2010 10 October Communicator

October 2010

Communicator Wayzata Public Schools continues to keep a close watch on enrollment

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ayzata Public Schools recently conducted an enrollment and demographics study to determine enrollment projections for the immediate future.

The district is also looking at past enrollment numbers and comparing them with the district’s current numbers to better understand trends and how changes have affected the use of the district’s buildings.

Current enrollment numbers for the district show a slight increase in students at the elementary and middle school levels. By grade level, the current enrollment compared to last year’s is: 2010 Average 2009 Average Enrollment of Grades Enrollment of Grades

Greenwood Principal Brad Gustafson welcomes students back to school on the first day this year.

Greenwood named 2010 Blue Ribbon School

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reenwood Elementary School was recently named a 2010 National Blue Ribbon School. The school will be honored at an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C. on November 15-16.

The award honors public and private elementary, middle and high schools whose students achieve at very high levels or have made significant progress and helped close gaps in achievement especially among disadvantaged and minority students.

Public schools selected for the award have had 40 percent or more of their students from disadvantaged backgrounds dramatically improve performance to high levels on state tests, or students that collectively score in the top 10 percent on state tests. Schools selected for the award must also make adequate yearly progress in reading, language arts and math.

This award recognizes the hard work of staff under the direction of former building Principal Ginny Clark. Current Principal Brad Gustafson, as well as Ginny Clark and Vision 21 teacher Sue Bradsher will travel to the national ceremony in November.

WPS earns 26th consecutive financial reporting award

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or the 26th consecutive year, Wayzata Public Schools has won the Association for School Business Officials International’s Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting.

This is for excellence in the preparation and issuance of the fiscal year end 2009 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report.

The Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting Program was designed by ASBO International to encourage school business officials to achieve a high standard of financial reporting.

The award, the highest recognition for school district financial operations offered by ASBO, is only conferred to school systems that have met or

exceeded the standards of the program.

Wayzata Public Schools’ financial report validated the credibility of the school system’s operations, measured the integrity and technical competence of the business staff and assisted in strengthening the district’s presentations for bond issuance statements and provided professional recognition.

Jim Westrum, Wayzata Public Schools executive director of finance and business said, “This is another example of Wayzata Public School’s commitment to high standards and to the residents of the district. We are very pleased with having received recognition as a fiscally responsible school district for the last quarter century.”

To see a copy of the 2009 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, visit the district’s website at www. wayzata.k12.mn.us on the Budget and Finance page.

Elementary

4,650

775

4,524

754

Middle school

2,439

813

2,394

798

High school

3,295

824

3,321

830

Total

10,384

799

10,239

788

This year’s total enrollment is 10,384 students, compared to last year’s total of 10,239 students, based on enrollment taken in October 2010.

In a school district like Wayzata Public Schools where housing continues to be built, it is critical to regularly study student enrollment to determine how schools will be affected by the addition of new homes.

Parents:

County Road 101 construction will be completed

by November

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ayzata Public Schools has been notified by Hennepin County that the portion of County Road 101 between County Road 6 and 24 is anticipated to be open with construction complete by the end of October or beginning of November.

Following the completion of construction, the district will monitor bus routes that were affected by the construction and notify parents accordingly.

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2010-11 WHS National Merit Scholarship Semi-finalists named

hirty-five National Merit Scholarship Semi-finalists for Wayzata High School’s class of 2011 have been named. This year’s semi-finalists are Rohit Agrawal, Mohamad Akef, Jenna Blake, Samuel Cady, Samantha Carter, Edward Chen, Kelley Chen, Chris Chin, Aakash Deshpande, Miranda Ehrlich, Mark Engelmann, Brooks Flugaur-Leavitt, Hari Ganti, Swathi Jayavel, Sarah Jensen, Ben Jiang, Larry Lee, Lina Yu S Li, Yubo Lu, Patrick Nelson, David Ottman, Andrew Page, Divya Palanisamy, Melissa Radermacher, Ganesh Raman, Brett Schnobrich, Gaurav Singh, Abhishek Srivastava, Brian Tu, Lauren

Urke, Benjamin Wedin, Amy Wen, Charles Wusands, Lewin Xue and Meiqin Zhou.

Students qualify for the National Merit Scholarship program by taking the preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.

