School's Ending....Tear.

Well, we've just wrapped our first year of History Club and it was fantastic. I still can't believe the types of kids we have at Moose Lake--they are incredible!! A few reminders as we go into the summer:


1) Miss J won't be around June or July. You can still reach me by email!!
2) You can still register for the trip even if you didn't make the 5/31 deadline (it's only $37 more dollars)---and remember, take advantage of the FLAG Scholarship if you are able to. 
3) Fundraising opportunities:


          A. Marketplace-----June 18th. We still need people to sign up!! I will try to also sign up for
          a date in July and August as well (if people are up to it!) I'll be around in August so I 
          should be able to be there. 

B. Volleyball Camp---August 8-10. Any student who would like to help is able to. Profits will be split.

C. Car Wash?? There has been an idea to do a car wash so we’re in the process of figuring out details.

D. Next School Year—We will be looking to do a few big fundraisers to help give us that big push towards DC. If you have any ideas or are willing to help out---please contact me!

Have a Great Summer and plllllease don't be afraid to contact me with any questions! 

rjackson@mooselake.k12.mn.us or beckiejjackson@gmail.com

Marketplace JUNE 18th!!!!!

I have arranged for our group to do bagging at Marketplace on Saturday, JUNE 18th from 10 am-6 pm. We will be doing shifts of four kids (one supervisor) for two hours. I will have a sign up in my room. The money earned will be split amongst the students that work. Here are a few rules from Marketplace:

1. Adult supervision at all times

2. Appropriate dress code (THEY ARE STRICT ABOUT THIS!!!) 

        NO open-toed shoes (sandals, etc.)

            -short shorts

            -low cut shirts, etc.

3. Appropriate behavior and language. NO huddling in groups, or blocking exit door.

4. NO food or drinks allowed

5. NO children under the age of 13 (if the sixth graders would like to participate, their parents could help supervise)

6. Please greet and thank our customers for the donation you receive, our customers are not required to donate. 

Our students should wear Rebel gear and tennis shoes. Don't worry if you are unable to make this fundraising opportunities, we will have others. Please only sign up if you KNOW YOU ARE ABLE TO BE THERE. We want people we can depend on! Let Miss J know if you have questions.

DC Parent Letter--May 2011

***This was the letter that went out in email and home with kids last week.

Dear Parents,

Thank you for attending the meeting on Thursday, May 5th about the Washington, D.C. trip. I wanted to briefly go over a few items and remind you about some of the scholarship and fundraising options that we covered at the meeting.

First, remember that this trip is offered to Moose Lake History Club members. While this initial trip will be to Washington, D.C., my hopes are to be able to take groups to other locations on a rotating schedule of every two years. That hopefully allows families and students enough time to fundraise and save! Because your child must be in history club, it’s very important that they attend regular history club meetings. Our last (and most important one!) of this year will be this Friday, May 20th at 8 am. We will be electing officers, discussing important club matter and having a celebration breakfast! If you are able to, please send some goodies with your child to share. We will resume regular meetings next school year. 

To break up this information more clearly, I'll divide the next two sections into scholarship/payment details and fundraising.

Scholarship/Payment Details

First, after May 31st the price goes up $37. Second, when you register you will need to pay a $99 non-refundable deposit. Third, the monthly payment plans are around $130. Fourth, it is not fully refundable if you are unable to go on the trip. I misunderstood that detail. You must purchase a "trip insurance" to be able to have that peace of mind if something happens later in the year. Otherwise, you will only receive a percentage of your money back. You may register for the trip up until March 2012. So, don't worry if you need some time to think! 

 Fundraising

I have contacted a few businesses in regards to fundraising. I will be signing our group up for bagging duties at Marketplace for the weekend of JUNE 18th. You must call a month ahead of time to arrange for a date. As I will be out of town in June and July, I will need a parent or two to sign up for supervision. I also called SuperOne in Cloquet and they said bagging is full until the fall but they could offer a giftcard for a spaghetti dinner or other event. I plan on signing up for bagging duties for the fall/winter at SuperOne later this summer. I will also be applying for a field trip grant from Target. It opens at the end of August. Also in August, Vicki Radzak and I will be leading a three-day volleyball camp in which all proceeds will go to the History Club. We will need volunteers (students) of all kinds to help. Finally, I called Walmart and they allow people to hold little fundraisers (bake sales, etc.) outside their building. 

