Monthly Boost

May 2025

As we enter the final six weeks of the school year, we encourage all of our scholars and families to stay ALL IN—committed, focused, and proud of how far we’ve come together. Maintaining routines and schedules during this home stretch will help our students finish strong and confident.

This year has been filled with incredible growth, resilience, and learning across our K-12 community. We’re so proud of every scholar who has taken on challenges, shown up for themselves and others, and contributed to the heart of 279Online.

As we look ahead, we’re also preparing to say goodbye to our elementary scholars, families, and teaching staff. This transition is bittersweet, and while we celebrate the many memories and milestones we’ve shared, we also honor the emotions that come with change. Thank you for the joy, the trust, and the care you've brought to our community.

Let’s continue to support one another with positivity and purpose. The finish line is in sight—let’s cross it strong, together.

• May 5: No School for Students - Staff Workshop
• May 12: MTSS Advisory Council Meeting (3:05-4:00)
• May 21: 279Online Senior Spring Hangout (12:30-3:00)
• May 26: District Closed - Holiday

• June 5: SENIORS ONLY - Last day of school
• June 5/June 6: Chromebook Collection
• June 6: Elementary's Last Day of School Get Together (9:00-3:00)
• June 6: Last Day of School for ALL Students
• June 8: Commencement Ceremony

Save the Dates!

Mark your calendars for these fun activities planned for the 2024-2025 school year!

MAY

• 279Online Senior Spring Hangout: Wednesday, May 21st from 12:30-3:00PM at the Osseo Area Learning Center
• Elementary Last Day of School Get Together: Friday, June 6th from 9:00AM-3:00PM at Elm Creek Park Reserve
• Teacher End of Year Choices
• Teachers may choose to celebrate the end of the school year in their own special ways.

279Online Commencement Ceremony Information
June 8th, 2025 at 11:00am

McNamara Alumni Center – University of Minnesota
200 SE Oak St, Minneapolis, MN 55455

Hello 279Online Senior families,

As we near the end of the school year, we wanted to provide some information regarding the 2025 Commencement ceremony. Please visit the 279Online Commencement website for detailed information about the ceremony and the end of the year for seniors.

279Online Commencement Website

There are a few action items needed from you and your scholar in order to have a memorable ceremony.

• RSVP (REQUIRED)
• Please let us know if your scholar will be participating in the ceremony and how many guests will attend the ceremony. Please complete this form by May 23rd, 2025.
• RSVP Form
• Ceremony Information Form (REQUIRED)
• In order to pronounce each scholar’s name correctly at the ceremony, we need your help! Please have your scholar fill out this form and upload a file (video or audio) of the pronunciation of their name. Please have your scholar complete this form by May 23rd, 2025.
• Commencement Information Form
• Senior Photo Upload
• If you’ve already taken your senior photos and would like to showcase them at our commencement ceremony, please upload them using the link below. Photos can also showcase your life including sports, activities, hobbies, etc. We want to showcase the diverse interests of our 279Online seniors!
• Senior Photo Upload

Other commencement ceremony details coming soon:

• Purchasing Honors Accessories
• Commencement Participation Fee
• Information about Senior Checkout & Chromebook Return
• Final Transcript Release

We are looking forward to celebrating our 2025 graduates!

If you have any questions, please email online@district279.org.

Please consider attending the Virtual MTSS Advisory Council Meeting on Monday, May 12th

from 3:05-4:00PM.

The purpose of this meeting is to share data and information about our students at 279Online, share the work that the MTSS Team does to address the needs of our students, and to ask for your feedback in better supporting the needs of our scholars.

If you are interested in attending the MTSS advisory council meeting, please complete this form to receive an invite to the event!

🎉 279Online Senior Spring Hangout 🎉
Class of 2025 – Let’s Celebrate!

📅 Date: Wednesday, May 21
🕧 Time: 12:30 PM – 3:00 PM
📍 Location: Osseo Area Learning Center
7300 Boone Ave N, Brooklyn Park, MN 55428

💥 What’s Happening:

• 🎮 Video Games

• 🎨 Art Activities

• 📸 Professional Senior Photos – Last Chance!

• 🍪 Snacks & Treats

• 💬 Hang Out with Your Advisor

• 🤝 Connect with Senior Friends Before Graduation!

Come as you are—no need to dress up (unless it’s for your photo 😉).
Celebrate the end of an amazing journey with your 279Online crew!

Questions? Reach out to your advisor!
We can’t wait to see you there! 🎓💙 RSVP HERE!

