Each student in Sara Groen's class at Sunrise designed their own hat, and then former Principal Lori Zimmerman's mother helped to surprise the students by knitting their hats and bringing imagination into reality! They turned out beautifully!
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
Interested in FTC Robotics for next year? If so, come to our scrimmage on Tuesday, Feb. 6 from 6-7:30 in the Middle school south cafeteria. Come check out our state bound robots and get questions answered. Eligible students must be entering grade 7 or higher - Fall 2024.
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
Mrs. McWilliams's and Mr. Voss's 5th grade classes are learning about Free Enterprise in preparation for their field trip to JA Biztown in February. Students learned about how businesses produce goods and services for citizens, who in turn supply their labor and other resources to support the businesses. Students created prototypes and had to decide how many "employees" they were going to need to work for them. At the end of the time the groups had to figure out if their product made a profit and how successful they were.
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.
In December, students in Mrs. John and Mrs. Peters' science classes learned about stored energy. They conducted experiments by building tracks to experiment with marbles and energy transfer. Those tracks are just begging for some Hot Wheels aren't they?
In December, Mrs. John and Mrs. Peters' 5th graders were challenged to build a platform that would get a stack of books off the table. They could only use 3 sheets of paper and tape. One group was successful even without the tape! Students devised some very creative ideas!
Fifth graders from Mrs. John's class visited Mrs. Funke's to read with her first graders during comfy cozy day just before break. Students read books from the first grader's book bin, taking turns reading to each other. All the kids had a great time!
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.
