Thursday Folder
12/12/2013

FROM THE DESK OF MR. G


Morning Drop-off Procedures
Students that are being dropped off in the morning must exit vehicles directly to the drop-off curb.  Please do not drop-off any place other than the safety curb.  Please do not double park in the drop-off lane or attempt to quickly drop students in an unsafe location.  We rely on the cooperation of all parents to help contribute to a safe morning drop-off routine.  Please drive safely and slowly in the parking lot and be extra attentive; visibility is often diminished in the early morning hours and snow/ice make it critical to exercise patience and safe driving speeds.  

Referendum Communication
The school has an important responsibility to inform and communicate with our families.  Please do not hesitate to contact me or review additional information on the district's website click here.

FAQ #2: How will these referendum proposals impact property taxes? If voters approve the ballot questions, the tax impact on the average Wayzata homeowner ($333,900 value home) would be approximately $10/month for the bond issue. There would be no tax increase for the technology levy renewal.

VOTER REQUEST
Annual Tax Impact*
Monthly Tax Impact*
Q1:  $109.645 million bond
$123
$10
Q2:  Renew existing tech levy
$0
$0
Tax impacts are based on $333,900 average home value in school district

A High-Tech Character Education Connection
We believe having a good character is terrific and adopted the mnemonic, "trrfcc" to help us remember how terrific the six character traits are.  Mr. Nate Uselding, our student teacher in Mrs. Jamie Tewksbury's third grade classroom, is collaborating with our staff to help create an engaging/interactive experience with students that reinforces our character education program. 

T - Trustworthiness

R - Respect

R - Responsibility

F - Fairness

C - Caring

C - Citizenship  

 

There are six recognition plaques hanging in our school's entryway representing each one of the traits above. Through an app on your smart-phone or tablet called Aurasma, we can bring to life our character trait plaques with a click of a button.  Aurasma delivers a special message through augmented reality technology.  Download the Aurasma app today, so you can experience this exciting adventure:
  1. Download Aurasma on a mobile device.
  2. Follow our school's channel by searching for "Greenwood Elementary" in Aurasma, or going directly to the URL:  http://auras.ma/s/cqE9t
  3. Point your Aurasma viewfinder at words across the top of the character education recognition plaques and enjoy...it is cool!

Kind regards,
Mr. Brad Gustafson, Principal

Paws to Do Good was a great success!

Thank you to everyone who participated and donated to the Paws to Do Good Service Night.  We had more than 200 people attend, which enabled us to make:
  • 399 sandwiches for the 363 Days Food Program (for the homeless)
  • 244 rice bags and 230 snack bags  for Interfaith Outreach and Community Partners (IOCP)
  • plant 16 pots of paper whites and make 30 pinecone centerpieces for Cornerstone Commons (assisted living)
  • decorate 90 tote bags filled with coloring books and crayons for Sojourner Project (safe shelter for women and children)
  • write notes and wrap 178 sets of silverware for Meals on Wheels (for people who are recovering from surgery or illness)
  • pack 70 bags of toiletries for People to People (homeless shelter)
  • write 116 letters for Yellow Ribbon to those serving in the military overseas
  • raise $276.00 for Helping Paws to help fund a service dog.
Thank you to the following businesses/organizations for their support: Mort's Deli, Varitronics LLC, Harbor Dental, Culinary Express, Westside Community in Action, The Foursome, Caribou (Medina), Breadsmith (Minnetonka), Rainbow, Country Hearth Outlet, Chuck & Don's (Plymouth) and Gina B Designs.

Elementary V21 Identification

The elementary identification system uses established criteria on standardized tests and classroom observation data, which identify approximately 10% of Wayzata Public School's highest performing 2nd - 4th grade students.   In the identification process, MAP RIT scores and CogAT SAS scores are converted to local percentile rankings.  The local percentile rankings are used in the criteria, not national percentile rankings.

 

  1. Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) - measures student achievement in reading and in math
  2. Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) - designed to measure learned reasoning ability
  3. Classroom observation data

 

The families of the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade students who are newly identified to receive Vision 21 services will be notified by letter. Scores will be accessible in Skyward Family Access on Friday, December 13, 2013.  For details on how to access both the MAP and CogAT data for your child, please visit www.wayzata.k12.mn.us/Domain/2226.  

 

For further information or questions, please contact your school's Vision 21 teacher or Karla Thompson, Director of Personalized Learning and Interventions at 763-745-5094.

Gently used winter items needed

Do you have any gently used snow pants, gloves or coats that you would like to donate? We will gladly accept your items in the Office to be used within our Greenwood community.

Save the date

Greenwood's first grade students will present a music program on Friday, May 9, 2014.  The school performance will be at 9 a.m. with the parent program at 1 p.m.  Please direct questions to Ginny Gardner at [email protected].

New Skyward Family Access Available

Parents now have the option to view the new Family Access interface. This design contains additional calendar options, parent notifications, message center, and allows parents to filter by student. It can be accessed at the top of the Family Access menu on the left where it says "Preview Family Access". This Family Access is in the final stages of development so look for more options to be released in the future. The current version of Family Access will be retired in February 2014 allowing parents time to become comfortable with the new version. In the interim, users can toggle between the new version and the current version. A video of the new Skyward Family Access is available here. 

Special Education Substitute Paras Needed 

Wayzata Public Schools is currently seeking Special Education Substitute paraprofessionals.  For more information, click here.

Skate with the Trojans 

Wayzata Boys High School Hockey presents "Skate with the Trojans" on Saturday, December 14th at 11:30 pm at the PIC-C.  "Come state with us."  

Lunch Menu
To view December's lunch menu, click here.
Upcoming Events
December 20th, 9:00 a.m. to to 10:15 a.m. - Halsey/Westman, and 12:30 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. - Damask/St. Clair/Schmidt - Gingerbread Houses

December 20th, 9:00 a.m. to 1:20 p.m. - Kirchner/Nguyen/Warden Field Trip to Bakken Museum

January 2nd, 9:00 a.m. to 1:20 p.m.- Scheurman/Vrudny Field Trip to Bakken Museum
 

Quick Links
Sincerely,
Greenwood Elementary



Greenwood Elementary
18005 Medina Road, Plymouth, MN 55446-2919
Phone: 763-745-5500 Fax: 763-745-5591  


Connect WITH THE US  Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter