Bus Safety

KARE 11 did a story reminding everyone to watch out for school buses.  The segment was recorded at Sioux Trail and includes several Sioux Trail students and their principal.  Thanks to the Haddorff family for volunteering to get the word about bus safety out there.

KARE 11 Bus Safety Video

Here is the story from the KARE 11 web site:

BURNSVILLE, Minn. -- On any given school day, there are 14,000 school buses on Minnesota roads, each carrying children and an important safety message.
The Haddorff siblings have enjoyed their summer off. But with the new school year about to start at Sioux Trail Elementary in Burnsville, the kids are enjoying their sneak peak at what could be their next sweet ride - the school bus.
"It's fun to ride the bus and see all your friends," Brooke Haddorff said.
They walk together to meet the school bus every morning which is relatively uneventful on a quiet street. But when the bus gets to busy Highway 13, traffic changes.
"There's a lot of adults rushing to get to get to work. There's maybe a little bit of chaos," says Luke.
There are so many distractions for drivers. Schools try to make it obvious kids are around, but it's tough to compete with the rush to catch a green light.
Authorities investigate hundreds of crashes involving school buses every year.
Tuesday, officials offered a reminder: When school starts, watch out for the big yellow buses.
Doug Grisim is president of the Minnesota School Bus Operators Association and has been behind the wheel for more than 30 years.
"It's a passion," says Grisim.
Doug has several tips for drivers:
1. Amber lights on a school bus mean a stop is imminent so slow down.
2. Red lights on the bus mean stop.
3. And when you stop, make it at least 20 feet away.
4. And don't forget to be wary of the ten foot danger zone around the bus.
"The basic site lines are really good, but the areas right up in front can be very difficult to have a sight line to see when kids are crossing," Grisim added.
Also, pay attention to kids walking to the bus stop. You will likely see them before they see you.
Grisim also added something else for parents to keep in mind. Despite some crashes, he said school buses are still eight times safer to ride in than passenger vehicles.
"If they are properly seated in front or rear crash, the seats are made to absorb the energy made by a body moving," says Doug.
"This is our most precious commodity that's riding the bus," said Sioux Trail principal Taber Akin. "We want them to be as safe as possible on those buses."
For more information about school bus safety and to see inspection numbers for your child's school district, visit the Minnesota Department of Safety's website.

(Copyright 2011 by KARE. All Rights Reserved.)

River Hills Elementary School

The Sioux Trail Cafeteria is getting a facelift and the serving line is being retrofitted.  As part of this the roll-up (or roll-down) door that separated the kitchen from the cafeteria is being replaced.  The previous door was installed when Sioux Trail was built around 1964.  When the contractors removed the old door assembly there was a surprise.  Sioux Trail wasn't always "Sioux Trail Elementary School".

Hopefully, you can see from the photograph that the name was "River Hills Elementary School" at one time.  I had heard rumors that the name wasn't always Sioux Trail, but I hadn't seen anything to verify the rumor.  Now the rumor has been verified.  

The school is named for the trail (now Highway 13) used by the local Dakota people (historically known as the Sioux) as they moved along the Minnesota River from village to village or to the confluence of the Minnesota River and Mississippi River and Fort Snelling.

Good-bye Portable Classrooms

Room 109 and Room 110 at Sioux Trail have long been known as "the portables", but I've always gotten a chuckle out of this label as the classrooms haven't been portable for over 30 years. That changed earlier today when a backhoe arrived at Sioux Trail and began the demolition of the portable classrooms.

The portables were added in the 1970's because the school needed additional space.  The portable classrooms have been used as Kindergarten classrooms, a Senior Citizen center, a science classroom, storage space and their most recent use was two first grade classrooms.  In recent years, our enrollment has declined and the demand for space hasn't been as high. The physical condition of these classrooms had declined and it was not cost-effective to correct these physical issues.  Several years ago ISD 191 created a task force and evaluated the boundaries of the district and the space needs of each school.  Through the process used by this task force it was determined that the portable classrooms were no longer needed at Sioux Trail and several other sites.

I have included a couple photos of the process; starting with a photo from this morning when the equipment arrived.

Teaching Assignments

At the last PTO meeting in May I had the opportunity to present information on where individual teachers have been assigned for the 2011-12 school year.  Not everyone was able to attend that meeting and many are interested in knowing which teacher is teaching which grade.  I have provided that information here and I hope that it is helpful.  I'm always happy to talk so please feel free to contact me with any questions, concerns or comments that you have.

Half-day Kindergarten  - Christine Peterson
Full-day Kindergarten - Bobbie Kunkel

First Grade - Nancy Mosher and Andrea Beegle.  Andrea has been teaching at Harriet Bishop Elementary in 191 and she is currently re-assigned to teach at Sioux Trail in the fall.  I'm excited to add her to our team and she is excited to be here and work with Sioux Trail first graders.

