School to Start Before Labor Day

District-Wide Facilities Improvements Prompt Early Start

District-wide facility improvements will be made in our schools, prompting special permission by the Minnesota Department of Education to allow Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools to begin school before Labor Day this fall.

For a school district to start before Labor Day, construction project costs must total more than $400,000 according to state statute. Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools’ facility projects will exceed that amount. Some of the facility projects include deferred maintenance and health and safety items such as HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) and roof replacements.

School will start for the 2013-14 school year on August 26, 2013 and end on May 29, 2014. Ending next school year earlier will allow the district to maximize the number of days needed to complete the construction projects prior to the arrival of students in Fall, 2014. Our schools will begin the 2014-2015 school year after Labor Day. The formal 2014-2015 School Calendar will be forthcoming in the next several months.

Author Visit

Author Jordan Sonnenblick will be speaking and signing books at the Prior Lake High School auditorium in a free event at 1:00pm on Saturday, March 9. Sonnenblick is the author of award-winning books, such as Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie, After Ever After and Notes from a Midnight Driver. For readers who enjoy humor in their books, Jordan’s latest, Curveball: The Year I Lost My Grip, does not disappoint. The Prior Lake High School is located at 7575 150th St W in Savage, MN. Call the Prior Lake Library at 952-447-3375 for more details.

Prior Lake High School and Twin Oaks & Hidden Oaks Middle Schools media specialists are partnering with the Prior Lake & Savage libraries for some additional perks in conjunction with Sonnenblick’s visit. Book clubs featuring his book Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie will be held at the schools, with book club participants attending a special pre-event lunch with Sonnenblick. Vouchers for a free paperback copy of one of Sonnenblick’s books will be available at the Prior Lake and Savage libraries beginning Monday, February 25 (quantities are limited).

Sonnenblick’s visit is part of the Metropolitan Library Service Agency  (MELSA) Teens Know Best Author Series.  This is the first region-wide author series to focus on writers *for* teens, selected *by* teens who participate in the Teens Know Best Book Club.   More information on the eight authors in the series is available at www.melsa.org/melsa/index.cfm/programs/tkb/

6th Gr. Ski Trip Permission Forms

6th Gr. Students  -  Please remember that your Ski Trip Permission Forms are due by Wednesday, January 30th.

Geography Bee Results!

Thank you to ALL the Geography Bee Participants! It was an intense couple of hours on Friday, January 11th! Congratulations on scoring 70% or higher on the preliminary test!

Congratulations to our 2nd place winner, Jack Thram, and our 1st place winner Tommy Hesch!

6th Ski Trip Permission Forms are Due January 30th

6th Grade Students - Please remember that your Ski Trip Permission Forms are due January 30th.

2012-13 Prior Lake Optimist Club Oratorical Contest

The Prior Lake Optimist Club is offering $2,500 Oratorical Scholarship opportunity for local students. The contest is open to everyone who is under the age of 18 as of December 31, 2012.  The topic for the Oratorical Contest is "Why My Voice is Important." 

 Applications are available in the front office or on the district webpage. Applications are due February 15, 2013 to Sue Heaton, heatonjorenby@gmail.com, or Ms. Toeller at HOMS/TOMS. 

 The Oratorical Contest will take place March 21 at 7 p.m. in the PLHS Lecture Hall. More information about writing and presentation clinics will be posted on the Prior Lake -Savage District website.   For more information about the Optimist Club and the contest, visit www.optimist.org.  

  On Thursday, January 31 in the Hidden Oaks Art Room, Room 744 at 2:30 pm AND 3:30 pm (choose one to attend) we will have an informational meeting (no more than 30 minutes) on this contest.

 Writing and Presentation Workshops will be held weekly in February and March.   Times of workshops will be determined by the majority of participants. These workshops are designed to help you; however, you DO NOT need to attend the workshops in order to compete!

 If you have any questions, please contact:

Sue Heaton, Optimist Club Coordinator, 952-212-3759, heatonjorenby@gmail.com    

Angie Toeller, Synergy Coordinator, 952-226-0291, atoeller@priorlake-savage.k12.mn.us

End of Semester and SPAN Meeting

No School - Friday, January 25

Don't forget, there is no school tomorrow, Friday, January 25 
due to the end of first semester.

Monday, January 28th is the First Day of 3rd Quarter 
and the Beginning of Second Semester.



 

  SPAN Upcoming Events

SPAN’s next meeting will be on Th. Feb. 21 at 7pm at the PLHS Media Center, 3^rd floor.  Superintendent Sue Ann Gruver, Assistant Superintendent Jeff Holmberg, PLHS principal Dave Lund, HOMS principal Sasha Kuznetsov, and WW principal/SAGE coordinator Pam Winfield will be in attendance to discuss gifted education issues/questions at all levels within the district.

 

Teens for Jeans is coming to TOMS!

The Prior Lake High School National Honor Society is running a Teens for Jeans drive and would like the help of middle school students. The drive will run from Jan. 28th-Feb. 8th. Please bring in new and/or gently used jeans to drop off in one of the collection boxes at school. The jeans that you collect will go toward PLHS's donation to Teens for Jeans. Donate and help make a difference!

NAMI Family to Family Education Class

Scott County NAMI – the National Alliance on Mental Illness -  is offering a free 12 week Family to Family class for family members, partners and friends of individuals with major depression, bipolar, schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, borderline personality disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, panic disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder.

The series of classes are structured to help caregivers understand and support individuals with serious mental illness  while maintaining their own well being. The educational course helps families gain a greater understanding of mental illness, discuss resources, build communication skills, reduce stress and find support.  The course is taught by a team of trained NAMI family member volunteers who know what it is like to have a loved one struggling with one of these brain disorders.

The free 12 week course will be taught at the Savage Public Library, 13090 Alabama Ave. S., Savage, MN   from 7 – 9:30 PM on Wednesdays beginning February 13, 2013.  Registration is required and classes are limited to 25 persons.  Co-Teachers are Will and Janet Williams.  For questions and/ or  to register call 952-890-1669.

For information about NAMI Minnesota’s other programs of education and support, call (651-645-2948)  or check their website at  www.namihelps.org.

FROG CLUB

Twin Oaks and Hidden Oaks students are invited to join FROG CLUB on Tuesday, January 22nd at 6:45 AM in Twin Oaks room 503. Join other students for donuts and devotion. FROG club is a student led middle school faith club that meets on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month and is open to all TOMS and HOMS students.
Hope to see you there!

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