Elm Creek News
January 15, 2025
Health Office
We are seeing increased cases of influenza (flu), norovirus (stomach flu), RSV, strep throat, and pneumonia across the district. PLEASE keep children home if they are ill AND please inform the school of their symptoms or any positive tests for the listed illnesses when you report them absent. This is important information, as schools are required to report outbreaks of certain illnesses to the state when absences reach a certain level. As a reminder, students may return to school after an illness when they are fever-free for 24 hours WITHOUT medication, and/or vomit/diarrhea free for 24 hours. The student should also feel well enough to participate in all school activities. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions!
Becky Christensen, RN-BSN, PHN, LSN
Licensed School Nurse | Osseo Area Schools
Cedar Island Elementary and Elm Creek Elementary
Email: christensenr@district279.org
Direct: 763-391-7237
Parent/Teacher Conference Scheduling
Parent/Teacher Conferences are on February 4, 6 & 12, 2025. Conferences will be held in person with your child’s homeroom teacher from 7:50 - 8:30 a.m. and 3:40 - 7:00 p.m. You will only be able to schedule a time with your child's homeroom teacher; specialist teachers (PE, Music, TAG) will be available upon request. Please contact them directly to schedule a conference time with them.
The window for scheduling conferences is January 21 - 26, 2025
You need a ParentVUE account to sign up.
Don’t have an account? Contact Staci in the office at 763-425-0577 or joness@district279.org to request an access key.
Don’t remember your password? Go to the login page to reset your password.
Don’t remember your user name? Call or email Staci, she can look it up for you.
Ready to sign up? Sign in to your ParentVUE account and follow the instructions below.
Scheduling Conferences in ParentVUE
If you have any questions please call the school office at 763-425-0577 or email Staci Jones at joness@district279.org
Calendar
January 17 - Asynchronous (remote) for students
January 20 - No school for Martin Luther King Jr. Day
January 24 - Student Council Spirit Day: Teacher/Student Swap
January 27 - Coffee with the Principal at Annabelle House, Osseo
January 27 - 31 - Students Connecting Through International Service Supply Drive
January 27 - 31 - Great Kindness Challenge Week
January 28 - Third grade Music Program 6:00
January 30 - 5th grade Orchestra Demo Concert at OMS
February 1 - 28 - Student Council Service Project: Ronald McDonald Tab Collection
February 3 - No School - Licensed Staff Workshop
February 4, 6 & 12 - Parent/Teacher Conferences & PTO Scholastic Book Fair
February 6 - Kindergarten Field Trip to Ordway
February 7 - Student Council Spirit Day: Jersey/Sports Day & 2nd grade Field Trip to Stages Theater
February 11 - PTO General Meeting
February 14 - 4th grade Field Trip to Kindness Retreat
February 17 - No School - Presidents' Day
February 21 - 5th grade Field Trip to Ordway & PTO Fun Dance
February 28 - Coffee with the Principal at Elm Creek
Absence reporting
Just a reminder to make sure you are calling your student in absent when they are not at school. The school absence line is: 763-315-7692. You can leave a message anytime. You can also submit absences through ParentVue. When using ParentVue please enter a comment with symptoms or reason for absence. Please note that when your child is not called in it is considered an unexcused absence. You can view your child's attendance record in ParentVue. Contact the office if you see absences that need to be corrected.
Students coming in late to school (after the 8:50 bell ring's) are marked tardy. Please help your child be successful at getting to school on time (in classroom, ready to learn at 8:50).
Student Council Service Project
The Elm Creek Student Council is heading a school wide service project for the month of February. We will be doing a pop/soup tab collection for the Ronald McDonald House. Please start collecting tabs and send them to school during the month of February.
Coffee with the Principal
Monday, January 27th, 10:00-11:00 a.m.
An opportunity to connect, gather feedback, and be available to answer questions. Have questions? Contact: Mrs. Ness at nesse@district279.org
Yearbook Ordering
We are excited to offer school yearbooks to our families again this year. Please read the below information carefully and note the yearbook ordering deadline.
