Spanish Club News!

Our kids in the Spanish club have started a blog. Check out the work they've been doing after school on Thursdays!

 

http://lakeviewafterhours.wordpress.com

 

 

K-3 Holiday Program

Students in kindergarten through third grade were excited to present a holiday concert today for friends and family. Each grade level sang four songs, includings some instruments, dancing, and speaking roles. It was a wonderful program and the hard work the students put it showed in their performance. Great job!

Kindergarten

First Grade

Second Grade

Third Grade

Literacy Nights, Report Cards, and Conferences

November has ended on a positive note with several grades having fun activities planned. Fourth grade held a literacy night on Tuesday the 20th, and first grade held their first PIE night (Partners in Education) for parents and students on Thursday the 29th. Both events were well attended by Lakeview students and families, and were a great time!

Today is also the last day of our first trimester of the school year. Students have been working hard in all areas and are excited to share their progress next week with you. Parent conferences are scheduled to begin next week and will be held Thursday, December 6 in the evening, Friday, December 7 all day, and Monday, December 10 again in the evening. Please note there will be no school for students in grades K-5 on Friday, December 7.

At your conference, your child's teacher will share your student's report card with you and discuss the learning that has gone on this year. Each student will have areas that are going well, areas that can continue to be worked on, and a plan to keep the growth going. I look forward to the rich conversations that occur at these conferences for the benefit of the students. I encourage everyone to attend this most important event in lives of the students.

Lakeview VIP's

This week we were fortunate to have several Lakeview students recognized for their efforts, as well as a staff member. On Monday, three of our third graders were able to eat lunch with Mayor Vern Rasmussen. Mr. Rasmussen was kind enough to provide this opportunity for students as a prize for a math night provided for the kids. Congratulations to the winners!

In addition, one of our second grade students was recognized for charitable donations to an organization known as "Feed My Starving Children." This good deed was noticed by local media and a nice article was written in the Albert Lea Tribune. Read the full story here:

http://www.albertleatribune.com/2012/11/20/difference-maker/


Finally, we were surprised today by Channel 6 news with the news that Mrs. Haney, one of our second grade teachers, had been honored with the "Excellent Educator" award for the week. What an exciting way to show appreciation for all of our hard working teachers at Lakeview. The story is expected to air Wednesday, November 21 during the 5:00 newscast.

Congratulations to these and all of our Very Important People at Lakeview!

Mango Languages

The Albert Lea School District has recently been provided with an exciting new opportunity for our students.   The Mango Language course is an on-line language program which delivers a wide variety of language learning capabilities.  It is available in Spanish, French, German, Mandarin, and English as a Second Language, to name a few, and is easily accessed and completed at your own pace.  The Mango Languages program has been made available to our district for one year as part of a contribution from the Qualified Zone Academy Bond program. 

Students that are interested should speak with their teacher for a sign up form if they have not received one yet.

Bully Prevention Information

On November 1st, Lakeview will host members of Albert Lea's HS English/Speech Dept for a series of skits to help students understand the topic of bullying and the role we each have in minimizing it, and subsequently its affects on us.  These skits, are specifically designed for students in grades 3-5, and we are excited to have some of our high school students see this as a need and be willing to present them to us. 

Opening Skit-“A Bunch of Clowns” by Sandra Asher: Focus: This skit focuses on the unclear line of clowning around and cruelty. It talks about the three different groups involved in bullying: the bully, the bullied and the bystander.

Second Skit- “ Bystander Blues” by Trish Lindberg: Focus: This skit focuses mainly on the role of a bystander and how if they would have stood up and helped it would have made the all the difference.

Last Skit- “Flash Mob” by Elizabeth Wong: Focus: If a school decides to stand up to bullying, then the whole atmosphere changes and the bullied people are supported.

Each skit is about ten minutes long and there are three skits total. The actual performance will be about 30 minutes long.  These skits come from a script call The Bully Plays and are a compilation of various playwrights.

Austin Bruins

On Tuesday October 30 we had a fun visit from some players with the Austin Bruins hockey team. The players visited classes in grades 3-5, read to the students, and discussed topics such as healthy lifestyles and bullying. It was fun for our students to see these positive role models in our building and we thank them very much for spending the time with us.

Fall Activities at School!

