ESL/Title I night

A great night of fun, learning, activity, and mingling took place on on January 31, 2013.  Parents and children in the EL and Title I departments spent time hanging out at the school eating pizza, chips, ice cream and other foods as staff members Carolynn Maas, JoAnn Vertetis, Jannina Wall, Mike McNulty, Jeremy Schmidt and student teacher Kayla Lemmon spent time with families discussing the importance of them, thanking them, and showing them some of the activities that take place while they are in these areas.  Also volunteering their time were the Spanish I and II students.

The turnout was wonderful and even though it was cold outside, it was a warm and inviting evening in the school.  Ms. Maas spoke about the importance of parent involvement in the school, particularly at the elementary level. In addition, she spoke about how much time and what type of activities and learning took place in her room when students are there.  Ms. Vertetis spoke about the time children spend with her and how she collaborates with the staff members, similar to Ms. Maas to reinforce the learning taking place within the classroom.  Ms. Wall was able to help with translation and as a liaison between the families and the school.  

If you were in attendance, thank you for coming and participating in this event, if not please look forward to other school wide events and activities for you and your family to participate in.  

 

 

More information on Food for Kids

Lester Prairie recently held a Food for Kids food drive at the city hall on Wednesday, January 30. Members of the community and students from the school helped to package 57,618 meals, which surpassed the goal of 50,000.

St. Pauls, St. Peter, and Bethel Lutheran, United Church of Christ created a committee for the event as in years past.  This year they raised $7,800 which is still shy of their goal of $8,000 to cover the cost of 50,000 meals.  Donations are still being accepted, please send them to: Food for Kids, Box 85, Lester Prairie, MN 55354.

The Lester Prairie National Honor Society and other classes from the school were at the drive along with church and community members at various times throughout the day. Students and community members placed soy, vegetables, nutrients, and rice into a bag that was then sealed and packed into boxes to be shipped.  The meals will be sent to disaster areas, South Dakota Reservations and many places of need around the world, including local food shelves.  

                                    -Miranda Buesing

Students packaging food

LP students help out at Food For Kids

LP secondary students helped to package 5000 meals for Food For Kids at LP City Hall

Lester Prairie Elementary School Celebration School Status

Here is a letter I received from the Commissioner of Education last week regarding our Celebration School status.

January 17, 2013

Lester Prairie Elementary

131 Hickory Street North

Lester Prairie, MN 55354

Principal Jeremy Schmidt:

Congratulations Lester Prairie Elementary on being named a Celebration School!

More than 100 Celebration Eligible schools applied for this distinction. Your selection is a direct reflection of the gains your school has made and the tireless efforts you and your staff have directed toward improving outcomes for your students. 

As a former teacher, principal and superintendent, I appreciate and applaud the dedication educators devote to ensuring success for the students they serve. It takes focus and commitment to put systems and strategies in place that yield the kind of results your school has shown. You and your entire team deserve sincere congratulations for this outstanding accomplishment.

MDE will make a formal announcement of the Celebration School designees next week, but all schools selected as Celebration Schools will be on display at this week’s Minnesota Academic Excellence Foundation (MAEF) conference.

Attached to this letter is an electronic version of the new MDE Celebration School logo. I hope you will feel free to use it to celebrate this success on your school’s website, letterhead or banner.

Again, please accept my best wishes on your accomplishment.  And thank you for your work to ensure every Minnesota child reaches their highest potential.

Sincerely,

Dr. Brenda Cassellius

Minnesota Education Commissioner

End of 1st Semester Newsletter January

End of 1st Semester Newsletter January-Please click on the link to view the newsletter for the end of the first semester.

Lester Prairie 4-8 Spelling Bee

Students in grades 4-8 participated in the spelling bee in the media center last Wednesday, January 23, 2013.  Each student was put through two practice rounds and then the bee began.  Students performed very well and it took 13 rounds to complete the bee and crown a champion and runner-up.  Judges and moderators for the bee included, Mr. Dave Klitzke, Ms. Cathy Houg, Ms. Sarah Wojciechowski, and Mr. Jeremy Schmidt.  Here are some pictures taken by Ms. DeBruyckere.

