Bulldogs Newsletter October 2, 2023

Dear Basswood Families,

This week we began the process of welcoming our kindergarten class for the upcoming school year. It was wonderful to see many of our Basswood families and many that are new to Basswood. Welcome to all the little bulldogs from the class of 2038!

I am including the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCAs). Please take a minute to review the Basswood Testing Calendar 2025. Please make every effort to schedule appointments and trips so that your children are able to be in school for their testing window.

To ensure a great testing experience for your child, please make sure they

- have their device and that it is fully charged on the day of testing

- have wired headphones at school during these testing windows

- get a good night of sleep before testing dates

- eat a healthy breakfast on test mornings.

- attend school on testing days.

Thank you and have a wonderful weekend and spring break!

Steven Schwartz
Basswood Principal

Basswood’s yearbook is available for sale for $10! Yearbooks will be on sale until 04/04/2025.

Click here to order. There is also an order form available in the office if you'd like to order another way.

Basswood Elementary night at Target Field will be on Friday, May 9, 2025, at 7:10pm when the Twins play the San Francisco Giants. This is a fun opportunity for our community to get together outside of the classroom and cheer for our Minnesota Twins! A flyer went home this past Wednesday with all the details! Order forms along with payment need to be turned into Basswood by Thursday, April 10.

Go TWINS!!

• WHO? We are looking for children ages 3-5 years old

• WHAT? To participate in the Child Development Lab PlaySchool (free!)

• WHEN? April 8 or 10 and concluding on May 20 or 22, 2025

Children can attend Tuesday 8:45am - 10:55am or Thursday 7:35am - 9:45am or Both

• WHERE? Park Center High School Play School Lab, Room148

Address: 7300 Brooklyn Blvd Brooklyn Park, MN 55443

If interested, contact Joanne Bauerly at bauerlyj@district279.org.

Osseo Area Schools is hosting a Career Expo 2025 on Wednesday, March 26, from 10am - 3pm at Zanewood Community School. Take advantage of this opportunity for assistance with online applications, explore exciting job opportunities, and more! Visit www.district279.org/careers to view all openings.

The purpose of this charitable outreach program is to provide free care to low-income children in need. Thousands of dental professionals volunteer their time to this program because they understand the pain and embarrassment many children experience due to untreated dental problems. Since the program’s inception in Minnesota in 2003, 86,000 children have received free care through Give Kids a Smile.

Find a Participating Clinic - some clinics may offer an alternative date.

1. Parent/guardian – locate a clinic and call to make an appointment.
2. Patients generally have to be 18 years of age or younger.
3. Patients must be accompanied by parent/guardian.
4. Assistance: Families who need help with finding a clinic/scheduling an appointment can call United Way 2-1-1 (800-543-7709) Monday-Friday 8 am– 5 pm.
5. Translation services: Referral specialists can assist in scheduling via 3-way call to dental clinic and making an appointment for those who speak Hmong, Somali, & Spanish.

You can find more information here:

https://www.mndental.org/events/give-kids-a-smile/find-a-participating-clinic/

When bringing forgotten winter gear or instruments or lunches to Basswood, please do your best to have them to Basswood by 10:30am. We have morning deliveries each day at 10:30am for all of these forgotten items so they get delivered before lunches begin. This way these are items are delivered to the classroom and we do not have to call to interrupt instructional time. Thank you for your consideration!

• March 31 - Back to School after Spring Break
• April 3 - Spirit Day: MN Twins Day!

• April 10 - Statewide Severe Weather Drill 1:45pm
• April 11 - Spirit Day: Tie Dye Day!
• April 15 - PTO sponsored ScreenAgers for parents 6-7:30pm
• April 17 - Kindergarten Spring Fling Musical 6:30pm
• April 21 - At Home Learning Day - No Student at Basswood
• May 2 - All School BBQ

• 2nd grade: 10:45 - 11:10am
• 4th grade: 11:15 - 11:40am
• 1st grade: 11:45 - 12:10pm
• 3rd grade: 12:15 - 12:40pm
• 5th grade: 12:45 - 1:10pm
• Kindergarten: 1:15 - 1:40pm

First bell rings at 8:40am letting students into the school. Second bell rings at 8:50am letting students know they should be in their classroom ready to start the day! At 8:50am, the front doors are shut and student will need to come through the office to get a late pass.

If you are planning a family vacation or just time away from school, please remember to call your student's absence into the attendance line. You can call 763-494-3858 and press 1 to leave a message with your student's name, student's teacher, reason for absence, and dates that your student will be gone. We really appreciate your assistance!

We welcome and encourage volunteers at Basswood. You can complete an online volunteer form online at apps.raptortech.com/Apply/Nzg0OmVuLVVT and work with our volunteer coordinator, Lezlie Northagen. Volunteer information will go home the first week of school. Activities in a normal school year include being a classroom assistant, helping with classroom parties, helping with PTO sponsored activities (Carnival, Turkey Bingo, Book Fair, etc.) along with numerous other opportunities. We continue to follow state guidelines and adjust our volunteer program accordingly.

Yes! You will be able to follow us on Facebook. Our first posts went live on September 5th. Please note that we are moving away from Twitter (@BWPrincipal279) for Basswood social media. Click here below to follow us.

Every parent or guardian of enrolled students of Basswood Elementary is an automatic member of the PTO. We encourage you to join one of our next general meetings - or just send us a note if you have a question. You can find more information on our PTO website: https://sites.google.com/view/basswoodpto/home?authuser=1 or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BasswoodElementaryPto

Our district Community Education department offers a variety of after school classes. If you do sign your student up for one of these classes, please remember to let your student's teacher know about the class and when your student needs to stay after school.

The District Transportation department only allows students to ride their assigned bus to and from school. If you have questions, you can reach out to the Transportation Department at 763-391-7244 or transportationreques@district279.org.