Rolling into the School Year

As the new school year begins, students and teachers alike are brimming with enthusiasm, ready to dive into new challenges and opportunities. There’s palpable excitement in the “warm, sweaty, humid” air - words used by our students and staff to describe the first day back in the buildings. Segue: In future articles, I will update the community on our dehumidification, roofing, asbestos removal, and piping repair projects.

Among this year’s new challenges will be a focus for training our PreK - 4th grade teachers on the science of reading as required by the State of Minnesota through the Read Act Legislation which was passed during the 2023 session. Future years will focus on required training for select 5th-12th grade staff members.

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In Education,

Jamie Boelter, New London-Spicer Superintendent

MARK YOUR CALENDARS

Tuesday, September 3 - Wolf Ridge Pizza Sales Begin
Monday, September 9 - Wolf Ridge Pizza Orders Due
Monday, Sept. 9 & Tuesday, Sept. 10 - Prairie Meadows Picture Day(s)
Tuesday, September 10 - Grade 9 Respect Retreat
Tuesday, September 10 - PW PTO Meeting
Friday, September 13 - 7-12 Grade Check
Saturday, September 14 - CatPAC Series: "Roll On" Alabama Tribute (Get Tickets)
Mon., Sept. 16 - Fri. Sept. 20 - Homecoming Week
Monday, September 16 - Beginning Band Open House (Grade 5)
Tuesday, September 17 - Dine Out for PreK Fundraiser at Alley on Ash
Friday, September 20 - NLS Homecoming Football Game
Monday, September 23 - Grade 6 Candy Bar Fundraiser
Monday, September 23 - School Board Meeting
Mon., Sept. 30 - Fri., Oct. 4 - Grade 5 Wolf Ridge Trip
Friday, October 4 - MN Fallen Heroes Football Game
Monday, October 7 - Free Community Event: Taylor Hooton Foundation Speaker

Friends of Education Award

When the New London-Spicer Education MN team reviewed the nominations for the 2024-25 Friends of Education Award, two nominees stood out equally Both nominees have contributed years of service and additional time during their retirement. Both nominees have been invaluable to new staff. Both nominees clearly care about building programming in their respective content areas. Both nominees do these things without monetary compensation. Both nominees are dependable and irreplaceable resources, now and likely into the future. Therefore, on Tuesday, August 20, we honored our TWO newest Friends of Education Award recipients who also happen to be former NLS teachers!

"I nominate Laura Molenaar for the Friend of Education award! She is extremely dedicated to helping kids in our community. She takes hours of her time to help students - especially with regard to science and nature. She has been very dedicated to my YES team, and has spent a great amount of her time helping us with projects and education. She donates her time, energy, and resources- and she is always happy to step up to help. Her connection to our district after her years of teaching here never ceases to amaze me!"

"Brian would be a wonderful person to receive the Friend of Education award! From the time I was hired last spring and throughout the year, he has been a welcoming presence. Brian volunteered his time to sub for one of our pit players last fall, and has welcomed Jason into the church music community in New London-Spicer. He also came in several days to write down all the instrument serial numbers and check the conditions of our inventory - which is a time-consuming and tedious feat! He has provided great insight into the history of the program and has been a great help to us this year! We appreciate everything Brian does."

Congratulations Laura and Brian!

CatPAC Series: "Roll On" Alabama Tribute Show

“Roll On” is a tribute to country music's all-time greatest band… ALABAMA! This show is fronted by lead vocalist Tom Uecker (Outside Recess) whose Randy Owens vocal likeness will no doubt leave the Alabama fans in awe! With over 40 number one hits to choose from and backed by phenomenal instrumentation and vocals, you’re guaranteed to sing along and enjoy every moment of this show!

GET TICKETS

If you do not have a Parent Portal account or do not remember your login credentials please email Stacy Adams, adamss@isd345.org and she will help set up your account or send login credentials.

High School - Principal Bonnie Spohn

On Tuesday, September 10, our ninth-grade students will be participating in our annual Youth Frontiers Respect Retreat. The focus is to empower students to respect themselves more and engage bystanders to stand up for the value of respect in their school.