School Yearbook - $10
This 40-page yearbook is available to all students for purchase and includes all VPK – 5th grade level photos, student clubs, class projects, learning and some of our fun events throughout the year. The cost is $10 and the ordering deadline is March 28. We will make every effort to take photos of students who missed picture day so they are included in this book. School yearbooks may be ordered online or via a paper order form.
- Order Online (credit card payment only): https://store.plicbooks.com/projects/cb9df08b-f9e0-40a1-b06c-712a9a3942c4
- Paper Order Form (cash or check): Please print the attached form and fill it out. Place the completed form and money in an envelope and turn it in to your teacher. Checks should be written to Elm Creek Elementary. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1urA2251YG50VaHmIuHOaaetteYqrjxko/view?usp=sharing
Please note: Kemmetmueller Photography sent out initial online ordering information for the School Yearbook in the fall. If you already placed an order, please disregard – do not duplicate your order
Grade Level Book - Complimentary
All students will receive a complimentary book featuring only their grade level class photos. Students who did not have their photo taken on picture day will not be pictured in the grade level book.
If you have any questions, please call the school office.
Proposed attendance boundaries
Proposed attendance boundary change scenarios available to view; feedback opportunities include online form and info meetings
Elementary and middle school attendance boundaries are being changed in order to balance student enrollment across the district. These future adjustments, set to take effect in 2026, will reassign the Osseo Area Schools elementary and/or middle school that some households are zoned to attend.
Proposed scenarios available to view online: There are four proposed attendance boundary change scenarios being presented at this time. On each of the following information pages, you’ll find an overview of the proposed scenario, a map and a search tool. Community members can use the search tool to see how the proposed scenario would impact their household.
Community input is important: Please share your thoughts on the four proposed scenarios by filling out the online feedback form or participating in an upcoming community informational meeting.
The first Community Informational Meeting is being held on Wednesday, Jan. 15 at 5:45 p.m. in the Brooklyn Middle STEAM School cafe
The second Community informational Meeting is being held Thursday, Jan. 23 at 5:45 p.m. in the Maple Grove Middle School cafe
Timeline: Please share your thoughts on the four proposed scenarios by Friday, Feb. 7. After that, all community feedback will be reviewed and adjustments to the proposed scenarios considered. Likely, our community will have another opportunity to provide input on some edited scenarios in March. The school board is expected to approve final attendance boundary changes by this May.
The new attendance boundaries will go into effect fall 2026 alongside the tentative opening of the new elementary school in the northwest region of our district.
Background: It’s common for communities to experience changing student enrollment. Our district’s Enrollment and Capacity Management Advisory Committee (ECMAC) has been monitoring these enrollment shifts in conjunction with our school building capacities for the last several years. Their most recent reports have detailed that a significant enrollment imbalance exists and that it should be addressed.
ECMAC’s work helped to form 2023’s Building a Better Future referendum. A new elementary school and additions to Maple Grove Senior High School were requested to address space constraints from continued growth. It was additionally noted that attendance boundary changes were needed no matter the outcome of the election. Thankfully, our community supported the 2023 referendum request so additional facility space will help to address growth needs, which limits attendance boundary changes to elementary and middle schools and impacts fewer families.
Stay tuned: Please continue to stay tuned for updates over the coming weeks and months. Detailed information will continue to be shared on the district website, district279.org/boundaries. Feel free to reach out if something additional needs to be addressed via BetterFuture@district279.org or 763-391-8990.
English: 763-391-8900, Español: 1-855-891-8364, Lus Hmoob: 1-844-577-9549, Soomaali: 1-855-891-5322 or Tiếng Việt: 1-855-891-8365
Community Education
After-School Enrichment opportunities at Elm Creek. Check out the flyer!
Check us out on Social Media
Staci Jones
Administrative Assistant
Elm Creek Elementary