New Universal Flu Vaccination

Please check out information about a Universal Flu Vaccination at the Grainwood School Homepage.

Peaceful Playground Dedication

Today we dedicated the Grainwood Peaceful Playground at our outside September all school meeting. The weather cooperated beautifully, minus a noticeable breeze, as students and staff participated in a simple THANK YOU to staff and parent volunteers who helped make it a reality. A very special thanks to the dedicated parents who participated in the numerous painting sessions adding color to the blacktop. This was quite an undertaking and would not have been completed this fall without your help!

To support the Peaceful Playground activities, Mr. Larson also has taken time out of his Physical Education classes this September to explicitely teach some of the games. Having recently started our PBIS initiative (previous blog post), our implementation of the Peaceful Playground is timely and will help Grainwood stretch its C.A.R.E.S. theme throughout recess too.

PLSAS Healthy Food Choices

At Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools (PLSAS), learning doesn't stop when students enter the lunch line. The food services program is helping students make healthy choices that are good for kids and the environment.

With childhood obesity rates soaring, choosing healthy meal options is becoming more important than ever before. That is just one reason PLSAS is launching a new initiative to offer healthier foods that are lower in fat, salt and sugar while serving meals kids love to eat.

The following are some ways PLSAS is beginning to change the way they offer school lunch to students:

* In all six of the district's elementary schools, the a la carte options including fruit roll-ups, baked chips, flavored water and more are no longer being offered.

* Schools, K-12, are no longer offering 2% milk. The three choices available are skim white milk, 1% white milk, and skim chocolate milk.

* All schools are embracing the Farm to Table philosophy of supporting locally based agriculture through purchasing apples from AppleWood Orchard in Lakeville, watermelon from Prior Lake and rice blends from Indian Harvest in Bemidji.

* Grainwood and Redtail Ridge Elementary have implemented a Birthday Book Club to replace student birthday treats. Instead of students bringing treats to school, they now have the option of purchasing a "birthday book" for the media center with the child's name featured in the front of the book.

*Grainwood is a host school for a Statewide Health Improvement Program (SHIP) Grant and will be working this fall and winter to develop a sustainable healthy breakfast or snack option for students during the school day.

"These are just a few initial steps we are taking to get students to think before they select a food option and strike a healthy balance in their food choices," says Director of Food Services, Jean Winters.

PLSAS is also working to reduce its impact on the environment. All schools have switched from using Styrofoam trays when dish machines are down to a totally compostable tray. PLHS is also using eco-friendly cleaning agents in its kitchens from Minnesota-based company, Sunburst Chemicals.

These are some of the ways PLSAS is working to improve healthy choices and educate students throughout the district.

2010-11 Junior Naturalists

The Junior Naturalists (JN) will begin another season at Grainwood very soon. Each classroom in Grades 3-5 has between 2-4 representatives participating in this eco-friendly leadership program. Junior Naturalists exhibit the following characteristics:

• Have strong environmental ethics and can be a role model of environmental stewardship for the Grainwood community, as well as all of Prior Lake-Savage.
• Follow the Grainwood C.A.R.E.S. at all times and in all places.
• Are willing to speak in front of the classroom.
• Are organized and have good teamwork skills.
• Are up-to-date with classroom work and assignments.
• Are responsible, respectful, listen well and follow directions.
• Enjoy being outside.
• Are willing to get dirty!
• Are a hard worker.
• Are able to attend monthly meetings after school.

We are grateful to the Junior Naturalists, their advisors: Jill Kufrin and Andrea Swanson, and PLSAS's commitment to environmental education.

Homecoming Visitors

Last week, Prior Lake High School Students visited Grainwood as part of their homecoming activities. On Tuesday, the Homecoming Royalty Court stopped by and peeked into a few classrooms. On Friday, football players, some of them past Grainwood students, joined us for lunch. They were present in the lunch room, on the playground and even as part of the food serving line. What a treat to have students serving students!

Newspaper Photographs & Student Information

The Prior Lake American and Savage Pacer newspapers often send photographers to school to take pictures during special events and other learning experiences. Most students are pleased and excited to see themselves pictured in a community publication. However, if you prefer that your child’s picture not appear in the newspaper, or in our school blog, please inform the principal, Patrick Glynn, in writing by October 8, 2010.

In addition to this request, parents may also request that the school not release specific student directory information. Please refer to the Grainwood Parent/Student Handbook for a listing of the student information that is regarded by state law as public information. District #719 does not provide lists of students’ names, phone numbers or addresses to any other organizations or individuals. Thank you for your assistance in this matter!

Written requests regarding release of student information and photographs are due by October 8, 2010.

