STEM Newsletter

August 2025

Dear Weaver Lake families,

School year 2025 -2026 is upon us and we are excited about having everyone back. Staff have been busy getting ready; including a three-day training on Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics, planning for the first value-added projects, and training staff new to Weaver Lake. In addition, some staff members took summer courses, read, and attended professional development activities. Our custodial team is working hard to make sure the building is ready for our first day of school. It is wonderful being part of such a talented, dedicated and positive community.

This summer, Juline (my wife) and I did not have much time for our garden, so our harvest is going to be smaller than in the past. Luckily, the grandparents have a large vegetable garden, and they love to share their harvest with all their kids. We visited my siblings in Costa Rica for a week, helped our daughter move out and moved our two boys back home. One of the boys was in upstate New York where he completed his research project and still needs to complete writing his dissertation and defend it for a master’s degree in evolutionary biology (ecology). The other was in Ohio and successfully defended his dissertation for a doctoral degree in ecology. We are enjoying having them at home until they find a job.

We have some new staff:

• Rhea Garcia: kindergarten teacher
• Natalie Crosby: fourth grade teacher
• Kelly Tanner: speech therapist
• Hannah Boyle: speech therapist
• Carly Clark: special education resource teacher
• Molly Cardosi: Occupational Therapist
• Mary Luna: vocal music teacher
• Eric Bitterman: band teacher
• Tammera Bauer: school nurse

The Weaver Lake Open House is on Wednesday, August 27th from 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm.

A quick message from Mr. Bjorlin: all safety patrol students will have their meeting at 4:00pm on August 27th, 1 hour before the Open House begins, in the media center.

Looking forward to meeting and partnering with you this school year.

Thank you,

Dr. Ronald Salazar, Principal

We welcome families to join us for our Back-to-School Open House on Wednesday, August 27th from 5 - 6:30 pm. Bring your school supplies, come and visit the teachers, and check out the classrooms! We will also have some snacky food trucks and school "Weaver Wear" for sale in our gymnasium.

Hello Safety Patrol Families,

Please join us for the safety patrol meeting on August 27th at 4:00 pm. Please note that this is an hour before our Open House. If your child forgot to turn in their forms, you can still come join us. I will be giving brief information about safety patrol, and you may have a few forms to complete. If there are any questions, please email me at bjorlinb@district279.org

Please be aware that there is still major construction on Weaver Lake Road. Both school entrances should be open by our Open House, but be prepared for traffic back-ups and changing traffic flows.

August 25th: Teacher and Classroom Assignments - Watch your emails for a welcome message from your student's assigned teacher!

August 27th: Back to School Open House; 5 - 6:30 pm.

September 2nd: First day of School

There are some important school supplies your student will need to be successful throughout the

year. You can view our 2025-26 grade-level school supply lists below. If you have any questions, please contact the Front Office.

If you have financial concerns, including purchasing headphones, please reach out to the school office and we will connect you with our Social Worker.

Bus Transportation:

Existing riders from 2024-25 will only need to declare changes to their needs. If your student currently rides the bus from a stop near your residence or a daycare site and will use that same location for transportation in 2024-25, no action is required, and your student will be routed from that same location. Final bus information will be sent out one week prior to the first day of school.

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.

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

FirstView App has been updated. 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.

ParentVUE provides access to the tools parents and families need in order to support their student's learning including:

• Access to student's transportation assignments (available late August)
• Schedule Parent-Teacher Conferences (available in September)
• Student attendance information
• Report cards

New families, click on the link above to create your ParentVUE account.

All back to school forms MUST be completed to enter ParentVUE for the first time each school year. Be sure to select the Begin Registration button.

District staff use the two-way messaging app TalkingPoints to communicate with you about your student. Parents can download the free TalkingPoints for Parents mobile app.

The Minnesota state legislature passed a Free School Meals for Kids bill into law this spring, which takes effect in September and allows all in-person K-12 students to receive a free school breakfast and lunch each day, excluding a la carte/special menu items.

However, it’s still important for households to fill out the Educational Benefits application (formerly the free/reduced lunch application) on EduTrakConnect (formerly SmartSchoolK12). Depending on income, families who apply may receive free or discounted prices for:

• Field trips
• Band instruments
• Home internet rates with certain providers
• Xcel Energy account assistance for electricity bills

All Minnesota K-12 students attending school in person will have one free breakfast and lunch

available to them each academic school day due to the state’s recently passed Free School Meals

for Kids bill. A la carte items outside of a complete meal will still incur a cost (milk will incur a

cost unless taken as a part of a school meal).

Please take some time to read and understand the Weaver Lake STEM Family Handbook. There are a lot of important information regarding policies and procedures that the school follows. If there are any questions, please reach out to the office at 763-420-3337.

Discover Osseo Area Schools’ Community Education! Find classes, programs and events for all ages — from early childhood, youth to adult. View the catalog or register at osseo.ce.eleyo.com.