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.

The Jugloo!

Sioux Trail was home to a giant jugloo!  A jugloo is an igloo shaped building made out of empty one gallon milk (or water) jugs. The jugloo was built as a collaborative effort between students, staff and volunteers.  The project started in November with our student council and the collection of empty milk jugs. The goal was to collect 1500 empty jugs and in the end we had over 2200 containers.

Over the weekend of February 11 construction of the giant julgoo began and was mostly complete by Saturday night. Unfortunately, the roof dropped on Saturday night and then the entire roof collapsed on Sunday night.  On Monday some of the walls started falling in.  With the help of several fifth and sixth graders the entire giant jugloo was disassembled by Monday evening.   The giant jugloo was over 25 feet across at the base, took over 41 man hours to build, and used over 1600 plastic jugs. It also took 4 pizzas, 18 cans of Mountain Dew and I bottle of water. 

  

On Tuesday morning Sioux Trail staff and student were greeted by a new medium sized jugloo.  This one is set up on the stage and will be up as a reading station during I Love to Read month (February).This jugloo is featured in the brief video with the choreographed lights and holiday music.  The lights and music were set up for effect, but do not remain in the jugloo when students are reading in it.

Martha Glende is responsible for the idea and Mark Glende gets credit for a large portion of the engineering and construction.  If you like this wonderful creation please send thanks their way!

Happy Reading Happy Feet

Yikes!  I looked at the Panther Pages blog and saw two scary things!
1. The last post was in November
2. It was about lice!

I need to get caught up and the blog post needs to be about positive things that are happening at Sioux Trail (please no more blog posts about lice!).

Instead of writing about lice I've chosen to write about the invasion of penguins into our main hallway.  With the help of may staff and students the main hallway has been transformed into a winter wonderland for I Love to Read Month (February).  There are snowbanks to read on, a pond to ice fish from (the fish have jokes on them) and a jugloo (an igloo made out of all those one gallon milk jugs that you sent in) to curl up in and read.

When you find snowbanks and igloos you sometimes find penguins and this is true at Sioux Trail.  On random mornings a small group of penguins can be found dancing around on the snowbanks.  Mr. Popper has even come in to visit with the students and his penguins.

The next big happening in the rumored construction of another milk jug creation.  Stay tuned for more information that will be coming soon!

Cases of Head Lice

This post is to follow-up on a School Reach call that was made to all families on November 29, 2011. 

Additional information is available at: www.health.state.mn.us  (search "head lice").

Health Office News,

Please remember that head lice are a nuisance and do not cause disease.  Anyone can get head lice, and it is not a sign of poor hygiene. If your child brings home a notification indicating lice in the classroom, please take the moment to read and check your child’s head.  If your child has head lice please contact the health office. 

Throughout the year I encourage you to continue to be diligent in checking your child’s hair for lice.  This is a crucial component in preventing the spread of lice to other family members and within the community.  A delay in identification and subsequent treatment may allow the transmission of lice to others.  Head lice are very small (less than 1/8” long), brownish-colored insects that live on human heads and lay their eggs (nits) close to the scalp.  The eggs are white or gray and the size of an eye of a needle.

I also encourage you to take this time to have a family discussion on prevention habits. Sleepovers are a common setting in which head lice are spread. When your child returns from a sleepover, check his or her hair for signs of lice and lauder any bedding that they brought home.  Remind them of the importance of not sharing hair and grooming products along with hats and head gear.

Feel free to contact the Health Office with questions.