Ada-Borup-West Elementary

September Newsletter 2022

Welcome to the 2022-2023 School Year!

As we approach the school year, I am excited to see all of our students back in the building! Last Wednesday, I saw teachers, paras, custodians, and administrative staff working together to create a great open house! This is sure to be a sign of all of the great things yet to come.

I am looking forward to a great year!

Bree Triplett Ed. S.

Ada-Borup-West Elementary Principal

Contact Information

Superintendent: Aaron Cook ACook@ada.k12.mn.us 218-784-5300 ext. 503

Elementary Principal: Bree Triplett BreeT@ada.k12.mn.us 218-784-5300 ext. 112

District Secretary: Sandy Gunderson SandyG@ada.k12.mn.us 218-784-5300 ext. 501

Elementary Secretary: Merilee Potucek MerileeP@ada.k12.mn.us 218-784-5303

A full teacher directory can be found on the school website.

Meet Mrs. Triplett

Bree Triplett

Professional Background:

I am starting my fifth year as Elementary Principal. Prior to moving into the administrative role, I was a third grade teacher at Ada-Borup Public Schools. On top of my public school experience, I was a child care center director and taught preschool in the private sector. Education is a passion of mine!

Educational Background:

Educational Specialist, S. Minnesota State University Moorhead
Master of Education, Minnesota State University Moorhead - Educational Leadership with K-12 Principal Licensure
Master of Education, Concordia University St. Paul - Curriculum and Instruction with Reading Specialist Endorsement
Bachelor of Education, Mayville State University - Early Childhood Education and Teaching
Associates of Arts and Sciences, Lake Region State College - Early Childhood Education and Teaching

Personal Background:

My husband, Nathan, and I have four amazing kiddos.

Tristan, 17, is a senior here at Ada-Borup-West High School (I can't believe it). Tristan is active in football, baseball, trap, musical theater, band, and knowledge bowl.

Scarlet, 15, is a sophomore here at Ada-Borup-West High School. Scarlet is active in volleyball, dance, gymnastics, and musical theater.

Rohin, 14, is an eighth grader here at Ada-Borup-West High School. Rohin is active in academic research, knowledge Bowl, musical theater, and is looking forward to FFA.

Rielle, 11, is a fifth grader here at Ada-Borup-West Elementary. Rielle is active in gymnastics, dance, and is excited to add basketball and volleyball to her endeavors.

We live on a small hobby farm between Hawley and Glyndon where we have chickens, ducks, horses, dogs and cats. In our free time (which are rare nowadays) we love to travel and hang out at the lakes. I am an avid reader, and I love to take any chance I can get to read a good book!

Ada-Borup-West Communication Tools

Remind App:

The District has chosen to add Remind as a formal method of communication. In the elementary, we will be using this communication platform in all grade levels and classrooms. The nice thing is that you will not need to join any classrooms like we had to do with the free version. Our system will work with the platform to retrieve any necessary information for efficient communication. Parents will receive notifications in the form of a text message.

School Messenger/Thrillshare:

Please make sure your contact information is updated in Synergy as this tool is used for communication including weather related announcements. The vast majority of communication is sent through email or text (other than weather related announcements). Be sure that your email address is current in the system. Contact Merilee in the elementary school office for assistance.

A weekly newsletter will be sent out on Mondays with all of the weekly Ada-Borup-West Elementary happenings via School Messenger/Thrillshare.

A monthly newsletter will be sent out each month with all upcoming events.

Synergy-ParentVUE Gradebook:

On the homepage of the school website is a link to access student grades for grades 1-5. The link can also be found using the button below. If you need help accessing Synergy-ParentVUE for the first time, please contact Merilee . Please take advantage of this and have regular conversations about school with your child(ren). We will be sending out links on how to use Synergy-ParentVUE as we get closer to school starting.

Daily Bulletin:

The daily bulletin will be posted on the school website. If parents would like the bulletin emailed directly to them, please email Merilee and she will add you to the list.

Synergy/ParentVUE

Daily Bulletin

If you are planning on dropping off your child/children and would like to accompany them into the building, please park in the parking lot and enter at the "Main Entrance". We ask that if you pick up your child in the afternoon, please utilize the pick-up lane or wait for your child in the new common area by the Cougar Den. We will have staff members bring students to the common area and to the pick-up lane at the end of the day. We ask that after the first day, parents refrain from accompanying their child/children to their lockers. You are still more than welcome to visit the Ada-Borup-West Elementary Office if you have questions or need to drop off paperwork or other items.

