Wolves Newsletter
Welcome to Park Brook Elementary
Dear Park Brook Families,
Years ago, not at Park Brook, a mom called and was very concerned about her child's report card, and specifically about the grade for her child's behavior. I asked, "can I ask you a question?" She responded that I could, and so I asked her, "did you take your 3rd grade report card when you interviewed for your job?" She started to laugh, and said something about herself blowing it out of proportion. We had a good talk about the purpose of the report card.
We do want kids to take report cards seriously and for parents to know how their child is performing academically. I would state there are two important reasons for report cards in elementary school:
- To let parents know their child's true/accurate academic level so that we can work together for your child's benefit.
- Provide an opportunity for parents to talk with their child regarding: what the child is doing to make the academic gains they are making (talk about the positives both with grades, family schedules, character traits, and so on), what changes could take place in terms of studies or behavior to increase academic learning, and possibly what could change at home to assist with learning.
By all means, I want students to make some of the strongest growth in the state of Minnesota. I am pleased with the growth we are making, and more importantly that the students are making growth, yet I continue to strive for stronger growth. By no means am I minimizing the importance of report cards or academic growth. When students are taking the MCA's I expect no compromise as strong growth with compromise is unacceptable to me. However, with report cards I focus on the purpose, and report cards are a communication tool.
I encourage all families to have a conversation regarding report cards, and here are some possible questions that my be helpful:
- How does your behavior help you or hurt you with your learning?
- Tell me about one thing you do that is really helping you learn this year.
- Tell me about one thing you could do to help you be a better reader.
- How do your actions in class help others around you learn?
- Mr. Taylor talks a lot about movement. Tell me about how you participate in Brain Boosts during the day, and do you think you need to get more movement at home?
The above questions are simply ideas. It is good to talk about what your child is really doing a nice job with, so that they can think about their strengths. Sometimes areas of strengths are not discussed, or character traits that are strengths are not discussed, however, discussing helps all of us to continue and be intentional with what we do. At the same time, we all have areas of growth.
Report cards will be posted on ParentVUE by the end of the day on Tuesday, December 9.
Mr. Scott W. Taylor
Mission Bay High School - San Diego, CA
Northern Arizona University, B.S. - Flagstaff, AZ
St. Cloud State University, M.S. - St. Cloud, MN
St. Mary's University, Administration Program - Minneapolis, MN
Parents/guardians will receive a form to request times that will work for you to meet with your child's teachers.
- We kindly request that you mark ALL days and times that will work for you as we are scheduling over 300 conferences.
- Parents/guardians will receive a text message on December 8 with the conference request form. You do NOT need to print out this form. The form is sent in this way so all receive and it is translated for all families in their preferred language.
- The form will be sent home with all students on Monday, December 8. Please return as soon as possible. We will begin scheduling conferences as soon as possible.
- Park Brook Elementary students in grades 2 - 5 receive fitness scores in addition to report cards. Fitness scores are sent home twice a year. These scores will be sent home with students.
- Increasing fitness levels and movement increases academic growth and positive behaviors.
- Mr. Christlieb will assist all students in grades 3 - 5 to set personal goals to increase fitness levels. These are recorded in each student's planner.
- Park Brook's objective with the Focus on Fitness Initiative is to increase fitness levels to prepare students to achieve their dreams by increasing academic growth and positive behaviors. In addition, it is good for students physical and mental health.
The letter that accompanies the fitness scores will be sent home, and is at the bottom of this newsletter so that every parent can read it in their preferred language.
Osseo Area Schools' boundaries (where kids go to school) is changing for the 2026 - 2027 school year. Click on the button below for more information.
Letters were sent to families with specific information for each family. If you have questions, please contact the Park Book School Office.
- Thursday, January 8, 2026 - University of Minnesota - 8:50 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. - Students will eat breakfast as soon as they arrive at school, and be ready to depart as soon as the bus is ready for departure.
