Eagles Newsletter
February 23, 2026
Calendar
March 2-6 - National School Breakfast Week
March 3, 5, 11 - Parent/Teacher Conferences & PTO Scholastic Book Fair
March 5 - Second grade Field Trip to Ordway
March 6 - No School - Report Card Marking
March 10 - PTO General Meeting
March 13 - Coffee with the Principal
March 17 - Fourth grade Recorder Program
March 19 - Spirit Day: Crazy sock and crazy hair day
March 20 - No School - Conference Release Day
March 23-27 - No school - Spring Break
March 31 - EC Newspaper for sale
April 2 - Spirit Day: MN Twins or dress like twins day
April 3 - No School
April 6 - Coffee with the Principal
April 14 - PTO General Meeting
April 15 - Fifth grade Field Trip to Ordway
April 16 - Kindergarten Information Night
April 14 - Student Async (remote) Day
April 27 - No School - Teacher Workshop Day
April 30 - K-2 Family Reading Night
May 4 - First grade (2 classes) field trip to Eastman Nature Center
May 5 - First grade (3 classes) field trip to Eastman Nature Center
May 7 - Fifth grade (2 classes) field trip to Eastman Nature Center
May 8 - Fifth grade (2 classes) field trip to Eastman Nature Center
May 8 - Coffee with the Principal
May 8 - PTO School Carnival & BOGO Book Fair
May 12 - PTO General Meeting
May 12 - Kindergarten field trip to Eastman Nature Center
May 19 - EC Newspaper for sale
May 20 - Second grade field trip to Eastman Nature Center & Elm Creek Park Playground
May 25 - No School - Memorial Day
May 26 - Field Day for grades 3-5
May 27 - All School BBQ & Super Kids Day for grades K-2
May 28 - Kindergarten field trip to Ordway
May 29 - Fifth grade field trip to Ordway
June 1 - PTO Fifth grade handprints on the rock
June 5 - Last day of school
Parent Teacher Conferences
Tuesday, February 24th is the deadline to schedule a parent/teacher conference.
Parent Teacher Conferences are March 3, 5 & 11.
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.
Classroom Planning - optional form
The purpose of this form is to gather important information for classroom planning for next school year. This is an optional form - Please only fill this form out if your child will not be attending Elm Creek next year or you have concerns to share. Deadline to complete form is Sunday March 1st.
https://forms.gle/LQbxTYCjk3YtDydr7
The goal of student placement is for each child to be placed in the best possible learning environment. We strive to create balanced classrooms that will meet the needs of all students therefore we are unable to honor specific teacher requests. Class lists will be completed and communicated via email prior to Open House in the fall.
Health Office reminder
The temperature is rising, and with that comes melting snow and lots of puddles outside! Please send a FULL set of spare clothing (underpants, socks, pants, shirt) to school with your child every day in case of messes. The health office clothing is reserved for students who have medical needs or accidents. The health office will not be giving clothing to students who get wet or dirty outside.
Yearbook order by 4/2
The yearbook ordering link is live and the deadline to order is April 2. The cost is only $4 this year.
Order online here: https://plicbooks.com/go/6NP6ZP
Student Council Pop Tab Collection
Student Council collects pop tabs all year long for the Ronald Mc Donald House, but in the month of February we are looking to collect a lot more! Please save all your pop tops and send them to school to help us raise money for a great cause!
Facts about Ronald Mc Donald House:
* The Ronald McDonald House provides a “home-away-from-home” for families of seriously ill children receiving treatment at area hospitals.
* Ronald Mc Donald houses have support services like art therapy, music programs, and gardens *Ronald McDonald Houses serve more than 8,000 families each day around the world, saving them over $311 million a year in hotel costs.
Thank you for your support!
Girls on the Run for grades 3-5
Erica Schmidt, Kindergarten teacher at Elm Creek is coaching again this year. Check out the attached flyer for more information.
Attendance Reporting
Chronic tardiness affects your child's school learning - Please have your child at school at 8:40 so they can start the day off with success by being on time to class.
Reminder: We continue to see a number of students not called in when absent. It is important to report student absences each day. If you do not report your child absent (with the reason) it is an unexcused absence. You can review your child's attendance record on ParentVUE.
When using the ParentVUE app to report absences there is limited reasons to choose from. When selecting student/family concern, please always include a reason in the comments.
Vacations should be pre-arranged buy calling the office or emailing elmcreek@district279.org
There are several ways to report your student absent from school
1. Call the Attendance Line 763-315-7692
2. Report through ParentVUE app - please note the reason/symptoms.
3. Call the school office 763-425-0577
Families that are non English speaking may report absences via Talking Points.
Taking vacation? Please notify the teacher AND the office prior to your vacation.
Coffee with the Principal
An opportunity to connect, gather feedback, and be available to answer questions.
Have questions? Contact: Mrs. Ness at nesse@district279.org
Friday, March 13th
10:30 a.m.
Elm Creek Media Center
Topic: Budget information for 2026-27 school year.
Future Dates:
Monday, April 6th, 10:30 a.m., Annabelle House in Osseo - It’s testing time, and my child has testing anxiety. What can I do to help?
Friday, May 8th, 10 a.m., Elm Creek Media Center - St. David’s will share Summer Tips for your child.
PTO Events
March 10 - PTO General Meeting at 6:30 - 7:30 in the Elm Creek Music 2 Room
Volunteer
To get involved in the school community, check out district279.org/community. You'll find information on volunteering, advisory committees and more.
Social Media
Please select view in browser if having difficulty accessing links.