As October comes to a close, we have several exciting opportunities coming up for students. On Tuesday, October 30, some players from the Austin Bruins will be here to read to students in grades 3-5 and discuss an active and healthy lifestyle. Wednesday, October 31 will be our fall costume parties for several grades, and Thursday November 1 some high school students will be presenting an anti-bullying skit to students in the upper grades. It will be an exciting and busy week at Lakeview!

A few other upcoming dates to be aware of:

November 2--No school for students
November 6--Picture Re-take day
November 9--Veteran's Day program at 1:30 for grades 3-5

Thanks for all that you do to support Lakeview and our students!

Evacuation Drill October 23

On Tuesday, October 23, we will be doing our annual evacuation drill to St. John’s. The students will exit the building and walk with their classes to St. John’s before returning to resume their daily activities. This drill will help students and staff be prepared for an orderly evacuation in the event it is ever needed. Please encourage your students to wear comfortable shoes and dress appropriately for this walk. We will leave Lakeview at approximately 8:30 and return between 9:30 and 10:00. Thanks for your support in helping students be ready for this drill and as always, please contact the Lakeview office with any questions.

Bully Prevention and Responsive Classroom

I am often asked about the topic of bullying and what we do to about it. As both an educator and parent, I understand the immeasurable value in being proactive in our approach to this challeng. In our district's elementary schools, we have invested a lot of time and resources in a program called, Responsive Classroom.  In fact, just this last August, 30 district teachers had a week long training in the philosphy and implementation of Responsive Classroom.  The Responsive Classroom approach is a widely used, research-backed approach to elementary education that increases academic achievement, decreases problem behaviors, and improves social skills by emphasizing a community approach to classroom processes and ideas.  When a teacher and classrom are able to do these things, acadmics are also impacted, leading to quality instruction and achievement.  One of the most important things for us to be successful in any environment is to feel safe.  When that occurs, students can focus on their learning, and Responsive Classrooms help all students to feel safe and welcome in school.  If we teach what it means to be a community and family, students are much less likely to hurt or be intentional in their wanting to hurt or harm someone due to the relationships they have formed.

Activities and Notes

October has gotten off to a great start at Lakeview, and we have lots happening for students. As I visit classrooms throughout the building, it is great to see the students engaged in their valuable work. In addition this month, first graders attend their hospital field trips, a reader's theater is presented by some volunteers with the RSVP program, and all students will have their annual vision check. On October 16, room parents are meeting with teachers to help plan for the year's events. If you have questions about being a room parent, please contact our parent group at mailto:LESO241@gmail.com. 

For a number of years Kemps has sponsored their “Nickels for Schools” program, which asked families to send in Kemps caps to be redeemed by the school. Due to a change in their program, Kemps will be discontinuing this offer as of the end of this month. In order to claim the caps we currently have been collecting, they need to be sent in my October 31.  We are asking that if you have been keeping any of these caps at home that you please send them to school by October 15 so we can get them in by the deadline. Thanks for your help as we capitalize on the end of this offer.

Thanks for all of your support of your students and Lakeview, and we look forward to a great month of October at school!

Weekly Update

As we finish our second week of school at Lakeview, the students and staff are getting into their routines and beginning to settle into what will be a great school year. This week there were several highlights for the students, including bus safety training, alternate lunch menus beginning, a lot of outdoor P.E. class, and our first meeting of “Lakeview Families.”

Families are an opportunity for students to meet with a small group of students from all grade levels and create a connection with an additional adult in our school. They meet approximately twice per month for 15-20 minutes, and the students enjoy getting to know additional kids and adults from different parts of the building. As we strive to make Lakeview a welcoming, comfortable environment for our students these families help support that goal.  

As September continues, teachers will continue to add new routines to their classrooms, and we’re looking forward to seeing all of the student growth that will take place this fall at Lakeview.

Special Education Advisory Council Invitation

Would You Like to Have More of a Voice in your Child’s Special Education Program?

The Special Education Advisory Council (SEAC) is a group of parents and professionals working together toward making special education in District 241 the best that it can be.  We need input from parents of students of all ages and disabilities.  Local SEAC’s advise school districts on the development of programs and services to meet the special education needs of students and their families.

One of our SEAC goals has always been to help parents in our district become more informed and involved in their children’s education.  We have materials to help.

            BINDERS:  For those students and families initially determined as eligible for special education
                        services—these binders include IEP information, a glossary and other resources

            TRANSITION GUIDES:  “From Here to Next Year”, a guide to be given to families in the year
                        before a student transitions to kindergarten, grade 6 and grade 8.