I'm not sure if this is something worth doing or if anyone else has any ideas but it's a start!

Additionally, there are many options for individual travel funding, including the Gift of Education program, Gift of Education E-cards, and the FLAG Scholarship. Students have also had great success requesting trip donations from friends and families through Facebook. You can find detailed information about fundraising ideas and scholarship options at www.worldstrides.org/fundraising. Please, please take advantage of the FLAG Scholarship and any other opportunities. 

 If you’re interested in helping to lead a fundraiser for the group, please respond to this email or contact me at (218) 485-4622 ex. 1104 to get started. Help from a few dedicated parents can really make a big difference! I will also keep you posted on fundraising specifics by sending out detailed emails before the event.

Please let me know if you have any questions about the trip or fundraisers. I look forward to leading a fun and educational program for your child!

All the best,

Beckie Jackson

rjackson@mooselake.k12.mn.us

PS: Don’t forget to register for the trip – it only costs $99! Your Trip ID # is 67305. There are three easy ways to register: online at www.worldstrides.org using the Trip ID # listed above, by calling the WorldStrides Customer Service Team at 1-800-468-5899, or by mail, using the student invitation you received.

Washington, DC Updates

So far we have two students registered for the trip to Washington, DC!! Don't forget to sign up by May 31st to receive a reduced rate. I wanted to clarify a few details I learned of last week. First, after May 31st the price goes up $37. Second, when you register you will need to pay a $99 non-refundable deposit. Third, the monthly payment plans are around $130. Fourth, it is not fully refundable if you are unable to go on the trip. I misunderstood that detail. You must purchase a "trip insurance" to be able to have that peace of mind if something happens later in the year. Otherwise, you will only receive a percentage of your money back. Lastly, check your email for an update on summer fundraising. We have bagging at Marketplace, volleyball camps and other opportunities. Please check the Flagship Scholarship to see if you are eligible. Don't forget your W2!

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call or email me! I am really excited to be able to take our amazing kids on this adventure of a lifetime!

History Club's Final Meeting for Spring 2011

All future and current members of the History Club should attend the last meeting of the year. It will feature a yummy breakfast (sign up to bring something in Miss J's classroom!), voting for officers and important details!!!!

8 AM Friday, May 20th!

Extra, Extra, Read All About It!

World War II. The Civil Rights Era. Presidents and their Loves. Family History. What do these topics have in common? They have all been subjects of the History Club's newsletters! For the last newsletter of the year, the HC decided to focus on family history and genealogy. With the amazing help and guidance of Rita (and others), students were able to use ancestry.com to retrieve information on their relatives. It was an exciting project. Beyond completing their family trees, students wrote articles, took polls and did artwork for the special edition newsletter. It should be out this week!!

A few of the HC students with our genealogy expert Rita! We'd also like to thank Vicki Radzak and the Northland Foudation for the genealogy books we received!

State! State! State!

The History Day Project is intense.

So, you can imagine the pure astonishment at the accomplishments of two seventh graders who managed to scrape together a project in a matter of weeks for regional and then two days before the state competition REDO EVERYTHING. Leave it to seventh graders to wait until the last minute!

Sunday morning saw Ava, Ryan, myself, along with their families, journey to Minneapolis for the State History Day Competition held at Coffmann Union, University of Minnesota-TC. We arrived in the midst of hustle and bustle as the union was full of students setting up projects, parents watching students set up projects and officials evaluating those projects. Ava and Ryan were both judged at 11 am. Judging for the exhibit category includes a 5-10 minute conversation with a pair of judges regarding the process of their research. Ava and Ryan felt much less intimidated this time around.

 Ava and Ryan with their new boards

The day was quite long as we arrived around 10:15 am and finally left at 7 pm. The long gaps in the schedule allowed us to take in all the other wonderful work students of Minnesota completed. As a teacher, it is truly amazing seeing what these kids came up with! We took a few pictures of different exhibits for motivation for next year. It should be mentioned that there were incredible performances, documentaries, papers and websites as well.

 

      Click to view larger image

Our day ended at Williams Arena with a lengthy awards ceremony. While Ava and Ryan did not advance to nationals (Only 2 out of 88 in their fields did!) they had an incredible day and should be proud of their accomplishments. We're already anticipating next year's project!

Leah and Maddie also participated in History Day completing projects in the website category. Here they are with their awesome certificates of achievement!