Tiger Cub News Delano Elementary Family Newsletter May 2013

Can summer finally be here? If you are like me, you get excited to smell the freshly cut grass, hamburgers on the grill, and catching that first walleye of the summer fishing season! Summer is a time for memories to be created from vaca-tions to time spent listening to the frogs on the porch on a humid July evening. Summer is also time for our children to decompress from a busy school year in which homework and school activities keep our children extremely busy for nine months of the year. With that being said, summer can also be a time in which our children can regress academically. Assessment scores have consistently shown that most students show significant growth during an academic year. On the flip side, research has shown that student scores drop in the 13-week timeframe of summer vacation. At Delano Elementary, our students take the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) test each fall and spring. It is not uncommon for our students to show a decline in skills from spring testing to fall testing. From an adult perspective, could you imagine removing yourself from your job for three months and coming back as sharp as you were when you left? It would be very difficult for many of us not to lose some of our effectiveness given that scenario. We ask that this summer you take time to help your child bridge the academic gap during the summer months. We would encourage you to have your child stay mentally sharp by reading on a daily basis, practicing math facts, or even writing a letter to a family member each week. Many of our teachers will be sending out reminders about the on-line subscriptions that our students have access to during the summer. If you are looking to check out new books this summer, our elementary will have “Open Media Center” hours. The Delano Elementary Media Center summer dates/hours are: July 10, 17, 24, 31, and August 7, from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. The Delano Public Library is also a fantastic option for children and parents during the summer with weekly programs and a summer reading program. For the Dela-no Public Library Hours, please go to http://www.griver.org/locations-and-hours/great-river-regional-library-delano. Have a wonderful and safe summer. We will see you at the Elementary Open House on Wednesday, August 28! - Darren Schuler Principal

Let’s Work to Avoid the Summer Slide

May 6-10, 2013

Read, Read, Read!

Reading just 4-5 books over the summer

months can prevent a decline in your child’s

fall reading scores.

Healthy Delano Initiative Wraps Up Inaugural Year

Many Delano Elementary families made a vow this year to Be Active, Eat Right, and Live Well as a part of our Healthy Delano Initiative. Many families followed the Healthy Living Playbook to help guide and keep track of their progress throughout the school year. To close the book on this school year the Tiger Cub News e-newsletter would like to high-light a DES family that participated in this program. Here are a few details about and comments from the Barta Family. Parents: Eric and Larissa Children: Ali (12), Gretchen (9), Liam (7), Alex (6), and Jacob (4) What has been your favorite part of the Healthy Living Playbook? We have enjoyed eating right and making healthier choices. We consciously started talking about our eating habits. Why do you feel healthy living is important to your family? It goes very nicely with what they are teaching in school and what we believe in as a family. What area of healthy living does your family struggle with? We struggle with the exercise part. Our older children stay active in the winter with organized sports, but the younger children don’t have that option. We are an active family, but keeping everyone active is hard work. Our family really enjoyed the Walk, Roll, and Stroll event last fall. It was fun to get the whole family out to exercise. What advice would you give to other families working to live healthier? Try to control how much time your children are using electronics. Electronics make children sedentary. Our family started “Barta Bucks” in which each child in the family earns “bucks” to be used towards use of electronics. This has helped us regulate the amount of time our children are using electronics. Portion control with electron-ics is similar to portion control with our food intake, too much is not a good thing. What is your focus for this summer to keep forming healthier habits? Our family’s summer project will be our garden. We like to eat fresh food from the garden, not processed food. We can make our own granola bars, trail mix, and veg-gies rather than eating other processed foods. This is just one family’s story about how they used the Healthy Living Playbook to their advantage. What about you and your family? Pick up your Healthy Living Playbook in the DES office today and start this summer!

