AFSA PreK-12 Family Update

Hello AFSA Families,

Good afternoon! We are excited for our Back to School Picnics coming up next week! See below for details!

Communication is important to us! Please make sure you watch for the AFSA Family Update every Friday throughout the school year! Family Updates include important information about school events, paperwork, school related and community opportunities and so much more. If at any point your contact information changes please contact the school ASAP so you do not miss out on any information.

AFSA is currently accepting student applications for the 2025-26 school year and we need your help! Please share with friends and neighbors your experiences with AFSA and invite them to check us out online. Our Facebook and Instagram pages highlight (see links at bottom of newsletter) some of the awesome things our staff and students are doing! We have space in all grades except 4th for the upcoming year!

To see the complete newsletter make sure to click on the "View in browser" link at the top of the newsletter. This will also allow you to access the downloadable files attached to the newsletter.

#ChallengeAccepted! You get a break from a picture of me in week 24 of Words With Wakefield! Our teachers have been presented with this year's theme of Challenge Accepted. I have talked before about how education is changing and evolving each year. Teachers are presented with new challenges each day and we as AFSA are ready to accept those challenges. We are not just asking teachers to accept the challenge, but also all staff, students and parents. This theme is a way for all of us to come together and create opportunities for success.

Ways we can challenge ourselves is by accepting that being uncomfortable is ok! Stepping out of our comfort zone allows us to improve and find new ways to better our craft. When we increase comfort, we decrease challenge, which increases complacency, then results in decrease in resilience.

Especially today, our students' minds are so occupied with distractions (i.e. social media) that it is impacting their ability to think deeper, have deeper connections, and have emotional growth. Education as a whole is lowering the threshold or expectations for our students.

Here at AFSA we will challenge that and continue to raise the bar of expectations for our students and staff. We accept the challenge of educating our students and we ask all of you to join and buy in to our #ChallengeAccepted theme!

AFSA Families are invited to kick off the school year at our Back to School Picnics at AFSA Elementary and AFSA High School! This is a great time to come together for a free picnic meal, fill out and drop off paperwork, meet teachers, learn more about the upcoming school year and more! See attached flyer for more information.

AFSA High School Back to School Picnic:

Tuesday, August 26th from 3:00 - 7:00 p.m.

AFSA Elementary Back to School Picnic:

Thursday, August 28th from 3:00 - 7:00 p.m.

We are excited to share that the Elementary and High School team will have some new additions and changes starting this fall:

Elementary Staffing Updates:

Special note for 4th grade families: Hello 4th grade families! We are looking forward to an amazing year! There has been a staffing change for the 4th grade, with Ms. DeMarre being the new teacher for the class. She brings 10 years of experience in both charter and traditional public schools with her and is very excited to meet your kiddos!!

Other Updates:

• Ms. Orr will be joining us as our new Reading Specialist
• Ms. Ma will move to Math interventions
• Ms. Sirek will be joining the 5th/6th team
• Ms. Rigert is our new PreK teacher
• Ms. Johansen will be our new Ag specialist
• Ms. LeClair (formerly Zurn) will be returning to kindergarten
• Ms. B's name has changed to Ms. Pasquesi
• Ms. Elizabeth and Ms. Huss will be our special education teachers (Ms. Lonetti moved to the High School campus)

Lots of work has been happening this summer to plan and implement some new initiatives at our school! Using feedback from the annual surveys, teacher and student input, as well as ideas from the field, we have a few announcements:

• Student Advisory group - Ms. Burkwald met with 5th graders after surveys were collected in May to hear feedback and generate new ideas for the school. For the upcoming year, students will have the opportunity to join the advisory group to continue this initiative and act as collaborators in our continuous improvement efforts!
• Wonder Wednesdays - An adjusted schedule has been created for Wednesdays to build in dedicated field trip experience time, Innovation Studio project time, and Soar Slip reward activities! Each Wednesday afternoon will have a planned activity. As much as possible, please avoid this time for appointments or early pick-ups, as students will often be off campus or engaged in activities that would not be able to be made-up later.
• Tech Time - 20 minutes of daily technology practice, including typing lessons, programming, and utilities on our chromebooks will be built into daily schedules for grades 1-4. Teachers will be using digital curriculum from Typing.com and Code.org for these lessons. In grades 5 & 6, this will be added to the schedule on Wednesdays for 1 hour.
• Behavior Support - Mr. Wil and Mr. K will be behavior assistants, working with Ms. Burkwald to ensure safety and support for all in the building. All staff will be trained before school begins in updated approaches to supporting students, and behavior support staff will have continuous training this year in restorative practices and non-exclusionary discipline to ensure best practices are followed.

