At University Avenue,

WE are committed to honoring and developing the greatness in each student so that THEY are able to find THEIR VOICE.

January, 2023

• January 12 - Early Bird Registration for our Dance-a-thon fundraiser - Win a gift card just for registering!
• January 12 - 6:30-7:30 - PTO Hybrid - Come in person or join us online!
• January 25 - 5:30-7:00 - Mathnasium Family Night - RSVP to join us for fun and learning together
• January 26 - Booster-thon Dance-a-thon Fundraiser Kicks off!
• February 21, 23 and 28th - Conferences - Sign up at: www.myconferencetime.com/universityave

Greetings University Avenue Families,

It's hard to believe it is 2023 already. Where does the time go?

We are well in to our second trimester of school and students are working hard as leaders and learners. As a magnet school, we have so many unique experiences for our students at every grade level. Our fifth graders recently went to STARBASE, a week long learning field experience. Read more about December Magnet highlights below.

Our annual fundraiser is kicking off this month. We are hopeful that you and your friends and families can help by supporting your student to participate in our Dance-a-thon! Watch for details from our student's classroom teacher. Our goal is to raise 20,000 dollars to add a piece of playground equipment to the playground and continue to empower our students to grow as leaders. Please register, even if you can't sponsor, because all participating students will earn prizes and celebrations and help their class to win prizes/celebrations too! If we reach our goal, the class that wins will participate in getting to PIE in the FACE the Principals while streaming LIVE for the whole school.

Conferences are coming up in February. Please mark your calendars and remember to sign up as soon as possible at www.myconferencetime.com/universityave.

Finally, ALL students received a new blue "There's a Leader in Me T-shirt. A BIG shout out to our PTO and families that sponsored additional funds so that every student could get a new t-shirt. We wear these shirts on ALL School Meeting Days, ACES Days and Spirit days, so we truly appreciate your support!

University ACES is a Leader in Me school. We believe that every student is a leader and strive to help students find what they are most passionate about. We continue to focus on the 8 Habits, which are woven through our culture at UAE. Ask your student how they live the habits and take a few minutes to talk about the Habit of the Month - Habit 5 - Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood.

UAE Schoolwide W.I.G (Wildly Important Goal) - 100% percent of UAE students will engage with their math and reading calendar and turn it in after the last day of the month each month.

Help us meet our math and reading goals this year by supporting your child to work on their math and reading calendars at home. Extra copies are available in your child's classroom. Thank you so much for your partnership at home. WE are committed to greatness together.

The end of the trimester is an exciting time for our students and staff at University. We celebrate our students with a full day of STEM activities, led by teachers, staff, students and volunteers. It's a day to showcase what makes us "special" and is full of hands-on learning. Each grade level had extra special activities like classes from the Bakken Museum, buddy classroom engineering and solar system bead necklace making, hands-on airport engineering and more! It was so much fun and we look forward to our next ACES Day on Thursday, March 9.

Each year our Specialist Teachers look through the lens of STEM and host ‘Specialist STEM Week’ for our students! Students will be doing things like Ozobot maze making in Explorations, Technology integrated Chrome Music Lab in Music, and Train Like An Astronaut in Gym to name a few! Ask your student to tell you what neat things they have been able to try!

Our fifth grade students got the opportunity to go to STARBASE, Minnesota in December. This is our tenth year being able to provide this amazing five-day experience to our students. At STARBASE students use cutting-edge integrated technology, as well as a Mars exploration theme to cover over twenty science and math standards. What did the fifth graders say after the experience?
"I would like to do more programing and engineering. I didn't like it, I LOVED it!"
"I want to learn more about Mars because being at STARBASE made me realize how important the mission is to go there."
"I am more inspired to learn math."
"STARBASE has inspired me - I think I can do more science in the future and that I am much better at science than I was before."

The Clothing Closet will be open on Wednesday, January 25th, 2023 during Family Night. The clothing closet is open to ALL families to shop through and all clothing items are free! We have sizes from 4t to Adult Medium.

We will also be accepting donations at the same time. We are looking for new or gently used clothing and shoes. We will accept all clothing sizes but are in need of sizes 10 through 16. If you have any questions please reach out to School Social Worker Caitlin Morris at (763)506-4573 or email at caitlin.morris@ahschools.us.

Thank you so much to everyone who has volunteered this school year or attended a PTO Meeting. We really appreciate your time. You make a huge difference for both the students and staff.

Our Current Volunteer Needs:

So far this year volunteers have helped with the following: Hanging art, Baggie Books, Field Trips, Every Meal Food Packs, Kindergarten Skillbuilders, Kitchen - serving food, Lost & Found, Math Plus, Movie Night, Picture Day, PTO, Workroom, STARBASE, and Copying.

Minnesota weather is shifting gears, and the Anoka-Hennepin School District has plans in place for when extreme winter weather arrives.

The safety of all students is the first priority when determining if schools should stay open in adverse weather. If a determination is made to close school due to extreme winter weather, the district will alert families in a variety of ways, including:

• Phone, text or email message from AHlert system (for Anoka-Hennepin parents/guardians only).

• District and school websites.

• District and school social media pages (e.g. Facebook, Instagram and Twitter).

• Media outlets including WCCO, KSTP, FOX 9, KARE 11, CCX Media, WCCO radio and Star Tribune newspaper.

Those responsible for activities scheduled in schools over the weekend will determine if adverse weather conditions necessitate a cancellation.

Read more about the district’s policies on extreme winter weather at ahschools.us/weather.

Minnesota is starting to see an uptick in influenza cases, according to new data from the state department of health. Now is the perfect opportunity to remind your students about healthy habits to prevent the spread of germs and illness. Use these conversation tips at home to stay healthy this school year:

• Wash hands frequently: Scrub hands and fingers with soap and clean water for at least 20 seconds.

• Cover coughs and sneezes: Use an elbow or a tissue.

• Avoid touching your face: Germs can enter your body through your eyes, nose and mouth.

• Practice healthy eating habits: Food is your body’s fuel. Choosing well-balanced meals boosts energy and health. Avoid sharing food/drinks/utensils with others.

• Get plenty of rest: Sleep is important and restores your mind and body.
  
  

When to stay home
If your child does get sick, keep them home from school so they don’t share their illness with others. Reference school district guidelines to help with this decision:

• If a student has had a fever of 100 degrees or more, the student must stay home for 24 hours after the temperature returns to normal without fever reducing medication.

• If a student has vomited or had diarrhea, the student must stay home until 24 hours after the last episode.

• If a student has had any rash that may be disease-related or the cause is unknown, check with your family physician before sending the student to school.

• If a student is ill, please call the school daily to report the illness.
  
  

For more resources and information contact Robin Broen, RN-LSN in your school health services office at 763-506-4524, visit ahschools.us/healthservices or review the Is My Child Well Enough document.