Communicator Brief - February 2014

From the superintendent: We are off to a great start to 2014 in the Wayzata Public Schools!

Our staff is working harder than ever to meet the learning needs of each and every student. I’d like to share a few examples of what Wayzata students are doing to make us proud.

• Wayzata High School’s Science Bowl Teams won the first and second place spots at the State Science Bowl Tournament held at Macalester College on January 24.

The winning team will compete at the national competition in Washington, D.C., on April 24-28.

• Students and parents in several of our elementary schools have recently held community service celebrations to give back to others in need throughout our communities.

Three WHS Students Named Intel Semifinalists • West Middle School’s World Music Ensemble and Jazz Band performed at the Mall of America in December.

• As part of Minnesota Public Radio’s School Spotlight Program, Classical MPR 99.5 recently broadcast three movements from the Wayzata High School Chamber Orchestra and Concert Choir’s December performance of Vivaldi’s Gloria.

Learn more about all the great things happening in the Wayzata Public Schools at www.wayzata.k12.mn.us - Chace B. Anderson, Superintendent

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hree Wayzata High School students were named semifinalists in the Intel Science Talent Search, the nation’s most prestigious pre-college science competition.

Seniors Emily Chen, Priyanka Narayan and Sophia Lin Zhang were named semifinalists. Chen Wayzata Public Schools 210 County Road 101 N. P.O. Box 660 Wayzata, MN 55391-0060

was named for her project “FANCD2 Induced DNA Repair in Hereditary Fanconi Anemia: Unraveling the Mystery Behind a Cancer-Causing Blood Disease”; Narayan was named for her project “Improving the Oral Absorption of Chemotherapeutic Drugs through the Use of Novel Nanoparticles”; and Zhang for

her project “Effective Endothelial Cell Differentiation of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Using a Three-Dimensional Fibrin Scaffold.”

The semifinalists were selected from among 1,794 entrants nationwide and each received a $1,000 award.

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and community engagement, at 763-745-5068 or amy.parnell@wayzata.k.12.mn.us with questions or comments.

Brief February 2014

Excellence. For each and every student.

The Communicator Brief is published for residents and staff of Wayzata Public Schools. Contact Amy Parnell, director of communciations

Communicator

Greenwood Students Make Blankets for a Brighter Day

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ourth grade students at Greenwood Elementary School recently donated their time and materials to Blankets for a Brighter Day in December.

The students donated fleece and made tie blankets for Children’s Hospital through the program Blankets for a Brighter Day, which provides children receiving procedures at various hospitals with tie blankets to comfort them and relieve some of the stress they feel during their procedures.

Greenwood students created 94 blankets to donate to the program to help make someone’s day a little brighter.

• Question two: Request to renew the existing technology levy, which funds technology equipment and support districtwide with approximately $2.7 million annually.

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he Wayzata School Board voted unanimously to place two school funding questions before voters at a special election on February 25, 2014 after careful review of a wide range of options. The referendum is in response to unprecedented growth from new housing developments, increasingly larger classes moving from the middle schools to Wayzata High School and the recent addition of state-funded, all-day Kindergarten beginning in the fall of 2014.

The ballot will contain two questions: • Question one: Request to approve $109.645 million in bond funding to expand Wayzata High School, build a new elementary school and upgrade safety, security and technology districtwide.

With more than 1,600 new housing developments anticipated by cities within the school district in the next four years and most schools already at capacity, the demand to attend Wayzata Public Schools has never been greater. The district’s K-12 resident student enrollment is anticipated to increase twice as fast in the next 10 years as it has in the past decade, with up to 900 more students projected at the high school alone.

“We are honored that so many families want to live within our school district to receive the excellent education Wayzata has long been known for,” said Superintendent Chace Anderson.

The Wayzata School District is in a good financial position to consider issuing long-term debt through a bond request:

• The school district has a very low debt load compared to many other school districts (ratio of what it owes to what it owns) • As more homes are built, the tax impact may actually decrease as the debt is shared across a larger tax base.

• Careful financial planning has positioned the District on firm footing.

If voters approve the ballot questions, the tax impact on the average Wayzata homeowner ($333,900 value home) would be approximately $10/month for question one’s bond issue. There would be no additional tax increase for question two’s technology levy renewal.

Learn more at www.wayzata.k12.

mn.us/referendum or leave a message on the referendum hotline at 763-745-5050.