Community e-Newsletter

In Photos: Showcasing Learning

collage of student and staff photos

Student News

Meaningful activities

Students in Elizabeth Ulmer's Oneka Elementary classroom recently completed lessons related to Black History Month. The fourth graders read a picture book and created something to represent or symbolize their book. The creative projects that resulted included student-created posters, picket signs, and pictures with summaries.
 
Student with poster they made
Beth Fliehler's 2nd grade class has been reading current event articles each morning and talking quite a bit about the situation in the South, and Texas specifically, with the cold freeze that has created both infrastructure and humanitarian issues. Beth has been making connections with their SEL lessons and this real world situation. The students used their new poetry skills to write cards to kids being affected, then they collected small toys and gadgets to send to a preschool teacher with whom Beth has a contact to share with her students last week. The student-led activity was recently highlighted in a weekly video.
 
Bags of activities, with %22To: Texas%22 tag

As February’s Black History Month activities are coming to a close, the district’s Black Excellence Club pulled together a Black History Showcase that features students performing poetry and song. The virtual showcase was included in this week's video and can be found in its entirety here.

student speaking

The district's Senior Program serves as a food distribution site each Monday and Wednesday for the More than Meals initiative. The experience was recently highlighted in a weekly video. Thank you to area restaurants, including Donatelli’s, Keys, Washington Square, Eat and Rudy’s Redeye Grill for providing delicious meals. Those who are experiencing food insecurity and would like to learn more about how to register to receive meals through this service are asked to call 651-762-4820 for more details.

Important Conversations

White Bear Lake Area Schools licensed school counselors recently joined fellow East Suburban School Counseling colleagues to collaborate and consult about the critical work school counselors play as they support all students and their academic, personal/social and college & career development. They also had the privilege to share their stories with state legislators and advocate for the needs of our students and communities and how licensed school counselors are often the first point of contact for students and families that are struggling with academic, mental health or direction in their post-secondary options. 
 

During a recent classroom activity, students in Kathleen Elletson’s Birch Lake Elementary kindergarten classroom completed the sentence “If I were President I would…” with the following responses:

  • ride my bike all day long!
  • help people
  • be a bug
  • help people grow their plants
  • be a flag holder
  • say kids will rule the galaxy
  • stay home
  • write papers and important things
  • save people

Sunrise Park Middle School eighth graders recently participated in a virtual talk with an employee at NASA. The guest speaker shared information about the project their team is working on related to Pluto and answered the students' questions. The experience was covered in Friday's weekly video.

Students participating in Google Meet presentation

The district's Bear Care Clinic was highlighted by St. Catherine University, with mention of WBLAHS grad Jessica (Nadeau) Miehe's important role in starting the clinic. The Bear Care Health and Wellness Clinic remains open to help district families with health needs. All health services are free and available to all children in the White Bear Lake Area School District. Appointments can be scheduled by phone at (651) 653-2923, by email at BearCare@BearCareClinic.org or online. The clinic’s Facebook page provides clinic updates and can be found here.

adult portrait

Students at Willow Lane Elementary recently wrote letters about about prominent African American figures. They learned about the figures' important work and character traits, following the exercise by writing a letter to inform their fellow Bears about their important lives. The classroom activity was highlighted in a recent issue of “The Week in 62.4 Seconds.”

students at desks writing letters

Hands-on experiences

Students in Keith Stensland’s 9th grade physical science class recently learned how to decrease impact forces. They ultimately designed cushioning devices and put their creations to the test with a hands-on egg drop exercise. The experience was caught on tape and highlighted in last Friday's weekly video.

student dropping egg from ladder

Students at Lincoln Elementary have recently been celebrating Chinese New Year via Google Meet with Chinese Teacher Michelle Li. Students learned how Chinese New Year is celebrated throughout the world and made Chinese red packages, Chinese lanterns and paper cuttings.

screenshot of students showing assignments in Google Meet

The White Bear Lake Area Schools Career Pathways & and the Automotive Career Pathway are officially Round 4 recipients of the MN DLI Youth Skills Training grant for $100,000. See the Governor's full press release here. This honor came just days after WBLAHS Automotive/ Motorsports Instructor Derek Doescher learned that our school and students are number one for the Twin Cities area for Ford ACE program, which allows our students to complete dealership training at the high school level. Our students have completed 382 modules, which is more than any other school in the Twin Cities.

In other Pathways news, WBLAHS senior Jordan Feidt was featured in the 2020 Career & Technical Education Works Summit that was held virtually earlier this winter. Find Jordan representing the 916 nail technician course at 2:07 mark in this video.

student speaking

The Sunrise Park Middle School Ice Fishing Club, in its first year and made possible by grant funding, was recently highlighted in the White Bear Press. See the article about the winter club here, and see a highlight of the club that was included in the Feb. 19 issue of "The Week in 62.4 Seconds" video.

students holding fish in an ice house

A group of White Bear Lake Area High School students completed their Clinical Skills for the Certified Nursing Assistant course at South Campus this week. The students, who have now completed their 16 required hours of clinical skills, were unable to finish last spring due to COVID-19. The program’s qualified Nursing Assistant Instructor, Jody Ryan, offered the two days of clinical skills who are able to get their Certificate of Completion. This is a huge benefit to students, especially for those who plan to pursue nursing after high school.

Five students smiling in nursing clinical room

The district's youngest students are getting prepared to be hands-on Bears, with Preschool Registration for the 2021-22 school year opening this week. Families can sign their child up to join us "Where Bears Begin!" here. Families can learn more about the district's Early Childhood programs here.

preschool student and information

Activities Update

The Sunrise Park Middle School Ice Fishing Club was recently highlighted in the White Bear Press. WBLAHS gymnasts Grace Squires and Laney Gunderson earned return trips to the State Gymnastics Meet. Read more in this article.

Please contact the Communications Department (651-407-7695) to submit Student News for inclusion in future publications. 

The Week in 62.4 Seconds

Enjoy The Week in 62.4 Seconds videos highlighting weekly district activities throughout the school year.

School Board News

Upcoming Meetings

The March 1, 2021 School Board Regular Meeting will be conducted in person at District Center, with social distancing measures being put in place.

The remainder of the 2020-21 School Board meetings will continue to be viewable via electronic means. Livestream links are available on the district's online calendar and will be posted on the Meeting Materials page the week prior to each meeting.

RSS Feeds Subscribe to Alerts
School Board Regular Meeting Subscribe to Alerts
Community Room 112, District Center
School Board Regular Meeting Subscribe to Alerts
Community Room 112, District Center
School Board Regular Meeting Subscribe to Alerts
Community Room 112, District Center

Past Meeting Highlights

February 22 Work Session

February 8 Regular Meeting

District News

General Information