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In Photos: Go Bears!

Student News

Homecoming 2025

We celebrated an exciting, busy, and successful Homecoming 2025 last week! The festivities kicked off with a variety of activities on September 21, including a community Bounce House Carnival. Students and community members wore their orange and black for the Friday, September 26 parade through Downtown White Bear Lake and at the varsity football game that evening. It was a memorable week filled with Bear pride throughout our district!

During Homecoming Week, Bears of all ages enjoyed theme days, athletic contests and special events. At Vadnais Heights Elementary, students tie dyed shirts as one of their many activities! While at Birch Lake Elementary, staff and students greeted each other with high fives and fun music to get everyone excited for the day! Over at the high school, students competed in various grade-level competitions. During their all-school pep fest, students enjoyed performances from the band, cheerleaders and dance team. Check out a glimpse at some of the fun in this video issue of "The Week in 62.4 Seconds".

At Central Middle School, the most exciting Homecoming activity was the annual staff versus students kickball game. Each grade-level faced off against staff members in a friendly competition during Bear Time. The three teams of staff had a great showing, defeating each grade-level!

Speaking of Central, a steady stream of students, families and community members visited the Middle School last week for a Community Open House event that welcomed guests in to see the completion of addition and renovation projects in the building. Attendees checked out the gymnasium addition and the building’s renovated spaces – including the expanded cafeteria, new Learning Commons and renovations made to the former District Center areas to return them to middle school spaces. The renovations are part of the district-wide projects made possible by the community’s support of the 2019 Building Our Future bond referendum.

Outdoor Learning Opportunities

Lincoln Elementary’s Garden Cub held their first meeting of the school year. The afterschool activity teaches the importance of caring for a garden, how to harvest produce and the role pollinators play. The students were captured in a recent video issue of "The Week in 62.4 Seconds" having fun exploring their new school garden. They picked several baskets produce including potatoes, celery, broccoli, kale, lettuce and more! Students washed and chopped the food to make a salad. The group will meet periodically throughout the school year.

Second graders in Ms. Humphrey’s class at Lakeaires Elementary used a scavenger hunt to practice their spelling words for the week. Students located words hidden around their classroom and wrote them out. They also went outside and practiced writing their spelling words with chalk! The exciting activities were highlighted in a recent video issue of "The Week in 62.4 Seconds".

White Bear Lake Area High School and Transition Education Center students hosted a booth at the Bald Eagle Art Crawl on September 13. They showcased their student-run business and custom service skills. Students had a great day selling greeting cards, dog treats, cutting boards, and tumblers while connecting with members of the community!

Exciting Lessons

Lincoln Elementary's cafeteria was filled with exciting cheers as kindergartners and new students were sorted into their Housing groups - Fidus: House of Responsibility, Quantum: House of Respect, Compassio: House of Compassion, Fortitudo: House of Grit and Unitatis: House of Unity. The houses get together periodically throughout the year for community building activities, service learning opportunities and different competitions. The system gives students the chance to connect with their peers from across classes and grade-levels that they may not normally have a chance to interact with!

High school students and Briana Santoscoy, the district's Student, Family, and Community Engagement Coordinator visited kindergarten classrooms at Matoska International. They hosted a special read aloud for Latinx Heritage Month. The younger students had fun listening to the older students share stories and having the opportunity to ask them questions about the books.  

At Oneka Elementary, each classroom is getting the opportunity to explore the different elements of their Learning Commons! The activity was highlighted in a recent video issue of "The Week in 62.4 Seconds". Students spent time listening to a story, learning how to check out books and enjoying the break out spaces.

Students in the Manufacturing and Engineering Career Pathway spent time at a national Manufacturing Technology Show, seeing 40+ live machine demos and talking to 90+ premium suppliers from the precision engineering and manufacturing industry. Drawing in manufacturing clients from around the world, Productivity Inc hosted its 23rd biennial show, which includes one day dedicated to Student and Career exploration. Our Manufacturing and Engineering students got to explore innovation at its finest alongside their peers and many students from midwest college programs. 

During a Whole Group Speech lesson, students at North Star Elementary focused on their core word of the week - the word "go". Students listened to a story and identified the word go each time it was said. They also took part in movement activities associated with the word. See their lesson come to life in this recent video issue of "The Week in 62.4 Seconds".