High School Staffing Updates:

• Mr. Matthew Hofrenning - PE/Health teacher
• Mr. James Beadle - H.S. Language Arts
• Ms. Katelynn Rude - H.S. Language Arts
• Ms. Rachel Nelson - AG
• Ms. Emily Markgraf - HS Art
• Mr. Jacob Goebel - Sped Coordinator
• Ms. Vorwald - Student Success Coordinator

FOCUS: We are transitioning our advisory into FOCUS. This class will now be graded and received high school credit. It will meet every day after the 1st block for 45 minutes. We will focus this time around 5 different pillars:

F: Future Planning

O: Office Hours

C: Community/Challenge

U: Unplug

S: Seminar

Studio 118: Ms. Vorwald has transitioned into our Student Success Coordinator and we have created a room called Studio 118. This is a room designated to help our students achieve success here at the high school. If students need a reset, someone to talk to, Mental Health support, a quiet place to work, help solve an issue with friends, and everything else in between. We at AFSA want to be proactive when helping our students navigate through their school day.

The Great AFSA Cup: Get ready, Eagles! The Great AFSA Cup is beginning and it’s game on. Earn points for doing your best, stepping up to challenges, and making AFSA an awesome place to be. Rack up enough and you’ll soar to victory, claim epic bragging rights, and maybe even take home some sweet prizes. Let’s see which team will rule the roost!

We are excited to announce AFSA Eagle's Club is open for registrations for the 2025-2026 school year. Eagle's Club is open to all AFSA students grades PreK-6. This program is a great option for families looking for after school care or after school clubs. Eagle's Club AFSA staff will provide care and activities from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on regular school days. While students are in our care, we provide a high-quality curriculum with engaging activities for all ages. Eagle's Club will offer themed days of the week (see our exciting schedule of activities for September below), so families can register for specific days of the week or on a full-week schedule. Please review the handbook for more information.

The cost to attend Eagle's Club is $20 per child per day. Additional program details are outlined in the handbook linked below. If you have any questions please contact Kate Bald (651-209-3924).

September Schedule of Activities

Eagle's Club Handbook

Registration Link

AFSA Pre-K-12th grade families need to fill out the following paperwork each school year.

• Emergency Contact and Permissions form - This form gives us emergency contact information and permission for all field trips, media use and technology use needed during the year. THIS MUST BE SIGNED FOR STUDENTS TO PARTICIPATE IN ANY FIELD TRIPS!
• Application for Educational Benefits - Provides families additional benefits and helps AFSA qualify for grants and funds from the department of education.

Additional forms that may be needed:

• Medication Authorization form - This form is needed for all medications your student will need during the school day. Doctors signature may be required please see form for details. Medication and form can be dropped off at the Back to School Picnic.
• Parking Permit - For student drivers who will have a car at school.

All forms listed above are attached to this newsletter, can be found on the website and paper copies will be available at both the high school and elementary school Back to School Picnics.

Completed forms may be turned in at the Back to School Picnics, dropped off at the buildings during summer office hours (9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.) or Elementary (PreK-6) forms can be emailed to jhamilton@afsak12.com and high school (grades 7-12) forms can be emailed to kbarbour@afsak12.com

PowerSchool has been updated for the upcoming year; you can check grades, attendance, balances, and schedules there throughout the year! For more information please contact your students building.

For Elementary Students please contact Janelle at 612-260-2662 if you have questions or need directions to get signed up for your student.

For High School Students please contact Kristina at 6651-209-3910 if you have questions or need directions to get signed up for your student.

Calling all 8th-12th graders! Join more than 1300 young leaders from around the state this January to debate the issues that are important to you. Youth in Government (YIG) is a hands-on civic learning program where students in grades 8-12 become legislators, lawyers, judges, lobbyists, journalists, or cabinet members and spend four days running a state model government. Young people in YIG aren’t spectators; they elect their own leaders, debate their own ideas, and support policies and laws that highlight their values. To learn more about YIG contact Ms. Nelson!

Minnesota Department of Education has a new resource to help kids learn to read. The READ Toolkit gives families ideas and tools to help their kids learn to read. For more information click here.

