Eagles Newsletter

08/13/2025

Welcome back to a new school year! I hope you had a fun, family-filled summer. I am looking forward to a successful learning year with your child(ren)! Please take a moment to read the Educational Benefits information below and consider completing an application if you think you may qualify. This provides additional funding for our school.

Please join me in welcoming our new staff:

Erin Aulik-ATPPS Coach

Jadelyn Bergley-Elm Creek Nurse

Grace Davis-Continuous Building Substitute Teacher

Kaitlynn Davis-1.0 Fifth Grade teacher

Payton Diepold-0.3 DAPE teacher

Brianne Hartberg-1.0 Kindergarten teacher

Brittany Hentges-1.0 First Grade teacher

Heather Kale-0.2 School Social Worker

Deborah Kinny-1.0 Special Education Resource teacher

Rebecca Kinsey-.5 VPK Special Education teacher

Jennifer Mitchell-Elementary Staff Development Assessment Specialist teacher

Stormi Morgan-Fagre-3.0 hours/day Clerical ESP and 2.5 hours/day Instructional ESP

Meg O’Reilly-1.0 Special Education Resource Teacher

Christina Sogn-1.0 Kindergarten teacher

Caty Solberg-3.0 hours/day Instructional ESP and 1.0 hour/day Special Education ESP

Lisa Thompson-.5 ADSIS Intervention Teacher

Sara Vogler-0.2 Gifted Education teacher

Katie Young-1.0 VPK teacher

TBD-0.7 Speech teacher

TBD-6.0 hours/day Skills ESP

TBD-6.0 hours/day Skills ESP

TBD-Tech ESP

I am committed to ensuring your child experiences a safe, challenging, and nurturing education at Elm Creek Elementary. I appreciate your partnership and support as together we create a strong learning environment for our students. Please contact me if you have questions or concerns throughout the year. I hope you enjoy the rest of the summer! I look forward to seeing you at Open House on Wednesday, August 27th from 4:30-6:00 p.m.

Sincerely,

Beth Ness

Principal, Elm Creek Elementary

August 27 - Open House 4:30 - 6:00pm

September 2 - First Day of School

September 2 - PTO Kindergarten Tears & Cheers 9:00 - 10:00am

September 9 - PTO General Meeting - 6:30 - 7:30pm

September 16 - 27 - PTO APEX Fun Run Campaign

October 1 - PTO Kindness in Chalk

October 2 - Picture Day

October 7,9,13 - Parent/Teacher Conferences & PTO Scholastic Book Fair

October 14 - PTO General Meeting - 6:30 - 7:30pm

October 16&17 - No School for Conference Release

November 4 - No School for Staff Workshop Day

November 7 - PTO Harvest BINGO

November 11 - Picture Re-Take Day

November 11 - PTO General Meeting - 6:30 - 7:30pm

November 26 - No School for Mark Reporting

November 27&28 - No School for Thanksgiving Holiday

You are invited to attend Elm Creek Open House on Wednesday, August 27th 4:30 – 6:00 p.m. This is an exciting time for you and your child to meet your child’s teacher, visit the classroom and learn more about the Elm Creek community.

Classroom teachers will be sending an email prior to Open House to notify you of your child’s classroom placement. Please make sure you have an updated email on file in ParentVue. If you need assistance updating your email or accessing ParentVue please contact Staci in the office at 763-425-0577 or email joness@district279.org.

You can do the following at Open House:

· Visit the Nurse to discuss health concerns and to drop off medications, if needed.

· Visit the office for ParentVue and Edutrak Connect information, if needed.

· Visit the cashier to put money into your child’s lunch account or use the online Edutrak Connect.

· Visit the Kidstop Room, if interested (located in Room C-1).

· Visit the PTO team, they will be available to share information.

· Visit Community groups in the cafeteria.

· Bring school supplies to place in desk

All medication given at school will be dispensed by our nurse and must be in a prescription bottle with the written directions specified by the doctor. Minnesota law requires students be up to date with immunizations before the first day of school. Please notify the Nurse of any food allergies.

Please contact Jadelyn Bergley at Bergleyj@district279.org with medication/health concern questions.

All families will complete back-to-school forms online through your ParentVUE account. The back to school forms is to verify that the information we have is accurate and up to date. This includes emergency contacts, family contact information, etc. This registration process may include your younger children, even though they are not enrolled in school yet.

Complete the required forms by logging into your ParentVUE account. You will be prompted to complete the back to school forms. On-screen prompts will then walk you through the back-to-school process.

Please complete this process early so there is no delay in you using your ParentVUE account to sign up for Conferences in September! Also, remember the photo denial does prohibit your child from being included in the school yearbook. Contact Staci in the school office if you have questions.

All back-to-school forms will be filled out online. Complete the necessary steps today by going to the ParentVUE system, which is accessible from the "Families" on the top right of any district or school website.

Learn more about how to fill out back-to-school forms at district279.org/forms.

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.

Learn more at district279.org/departments/transportation.

Stay connected with your student's bus via our updated bus tracking app – FirstView 1.0.

This new app replaces the previous system with improved features such as easier navigation, notifications and family/caregiver email alerts. Current users should delete the previous app and download FirstView 1.0 to continue receiving real-time bus information. Refer to the Getting Started guide for first steps once the new app has downloaded onto your device.

Questions? Visit district279.org/FirstView or email support@myfirstview.com.

Thank you for your continued support and partnership.

