April 2015
Weaver Lake Upcoming Events:
Weaver Lake Elementary
15900 Weaver Lake Road
Maple Grove, MN 55311
Month of April
MCA Testing Grades 2 - 6
Thursday, April 9
PTA Meeting 7:00 - 8:30pm (Media Center)
Phone Numbers
Office: 763-420-3337
Fax: 763-391-8880
Monday, April 13
No School For Students—Licensed Staff Workshop
School Hours 9:30 - 4:00
Office: 7:45 - 4:45
Wednesday, April 22
Classroom and Optional Individual Pictures
Friday, April 24
School Carnival—PTA Sponsored 5:30 - 8:00pm
Principal
Dennis Palm
Wednesday, May 13
Super Kids Day 4 Star and Grades K—4
Alternate Date: Friday, May 15th
We are pleased to share with
our school community that the
Norwest Suburban Pheasants
Forever Grant Committee has
approved a grant of $5000.00
for fifth grade’s prairie project
titled, “MN Youth Pollinator Habitat”. Thanks to
Pheasants Forever, we will be able to continue our
native bee research using native Minnesota Prairie
Habitat.
We want to especially thank Cory McClure for his
help writing the grant and shepherding it through
the grant writing process.
April Kitchen Manager’s Choice
Wednesday, April 15
Chicken Fajitas
Rice
Corn
Fruit choice
Milk choice
Tuesday, April 21
Waffles
Sausage
Fresh Veggies
Fruit choice
Milk choice
Thursday, May 14
PTA Meeting 7:00 - 8:30pm (Media Center)
Wednesday, May 20
Track and Field Day Grades 5 & 6
Alternate Date: Wednesday, May 27th
Monday, May 25
No School For Students—Memorial Day
It’s Almost Testing Time!
Students in grades 2 - 6 will soon begin taking some
very important tests. The Minnesota Comprehensive
Assessments (MCAs) in reading and math will be taken
by students in grades 3 - 6. The fifth graders will also
take the Science MCA. The MCAs are done on-line and
will be completed in the computer labs. During the
month of May, students in grades 2-6 will take the district online MAP tests in reading and math. It is VERY
IMPORTANT that students are present for these tests.
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Dear Weaver Lake Family,
It has been a busy month for STEM related activities. On February 19th we saw over 300 members
of our school community enjoy Family Engineering
Night. Students and their families enjoyed and had the
chance to make kaleidoscopes, straw rockets, and catapults among other hands-on activities. We also enjoyed
our first family night for coding. How fun it was to see
our student “experts” showing their adults how to
code! It is a great pleasure to see so many people enjoying engineering! We were fortunate to have the help of
PTA, teachers, and the Maple Grove Engineering Club
volunteering to make this night a great success.
Spring is here and so are seasonal allergies!
The allergy season will soon be in full swing. Many
students are starting to feel the effects of allergies with
runny noses, nasal congestion and watery, itchy eyes.
Seasonal allergies are caused by allergens like pollen,
pet dander, dust particles and mold spores. Allergic
rhinitis is mostly caused by tree pollen in the spring,
grass in the summer and weeds in the fall. Pollens are
carried by the wind to help plants reproduce. General
symptoms of seasonal allergies (also called hay fever
or allergic rhinitis) include:
On February 20th, we had a guest speaker in every
classroom sharing information about either their STEM
career or their culture. A sincere thank you goes out to
our guest speakers: Peter Argenta, Robert Donovan, Joy
Aho, Christy Bishop, Kenny Anderson, Jack Germanson, Nancy Germanson, Paul Yantes, Janel Hurtado, and
Linda Mizen. Due to their generosity, our students
learned a great deal about different STEM fields and
cultures. We can tell how valuable this day is by from
student reflections on the day:
Sneezing
Clear and watery nasal discharge and congestion
Itchy eyes, nose and throat
Watery eyes
Here are some helpful hints for seasonal allergy sufferers (obtained from www.webmd.com):
“I never knew it took TWENTY years to make a tiny
little bendable tube to go in a brain!” - Naomi
Washing sheets weekly in hot water
Always bathing and washing hair before bedtime
(pollen can collect on skin and hair throughout the
day)
Not hanging clothes outside to dry where they can trap
pollens
Wearing a filter mask when mowing or working outdoors
Avoiding peak times for pollen exposure (hot, dry,
windy days, usually between 10 AM and 4 PM)
Keeping windows and car windows closed
Performing a thorough spring cleaning of your home,
including replacing heating and A/C filters and
cleaning ducts and vents
Another tip is to remind your children not to touch or
rub their eyes which can increase symptoms. If
your child’s symptoms are particularly bothersome, you may want to consult with your child’s
doctor about what medications they would recommend. Allergy medications are most effective
when taken before allergy symptoms arise.