District Kudos

WBLAHS chemistry teacher Cassie Lydon was recently highlighted in a Q&A article by Beyond Benign for her work in sustainable chemistry, her innovative classroom experiments and her continued collaboration with Richfield High School chemistry teacher Cassidy Javner - who had served alongside Lydon as a student teacher in 2013. See the article here.

White Bear Lake Area High School student Juliette Weier-Rauscher earned a first place blue ribbon at the State Fair for her architecture project she completed in Mr. Feirn's class last school year! She created a 1/8th scale pre-design model before constructing her final piece which she entered. When designing the two story house, Juliette had to imagine the location and climate that her house would be built. She says her house is on the side of a mountain in Colorado in a rural area. Her location is special because it is overlooking a mountain but it's a national park so there are no buildings or power lines in the way of the view. The climate is generally cold because it is at a higher altitude so there is more snow in the fall, winter, and spring but the summer is generally warm.

WBLAHS football player Brian White III earned the Sports Illustrated Minnesota High School Football Player of the Week recognition for his performance during the September 19 game against East Ridge. His highlights during the game included 25 carries for 242 yards and scored two touchdowns. 18 players were nominated for this recognition.

White Bear Lake Area High School students Holly Flood, Luisa Maruyama and Freya Sanders were highlighted in a White Bear Lake Magazine for their middle school friendship that has bloomed into a performance trio as high school students. Read the highlight here.

White Bear Lake Area Schools has once again earned top honors for financial reporting, marking the 25th consecutive year the district has received both the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting and the Association of School Business Officials (ASBO) Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting. See the press release here.

Special Recognitions

The winning group from the 2024-25 Minnow Tank Project at Willow Lane Elementary presented a donation to their charity of choice: Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity. The group spent several weeks researching the non-profit and preparing a presentation for a panel of judges. The project, which was highlighted in this article by Habitat for Humanity, is inspired by the TV show Shark Tank and teaches the value of service, teamwork and persuasive speaking. 

At a Craft Corner Consignee meeting that took place at the White Bear Lake Area Senior Center last week, special recognition was given to Lois O'Neil in honor of her participation in the craft boutiques for 50 years. Check out her moment in the spotlight during the meeting in this video issue of "The Week in 62.4 Seconds".

White Bear Lake Area High School is proud to announce that Brigadier General (Ret.) Bryan John Hult, Class of 1974 Mariner Campus, and Dr. Paul Anthony Iaizzo, Class of 1974 (Mariner Campus), have been selected as the 2025 Distinguished Alumni Award recipients. They were formally recognized before the Homecoming football game on September 26. Read more about both recipients in this news release. 

Our middle school and high school band, orchestra and choir students have been taking part in some pretty amazing activities and events! Check out the WBLAS Music Department’s September Music Bulletin here to enjoy features of summertime events, a calendar of upcoming events, Music Boosters info and highlights of WBLAS music teachers!

The Citizen recently highlighted our district's School Resource Officers in a Q&A segment. The SROs shared details about their typical day, something people might not know about their job, steps they take to keep students safe and something they enjoy about the role. Read the story here!

White Bear Lake Area Schools was recently highlighted for efforts being made to implement BARR (Building Assets, Reducing Risks) throughout the district. What started as a program to support students and staff at White Bear Lake Area High School has expanded to a program used in six of our district's buildings covering students in grades K-12. See the story here.

 Activities Updates

The Girls Soccer Team defeated Roseville 2-0 in a recent matchup. Read more here. The Boys Soccer Team ended their game against Forest Lake with a tie 1-1. Find highlights here. Meanwhile, the Boys Varsity Soccer Team dedicated a game vs. Cottage Grove's Park High School to mental health awareness this week, and WCCO-TV reporter Frankie McLister was there to cover the experience. The Girls Tennis Team is preparing for Sections after a series of wins and losses including a win over Stillwater 4-3. Read more here. The Girls Volleyball Team claimed a win at home against Woodbury 3-1. Find match highlights here. The Boys Cross Country Team he finished in fourth place at the 29-team Gopher 5K race at the Roy Griak Invitational. Read more about the meet here. Tickets are now available for the WBLAHS Fall Musical production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella, which will be performed in the high school’s state-of-the-art Performing Arts Center Nov. 14-15 and 20-22. Purchase tickets here.

Hudl Ticketing will be the exclusive provider of online tickets for all of your White Bear Lake Area High School home regular season athletic ticketing needs. Find games and purchase tickets 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.

In order to ensure a safe, enjoyable, and organized experience for all attendees, we are implementing new expectations for middle school student attendance at home football games. Read about the expectations 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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