These students will continue in the National Merit program and will be candidates to receive a scholarship from the program. The scholarships will be announced next spring.

Wayzata High School senior Natasha Kieval earned a summer internship with U.S. Congressman Erik Paulson in 2010.

WHS senior class president Drew Donlin and junior class president John Bruer present the 2010 Distinguished Alumni Award to Frank Schiebe’s wife Margaret at a ceremony held September 23.

WHS 2010 Distinguished Alumni announced

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r. Frank Schiebe was honored posthumously as the 2010 Wayzata High School Distinguished Alumni Award recipient September 23.

Schiebe, class of 1952, was a member of the first class to graduate from the “new” Wayzata High School which is currently West Middle School. He was an outstanding athlete, starting three years on the football, wrestling and track teams. He was a member of the wrestling team when it won three state championships and was a class officer his senior year.

Schiebe attended the University of Minnesota and earned a B.S. in electronic and electrical engineering. He later earned an M.S. and a PhD in hydraulic engineering with a minor in aquatic biology. He is known for his development of “The Schiebe Body,” a particular shape used in water tunnels of laboratories around the world

as a standard in research. He became the director of the St. Anthony Falls Hydraulic Laboratory at the University of Minnesota in 1983 and under his leadership, the laboratory became a true center of excellence and was rated one of the best USDA laboratories.

Upon his retirement in 1996, Schiebe went on to invent new technology for measuring and applying solar radiation technology and helped found a company that pioneered the application of this technology to agricultural systems with resultant improvements in crop yields and reduced environment load from agricultural runoff.

Schiebe was nominated for the award by classmate and long-time friend Dick Anderson. Schiebe’s wife Margaret accepted the award on his behalf.

WHS student earned internship with Congressman Erik Paulson

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lthough U.S. Congressman Erik Paulson usually only accepts college students as interns, Wayzata High School senior Natasha Kieval was chosen for an internship for summer 2010 because of her strong interest in public policy, international relations and government.

She worked in Paulson’s Eden Prairie office three days a week during the past summer and her duties included evaluating voter surveys, fielding phone calls from constituents and field visits with the congressman to area businesses.

Kieval was impressed by how busy a congressman’s life is and how hard they work both here and in Washington, D.C. She was also surprised at how accessible they are to their constituents.

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Columns

Community involvement a key ingredient to our success

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everal weeks ago, I had an opportunity to attend the first District Liaisons meeting of the 2010-11 school year.

This is a group of parent leaders from every school in the district that meet monthly to receive information from district leaders and to share ideas with each other. It is an important conduit for the flow of communication between the district, its schools and parents.

Board members take turns attending these meetings because it is always a tremendous way to connect with our community.

One of the things I was reminded of while at this meeting, is the profound willingness on the part of our community to be actively engaged in the work of our district. The District Liaisons committee is just one example of the many ways that parents and community members are involved in our district. Every time we make a request for volunteers to serve on a committee or provide input, we always receive an overwhelming response from people wanting to be involved.

I know this willingness to engage with the district is not the norm in every community, so I started to

consider what is different here in Wayzata Public Schools. What is it in our community that creates such a strong partnership between the schools and the community? My thoughts around this question generated three significant areas for our strong community involvement.

Our community knows that education is vital for our children’s futures In many school districts, school board members and administrators spend a great deal of time drumming up interest and support in the district. This is not the case in our district. Education is important for people in our community. It could easily be described as one of our community values and something that is shared throughout the community. Education is highly valued in our community which makes people willing to support the schools in many ways.

Our community has high standards When I look around our community, I see the community’s high standards for quality reflected in many things. There is an expectation that school district, city government and other services be provided at a high standard. For our

Board Chair’s Column

school district, these high expectations lay a foundation for what we can achieve and what the community “Thank you so much desires from us. We for embracing our are pushed to meet schools as one these standards and to centerpiece of our provide the community community.” an educational product —Carter Peterson that they can embrace.

Board Chair Our community is willing to support things that are important to them The partnership in providing a quality education for our students comes full It is clear that community circle because so many residents are involvement in Wayzata Public Schools willing to support what they deem has not just been something that is important. Because our residents optional, but is an essential key to the value education and they see the district’s ongoing success. Together, district working hard to meet its we have been able to create, sustain high standards, they are willing to be and grow a school district that serves actively engaged in this process. The the best interests of the community volunteerism in the community is and our students. Thank you so much incredible. There are literally hundreds for embracing our schools as one of parent and community volunteers in centerpiece of our community. our schools every day. This willingness to support our schools makes us a more effective organization.

