Wolves Newsletter

Focus on Fitness ... Good for our Bodies ... Good for our Brains!

First Day of School: Tuesday, September 8, 2026

August 24, 2026

Dear Park Brook Parents and Guardians,

For those new to Park Brook, you will notice that our approach to learning is unique.

Focus on Fitness is unique to Park Brook Elementary. The purpose is not to create athletes, although some students may thoroughly enjoy participating in sports, but to encourage students to be active to prepare them for their own individual dreams. The research is overwhelming that increasing movement increases academic growth. At Park Brook students will be active throughout the school day; students in grades 3 – 5 will set fitness goals; kinesthetic seating encourages students to use core muscles during instruction; and there are before school, after school and weekend activities for students. I would be remiss if I did not mention that our fitness activities are fun, and having fun is important for learning!

Please feel welcome to stop-in, call, or email at any time.

Sincerely,

Mr. Scott W. Taylor

Principal

Additional opportunities will be offered throughout the year. This newsletter provides some information, but does not discuss all activities that will be offered throughout the school year.

Registration for Girls on the Run is open. Space is limited. GOTR at Park Brook will meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays beginning on Thursday, September 10 and ending on November 10. A 5K will take place on November 8.

GOTR meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:20 pm - 5:00 pm.

While running is a part of GOTR, it is a great place for girls to connect, grow in leadership skills, and have fun with movement and running activities.

Students in Grades 1 - 5 – Saturday, October 3

The Twin Cities 5K is held in St. Paul beginning at the Minnesota State Capital. Students will ride a bus from Park Brook to the Twin Cities 5K. Parents/guardians are welcome to ride the bus and come cheer on the students from the starting and finish lines, but they are not required to come.

Registration information will be available at Open House.

At Park Brook, we can only register students and staff who are chaperoning the field trip. Please contact Mr. Taylor if you would like to participate in the Twin Cities 5K.

A $5 commitment fee is required with permission slips for most weekend events. The commitment fee is returned to all who participate, or let the office know by noon on the school day before the event that they are not able to participate.

There are many expenses with weekend field trips, students are never charged, yet we must have an accurate count for who will be attending.

The commitment fee:

• Slows down families when signing permission slips to realize that the field trip is on a non-school day,
• Encourages families to let the school know if their child will not be participating after registering for the event.

The commitment fee has greatly helped reduce the number of no-shows for weekend field trips, which greatly helps contain costs and make these opportunities possible for students.

Brain Boosts are movement breaks before and during instruction of increasing focus and academic growth. Students in all classes will stop for a Brain Boost several times a day. Just as students are expected to complete math work, students are expected to participate in the Brain Boosts. Brain Boosts are done in different ways in different classes, and designed to be fun. The expectation for Brain Boosts is not because we just want to do them, it is because the research shows that if movement and fitness increase, academic growth and focus increases.

Students in Grades 1 – 5 - Begins Monday, September 14

Boot Camp will be held after school the first few weeks of school on Mondays and Wednesdays from 3:20 pm– 4:15 pm. The purpose of this after school activity is to increase fitness and movement as we begin the school year. In addition, students can enjoy time with other students. The Boot Camp consists of a lot of movement activities; students should be prepared to have fun and move!

Students who are enrolled in school the first week of school need to register by Friday, September 11 to participate. Registration information will be available at Open House.

The Double Dutch Team is for students in grades 3 - 5. The team practices twice-a-week after school from November through March. The team travels to other school to kick-off the American Heart Association's Kids Healthy Heart Challenge.

Individual growth is most important. Students in grades 3 - 5 will set individual goals for themselves. The Focus on Fitness Initiative is emphasized because of the strong correlation to academic growth and positive behaviors.

(Pacer Test is the center column, below.)

Kinesthetic seating, such as Hokki Stools that require core muscle use during instruction, are standard seating at Park Brook. According to Dr. John Ratey of Harvard University, there is a 10% increase in focus when using kinesthetic seating.

Students need to come to school prepared to go outside and enjoy time playing during recess.

• Students go outside every day unless the weather is colder than -5 degrees, or it is raining.
• Please label your children's belongings with their name or initials so that their items can easily be returned if they are misplaced.
• Parents are not permitted to be on the playground during recess.

The Mile Run at Park Brook is a fitness test. All schools in the Osseo Area Schools have the mile run as one of their fitness tests, however, Park Brook accomplishes this via the Mile Run. Students look forward to the Mile Run.

Students exit the building as Mr. Taylor plays the piano. Students have running bibs with numbers. Parents, guardians, grandparents, and so on come to cheer on the students. There is excitement for the Mile Run at Park Brook.

Only the students run, and sometimes a few staff members run with the students. Some schools have a fun run, and while ours is fun, it is different than a fun run. In a fun run, students typically are not timed and sometimes it is used as a fundraiser. At Park Brook, each student is timed.

Parents/guardians are welcome to come and cheer on the students. (Students in PM Pre-K and kindergarten do not run the mile run. They do run a short distance with the entire school cheering them on.)

At the end of the event, parents/guardians are welcome to take their children home as it is close to the end of the school day. We kindly request that you sign them out; there will be a place near the Mile Run to sign them out. After the entire event, students will return to their classrooms to get their belongings and then meet you are the event in front of the school.

• W - We will respect ourselves and others.
• O - Own our actions.
• L - Listen and Learn.
• F - Follow Directions.