The District 241 Special Education Advisory Council (SEAC) will be meeting:

·         Monday September 24, 2012 

·         Monday, November 26, 2012

·         Monday, January 28, 2013

·         Monday, March 25, 2013

·         Monday, May 20, 2013

All meetings are held from 6:30-8:00 p.m. at the Brookside Education Center.  Please come and join us at one or all of these meetings.  We welcome new members at every meeting and hope that you will join us.

If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact:

Becky Rognes- PARENT at 507-373-1729 or bll@wctatel.net   OR
Karen Erickson- SPECIAL SERVICES SUPERVISOR at 507-379-4825 or khmielewski@albertlea.k12.mn.us

A Great First Week of School!

Dear Lakeview Families,

To celebrate the end of our first week of school, I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for all of your support to start our school year. Our message will remain “It’s okay to be where you’re at, but not okay to stay there.” This statement promotes celebrating the successes that we have had, and acknowledging that we are always striving to improve. We work hard at Lakeview to create a climate and culture of learning that students feel comfortable in and all of us can be proud of, and that could not happen without your support. I would like to just communicate a few items for families to be aware of to end our first week. 

First, our parent group, LESO, would like to invite all parents to get involved with the great activities and events that are planned for the year. LESO’s goal is to support our students’ school experience by strengthening the collaboration between families, the community, and the school. Without parent support, activities such as the book fair, school picnic, fun night, and prairie fire theater could not take place. The group usually meets on the first Tuesday of each month from 6-7pm in the Lakeview media center. Even if you are unable to attend meetings, your help with any of our school activities this year would be greatly appreciated. Please email leso241@gmail.com or contact the school office for more details on how you can become involved.

Also, please note the school hours for each elementary school in Albert Lea. Each day we welcome our students to school between 7:50-8:10.  During this time, students may have breakfast and/or play outdoors.  Our supervisors are on duty at 7:50.  We ask that students do not arrive before this time, since there is no supervision.  The first bell rings at 8:10, at which time students enter the building. The second bell rings at 8:20 and teachers begin classes.

On Wednesdays, our schedule allows for more outdoor play time to begin the student school day.  The first bell rings at 8:20, with the second bell at 8:30.  Supervisors are on duty on all sides of our school beginning at 7:50 a.m. until the first bell rings.   Buses will run on the same schedule and parents do not need to alter their transportation plans in any way.  The change on Wednesdays is due to Professional Learning Community Team meetings which teachers attend from 7:30-8:15.

Finally, please be aware of some upcoming key dates:

·         All K-5 students will be given their Aimsweb benchmarking assessments on Sept 11. This quick assessment takes only a few minutes per student and allows teachers to immediately begin tailoring instruction.

·         Students in grades 2-5 will take their MAP math and reading tests in the window between Sept 12 and Sept 28. Again the data will be used to create lessons to meet the needs of all of our students.

·         Picture day is September 28! Please watch for more information regarding this exciting day.

As always, I sincerely thank you for your support of Lakeview and our students, and I look forward to talking with each of you throughout the school year. We are going to have a great year at Lakeview!

Open House Will Include a Book Fair

The Book Fair is Here!

THE BOOK FAIR IS HERE DURING THE LAKEVIEW OPEN HOUSE INSIDE THE GYM.

The book fair consists of carts and tables of books FULL of brand new books neatly arranged for every age, top sellers for kids, hardcover, paperback, picture books, cookbooks, software, you name it!  There is something for everyone and at every price range.  AND, you can take it home right away!

There is also fun stuff like posters, oversized pencils, and cool erasers! 

·         Parents and students are invited to come any time!! 

Hours are:

·         Wednesday August 29^th  from 3:00 to 7:00 pm

·         Thursday, August 30^th from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm

Hope to see you all there! 

For a complete listing of books, please visit www.scholastic.com/bookfairs and search for Albert Lea Lakeview School.

Lakeview's Back to School Activities

Dear Lakeview Families,

As we get ready to welcome you to Lakeview for this school year, mark your calendars for August 29^th and 30^th for our back to school activities! This year, we will be providing multiple opportunities for families to visit our school and begin building strong connections in the building.

To get things started, Lakeview will be hosting an open house on Wednesday, August 29th from 3:00-6:00. This will be an opportunity for students and their families to visit their classroom, meet their teachers and ask questions, and take care of other items such as depositing lunch money and learning about our parent group, LESO.

