News and events

January 5, 2026

Monday, Jan. 12 - PTO meeting, 6:00 PM — Library

Friday, Jan. 16 - PTO Movie night

Monday, Jan. 19 - District Closed, NO SCHOOL - Holiday

Monday, Feb. 16 - District Closed, NO SCHOOL - Holiday

Tuesday, Feb. 17 - NO SCHOOL

Tuesday, Feb. 17 - (Conferences)

Thursday, Feb. 19 - (Conferences)

We extend our warmest greetings to the entire school community as we embark on a new year. We hope your winter break was restful and rejuvenating. It was a joy to see our students’ faces back in the hallways today.

Navigating the Month Ahead

On Friday afternoon, our district shared communications regarding the negotiations and mediation process of the district and Anoka Hennepin Education Minnesota (AHEM). A special edition e-newsletter will be sent out later today with additional information about a potential teacher strike beginning this Thursday. Please continue to remain alert to email and text messages from Anoka-Hennepin.

We deeply value your trust and remain dedicated to supporting our students and families through every step of the coming month.

Sincerely,

Jessica Wippler

Principal

January’s school wide focus is perseverance. Students are learning that perseverance is “pushing yourself through challenges and obstacles.” Families can learn more about how to support conversations about perseverance with these resources:

Kindergarten Family Connection

First Grade Family Connection

Second Grade Family Connection

Third Grade Family Connection

Fourth Grade Family Connection

Fifth Grade Family Connection

Sign up for winter conferences at www.myconferencetime.com/dayton

Tuesday, February 17

Thursday, February 19

Looking for your child’s teacher? Click here for more information.

Please schedule a time with your child's homeroom teacher for a winter conference. If you would like to meet with a specialist teacher, please make an additional conference with that teacher on their individual schedule.

When reserving your time slot, please include your email address so that we can send out an email reminder the week before your scheduled conference.

If you are having issues, please contact the Dayton office staff at 763-506-2200.

Need help signing up for a conference? Click here for English. Click here for Spanish

We are excited to partner with the nonprofit organization, Every Meal, to offer a free weekend food program to all our students. The mission of Every Meal is to fight child hunger through community and school partnerships. This program strives to make a difference in children’s lives by focusing on food gaps like weekends, school breaks and summer, when students are not receiving meals in school. If you are interested in learning more, click here. If you’d like to register for this program, please use this Electronic enrollment form.

Explorations

🔮 Kindergarten – Marble Run Engineers

Kindergarteners are continuing their hands-on exploration of how things move! Students will investigate pushes and pulls, ramps, and how speed changes when objects move in different ways. Through experiments and building challenges, they’ll discover how force and motion work together to make objects move faster, slower, or change direction.

🐾 First Grade – Animal Reporters
First graders are diving deeper into how animals survive in their environments. We’ll explore how unique body parts—like sharp claws, long beaks, or thick fur—help animals meet their needs. Later this month, we’ll begin learning about animal life cycles and how animals grow and change over time. Ask your student how an animal’s body helps it survive!

🌉 Second Grade – Save the Island
Second graders are putting the finishing touches on their bridge-building designs, testing which materials create the strongest structures. Next, we’ll launch Save the Island, where students will learn about Earth’s processes such as volcanoes, floods, and erosion. They’ll use their knowledge to solve problems and protect their island—thinking like scientists and engineers along the way.

🎢 Third Grade – Weather Warning HQ
Third graders are wrapping up their Ultimate Playground designs and explaining how forces like gravity and magnetism influence their structures. Then, we’ll transition into Weather Warning HQ, where students will learn about weather patterns, severe weather, and how meteorologists predict the weather. Be sure to ask your student how weather forecasts help keep people safe!

🗺️ Fourth Grade – Spatial Thinking
Fourth graders continue to strengthen their spatial thinking skills by analyzing maps, comparing different locations, and studying population distribution. Students will explore how geography influences where people live and how regions differ based on landforms, resources, and human activity.

⚓ Fifth Grade – Colonization
Fifth graders are beginning their Colonization unit, learning about early colonies and how settlers survived and thrived in new lands. Students will examine the challenges colonists faced, the resources they relied on, and how these early settlements helped shape the nations we know today. Ask your student what they think would be the hardest part of starting a colony!

CORE

Kindergarten - Community Helpers and Staying Safe

The Kindergarteners are going to be working in Seesaw and through different research websites on how to stay safe and who our community helpers are. They will be doing activities that raise students' knowledge about maintaining good health, finding a responsible adult, and hand washing.

First Grade - Community Helpers and Graphic Organizers

First grade will also be working on learning who our community helpers are. They will begin to work with graphic organizers to take notes and continue their work on gathering information from a website or research source.

Fourth Grade - Germs, diseases, intro to Canva; Oh My!

The fourth graders will begin a unit on germs and diseases. They will gather information on how to stay safe and prevent sickness. They will start and complete a research project in Canva. Students will get to explore, create and learn about the application of Canva.

Fifth Grade - Introduction to Google Sheets

Students will learn the basics of Google Sheets and how to enter data. Students will input health data as they learn to explore this application.

PhyEd

January will consist of overhand and underhand throws, catching skills, and underhand rolls. We will discuss proper form. Starting with bowling and then move into activities that incorporate throwing skills. Play catch with your children! Throw snowballs at a target!

Throwing cues:

Overhand throw = “step, twist, throw”

Underhand throw = “swing, step, toss”

🎬 Family Movie Night on Friday, January 16th🍿

Join us for a FREE Family Movie Night hosted by the Dayton Elementary PTO! We’ll be showing a fun, family-friendly movie—stay tuned for the official title announcement.

