Summer Office Hours

Grainwood's summer office hours are 7:00-3:00 until June 21st. Our offices will be closed the month of July and will reopen on August 1st. During the time our offices are closed, questions can be answered by calling the district office at 952-226-0000.

Got Talent - We Want You!!!

Two Opportunities to SHOW OFF!!!

1. The Laker Variety Show

2. Laker Idol (Judged Contest for Solo Vocalists)

Click here to view the flyer for more information on both of these opportunities.

My Coke Rewards

Don’t forget you can donate your My Coke Rewards points to Grainwood all summer long!

The points you earn today can help our school get what we need in the year to come. Here’s how you can help our school get a head start for next school year:
* 1 Purchase your favorite Coca-Cola drink to get codes
* 2 Go to mycokerewards.com/schools (register if you aren’t a member)
* 3 Enter your codes to get points
* 4 Find our school then enter the points you would like to donate
* Or Save the codes and bring to the school's collection bin at the front entrance.

Thank you to all who have helped with this program, Grainwood raised 14,297 points this school year!

Check out mycokerewards.com/schools for more information.

Last Day of School is a 3-Hour Early Release

June 7th, the last student day of school, is a 3-hour early release day. Students will be dismissed at 12:00 p.m. Lunch will be served to students on that day.

Many times parents like to make the last day of school special for their children. Celebrating the completing of the school year is a terrific idea. We have a few requests as you plan your events. We find it difficult to make sure each child finds his/her way to the buses in all the excitement. If you are planning an event with a group of students, please arrange to pick up the students at their homes. We request that all students follow their normal routine home as usual on this busy day. We want to make sure that children get home safely. Keeping the number of students being picked up by parents to a minimum on this day helps us. If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Glynn at 226-0300.

Thank you for your assistance.

GW Game Days

Grainwood 'Game Days' are scheduled for Thursday, May 31 for the Kindergarteners and 1st graders in the morning and 4th and 5th grades in the afternoon. The morning session will run from approximately 9:00 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. The afternoon session will run from approximately 12:45 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. The 2nd and 3rd grades will have their 'Game Day' on Tuesday, June 5. Their session will be in the morning from approximately 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. For grades 2-5, activities will include games of pushball, line soccer, capture the chicken, bocce ball, and gunny sack races, along with a relay station. The K-1 session will include similar games to the older kids with a few changes. Parents are welcome to come and watch, bring your lawn chair and sunscreen. Please sign in at the office and put on a visitor badge. We are hoping for good weather as there is not a make-up date if the weather does not cooperate. All sessions will conclude with a tug of war challenge between the classrooms.

From,
Mr. Larson, Physical Education Teacher at Grainwood

All-District 5th Grade Track & Field Day

The All-District 5th Grade Track and Field Day at Prior Lake High School will be held on Friday, May 25 from approximately 9:30-2:00 p.m (IF WEATHER PERMITS). All 5th graders from the district schools will meet at the High School for some fun and friendly competition. Morning preliminaries will take place in the baseball throw, soccer kick, 100 meter dash, 400 meter run and shuttle, 4 X 100 meter and medley relays. The afternoon will be filled with the finals of the morning events with the top kids in each school competing with each other.

From,
Mr. Larson, Physical Education Teacher at Grainwood

Walk-a-Thon Update!

Dear Grainwood Families,

Yesterday, the PTC Co-Chairs for the 1st Annual Grainwood Get-Up-and-Go Walk-a-Thon were in school counting the sponsorship dollars, or pledges, that have been returned so far for the big event on June 1. I am very proud to announce that we have raised $6,210 in two weeks! WOW! Thank you to everyone who helped their child with this process and to all the friends and family who helped by donating to our school. We are very appreciative!

While we had set a due date of May 18 (last Friday), those students who have not returned their pledge forms still can between now and the day of the Walk-a-Thon. About one-third of the student population has already returned their sponsorship forms. It has been brought to our attention by several parents that because of the early due date on the sponsor forms, there are some students who are still gathering pledges or have yet to return their envelopes to school. Please feel free to do so at your convenience.