Biology: Adaptations of Flowers

Mrs. Schultz' biology students were welcomed back to school with beautiful flowers donated by Rustic Designs Flower Farm. Students were able to critically think about the purpose and adaptations of flowers. They then dissected the flowers to see each individual structure and learn the function of the structure. This quality of learning would not have been possible without the kind donation from Rustic Designs Flower Farm.

The following day students went on a scavenger hunt looking for specific flowers and plants found in the school's pollinator garden and nature area. A huge thanks to community members that helped to enhance our learning! We are so thankful to have these resources available to our students.

Wildcat Activities

Our Wildcat of the Week for August 26 is Brooke Glauvitz (tennis).

Homecoming will be the week of September 16 - 20. Be on the lookout for information regarding dress up days and pepfests in the next few weeks.

The Fallen Heroes Football game is scheduled for October 4.

MNFHG Webpage

2024 Hall of Fame Inductees

New London-Spicer Schools' 2024 Hall of Fame banquet will be on September 19 at Little Crow Country Club.

Congratulations to this year's inductees;

John Vraa - Class of 1984/Activities Director/Coach - Football, Basketball, Baseball
Chad Gustafson - (Coach 1989-2023) Football, Basketball, Baseball
John Nething (Class of 2010) Football, Wrestling, Track and Field
Haley (Stahl) Wolff (Class of 2013) Gymnastics, Track and Field
Taylor (Thunstedt) Swanson (Class of 2014) Volleyball, Basketball, Softball
Adam Essler (Class of 2014) Football, Basketball, Track and Field

For more information, please call NLS Activities Director, Thayne Johnson at 320.354.2252 Ext. 2603.

Middle School - Principal Dr. Jenn Fuchs

We had an amazing start to the year! If you walk the hallways you would never guess it is the first week of school. We have welcomed a number of new students and our staff and students have shown their ROAR spirit being kind and helpful to those who are new.

Please remember that the doors open at 7:45 am. If you are dropping off your child please use the parent pick up/drop off line located by the PAC. We have special education transportation dropping off at other doors and they need to have room to turn around.

We love seeing your support at Wildcat Activities and events! During these events, including home football games, please make sure you are supervising your middle school and elementary aged students to ensure we are providing a positive atmosphere for our activities to be enjoyed by all.

We have fundraisers underway for 5th grade Wolf Ridge. So reach out to a 5th grader to restock your frozen pizza supply. Other grade levels will be starting their fundraisers soon. It’s a great time to be a Wildcat!

Prairie Woods - Principal Randy Juhl

I would like to welcome all our students, families, and staff back to school. It is wonderful to hear all the sounds and see the excitement in the building. We look forward to having a great school year.

CONFERENCES/SEESAW

We appreciate our families attending back-to-school conferences last week. This is a wonderful way for each student and their family to meet the teacher and have time to connect about the year. If you haven’t had a chance to sign-up for Seesaw, please reach out to your child’s teacher for information on signing up. Seesaw is the platform we use at Prairie Woods to communicate with families.

THURSDAY ENVELOPES:

Each Thursday, your child may bring home an envelope containing communication information from Prairie Woods to you. Please review the content of the envelope carefully, as it has important papers and notices, some of which may need to be completed and returned to school the following day.

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Community Education - Director Tricia Lilleberg

OUR SPIRIT WEAR ORDER IS OPEN!

Visit: www.rambow.com to browse the selection!

Enter Store Code: NLSSPIRIT

The order deadline is Monday, September 16, 2024. Orders ship on approximately Fri, Oct 18, 2024.

For information regarding our Community Fitness Center, please visit: www.nls.k12.mn.us/fitnesscenter or Follow us on Facebook! Questions? Email: nlsfitness@isd345.org

Prairie Meadows - Coordinator Jennifer Hellickson

Our preschoolers were all smiles on the first day of school! We have had a great few days meeting new teachers and friends, learning our routines, getting in lots of play, and having fun! We are looking forward to a fun year!

We have a few spots left in our Thursday evening and Friday morning Little Learners ECFE classes! Join us for songs, play, activities, and stories in this fun-filled class. You will get one-on-one time with your child, time with other parents, and opportunities to meet new friends. Parents and children will explore together during the first half of class. The second half of class will consist of parent discussion time in the parent room, while children stay in the classroom with a teacher. Sign up here!