Community e-Newsletter

In Photos: Bears with direction

collage of photos from last two weeks

Student News

Bear sightings

Friday's issue of "The Week in 62.4 Seconds" featured "Bear Time" at Otter Lake Elementary. Each day, students spend time together working on social emotional skills and building relationships with one another. Check out the video to see students enjoying a beautiful fall day, complete with a "Bear" weathervane gracing Otter's outdoor area. Social-emotional learning is on the agenda for Lincoln Elementary students, too, as highlighted in a recent issue of "The Week in 62.4 Seconds."

weathervane with Bear at the top

A new group of Bears are seen in St. Paul these days as well. Showing off employment skills, the district’s 2020-21 Project SEARCH interns are now immersed fully into the workplace at Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare in St. Paul, MN. Interns receive classroom instruction, career exploration, and job skills training as part of their day as a Project SEARCH intern.

Last but not least, students at Matoska International IB World School were recently greeted off the bus by an energetic visitor wearing orange and black. The fun "welcome" to school undoubtedly left them with a smile on their fact to start their morning lessons.

Bear mascot greeting students to school

Engaged in learning

Students used the recent election to learn timely lessons about the democratic process mixed with fun. Central Middle School FLEX Tier 1 students followed election results throughout the day on Election Day, learning about electoral votes while counting and mapping the electoral numbers for candidates. At Vadnais Heights Elementary, kindergarteners were excited to participate in a mock election, complete with a voting booth. The students cast ballots for a class activity of either painting or watching "Magic School Bus." See the video here.

students on computers and tallying votes

Art is a classroom inspiration for students at the Transition Education Center who are working with three instructors from Upstream Arts for weekly lessons. The art residency is designed to help our students develop skills vital to success in school, work, and life. Upstream Arts partners with schools in the greater metro area to support student's IEP (Individual Education Plan) goals, Social Emotional Learning with 2 main goals: 1) Informed Choice and 2) Person Centered Planning. The collaboration is being funded by a grant that supports metro schools.

screenshot of online classroom meeting

 

Successful endeavors

The White Bear Lake Area High School Varsity Cheerleading Team recently swept the Lakeville North Cheer competition and took first place in both gameday and traditional routines. They also had the highest score of the weekend out of 25 teams. District recognition also came by way of the Press Publications Readers' Choice Local Section. WBLAHS teacher Wendy Suoja was named as a finalist in the "Best Teacher" category, and the district's website won "Best Website (Local)."

screenshot of %22Best Local%22 newspaper article

Former WBLAHS Boys' Hockey player Lleyton Roed, now playing his first season of junior hockey in the NAHL with the Magicians, recently committed to play D1 hockey for Bemidji State University. Read about his decision, his appreciation for those who helped him along the way, and his success here.

White Bear Lake Area High School students are making memories on stages across the district these days. The Jazz Band performed at South Campus last week, successfully making music despite performances looking a bit different these days due to COVID-19. White Bear Lake Area High School students are also busy preparing for a Fall Musical performance of "Songs for a New World" taking place on Nov. 12, 13 & 14 on the stage at the Community Auditorium (District Center). Tickets are available for in-person and can be purchased here. An on demand recorded release experience will be available for purchase as well. The musical rehearsal was featured in a weekly video here (please note that the performance dates have change since the video was released).

screenshot of %22Songs for a New World%22 website

Members of the district's Senior Program have been busy as well. In late October, the Senior Center housed a KID Packs effort, with food packages being distributed weekly to district students who might otherwise go hungry over the weekend. More recently, the Senior Program hosted its annual Holiday Boutique. The experience was highlighted in Friday's weekly video.

Activities Update

Former WBLAHS Boys' Hockey player Lleyton Roed, now playing his first season of junior hockey in the NAHL with the Magicians, recently committed to play D1 hockey for Bemidji State University. Read more. The WBLAHS Fall Musical performance of "Songs for a New World" is taking place on Nov. 12, 13 & 14. Tickets are available for in-person and can be purchased here. An on demand recorded release experience will be available for purchase as well.

White Bear Lake Area High School athletic contests are now available via live streaming provided by PrepSpotlightTV. The live stream arrangement is done in partnership with MSHSL and Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) guidance. Full information, including links to purchase live streaming, can be found 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

Past Meeting Highlights

November 2 Special Session

October 26 Work Session

District News

General Information