Weekend Visitors

Unfortunately, someone chose to visit Sioux Trail over the weekend and use Sioux Trail as a canvas for their artwork.  As you can see from the photos graffiti was spray painted on the back of Sioux Trail.  I believe the vandalism was done on Sunday night.

I filed a police report and our crack custodial team dealt with the problem right away.  The graffiti was painted over removed by 10 am today (Monday, July 23).

If you are in the area of Sioux Trail at any time please watch for and report any suspicious activity.

Welcome to Sioux Trail Elementary!

In addition to new Kindergarten students, new students at other grade levels, and their wonderful families we have three new staff members joining the Sioux Trail community in September.  Please join me in welcoming these staff members.

Oluwatoni Adedji will be joining the Sioux Trail team as our music specialist.  Last year Toni was teaching music at Goodman Elementary School in Houston, Texas.  I anticipate that he'll find Sioux Trail a little cozier as Goodman has over 900 students.  Mr. Adedji also has teaching experience in the Twin Cities are and a strong reputation for building great relationships and strong connections with students.

Jess Batterman will be teaching fourth grade at Sioux Trail in the 2012-13 school year.  Jess is a veteran ISD 191 teacher with 13 years of experience, and strong reputation for student success. Mrs. Batterman chose to move to Sioux Trail from Edward Neill elementary where she has been teaching fourth, fifth and sixth grade.  I am very excited to add her to our team and Jess is eager to meet Sioux Trail families and start another successful school year.

Mackenzie Oakes will serving Sioux Trail students in two roles during the 2012-13 school year.  Mrs. Oakes will be teaching third grade and working as our reading specialist.  Mackenzie comes to Sioux Trail from the Breck School in Minneapolis with experience teaching third grade and working with first grade students.  In the newly created position of Reading Specialist (funded with district-wide Title I funds) Mrs. Oakes will work with students who are below grade level in reading and need additional support and instruction to read at grade level. For the 2012-13 school year, we will have three classrooms in third grade and Mackenzie will be partnering to teach third grade with Jeff Gallus in Room 206.

Please join me in welcoming these three teachers to the Sioux Trail community.

Looking Great!

One of the things that is important to us is keeping our schools looking great so that they are safe and exciting places to learn.  Sioux Trail is getting a face-lift this summer and crews have been hard at work keeping Sioux Trail looking wonderful.

As you can see in the photos, Shadow was out working with the crew from Midwest Masonry today.  Shadow was doing some of the painting, but before he woke up from one of his many naps the crews had done some concrete repair work around the windows and in other areas around our building.

Shadow and Dale (crew leader from Midwest Masonry) got set up on the lift and Shadow is checking out the surroundings from his new perch.

Dale is teaching Shadow the art of painting and get him set up to apply a new coat of paint on Sioux Trail.

After a lesson and a little practice Shadow is at work keeping Sioux Trail looking great! Swing on by and check out how great your neighborhood elementary school looks. 

Student Council collects items for PawPADs

Check out this video with some of our students and a Sioux Trail volunteer.

Sioux Trail LipDub

This is the debut of the Sioux Trail LipDub.  Sioux Trail staff and students are excited to show off Sioux Trail, celebrate our hard work, show off our work with PRIDE and model our awesome PRIDE t-shirts!

The Music is ABC" by Kids bop Kids and we owe special thanks to Thomas Lindolm and Noura Elmanssy from Burnsville High School for all of their work turning a fun idea into a great celebration.

If the video doesn't work please try this link: http://youtu.be/hFMuzf61vW4 

Nice try . . .

 As members of the Sioux Trail community may recall, we regularly try to send home all of the items that we have collected in our lost and found boxes.  Before each break we take the opportunity to make the extra effort to get the word out about all of the items and try to match the owner with the lost item. All of the items that don't make it home are donated to local charity.  We made a nice try with this, but I had to chuckle when, after Gary and Lisa cleaned the hallways over the Spring Break, the lost and found boxes were already overflowing!  


Now you have to imagine me bellowing in my best salesperson voice - "Step right up and check out our specials! We have lots of boots, some shoes, snow-pants, sweatshirts along with mismatched gloves and a lunch box or two!"


Unfortunately all of these found items have left our lost and found overflowing.  Because we don't have the space to store these items we will set out items in front of the gym for the week of April 2.  We will donate all of the remaining items on Friday, April 6.

Minnesota Reading and Math Corps

Sioux Trail Elementary School won two grants! With the receipt of these grants we two full time tutor positions. We have one Minnesota Reading Corps literacy tutor and one Minnesota Math Tutor and we need your help recruiting candidates for both of these positions.

Experience life-changing growth.

Become a Minnesota Reading Corps literacy tutor or Minnesota Math Corps tutor.

You’re ready for growth. Whether you’re looking to explore a new career in education, reenter the workforce or simply want to work with kids, you’re ready. So what are you waiting for? Become a Minnesota Reading Corps literacy tutor or a Minnesota Math Corps tutor at Sioux Trail Elementary School and start creating meaningful growth.

We are looking for

• 1 full time literacy tutor
• 1 full time math tutor

You can be one of hundreds of trained tutors placed in schools across the state, who guide students toward working at grade level in math or reading. With Minnesota Reading Corps you will guide K-3 students to becoming successful readers by third grade. Minnesota Math Corps tutors provide research-based strategies and tools, monitor progress and ultimately, guide students who need extra support toward becoming successful in math by the end of eighth grade.

Tutors are parents, grandparents, recent college grads, and mid-career professionals. With Minnesota Reading Corps or Math Corps, you can see real results and make a lasting impact in our students’ lives, as well as in your own career. During your eleven months of service, you’ll receive training in proven strategies and support from Sioux Trail staff. You’ll not only tutor students who need extra support; you’ll also make a meaningful connection with your school and our community.

In addition to hands-on experience, you’ll receive a living allowance of about $500 biweekly (full-time), an education award of up to $5,550 and may be eligible to receive health insurance. All necessary training is provided and no licensure is necessary.

Pass the word on to a friend or family member! Positions for the 2012-2013 program year begin in August. Learn more and apply at:

• www.MinnesotaReadingCorps.org or
• www.MinnesotaMathCorps.org

Send questions to recruitment@mnedc.org or call or 866-859-2825 with questions.