I have been asked these two questions the last few days about the event and here are my responses:

1) Why the May 18 due date if the event is not until June 1? We wanted to provide an early due date so we could be sure all the pledges were returned in time to be counted toward our goal. In addition, because of the introduction of the online donation component, we needed to be sure those donations went through the online site and transactions were complete before the Walk-a-Thon. Every dollar donated is appreciated and we wanted to be sure everything was counted.

2) Why a goal of $7500? $7500 is essentially $20 per student at Grainwood. Our PTC discussed this target at a few different meetings this past winter and spring and we all believed it was a very reasonable goal for our families. (Obviously, many students have raised more and we are very grateful for their efforts!)

Please join us on Friday, June 1 at 1:45 PM for the event! (Come early!) We would love for family to be present and cheer on students and staff in their efforts. As was stated in the original flyer, grade levels will be walking together during the day. Then, the whole school finishes the final 20 minutes together in the afternoon. We’re hoping for great weather; however, the rain date is Monday, June 4. Thanks to all who have helped so far this spring!

Sincerely,

Patrick Glynn
Principal

Kindergarten Graduation

The Kindergarten Music Concert and Kindergarten Graduation will be held on Tuesday, June 5, 2012. The Music Concert will begin at 1:30 p.m. and Graduation will begin at 1:45 p.m. in the Grainwood Gym.

Parents, grandparents and friends of our kindergarteners are invited to attend this milestone event for our youngest students. Kindergarteners' last day of school is Thursday, June 7 (12:00 p.m. early release) the same as the rest of the school.

NO SCHOOL - REMINDER

This is just a friendly reminder that there is NO SCHOOL on Monday, May 28 due to the Memorial Day holiday. Enjoy the break!

Grainwood's Environmental Learning Festival 2012

Grainwood's Environmental Learning Festival is on Friday, May 25. Kindergarten, 1st, 3rd, and 4th grades will be outside at Grainwood participating in environmental activities. The 2nd graders will be at Lakefront Park participating in their environmental activities. Students in 2nd grade ONLY, please remember to bring a bag lunch. Students in all other grades (K, 1st, 3rd, and 4th) will be eating school lunch at Grainwood. All students in each grade level should wear a shirt according to their grade level color (see below):

Kindergarten (wear GREEN)
Topic: Trees/Plants/Seeds

1st Grade (wear YELLOW)
Topic: Habitats/Life Cycles

2nd Grade (wear RED)
Topic: Biomes (Forest, Wetland, & Prairie)

3rd Grade (wear WHITE)
Topic: Trees/Animals

4th Grade (wear BLUE)
Topic: Water

We wanted to provide you with a few reminders for the day. Your child will be spending the majority of his/her day outdoors learning about our surroundings through the context of science, math, social studies, language, phy ed, art and even music. Please make sure your child is dressed appropriately for the day. Layers are best (t-shirt, sweatshirt and/or jacket). Tennis shoes are a must. Crocs, flip flops or sandals are not conducive to the activities your child will be a part of this day. Students should also bring a reusable water bottle they can carry throughout the day. They should come to school with sunscreen on.

Students and staff will find themselves throughout our school grounds on this day. With the unseasonably warm winter and spring, ticks are alive and well. We will be educating everyone on what to do should they find a tick on themselves, but proactive measures are always good. These include wearing tennis shoes, long socks (not ankle socks), light colored pants and light colored tops. We’ll be encouraging children to tuck their pants into their socks and their shirts into their pants as ticks are found in the grassy areas and crawl up. The light colored clothing allows the tick to be more visible and the tucking of clothing provides a challenge for the ticks to attach.

Junior Achievement at Grainwood

Junior Achievement (JA) is coming to Grainwood this Friday, May 18, for "JA in a Day."  Junior Achievement, "empowers young people to own their economic success.  Their volunteer-delivered, K-12 programs foster work-readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy skills, and use experiential learning to inspire kids to dream big and reach their potential."  On Friday, educators from the Minnesota School of Business in Shakopee will be spending most of the day in classrooms teaching Grainwood students.  Each grade level will receive five lessons related to economics, communities, business or other social studies standards appropriate to the grade level.  This is a new venture for Grainwood as we pilot the "JA in a Day" model.  Make sure to ask your child about their guest teachers!