Principal Weekly Update January 28, 2013

Principal Weekly Update January 28, 2013 While reading and researching this past weekend, I came across an article that discussed 7 ways to motivate children to succeed. I encourage each of you to take a look at the article and grab pieces you think would benefit your child or student. Here is the link to the article: http://asfms.net/parentworkshops/pdfs/SevenProvenWaystoMotivateChildren.pdf

Principal Weekly Update January 21, 2013

In an effort to continue to improve communication with all stakeholders within our educational system, I have created a twitter account, a blog, and will continue to provide weekly updates on this link.
My twitter handle is @MrSchmidtLP and I encourage all of you to follow me as I continue to update some of the wonderful things about our school.  These updates come almost every day and are tweets to help keep followers up to date on what is going on both inside and outside our school.  Also, if you feel something should be tweeted from my account, you can reach me through email schmidt@lp.k12.mn.us or through my school phone, 320-395-2521 ext. 3011.
The website for the blog I have created is http://www.lpbulldogblog.blogspot.com/ please take a look at the blog, and again let me know if there is anything you have seen that is newsworthy and I would love to put it on there.
Please let me know if you have any questions, I appreciate your following of the happenings at Lester Prairie Schools.

Mr. Schmidt

Geography Bee

On Wednesday, January 9th, Lester Prairie Schools held their annual Geography Bee.  The bee was set up by Mr. David Klitzke and went very well.  The moderator was Mrs. Houg, judges were Mr. Schmidt, Mrs. Buckentin and Mr. Klitzke.  Students performed very well and it was a very tight contest.  Wyatt Teubert came out with the win, by edging Jose Amaya.  Here are some photos from the contest.

Staff Development Day

Lester Prairie Staff Members participated in an introductory training of the OLWEUS Bullying Prevention System.  OBPP will be used by the district to create a continuous, linear, and developed plan to handle bullying issues within our school.  The implementation is being funded through a grant from McLeod County Services and is being facilitated with Jean Johnson who is a certified OBPP trainer.  

Staff members spent the morning participating in this training as it was presented by some members of the PBIS (Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports), the training staff members were part of a two day training event with Jean Johnson and will continue to work together to implement this program.  The OBPP provides supports at the school wide, classroom, individual, and community levels.  Our goal for the program is to create a long range resistance to bullying and create classroom, school, and community climates of inclusion and  a resistance to bullying.  

One of the things the committee did during the presentation is to define bullying.  

Bullying is defined as:  an exposure, repeatedly and over time, to negative actions on the part of one or more other persons, and he or she has difficulty defending himself or herself. Students participated in a survey at the school and staff members have seen the results of the survey.  It is evident that our students feel the culture here is extraordinary, from the data, it can be said that our students feel comfortable discussing bullying, approaching teachers, parents, siblings, and friends for help.  This is helpful within the program because awareness is a key deterrent of bullying.  

Parents, please be assured that our school is dealing with bullying in a serious way and we also will work to create a positive culture within our school.  According to our survey results, we have a higher incidence rate of bullying, however, we also have a much higher incidence rate of reporting and dealing with bullying in our school.  This is a great tribute to the staff member we have here at LP and will help us as we continue to reach our goals.

Prostate and testicular cancer awareness

Shaving the Novembeard along with Mr. Mix from HLWW for prostate and testicular cancer awareness.

Free lunch

6-12 grade students were able to enjoy a free lunch sponsored by the Lester Prairie Youth Task Force on Wednesday, January 9th.
They also experienced the blurred vision through the drunk goggles brought by LP police chief Carlson.

New Year's Resolutions!

2013 has sure made it's presence known.  We barely blinked and it let itself in.  The school year is flying by and I'm so excited to see where it takes us.

I am loving every minute here at LP and as I settle in and have gotten to know most of you by now, I can start to tackle some things on my "to do" list.  Just don't tell my wife, because she keeps adding to my list at home!

I plan to update this blog regularly and even have special "guest" bloggers from classrooms, along with photos from our special events, and some fun contests!

Adding a twitter account is also on my list of things to tackle here at the beginning of the year and please let me know what other ideas you may have for our school.  I have an open door policy and would love to hear from YOU!

This school couldn't be the success it is without all of you helping make a difference.  I want to thank you for helping me and my family feel welcome here.  Here's to a happy and healthy 2013!  Make it a GREAT one!

Go Bulldogs,

Mr. Schmidt