During this staff appreciation week, we extend our deepest gratitude to every teacher, paraprofessional, kitchen staff member, custodian, office & tech worker, director, principal and coach who brings heart and purpose to our school district each day. Your unwavering dedication, tireless efforts, and compassion create a nurturing environment where students not only learn, but thrive. Whether you're guiding minds in the classroom, preparing warm meals, maintaining clean and safe spaces, supporting operations behind the scenes or mentoring through sports and activities, your work is the foundation of our community's success. You inspire, uplift, and make a lasting difference - and for that, we are truly thankful!

Thank you to the many local businesses and organizations who helped make our Staff Appreciation week special by providing special discounts, giveaways, or treats; Ali J Boutique, Deep Freeze, Goat Ridge Brewery, Green Lake Chiropractor, Happy Sol, Lake Region Bank, Lucky Duck, Max's on Green, Magnifi Financial, Melissa Radel - State Farm Insurance, Lit Nutrition, Mill Pond Salon, NLS Educational Foundation, Rambow, Spicer Commercial Club, Sweet River Cafe, Three Sisters Furnsihings, United Prairie Bank, Urban Escape, Westwood Cafe, and Zorbaz.

Please watch this recording where NLS Superintendent Mr. Jamie Boelter shares information regarding New London-Spicer's current budget, construction project, Strategic Plan and other updates. 

The Summer EBT program has a new name: SUN Bucks. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has rebranded all federal Summer Nutrition Programs under the SUN umbrella to highlight their positive impact on children across the country, including Minnesota. SUN Bucks helps kids thrive by providing families with resources to purchase healthy foods during the summer months.

What Is SUN Bucks?

SUN Bucks is an income-based food support program that offers eligible families $40 per month per child (a total of $120) during the summer. Funds are provided on SUN Bucks EBT cards and must be used within 122 days of issuance. Families are encouraged to use their benefits as soon as possible to avoid expiration.

Who Is Eligible?

Students are automatically enrolled in SUN Bucks if they are directly certified through programs such as: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP); Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR); Foster care or Medicaid; and Students identified as homeless, migrant, or runaway (categorically eligible). Students with an approved Application for Educational Benefits for free and reduced-price meals through the National School Lunch Program or School Breakfast Program are also eligible.

Visit the MN Department of Education's Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer webpage.

On April 25, all 10th graders attended Ridgewater College's Career Fair. This interactive event allowed students to explore activities of interest. The activities introduced students to careers and majors in areas such as healthcare, manufacturing, agriculture, education, welding, business, & more!

The New London-Spicer's Toolcats returned from the FIRST World Robotics 2025 in Houston, Texas with the General Motors Industrial Design Award, as the Curie Division Champs and a 4th place win at the Einstein Finals. Our small town team competed and won against giant programs and schools from around the world. Coach Aric Harrier and the Toolcats went further than any other Minnesota team in FIRST Robotics history!

The 2025 FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) World Championship featured 8 divisions with 75 teams per division: Archimedes, Curie, Daly, Galileo, Hopper, Johnson, Milstein, and Newton. The 600 teams from around the World are randomly assigned a division. Our Toolcats won their division and then went on to compete against 7 other division winners. They were 1 out of 24 teams remaining from the original 600

Currently our Toolcats are...

Ranked 36 Worldwide out of 3,690

Ranked 27 in the USA out of 2,927

Ranked 1 in Minnesota out of 189

If you would like to view additional information including the team's 2025 season details with awards, etc. Follow this link: https://frc-events.firstinspires.org/team/3276

Then scroll down to "Team Participation History" and click the drop down arrow of “2025 Reefscape presented by Haas”.

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR TOOLCATS ON A HISTORICAL SEASON!

2025 Paramount Center for the Arts High School Juried Exhibition

Congratulations to our 10 Visual Art students who had art on display at the St. Cloud Paramount Juried Art Exhibition throughout April! Special shout-out to award winners for excellence in Visual Art Abbigail Knutsen, Molly Damhoff, and Henry Vetsch! In the 3D Art category, judges presented Honorable Mention to Henry for his sculpture titled Structure #3276 and awarded the 3rd place prize to Molly for her sculpture Heart of Growth. Abby was also honored at the event for her mixed media collage titled Self-Portrait. Her work was selected by the American Association of University Women's group for its depiction of the "strength of young women and their bright future".

Be sure to come out to the New London-Spicer Senior Art Students' Art Social on Tuesday, May 6, from 5-7PM in the PAC lobby. All proceeds go to benefit the NLS Art Department.

