Kindergarten Thanksgiving Feast

Grainwood's Kindergarten students participating in their annual "Thanksgiving Feast."

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wolf Ridge ELC

For those of you who have 5th graders, it is no surprise that they are headed north for a terrific week long field trip from December 2nd - 6th.  All 5th graders, their teachers and parent chaperones will head north along the beautiful North Shore to Finland, MN to Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center for a week long experience.

Please take some time to review the following and contact your child's teacher as soon as possible with any questions.

• Wolf Ridge is December 2nd - 6th
• Please be at Grainwood between 6:15 - 6:30 AM on the 2nd.  The bus leaves at 6:45 AM sharp!  Bring a sack lunch and snacks for the trip!
• If your child is ill on the morning of departure, call the school between 6:00 AM - 6:30 AM at 952-226-0300.
• Please plan to pick up your child at Grainwood Elementary School parking lot at approximately 5:00 PM on Friday, December 6th.  The phone tree for each homeroom will be started when the group's bus leaves the rest area near Forest Lake.  The bus would then arrive in Prior Lake approximately 45 minutes later.  If you are not part of the phone tree, plan to be at Grainwood at 5:00 PM.
• If your child is taking medication please be sure that your authorization form is on file with the school.  Put the medication in a plastic bag with instructions for its use.  The bag must be given to your child's teacher when you arrive on December 2nd.
• Please check your child for head lice before December 2nd.  The Wolf Ridge policy is any student with head lice must leave campus as quickly as possible.
• Last of all, in case of emergency, the phone number at the ELC is 1 (218)-353-7414.

Thank you for your support in this program!

If you wish to write to your child while they're away, the address is:

Your Child's name

c/o Teacher's name and Grainwood Elementary

Environmental Learning Center

6282 Cranberry Road

Finland, MN  55603

Parent's Night Out

The winter holidays are just around the corner and many of us have a lot to do!  Still looking to go out and buy a few presents? Or simply want a Friday night out? Prior Lake High School's National Honor Society will be hosting a Parent’s Night Out at Prior Lake High School on Friday, December 13th from 6:00pm to 10:00pm. Parent’s Night Out is open to children in kindergarten thru 6th grade. Pre-registered, your first child’s care will cost $15 and each additional child’s care will cost $10. Pre-registration is due to your

child’s school by Monday, December 9th. If you miss the pre-registration date, you can sign up at the door for $20 1st child, $15 second child. Have students bring permission slips and money into school.  There will be crafts, games, healthy snacks, and more.  Permission slips can be found on the Prior Lake website, through emails, and have also gone home with each child.  If you need additional permission slips, please contact our office or your child's teacher. Happy Holidays!

CARES Students of the Week

Grainwood CARES Students of the week!

New AM Drop-Off Procedure (NEW SIGNS!)

Dear Grainwood Families,

For those who transport their children to school each morning, or on occasion, please notice the new NO PARKING signs posted in the grass near the curb.  This should assist in creating a space (possibly 6-7 car lengths long) dedicated for student drop-off each morning.  Please utilize this area for drop-off by pulling over to the curb and letting your child off.  DO NOT pull into the yellow or handicap areas in front of the building for drop-off or stop your vehicle in the street.  Both of these choices creates unsafe traffic patterns, especially when vehicles attempt to drive around those stopped in the street.  Dropping off at the curb, between the signs, will create the safest drop-off scenario for all!  Thank you for helping establish a new drop-off routine in the morning.

Patrick Glynn
Principal

WCCO and National Weather Service Meteorologists visit Grainwood

Recently second graders had two opportunities to learn from two different meteorologists.  James Taggart, from the National Weather Service visited last week.  He showed students many different weather tools.

Then, second graders met WCCO channel 4 news weekend meteorologist, Lauren Casey.  Students learned about forecasting on television!

Thanks James and Lauren, for sharing your expertise with our students and answering their questions!

Box Tops

Recently the collection of box tops gathered from our front entryway
were submitted for redemption and Grainwood received over $400!!
Thank you families, for sharing your collections with us.

Click HERE for printable collection sheets and more information on collecting box tops.

Please pre-group your box tops in groups of 10, this is how they need to be organized when redeemed.  Also, don't forget to put your child's teacher's name on all donations.