Second Grade - Karen Otremba and Sacia Williams.

For the 2011-12 school year the staffing model has changed and the decisions about how many sections each grade level will have is no longer made by the building principal. It is now determined by the Superintendent.  For the 2011-12 school year Sioux Trail is assigned 2.5 sections of first grade and 2.5 sections of second grade.  A part time teacher provides valuable services and meets an important need.  In this case I determined that two part time teachers was was not the best situation. I paired the two 0.5 positions and I asked Sonia Boche to teach a multi-age classroom.  Multi-age classrooms are research proven and a great way to integrate differentiation strategies and to teach to students based on their needs.  Our multi-age classroom will be a mix of first and second grade students and will be a balanced classroom; using the same placement model that we use for all classrooms.  In early August families with students who have been placed in the multi-age classroom will receive early placement letters and invitation to attend an informational session.

Third Grade - Annie Engdahl and Mark Kleven

Fourth Grade - Debra Brandon and Katie Mulvahill

Fifth Grade - Becky Laatsch and Sarah Gant.  Sarah is an experienced teacher, who, similar to Andrea Beegle, has been teaching at Harriet Bishop Elementary in 191 and she is currently re-assigned to teach at Sioux Trail in the fall.  I'm excited to add her to our team and she is excited to be here and work with Sioux Trail fifth grade students.

Sixth Grade - Barb Istas and Duane Barton.  Because of the large number of student in this class we have been assigned an additional half-time sixth grade teacher.  This individual has not been hired yet, when hired, this teacher will reduce class sizes during math and literacy instruction by providing small group instruction. 

For the 2011-12 school year ISD 191 is adding art specialists to all ten elementary schools.  This was not true in the past and is an exciting opportunity for our students.  Sioux Trail is one of five smaller schools in the district that do not need four full time teachers and we are sharing specialists (art, music, science and physical education) between our schools. To facilitate the sharing process you will see multiple staff in each area, but the students will have the same teacher for their class throughout the school year.

Music - Rachel Lucius and a position to be hired for
Physical Education - Kevin Morrissey and Brian Moorlach
Art - To be hired
Science - Bounthavy Khamratthanome and Bjorn Anderson

Special Education - Katie Nelson, Kim Roark, Patty Tushie and Wendy Hirschey

Instructional Intervention - Sharron Stalock and Leslie Horwart

Resource and Enrichment - Jeff Gallus

ESL - Becky Fredrickson and Ann Condon

Sioux Trail does not currently have Title I for the 2011-12 school year, but we're still waiting on final numbers from the Minnesota Department of Education and this may change.

There are additional staff beyond the teachers, but intent for this blog post was to identify the teaching staff.  If  you have questions please contact me.

What do you do?

One of the questions that I often get asked is: "Do you have the summer off too?" When I say that I don't and explain that I have an allocation of vacation days (many of which I use in the summer) I'm asked the follow-up question - "So, what do you do all summer?"

I wanted to add a blog post for you with information about some of the changes that I'm working on.  hopefully this will give you a good idea of what I've been working on and what will be different at Sioux Trail in the fall of 2011. 

My first item won't be change, especially for all that know Mr. Glende!  The building is spotless and getting cleaner every day.  We have had some additional custodians assigned to our crew for a short period of time because of construction at the Burnsville High School.  This crew (nicknamed "Glende's Gang") is making quick work of many projects.  They have done impressive work cleaning all of our classrooms, moving classrooms and doing a wide variety of other projects.

Sioux Trail is hosting one of the summer school programs again and those students started arriving on July 6.  The program is called ESY or Extended School Year and provides summer service to students with Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) who need support through our DCD (Developmental Cognitive Delay) classrooms, speech therapy and other related programs.  We have also been hosting a cheerleader camp for Burnsville High School.  The first day the cheerleaders arrived was a big surprise as the gym was filled with carpets that were being cleaned and none of us had any idea were were hosting summer cheer camp.

With the generous support and partnership of the Sioux Trail PTO we were able to order nine SMART Boards for classrooms and those have arrived and will be installed soon.  I used the donation from the PTO along with building funds to purchase this interactive instructional technology and I'm very excited to add these tools to our classrooms.  This means that when we start the 2011-12 school year we will have a SMART Board in the classroom of each teacher who has requested one.  I believe that by adding the technology when teachers are ready for it there is a higher likelihood that the tool will be used on a frequent basis and will have a positive impact on students achievement.