Each grade level will also give a short presentation during the open house in the media center highlighting some of the important things to know for that grade. The open house will be followed by our Lakeview picnic, which will be from 5:00-7:00 that evening. More details will come in your back to school letter, and we look forward to seeing you at the open house and picnic.

In addition, students and their families are invited to sign up for an individual parent teacher interview on Thursday, August 30th if desired. These optional 15 minute meetings will give families another opportunity to discuss more specific thoughts regarding their child. Opportunities to schedule these appointments will be available during the open house.

Finally, a note for kindergarten parents. We know how exciting and important the first year of school is for students. For that reason, kindergarten students will have their interviews pre-scheduled for Thursday the 30^th.  Your scheduled time will be included in the letter you will receive in mid-August along with teacher information.

Lakeview, as well as all of Albert Lea Schools, understands the importance of a strong home-school connection, and we hope that you will take advantage of these opportunities to visit our school and help kick-start your child’s year. We look forward to seeing you in a few weeks and beginning a great school year.

Gifted and Talented Update

2012 GT Program Summary

Gifted and Talent Development Program

New this year to the Albert Lea Area School District is the redesigned Gifted and Talent Development program. Several changes and additions have occurred across grade levels. Focusing on goals set out by the National Association for Gifted Children, our program is integrally connected to our district mission of equipping all students to think, achieve, and care. The opportunities created for our students are intended to meet the needs of our students with unique academic needs by providing challenging educational programs and services to help them reach their full potential.

Prior to this year, several opportunities were offered to our students. Math Masters, Spelling Bee, Science Fair, and Young Authors/Young Artists gave elementary students options for enrichment and extension. At the middle school, Geography Bee, Math League, and History Day were some of the opportunities, with the high school offering such options as Robotics, Honor Choir and Band, SuperMileage, Mock Trial, Career Day, State Capitol and History Days.

New to our program this year was DestiNation Imagination, an international program for kindergarten through university students with its purpose being to teach creative problem solving strategies. Teams of students met for several months prior to competition, working on challenges involving technical, scientific, fine arts, improvisational, structural or service-learning themes. Our district had 10 teams, from the four elementary schools, middle school and high school, and were coached by volunteers who committed an incredible amount of time to collaborating, researching, designing and building. Nine teams participated in the regional tournament, with seven of those teams progressing to the state competition. Student and leader enthusiasm was apparent, as indicated by students’ comments. “Participation in the DI tournament was the best thing I have ever done!” “It stretched my mind”, “I didn’t know that I could be so smart,” “Now, I think that I want to be engineer”, were some of the comments heard from involved students.

This year approximately 75 students were involved in Chess Clubs. The opportunity to learn and play chess as well as develop strategies was an exciting focus for these after-school meetings. Clubs at each of the four elementary buildings, Southwest Middle School, and Albert Lea High School were coached by staff and volunteers. Elementary students had the opportunity to compete in a tournament held at the Albert Lea Family Y on Apr. 14. The response of students to the Chess Clubs was overwhelming, as indicated by the large number of students pursuing their interest in chess.

Students identified as having specific academic strength in grades three through five had the opportunity this year to receive additional instruction during the school day. These pull-out groups were instructed by the Gifted and Talent Development Coordinator using materials and activities that foster the development of critical thinking, abstract thinking, creative thinking and problem-solving.

The Gifted and Talent Development program is evolving with plans to continue the current offerings while adding additional opportunities over the next years. At the forefront of all programming is our district’s focus on student learning and providing resources with a strong research-base that will best meet the needs of our students.

PIE night upcoming

Thursday, April 19th in the next PIE night for first graders. As with previous evenings, first graders will be working on reading strategies, having a book swap, and learning new reading tips that can be used at home. The evening begins at 6:00 and runs until 7:30, and this time is hosted here at Lakeview. We hope to see as many first graders and their families as possible for this fun event.

Reading Corps Mentor Awarded for 2012-2013

Lakeview is excited to see Minnesota Reading Corps be another important component in our push to having students reading at grade level by 3rd grade. For Lakeview, 2013 will be our 3rd year in a row that we have been awarded a Reading Corps member and they definitely have made a positive impact for our students. Members work with students in grades K-3 by providing them researched based interventions that assist those students in achieving their grade level targets in reading. According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (2011), two thirds of the nation's 4th graders cannot successfully read grade-level texts. Reading Corps members help us impact that statistic for the better. Are you interested and want a challenge? Learn more about what this experience can provide you and apply here.