In honor of Earth Week and Arbor Day, Wright Hennepin Electric Cooperative

donated trees to DES. Each child “oldest or only” in every classroom was given a tree. If your child brought home a tree, we hope that you were able to plant it outside, or you are keeping it inside and watered and will plant it as soon as spring is officially here. We’d like to extend a BIG thank you to the Delano Elementary Science Committee for organizing this event. Earth Week and Arbor Day go hand in hand. This is an excellent time to reflect on how we can protect and sustain the diversity of life, because as far as we know, Earth is unique among the cosmos in supporting life. The Earth provides so many things for us, so we feel it is important to teach children at a young age to respect, preserve and take care of what it provides us - resources and beauty.

Chubby Gerbils Destination ImagiNation Team To Compete at Global Finals in Knoxville, Tennessee!

It is off to Knoxville, Tennessee, for the Chubby Gerbils! This talented Destination ImagiNation (DI) team placed first in Challenge E - Structure Building at the state competition held at Champlin Park High School on April 20. During the week of May 20, this team, along with three other teams from Delano middle and high schools will travel to Knoxville, Tennessee to compete in the 2013 Global Finals, where over 1,100 teams will compete with teams from 45 states,

seven Canadian provinces, and 13 countries, as they gather together to showcase their Challenge solutions in Knoxville. Over 15,000 people will attend Global Finals to celebrate the art of creativity!

Congratulations to team members (left to right): Adia LaFromboise, Katlyn Drusch, Emily Erickson, Sydney Wuerger, Caleb Schrein, Team Managers Heidi Wuerger and Mark Erickson, Ethan Weed and Colin Schrein.

Character is “the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual.” For character to be built, a child needs to be exposed to many experiences, both positive and negative, and through these experiences, a child’s character grows. This month the students at DES are learning about Sportsmanship. “Good sportsmanship” or “being a good sport” is an important part of all games, sports and competitions. While winning can be cool, being a good sport means realizing that it’s participating, trying your best, and having fun that matters most. In a nutshell, we are trying to teach the students at DES that a winner should be proud of his or her accomplishments, but a good sport never makes another person feel bad about losing. Is your child a “good sport”? How do they handle tough

situations in sports, games, activities or academics?

This past school year, Delano Elementary School

started a Mileage Club for students who are interest-ed in walking, jogging and/or running. The Mileage

Club runs in the fall and spring at recess time. Students have the option of playing other organized

games, on the playground equipment or participate in this club by walking or running laps around the park-ing lot (10 laps equals a mile). If students choose to

participate in the Mileage Club, they can earn a mileage “foot” for every five miles they run as well as a ribbon posted on the Mileage Club bulletin board.

Currently, 4th grader Hunter Elwood has run over 50 miles, the most of any student at

Delano Elementary School.

If your student wants to get involved, this activity takes place right in the middle of recess. After recess is complete, students’ report laps to a recess monitor.

At the end of the week, each “foot” is rewarded. Get your kids moving, suggest they participate in the

Mileage Club!

Effective Tuesday, May 28, through the end of the school year, there is no charging of any amount to purchase a lunch or break-fast. Students will be denied their purchase if they go through the lunch line. This will elimi-nate negative balances at year end. Per the Minnesota CFL-FNS, all meal payments

must be made in advance. When a student does not have money in hand for the current meal or has not prepaid for the meal, a meal may be denied because of money owed to the food service account. The school is under no obligation to continue to serve children who do not pay for their meals. This includes families who are on a free or reduced meal plan. Account deposits must be turned in to the office by 10:00 a.m. each day to be recorded by lunch time. To check your current account balance, you can login to Family Access on the Delano schools website at www.delano.k12.mn.us and click on “Food Service.” If you have questions or concerns, please contact Tracie Erickson at 763.972.3365, ext. 2136, or via email at terickson@delano.k12.mn.us.

School Food Service Accounts End of Year Notice

Elementary Students Help with Delano High School SWAS Program

Students at Delano Elementary should be proud of all the plastic bags they collected, all in support of the DHS School Within a School (SWAS) guided study program. SWAS students are making mats to give to homeless shelters across the area. These mats are then given to homeless individuals who in turn use them for sleeping on, shelters or blankets. Yes, it takes 3,000 plastic bags to make one mat! First the high schoolers create “plarn”, yarn made of plastic and next they crochet the bags to make the mats. Making use of something that once would find its way to the trash and then to a landfill, now has a purpose that gives comfort to others. In one week, the students at DES brought in approx-imately 125 cubic feet of plastic bags, shown at the left. If you have any plastic bags to recycle, think of the SWAS program and drop them at the elementary or the high school.

