STEM Newsletter

August 21, 2026

Dear Families,

We are back for another great year of learning! Our staff attended various training opportunities starting the first week of summer vacation, including Professional Learning Communities, Thinking Maps, Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics, and onboarding for our new Weaver Lake team members. The school district has provided new furniture for all classrooms, and we are also learning to use our new Teams phone system. I have been able to say hi to our students attending summer programming at our site, and they are excited about the upcoming school year.

This summer, Juline and I had more time to work in our garden. We have super tall tomato plants and are expecting a large crop. Our three-year-old apple tree is giving us fewer apples than last year—it seems we will only harvest three apples this time around. We also spent time in our flower garden, and I finally managed to organize our garage. I have kayaked four times so far, which is a lot more than last summer.

We took a road trip to Southern Oregon to visit our son, who is working with the Bureau of Land Management. On the way there, we stopped at Yellowstone National Park and drove by Grand Teton National Park. While in Oregon, we visited Crater Lake National Park and drove to Northern California to see Redwood National Park. On our way back, we stopped in South Dakota to visit Wind Cave National Park (though we could not visit the caves themselves), and our last stop was the Corn Palace. A couple of weeks ago, we visited Pipestone National Monument. It was a very hot day, but it was still a nice little hike. We have not been able to go camping or ride our bicycles, but every night I get to walk our kids' dog for at least 40 minutes.

The last few weeks have been busy with district meetings and working in the office. I am excited to begin my 3rd year at Weaver Lake and 9th year with Osseo Area Schools. I look forward to another year of partnering with you in the education of your child(ren).

Have a wonderful rest of the summer, and I will see you soon at the open house on September 2nd!

Sincerely,

Dr. Ronald Salazar, Principal

Hello Safety Patrol Families,

Please join us for the safety patrol meeting on September 2nd at 4:00 pm. Please note that this is an hour before Open House. If your child forgot to turn in their forms, please still join us. We will meet in the Media Center, and we will be discussing safety patrol captains, expectations, responsibilities, and schedules. Looking forward to seeing all of the Safety Patrol families! If there are any questions, please email me at buechlera@district279.org.

Anna Buechler

5th Grade Teacher

We are looking for volunteers who can help our youngest students at lunchtime during the first 2 weeks of school. We are particularly needing help with Kindergarten! Please consider signing up for a shift or two. You would help the students get their lunch, find a seat, open milk cartons/food containers and guide them through cleanup.

SIGN UP HERE!

*all volunteers need to have a current volunteer application on file for the 26-27 school year. To find the application click HERE. Our school runs on volunteers and we appreciate your time!

If you visit our school, you’ll notice a new Raptor Visitor Check-In iPad at the front office. This updated system was implemented as part of a district-wide effort to better support safety and security across our buildings.

Two ways that visitors are able to utilize this new system

1. NEW: Visitors can utilize the Raptor Safe app. This app can be downloaded for free through your phone’s app store. Families can set up an account, and then each time they visit can open the app and use the iPad to scan a personalized QR code located in the app for a faster check in. After following the prompts, a badge will then print with your photo, name, date, time, and visit location. Visitors must wear the badge at all times inside the building.
2. Visitors can scan a driver's license or Minnesota state ID using the iPad camera. After scanning, visitors will follow prompts on the iPad to select their destination inside the building. Following the prompts will produce a badge to wear.

There are important school supplies your student will need to be successful throughout the school year. Please click below to access the school supply lists for all grades for the 2026-27 school year.

If you have financial concerns, including purchasing headphones, please reach out to the school

office and we will connect you with our Social Worker.

All Minnesota K-12 students attending school in person will have a free breakfast and lunch available to them each academic school day due to the state of Minnesota's Free School Meals for Kids bill. However, it is still important for families to fill out the Educational Benefits application on EduTrakConnect to take advantage of several other benefits available to families who meet income requirements, including free or discounted costs for the following:

· Field trips

· Clubs, activities and athletics

· Band instruments

· ACT, SAT and AP fees

· Comcast internet for home

· Xcel Energy account assistance for electricity bills

Additionally, the state of Minnesota uses a school district's percentage of qualifying students from applications completed and approved prior to Oct. 1 each year to calculate each district's funding level. School district funding impacts class sizes, number of support staff the district can hire to help scholars and extra programming opportunities.

Final bus information will be sent out on August 28th. If your student’s needs are changing, please email BusQuestions@District279.org to request a change form. Forms are student specific; please include each student requiring changes in your email correspondence.

The FirstView bus tracking app can be used to track buses, which uses GPS to track your students'

bus arrival.

Osseo Transportation Contact Information:

For Transportation related questions, contact Transportation through one of the methods below:

District 279 Transportation Department - Students transported within District 279

Phone: 763-391-7244

Email: BusQuestions@district279.org

Website: https://www.district279.org/services/transportation

CST-MN (Collaborative Student Transportation) - Students transported outside of District 279

Phone: 612-789-5218

Please download the new FirstView 1.0 App onto your phone and create a new account. To create a new account, you would need the following information that can be found in ParentVUE:

District Code: P4P7U

Student ID Number

Student Last Name

Please note that students who are assigned to a CST Van Route will not be tracked on the

FirstView App.

If there are any questions, please reach out to Transportation.

The road construction is coming along and we are close to an end date! Please be aware that Weaver Lake Road will be down to 1 lane each direction. Plan extra time for drop-off and pick-up and know that this may effect bus drop off times each day depending on traffic. Take extra caution when leaving school property. The contractor is hoping to have the area around the school re-open by the end of September.

1. What are the school's hours?

9:30-4:00. The main door opens/busses unload at 9:15am. Dismissal bell rings at 3:55 with all students out of the building by 4:00.

Please call the office at 763-420-3337 to let us know that your child has a change to their usual end of day plans. You can do it daily or preschedule. You can also set set days for end of day pick-up.

Please come to the office and ring the doorbell. Tell us who you are here for an what grade they are in. Then fill out the release form as you wait for them.

No. The district does not allow students to ride other busses.

August 28th: Look out for Transportation and Bussing information via email.

August 31st: Teacher and Classroom Assignments - Watch your emails for a welcome message

from your student's assigned teacher!

September 2nd: Open House; 5:00-6:30 pm

September 8th: First Day of School🏫 (School doors open at 9:15 am for students)