As we continue to enhance our students' learning experiences, we are excited to announce that starting next school year, we will be transitioning from Google Meets to Microsoft Teams for our online classes. This change will provide our students with a new and improved virtual learning environment, designed to support their educational journey more effectively.

To ensure a smooth transition, some of our dedicated teachers will begin piloting Microsoft Teams this spring with select classes. This will allow them to familiarize themselves with the new platform and prepare for a seamless full transition in the fall. Teachers who are piloting will be reaching out to families of students who will experience Microsoft Teams yet this spring with more information.

We understand that changes can sometimes be challenging, but we are confident that this move will greatly benefit our students. Microsoft Teams offers a range of features that will enhance collaboration, communication, and overall learning experiences.

We appreciate your support and cooperation as we make this exciting change. If you have any questions or need assistance, please do not hesitate to reach out to us at online@district279.org or 763-391-8670. Together, we can ensure that our students continue to thrive in their educational endeavors.

Thank you for being an integral part of our school community.

The person you are attending Prom with will need to obtain their school's guest form and provide it to our office for our student. Make sure your portion of the form is completed before sending to us to complete the rest. Please make sure to send this at least a week in advance.

If you are planning on attending Prom at another school as a guest and need a guest form completed, please email a copy of the form to Online@district279.org.

Community feedback from January and early February helped to narrow and refine proposed attendance boundary scenarios. Specifically, scenarios 1 and 2 moved forward with some adjustments based on comments received. Visit the following webpages for details on newly proposed scenarios 1A and 2A and search tools to see how your household may be impacted:

Learn more about each of the updated scenarios by visiting the following webpages. Make sure to check out each scenario’s search tool to see how your household is impacted.

• Updated scenario 1A

• Updated scenario 2A

Community input is important: Please share your thoughts on the two updated scenarios by filling out the online feedback form.

• Online feedback form

• Community Informational Meeting took place on Tuesday, March 4 at 5:45 p.m. in the North View Middle School cafe

• Watch the presentation-portion of the event via the livestream

• Community informational Meeting took place on Wednesday, March 19 at 5:45 p.m. in the Osseo Middle School cafe

• Watch the presentation-portion of the event via the livestream

Timeline: These events in March will likely wrap up districtwide feedback opportunities. The school board is expected to approve final attendance boundary changes in May. The new attendance boundaries will then go into effect fall 2026.

Stay tuned: Detailed information will continue to be shared at district279.org/boundaries. Feel free to reach out if something additional needs to be addressed via BetterFuture@district279.org or 763-391-8990.

Each year we ask scholars and parents/caregivers to read and sign an agreement between themselves and 279Online concerning expectations and mutual understanding about appropriate behavior and responsibilities.

We’re excited to remind you about MackinVIA, our online library that’s available anytime, anywhere! With a vast collection of eBooks, audiobooks, and educational databases, MackinVIA is the perfect resource to support your child’s learning and love for reading.

Access is easy and open 24/7—so whether it's for homework help or a good book to enjoy, MackinVIA has you covered. Scholars can find the link to MackinVIA in Clever.

Happy reading!

Talent Development, Academic Challenge and Gifted Support (TAG) services are available to students in third through fifth grade to strengthen interests, extend grade-level content, and apply skills and concepts in authentic ways.

Please feel free to contact our TAG Specialist, Ms. Wald, at walde@district279.org if you have any questions.

• Follow us on social media:
• Facebook at 279Online
• X (formerly Twitter) at 279Online
• Instagram at 279Online_K12
• 279Online website.

• Keep your contact information current in ParentVUE. You can update phone numbers and email addresses at any time in ParentVUE, and also report full day absences for your scholar(s). For instructions, please visit the ParentVUE Site.
• At the elementary level, please check Seesaw for daily assignments and schedules, information from your teacher, and more.
• At the secondary levels, please check Schoology for current grades, daily assignments, and overall progress. Mid-trimester grades and Trimester grades are posted in ParentVUE.
• Review our current and past newsletters on our website for important information.

Check your email regularly for Blackboard and Schoology emails from us. If you aren’t seeing them, please look in your junk folder or check your setting to make sure you don’t have emails blocked.

ParentVUE is an application you can use to view your scholar(s) attendance, report cards, schedule conferences, update your contact information, enter full day absences and more. We highly encourage you to create an account if you do not have one already. Please follow these instructions on how you create an account.

You may also visit our ParentVUE page for more step-by-step instructions on how to access and change things in ParentVUE.

