Chisago County Schools' Life Work Center

The Viking Newsletter - February 2024 is now available and can be accessed at this link: https://www.smore.com/wmn8j

SKOL! and congratulations to Vikings Libby Nielson (right) and Dakota Esget (left)! Dakota finished as the state All-Around champion and two-time Bars champion! She also finished 2nd on the Vault and 2nd on the Floor. Libby finished 7th on beam with a score of 9.15! Way to go!!!

Join us tomorrow for dinner and a treat! 🍦A portion of the proceeds help fund our We Are All the Same Sock Hop.

Thank you to all of the families that joined us for our Hmong Open House on Tuesday, Feb. 13, from 6 - 7:30 pm. If you were unable to attend and have any questions for North Branch Area Public Schools please be encouraged to contact Director of Teaching and Learning David Treichel at 651-674-1055 or dtreichel@isd138.org .

Take the Alexis Challenge! Miss Teen Minnesota Alexis Sway donated canned goods to the Viking Vittles program recently and now you can help too! Alexis and Supt. Paul are teaming up to ask you to take the "Alexis Challenge" and support Viking Vittles! What is Viking Vittles? For students PreK-5, Viking Vittles organizes a weekend food backpack program that provides a bag of food to any student who signs up. Every week, hundreds of students go home for the weekend with food thanks to this program. Viking Vittles also supports middle school, high school and Norse Area Learning Center students by providing access to Care Closets at each location There is more than one way for you to take the Alexis Challenge. You could attend the program’s upcoming Lenten Fish Fry fundraiser at Trinity Lutheran Church, happening every Friday, Feb. 16 through March 22, 5 - 7 p.m. Adults admission is $15, kids ages 5 - 10 are $5, and kids under 5 eat free! (See flier for details.) Or, stop by the Viking Vittles GoFundMe page and donate directly: https://gofund.me/defc8072. To learn more about Viking Vittles and the Alexis Challenge, see Supt. Paul's most recent School News column: www.isd138.org/page/contact-the-superintendent

NBAEF announces grant recipients! On Monday, Feb. 12, representatives of the North Branch Area Education Foundation (NBAEF) made their annual trip through the hallways of North Branch Area Public Schools (NBAPS) to deliver good news to staff - grants have been approved! This year the NBAEF, with a generous donation of $10,000 from ECMC Foundation (Educational Credit Management Corporation) Foundation, awarded nine grants to staff at the Sunrise River School, North Branch Area Middle School, the Norse Area Learning Center, and North Branch Area High School, totaling over $17,000. The 2023-24 NBAEF grants will provide a wide variety of opportunities for students, including a “Zen Den” calming room and Outdoor Adventures field trip at North Branch Area High School, a classroom set of ukuleles, and a set of Sphero Robotics at the Sunrise River School, a mentoring and leadership program and behavior incentive items at North Branch Area Middle School, exercise equipment at the Norse Area Learning Center, classroom “clickers” for classrooms K-5, and recreation and field trip opportunities for the Chisago County Schools’ Life Work Center. “We are so grateful, and so fortunate, to have the North Branch Area Education Foundation providing these incredible opportunities for our students and staff year in and year out,” said NBAPS Supt. Sara Paul. “Viking innovation is at the heart of how we become better every day, and the foundation provides the opportunity for creative ideas to be put into action!.” Since 2010, the NBAEF has raised over $509,000 and awarded grants over $231,300.

How're we doing? Taher wants to know what families think of school lunch. You can take Taher's brief school lunch survey by scanning the QR on the poster, or by clicking this link: https://bit.ly/48YLyiI

We Are All The Same Sock Hop is back this year! Check out the flier for the details of this great event, along with wonderful fundraising opportunities. T-shirt sales close February 13. Scan the flier QR or visit this website to order!: https://sockhopdance2024.itemorder.com/

The Viking Newsletter - January 2024 is now available! You can read it here: https://www.smore.com/21kg4

Interested in attending NBAPS' Friday, Feb. 2 Patron Tour? Patron Tours start at 7:45 a.m. and end at 12:30 p.m. Guests enjoy refreshments in the morning, tour every site in the district, and finish the half day with a lunch prepared by high school ProStart students. In between guests visit classrooms and talk with staff, students, and leadership. It's a great way to learn more about NBAPS from early childhood all the way through high school! To attend, contact Pat Tepoorten at 651-674-1018 or ptepoorten@isd138.org.

The calendar for the 2024-25 school year has been approved! For future reference, school year calendars can always be found in the Parent/Student Resources pages at each school. You can go directly to the calendar here: https://5il.co/2cbt9

Join us at the Isanti arena for tonight's Mississippi8 matchup between the Northern Tier Stars and PC Dragons. The girls hockey co-op of North Branch/St. Francis/Cambridge-Isanti boasts an 11-4-1 record! More info on Sophie's Squad: www.stateofhockey.com/news_article/show/1198212

Jan. 15 - 19 is the NBAEF's Restaurant Week! Purchase specific items from Domino's, Merchants Cafe, County Market, Tailgaters, Kaffe Stuga, and The Full Moon, and a portion of the proceeds will go to the foundation and support educational at NBAPS! See flier for complete details.

Merry Christmas to our students, staff, families, partners, and community members!

The Viking Newsletter - December 2023 is now available. Click here to read: https://www.smore.com/esfw2

To read "Winter Wonders: Celebrating Cheer and Community at NBAPS," Supt. Sara Paul's latest column, click the following link and scroll down: https://www.isd138.org/page/contact-the-superintendent

Thanks to our guests for a great Patron Tour on Friday. At Sunrise, we were joined by enterprising LWC students there to prepare Viking Vittles packs for students. The next Patron Tour is Friday, Feb. 2. If you'd like to join us, contact Pat Tepoorten at ptepoorten@isd138.org.

Futbol is life! NBAHS senior Danna Garcia Velazquez has been given the incredible opportunity to play professional soccer in Mexico, starting in January. She will be playing for the Atletico de San Luis sub19 team. Danna was asked to explain a little more about this opportunity and this is what she had to say: "It was a long process of tryouts and about 45 selected girls fighting for a spot on the team. I got chosen with a few other girls to practice for the team for a week so we could compete for an official spot with the girls already on the team. Later on I got told that I made the Atletico De San Luis u19 team. They are a semi-professional team in Mexico which is a huge opportunity to play in bigger teams I want to thank my parents who really had a lot to do with this. They always supported me through my decisions. I also want to thank my high school coach Josh Kopp, he really pushed me to fight for anything I wanted. Finally I want to thank another one of my coaches who passed away about 3 years ago, he was like a dad for me and has coached me since I was tiny. He really believed in me and was always there to pick me up when nobody had trust. He is my inspiration to keep playing. After all that was said I am off to Mexico next week and will be training for the official start of the season in January. " Congratulations Danna!!!

Students in Mrs. Cook’s floral design classes have been working hard spreading holiday cheer this season. After a creating their own holiday themed centerpiece and Evergreen wreath, they were tasked with creating one additional arrangement to donate either to the Chisago county Senior Center or community member of their choosing. Students donated over 30 arrangements to the community center, and many others to staff members, family members, and neighbors.

To read "Experiencing Joy Through Partnership," Supt. Sara Paul's latest column, click the following link and scroll down: https://www.isd138.org/page/contact-the-superintendent