**Please note that if you have a preschool student that will be a parent pick up, preschool students will need to be picked up in the preschool classrooms and will not be walked to the parent-pick up lane. **

Bike Racks/Safe Path To School

The bike racks will now be located on the east side of the new gym (Cougar Den). Please have your child walk their bike on school property to the bike racks and then walk on the sidewalk on the north side of the Cougar Den to the main entrance.

Parent Pick-Up Lane/One Way

Parent Pick-Up Lane

This year, we will continue to have a one-way road on the north side of the school building during the school day. We have, however, added a "drop-off lane." The drop-off lane will start on the north-west side of the building with the flow of traffic being from west to east. The expectation of the drop-off lane is that it is only used to drop off or pick up students; meaning, we ask you to remain in your vehicle and not leave it unattended. If you wish to accompany your child in or enter the building to pick up your child, you will need to park your car in the visitor's parking just to the north of the drop-off lane.

Bikes racks will now be located on the east-side of the building as well.

Transportation Update

Parents with students in Grades K-2 Must create and maintain a yearly Transportation Plan.

**Please note that bus changes WILL NOT be allowed the day of and MUST be approved by the transportation department.

**Day of changes from bus to pick up MUST be communicated to Elementary Office (merileep@ada.k12.mn.us) and to the teacher’s Remind account. If a response is not received from district staff, a phone call must be made to 218-784-5303.

**If a change from bus to adult pick up occurs, the adult MUST come in and sign out the student in the office no later than 3:05PM. Students will not be brought out to the pick-up lane.

Welcome back!!!

This is going to be another busy year at school and I wanted to make sure everyone has my contact information. I will be in the building twice a week as I did last year. There will occasionally be changes to the schedule due to meetings, illness, etc., but generally every Tues/Thurs from 8-3.

PLEASE let me know if your child has any health conditions- constipation, anxiety, bloody noses, allergies that require regular medication, asthma, depression, chronic headaches/migraines, basically anything that might occur while at school that you are already aware of and that we may need to support them with. We want them to feel good at school so that learning is easier. If they have a chronic condition that occasionally flares up, we want to be prepared to support and help them through it so that they can get back to class.

If your child needs medication for school such as ADHD medication- we are more than willing to assist with ensuring they get it every day they are in school. Fill out a medication administration form found on the website, and sign it. We can fax it to the provider you list- for their signature. This goes for Tylenol or Ibuprofen as well. We need a provider to sign off that the dose is correct for your child.

If your child struggles with anxiety- that is also very important for us to know. Frequently, anxiety presents as a physical symptom such as stomach pain, nausea, and headaches. We want to help them recognize the symptom and work through the anxiety rather than continue to treat the physical symptom. There are many successful strategies we have available to try with your child- IF we know they struggle with anxiety.

If you need help with any health situation, please don’t hesitate to call and I will support you as well as your child. We just want to make school and safe, healthy, fun place to learn!

Sincerely,

Tracy Johnson Licensed School Nurse

tracyj@ada.k12.mn.us

218-280-3125

Cougar Pack- After School Program

Join the Pack - Cougar Pack!

Your child is invited to join Ada-Borup-West’s after school program, Cougar Pack!

The program, in its eighth year, provides a safe, nurturing environment for students to learn and grow with peers while working toward individualized goals. In the 2021-2022 school year, Cougar Pack was able to provide over 100 students with healthy, engaging activities and academic support during the after school hours.

We know that high quality after school programs (like Cougar Pack!) can boost students' academic performance, improve classroom behavior, encourage physical activity and good nutrition habits, and help children build healthy relationships.

Join the Pack!

Schedule: Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesday & Thursdays from 3:00-5:15PM

Kick-Off: Monday, September 12th (ending in May - date to be determined)

Programming: Students receive physical activity time, academic support, a healthy snack, and an engaging, skill-building activity. Programming includes STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math) activities, Fine Arts activities (music, band, drama), and other educational opportunities that provide learning experiences unique to daily classroom activities.

Students Served: K - 5th graders

Cost: FREE!

Transportation: A late bus is available after the program for students, for in-town students in Ada, Hendrum, and Halstad. The Hendrum drop off will be at Nepstad Oil and Propane. The Halstad drop off will be at Valley United CO-OP.

Please follow the link to find more information and registration forms. Forms will also be sent home with students on the first day of school.

https://bit.ly/3mYyuVW