Bulldogs Newsletter October 2, 2023

Dear Basswood Families,

Basswood celebrated Black History Month in a big way today! Our third graders and music teachers led our whole school in a program centered on Black excellence. Our “Black Joy” student group also helped lead our learning this morning! #WeAreBasswood!

Today we also concluded our Read A Thon. Next week we will find out if the students met their goal of reading for 400,000 minutes. Be sure to turn in any reading logs on Monday. We will share the results of the Read A Thon on March 6, 20205.

There is new information below about the upcoming boundary changes. Please take a minute to review the new maps and take advantage of the opportunity to share your thinking through the links below or by participating in the Community Informational meetings coming up in March. See details below.

Have a great weekend!

Steven Schwartz
Basswood Principal

Community feedback from January and early February helped to narrow and refine proposed attendance boundary scenarios. Specifically, scenarios 1 and 2 moved forward with some adjustments based on comments received. Visit the following webpages for details on newly proposed scenarios 1A and 2A and search tools to see how your household may be impacted:

Learn more about each of the updated scenarios by visiting the following webpages. Make sure to check out each scenario’s search tool to see how your household is impacted.

• Updated scenario 1A

• Updated scenario 2A

Community input is important: Please share your thoughts on the two updated scenarios by filling out the online feedback form or participating in an upcoming community informational meeting.

• Online feedback form

• Community Informational Meeting on Tuesday, March 4 at 5:45 p.m. in the North View Middle School cafe

• Fill out this form if you’re planning to attend; or

• Watch the presentation-portion of the event via the livestream

• Community informational Meeting on Wednesday, March 19 at 5:45 p.m. in the Osseo Middle School cafe

• Fill out this form if you’re planning to attend; or

• Watch the presentation-portion of the event via the livestream

Timeline: These events in March will likely wrap up districtwide feedback opportunities. The school board is expected to approve final attendance boundary changes in May. The new attendance boundaries will then go into effect fall 2026.

Stay tuned: Detailed information will continue to be shared at district279.org/boundaries. Feel free to reach out if something additional needs to be addressed via BetterFuture@district279.org or 763-391-8990.

Just a reminder that Reading Calendars need to be turned on Monday, March 3. Our school-wide fundraising goal is $20,000! And our reading goal is 400,000 minutes. When we counted at the halfway point, we were at 199,935 minutes!! Hopefully we will reach our goal of 400,000 reading minutes so we can see just how fast Mrs. Kennedy can run!

PTO is sponsoring a night of fun and learning and all families are invited to attend! Math and Science Night is Tuesday, March 11, from 6pm to 8pm and is free for all! Hands-on activities for students and families! Some of the vendors that will be attending are Crimson Robotics, Mathnasium, The Works Museum, and Coding the Cosmics.

We also need volunteers for this event. You can volunteer at https://tinyurl.com/bdc98mvw

We are hoping for a great turnout!

Classroom pictures were taken this past Wednesday, February 26. Within 7-10 days after picture day, you will receive a link to your student’s personal gallery in your email. You can place an order online through the email you receive from Kemmetmueller Photography. Once your order is placed, your pictures will be directly delivered to your home within 5-7 days. If you experience any issues with your order, you can contact Kemmetmueller Photography directly at info@k-photography.com or 952-473-2142.

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

Click here to order.

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 6 - Last Day of Trimester II
• March 7 - NO SCHOOL: Report Card Marking Day

• March 11 - PTO Math & Science Night 6-8pm
• March 13 - PTO Meeting 6:30-8pm
• March 17 - School Spirit Day: Wear GREEN for St. Patrick's Day!
• March 18 - 2025-26 Kindergarten Orientation 5-6:30pm
• March 21 - School Spirit Day: Beach Day!!
• March 24-28 - Spring Break
• 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.