OLE NEWS
Issue # 6– March 2017
Hello Otter Lake Families.
I had such high hopes that Spring had sprung early
this year. Being a Minnesotan for 40 years, I should
have known better. The weather here is so unpredictable lately. What is predictable is the level of commitment from each and every staff member in this building to provide the best possible education for every
student. Here are some highlights of the last month.
STEM Fair: We had 86 projects submitted to the STEM
Fair this year. More than 200 students were involved
in these projects. Thank you to Mrs. Rasch and the
rest of the STEM Fair committee for putting on such a
fantastic event.
Bingo Night: Bingo Night was another huge success. I counted over 300 people at Bingo Night. It was
so fun to see the families and students interacting with
each other. Thank you to the PTA especially Rene
McCabe, for all of the hard work to make this a successful night for Otter Lake.
U of M: I had the opportunity to collaborate with the
University of Minnesota Education Department in midMarch. This was a great opportunity to strengthen the
relationship between Otter Lake Elementary and the
University of Minnesota. The teacher candidates we
support in our building are a valuable asset and will
continue to be an asset for OLE for years to come.
Bookopoly: I Love to Read month was in February.
Thank you to Lee McGrath and Mary Phillips for
leading our Bookopoly game to encourage all students to read. Also, thank you to all staff members
involved in our Ready-Read-Race event.
A few Reminders for you.
~ Cold Weather: It’s still cold outside. Please be
sure to send jackets, snow pants, hats, and gloves
with your child. Jackets will be required if the temperature is 32 degrees or below.
~ Attendance Line: Please continue to use the attendance line when your child will be absent. That
number is 651-653-2832.
~ Parking Lot: At morning drop-off, please continue
to pull as far forward as possible when dropping
your students off. The line that will form has the
potential to reach out into the road. We can all work
together to help avoid this. At afternoon pick-up,
please continue to park in the lot and come into the
building to pick up your child. It is dangerous to
park along the curb to wait for your child. I understand that the weather can be cold and it may be
more convenient to wait at the curb, but the safety
of the children is our #1 priority at pick-up time.
Thanks you and Go Bears!
Matt Langsdale
Kitchen Corner:
We offer a snack that students can buy in
the kitchen everyday. Fresh fruits and veggies along with yogurt, cheese sticks and a
few other proteins when available. The cost
for snack is .50 cents. Snack does not qualify for the free and reduced program, so all
students must have the money in their accounts at the time they are purchasing
snack. We do not let students go into the
negative for
snack.
Thanks
Deb Gefre
Kitchen Manager.
Call 651-407-7540 for school closing
information.
OTTER LAKE ELEMENTARY
CONTACTS
651-653-2843
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PRINCIPAL
651-653-2831
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OFFICE
651-407-7540
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SCHOOL CLOSING
651-653-2846
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HEALTH OFFICE
651-653-2834
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EXTENDED DAY
651-407-7538
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TRANSPORTATION
651-653-2832
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ATTENDANCE
651-653-2839
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KITCHEN
OTTER LAKE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
1401 CO. ROAD H2
WHITE BEAR LAKE
If you are interested in Volunteering at
Otter Lake or would like to attend your
child’s field trips as a volunteer please make
sure you have a background check. It is
easy to do. Just check in with Ursula in the
main office. She will email you the link so
you can apply online. There is no cost to
you and it is valid for 3 years from the day it
clears. Typically, it takes 3- 5 days to
process.
We depend on parents to check their child
for Lice.
Is My Child Well Enough To Go To
School?
We would appreciate you informing the
school if your child has head lice. Please remember that head lice can infest anyone,
anywhere and is not a sign of being dirty.
Thank you for your cooperation.
_____________
________
~ If a student has had a fever of
100 degrees or more, the student
should stay home for 24 hours
after the temperature returns to normal and
remains normal without fever reducing medications.
~ If a student has vomited or had diarrhea, the
student should stay home until 24 hours after
the last episode.
~ If a student has had any rash
that may be disease-related or
the cause is unknown, check
with the family physician before sending the student to
school.
~ If the student is ill, please call the
attendance line at 651-653-2832 to report an
illness.
Thank you for helping to keep our school
healthy!
___
PHY. ED. FACTS
BY
MR. KEN LIEKIS & MR. JON HURT
PHYSICAL EDUCATION TEACHERS
It is crazy to think that in just over a week we will be
on spring break. This year has just flown by. My
classes are finishing up the basketball unit and Mr.
Hurt’s class is finishing floor
hockey.
The next units in no particular
order will be team handball for
the older students while the
younger students works with the
parachute.
Then volleyball and badminton. We will work on
the different skills of each
and then get into simple
games.
G
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Concert Dates:
March 24th : 3rd Grade Concert at 2:30pm
You are invited to join us in the gym at 2:30pm for the
performance. The gym will not be ready and available
until 2:15pm.
June 1st: 4th Grade Concert at 6:30pm
Kindergarten: We have been singing, moving and
grooving this past month. Skills we are working on
are singing voices, moving with a partner, identifying
instruments by sound, beat vs rhythm. Some songs
we enjoyed this month were ―Let’s Get on Board‖,
―I hear the Train a Comin‖, and a ―Sailor Went to Sea
Sea Sea‖.