If you have any questions regarding your ParentVue account, please submit a ticket to our technology department via Incident IQ.

Families will need to complete the Back-to-School Annual Verification form in ParentVUE before accessing their accounts for information regarding students in the new academic year. Please review the information thoroughly to make any necessary changes to you or your scholars information.

Need help logging in to an account, checking in for an online meeting with a teacher, or setting up a device? Check out the technology resources in the Parent and Family Toolkit.

Need more technology assistance? The district tech support help desk is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on student days, and 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on non-student days.

The best way for scholars and families to receive technology help during school hours (7:30-4:00pm) is to contact 279Online's main office at 763-391-8670 or email us at online@district279.org.

• We will then have the technology department reach out to you as soon as they can.

The best way for scholars and families to receive technology help outside of school hours is to submit a ticket for technology assistance through our new ticketing system, IncidentIQ

• Use the following link to submit a ticket via IncidentIQ. https://district279.incidentiq.com/guest/5K9FRZD3/help-desk-kiosk.
• Once you submit the ticket, then your user information will be in IncidentIQ for the future.
• You may also call the tech department directly at 763-391-7180.

We would love to partner with you to build our parent/caregiver community.

If you'd like to share ideas, feedback, or connect with other parents and our administration team, please contact Assistant Principal, Ryan Bisson at BissonR@district279.org or 763-391-8682.

Volunteering is an opportunity for you to:

• Show your children or the youth of our community that you are interested in their school life and their future
• Show your commitment to the community
• Help others and develop new skills
• Meet new and interesting people and develop friendships
• Share your time and talents
• Open communication between you and your child when you’re involved and know what is going on at school
• Give your child a boost -- studies show that parent and community involvement and volunteering enhances student success
• It’s fun!

If you are interested in volunteer opportunities for 279Online, please contact us at online@district279.org

In the back-to-school forms process, families have the ability to deny the release of all directory information (including a student’s image) or to specifically deny the release of a student’s image only. Families who wish to change their student's opt out preferences can do so at any time in ParentVUE.

What is the difference between denying a release of a student's photograph and denying a release of directory information?

• If you deny the school district the ability to release your child’s photo only, the school district will not include a photo or a video/audio recording of your child in yearbooks, school/district websites, school/district social media pages or other school/district publications accessible outside of school.
• If you deny a release of all of your student’s directory information (which includes the student’s photograph), the school district will not include your child’s name, image, voice, school of attendance, awards, participation in officially recognized activities/sports, or any other directory information in any school/district publication that is accessible outside of school.

More information about the Directory/Photo Release information can be found here: https://www.district279.org/info-center/media-inquiries/opt-outs

Seesaw is a digital portfolio that your scholars will use in grades K-5. Scholars can post images, drawings, videos, and other examples of classwork to show what they are learning in school and share it with their family.

For more detailed Seesaw technology tips and instructions, please click here.

For families who use Schoology, we created this handy reference guide to help you navigate what you’ll see in Schoology, how Schoology is different than ParentVue, and how to get support for accessing the parent side of Schoology.

Click here for the reference guide.

Parents/Guardians can access the Schoology Parent Access Code in ParentVUE under the Lunch PIN in Student Info.

GRADES K-5

Teachers take attendance twice a day through their classroom meetings.

GRADES 6-12

Scholars in 279Online are expected to attend live instruction for classes every day.

• Teachers verify and submit the official attendance record in Synergy.
• At 6:00 pm, Blackboard calls will go out to families for scholars with unexcused absences from the previous day.

OTHER ATTENDANCE TIPS:

• If a scholar is unable to attend, families need to report the absence to 279Online in order to excuse the absence (email: online@district279.org or phone: 763-391-8670 option 1) OR report your student(s) FULL DAY absences in ParentVue. Click Here for directions.
• If you need to report your scholar’s absence and speak a language other than English, please email online@district279.org in your language and label your message with the name of the language. We will translate your message and record the absence.

If you have any questions regarding attendance please contact your scholars’ teachers or the main office (phone: 763-391-8670 OR email: online@district279.org)

Rather than posting numerous resources each week, we are compiling them in a Google Doc that will be updated accordingly. Please click here for assistance regarding things like mental health, food and clothing support, and Internet access.

Examples of Resources included:

• Educational Benefits Application Information
• Mental Health Resources
• District Multilingual Facebook Pages
• Technology Resources
• Community Resources
• Winter Weather Gear
• Furniture, Sheets, Blankets, Dishes, Pots and Pans, Cleaning Supplies and Clothing
• Homework Starts with Home Program