Grainwood CARES T-Shirts

With the nice weather this spring, we would like to remind everyone that we still have our NEW Grainwood CARES t-shirts for sale! The cost of the t-shirt is $7.00. Examples are hanging in the Grainwood office and the school store window. Remember, we will not be pursing another t-shirt next year. Happy Spring!

Middle School Parent Information Night

The middle schools will be holding a parent information night for incoming 6th graders on Wednesday, May 23 at 6:30 p.m. at both Hidden Oaks Middle School and Twin Oaks Middle School. Specific school information and middle school transitioning will be discussed with an opportunity to ask questions. School placement letters will let families know which school their son/daughter will be attending next year. Those students placed at Hidden Oaks will be attending the parent information night at Hidden Oaks. Those students placed at Twin Oaks will be attending the parent information night at Twin Oaks. We look forward to seeing all of the incoming 6th grade parents. Please call the middle school with any questions.

Congrats Grainwood Students

Just recently, 3 Grainwood students were publicly recognized. Congratulations go out to Nick, 5th Grader, and Kaylee, 2nd Grader, for winning prizes at DARE Day this past weekend at Lakefront Park.  In the annual ticket drawing, Kaylee won a NEW BIKE and Nick a set of 4 TWINS TICKETS!  They were both very excited!  (I was sitting very near their families at the event and witnessed their big smiles.)  We woud also like to congratulate Genevieve for her participation at the Regional Inventor's Fair at the Mall of America last Saturday too.  Genevieve was there showcasing her invention!  Way to go Grainwood students!

Final Book Check-Out and Return

Grainwood's final book checkout for students will be Friday, May 18.

Final book return is Friday, May 25.

Please check at home and return any Grainwood library books to the Media Center by Friday, May 25. Thank you!

Youth Tennis Camp

Prior Lake High School Junior Varsity Girl’s Tennis Coach and Middle School Boys Tennis Coach Laurie Friedges will be offering a tennis clinic for boys and girls the week of June 11-15, 2012. Your child will need to provide his/her own tennis racket and be sure to have your child bring water daily. Click HERE to learn more about the Youth Tennis Camp.

May PTC Update

Dear Grainwood Families,

To begin with, it's a good sign when a rainbow shines above your school!  I took this picture on my way out the door from our PTC meeting last night and couldn't resist passing it along.  As for PTC, I want to share a few thank yous to individuals for their service this year as a Grainwood PTC officer.  Thank You to Jen Laurienzo (President), Stacey Greenlee (Treasurer), Kate Hopkins (Secretary and Yearbook coordinator) and Lynda Ericsson (Volunteer Coordinator) for their years of service in these postions.  Without their leadership and involvement, PTC does not function and provide for Grainwood students and their families. 

I also want to thank Dave and Nadine Elbon (Garden Coordinators) for their years of service helping make sure our school entrance is inviting.  This past weekend, The Elbons (and many others) worked diligently to spruce up the gardens and add new mulch around the front entrance and in the memorial garden.  Looks Great! 

As for next year, I also want to welcome Erin Penne as our new GW PTC President (she was VP last year), Kim Frantz as Vice-President/President-Elect, Vicki Speiler as Secretary, Jen Laurienzo as Treasurer and Tracy Hennessy as Volunteer Coordinator.  We appreciate their commitment to Grainwood and look forward to their leadership!  For those of you that still may be interested in participating in a smaller leadership role, we are in need of coordinators for the following positions: Butter Braid Sales, GW Gardens, Staff Appreciation and Yearbook.  Please contact Erin Penne by email at aeroeng99@mchsi.com if you are interested in assisting with any of the coordinator positions.  Thank You!

GW Yearbooks

The 2011-2012 Grainwood yearbooks are here! We have a limited amount of extra copies for sale. If you would like to purchase one, the cost is $16. Checks can be made out to Grainwood School. Please hurry as supplies will be on a first-come, first-serve basis. Yearbooks will be handed out the last week of school. Please click HERE to view the yearbook.