Recent legislation required school districts to have a cell phone policy. After feedback from staff and families last fall, our district updated 505 Policy: Student Cell Phone and Technology and adopted 505 Procedure: Student Cell Phone and Technology.

This means, starting the 2025-26 school year, no cell phones or electronic device use will be allowed during the academic school day for elementary and middle school students, and limited cell phone or electronic device use will be allowed during passing time and lunch for high school students.

Please take the time to review this policy and procedure with your student(s) to ensure expectations are clear. Thank you in advance for your partnership on this.

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 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).

Online meal account payments may be made by using Edutrak. If you do not have an Edutrak account, visit the district website https://district279h.cf.affinetysolutions.com/

for instructions on how to set up an account or contact the school office for assistance.

When sending lunch money to school please put your child’s name or lunch account number and room number on your check to avoid having the money credited to the wrong account. If you have more than one child at Elm Creek, you can write one check with a note as to how you would like the money divided.

All Minnesota K-12 students attending school in person will have a free breakfast and lunch available to them each academic school day due to the state's recently passed Free School Meals for Kids bill. However, it is still important for families to fill out the Educational Benefits application on EduTrakConnect to take advantage of several other benefits available to families who meet income requirements, including free or discounted costs for the following:

• Field trips
• Clubs, activities and athletics
• Band instruments
• ACT, SAT and AP fees
• Comcast internet for home
• Xcel Energy account assistance for electricity bills

Additionally, the state of Minnesota uses a school district's percentage of qualifying students from applications completed and approved prior to Oct. 1 each year to calculate each district's funding level. School district funding impacts class sizes, number of support staff the district can hire to help scholars and extra programming opportunities.

Please fill out the Educational Benefits application today to make sure your family can take advantage of these and other benefits!

Apply using EduTrack Connect:

• ​​​​​​Link to EduTrakConnect is on the website in Family Access menu
• Sign up for account or log in
• Click on fork and knife icon
• Click on blue icon that says “apply for free/reduced benefits.”

To bypass creating an EduTrakConnect account, access the application directly.

We are busy getting ready to welcome the students back to school on Tuesday, September 2nd. Students should arrive at school by 8:40 a.m. to be in their classroom, ready to learn at 8:50 a.m. Students who are eating breakfast at school should arrive at 8:35 a.m. and enter through door 12.

Please set your child up for success by making a plan to be on time, every day. Classroom success and attendance are closely connected.

Please leave a message on the attendance line when your child is absent or going to be late.

Elm Creek Phone Numbers/Direct lines

Main Office -----------------------------------------763/425-0577

Attendance Line Reporting ..................763/315-7692

PreK - --------------------------------------------------763/315-7699

Cashier/Kitchen ----------------------------------763/315-7695

FAX ------------------------------------------------------763/315-7690

Kidstop Program ----------------------------------763/315-7353

Media Center ----------------------------------------763/315-7693

Nurse - --------------------------------------------------763/315-7696

The Elm Creek Supply List and Parent Handbook is posted on the Elm Creek website.

The school calendar and lunch menus can be found on the district website.

https://ec.osseoschools.org/info-center/calendars

https://ec.district279.org/services/nutrition-services

School information is communicated to all families through email and PeachJar. Watch the weekly emails for school and community communication.

KINDERGARTEN - Door #14 for walkers & drop-offs & Door #13 for bussers

GRADES 1 & 2 - Grade level doors- walkers, bussers & drop-offs

GRADES 3 - 5 - Door #1 - walkers, bussers & drop-offs

Breakfast - Door #12

Students eating breakfast will enter Door 12 beginning at 8:35 a.m. Please do not drive into the bus lot to drop students off at the breakfast door. Please plan to park in the main parking lot and walk the sidewalk to door 12.

All student walkers & pickups exit through their grade level door for dismissal at 3:17 p.m.

We continue to make safety in the parking lot a priority at Elm Creek. We have a new pathway (with curbs) between the center parking area for students to walk to the crosswalks. Please see map below.

The parking lot is a very congested area, and it is important that we keep student safety as our priority, even if it means a slower experience for the driver. Please stay patient and follow the procedures noted in the map below. Thank you for your patience and support!

WALKERS: Students are not to arrive before 8:40 a.m. There is no supervision prior to that time. Students will enter the building at 8:40 a.m. Students must cross with the patrols using designated walkways. There are no patrols on 99th Avenue by the path leading to school.

Bus: Schedules are communicated from the Transportation Department in late August. Please remember that students are only allowed to ride on their designated bus. Please review the bus safety information with your child prior to the start of school. Riding the school bus is a privilege.

CARS: Students are to be dropped off and picked up in the front parking lot only. Please do not enter the bus area. Children should enter and exit the vehicle using the curbside door. If you desire, you may park your vehicle in the parking lot, meet your child at their outside door, and escort them across the parking lot crosswalks. At no time should children be walking through the parking lot unescorted. This is extremely important for the safety of each child.

Maple Grove Police/Fire Department will ticket cars parked in the NO PARKING zones. Due to space limitations, cars must continue moving around the circle when dropping off or picking up.

Courtesy to pedestrians and busses is a top priority, providing safety to all.

Please yield to busses at the entrance to the school parking lot and let them in first.

Thank you!

To get involved in the school community, check out district279.org/community. You'll find information on volunteering, advisory committees and more.

https://twitter.com/ElmCreekElem.

Elm Creek Instagram

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