 2022.
All students NOT currently enrolled at Weaver Lake Elementary in grades Kindergarten-5th Grade must apply through NWSISD and be accepted to attend our school. Applicants who currently have a sibling attending Weaver Lake Elementary in grades K-4 will have sibling preference through the NWSISD lottery process. To be considered for sibling preference when filling out the application, you must check the box, "Check here if the applicant has a sibling currently attending their first choice school," and complete the rest of the page. All students who apply during the priority application period will be considered for assignment before any students who apply after the priority period.
The application is available on the Northwest Suburban Integration School District website: http://www.nws.k12.mn.us/
Tours: Informational tours are currently being held at Weaver Lake. Interested families can register for a tour at Weaver Lake School Tour Sign Up
If you have any questions, please contact the Northwest Suburban office at 763-450-1300 or the Weaver Lake office at 763-420-3337.
Digital Use Policy for Families
The purpose of this message is to inform you of additional digital resources that our classroom uses.
Osseo Area Schools use a variety of digital tools to support student learning. Technology vendors and software is utilized to support work as we help all students develop the skills necessary to succeed in an ever-changing world. The district provides an inventory of system wide approved and adopted tools that can be found on the district website.
In addition to these tools, Weaver Lake uses the additional digital resources below that students log into to enhance your students' learning experience.
- EPIC / Privacy policy / Reading Resource
- Scratch / Privacy policy / To learn and explore basic coding skills
- Tinkercad / Privacy policy / To create 3D Design projects for printing
Please reach out to me by email pedersenm@district279.org for additional questions regarding specific digital tools used in our classroom or if you’d like to opt out of having your student engage with one of these listed tools.
Thank You,
Melissa Pedersen
Curriculum Coordinator/Technology Integration
Weaver Lake Elementary: A Science, Math, and Technology School
Update From Student Services
Libby Lough, School Social Worker: loughl@district279.org
Hi Weaver Family and Friends! My name is Libby Lorron (Lough) and I am the school social worker. This is my 2nd year apart of the Weaver Wolf Pack! I primarily work with students individually and in small group settings who are in grades 3-5. I work with a wide range of student needs such as grief, social skills, mental health, and community resources such as housing, supplies and basic needs. Please reach out to me, I would love to connect with you!
Maria Andersen, School Counselor: andersenm@district279.org
Hi Weaver Lake community! My name is Maria Andersen and I am the school counselor at Weaver Lake. This is my 3rd year at Weaver Lake and I love being a Weaver Wolf! This is my 6th year in the district working in various schools, and I also work at Cedar Island Elementary this year. I am at Weaver Lake on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I work mostly with the younger students in Kindergarten to 2nd grade doing classroom lessons, in small groups, and one-on-one with students. I work with students about topics such as self-regulation, friendship skills, social skills, family change, mental health and others. I also help lead one of our awesome groups of PBIS ambassadors for the school! Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns you would like me to know about.
Jessica Wiswell, School Psychologist: wiswellj@district279.org
My name is Jessica Wiswell and I am the school psychologist at Weaver Lake. My role is to partner with families, staff, and students to promote academic, social, or emotional success. This includes facilitating Weaver Lake’s Student Intervention Team (SIT) that meets with families to provide support that may be needed at school. I am also a member of the special education team conducting special education assessments and consultation, as well as helping families navigate the special education process.
Maria Anderson and Libby Lorron (Lough) spent the months of September and October going into every class to teach lessons on Bullying. Throughout these lessons students learned the three R’s of bullying which are to recognize, report, and refuse bullying. In the lesson on recognzing bullying, students learned that the characteristics of bullying are that it is repeated, mean, on purpose, unfair, and onesided. The lesson about reporting teaches students that when these characteristics are all present, they need to be reported to a caring adult. In the last lesson about refusing bullying students learned the skills needed to ask someone to stop bullying them, as an adult might not always be present in the exact moment. Each class also talked about bystander power and how to refuse bullying if they see it happening to a friend. As a follow up to these lessons fourth and fifth grade students are creating anti-bullying and bystander power posters to hang in the cafeteria to remind us of our three R’s of bullying all year long.
Update from Volunteer Coordinator
Hello Weaver Lake Elementary Volunteers!
The school year was off to a busy start with the Color Run, Bookfair, Cafeteria and Media Center helpers, as well as a few other smaller items. Thank you to the many volunteers who helped with all of these things to kick off our school year on the right foot! For those of you who volunteered during the Bookfair, please take a few minutes to fill out the post-Bookfair survey so we can be sure we’re making these events the best they can be! https://forms.gle/dxxo9zQ7gX2qDHPc8
So much has already happened, but we are always looking for help in different areas around Weaver Lake from our volunteers. On November 15 and 16, we will be hosting the Vision and Hearing screening for our students. This two-day event requires several volunteers to be sure that we can screen all of the students in first, third and fifth grades, as well as some students in other grades who have been identified as being in need of this service. The Vision and Hearing screening held at the school is sometimes the only time a child will be tested in these areas, so it’s a very important service that the school provides. Training is provided to all volunteers, so no prior experience is needed. If you are able to help, please sign up today! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0f48aaa72eaafecf8-weaver1
The Pizza, Cookie Dough and Butterbraids fundraiser is over, but we need a few hands to help with getting all of those goodies home to families! Pick-up is scheduled for Friday, November 18 from 3:30-5:00pm. If you are able to help, please sign up! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F48AAA72EAAFECF8-pizza
I have been working with Mrs. Pedersen and Ms. Butler on getting some recess groups together that we will need volunteers to run! These groups would cover a variety of topics and activities and will be available across all grade levels. These groups are an alternative to their outdoor recess time and allows students to learn a new skill, or just work on something that they really enjoy. The groups will be small; 5-10 students per recess period. For more information, please click the link!
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0f48aaa72eaafecf8-recess1
Stephanie Clark, Volunteer Coordinator/ESP
Office Hours M-F 9:15am-2:15pm
763-391-8873
Weaver Lake Staff Updates
Bonni O'Connell just recently started with us as an instructional/clerical ESP. She will be working in classrooms, with small groups and supervising 3rd grade lunch and recess. Ms. O'Connell is a parent of a 1st grader at Weaver Lake. We're excited that she is part of the Weaver Lake STEM community!
Jami Haugstad has been teaching for 34 years! Most of the those in the Osseo School District. She has been a dedicated Weaver Lake Teacher since 1991. She will be retiring at the end of the first trimester. Her last day teaching with us will be December 1st. We are excited for her but will miss her a lot! We are currently in the process of hiring for her position!
End of Day Transportation & Student Pick-Ups
Please call the Office before 3:30pm if there is a change to your student’s end of day routine. Families may dial 763-420-3337, press #0 to speak with the Office Staff to have a student placed on the End of Day Pick Up List.
Student Absence, Vacation or Late Arrival
Weaver Lake Elementary
Office Hours: 8:00am - 4:30pm
Website: https://wvr.district279.org/
Location: 15900 Weaver Lake Road, Maple Grove, MN, USA
Phone: 763-420-3337
Twitter: @wvrstem