Box Tops 4 Education

Box Tops 4 Education provides a Grainwood an opportunity to earn extra cash to help fund student activities throughout the year. We are very appreciative of all the families who have taken the time to collect their box tops, cut them out, and send them to school. The collection box by our front entrance to the gym is filled and unfilled throughout the year (Thank You Mrs. Fowler for all your help!) and individual classrooms are recognized monthly at our All School Meeting for having the most box tops each month. (Hosting Thunder and Lightening, Grainwood's pet stuffed horses, is a big deal around here!) To help with the collection of the boxtops, collection sheets are available at BoxTops4Education.com. Look under EARN, then CLIP BOXTOPS, then COLLECTION PROJECTS at the bottom of the page for themed collection pages (in PDF form) to print at home and begin collecting. Or, just tape your boxtops to a piece of scrap paper in groups of ten (just like in the picture). Pre-grouped box tops are greatly appreciated, for this is how they need to be organized when redeemed. Also, please put your child's classroom teacher's name on all donations. I wonder which class will be the recipient of Thunder and Lightning this month? We will soon find out!

Early Release Days

The ultimate worth of professional development for teachers is the essential role it plays in the improvement of student learning. Research states that the best way to improve student achievement is to increase our teachers’ effectiveness.

In order to provide professional development opportunities for our staff, four early release days have been built into the district calendar this year. Please be aware that Sept. 29, Nov. 10, Feb. 9 & April 13 will be early release days for students.

At Grainwood, students will be released from school at 1PM on early release days. Please remember to work these days into your family’s schedule in order to provide for your child’s daycare needs. We appreciate your cooperation!

Lost & Found

The Grainwood Lost and Found is located in the main entrance of the school in benches. Please check often for your child's clothing. At the end of November items in the lost and found will be sent to local charities.

Community Ed Fall Classes & Events

Visit http://www.priorlakesavagece.com/ for information and to register. You can also call Community Education at 952.226.0080 or the Family Center at 952.226.0950.

Blue and Gold make Green
Tree Identification and Exploration (Adults/Children ages 6 and up). Instructor: Jon Allen
Tue., Oct. 5 (6-7 p.m.); McColl Pond Environmental Learning Center, 13550 Dakota Ave, Savage 1 session FREE

Nature Printing Adventure (Adults/Children ages 5 and up).
Instructor: Dar Brooks; Mon., Oct. 11 (6-8 p.m.); McColl Pond Environmental Learning Center, 13550 Dakota Ave, Savage
1 session $12/Family

Science Night Live
Tues., October 26 (7:00 p.m.); Prior Lake High School; Theme - Astronomy
FREE EVENT

Community Halloween Party (Ages Infant to 12)*
Sat., Oct. 30 from 2:30 to 5:00 p.m.
Twin Oaks - Lower Level
Entrance fee - $2/child
Wear a Costume for the Contest, Participate in Games, Tour the Haunted House, Eat Food, Win Prizes
*Parent supervision required for children under 9

Phones are DOWN!

Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause, but our phones here at Grainwood Elementary and throughout the district are currently not working. We are unable to receive or make any outside calls. We were informed today that our phones will also be down tomorrow, Thursday, September 16th.

To communicate with Grainwood, please use email or make a personal visit until further notice.

Thank you for your patience in this matter.

Laker Spirit Wear

Since Back-to-School Night, Grainwood has been taking orders for Laker Spirit Wear. Coordinated by our PTC, spirit wear is offered as an opportunity for students and staff to purchase Laker items at a reasonable cost. Please make sure all order forms are returned to the Grainwood office by Friday, September 24. Orders are being extended until this date. To access a form to print at home, please click on the following link: Spirit Wear Order Form. Samples and different sizes are available in the office for your convenience. (Thank you Manny and 4th Grade Team for the modeling!)

Grainwood Birthday Book Club

In an attempt to instill good nutritional habits at school, as well as to avoid highlighting socio-economic disparities and clamp down on food allergy problems, Grainwood Elementary is requesting that students not bring birthday treats to school. Instead, Grainwood is excited to be expounding on its "Birthday Book Club." This is a positive way for your child to give a unique gift to everyone at Grainwood while celebrating his/her birthday. (It was wildly successful at Redtail Ridge Elementary last year!)

If your family would like to donate a birthday book in honor of your child's birthday, please click here on the Birthday Book Club Form and follow the directions. (Many of you may have already completed the form and returned it to school. It was initially sent out in our classroom assignment mailing in late August.)

If you have any questions, please call Kelly Thormodsgard (parent volunteer) at 226-4066 or Becky Ascheman (media support) at 226-0311. We hope you enjoy this new way of honoring your child's birthday, and at the same time, help grow our Media Center book collection for all Grainwood's students.

MAP Testing

Students in District 719 take the Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) reading and math test in grades two through five. Fall testing will take place September 20th - October 1st. The purpose of the test is to assess student performance in both reading and math.

Students in grades 2 - 5 will have scheduled times in the computer lab to complete MAP testing. The MAP test is a computer adaptive test. Questions are generated based on the previous question’s response for each student. As a result, the test is truly individualized. The MAP test is also aligned to Minnesota’s Academic Standards.

Student scores on the MAP will be sent home with parents at fall conferences. Scores are reported in RIT scores (short for Rausch Unit). The RIT score is an equal-interval scale which can measure growth in learning. A chart will also be sent to parents showing the average RIT scores across the nation for students at different grade levels. RIT Charts that show examples of the kinds of questions on the MAP test can be found at http://www.nwea.org/ under Assessment System, then Assessment Product.