Thanks to everyone who donated bags!

Welcome, Crista Wadholm! New Delano Elementary Nurse

It is with great pleasure that we announce the hiring of Crista Wadholm as our new elementary

nurse. Crista is a Registered Nurse who has extensive experience in pediatrics at the

University of Minnesota Children’s Hospital. Crista has two children in the elementary school, Abby, who is in kindergarten, and Hannah, who is in 1st grade. Crista has also served this school year as our PIE co-president. Crista officially

began her duties on Monday, April 29.

Please join us in welcoming Crista to the DES team!

Delano Elementary School 678 Tiger Drive Delano, MN 55328

Phone: 763.972.6200 Website: www.delano.k12.mn.us

May Calendar 6-17 NWEA MAP Testing 14 Kindergarten Field Trip DES P.I.E. Meeting 7 pm 15 Writer’s Workshop Field Trip Dairy Queen Night 5-8 pm Artwork by Mrs. Jordan’s and Mrs. Petersen’s Classes

16 4th Grade Field Trip 21 2nd Grade Music Program 7 pm ES Gym 22 3rd Grade Track & Field Day 9:30 am HS Track 23 2nd Grade Field Trip 4th Grade Field Trip (Griep, Schleper, Stoebner) 1st Grade Music Program 7 pm ES Gym 24 3rd Grade Field Trip 4th Grade Field Trip (Berggren, Hall, Stern) 1st Grade Grandparent’s Day 12:30-2:30 pm 27 Memorial Day - NO SCHOOL 28 2nd Grade Track & Field Day 9:30 am HS Track 29 Kindergarten Field Trip (AM and KAD Burns, Ludwig) NO PM KINDERGARTEN 1st Grade Field Trip 4th Grade Track & Field Day 9:30 am HS Track Dairy Queen Night 5-8 pm Artwork by Mrs. Schleper’s and Mrs. Stern’s Classrooms

30 Kindergarten Field Trip (PM and KAD, Huikko, Jordan) NO AM KINDERGARTEN 1st Grade Track & Field Day 9:30 am HS Track

June Calendar 3 School Lunch Picnic - school lunch price applies 4th Grade Sleepover 5 LAST DAY OF SCHOOL

Tiger Cub News is published by Delano Elementary School. Editor, Traci Lawman,

District Office, 763.972.3365, ext. 2111, tlawman@delano.k12.mn.us.

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Employment Opportunity Literacy Tutors

Delano Elementary School has recently been awarded two full-time literacy tutoring positions with Minnesota Reading Corps (MRC). MRC is a program that provides trained literacy tutors for children from age three to grade three. This is a statewide initiative to help every Minnesota child become a successful reader. Reading Corps has been a very successful program at DES for the last five years. MRC tutors work one on one with students in Kindergarten through 3rd grade at Delano Elementary. They will provide extra support to these children as they practice their reading skills. The program supple-ments the classroom Language Arts curriculum with the aim of increasing the reading fluency of every child they work with. Students in the program meet daily with an MRC tutor who has been trained in the most current reading fluency intervention strategies. When working in the area of fluency, tutors work to achieve better word accuracy, expression, and rate of a reader. Often this can help in building a reader’s comprehension. Students who qualify do not miss direct instruction from their classroom teacher, but are seen during more independent learning times. Tutors track student progress and work closely with classroom teachers to insure success. Students exit the program when they have met their individual reading goal. We are currently recruiting interested parents and community members to be literacy tutors for the 2013-2014 school year. If you or someone you know can devote one year of service as a literacy tutor to Delano Elementary, please contact Lisa Downer at ldowner@delano.k12.mn.us. Your training will be provided and we guarantee a rewarding experience! For more information, go to www.minnesotareadingcorps.org

Have a safe and enjoyable summer!

From the staff at Delano Elementary School