The 2010-11 school year was the final year that room 109 and room 110 were to be used as classrooms.  We affectionately refer to these two classrooms as "the portables" even though they stopped being portable over twenty years ago. During the 2010-11 school the portables were home to Mrs. Mosher, Mrs. Horwart and lots of wonderful first grade students.  The buildings were added as temporary solution for increasing enrollment many many years ago and when the school board did a recent study of attendance boundaries and building capacities the decision was made to remove these buildings.  The buildings have not been adequately maintained in recent years and a decision had to be made regarding updating the spaces and doing some maintenance or removing the classrooms.   The ISD 191 school board made the decision to remove the portable classrooms at most of the elementary buildings where they are located.  Glende's Gang has removed everything from the portables at Sioux Trail that can be re-used and we waiting for demolition crew to arrive and remove the physical buildings.  If you see some heavy equipment outside of Sioux Trail it may be time to say good-bye to these classrooms.  These two classrooms have been a great addition to Sioux Trail and losing them will mean that the remaining space at Sioux Trail will be used very efficiently. 

I've been making good use of the summer to do some professional growth and I've been able to attend conferences on several professional topics including Response to Intervention and the work of Professional Learning Communities. I'm increasingly excited to work with teachers and students!

Please feel free to call or email with question, concerns or just to say hello!  I plan for another summer blog post very soon detailing teacher assignments (who is teaching which grade / subject).  Stay tuned!

Lost & Found - again!

The week before Sioux Trail got out for the summer we did a thorough overhaul of the lost and found.  After having seven tables worth of unclaimed items out for two weeks Sioux Trail made a large charitable donation of clothing.  Less than a week later we're back to having a large amount of unclaimed items.  To help Sioux Trail families know what we have I have created a short video highlighting the inventory of the lost and found.  Please watch the video and then come to school (or send your child) and claim these items.  The unclaimed items will be donated after a couple weeks.

Sioux Trail in the News!

Minnesota Local News - minnlocal.com Burnsville News Weeding out at a Burnsville elementary school

Weeding out at a Burnsville elementary school

BY Matthew hankey - SUn NEwspaperS

Published: Wednesday, June 1, 2011 2:15 PM CDT

In a time when school budgets are increasingly shrinking, any contributions to help out are welcome. It's even better when students and faculty can pitch in and get their hands dirty.

This spring, Sioux Trail Elementary School students and staff have done their part to beautify the school's exterior by weeding and picking up trash.

"First impressions can last a long time," said Principal Taber Akin. "We want to have the outside of the school reflect the good things that are going on in the inside of the school."

School custodian Mark Glende mows the lawn, while students and teachers maintain the flower and plant beds in front of the school, Akin said. Each week this spring, two grade levels have been responsible for cleaning up the grounds. Teachers determine when their classrooms can contribute to the clean-up effort, whether it's at recess or during class.

Christine Peterson's kindergarten class and Saloua Thompson's LINK kindergarten class joined Dewy Barton's sixth graders May 24 to weed for an hour in the afternoon. Each sixth grader supervised one to two kindergarteners and made sure weeds - not flowers - were being pulled.

"We're cleaning up the earth and making everything healthier," said sixth grader Britney Hauser, hands full of dandelions and other weeds.

When Peterson informed her students about the weeding project, they understood the importance of their contribution, saying things like, "'This for the community' and 'helping.' Things like that," she said.

For some students, this project is their first exposure to working in a garden, Peterson said.

The building and grounds department for School District 191 had previously mowed all the grounds at Sioux Trail, but Glende offered to cut the front and side grass this year. He wanted to lessen the burden for the crew, who provide mowing for the other nine elementary schools, three junior high schools, and one high school in the district.

Glende spends 20 minutes a day cutting the grass with a standard walk-behind mower, cutting a section of grass each day during the week.

"It's nice, because it always has that fresh mowed appearance," Glende said. "It always looks like something was just mowed."

Glende said says the school district shies away from fertilizing the grass and flowerbed areas. That's where the weed pickers come in. The project has helped to bring the school closer by instilling a sense of pride in how it appears, Akin said.

"I think it really builds a sense of ownership, which the already staff has, but the students also have and they can say, 'This is our place,'" Akin said.

Students are currently taking mandatory state tests, and getting outside to clean up has been a welcome test break, Akin said. This project has shown that work and play can go hand in hand.

"Students get the exercise, but the school also benefits," Akin said.

He hopes the landscaping effort continues through the summer. Planning to get students, teachers, and school community members together is about to get underway, Akin said.

Glende considers the school to belong to the surrounding neighborhood, and can tell their work has paid off this spring. In the past, he's heard complaints if the school got behind on their landscaping. This year, the school has received more compliments for their efforts.

"If we can go that little extra step and show our neighbors that we're doing our part, it shows that we're united in the community," Glende said.