Community e-Newsletter

In Photos: New Year, New Opportunities

Student News

Spreading Kindness

North Star Elementary students and staff were visited by special guest: Viktor the Minnesota Vikings' mascot! Viktor joined students to help kick off their Kindness Campaign. Students played games and demonstrated what it means to be kind alongside Viktor. To end the assembly, students, staff, Viktor and a member of the Minnesota Vikings’ Skol Line performed the “Skol” chant that is cheered loudly before every home Vikings’ game.

This school year, students in the Work-Based Learning Program at White Bear Lake Area High School are taking  part in monthly volunteer shifts at the White Bear Lake Emergency Food Shelf. These students are supported by program staff, as well as students from the Bear Buddies group, a new student organization focused on supporting students with disabilities. The four students pictured below had a busy shift sorting items in the Food Shelf warehouse. Activities like this are an excellent opportunity for students to further develop their employment skills while supporting the community.

Eighth graders at Central Middle School are supporting one another during their AVID tutorials class. The weekly peer tutoring time, which was captured in this video issue of "The Week in 62.4 Seconds", allows students to ask questions they are stuck on in different classes. Students then strategize together to solve the problems or assignments. 

In the Spotlight

The White Bear Lake Area High School Varsity and Elementary Cheerleading Teams earned top honors at the Frosty Fest competition held at St. Michael-Albertville High School. The 14-member Varsity team was named champions of the Varsity Non-Tumbling I game day and traditional divisions, taking the highest traditional routine score of the entire competition. The 13-member Elementary team placed first in its division. Both teams are now preparing to host their first-ever home competition, White Bear Lake Cheer JamBEARee, at White Bear Lake Area High School on January 18.

The WBLAHS Girls' Gymnastics Team landed their season best team score with 140.3 points at the Princeton Invite. The team also placed second out of eight teams. Top finishers for the Bears were Addy Mueller who was third all-around, won bars, tied for third on floor and was fourth on vault. Josie Mlejnek was seventh all-around, fifth on floor and eighth in bars. Find more meet results here. 

The White Bear Lake Area Educational Foundation announced several grant award recipients. WBLAEF awarded three Ryan Family Art Grants to the following elementary school teachers: Kelly Coorough (Matoska Internatinal), Jennifer Elias (Lakeaires Elementary) and Kelly Humphrey (Lakeaires Elementary). This grant helps supplement art instruction in elementary schools. The following eight teachers/groups were awarded the Brosious Grant, which aims to enhance the rigor of the curriculum or instruction within our school district: Kimberly Jeske-Walfoort (Matoska International), Jenny Luka, Brooke Bergmann, Grace Behr and Shelly Darr (Mariner Middle School), Debra Thibault and Elizabeth Ulmer (Oneka Elementary), Sara Bromeland and Tara Ostendorf (Matoska International), Jennifer Latuff and Jason Kehrer (WBLAHS),  Greta Thun and Susan Sedro (Matoska International),  Ryan Busse (Vadnais Heights Elementary), and Theresa Wedell, Kari Munson, Amy Tulberg and Jackie Zakrzewski (Oneka Elementary). Learn more about each grant and the other initiatives through the White Bear Lake Area Educational Foundation here. 

Open Houses took place last week at Matoska International and Otter Lake Elementary, the two district sites that will offer Dual Spanish Immersion options for kindergarten students starting in the fall of 2025. As seen in this video issue of "The Week in 62.4 Seconds", Families toured the schools and learned about the district’s new elementary Spanish dual immersion program. Kindergarten enrollment for these sites and all of our elementary schools is now open. Find more information about enrollment here and learn more about the Spanish dual immersion program here. 

Mark your calendar to attend the 43rd annual Jazz Night Club event! Listen to five different student bands while enjoying a tasty meal before heading onto the dance floor! The event is taking place on Saturday, January 25 in the Student Union at White Bear Lake Area High School. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. for dinner guests and the dance floor opens at 6:45 p.m. with swing dance lessons provided! Tickets are on sale through January 19. Find ticket information here and additional event details here. 

Critical Thinkers

Central Middle Schoolers conducted a Bird Beak lab experiment in their science class last week. Students modeled different objects after beaks and competed to see who could pick up the most food. They used adaptive traits and non-adaptive traits to calculate what type of beak would help a bird survive when the food source changes. See the lesson come to life in this video issue of "The Week in 62.4 Seconds".

Students in Lincoln Elementary's Explorations program hosted their Native American Showcase last week. Family members and other classes walked the hallways and stepped inside classrooms to view the different projects, artwork and presentations. Students spent 10 weeks researching different Native American tribes before choosing one to focus their project on.

Early Childhood staff, families and students in the ECFE classes (Early Childhood Family Education) enjoyed a fun activity: using a parachute in the classroom! The district's youngest Bears enjoyed crawling, dancing and walking under the parachute has it was lifted up. Registration for our Early Childhood programs opens later this year. Find more information on the district's website. 

Mariner Middle School students helped Principal Pierre host Minnesota Representative Brion Curran for a Principal for a Day event. Areas of the building that were showcased during the tour included the cafeteria, the gymnasium and various classrooms. Also included in the experience were conversations with students who were gathered for their student organization meetings.

 Activities Updates

The Bears Gymnastics Team landed their season best team score at the Princeton Invite where they also placed second out of eight teams. Find highlights here. The Girls Basketball Team defeated Stewartville 62-60 with a buzzer beating layup during a basketball expo tournament hosted by Kenyon-Wanamingo. Read additional details here. They also topped Mounds View 69-56. Find highlights here. The Boys Basketball Team took home a win over Centennial in a recent matchup. Game highlights can be found here. The Boys Hockey Team handed Stillwater a 3-1 loss in a recent matchup. 

Senior community members (age 65+) who live in the District are invited to participate in the Senior Activities Pass program and enjoy complimentary admission to most school activities. Find out how to receive your free pass 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.

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