F EBRUARY 2015 D EERWOOD N EWSLET TER 1480 D EERWOOD D RIVE * E AGAN , M INNESOTA 55122 P HONE : (651) 683-6801 * F AX : (651) 683-6808 * W EBSITE : WWW . DISTRICT 196. ORG /DW P ARENT -T EACHER C ONFERENCES ~ F EBRUARY 11 & 12 Parent/teacher conferences are scheduled for Wednesday, February 11 and Thursday, February 12. A letter was sent home in January encouraging all Deerwood parents to sign up on-line for a conference time with your child’s teacher. Parents can go to the Deerwood website (www.district196.org/dw) and click on the link entitled, “Winter Conference Sign Up” if you have not yet reserved a 15 minute block of time. If you do not know your child’s conference time, please call the main office at 651-683-6801. Wednesday, February 11 - Conferences: 3:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. School is in session for all K-5 students. Thursday, February 12 - Conferences: 3:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS. Friday, February 13 - NO SCHOOL Parent/teacher conferences are scheduled for fifteen minutes. It is important for everyone to be on time so that you receive the time reserved for you. If you need more than fifteen minutes, please call your child's teacher to request additional time. D EERWOOD 2015 W INTER S OCIAL F EBRUARY 27 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Put away the winter coats, boots, snow pants and join us for a TROPICAL BEACH PARTY! Dancing Fun Games Take home a trinket Refreshing drinks Invigorating inflatables Pizza and snacks Fabulous face painting Photo booth memories All Deerwood families are invited to join in the fun! Volunteers make the fun happen! If you ‘d like to help behind the scenes or the day of the social, contact Jenny Williams: jennywilliams@comcast.net F EBRUARY 16 ~ P RESIDENT ’ S D AY NO SCHOOL U PCOMING E VENTS February 5 * Site Council Mtg. - 3:30-5:30 p.m. February 6 * Valentine’s Day Party - 1:15 p.m. February 11 * Parent-Teacher Conferences 3:30 p.m. -8:00 p.m. February 12 (NO SCHOOL) * Parent-Teacher Conferences 3:30 p.m. -8:00 p.m. February 11 * Kindergarten Registration 8:00 a.m. -8:00 p.m. February 12 * Kindergarten Registration 12:00 p.m. -8:00 p.m. February 13 * NO SCHOOL February 16 * NO SCHOOL- President’s Day February 19 * Jump Rope for Heart Family Fun Night 6:00-7:30 p.m. February 27 * Winter Social - 6:00-9:00 p.m. ~ E DUCATING O UR S TUDENTS T O R EACH T HEIR F ULL P OTENTIAL ~ D EERWOOD N EWSLETTER P AGE 2 V OLUNTEERING AT D EERWOOD J ENNY W ILLIAMS , V OLUNTEER C OORDINATOR P HONE : 651-485-7357 E- MAIL : JENNYWILLIAMS @ COMCAST . NET February is a busy month at Deerwood, with many fun activities to look forward to, from the classroom Valentine’s parties, to our Winter Social! These events offer many opportunities for our parents to volunteer, and we appreciate all of your help! We couldn’t make these things a success without all of your support. If you have questions about volunteering, or are wondering how you can get involved, please contact me. Solos pizza Night IN EAGAN WHEN: Tuesday, February 17th ~ 4:00-9:00 p.m. WHERE: Solos Pizza in Eagan. WHY: Deerwood will earn 30% of the proceeds from our orders(dine-in and carry-out). Simply turn in the flyer, which will be sent home 3 days before the event and be sure to write your teacher’s name on the flyer so the classroom with the most students attending can win a free pizza for each student. Let friends and family know about this night, and help support our school, while enjoying delicious pizza! Keep turning in your Box Tops! Keep turning in your Box Tops! Thanks to your efforts, our fall submission earned $1700.00 for Deerwood! Our next submission is at the end of the month, so continue clipping those Box Tops, and help earn money for Deerwood! S AVE THE D ATE ! T HURSDAY , F EBRUARY 11 & 12 S CHOLASTIC B OOK F AIR ~ W ED ., T HUR . N IGHT D URING C ONFERENCES T HURSDAY , F EBRUARY 19 J UMP R OPE FOR H EART F AMILY N IGHT ~ 6:00-7:30 P . M . F RIDAY , F EBRUARY 27 D EERWOOD W INTER S OCIAL ~ 6:00-8:30 P . M . F RIDAY , M AY 15 I CE C REAM S OCIAL ~ 6:00-8:00 P . M . AND B ASKET R AFFLE F EBRUARY 2015 P AGE 3 Volunteer Opportunities We still have plenty of spots open for volunteers at the Winter Social and the Scholastic Book Fair. We need parent participation to make it happen! If you haven't received an invite from Sign Up Genius with a link to view all of the details, please contact Jen Williams at: jennywilliams@comcast.net M Y C OKE R EWARDS If you purchase Coke products, you can turn over your points to Deerwood. There is a code located on the Coke products, and when you go online to www.mycokerewards.com, you can select Deerwood to receive your points. Please don’t bring the pop caps to Deerwood; you need to enter the code yourself from home. These points can then be redeemed for items for our school. K OWALSKI ’ S ~ “G ROCERIES FOR G OOD C AUSES ” Kowalski’s Receipts~When shopping at Kowalski’s, remember to place your receipt in Deerwood’s box, located by the exit doors. Every quarter, Deerwood receives money based on the NUMBER of receipts turned in, not the dollar amount! Remember, you can also turn in receipts from the Starbucks located inside the store! 