“You have to study very hard before making something
to use on people.” - Delora
“I learned that mutated cells can be contagious to other
cells. I learned that I might want to do this when I grow
up. I learned that 3D printers can make working items
like cars.” - Marib
“You need to go to school for 17 years to be a doctor. You have to learn about more than just science to
be an engineer. It can take more than 7 years to get a
project approved.” - Greta
“One thing I learned is a 3D printer can print what you
imagine.” - Tiya
“If something in your body goes wrong, people can fix
it when you sleep. P.S. I want to be a doctor.” - Sihaam
“One thing I learned was how to make profit off of other
people’s money.” - Jillian
Eating broccoli, cauliflower and brussel sprouts may
lessen allergy symptoms (from pollen.com)
“I learned how to be a biological engineer.” - Jakob
“A 3D Printer man is a good job.” - Logan
Chris Barta, R.N.
Karla Juetten
Curriculum Coordinator
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Favorite Book Series Media Contest
Media News—
Here is the list of the most popular book series in
the Weaver Lake Media Center:
1. Magic Tree House
2. Percy Jackson
3. Junie B. Jones
4. Wimpy Kid
5. My Weird School
6. Harry Potter
7. Maximum Ride
8. Dork Diaries
9. Rainbow Magic
10. Geronimo and Thea Stilton
Mrs. Brimacomb
Library Media Specialist
http://weaverlake.district279.org/Media_Center.html
We have checked out 41, 962 books in the
Media Center this school year. Students have
placed 912 books on hold.
Author Visits via Skype
4th Grades students skyped with Author, Simon
Nicholson, who lives in Great Britain. He writes
the Young Houdini series. The next book in the
series will be available in June.
The following students are winners in the “Favorite
Book Series” Media Contest. These students’ entries were randomly selected.
Hannah K.—”Who Was” Biography series
Kindergarten students skyped with Bill Cotter, author of Don’t Press the Button and
Hello Airplane. Mr. Cotter lives in Baltimore.
Jayla C.—Junie B. Jones series
Caylan M.—Rainbow Magic series
Ben P.—How to Train Your Dragon series
Malaysia M.—Magic Tree House
Kane C.—I Survived series
Emily S.—Harry Potter series
Kim N.—The City of Ember series
Grace B.—Divergent series
Nneka E.—Percy Jackson Heroes of Olympus
Rhana E.—The Shadow Children series
Book Fair Book Winners
Congratulations to the following students who won
a book from the PTA Scholastic Book Fair:
1. Keaira L.—I Got the Rhythm
2. Queensley N. -What if You Had Animal Feet?
3. Mioftu U.—Nugget & Fang
4. Nithya D.—Owl Diaries
5. Dhruv P.—Ranger in Time
6. Aarush S.—The Iron Trial
7. Hannah K.—Sugar
8. Luexang Y. —Duke
9. Joe T.—Snoop Troop
10. Emma E.—How Speak Dolphin
11. Samy B.—Tombquest
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The Highly Anticipated School Carnival is . . .
April 24, 5:30-8:00 pm
The PTA is excited to host the School Carnival on
Friday, April 24th, 5:30-8:00pm. Please bring your
family for a fun night. And be sure to look at the
volunteer sign-up link on the Weaver Lake Volunteer
or PTA page. Thank you
CARNIVAL
Weaver
Lake
Coupon Book Chair Needed
We need 1 or 2 people who want to work on the Coupon Book Fundraiser in theFall. We get great support and guidance from our vendor, and it's been a tremendous success the past 2 years. The position involves frequent visits to school
for 3 weeks, starting in mid-September, to receive coupon book sales, record
returned books on a spreadsheet, and refill order requests for more
books. Please contact the Fundraising Chair, Lina, if interested at:
[email protected].
Only 2 more PTA Meetings left
-April 9th, 7:00-8:30pm - important meeting in which we will be voting in 2 new
board members and will hear from the Curriculum Integration Coordinator about
the brand new Makerspace.
-May 14th, 7:00-8:30pm - we will share the calendar and budget for 2015-2016,
which members will need to vote to approve.
-During both PTA Meetings, childcare will be available for 12 school-aged children to the first parents who reserve. Please send your children's ages and
names to [email protected]. You
will receive an email confirming your child(ren) has a
place. Thank you.
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