Eagle Lake Elementary

My name is Brian Hansen, and I'm honored to be the new principal at Eagle Lake Elementary School. You may have heard a little about me already, but I have 11 years of experience working in school administration at the middle and high school levels. I'm very excited about bringing that experience to the elementary level, learning a lot, and building strong relationships with all students and families at Eagle Lake.

My wife Kate and I have raised our twins, Rylie and Jack, in Mankato schools; they will be juniors at East High School this year. You'll find us cheering on the Cougars at various events throughout the year, especially gymnastics, hockey, track & field, and baseball games. Our family is extremely proud and invested in our schools, and I'm looking forward to another year of being a parent and leader in our district.

I can't wait to meet everyone in the next couple of weeks - be sure to stop in, introduce yourself, and say hi. Let's get this year off to a great start!

Online sign up for conferences begins Wednesday, August 23, 2023. It's easy! To find out who your student's teacher will be for this year, log on to your Parent Portal account and click schedule. If you have questions please call the office.

Entrance conference sign up is a two-step process. First register at the PTC Fast Website by clicking HERE. Once you have registered, PTC Fast will email you a link to complete the process and pick your specific date and time. NOTE: Email sometimes does not get delivered immediately so please allow up to 15 minutes. You may also need to check your Spam folder. You must choose your child's assigned teacher and book a conference time. If your child lives in more than one household, please schedule only one conference per student.

REMINDER to ALL:

In order to view your child's assigned teacher, the following steps need to be completed.

1. Create Parent Portal Account. If you already have an account, be sure you can log-in. If you do not remember your username and password, please send an email to ICSUPPORT@ISD77.ORG. If you have not set up an account, please visit Central Registration at 10 Civic Center Plaza or Sue Ruch in the Eagle Lake office.

2. Complete Census Verification. The Census Verification link in the Parent Portal will walk you through this process. This is a critical step as it replaces all the paperwork you have completed in past years. If you need help with this, please visit Sue Ruch in the Eagle Lake office.

Conference dates:

Tuesday, September 5th from 9:00am-7:00pm

Wednesday, September 6th from 8:00am-12:00pm

We will have computers available in the school office for those that do not have access to the internet or if you need assistance.

Did you know that the number of families who qualify for free and reduced priced meals directly impacts the federal and state funds Eagle Lake Elementary School receives to support all students? We would like as many families as possible to complete the Free or Reduced Price Lunch application. The more who apply and qualify, the more benefit to those individuals and to our school community.

During the pandemic, when meals were free for everyone, we saw a decline in the number of families completing the forms to qualify for free/reduced price lunch (FRP). If food is free anyway, why would we, right?

Actually, it has an impact. This meant that Eagle Lake received less federal and state funding for staffing, social/emotional and mental health services, equipment, and supplies than in previous years when families had to complete the form in order to qualify for free food.

There are individual and community benefits to registering for FRP status.

Benefits to you at no cost :

• School Breakfast

• School Lunch

Benefits to Our Community:

• Increased state and federal funding for Eagle Lake Elementary (more staff, equipment & supplies)

• Increased social/emotional & mental health supports

• Increased math and reading supports

We are very excited to offer our Eagle Lake students a healthy snack option each school day.

Prior to the first week of school you will have the option of signing up for healthy snacks for your students.The cost will be $65.00 per child for the school year. To ensure that your child has a snack on the first day of school, payments need to be received by September 5th.

There will be a few choices each day for students including such items as: baby carrots, apples, oranges, yogurt, string cheese, graham crackers, pretzels and more.

Payment can be made through your parent portal. Use this link for payment instructions: Step by Step Instructions to Pay for Snack Cart - Infinite Campus Parent Portal.

Donations to sponsor a child in need are welcome, appreciated and can be selected in the parent portal as well. Yearly, we have around 60 students in need of a sponsored snack. Thank you in advance for your support if you are able.

If your child is going to have a snack during the school day we strongly encourage you to participate in the snack cart. If you do choose to send a snack with your child to school we ask that you choose from the following healthier items: (any fruits) grapes, apples, oranges, bananas, melon chunks, etc., (any vegetables) carrots, celery, cucumbers, broccoli, cauliflower etc., crackers, pretzels, rice cakes, whole grain bagels or yogurt.

We hope that you take the opportunity to save some money, enjoy the convenience of a school-provided snack, and most importantly provide “top-notch" nutrition for your child at snack time.

If you need assistance with this program please contact the Eagle Lake office.

An essential part of starting a new school year is taking time to review the norms and rules around how we function as a school community. At Eagle Lake Elementary, we take the responsibility of maintaining safety seriously. All of us play an essential role in protecting our school community.

Please take a few moments to read the information below regarding the specific plans and practices we have in place to ensure safety for everyone in our building. If you have questions or concerns, please share them with me.

Safety Basics at Eagle Lake Elementary

SINGLE ENTRY

During our school day at Eagle Lake Elementary, we are considered a single point of entry building. This means that between the hours of 8:00 am and 2:30 pm, all of our building doors are locked. The only place that anyone can enter our building after 8:00 am is through Door 1.

If you are planning to enter Eagle Lake after 8:00 am, you can expect the following:

• Once you are in the entryway, an office staff member will ask for your name, i.d., and purpose for entering the building.

• If it is determined to be absolutely necessary for you to be in the building and it is an appropriate time for your visit, the staff member will direct you to your destination.

• If you are simply dropping something off for your student, you will not be given access to the building. You may leave the items at the front desk and we will ensure they are delivered to your student.

DRILLS

Throughout the school year, we will practice safety drills for fires, lockdowns, and severe weather. We practice the drills periodically over the course of the year. In the event of a major emergency we have a reunification site off campus. Staff will escort students to the site and all parent pick up will take place from that site. This would all be communicated to you in the event such an emergency would happen.