2015 B ASKET R AFFLE I NFORMATION We are starting to plan the Deerwood annual basket raffle. We are seeking donations of time or talent from our Deerwood families. Creative new ideas are always welcome to add a new flair to our always wonderful baskets. Here are a few examples of what we are looking for: * Do you have a pair of event tickets you can't use? * Can you arrange for a behind the scenes tour of someplace interesting? * Do you have a connection to the Gophers, Timberwolves, Vikings, Lynx or Wild so we could raffle autographed items? * Do you make jewelry, take portraits, arrange flowers or teach piano? * Gift cards/gift certificates to local businesses * Does your work/business have items they could contribute? Like last year, we will be wrapping all of the baskets ourselves. In order to keep down our expenses, there will be only one basket per theme. Please don't limit yourself to this list! If you have a great idea for a basket or a basket item, gives us a call...we'd love to hear from you. Contact Sharon Meekin at meekin@comcast.net by March 12, 2015. D EERWOOD N EWSLETTER P AGE 4 D ISCOVERY C LASSES S TARTING IN M ARCH ! The next session for the Deerwood Discovery After School Enrichment Program will begin March 3. Course offerings and days are being sent home today (January 30) with the students. Registration for all classes are due on February 11. Classes meet from 2:45-3:45. If you have any questions regarding your child’s registration status or are still interested in registering, you can contact ISD 196 Community Education Learning Services Center at (651) 423-7920. N ATIONAL G EOGRAPHIC B EE F INAL R OUNDS AT D EERWOOD ! For the 27thth year, the National Geographic Society has organized the National Geographic Bee for students in the fourth through eighth grades. Deerwood Elementary chose to participate again this year. The Bee addresses the subject of geography in its broadest sense, including knowledge of place-names and locations of cultural and physical features. In December all interested Deerwood fourth and fifth graders were invited to participate in the Preliminary Competition, which consisted of seven rounds of questions. From that competition, the following students qualified for the Preliminary Round Tie Breaker Round (each having earned 6 points in the Preliminary Round): Solange Conlon, Henry Franken, Gayathri Gajjela, Bryna Gulbrandson, Delaney Hicok, Kelly Hjulberg, Jackson Larson, Tony Marudas, Josh Moeller, Sana Tahir, Shreya Takkella, Rowen Phillips and Jordan Wold. Our Final Round competitors included Rowen Phillips and Jordan Wold, (who had both earned all 7 Preliminary Round points) and Henry Franken, Tony Marudas, Kelly Hjulberg and Jackson Larson. From that we saw our third place winner was Henry Franken. Jordan Wold was Deerwood's runner-up. Rowen Phillips received a medal from the National Geographic Society and is our Deerwood 2015 Geography Bee Champion! He next completes a 42-question written test to try to qualify for our state level Geography Bee, which is March 27th. (Keep an eye on TV listings; the National Championship Round of the 2015 Bee, hosted by Soledad O'Brien, is May 13th!) We congratulate all Geography Bee participants and hope this has spurred you on to continued study. There is ALWAYS more to learn! Now is a great time to “map” your path to the future! J ORDAN W OLD R OWAN P HILLIPS - C HAMPION - R UNNER - UP ~ H ENRY F RANKEN - 3 RD P LACE F EBRUARY 2015 P AGE 5 F OURTH G RADE M USIC C ONCERT ON M ARCH 5, 2015 By Lisa Schoen, Vocal Music Teacher The Deerwood fourth graders have been busily preparing for their upcoming vocal music program, entitled “Go West!” Their performance will take place on Thursday, March 5 at 7:00 P.M. in the Deerwood gymnasium. Family and friends are invited to come and enjoy. A dress rehearsal will also take place at 1:40 P.M. during that school day, which you are welcome to attend. Parents of fourth grade students: please note that this is your child’s only vocal music performance of the school year, and it is an important part of your child’s participation grade for this trimester. Please make every effort to see that your child is prepared and in attendance for this special event. Looking forward to seeing you there! T HIRD G RADE M USIC C ONCERT ON M ARCH 12, 2015 By Lisa Schoen, Vocal Music Teacher The Deerwood third graders have been busily preparing for their upcoming vocal music program, entitled “Interplanetary Jammin’.” The program will tie into an upcoming social studies unit about space. Their performance will take place on Thursday, March 12 at 7:00 P.M. in the Deerwood gymnasium. Family and friends are invited to come and enjoy. A dress rehearsal will also take place at 1:40 P.M. during that school day, which you are welcome to attend. Parents of third grade students: please note that this is your child’s only vocal