- Tuesday, January 27, 2026 - Science Museum - 8:50 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. - Students will eat breakfast as soon as they arrive at school, and be ready to depart as soon as the bus is ready for departure.
One permission slip will be sent home for both field trips. Parents/guardians will indicate on the one field trip if they give permission for both field trips, only one field trip, or neither field trip.
Please note that students who are late to school may miss the trip if they arrive after the bus departs. In addition, students cannot eat on the bus, and therefore if they are late, and the bus is leaving, they will not get breakfast. We will not hold the bus for a student who is late to school.
While we want students in school all day, every day, we also want students to be healthy. If students have been sick, they are not ready to learn and need to rest.
- Students need to stay home if they have a fever, and need to be fever-free for 24 hours WITHOUT medication before returning to school. (Medications bring down temperatures, but if you take medication to bring down the fever, you are still sick.)
- If a student has diarrhea, they need to have no diarrhea for 24 hours before returning to school. This is so illness is not spread, but also for the child. It is horrible for a student to have an accident or to have to run to the restroom from the playground or classroom if they have diarrhea.
Seeking: parents/ guardians/ grandparents/ aunts/ uncles/ community members....
While we have staff members who coach GOTR, it would be great to have others support this tremendous program.
You can volunteer once-a-week, once every-other-week, for every meeting, or what works for your schedule. GOTR MN provides the curriculum and requires that all volunteers and staff members are trained and pass a background check.
If you are interested, have questions, or perhaps know someone who might be interested, I would greatly enjoy visiting with you!
Spring session begins after Spring Break, which seems as though it is a long ways off, but this is the time to begin planning and seeking staff.
Much Appreciated!
Mr. Taylor
The Park Brook Double Dutch Team is sponsored by the American Heart Association.
The team will travel in February and March to other schools in the Twin Cities to kick-off fundraising events in other schools, and encourage students to live a heart-healthy lifestyle.
In order to travel, students must maintain positive behaviors at school.
- If a student is not demonstrating positive behaviors in the school, they will not be allowed to travel with the team.
- Students need to demonstrate cooperation with teammates in order for the team to have successful experiences at each performance.
- A few students may have behavior charts that will need to be completed each day, with certain expectations in order to travel with the team. (At the high school level, all students participating in athletics must maintain their grades and positive behaviors, with forms to be filled out by all teachers.)
If a student is not able to demonstrate behaviors that are beneficial for the team, the student will not be able to participate in Double Dutch.
Afternoon Pre-K and each grade level from kindergarten through fifth grade will sing, the Park Brook Choir, and so on will perform at the Winter Musical Program. The gymnasium is always packed for this event.
Doors will open by 1:00 p.m. for parents/guardians and other family members to come and enjoy the program.
Parents/guardians are welcome to take their children home after the musical, but we kindly ask that you wait until the entire program is over.
Middle school and high school siblings should not be pulled out of school to come to this program.
Students are welcome to wear festive clothing, but please remember that the students will be sitting on the floor during the assembly, and the students will go outside for recess.
Students in 4th and 5th grades will wear 50's inspired and festive clothing.
No School for Students
Wednesday, December 24, 2025 - Sunday, January 4, 2026
Students Return to School
Monday, January 5, 2026
Park Brook Elementary Office Closed
Tuesday, December 23 at 4:00 p.m. - Monday, January 5, 2026 at 7:30 a.m.
Park Brook Elementary Staff Emails/Texts/Phone Calls
Please understand that staff members will not be checking or responding to emails, text messages or phone calls during Winter Break.
Students need to wear/bring their jackets, hats, gloves and so on, every day during the winter. Students will need these items for recess. In addition, students in grades 3 - 5 will begin cross-country skiing, which requires students to be dressed to enjoy the winter fun.
Coats, hats and gloves are available for Park Brook Students who do not have their own. Park Brook does not have an endless supply of winter wear to give or loan, so students/parents/families are responsible to ensure students bring winter wear with them every day. From November through March students will need their winter clothing. (We do have a few extra hats/jackets/gloves for students to borrow if they forget theirs at home, however, we only have a few to loan out. If students need hats/gloves/coats/snow pants, we have items to give that will belong to the student to use at home and at school.)
