Most needed items

Cereal

Instant Oatmeal

Canned Chili

Canned Beef Stew

Canned Pork and Beans

Canned Pasta

Canned Fruit

Canned Vegetables

Rice-A-Roni / Rice

Ramen

Canned Soups (No Cream Soups)

Canned Tuna

Canned Salmon

Spam

Peanut Butter

Macaroni and Cheese

Dry Pasta

Dear parents of soon-to-be 5th graders at Congdon Elementary,

As this year comes to a close, we are starting to plan the annual Wolf Ridge 2 night/3 day field trip for the soon-to-be 5th graders. Wolf Ridge is an "experiential outdoor environmental school" that offers kids a chance to be outside and learn about the natural world through direct observation and exploration. The day is broken up into morning, afternoon and evening activities. Most are run by Wolf Ridge’s naturalists, but some of the evening activities will be led by parent chaperones.

Currently, we are scheduled for October 6-8th, 2023. We will leave directly after school ends on Friday afternoon by school buses (usually paid for by the PTA) and arrive back Sunday afternoon.

A lot of planning needs to go into this trip, which is led by parent volunteers every year. Please let us know if you are able to assist with planning the trip (especially if you have daytime flexibility) or by being a chaperone on the trip. Principal Kusch Marshall does attend too.

The cost of the trip this year is roughly $190/person (chaperones too). This includes the 2 overnights in a dorm and food for 2 days. The PTA has paid for the buses in years past and likely will do so again. To off-set the cost, Congdon participates in a Wolf Ridge calendar fundraiser. More details on this will follow. No child who wishes to attend has ever been excluded due to financial assistance. Please get in touch with Principal Kathi if your child will need a scholarship.

For more information on the Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center, please go to:

https://wolf-ridge.org/programs

Please email congdonwolfridge@gmail.com if you would like to become involved in the planning committee. There will be a planning meeting later this summer. It is helpful if you are computer savvy (know your way around a QR code), are able to make copies of sheets, and have daytime availability given need to do activities at Congdon during the day. We will need a parent to volunteer as the medic for the trip too (nurse, physician, PA/NP who is comfortable with basic first aid/administering medications).

Thank you!

The company we are working with to produce the yearbook has agreed to open the online puchasing site again through May 15th. Cost is now $20. Personalized pages are no longer available as production has begun. Yearbooks ordered online through May 15th will be delivered the last week of school to your child's classroom. However, there are a limited number of books for sale, so order immediately to claim one!

(Online sales will re-open for home delivery after these sell out, however, you will have to pay for shipping/handling to your home address)

Go here:

https://link.entourageyearbooks.com/my/CongdonPark2023

Thank you to everyone who attended the Family Fun Night last week! It was so much fun to see everyone!

Our next PTA meeting will be on Monday, April 24 at noon. We will have some special guests at this meeting! The superintendent and some of our school board members plan to attend. As a result, we are going to make this meeting more of a question and answer format to make sure we can communicate our questions and important topics to district leadership. Please submit any topics for conversation or questions here: https://forms.gle/4TVRMAjN3qftL5JS8

Agendas, minutes, and zoom recordings for PTA meetings can all be found at https://congdonparkpta.memberhub.com/w/formsandminutes

For volunteering opportunities, please visit https://congdonparkpta.memberhub.co/w/volunteering

Teacher wishes are being updated all the time. Check it out at https://signup.com/go/zWeXbtH

When: June 28-30, 2023

Where: Long Lake Conservation Center, 28952 438th Lane, Palisade, MN

Who: 3rd-6th graders (must have completed 3rd grade)

Registration: Open now through 4honline.com. Closes June 2nd.

Cost: $140 by check, $144.20 by credit card. Fee covers meals and lodging, program supplies, and a camp t-shirt.

4-H is committed to ensuring all youth can experience camp. Request a camp scholarship by visiting z.umn.edu/sslcampscholarship.

For more information, visit z.umn.edu/ne4hcamp or email Kate Preiner at henry250@umn.edu.

Kids who are interested in playing recreational soccer this summer should register for AYSA Congdon Park Soccer soon! Teams are filling up fast. Season goes late July-mid-September. If spots are filled for your child's age group, please consider reaching out to Neil Wilmot to volunteer to coach so more spots can be opened. https://www.congdonparksoccer.org/

Also, Gitchi Gummi has two 6-week summer development training sessions for youth age 4-11. Great way for kids to improve those soccer skills in a fun, noncompetitive environment. Registration is here: https://www.gitchigummisoccer.com/