Key initiatives identified for 2010-11 school year

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he school district is engaged in a number of important initiatives this year. The purpose of this article is to provide you with some quick updates regarding some of these exciting and important activities.

Department of Teaching and Learning The “main event” of the school district continues to be the intentional focus we place on student learning.

Wayzata Public Schools has always been known for a tradition of excellence in its educational program development and delivery. Our students do well on standardized tests, they thrive at the elementary level and benefit from our excellent array of classes available at the middle schools and high school. They are also very active participants in the arts and activities. Our teachers are currently engaged in the development of a learning team model that will strengthen relationships with students and have a positive impact on student learning. Further, they are in the process of learning and implementing a new student data management system that will give teachers and principals quick access to important student data they can use to positively impact learning.

In an effort to further strengthen our educational program, our Department of Teaching and Learning was reorganized during the past year to allow us greater responsiveness to changing student needs. Considering the rapid changes occurring in our local, national, and international economies, this realignment of our staff with the essential work will better position us with the organizational agility to respond to the dynamic changes that

have become the “new reality.”

Strategic Planning We are finalizing plans to implement a planning process that will result in a strategic roadmap for the school district.

This roadmap will chart a course and guide the school district’s actions and initiatives into the future. It will be a comprehensive process that will result in strategic initiatives with a primary focus on the improvement of student learning. The on-going quest to achieve operational excellence and ensure positive community relationships, trust, and satisfaction will also be key components of the planning outcomes.

Measurement systems will be developed that will help us determine the level of achievement of our intended outcomes.

We are looking forward to this process and the final product.

Technology Plan Implementation During the 2009-10 school year, a new district technology plan was created and is now in the early implementation phase. The framework of the plan was designed to transform the student experience through a focus on learning, assessment, and teaching and to transform service through productivity, engagement, and capacity building. The staffing model of the technology department is currently being reorganized to better position it to deliver the objectives of the plan.

Facilities Study/Enrollment Trends and Demographics/Attendance Boundaries The school district has engaged the services of consultants to help us assess three critical features that impact our instructional delivery. First, we are working with an architectural and engineering firm to conduct a

Superintendent’s Column

comprehensive facility study. They began their work last spring and will continue through much “As we explore of the current school year. options for handling Second, we are working our enrollment with a professional growth, we will demographer to update continue to share student enrollment information with projections. Finally, a parents and seek consultant is helping us input on possible study our current school options.” attendance boundaries —Chace Anderson, so we may gain a better Superintendent understanding about where future students reside and to which buildings they will that meets regularly and monitors the attend. activity at the legislature. They provide We are fortunate that our district is input to our legislators regarding one of the few districts in the metro area educational issues. The school board – if not the entire state – to see a growth and our administrative staff monitor in student enrollment. While our legislative action closely to ensure a clear enrollment is not increasing rapidly, we understanding about any legislative have seen small increases every year for changes that will have an impact on the past several years. There are certainly school funding. Collectively, these some challenges that come with activities are important to help keep our enrollment growth, but because schools legislators informed about important are funded on a per student basis, educational issues. each new student in the district helps As you can see, the Wayzata Public our budget and allows us to continue Schools is a dynamic organization. This excellent programs and services for is but a sample of the engaging work students. This focus on facilities and that our students, staff, board members enrollment will be essential to help and community are pursuing. It will us determine the current condition prove to be a rewarding year with many and future needs of our facilities, to great planning initiatives in various better understand changes in student stages of their implementation. enrollment trends, and it will provide us I wish to acknowledge and thank with key information regarding capacity the community for its support of issues at our school buildings. our students, staff members, and Legislative Involvement educational programs. The partnership We will continue to work closely we enjoy with the community with our local legislators regarding significantly impacts our students’ lives. school funding issues. The district has a Legislative Action Committee

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Two more WHS students earn perfect scores on ACT

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ichael Neaton and Lauren Urke, seniors at Wayzata High School, earned a perfect score of 36 on the ACT exam.