Students go outside for recess every day unless the weather is colder than -5 degrees (negative five degrees).
A note from a doctor is required if a student needs to stay in more than one day for a medical reason. If your child is too ill to participate in recess, they should stay home and fully recuperate before returning to school.
Please call the office or stop in if you have a middle school or high school student who needs a coat. We have larger sizes and would like to get these to Park Brook Families.
All of us, kids and adults, should brush teeth at least twice-a-day, floss our teeth every day, avoid sugary pops, and so on. In addition, visiting a dentist is important. Please see information and link below for information about free dental care. Appointments must be made, and scheduling an appointment will begin in early January.
Link: Give Kids a Smile
February 6 & 7, 2026
- Each year, dental professionals from across the state participate in Give Kids a Smile,
- Provides free dental care to children (18 and younger) in need.
- The event takes place on the first Friday and Saturday of February.
- Appointments can be set up starting the beginning of January.
- Dental locations and flyers for the event (in multiple languages) should be posted soon.
The Park Brook school counselor provides Social Emotional Learning lessons to all students a whole class setting school-wide for 30 minutes per week.
This month in kindergarten through 2nd grade we are covering personal safety and personal space. In 3rd-5th grade we are covering online safety and cyberbullying.
- Brain Boosts in Classrooms
- Kinesthetic Seating
- Girls on the Run
- Boot Camp
- Cardio Drumming
- Double Dutch
- Twin Cities 5K
- Resilinator
In 2026 ... Next Gen Ski Race, Luminary Loppet, Cross-country skiing, Cardio Drumming, Double Dutch, Kidarod, Park Brook Winter Funland, and more!
- W - We will respect ourselves and others.
- O - Own our actions.
- L - Listen and Learn.
- F - Follow Directions.
The following letter will be sent home with all students with the fitness scores. However, we want to ensure that all families receive in their preferred languages which is why it is placed in the newsletter.
Letter to parents that accompanies Fitness Scores:
Park Brook is a school with a Focus on Fitness. During Physical Education class we complete fitness assessments twice each year: Fall & Spring (1st Grade – Spring Only). During the school year, we encourage growth in all areas of fitness through Physical Education, extra curricular activities during and outside of the school day and homeroom brain boosts. We hope that each student can increase their fitness level throughout the year. Following Fall testing, students in Grades 3, 4, and 5 set personal goals for improvement in the Spring. Fitness Assessment items are health related, AND practice related, measuring the status of various aspects of a person’s health and fitness levels. Students who are active and routinely practice fitness exercises are able to improve and maintain these healthy levels.
Your child performed five fitness assessments: Push-ups, Sit-ups, Pacer Run, Sit and Reach, and the Mile run. The fitness assessments are used as a measure to show where your child should be performing based on their age and where they are developmentally. Fitness is no longer recorded as a grade on student report cards. Students with asthma receive an N/A on their report if they are below the “meets” level on the Pacer and Mile Run. If the score is blank, your child was not present or unable to perform the test at that time.
Park Brook offers before and after school opportunities for fitness. We encourage your child to consider classes that are offered for their grade: Double Dutch: grades 3-5, Boot Camp: grades K-5, Girls on the Run: grades 3-5, and Cardio Drumming: grades K-5
We share this information so you can talk with your child about the assessments. Please encourage your child to practice their fitness exercises at home to improve and maintain healthy fitness levels.
The Push-Up Assessment measures the muscular strength and endurance of your upper body. (Chest, Arms and Shoulders)
The Sit-Up Assessment measures the muscular strength and endurance of you Core Body. (Stomach and Back)
The Sit and Reach Assessment measures the Flexibility of your hamstrings and lower back muscles.
The Pacer Run and Mile Run Assessments measure your Cardio-Respiratory Endurance. (Heart and Lungs)