Have a great summer!

Dear Lakeview Families,
Thank you very much for all of your support and encouragement this school year for our students and staff at Lakeview. We've had a successful year, with students showing exceptional growth academically, socially, and behaviorally. Our school takes great pride in embracing the growth that each child makes and helping to set goals for continued achievement. Your support and positivity as we work through the school year is much appreciated. Have a great summer break and we'll look forward to seeing everyone in the fall.

Walk-a-thon Date Change

Dear Lakeview Families,

 

Due to the rainy forecast for Wednesday, May 22, our Walk-a-thon will be held Friday, May 24. Details of the day will remain the same, with the exception of hopefully sunnier, warmer weather. Note that Friday’s lunch menu will be served Wednesday due to this change, and that students will need to bring their own lunch on Friday. Also, please let your child’s teacher know if you had volunteered but will now be unavailable. Thank you for your flexibility as we try to choose the best day for kids to enjoy the walk!

Door Entry System

Dear Lakeview Families,

 

Student safety is our number one priority at Lakeview, as in all Albert Lea Schools. To help with this, Lakeview will be installing a door entry system, which will allow us to keep our doors locked during the school day. As visitors enter our building, they will be asked to press a button to notify and communicate with office staff. Staff will verify the visitor and allow entry. Once entering the building, our procedure will remain the same, with visitors being required to check in with the office and receive a badge.

 

We understand that this will be a small change in practice, but our building and district feel this is an important step in keeping our students secure. While our office staff knows many of our students’ families, please do not be offended if we ask your name and how we can help prior to entry. Our staff will be getting familiar with the procedure as well, so we appreciate your understanding and patience. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call the Lakeview office.

 

The door entry system is expected to be completed and activated this week. Thank you again for your support in this effort.

Parent Conferences

Due to today's weather cancellation, we will re-schedule conferences for this Thursday evening, March 21. If you had a conference scheduled for this evening, please try to attend at the same time Thursday night. Because of the change in date, conflicts may exist for you and your family. If you are unable to attend Thursday evening please contact your child's teacher to find a time that works for you. We are committed to spending time with each family, and will make every effort to find a meeting time that works for everyone. Thank you for your support for Lakeview and your students!

Minnesota Reading Corps

Next school year, Lakeview Elementary School will once again be host to a Minnesota Reading Corps (MRC), Literacy Tutor position.  MRC is an AmeriCorps program that is reducing illiteracy among our youngest generation (K-3).  Did you know that one in every five third-graders in Minnesota does not read at grade level?

 

MRC works with Minnesota schools, volunteers, families and community partners to provide proven, data-driven literacy models to at-risk children. All members are trained in state-of-the-art literacy research and become the vehicle of these proven methods as they work one-on-one with identified students throughout the year.

 

Children who don’t read at grade level by the end of third grade are at high risk of falling behind in all school subjects. This is why, MRC and Lakeview are teaming again to recruit and train a member for next school year. Please help us spread the word.  Our program this year has had great success as several of the students are now at their appropriate grade level in reading.

 

If you, or someone you know is interested in helping serve in this capacity, don’t hesitate to call or inquire with Lakeview's Principal, Eric Hudspith at 379-5021.  He can answer any questions you have about either position.  Details of each can be found on our district’s website under our Human Resources section or at www.MinnesotaMinnesotaReadingCorps.org

 

When you serve full-time for one year with MRC, you’ll receive free health care coverage, a semimonthly stipend and an education award of $5,550.   Service adds to any successful career and spending a year in a school is an ideal way to make connections and find your career path. Building our communities is a shared responsibility. Who better than you to help us end illiteracy in Minnesota?

Fun Night Rescheduled

Due to last week's snow day, Fun Night will be rescheduled for Friday, March 22. Although rescheduling a large event such as this can be challenging, it is important that we can continue to provide the night for our students. Thanks for everyone who has helped plan and who plans to volunteer on this evening. If the rescheduled date impacts your ability to volunteer a shift at Fun Night, please contact LESO to let them know. Thanks again,

Prairie Fire Photos

Some great pictures of the students at Prairie Fire this past weekend. Thanks for submitting them to me. If anyone has others they'd like to share, please send them to me and I can get them posted for others to enjoy.