Neaton said he didn’t prepare for the exam and that he has always tested well. During his time at WHS, Neaton has been involved with Gay Straight Alliance and Junior State of America.

He has also performed trumpet in the symphony band, marching band, 10th and 11th grade spirit band and the 9th and 10th grade jazz band.

Urke said she prepared for the exam by taking a couple practice tests to learn the format of the exam. She said her normal course work prepared her for the knowledge she needed to earn a 36 on the exam. During her time at WHS, Urke has been involved

with hockey and track and recently gave these up to concentrate on soccer. She is a member of the 2009 state championship girls soccer team. She is also a 2010-11 National Merit Scholarship semifinalist. She has performed violin in the WHS orchestra and is a member of the National Honors Society and LINK crew.

Senior Samantha Carter also earned a 36 on the ACT and was written about in the June 2010 “Communicator.” Carter was also recently named a 2010-11 National Merit Scholarship semi-finalist.

Michael Neaton

Lauren Urke

Former students pay visit to Birchview and share life stories

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wo former Birchview Elementary students recently paid a visit to the school and had an opportunity to meet with their teachers and speak with students about where they currently live.

Brothers Alejandro and Fernando Solimando, who came from Venezuela, attended Birchview during the 1987-88 and 198889 school years and then transferred to Plymouth Creek when it opened in 1989-90. The two then moved back to Venezuela.

Fernando graduated from medical school in Venezuela and has been living in Denmark for the past seven years where he is a doctor at a pharmaceutical company. Alejandro recently moved to Barcelona, Spain, and is an electrical engineer. Their parents and younger brother still live in Venezuela.

Fernando said he had a wonderful time speaking with the fifth grade class at Birchview about Denmark and Minnesota’s relationship with Scandinavia. The two had a chance to meet with their former teachers Doug Johnson, Jodi Olson and Terrie Ziesel.

Fernando told his former teachers, “I’m so grateful for you and your effect on my education.”

Former Birchview student Fernando Solimando spoke to fifth grade students at the school about his life and career in Denmark.

Greenwood students experience service learning projects

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ifth grade students at Greenwood Elementary School have the opportunity this year to volunteer a portion of their Friday flex time to service learning projects.

The students electing to serve in this capacity are part of the school’s KICKS (Kids in Community Kare and Service) program being co-facilitated by PTA member Rima Torgerson and fifth grade teachers Tami Arvig and Bridget Iliff. The service concept was implemented to empower fifth grade students to increase their leadership and service capacity. There may also be times during the year that the

entire student body is invited to participate in various service projects.

One of the first projects fifth grade students will work on is Caps for Kids day. Caps for Kids is a national program that collects money to buy new hats autographed by celebrities and athletes to be donated to children receiving cancer treatments. For this project, all Greenwood students were invited to bring in a $1 donation and to wear a cap to school on October 27.

Another project, Support our Troops, has been planned for November 1-5 and gives students an opportunity to

collect and send candy bars to troops overseas. Students may elect to donate a portion of their Halloween stash to this cause. A candy bar collection receptacle will be located near the entrance of our school. Similar to the Caps for Kids project, this is an optional activity open to all K-5 students and staff.

As part of the leadership development of KICKS, fifth graders will be speaking to their fellow students in their classrooms about these projects.

5 Family Service Night planned at Oakwood Elementary December 3

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he second annual Family Service Night, called “Doing Good Together,” has been planned at Oakwood Elementary School on December 3 from 6 to 8:30 p.m.

The event offers families an opportunity to participate in 14 different volunteer stations that have simple projects to benefit people in need and teach children the value of serving others.

Oakwood is using a snowflake theme this year to illustrate that each need and each gift is unique and that every good action — no matter how small — when joined with other good actions, will create a blizzard of good.

Due to the success of last year’s event (more than 400 people attended) and the ever-increasing need in the local community, event organizers increased the number of work stations from last year’s 10, to 14 for this year’s event. Some of the stations planned include the following: • Sand scarves for soldiers • Fleece blankets for children affected by domestic violence • Sandwiches for the homeless • Packaging rice for area foodshelves • Hosting a hat and coat drive This year’s event will also include a lemonade stand, with proceeds benefiting adopt a service dog-intraining. This was started because of the overwhelming requests from Oakwood students to help an organization working with animals.

