Community e-Newsletter

In Photos: Active Bears

collage of student and staff photos

Student News

Celebrated students

WBLAHS Senior Gretel Tassah was recently announced as a 2020 State Winner for the MN Aspirations in Computing Award and received a National Certificate of Distinction. This is an incredible honor for Gretel, who is the only person from White Bear Lake Area Schools to ever receive the award.
 
student
At the March Regular School Board meeting, district middle school and high school students were recognized for state-level honors in the 2021 Scholastic Art Awards process. Students who were recognized include: Lynn Fastner, Ava Del Castillo, Mia Binsfeld, Margaret Petersen, Celia Fuhrman, Astrid Scharff, and Morgan Holmstrom. The recognition video can be found here.
 
thumbnail of Student Recognition video, student portrait artwork
A group of students earned the honor of represented WBLAHS at State contests. WBLAHS Nordic skiers Sage Durdle and Lauren Loppnow qualified for the State Nordic Ski meet and represented the district this week. Read the White Bear Press article about the students here.
student Nordic skiing

Garnering attention

Students in Central Middle School math classes recently enjoyed a pi-related activity, making irrational bracelets that correspond with a longer version of 3.1415926535897. The students' bracelets had a special 3-prong bead to represent the "3", a clear bead to represent the decimal point, and a color chart that they used to complete the bracelet to represent a string of numbers in the widely known irrational number.
 
student making beaded bracelet
 
The White Bear Press recently published WBLAHS senior Tony Perfetti's letter the editor, which encourages community members to consider trying Nordic skiing.
 
pic of letter to the editor about trying Nordic skiing
 
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 about the grant here. WBLAHS students are offered an opportunity to participate in a program called Ford ACE, which allows students to complete dealership training, necessary to earn Ford certification, at the high school level. According to White Bear Automotive/ Motorsports Instructor, our contacts at AutoNation Ford recently shared that our school and students are number one for the Twin Cities area for Ford ACE. Our students have completed 382 modules, which is more than any other school in the Twin Cities.
 
The WBLAHS Ambassadors are participating in an Over the Edge Fundraiser in support of One Heartland, an organization that has a mission to improve the lives of children, youth and families facing significant health challenges or social isolation. For every $1000 they raise in support of the organization, one participant will be given the opportunity to rappel down a 24-story building. See the Ambassadors' fundraising presentation here.

Taking a break

On the eve of Spring Break, Dr. Kazmierczak (with some help from Bear) shared with all students a Spring Break video to wish them a good break. Among the nuggets of advice shared were: read, spend time outside, be kind and stay healthy.
 
screenshot of Spring Break video
With students returning to school after a week of Spring Break, White Bear Lake Area Schools recommends that families follow the MDH guidance regarding out of state travel. Please find the full MDH guidelines here. COVID-19 testing is important. Find your local testing sites here.
 
Additionally, the Bear Care Health and Wellness Clinic is now offering curbside COVID-19 rapid tests for all students and staff of the district with symptoms of the virus. Appointments are required and walk-ins are not available. A limited number of appointments are available on Tuesdays and Wednesdays for Rapid Tests, which are only accurate for students and staff displaying symptoms of COVID-19. Appointments can be made here. Those who have questions can contact the Bear Care Clinic by email at BearCare@BearCareClinic.org or by phone at (651) 653-2923. Information can also be found on the Bear Care Facebook page.
 
In other news of breaks, students in Grades 6-12+ will not have school on March 18 & 19. The pair of days are Transition Days for secondary students, who will be offered in-person learning starting March 22. Elementary students will continue to have school as normal on March 18 & 19.
 
photo of calendar boxes
 
Those who are looking for something to do while taking a break could consider the WBLAHS Fall Musical “Songs for a New World,” which is available through early-May as a rent-to-view video performance. The rental functions just like renting a movie from Amazon Prime Video and other VOD Streaming Services. The movie can be found, rented, and viewed from our ShowTix4U Box Office. Find additional information about the opportunity here.
 
collage of students on stage

Activities Update

The Boys' Golf Team is hosting a fundraiser. See details in the "Support Our Students" section below. WBLAHS Nordic skiers Sage Durdle and Lauren Loppnow qualified and represented the district in the State Nordic Ski meet. See additional info here. The WBLAHS Ambassadors are participating in an Over the Edge Fundraiser in support of One Heartland. See their presentation here.

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 22, 2021 School Board Work Session 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.

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

March 1 Regular Meeting

February 22 Work Session

District News

General Information