Pictured: Our 6th graders traveled to the James J. Hill House in St. Paul on Tuesday, April 29.

Pictured: Our Math Masters students at their competition in Alexandria from two Fridays ago. Good job to our Math Masters and a special shoutout to Jameson Westby for taking first place in the Fact Drill round!

Coming up!

• Our entire building is busy preparing for the annual Community Service Day on May 20.
• On May 6, our 7th grade will travel to the Fagan Fighters WWII Museum in Granite Falls. The Fagen Fighters museum showcases significant iconic World War II aircraft and ground equipment. It also features a series of short films directly from the extraordinary individuals who bravely served during World War II.

Two Free Summer Camps for 5th, 6th or 7th Graders

GAMMA (Math Camp): An interactive, hands-ons, discovery-based math camp the week of July 21 -25 (one week) from 8:45am to 1:45pm hosted at the Willmar Middle School with a field trip to the Prairie Woods Environmental Learning Center on Friday, July 25. Click for more details: GAMMA 

Robotics/STEM Camp: July 28 - August 8 (two weeks Monday through Friday) from 8:45am to 12:45pm at the Willmar Middle School. One week of robotics and one week of Science and Engineering class. Click for more details: Robotics/STEM 

Both programs are FREE through funding from West Central Achievement and Integration Collaborative.

• Free breakfast and lunch
• Free bus transportation to and from your district to the Willmar Middle School 
• Free use of materials and supplies
• Free field trip to the Prairie Woods Environmental Learning Center for the GAMMA math camp 

Registration is limited. Sign up today for one or both of summer camps:

GAMMA Online Registration

Robotics/STEM Online Registration

Prairie Woods

Congratulations to our ROAR March Students of the Month! These students consistently display Responsibility, Ownership, Good Attitude, and Respect!

Kindergarten: H. Armstrong, A. Sieve, C. Chalich, A. Knight, I. Giernet, E. Haverly

1st Grade: G. Johnson, R. Orth, M. Wig, A. Hofstad, I. Andrade

2nd Grade: A. Butterly, G. Padgett, I. Duenaz, R. Orth, H. Haugen

3rd Grade: D. Orlowski, J. Dahl, E. Kleven, W. Hardy, C. Lucas, E. Wall

4th Grade: M. Harberts, E. Bice, J. Poluka, N. Thalberg, M. Revier, S. Schrotberger

Community Education

​Summer PALS and Lil' PALS registrations as well as Summer Recreation registration closes on Friday, May 9. This will ensure that our PALS staff transport kids to their activities. To register, use our NEW registration platform, Arux: https://nls.arux.app/

If you already have an Arux account use your current login information.

New to Arux? Follow these detailed step-by-step instructions: https://bit.ly/4ixOI1u

There are NO registrations accepted after May 9 for our summer PALS and Lil' PALS programming. If you think that you may utilize these programs as a backup option and do not want to attend regularily, these registration deadlines still apply. You will be able to mark in your registration information if PALS/Lil' PALS is your primary or backup option for childcare. 

Wednesday, April 30 is the last day to take advantage of the early bird discounts for recreation programming. Prices increase by $15 on May 1. 

Join us for the third annual Zylstra Brothers Football Camp this summer! Led by Brandon and Shane Zylstra—who was just re-signed with the Detroit Lions yesterday—this camp offers an affordable, high-energy experience designed for all youth in the area. With a focus on practical skills and drills, participants will gain techniques they can use in their backyard, during team practices, or on their own.

This year’s camp will be even bigger and better, featuring a live DJ to keep the energy high! Plus, parents are welcome to walk the track and capture live-action photos of their athletes in action. Each participant will receive a camp T-shirt and a swag bag to take home.

Spots are limited—only 125 per group—so don’t wait to register! The camp is just $75, making it an incredible opportunity to learn from top athletes while having fun.

A BIG THANK YOU to all the generous donors of the NLS Educational Foundation for coming together to achieve the $50,000 Bob and Connie Dickerson Match Challenge. A total of $100,000 has been committed to NLS Educational Foundation's STEAM Endowment which supports Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics opportunities in our school district. We are humbled to be a part of a community that provides our classrooms with support and additional learning materials.

"Let your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more."

- John Quincy Adams

If you would like to make tax deductible donation to the NLS Educational Foundation you can do so online at: https://secure.myvanco.com/L-ZGCT/home

or by check mailed to NLS Educational Foundation, PO BOX 58, New London, MN 56273.