For more information, or to sponsor a station for the evening, email russtammy@comcast.net. Family Service Night is supported by many community businesses through their donations of materials and supplies. To make a donation, contact Kari Miller at bjandkari@usfamily.net.

Families had an opportunity at last year’s event to draw pictures and write letters to soldiers serving overseas.

All candidates in attendance of the forum hosted by the Wayzata Public Schools Legislative Action Committee began the evening with brief statements about themselves and their candidacy before separating by senate district into smaller question/answer groups with audience members as pictured below.

Legislative Candidate Forum focused on education issues

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arents, community members and staff members attended the 2010 Legislative Candidate Forum held October 18 at Gleason Lake Elementary.

The forum was an opportunity to hear from candidates in Districts 32, 33 and 43 on their positions regarding public education. All candidates from these districts were invited to attend the forum. Following an initial opening statement period from each of the candidates, the forum broke up into small group question/ answer sessions based on the senate districts.

The forum was sponsored by the Wayzata Public Schools Legislative Action Committee (LAC). All questions focused on issues that affect public education.

A video of the opening statements by the candidates is available on the district’s website at www.wayzata.k12.mn.us under the video gallery link.

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Camp Sunset offered a summer of opportunity for students

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n opportunity to escape from the doldrums of a summer of television and lack of educational stimulus was taken by 45 students at Camp Sunset this summer.

The nine day experience held in June and again in August functioned to prevent learning loss over the summer and give students some extra experience they wouldn’t otherwise have. Gardening, music, sports and crafts combined with academics to create a camp experience for students. The program focused on academic work with reading and math in the morning and fun camp-like experiences in the afternoon.

At left, Camp Sunset students prepare vegetables harvested from the school garden to make a salsa. Above, students enjoyed a game of soccer as part of afternoon outdoor activities during Camp Sunset.

Completed WPS technology plan enters implementation phase

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he 2010-15 Wayzata Public Schools technology plan completed during the 2009-10 school year is being implemented across the district with new tools for both students and staff.

The framework of the plan includes the areas of learning, assessment, teaching, productivity, engagement and capacity to achieve the goal of developing and implementing rigorous learning opportunities based on approved curriculum and the district’s strategic direction, mission and values.

The plan is being utilized to provide a high value toolset to deliver on the philosophy of “easy” by providing staff and buildings with computing devices, software, tools and platforms based on user needs and district-established standards. The goal is to deliver systems that help staff and teachers work more efficiently and to provide systems that seamlessly deliver relevant data to key stakeholders.

Externally, the plan is helping the district to listen, understand and connect to the community by creating a dynamic internal and external web presence; integrating district online information and payment systems; implementing new and effective ways to communicate with parents and the community; and providing Pictured above is the final working document of the district’s 2010-15 technology plan. equitable access to technology for all students. innovative use of web, video and voice; and building a For staff, the plan is guiding the employment of technology The plan is also being used to deliver a robust, secure, functionally aligned system that is easy, secure, reliable and that provides immediate student learning feedback that helps customer-focused education system by delivering support redundant. teachers adapt instruction. services with a customer service approach; implementing a New tools and technology will create an environment and Planning for the next five years of technology needs also robust wired and wireless infrastructure; creating opportunities support system that enhances individualized learning and includes delivering professional development to train teachers for greater communication and collaboration through the facilitates access to online learning opportunities for students. and staff in the effective and creative uses of technology.

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In Brief Volunteers needed for CONECT Homework Clubs IOCP is looking for adults and teens (16+) to provide homework help and academic support to elementary aged youth living in our CONECT communities. Commitment of about two hours per week, October-May. For more information, contact Katy Hemmah, Family School Liaison at katy.hemmah@wayzata.k12.mn.us or 763-745-5980.

15th annual parenting forum planned

Wayzata Public Schools’ 15th annual parenting forum, “Parenting Those Wonderful Kids,” has been planned for Saturday, February 5, 2011, at 8:15 a.m. at Central Middle School.

This year’s forum will feature keynote speaker Dr. Marti Erickson, co-host of “Good Enough Moms.” Parents can choose from 20 workshop offerings on all aspects of parenting plus visit the Marketplace to learn more about family-friendly opportunities and resources in our community.

The forum is free and open to the public.

Childcare is available for a nominal cost.