Keep those collections going!

Getting Home Safely

Winter road conditions will be here before we know it!  Icy roads make driving the buses more of a challenge to the drivers, it's time to review the bus safety procedures.

Each student received training from their classroom teacher and the drivers themselves.  Each student took a bus safety test (which State Law requires each to pass).  The test and their lessons demonstrate that they understand:

1.  Transportation is a privilege and not a right.
2.  Danger zones surrounding a school bus.
3.  Procedures for safely boarding and leaving the bus.
4.  Procedures for safe street and road crossing.
5.  School bus evacuation and emergency procedures.

Also with the winter road conditions, it becomes even more important that students monitor themselves so that everyone can have a safe and timely ride to and from school.  Thank you for your support and reinforcement of these procedures with your child.

From the Office of the Principal...

A HUGE thank you to those Grainwood families that participated in "Give to the Max" Day last Thursday!  Grainwood raised over $300, all of which will be dedicated to the purchase and installation of a smart board for our media center.  This is the first year our school has promoted #GTMD13, which is Minnesota's largest one day fundraiser for non-profits.

Secondly, our PTC has recently launched their own blog, which can be found at the link below.  Instead of hosting PTC items on our home webpage, families can check for updates and receive information directly from our PTC by adding their email to the blog database in the upper lefthand corner.  (Make sure to put the link your favorites too!) The next PTC meeting is Tuesday, December 3 from 6:30-8:00 PM in the Grainwood Conference Room.  Please join us!

http://www.grainwoodptc.blogspot.com

P.S.  New morning parking restrictions and a student directory are on their way. Stay Tuned!

Patrick Glynn
Grainwood Principal

 

Notes from the Office

ATTENDANCE
If your student is absent or going to be late, please be sure to call our 24-hour Attendance Line in the morning: 952-226-0301.

STUDENT PICK-UP
When students are not getting picked up in a timely manner at the end of the school day (3:00PM), they will be taken to Kid's Company for supervision. Our work day ends at 3:30PM and the office staff and teachers end their day at that time. The child's parent/guardian will need to sign them out at Kid's Company and will be responsible to pay a fee for their child's attendance.

WINTER IS COMING...
Please talk with your child about the importance of coats, hats and mittens to stay warm in this frozen tundra that we live in. You would be surprised how many attempt to go without their outerwear at recess and when heading to the buses.

Students will be going outside for recess unless the "Feels Like" temperature falls below a -5 degrees or it is steadily raining. All elementary schools will use the KARE 11 website to determine the "Feels Like" temperature.

CARES Students of the Week

Grainwood's CARES Students of the Week 

Safe Spaces

Dear Parent/Guardian,

We will be having a guest speaker from Safe Spaces, a non-profit agency, in each classroom next week on the 18th, 19th and 21st.  She will be speaking to our students about personal safety and violence prevention.  This will involve discussion around making appropriate choices and understanding personal safety issues.  It is important that each child feels emotionally and physically safe when he/she comes to school.  It is also helpful for all children to be taught a basic awareness of personal boundaries and appropriate behaviors related to good/bad touch.

As the parent/guardian, you can play a key role in talking to your child in a supportive, encouraging atmosphere and answering any questions he/she may have.

These presentations have been well received and are very age appropriate for K-3 graders.  The presentations for 4th and 5th grade classrooms are a bit more involved, and the discussion time is longer since these students are nearing adolescence and there are many issues that come up for that age group.

Safe Spaces classroom visits are paid for through a grant and are presented in all District 719 elementary schools.  If you have questions, please feel free to contact the Safe Spaces presenter (Claire Neuman) at 612-210-2179, visit their website at www.safespacesmn.org, or you may contact Patrick Glynn (Principal) or Cheryl Wendt (School Social Worker) at Grainwood.

Building Security

At Grainwood, safety and security are very important.  All staff members are required to wear name badges provided by the school district.  Please remember, all visitors and volunteers that visit Grainwood must enter through the office, check in, put a visitor badge on and sign out when they leave.  Our staff have been asked to stop any unidentified adult walking in the building, and if necessary, accompany him/her to the office to state his/her reason for being in the building.
All doors to the building remain locked throughout the school day, except for one front door and the door leading into the office.
Parents who remove students from school early are reminded to check them out in the office.