music performance of the school year, and it is an important part of your child’s participation grade for this trimester. Please make every effort to see that your child is prepared and in attendance for this special event. Looking forward to seeing you there! D A C APO C HOIR C ONCERT ON M ARCH 15, 2015 By Lisa Schoen, Vocal Music Teacher The Da Capo Choir has a unique opportunity to sing our music in a spring concert with the Velvet Tones on Sunday, March 15 at 2:00 P.M. at Eastview High School. In order for students to practice and get ready for the concert, recordings of the songs have been placed on Mrs. Schoen’s music website. This can be found on the Deerwood website by clicking on “For Students” and then “Music Class Online,” or by typing the link below: https://sites.google.com/site/musicatdeerwood/home/choir Please encourage your son or daughter to be listening and practicing in the coming weeks. Also, we will have two rehearsals in the gym prior to March 15 (this is a change from the communication I sent home earlier this year). It is important for your child to attend these rehearsals in order to be ready for the concert. *** Monday, March 2: Rehearsal for Monday choir students only 2:45-3:45 in the Deerwood Gymnasium. Pick up promptly at 3:45 PM. *** Wednesday, March 4: Rehearsal for Wednesday choir students only 2:45-3:45 in the Deerwood Gymnasium. Pick up promptly at 3:45 PM. *** Wednesday, March 11: Combined Monday and Wednesday choir rehearsal 2:45-3:45 in the Deerwood Gymnasium. Pick up promptly at 3:45 PM. *** Sunday, March 15: Combined CONCERT with the Velvet Tones at Eastview High School Auditorium. Rehearsal at 1:00 PM (arrive 10 minutes early) and Concert at 2:00 PM. Students wear “special occasion” clothes. Watch for a note with more information to come home with your son or daughter with an attached portion to be returned to Mrs. Schoen. D EERWOOD N EWSLETTER P AGE 6 S TUDENT P LACEMENT FOR 2015-2016 During the months of April and May, staff will be developing class lists for the 2015-16 school year. In order to ensure the best learning environment for all students, it is important that classes be balanced with an equal number of boys and girls, a blend of various ability levels, and separation of students who do not perform well together. Staff spend an incredible amount of time making sure that classrooms are balanced and that individual student needs are met. Each staff member works extremely hard in providing an excellent education for the children at Deerwood Elementary. Therefore, it is not recommended that parents “select” their child’s teacher. With fluctuating enrollment and the uncertainty of funds from year to year, we cannot guarantee the number of sections we will have or what grade level specific teachers will be teaching. Please understand that adjustments may need to be made over the summer months. If you feel you absolutely must provide additional input into your child's placement for next year that we do not already know, you may obtain a "Student Placement Form" from the office. All completed forms must be returned to the office by Friday, April 10, 2015. K INDERGARTEN R EGISTRATION FOR 2015-2016 S CHOOL Y EAR Kindergarten registration for the 2015-16 school year will be held on February 11 from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and on Thursday, February 12 from 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. If you cannot register your child on this date, please call to let us know when you can come in and register. Children who will be five years old on or before September 1, 2015 are eligible to attend kindergarten in 2015-2016. Parents are asked to bring their child's birth certificate or other satisfactory evidence of age and proof of Early Childhood Screening. This session is for PARENTS ONLY. Students will have an opportunity to visit Deerwood Elementary during an open house on April 23. J UMP R OPE FOR H EART F AMILY F UN N IGHT By Amy Fischer, Physical Education Specialist Jump Rope for Heart is coming soon! As always, the program is open for ALL Deerwood students who wish to participate and make a difference. Students have the opportunity to fundraise for the American Heart Association. Fundraising is not required, but is extremely encouraged. All grades will participate in an open-house jump-a-thon, which will be held in the Deerwood gymnasium on Thursday night, February 19th from 6 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. You may come and go, the event is intended to be “open-house” style. A $1 donation is suggested at the door of the event. The Jump Rope for Heart Family Fun Night will be full of FUN, exercise, FUN, smiles, FUN, sweat, FUN, prizes, and more FUN!!! Participants can start collecting donations for the American Heart Association prior to the event. The participants will have the opportunity to earn great thank you gifts, for their hard work from fundraising and jumping. The informational letter and fundraising packet will be sent home 2 weeks prior to the event. Fundraising