For more information, visit the district’s community education website at www. wayzata.k12.mn.us/ces and click on the parenting forum link.

WPSEF grant program renewed for 2010-11

The Wayzata Public Schools Education Foundation (WPSEF) is renewing its “From Excellent to Exceptional” grant program for the 2010-11 school year.

This program funds small projects that extend the regular curriculum in collaborative and innovative ways and awards up to $10,000 to staff members that develop and submit projects. The WPSEF will accept applications beginning in September. Submissions are due November 1 and successful applicants will be notified in January 2011 with funds available in February 2011.

For more information or to view previous grant award winners, visit www.wpsef.org.

Change of enrollment notification now online

Wayzata Public Schools’ yellow “Change of Enrollment Notification” cards will no longer be sent home with students this year and instead, the form should be filled out on the district’s website at www.wayzata. k12.mn.us.

The district’s Change of Enrollment Notification form should be filled out by families moving out of the district, moving to another address in the district or not attending Wayzata Public Schools for any reason in the 2010-11 school year.

To fill out the form online, visit the district’s website and click on the Change of Enrollment Notification badge on the right side of the page.

WHS announces 2010 AP scholars

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ayzata High School has announced its 2010 AP scholars. Based on the results of AP exams taken during the 2009-10 school year, there were 27 National Scholars (an average score of at least 4 on all AP exams taken and scores of four or higher on eight or more of these exams), 109 AP Scholars with Distinction (an average score of at least 3.5 on all AP exams taken and scores of three or higher on five or more of these exams), 62 AP Scholars with Honor (an average score of at least 3.25 on all AP exams taken and scores of 3 or higher on four or more of these exams) and 93 AP Scholars (a score of 3 or higher on three or more AP exams). The lists below include students who graduated from Wayzata High School in June 2010 because the AP tests were given during the 2009-10 school year.

The following students earned recognition for their scores: National Scholars Rohit Agrawal, Nicholas Ahamed, Lucy Andrews, Danesh Bankwala, Naomi Biok, Kent Blake, Leona Chao, Denise Chen, Kelley Chen, Aakash Deshpande, Larry Lee, Terry Lee, Jiaqi Li, Hans Liu, Victor Liu, Yubo Lu, Ibtesam Mujir, Zachary Quanbeck, Ganesh Raman, Krishnan Ramanujan, Gaurav Singh, Brian Tu, Edward Walczak, Charlotte Wang, Lawrence Wang, Katherine Wilson and Lewin Xue Scholars with Distinction Rohit Agrawal, Nicholas Ahamed, Benjamin Ahrendt, Lucy Andrews, Sydney Bair, Danesh Bankwala, Nicholas Belfanti, Mikhail Belkin, Ryan Biek, Naomi Biok, Sarah Birkholz, Kent Blake, Samuel Cady, Stacy Caprio, Tyler Carey, Anisha Chada, Leona Chao, Denise Chen, Edward Chen, Kelley Chen, Nora Chian, Chris Chin, Vivek Chittineni, Thomas Churchill, Brian Cornille, Aakash Desphande, Melissa Diamond, Kathryn Dryer, Miranda Ehrlich, Alexander Eide, Davin Evans, Michael Gabbert, Kelsey Grinde, John Haugland, Austin Hermann, Meng Yuan Huang, Katherine Hulting, Duligur Ibeling, Caroline Jamsa, Nicholas Jantzen, Swathi Jayavel, Scott Jensen, Yanpeng Jia, Ben Jiang, Kevin Johnson, Nils Johnson, Leah Kelly, Logan Kirst, Andrew Kleven, George Klevorn, Taisa Kushner, Larry Lee, Terry Lee, Jiaqi Li, Yu Li, Chang Liu, Hans Liu, Victor Liu, Yubo Lu, Sophia Luby, Arkajit Mandal, Caitlyn McCarthy, Nicholas McClelland, Kelly McInnis, Joseph McNeill, Margaret Mehr, Ashlee Miller, Zachary Miller, Ibtesam Mujir, Michael Neaton, Christopher Olmanson, David Ottman, Scott Padula, Megha Parhi, David Patzelt, Eric Phung, Mahati Pidaparti, Caroline Qian, Zachary Quanbeck, Sean Quinn, Ganesh Raman, Krishnan Ramanujan, Sarah Rasmussen, Shruti Satish, Parth Shah, Gaurav Singh, Sahiba Singh, Sarah Smeltzer, John Sorenson, Zachariah Sperry, Abhishek Srivastava, Bo Sun, Johanni Thunstrom, Brian Tu, Lauren Urke, Zachery Wagner,