Thank you for your cooperation!

Give to the MAX is almost here!

Dear Grainwood Families,

This Thursday, November 14, is the statewide event known as Give to the MAX Day (#GTMD13)!  As presented in an earlier post, Give to the MAX is a one-day fundraiser for individuals, businesses and their employees to donate to their favorite, charitable organizations.  (Over $16 million dollars was raised in 2012 by over 53 thousand donors.)  We appreciate you thinking of Grainwood on this day and all donations can be collected at the following link, hosted on our NEW Grainwood PTC Blog page.  Check it out here:

http://grainwoodptc.blogspot.com/2013/10/welcome-to-grainwood-ptc-website.html

All funds raised from this event will be dedicated to the purchase and installation of a smart board for our media center!  Check out the video here of two Grainwood students promoting the event:

Oct/Nov CARES Update

In October, the CARES Heroes and classroom teachers recognized students throughout Grainwood who demonstrated the essence of "Take a Stand, Lend a Hand!"  These students earned the October "Students of the Month" recognition and their pictures, like all other Students of the Month, are placed on a bulletin board outside the gym and on the blog as a slideshow. Students of the Month also receive a certificate and are recognized at our all school meetings.  For October and November, our focus is on the Bystander.  When incidents of bullying or poor choices arise, the CARES Heroes goal is to empower the bystander to show assertion and make a difference!

Veterans Day at Grainwood

On Veterans Day, Monday November 11th Grainwood Students will be honoring those who have served our Country.

Fourth grade students will be putting together a "Remembrance Table" in our hallway as a way to honor Veterans.  Teachers will be reading "America's White Table" to their class and having a discussion after which will help students to further understand the meaning of the Remembrance Table.  The 4th graders will also be making an all-school announcement over the PA system in which they will share more information about Veterans Day.  Finally, all students will receive a yellow ribbon sticker to commemorate and remember all those people who have fought for our freedoms.

We are inviting any student who can to bring a picture of a Veteran that they would like to share with their class as well.

Limo Ride and Pizza Lunch Winners!

Congratulations to the Grainwood students who sold 25 items or more in the Chip Shoppe Fundraiser!  They were treated to a Hummer Limo Ride and pizza lunch yesterday and had a fun time!

CARES Students of the Week

Grainwood's CARES Students of the Week for November 4-8

Minnesota Chemical Health Week

Chemical Health Week is November 11th-15th, and once again Grainwood has activities planned to help students understand how to make positive and healthy choices for their bodies and friendships.  Our theme this year is "Friends don't let friends bully or do drugs."  Students will be learning and talking about how we can demonstrate C.A.R.E.S when it comes to drug use prevention and bullying prevention.  We have students that will be making a daily announcement, and classroom activities throughout the week that will focus on saying no to drugs and bullying and what healthy habits look like.  We appreciate your support as we raise awareness on these important topics!

Tuesday, November 12th - Wear a Grainwood CARES T-Shirt if you have one

Wednesday, November 13th - Wear red today

Friday, November 15th - Dress up like a friend today

MCGT (SPAN) "Beyond Ability: What it Really Takes to Be Successful" Presentation

The Prior Lake-Savage chapter of MCGT (SPAN) will host Dr. Richard Cash at our Monday Nov. 11 meeting.  The talk is described below and will take place at 7pm in the WestWood Elementary Media Center (5370 WestWood Dr. SE; Prior Lake, MN  55372). 
No childcare will be provided, but we will have teacher CEU certificates available.

Questions?  Contact Apryl at wlmailhtml:span.priorlake@gmail.com .

Beyond Ability: What it Really Takes to Be Successful
Many people believe that being smart is a critical component of success.  However, while aptitude and strong content knowledge may be requirements for advanced level courses in high school and in post-secondary, the new world of the 21st century places less emphasis on "books smarts" and more emphasis the skills of creativity, critical reasoning, collaboration and communication.  This shift in direction toward the encouraging student's drive, passion and fortitude is of extreme importance for our gifted learners.  The more our children apply themselves in difficult situations the more likely there are to become successful in the 21st century.  Join Dr. Richard Cash, an internationally recognized expert in gifted education, as he shares real and practical strategies that can assist you in enhancing your child's schooling and life experiences to prepare them for their future.