money is due by Thursday, February 19th. I encourage you to create an account and do all fundraising on-line. Please help make a difference for a good cause and encourage your child to have a healthy lifestyle. If you are interesting in volunteering please contact Deerwood’s wonderful volunteer coordinator, Jen Williams, at jennywilliams@comcast.net. F EBRUARY 2015 P AGE 7 4 TH AND 5 TH G RADE B AND N EWS ! By Susan Smith, Instrumental Music Teacher 4th Graders Attend EHS Band Instrument Demonstration Concert: On Wednesday, January 28, 4th Graders from Deerwood, Glacier Hills School of Arts & Science, Northview, Pinewood, and Woodland Elementary had an opportunity to attend a phenomenal concert led by the Eagan High School Wind Ensemble and high school band teachers: Mr. Tom Maeck, and Mr. Conrad Miska. Students heard a demonstration of every band instrument led by the high school students themselves, participate in a rainstorm selection, and one lucky 4 th grader from each school had the opportunity to conduct the band! Upcoming Band Sign Up: Look forward to seeing a band handbook coming home mid to late-February. The handbook provides information about the band program, has an “Instrument Selection Form” in the back for parents to give students permission to sign up, and has space for students to select “2-3” instruments they can test play in March with Mrs. Smith. I believe every child should have the opportunity to participate in band. If your family is in financial need, there is a blank you can mark on the “Instrument Selection Form” on the back of the band handbook, and I will see what I can do to help ensure your son/daughter is able to join band as well. I hope all of our children are able to participate in this intrinsically rewarding experience. “When kids learn to play a musical instrument, they are laying the groundwork for a lifetime’s appreciation of music.” Instrumental Music and Brain Research: Research connecting instrumental music training with enhanced brain development continues to grow. Interested? Here is an excerpt from the following article found at www.parentingscience.com/music-and-intelligence.html: Evidence that music training is the cause-not merely the effect-of high IQ: “…One such (long-term) study is being conducted by Schlaug and his colleagues at the Music and Neuroimaging Laboratory at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School. These researchers are tracking the effects of music lessons—specifically, piano and violin lessons—on brain development and cognition. Fifty kids, aged 5 to 7 years, began the study with no prior music training. Before starting music lessons, these kids were given brain scans and cognitive tests to establish baselines. Researchers are also following a control group, matched for age, socioeconomic status and verbal IQ. One year into the study, the musically-trained kids already showed greater improvement in fine motor skills and auditory discrimination skills. …The musicians also showed trends for a greater increase in grey matter volume, and greater improvement on verbal, visual-spatial and math tests. Schlaug and colleagues are betting that these trends will become statistically significant over time (Schlaug et al 2005). Band Registration for Middle School Is Fast Approaching: 5th Graders have made excellent strides in their musical development already! I encourage our band parents to continue your child’s musical education by keeping your child participating in instrumental music in 6th grade. 5th Grade Jazz: 5th graders are learning how to improvise and play jazz music! Every child will be given the opportunity to improvise a 4measure solo (if they feel brave enough) during our next, spring concert. This is a wonderful enrichment opportunity! While your son or daughter is improvising, he or she must create and develop a tune based on a set of rules (in real time) using creative rhythms as well as notes. Along with high level thinking, your child is learning a new, positive avenue for expression! D EERWOOD N EWSLETTER P AGE 8 4 TH & 5 TH G RADE S KI & S NOWBOARD C LUB By: Amy Fischer We will be having an informational meeting for all Ski Club members the first week in February. This meeting is during school and will cover all information that skiers and their parents will need to know before we go on our ski trip. Parents do not need to attend. Members will be taking an informational letter and checklist home from this meeting. Ski and Snowboard Club will be held on Monday, February 9th , at Hyland Ski and Snowboard Area in Bloomington. We meet at Deerwood at 3:30 p.m. and the bus departs to Hyland Ski and Snowboard Area in Bloomington, we return at 9:00 p.m. An hour-and-half lesson is mandatory for all skill levels. If your child signed up for Ski Club before the deadline, December 19th, a yellow waiver will be sent home with them. Please fill it out and return to school. Please contact me if you have any questions @ amy.fischer@district196.org . V ALENTINE ' S D AY P ARTIES - F EBRUARY 6 The