Enjoy free popcorn while supplies last, get cozy, and relax with our school community. Families are welcome to bring blankets or lawn chairs to make the evening extra comfortable.

⭐ Important Reminder: All children must be accompanied by an adult chaperone at all times.

🌟 Get Involved with the PTO!

New year, new opportunities! The Dayton Elementary PTO is looking for individuals interested in joining the PTO Board or simply attending a meeting. If you’d like to make a positive impact on our students, staff, and school community, we would love to have you join us! Our next meeting is Monday, January 12th at 6:00pm in the library.

📅 Important PTO Dates to Remember

• Monday, January 12th – PTO Meeting at 6:00pm

• Friday, January 16th – Family Movie Night at 5:45pm 🎬🍿

• Monday, February 9th – PTO Meeting at 6:00pm

• Friday, February 27th – Booster Fun Run 🏃‍♂️

THANK YOU!

A big thank you to our volunteers that helped with the workroom, Skillbuilders, classroom support, End of Trimester Parties and the Eagle Marketplace and Dessert Shop! Dayton volunteers have given over 1,501 hours of their time so far this school year!

Family Movie Night

The PTO is hosting a Family Movie Night on Friday, January 16th from 6-8pm. We are looking for a few volunteers to bag popcorn and hand it out. We will also need help monitoring the gym and hallways. Please review the available slots below and click on the button to sign up.

Are you looking for a regular volunteer role at Dayton? I’d love to connect and see if we can find something that works with your schedule and interests.

Don’t forget to keep checking our Dayton Volunteer Opportunities Website for new openings!

Kristin Gow, Volunteer Services Coordinator at kristin.gow@ahschools.us

Hello Parents,

As we enter winter, illnesses typically increase. Please notify the health office if your student has an illness that requires treatment: strep, impetigo, ringworm, fifth disease, scabies, and lice. If we see a cluster of 3 or more students in 1 class, we will send a notification to the whole class. If you've reported the diagnosis to the attendance line, we do see that, but often diagnosis comes later in the day, and that's when we would appreciate an email or phone call.

Please remind your students to wash their hands! And please let us know if you have any other questions or concerns.

Thank you!

Stephanie Mullinix, Health Para LPN

Katelyn Salwey, School Nurse LSN/RN

katelyn.salwey@ahschools.us

763-506-2204

Once per month, Dayton Elementary hosts a book swap. This is a time for all Dayton Elementary students to bring in a gently used book or two to exchange for something new to read.

• January 30

• February 27

• March 27

• April 30

• May 29

All dates are subject to change.

Time: 9:15 - 9:30 am

*Donations are always welcome, just drop off books in the front vestibule labeled for the book swap.

We are a LOCKED facility.

1. Press the silver button.

2. Wait for a staff member to respond.

3. Have your driver’s license ready.

Please report student absences or late arrivals before 10:30 a.m.

To report attendance, use one of the following methods:

• Call the school's 24/7 attendance voicemail at 763-506-2206.

• Login on our webpage AHschools.us (Instructions linked here)
  
• Use the ParentVUE mobile app

Please refrain from using email or Seesaw to report attendance to your child's teacher. We appreciate your cooperation.

Student drop-off begins at 9:15 a.m., when the first bell rings. Students must be in their classrooms before the final bell at 9:30 a.m. School hours are from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

• Please do not drop off your child(ren) before 9:15 a.m., as staff are not on duty to supervise them until then.

ARRIVAL PROCEDURES LINKED HERE

Parent pick-up starts promptly at 4:00 PM in the Dayton and Rebel parking lots.

Please call 763-506-2200 by 3:00 PM if you need to change a dismissal plan.

DISMISSAL PROCEDURES LINKED HERE

Early dismissals should occur only in rare circumstances. Please make every effort to schedule appointments outside of school hours. Students leaving even a few minutes early often miss important last minute instructions and/or reminders. Interrupting classes to call students to the office also distracts other students and interrupts classroom routines.

If an early dismissal is unavoidable, allow us ample time to locate your student. We ask that early dismissals are avoided after 3:30 PM. We will call your student down when you arrive.

Daily schedules are available here.

ONLY parents and legal guardians are authorized to pick up. If you need someone else to pick up your child, please call the office at 763-506-2200 in advance to make arrangements.

Did You Know? Dayton Elementary has its very own PreK–Grade 3 Parenting Educator!

Tawnya Heinsohn is available in person on Digital Day 1 to support families with helpful resources, visuals, and FREE online parenting workshops each month.

Have a parenting question or want to learn more about a topic? Reach out to Tawnya Heinsohn at tawnya.heinsohn@ahschools.us or 763-634-1880.

Check out upcoming workshops at ahschools.us/prektograde3

Dayton Elementary participates in the Box Tops for Education, so please scan your receipts. It helps raise money for our school! Click here for more information.

BOX TOPS + WALMART

Connect your Walmart and Box Tops accounts so you can earn cash for your school when you purchase Box Tops products in-store or online using your saved Walmart payment method — without scanning or submitting your receipts!

Health Office

763.506.2204

HEALTH SERVICES

Dayton A+

763.506.2213

Child Nutrition

Menus

763.506.2211

Transportation Services

If your child's bus doesn't arrive in the morning or they don't get off the bus in the evening (rare), call the bus company directly. Save their number for after-school hours, as they can contact drivers.

First Student Bus Co.

763.421.5785 First Student Champlin (regular routes to/from Dayton Elementary)

763.421.3199 First Student Anoka (students receiving special education transportation)