School Forms Due!

For the well-being of your child, please remember to turn in your updated emergency information as soon as possible. If your child becomes ill or injured at school, this information, along with current telephone numbers, are critical for our health office and office staff! If there are any legal proceedings regarding the welfare of your child, please make sure our office has a copy of the appropriate legal papers as well.

Special Education Advisory Council

Did you know that our district has a Special Education Advisory Council?
The Special Education Advisory Council (SEAC) is a group that provides input on special education issues for our local school district and advises the school district on the development of programs and services to meet the special educational needs of children and families. Our purpose is to:
· Promote collaboration within the district and between the district and parents.
· Advise and advocate for students with disabilities and their parents.
· Inform, support and advise district staff, parents and students in regard to school success for students with disabilities.
· Collaborate with other parents and district staff to promote best practice models district wide for students in special education.

We have a lot of helpful information for families about the special education process, disability resources, and tips for staff and parents. You can access this information at our website and also read back issues of our newsletter that goes out to parents. Our website is http://www.priorlake-savage.k12.mn.us/168410528115922487/blank/browse.asp?a=383&BMDRN=2000&BCOB=0&c=58480&168410528115922487Nav=&NodeID=934. We are looking for more parents to be part of our group. If you are interested, please contact Elena Smith at esmith@priorlake-savage.k12.mn.us

PTC Meeting - Tuesday!

Please join us for the first PTC meeting of the year. Come and find out what the PTC is all about, how you can help and what's going on at Grainwood.

The meeting is on Tuesday, Sept 14 at 6:30pm in the Grainwood Conference Room.

Childcare is provided. We hope to see you there!

Regards,
Lynda Ericsson, GW Parent Volunteer Coordinator

Grainwood School Store

The Grainwood school store will be open on Wednesday's. Items for sale very inexpensive, so students should not need to bring any more than $2.00 from home. The school store item list is posted on our Grainwood website.

Synergy

Synergy is excited to begin with a new school year upon us. Students, who were identified last spring, received a letter inviting them to participate in Synergy for this school year. There are two Synergy Specialists working at the six elementary schools. Jane Balow will be working at Five Hawks, Jeffers Pond and Redtail Ridge. Greta Soleim will be covering Glendale, Grainwood and WestWood. Students will be able to participate in programs such as Word Masters, Math Olympiads, News Currents, Mock Trial and the Stock Market Game. While these are challenging they are also a good avenue to work with students on the social and emotional aspects of being gifted and talented. In addition, Synergy Specialists will be working with students in Math and Language Arts groups giving them additional challenge connected with their curriculum. They will also be there to support teachers with differentiating materials. We are looking forward to a fantastic year!

News From Back-to-School Night

A big thank you to all the students and families who participated in Back-to-School Night last evening. Grainwood had a tremendous turn-out! If you did not have the chance to participate and sign-up for conferences, please contact your child's classroom teacher directly for a fall conference slot.

With a few staffing changes at Grainwood since last spring, I would like to mention and welcome back Cheryl Holst in a long-term substitute position in first grade this year. (Mrs. Holst taught fourth grade last year upon the retirement of Linda Pickering.) We feel very fortunate she is able to be a part of the Grainwood teaching staff again as Annette Peterson's 1st grade substitute for the school year. Mrs. Peterson, taking a partial leave of absence, will teach part-time for us working as a 3rd Grade math and reading intervention teacher. I would also like to introduce Serafina Gaddo as Susan Anderson's long-term substitute to start the year. Susan is expecting her first child any day now.

Grainwood also has a new classroom configuration in the intermediate grades. Jill Kufrin, veteran Grainwood teacher, will be teaching a 3rd-4th combination classroom this year. I want to thank all the Grainwood families whose children were assigned to this classroom for attending our short informational meeting last evening. We feel very confident in this class arrangement and look forward to providing quality education in this model.

Lastly, if your child participated in our summer reading program and filled out his/her reading log (which we provided to each student last spring), please turn them into your child's new classroom teacher for a free meal at Applebee's.

We look forward to working with your student next week. Have a Happy Labor Day Weekend!

September 2010 Nurse's News

Annual Health Forms
o If you have not yet turned in your form designating individuals to call in case of illness and emergency, please do so as soon as possible. Be aware that when your child is ill, he/she may become very anxious if we are unable to locate a parent or guardian. In addition, if your child has a health condition such as asthma, bee sting allergy, epilepsy, etc. that may require emergency action, if you haven’t already, please complete an Emergency Action Plan/Annual Health Form so we can provide optimal care for your child. If you need a form, please notify the school Health Office.

Screenings
o Will begin soon and continue throughout the school year, please check the Health Services website for more information

To Find a Flu Clinic
Go to http://www.health.state.mn.us/cgi-bin/idepc/fluschedule/fluclinic_search.cgi
or Scott County Public Health to find the clinic near you
http://www.co.scott.mn.us/HelpingPeopleHealth/PublicHealth/Pages/FluShotClinics.aspx

Reminder - Hand washing is our best defense in fighting illness!