2025-26 Applications for Educational Benefits submitted between July 1 and August 31, 202, will make students eligible for both 2025 and 2026 SUN Bucks programs. See this newsletter for the Educational Benefits form.

For more information about the Sun Bucks program click here.

The long awaited 2025-2026 Fall Sport Season information has arrived! For all AFSA sports teams each student athlete must fill out the following Google form. Included in the Google form are links to all required sports forms. These forms can also be found on our website.

• Volleyball - Calling all 7th-12th grade girls interested in being on the AFSA Volleyball team! No prior experience is necessary. Players should have tennis shoes, workout clothes, water bottle, and knee pads.
• Soccer - Calling all 9th-12th grade boys interested in joining the AFSA Soccer team! This year’s soccer team will be a co-op team with Liberty Classical Academy. Players should have tennis shoes/cleats, workout clothes, water bottle, and shin guards.

If your student is interested in joining either team please contact Amanda Vorwald.

Support AFSA Athletics with your PIZZA purchase! Starting August 18 through September 10 AFSA Athletes are holding a special Heggies Pizza fundraiser to raise money for all AFSA Athletic teams! Pizza's are large (12") and range in price from $11 - $14. Choose from the following:

• Double Cheese
• Sausage
• Pepperoni
• Sausage & Pepperoni
• Sausage and Mushroom
• Inferno
• Deluxe Combo
• Six Pack
• BCB (Bacon Cheeseburger)
• Chicken Alfredo
• Breakfast Pizza
• Cauliflower Crust Sausage & Pepperoni
• Cauliflower Crust Marcherita
• El Jefe (Mexican style with Chorizo, jalapenos and more)

To purchase pizzas find an AFSA athlete or contact our Activities Director, Ms. Vorwald, avorwadl@afsak12.com. Thank you for your support!

Step up to the plate for our 4-day Youth Baseball Eaglets Program! Led by AFSA’s baseball coach and players, you’ll learn the fundamentals—rules, skills, and teamwork—while building confidence on and off the field. Whether you’re brand new to the game or looking to sharpen your swing, it’s your chance to spread your wings and swing for the fences! Tuesdays, 9/16, 9/23, 9/30, 10/7 after school until 5pm at LILY POND PARK. Students will take a bus to the field where staff will meet them. They should be picked up from the park at 5pm.

The 2025-2026 AFSA Calendar is out! You can find it attached to this email and on our website here.

Show off your school spirit with some AFSA gear! We have a ton of different sweatshirts, tshirts, sweatpants and so much more to choose from. Just click here to check out all of the options and place an order.

Join us at Culver's in Little Canada (2880 Rice Street Little Canada)for our 2025-2026 Culver's fundraising Nights! Take your family out to dinner and support AFSA PreK-12 at the same time! AFSA receives 10% of all food purchases from 5-7 p.m.

• September 16, 2025
• October 21, 2025
• November 18, 2025
• December 16, 2025
• January 20, 2026
• February 17, 2026
• March 17, 2026
• April 21, 2026
• May 19, 2026

Special thank you to the Little Canada Culver's for their continued support of AFSA PreK-12!

Did you know AFSA PreK-12 participates in Box Tops for Education? Support AFSA K-12 through Box Tops for Education! You can find Box Tops on hundreds of products throughout the store. Download and use the app to snap a photo of your receipt within 14 days of purchase. Make sure to choose AFSA High School when scanning in your boxtops. Your Box Tops earnings are identified and automatically updated online. To check out all of the products and learn more about the Box Tops for Education app please go to BTFE.com.

You can also find this information on our website just click here.

The school directory is a great way for AFSA PreK-12 families to stay in touch! Click here if you are a current AFSA PreK-12 family and would like to be added to the 2025-2026 school directory. The directory will be emailed out to all participating families. If you have been in past directories you will still need to sign up this year to be included. Questions? Please contact Ms. Forliti

August 26

AFSA High School Back to School Picnic

AFSA High School 3:00 -7:00 p.m.

August 28

AFSA Elementary School Back to School Picnic

AFSA Elementary 3:00 -7:00 p.m.

September 2

AFSA Charter School First Day of School

September 17

AFSA Charter School Picture Day

Click Here to go to the School Calendar for event details

Please call the attendance line or email the following if your student is absent.

Elementary Attendance Line (Grades PreK-6):

612-260-2664 or email k6attendance@afsak12.com

High School Attendance Line (Grades 7-12):

651-209-3910 or email hsattendance@afsak12.com

www.afsak12.com