Dr. Cash is the past Director of Gifted Programs for the Bloomington Public Schools.  During his 13 years with the Bloomington schools, he realigned the serves for gifted students as well as developed the Dimensions Academy and Elements program for highly gifted students, in grades 2-8.  Dimensions Academy and Elements have become a model for gifted programming around the state and nation.  After 25 years in the field of education, Richard recently transitioned to a private consultant for school districts around the US and internationally.  His passion is in developing educational systems that nurture and encourage students to advanced levels of thinking and learning.  He is the author of Advancing Differentiation: Thinking and Learning for the 21st Century, and the co-author with Dr. Diane Heacox, a widely respected expert on differentiation and gifted education, on the newly released book Differentiation for Gifted Learners: Going Beyond the Basics. Richard may be contacted through his website at: www.nrichconsulting.com <http://www.nrichconsulting.com/

Kindergarten Live - Full Day Kindergarten Informational Tour

Please click HERE to learn more about upcoming informational tours regarding free all day kindergarten for the 2014-15 school year.  The tours will take place on Thursday, November 21st at either 10:00 AM or 6:00 PM.  They will include a tour of the school, story time and exploring a kindergarten classroom.  Your child will take home a free book!

Optimist Club Honorees

Each Fall, the Optimist Club of Prior Lake recognizes
a few students from each school in the community for, "demonstrating sincere devotion to the welfare of others through their service to fellow students, school, community or city" during their annual Youth Appreciation Week.

This year, Mary and Savanna were chosen as Grainwood's Fifth Grade Honorees!

Congratulations girls and congratulations to all the other Honorees!

Help Enhance our Media Center on Give to the Max Day!

Did you HAIR the big news? 

November 14th is "Give to the Max Day" - a one-day fundraiser for individuals, businesses and their employees to donate to their favorite, charitable organizations.  In fact, it's become one of the world's largest, one-day fundraiser!  Grainwood, like most schools, qualifies as a recipient! Take a look at the below link and share with your employer (don't forget to check out the video starring 2 Grainwood students!).  Funds raised from this event will help enhance our media center.

Click HERE to view this initiative and donate.

Chip Shoppe Delivery

Chip Shoppe items will be available for pick-up Thursday, November 7th from 3:00 PM - 7:00 PM in the gym.  Your child brought home a yellow reminder slip of this on Monday.  Please make arrangements to pick up your order at that time.

Thanks for your support of Grainwood!

SPAN - Synergy/SAGE Parent Action Network

SPAN (Synergy/SAGE Parent Action Network) will hold its next meeting on Monday Nov. 11 at 7pm in the WestWood Media Center. Please note the date change.   Dr. Richard Cash (Educational Consultant, see www.nrichconsulting.com) will present: Beyond Ability: What it Really Takes to Be Successful.  Attendees will learn about real and practical strategies that can assist in enhancing a gifted child's schooling and life experiences to prepare them for their future.   The talk is aimed at an audience of both parents and teachers. Teacher CEU certificates will be available.  Please email Apryl at span.priorlake@gmail.com with questions or to be placed on our email list.

November 2013 Nurse’s Note    

The cold and flu season is upon us.  If you haven’t already done so, please consider getting your flu shot to protect yourself and those around you.  Frequent hand washing is also a strong defense in preventing illness.  If your child does become ill, please remember the following before sending them to school:

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

If the student has vomited or had diarrhea, he/she should stay home until 24 hours after the last episode.

If the student has any rash that may be disease-related or the cause is unknown, check with your health care provider before sending him/her to school.

If the student has open/draining skin sores, or inflamed/draining eyes or ears the student should stay home until seen by your health care provider.

November is National Diabetes Awareness Month

To learn more about Diabetes and see if you are at risk, check out the websites below:

http://ndep.nih.gov/am-i-at-risk/index.aspx

http://diabetes.webmd.com/features/november-diabetes-awareness-month

http://www.cdc.gov/Features/LivingWithDiabetes/

Daylight Savings

Don't forget to "Fall Back" your clocks one hour before going to bed tomorrow, Sunday November 3rd.  Enjoy the extra hour of sleep!