1st Grade: We have been focusing on music literacy
by writing and reading simple Sol-Mi melodies with
the ipad app See Saw. Songs we can write are
―Baker’s Hat‖ and ―Valentine‖.
We also learned how to find
space notes and line notes on the
staff. We also focused on reading
and hearing rhythm patterns playing a game and song ―I Hope I
Get a Letter‖. Students can play
simple 2 pitch melodies on xylophones.
2nd. Grade: We have been working on part singing
with animal sounds in the song ―The Music of Life‖.
Students have been introduced to the pitches Mi Re
and Do. We can read them, play them and will eventually write them. We are beginning to play xylophone
ensemble with 2 or more rhythmic parts.
3rd Grade: We have been focusing on our performance skills of singing and playing instruments to
prepare for our March Concert. We are learning
how to be in a choir, read music, read and play
pentatonic melodies and play multiple instrument
parts. All of these focus on being a team as we
make music together. After our March performance
we will be starting an instrument engineering project. This is an integrated project with the 3rd grade
Science standard of understanding concepts of
sound. Students will create an instrument with a
group that can play High and Low pitches. I will be
sending a letter about materials we will need donated after our concert.
4th Grade: we have been focusing on rhythmic and
melodic improvisation skills. We have learned to
make up melodies in 12 Bar Blues, jazz, as word
rhythms from chants and drumming improv as well.
We also are continuing to learn new songs from the
regions of the United States to prepare for our June
performance. Part of learning these songs is reading choir octavo music and singing in parts.
5th Grade: We then started learning about music
and instruments from the Renaissance Period. With
a partner students created a 4 part rhythmic canon
(round) with the ipad app Garage Band. We also
have explored music of the Baroque period and are
currently creating Ostinato compositions with apple
loops in garage band.
2nd Grade In second grade we continue to work on
numbers up through 30. We are also working on a
funny story about los pantalones (pants) and el vestido (dress). Students are working on high frequency vocabulary such as he/she has (tiene), he/she
goes (va a), he/she is in (esta en), and he/she needs
(necesita). Students listen, read, and understand
stories using these words. They are getting to the
point where they can make their own sentences in
Spanish using these action words.
Kindergarten : Kindergarten is learning how to express likes and dislikes using ―me gusta‖ (I like) and
―No me gusta‖ (I don’t like). We are going to start
talking about parts of the body including los ojos
(eyes), las orejas (ears), la boca (mouth), la nariz
(nose), las manos (hands), and la cabeza (head).
1st. Grade We are working on reading and re-telling a
story in Spanish. We have focused on saying it is
hot (hace calor) and it is cold ( hace frío). We are also
working on high frequency vocabulary such as he/
she has (tiene), he/she goes (va a), he/she is in (esta
en). Students are also able to express how they feel
in Spanish when asked.
3rd Grade: In third grade we have been having a fun
time working on special words that sometimes look
and sound the same in two languages and even
mean the same thing! They are called cognates.
Students used critical thinking to decide what the
words meant and then created their own silly sentences in Spanish both as a group and individually
using google slides. We continue to work on numbers, feelings, and colors.
4th and 5th Grade: The fourth and fifth graders are
learning about the country of Spain and its influences on the Spanish language. We took a virtual
tour using Google Expedition with Google Cardboard viewers. We have focused on Barcelona and
Madrid. In the next few days we are going to start
reading a story about Spain now that students have
a good background knowledge about the country
and different points of interest. Students are always
asked how they feel in class and are expected to
respond in Spanish. We also have a special password students say to Profe as they enter the classroom. The current password is ―Vale‖ which means
OK in Spanish.
STUDENT PLACEMENT
2017-2018 SCHOOL YEAR
Dear Parent/Guardian
We are approaching that time of year when we will be organizing class lists for next year. The
process is a significant and complex one. As elementary principal of Otter Lake School, I am
impressed with the quality of our staff. The teachers at Otter Lake are committed to providing
your child an education that meets his/her needs.
The placement process will involve input from many people: classroom teachers (current
teachers and the next grade level teachers), special education teachers, English language
teachers, school psychologist, leaning skills specialist and principal. It is important to understand that students are assigned to a homeroom teacher: however, with team teaching, departmentalization and special instruction, students will also be instructed by several teachers
through the day and week.
A number of variables are considered in our placement of students. The principal has ultimate responsibility for formation of classes and uses several criteria in placing a student in a
classroom in order to create the best learning situation for all including;
~ Balanced class numbers
~ Balanced class composition
~ Clustering of students for instruction and special services
~ Use of paraprofessionals
~ Matched ability, students needs, teacher style and case load
~ Parent input based on unique circumstances
~ Spread of ability ranges in each homeroom.
~ Placement of students who work well together.
In past years, parents appreciated having the opportunity for input into the placement of their
(child(ren). It is in the best interest of the students to develop class lists based not only on
parental input, but through the consideration of a variety of criteria. To use only parent input
discounts other important criteria which impacts the overall class composition.
We request that you think of your child’s learning needs and learning environment as you provide information to us.
If you would like to provide input into the process, please contact the office for the appropriate
form. Forms must be returned by April 7th. Any forms turned in after April 7th will not be
Considered. No request will be taken by telephone.
Thank you for y our continued support. We are working very hard to provide the very best education program possible for all our students.
Sincerely, Matt Langsdale—Principal, Otter Lake Elementary School