Dear Families,

Spring is in full swing here at school, and with it comes a buzz of activity and growth. You will see and hear of several community experiences coming up as each grade level plans their extended learning and social field trips. Our 3rd–5th grade students are working hard to complete state testing, and our K–2 students will soon have their chance to shine during upcoming end-of-year assessments, showing just how much they’ve learned and grown. We’re grateful for the change in seasons bringing more sunshine and outdoor learning opportunities, and we’re especially thankful for the incredible turnout at our recent Bingo for Books night—it was a joy to see so many families laughing and sharing excitement around books and literacy together. I hope you were able to view the short video and have dug into those hard-won books!

We hope to see you again at our Family Movie Night this Friday! As we move into these last important weeks of the school year, we appreciate your continued partnership in supporting your child’s learning, routines, and growth. Spring in schools is a time of reflection, celebration, and preparing for transitions—and with your support, we’re helping students finish strong!

With Warm Regards,

~ Dr. Upton

We know you might get a lot of surveys sent to you, but continuous improvement is important to us! Please let us know how we are doing by completing this yearly survey to help guide our goals and next steps as we support families for next year. Thank you in advance!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLmloCC-0rM

Happy Spring!

As we come to the end of the year, the PTO begins some of its biggest projects we support; Staff appreciation week, Field Day, 5th Grade celebration, yearbook support, end of the year field trips and so much more! If you’d like to see what else we do, and have a voice in how we get/spend our money, please come to the PTO meetings held monthly! Our next meeting is April 8th at 5:00pm.

Thanks to all of you who came to play BINGO at bingo for books as well as volunteered your time

To make it happen. We love supporting fun free events like BINGO for books and couldn’t do it without all of you.

April 22nd is Earth Day, so if you’d ordered a FREE tree through Neighborhood Forrest it will be coming home shortly. Don’t forget to plan a spot to plant it!

Our Box Tops goal is $500. We are currently at $326.50. If we can make our goal before the last week of school, we will draw one last random classroom out of any who have participated for a $50 reward to celebrate!

Hope to see you soon!

Grimsrud PTO

Dear Parent,

We would like to invite you to attend our District Title I Parent Advisory Council. We look forward to partnering with you this year. Your input is valuable to making our Title I program a success. Title I will be working closely with Title III which is our English Language Learner Program.

Our District Parent Advisory Council meeting will be held on Friday May 9th from 12:00-1:00 pm. The meeting will take place at the Central Administration Building, located at 128 Soo Line Drive, Bismarck.

We would like to review and update the District Parent Involvement Policy with you. We would also like your suggestions and feedback on our parent involvement activities that we can offer schools/and or the district. Please help us brainstorm new ideas and ways we can increase parent involvement in the Title I and Title III programs.

We will provide a lunch during this meeting. Please contact Mrs. Schmidkunz at (701)934-0826 if you will be attending by May 6th.

We look forward to seeing you!

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Schmidkunz

Parent Involvement Coordinator and School Social Worker

As days get longer and the weather warms up, it's easy to let routines slide. But kids thrive with structure! Routines help children feel secure, get enough sleep, and stay ready to learn.

⏰ 1. Keep Wake-Up & Bedtimes Consistent
Even if it's still light outside, kids need rest! Stick to the same sleep and wake-up times every day.

• Use blackout curtains or dim lights at night.

• Keep bedtime routines calming and predictable.

📅 2. Use a Visual Schedule
Help your child know what's next with a picture or step-by-step checklist.

• Use morning and evening routines with boxes they can check off.

• Add fun visuals or stickers to make it engaging.

⌛ 3. Build In Outdoor Time, Then Transition
Let your child enjoy outside play with clear limits.

• "You can play outside until 5:00, then we come in for dinner."

• Use a timer, alarm, or favorite song to signal transition time.

🍽️ 4. Keep Dinner Time on Track
Eating together helps keep evenings on schedule.

• Serve quick, healthy meals on busy nights (wraps, smoothies, breakfast-for-dinner!).

• Use dinner as a check-in to reconnect with your child.

🧠 5. Be Flexible, But Clear
It’s okay to enjoy a surprise walk or ice cream run!

• Give a heads-up: "Tonight we’ll stay out later, but tomorrow it’s back to our routine."

• Balance fun with structure.

💬 6. Talk About the Why
Help your child understand how routines help them:

• "Routines help our mornings go smoother."

• "When you sleep well, you feel better at school."

✨ Parent Tip: Praise Progress!
Celebrate when your child follows the routine:

• "You got ready for bed right on time—great job!"

• "Thanks for sticking to your schedule even after a fun day outside."

Consistent routines create calm, even on busy spring days!

Let’s keep things steady and support our kids together ✨

Click buttons below for needed support. These links will lead you to a quick form to complete that will reach out for the support needed. If you have other questions or needs please reach out to Mrs. Schmidkunz at (701)934-0826.

The winner of our April Birthday celebration is.... Matvei G in 2nd Grade! He will be bringing a birthday cake kit home to celebrate with his family!

Check out the strategies for reading and writing that do not require any special training, only that you and your child spend some quality time talking, reading, and writing together.

-Mrs. Girodat, Title I Reading Specialist

Strategies for All Ages:

• Model by reading in front of your child
• Establish a bedtime routine that includes 15 minutes of reading

Strategies for Birth to Pre-K:

• Read aloud to your child...a LOT!
• Create art projects together
• Write a groceries list, place it on the fridge for theme to see.
• Use Sticky Notes to "label" different items around the house!

Strategies for Kindergarten through 2nd Grade:

• Read aloud together and ask questions
• Play word games like rhyming (cat..mat..hat), Zingo, Letter or Word BINGO

Strategies for 3rd Grade and up:

• Listen to music, audiobooks, etc. together and discuss how even those types of media require writers to develop the storyline
• Use a digital/technology format to "write", such as Canva

For more related strategies, visit this article: https://www.nwea.org/blog/2025/parent-strategies-for-improving-their-childs-reading-and-writing/

Spring is a great time to incorporate outdoor activities and hands-on learning with math! Here are some fun and engaging math activities for spring:

1. Math Nature Walk

• Objective: Count and categorize different plants, animals, and objects.
• How: Take a walk outdoors and have students or children identify and count items like flowers, leaves, trees, or insects. Have them classify these items by type, color, size, or shape, and create graphs based on the data collected.
• Math Focus: Counting, classification, data collection, graphing.

2. Spring-Themed Geometry

• Objective: Explore shapes in nature.
• How: Take a walk or explore outdoor areas to find examples of different shapes in nature, such as circular flowers, triangular leaves, and rectangular fences. Have students draw these shapes and learn about their properties.

3. Weather Data Analysis

• Objective: Record and analyze weather patterns.
• How: Keep track of the weather over a month (temperature, sunny vs. rainy days, etc.). Use charts, graphs, and averages to discuss weather trends and patterns.
• Math Focus: Data collection, averages, graphing.

Spring is a great time to get outside as a family and dig into nature. Math is everywhere!

Jennifer O'Dell

Title I Math Interventionist

Email: grimsrud_secretary@bismarckschools.org
Website: https://www.bismarckschools.org/grimsrud
Phone: 701-323-4150