Edward Walczak, Charlotte Wang, Lawrence Wang, Melissa Waudby, Benjamin Wedin, Katherine Wilson, Hayley Winslow, Lisa Worthington, Charles Wusands, Lewin Xue, Patrick Yates, Meiqin Zhou and Erin Zwick Scholars with Honor Aneesha Ahluwalia, Mohamad Akef, Anastasia Belov, Jacob Borgmann, Leanna Browne, Samantha Carter, Sinziana Constantinescu, Nicklaus Dotzenrod, Bridget Eide, Sarah Eide, Mackenzie Fallt, Olivia Fiergola, Brooks Flugaur-Leavitt, Sarah Guidera, April Hanneman, Austin Heisick, Jenna Hoge, Lauren Holder, Brian Hunter, Benjamin Jasper, Allyson Kirst, Emily Klump, Ketan Kulkarni, Julie Lai, Neil Larson, Kaitlyn Lauer, Justin Leeper, Kevin McConnell, Shannon McDermott, Samuel Miller, Scot Missling, Jennifer Nordstrom, Andrew Page, Divya Palanisamy, Alyssa Palo, Samuel Peterson, Jenna Pysick, John Reynolds, Alexander Roos, Caroline Sage, Gabrielle Sanderson, Brett Schnobrich, Browyn Sherman, Erik Smith, Laura Stangler, David Stranghoener, Valerie Streif, Adam Sturtz, Andru Svoboda, Hannah Theisen, Susan Thompson, Aaron Turnquist, Richmond Uong, Erika Wehmhoff, Amy Wen, Peter Westby, Preston White, Christopher Wilson, Jonathan Wong, Michelle Yancey, Tina Yin and Tyler Yoraway Scholar Ishmam Ahmed, Kristen Andersen, Jackson Angell, Grace BacheWiig, Alise Bailey, Weston Birnbaum, Jenna Blake, Paige Blazei, Vikhil Boyalla, Jonathan Boyd, Christina Brooks, Kelly Caprio, Philip Cerles, Madeline Cohen, Caroline Collins, Lindsey Colyer, Jennifer Demeules, Andrew Donlin, Mariah Donnelly, Rebecca Dryer, Samantha Dubbin, Cayla Ebert, John Egan, Jacob Fantle, Ryan Foote, Jacquelyn Fox, Hari Ganti, Greta Goetz, Adam Gooley, Ryan Greenberg, Jennifer Grimm, Rachel Grossfeld, Thomas Happe, Marissa Helgren, Lauren Henrich, Maribeth Hoffer, Kenneth Iverson, Kayla Jedele, Sarah Jensen, Karl Kabarowski, Maria Karpov, Kelsey Keenan, Natasha Kieval, Andrew Knudsen, Giuliano Kornberg, Avi Kumar, Alexander Lamannis, Courtney Larson, Sam Lebewitz, Sarah Lerner, Michael Li, Colin Lindquist, Xun Liu, Nicole Lopez, Karen Lucia, Megan Lush, Emma MacDonald, Devon Manley, Bradley Marcy, Benjamin Millis, Mark Paluta, Timothy Patchen, Nicola Pavia, Elizabeth Peterschmidt, Sarah Pfiffner, Erika Pieniniemi, Margaret Pierson, Luke Plutowski, Kristiana Preus, Angela Sandall, Raphael Santo-Domingo, Paige Schember, Jacqueline Schlundt, Gregory Scott, Morgan Seashore, Rebecca Severson, Nathan Shrader, Kelsey Simmons, Ella Smith, Carmen Stach, Kyle Stowe, Lucas Swiecichowski, Michelle Turovsky, Yasir Uddin, Brian Unekis, Joseph Vertin, Leah Voigt, Andrea Waudby, Daniel Wexler, Natalie Wolf, Anne Worthington, Jeff Zhang and Jessica Zottola

Kid tested, mother approved menu featured this fall

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his September, Wayzata Public Schools’ Culinary Express launched new menu items that were taste-test approved by Wayzata High School students and exceed national nutritional guidelines.