Valentine's Day parties are scheduled for Friday, February 6 at 1:15 p.m. for students in grades kindergarten through four. Students in grade five will be going to Burnsville Bowl in lieu of a classroom party. Students are asked to contribute $2.00 to cover the cost of the party. Please send your party money to school in an envelope clearly marked, "Party Money" and give it to your child's teacher by Tuesday, February 3, 2015. T HINK S UMMER ! G RASP 2015 P REVIEW Parents, it’s time to start thinking about summer and how you’ll help your children keep their math and reading skills sharp. Many of you know that the GRASP workbook program, available through Community Education, is one way to help your children during the summer. However, GRASP should not be considered as a replacement for participating in summer school, if a child qualifies. This year, GRASP registration information will be sent home with students the week of February 17-20. Sample workbooks will be available for review in the school office during parent/teacher conferences and the registration period. The deadline for registration this year is March 31. Watch for more information later this winter. W INTER B OOK F AIR C OMING I N F EBRUARY By Dawn Lyons, Media Specialist It’s almost book fair time! Our winter book fair will be held during conferences Wednesday, February 11 (3:30 to 8:00) and Thursday, February 12 (12:30 to 8:00). Your children will have had the opportunity to preview the book fair during school prior to conferences so watch for their “wish lists” to come home. We love to see students during the conference book fair hours, but we do request that they attend with a parent or other adult. We’re looking for volunteers to help out with set-up, take-down, during the browsing time during the regular school day, and during the actual book fair itself. If you are interested in helping, please either email me at dawn.lyons@district196.org or call me at 651-683-6801. Your support for the book fair is very much appreciated by your children. Our profits from the book fair help us purchase new children’s books for the media center. I’m looking forward to meeting you. See you there! D EERWOOD N EWSLETTER P AGE 9 N EWBERY A WARD -W INNING A UTHOR V ISTS D EERWOOD ! On January 20, Deerwood students from grades 2-5 met Margi Preus, a Minnesota author who has earned some prestigious book awards. She shared some words of wisdom, she shared a lot about how she researches and writes, and she spent time with each group answering questions. Ms. Preus read a lot as a child, crediting Harriet the Spy books to helping her understand that she wanted to be a writer when she grew up! She also loved Pippi Longstocking and Nancy Drew books. She shared that she owes her writing life to disappointment, because she really wanted to be Sleeping Beauty in a play, and when she didn’t get the part, she decided she would write plays and then she could pick her own part! She reflected that disappointment can create a determination that can push a person to new limits! Ms. Preus does a tremendous amount of research for her books, which are mostly historical fiction. She reads, interviews, writes, and when she gets stuck and wonders how something should happen, she reads more! Students loved when she shared that she has learned much about writing from her dog: 1. Challenge yourself: Why carry a little stick, if you can carry a big one? Why read an easy book when you can read a bit more challenging one? Why stop, when you can add a bit more detail to your story? 2. Not every fit will be a good one. Margi’s dog HATED his dog shoes, and he WOULD NOT walk in them! Not every book will be a good fit for every reader. You might want to put it down and try it later, or suggest another person with different interests read it instead. 3. Mistakes are OK. Margi’s dog, while sitting in the back of her station wagon, got mixed up in red paint, and was pink most of the summer! Mistakes can be fixed, and sometimes create new ideas and humor! Margi shared her stacks of drafts…just to write one book. She said , “I enjoy the hard work of writing.” 4. Sometimes you have to dig. Margi’s dog loves to dig in the snow and in the dirt. Sometimes you have to dig for what to say and write. Sometimes, you have to stop writing and research! 5. Don’t hoard your ideas! Margi has a friend whose dog hid all of her bone toys under the couch, and when the couch was moved, the friend found about 20 bone treats! Get your ideas down! The more ideas you get down, the more ideas you will get! 6. Keep your eye on the prize! Margi’s dog loves watching her open new treats and toys. Stick with your writing. Stay focused and don’t get side-tracked! 7. Just GO FOR IT. Margi’s dog jumps off the dock and into the lake. Try! Try! Try! District 196 School Board Members Rob Duchscher, Chairperson Jackie Magnuson, Vice Chairperson Gary Huusko, Clerk Art Coulson, Treasurer Joel Albright, Director Mike Roseen, Director Bob Schutte, Director
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