Prepackaged School Supplies

As a service to our Grainwood families, optional prepackaged school supplies will be made available for purchase for the 2012-2013 school year. A flier with the ordering information was sent home with students. All orders are due by June 15, 2012 and delivered to your home before school starts. Please click on the Grainwood School Homepage for the School Supply List for the 2012-2013 school year.

Kindergarten Open House

Grainwood Elementary's Kindergarten Open House is on Friday, May 11th, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. All families who have children entering Kindergarten in the fall of 2012-2013 are invited to attend. An invitation was sent out to those families at the end of April. The schedule of activities is as follows:

10:00 a.m. Welcome to Grainwood and tour of the school
10:35 a.m. Explore and play on the playground
10:50 a.m. Eat Lunch at Grainwood!
* Student lunches cost $2.15 and adult lunches are $3.15. It would be helpful if you have the correct amount of money to pay at the register.
* If you have not already done so, please RSVP the number that will be attending by calling the school office at 952-226-0300, so the kitchen staff will have an approximate number of lunches to prepare.
11:20 a.m. Bus Ride

We hope you can come! We look forward to meeting you. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Grainwood Office at 952-226-0300.

We also invite you to keep up-to-date on events happening daily at Grainwood Elementary School.

A Contest! WE NEED YOUR HELP!

Dear Grainwood Families!  We are currently in 2nd Place!  KEEP GETTING THE VOTE OUT!

The CARES Heroes and our Secret Spy have been at it again…we entered Grainwood in a contest through Schneiderman’s Furniture to get a new staff lounge and we need your help!

Your job:

PLEASE go to the Schneiderman Furniture Facebook page at this link:

www.facebook.com/SchneidermansFurniture

1.  Click on the icon “Schools! Vote Here!”

2.  Scroll through and click on our video submission with the Grainwood CARES Heroes!

3.  Click on the “like” button for the video!

The top 3 schools that get the most “likes” will be in the grand prize drawing for lounge makeover. Therefore, please forward to ALL of your friends, families, and neighbors to help support Grainwood.  We may just win a new staff lounge! (We hope the video makes you laugh too!)

Thanks for your help and support,

The Grainwood CARES Heroes

Teacher Appreciation Week

Teacher Appreciation Week is May 6-12. Thank you to our teachers for their dedication to the education and success of District 719 students! Please take this opportunity to let your student's teachers know how appreciated they are!

Summer Reading Programs at Your Libraries

Kids of all ages can enjoy exciting events and fun reading incentives this summer with “Bookawocky: A Celebration of Summer Reading” at all seven of the Scott County Library System branches, starting Monday, June 11 and running until Saturday, August 11. Studies show that kids who don’t read regularly over the summer often read at a lower level when they return to school in the fall. To help keep that from happening, the Scott County libraries offer this free and easy reading incentive program for kids of all ages. How does it work? Very simple -- kids in the preschool, elementary, or teen programs can earn fun prizes just by reading library materials.

Along with prizes for reading, all the branches of the Scott County Library will also offer lots of free and entertaining programs and performances for all ages – these programs may include book clubs, storytimes, live animal programs, magicians, musical acts, book parties, art programs and workshops, and lots more. Events are free and open to the public – no registration is required unless indicated.

For the most current and complete listing of program times and locations, check our website at www.scott.lib.mn.us beginning May 1st and choose “Summer Reading Program.” Hours and locations of all the branches are also listed on our website.

Coffee Is Delicious – NOW OPEN!

"Coffee Is Delicious" is located in the staff lounge, and is open to school staff and parent volunteers each day from 7:30-3:15. It is self-serve, and takes only a minute to brew a fresh cup of tea, hot chocolate or coffee! All proceeds from Coffee Is Delicious go to benefit the students in Beth Satterlund’s CID program. Their first goal is to purchase an iPod Touch to support and enhance instruction!

Fresh Black Coffee - $1.25

Add Creamer - $0.25

Disposable Cup – $0.25 each

Hot Chocolate Packet or Tea Bag - $0.50