Community e-Newsletter

In Photos: Engaging Lessons and Activities

Student News

Impressive Accomplishments

The WBLAHS Girls' Basketball Team is once again heading to the State tournament after defeating Roseville in the Section 4AAAA championship game! The exciting matchup ended with a final score of 40-39. Find game highlights in this White Bear Press article. The State tournament is taking place March 12-15. Find ticket information and other details here. Good luck and Go Bears!

WBLAHS senior Tony Parado Romero competed at the State Dive meet this past weekend placing 28th. This was Tony's  fifth state appearance during his time on the Boys' Swim and Dive Team. He qualified for State after placing first at the Section 4AA Boys' Swim & Dive meet. Also at Sections, junior Benedict Hoefer broke the school record in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:49.58. Find more meet highlights in this White Bear Press article.

WBLAHS junior Jinet Demanou placed third at the Girls' State Wrestling tournament. The White Bear Press captured her achievements during the tournament. Jinet is the first wrestler from White Bear's girls team to qualify for State. She ended her season with a 22-3 record.

Love of Learning

At Otter Lake Elementary, students enjoyed a day of listening to new books from special guest readers! Members of the University of Minnesota’s football, rowing, and track and field teams visited several classes! After they finished reading their book, students were able to ask the student-athletes questions and get their autographs! Watch the exciting activity come to life in this video issue of "The Week in 62.4 Seconds".

Vadnais Heights Elementary celebrated Read Across America day! One of their activities, which was highlighted in this video issue of "The Week in 62.4 Seconds" was reading by flashlight in forts! Students had the option to read one of their favorite books or select a new read from the traveling cart before choosing a comfy spot with friends!

The district's Transition Education Center (TEC) hosted a Family engagement Night, bringing together current and future students and their families for a fun and social evening. These events are designed to strengthen the connections between students, families, and staff while providing valuable resources and support. Attendees enjoyed a light dinner, a game of Bingo, and the option to visit the resource table, which featured materials based on topics families had expressed interest in through a recent TEC newsletter survey.

Exciting Opportunities

Discovering Something New

White Bear Lake Area High School students were able to connect with different colleges and universities during a college fair hosted in the field house. Walking from table to table, students asked questions about academic, athletic and activity choices and opportunities as they prepare for their next steps after high school. Nearly 100 colleges and universities from around the world participated. 

WBLAHS student’s also had the opportunity to meet with over 40 employers at the Career Pathways Career Fair last week. Employers brought their exciting, hands-on technology and equipment for students to play with and in some cases, try on! Not only were students able to engage with employers to learn about careers in their industries and the training or education required to pursue that career, but employers were sharing current job openings, as well! 

Fifth graders at North Star were visited by a naturalist from Wargo Nature Center. Students stepped outside the classroom to learn about watersheds. They walked around the tall grass and surrounding nature elements near their building exploring the different ecosystems and discovering how they are all connected and impact one another. Their lesson was highlighted in a recent video issue of "The Week in 62.4 Seconds". 

Culinary and Art Skills

Oneka Elementary Extended Day students are practicing their teamwork and culinary skills! They recently worked together to follow a recipe to make delicious chocolate brownies! Students had so much fun taking turns adding the ingredients and mixing the batter! Meanwhile at Otter Lake, students used sweet treats for a science lesson! These engineers built structures using marshmallows and toothpicks!

High school students are also exploring different culinary skills in their FACS class. One technique they practiced was dicing and chopping vegetables to make pico de gallo. They also worked together to follow a recipe and measure ingredients to make snickerdoodle cookies. Which their lessons come to life in this video issue of "The Week in 62.4 Seconds".

 

Challenges and Competitions

Central Middle School Spanish students in Ms. Garcia’s class are participating in a world-wide music contest. The activity, which was captured in a recent video issue of "The Week in 62.4 Seconds", was created by a Spanish teacher in Michigan. Students filled out brackets and voted on popular Spanish pop culture songs hoping their favorites would continue on in the contest! The class can also check how schools around the world are voting! Students made a large bracket in the hallway so the entire school can see how the contest pans out. 

Speaking of bracket competitions, middle schoolers in Mr. Axell's class are participating in a nation-wide march madness-like contest of their own! Students have been studying different animals in preparation for the competition. They filled out brackets and will watch a short video each day to see if the animal they choose will move on in the contest. Also at Central, a friendly competition was hosted during Bear Time. The eighth grade class challenged staff to a volleyball game. Six representatives from the students and staff faced off with the winners being the staff. 

At Oneka Elementary, students practiced their engineering skills by working with robots. Their activity was captured in this video issue of "The Week in 62.4 Seconds". They programmed their robot to move in different patterns and make noises. With a different robot, students practiced entering code so the robot would follow colored squares! 

Students at Lakeaires Elementary have been enjoying a school-wide building competition! Classes could use any building materials to create their structures. After submitting a photo, the Student Council voted on their favorite structures. The winner for grades K-2 was Mrs. Elias' class with the Kindness Kingdom and the 3-5 grade-level winner was Mrs. Brodt's class.

Youth Enrichment Classes

Computer science—and more specifically coding—has become one of the hottest subjects in education today, and with good reason; this is the universal language of the future! That's where CSGA’s Scratch Game Coding comes into play. Members new to Scratch Game Coding will begin by orienting themselves to a simplified block code technique, and then learn massive computer science concepts and coding skills in the best way possible: self-motivated FUN! Each session is designed to best facilitate both new and returning students, with new games that are accessible to all levels of coding, and all ages from kindergarten on up.  Most of our Scratch Game Coding sessions fill, and roughly 75% students return, which is an incredible mark of how engaging this world can be. Find registration information here. 

 Activities Updates

The Girls Basketball Team punched their ticket to the State tournament after defeating Roseville in the Section 4AAAA championship game. Find game highlights here and State tournament information here. The Boys' Swim and Dive team wrapped up their season. Tony Parada Romero participated in the State Dive meet for the fifth time and at the Section 4AA Swim and Dive meet, Benedict Hoefer broke the school record in the 200 freestyle. Read more here. Girls' Wrestling team member Jinet Demanou placed third at the Girls' State Wrestling tournament. The White Bear Press captured her achievements during the tournament. The Spring Sports season is getting underway. Find registration information and first week of practice schedules here. 

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.

School Board News

District staff, students, community members and school board members enjoyed the first School Board meeting in the new boardroom at Sunrise Park District Service Center. The district looks forward to welcoming more community members to the new meeting location at all future regular meetings and work sessions. Find meeting school board meeting materials and other information here. 

School Board Student Recognition

District News

General Information