MCA Testing Information

As April begins, it will be a big month at Lakeview, as the students in grades 3-5 will have the opportunity to show how much they’ve learned this year by taking the MCA’s. These state tests are based on the Minnesota academic standards in reading and math. Fifth grade also takes the science MCA.

The math portion of these assessments will be taken on the computer, and will begin the week after Easter. Due to computer lab schedules, each class will take this test on an assigned day that may be different from other grade levels or classes. Classroom teachers will communicate with you which day their class is assigned to take the test. Another change in the math test this year is that students may take the test up to three times to improve their scores. The second round of testing will take place the first week of May, and teachers will communicate with you which students they recommended trying the test again. Although teachers may recommend some students re-test, all students will have the option to do so.

The reading MCA’s will be given using a paper and pencil format, and will take place on April 24 and April 26 for grades 3, 4, and 5. Unlike the math test, students will have the opportunity to test in reading one time only. May 10 is the date that fifth grade will take the science test, which is also a computer based assessment.

The students have been working very hard this year, and the MCA’s are their opportunity to showcase their growth. Please encourage your children to get good rest, eat right, and do their very best on these assessments. The results of tests such as these help teachers plan their instruction for each child, so it is also important to remind students that as long as they do their best, teachers will be able to continue to help them grow.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me, or your child’s teacher, if you have any questions about these assessments. I’m looking forward to celebrating the students’ progress with them and remembering that “It’s okay to be where you’re at, but not okay to stay there.”

Thank you,

Kindergarten Registration

Kindergarten registration will be tuesday February 28th and thursday March 1st at Brookside School from 5PM to 7PM. Children have to be 5 years old on or before 9-1-2012 to register for kindergarten. Please bring birth certificate and shot records. You may also register at any grade school before that.

Fun Night and More

Thanks to all parents and families who attended conferences the last two weeks. The students appreciate your support and encouragement with their learning. Our school year is moving quickly, so these meetings are a great chance to connect and celebrate all the progress kids are making.

This week is also an exciting week for parents to spend some fun time with their students at school. Wednesday morning is our Breakfast Club morning, with parents invited to come have a breakfast treat with their children before school from 7:30-8:00 in the gym. You will have the opportunity to buy fun night tickets as well during this time.

Finally, Friday night is our annual Fun Night at Lakeview. The students are looking forward to having some fun playing games, showing off their school to families, and spending time with friends. We hope to see you there. Lots of volunteers are needed to make this exciting event a success, and our parent group is still looking for anyone interesting in helping. Please consider giving some time to our school to make the evening even more exciting for kids. Contact the school office for details and with any questions.

Thanks again for all of your support of Lakeview and have a wonderful week.

Winter Conferences are Here

As we move into the second half of the school year, conferences are an exciting time for teachers to share with you all of the exciting progress your child is making. These meetings are an extremely important time to discuss growth and make a plan for the rest of the year for your child. Each student progresses at their own rate, and our teachers are working hard to ensure they find the best plan for their students. By attending conferences, you can contribute to this plan and provide feedback to teachers on your child's growth.

Attending conferences also demonstrates to your child how important school is to you. Children model their parents, and can grow to value the same things as well. Therefore, by showing your kids that school is important enough that you will take time out of your schedule to visit, you show your child that this is an important place. This creates a desire in students to do their best each day, and their progress will benefit from the extra effort. Thanks for attending conferences and being so supportive of Lakeview and all of our students.

Welcome Back!

We have had a successful first week back after the holiday break. I hope everyone had the opportunity to enjoy some time with family over the break. With the warm weather, it hasn't felt like the middle of winter, and I'm hoping every warm day is one less cold day to come before spring. January will be a busy month for us, including benchmark assessments and working with each student to modify their learning goals based on growth to this point in the year. The next set of conferences will be coming up in February, and we look forward to these conversations.

Additionally, an exciting new program is beginning in our district! Destination ImagiNation is an innovative organization that teaches creativity, teamwork and problem solving to students internationally. Its main program is a team tournament where student teams from all over the world solve mind-bending Challenges. Teams are tested to think on their feet, work together, and devise original solutions that satisfy the requirement of the Challenges. Our district has ten teams registered for the program! If you are interested in being involved as a leader, please contact Sonya Zieske (379-5153 or szieske@albertlea.k12.mn.us).

Again, welcome back and have a great start to the month.