Working in collaboration with local chef David Fhima, the new menu items were specifically designed to meet the requirements of students’ taste buds and parents’ nutritional goals.

Fhima and his “Faces Bakery” are

providing all-natural pepperoni and cheese pizzas, 53 percent whole-wheat hamburger buns, sandwich breads and other baked goods with no additives or preservatives.

Fhima will also serve as WHS’s Let’s Move Chef. This is a program developed by First Lady Michelle Obama to raise awareness and action on childhood nutrition and physical activity.

Fhima and his team worked with the Culinary Express department and completed the product development with

a taste-test using students in the district’s summer athletics and school programs. The students filled out feedback forms and the pizza recipe was slightly adjusted based upon consistent commentary from the students.

The nutritional value in the products customized for WHS by Fhima was improved significantly from the products they replaced by including fresh, nonprocessed and in come cases local ingredients that the students, staff and parents are familiar with.

A warm welcome on the first day of school

Nonprofit Org. US Postage PAID Wayzata, MN Permit 43

The Communicator is published for residents and staff of Wayzata Public Schools. Contact Bob Noyed, director of communication, at 763-745-5068 or robert.noyed@wayzata.k12.mn.us with questions or comments.

Communicator

Wayzata Public Schools 210 County Road 101 N. P.O. Box 660 Wayzata, MN 55391-0060

October 2010

Gleason Lake kindergarten teacher Korena Bradford welcomes Isabella Moon on the first day of school this year.

8 WPS launches Facebook fan page

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hether you are a Wayzata student, an alumnus, a local business person, parent, grandparent, or a fan of the Wayzata Public Schools, you are invited to join the Wayzata Public Schools Facebook page.

The WPS Facebook page provides friends of the district with an opportunity to stay in touch with what’s happening in the district with news posts and event listings, connect with alumni and staff that participate on the site and share in dialogue about the future of education in Wayzata Public Schools.

To become a fan, visit www.facebook.com and search for Wayzata Public Schools.

Employees of the Month Two employees have been recognized as Employees of the Month since the previous edition of the Communicator.

They are: • September 2010 — Dan Nielsen, sixth grade teacher at Central Middle School •October 2010 — Danny Sable, head custodian at Oakwood Elementary

Young Scientist Roundtables planned Nov. 9, 30

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Young Scientist Roundtable will be held Tuesday, November 9, 2010, at 7 p.m. at Central Middle School. Dr. Marla Spivak with the University of Minnesota will be speaking on honeybee health. Spivak recently received the “Genius Grant” from the MacArthur Foundation for her research on honeybees.

A second Young Scientist Roundtable will be held Tuesday, November 30 and feature Dr. Robin Germany, the Chief Medical Officer at Cardiac Concepts, Inc. He will be speaking on sleep apnea and heart disease. Germany

is board certified in cardiovascular disease and formerly the director of the Congestive Heart Failure Program at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine.

Following the presentations at 8:10 p.m., a Teen Roundtable will be held where students will have the opportunity to ask in-depth questions.

The Young Scientist Roundtable is free for students in grades K - 12 and their families and no registration is required.

District website redesign process has begun

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ayzata Public Schools is beginning the process of reconfiguring and redesigning its website and has assembled parent volunteer and staff groups to provide input and feedback during the process.

The purpose of the parent website working group is to provide input and feedback on design, navigation and function for the district’s redesigned/reconfigured website including school and program pages.

The overall vision for the website reconfiguration/ redesign project is to re-create the district’s website along with school and program pages, and the staff Intranet in

order to accomplish the following: • Enhance the district’s web presence • Focus content to address the greatest interests of site visitors • Utilize the website as the district’s primary engagement tool with parents, staff members and community members The two groups are facilitated by Bob Noyed, director of communication, and Wade Phillips, director of technology.

The groups are meeting throughout the year to develop a draft of the website with an implementation processes expected to begin in summer 2011.

2010-11 district annual report available online

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n accordance with Minnesota Statute, the school board of Wayzata Public Schools adopted the annual report on curriculum, instruction and student performance at its September 27 special meeting. The report includes

goals for student performance, staff development plans and data about student achievement during the previous year.

This report is available online at the district’s website at www.wayzata.k12.mn.us.