Prairie Fire Theatre

Last week, students in grades 3-5 had the opportunity to participate in Prairie Fire Children's Theatre. The students worked with professional actors from Prairie Fire Monday through Friday until approximately 7:30 each evening, and the week culminated with performances Friday evening and Saturday morning. Jack and the Beanstalk was a huge success. Nearly 500 people came to watch the kids perform and both shows were extremely well done. Special thanks to all of the parents and teachers who helped to make it such a smooth event. The students did a wonderful job and we are so proud of them. Great work kids! An additional thank you to LESO, our parent group, for sponsorting the event and bringing this opportunity to Lakeview.

Channel 6 Segment

Our after school music club has been have a great time learning about music and dancing, as well as creating some fun digital performances. One such performance is a version of a popular dance song, which the students titled "Lakeview Style." As the students shared about this video with friends and family, it became a popular view online, and has received the attention of KAAL-TV's "viral video" segment. You can see this segment Thursday morning, around 5:20 and 6:20. We will also link the segment to our web site after it airs. What a great way to celebrate all of the wonderful opportunities students are participating in at Lakeview.

If you haven't seen it yet, here is the link for the "Lakeview Style" video.

https://plus.google.com/u/0/103340295249002643461/posts/VAfxXXdg3ki

Prairie Fire Theater

Lakeview Families,

 

This year, our parent group LESO is excited to be able to offer an opportunity for our students in grade 3-5 to participate in Prairie Fire Theater. Students will have the opportunity to audition for and perform in a play the week of February 4^th.  Prairie Fire sends two trained performers down to spend the week with our students and help them put on the show. Our 5^th grade student council students have chosen “Jack and the Beanstalk” as the play, and they will perform February 8 and 9 in the evening and morning, respectively, at the Southwest Middle School Theater. The play can accommodate a very large amount of students, so every child will have the opportunity to be involved.

 

The schedule of the week is below. We will work each day after school. Exact times will be announced closer to the actual date. Prairie Fire will work with the students’ schedules for the week so as many kids can participate as possible.

 

·         Monday, February 4: Auditions and Rehearsal—Lakeview

·         Tuesday, February 5: Rehearsal—Lakeview

·         Wednesday, February 6: Rehearsal—Southwest Little Theater (Students will be bused from Lakeview)

·         Thursday, February 7: Rehearsal—Southwest Little Theater

·         Friday, February 8: Performance—Southwest Little Theater

·         Saturday, February 9: Performance—Southwest Little Theater (AM)

 

 LESO is able to offer this for students thanks to your support of our school and parent group. Your help is appreciated! In addition, we will need volunteers to help sell and take tickets at the performances, as well as help usher as needed. Approximately 6 per performance will be needed. Please contact one of the teachers listed below if you would like to help with the event.

 

Tickets for adults will be $5, and kids will get in for free, in an effort to make sure everyone has the opportunity to see the show. If you have any concerns or questions about tickets, please contact us as well. Thanks for your support of our students; we’re looking forward to a fun event for the kids!

 

Miss Nordlocken—379-5052

Mrs. Talamantes—379-5058

Miss Kyllo—379-5043

Mrs. Forsythe—379-5043

Welcome Back!

As we welcomed students back this week after the holiday, it was great to see students and staff refreshed and ready to get back in our routines. I hope everyone had a restful break and is excited to be back. This month teachers will continue to work with students on various assessments that they will use to adjust their instruction and ensure that each child is doing the best they can this school year.

In addition to our academic work, we are preparing for two exciting extra-curricular events that take place in February. First, we will be participating in an activity called Prairie Fire Theater the first week of February, which will allow students to work with some actors from the theater company and perform for the public Friday evening and Saturday morning. Watch for more info in the coming week. Also, our annual Fun Night will be on February 22. Our parent group LESO is working hard to get this fun evening prepared, and is always ready to accept additional help. If you'd like to help out with either of the above activities, please contact Lakeview and we can help you connect with the appropriate individuals.

Thanks again for all you do for your students and Lakeview, and welcome to the new year.