.png)
DATES TO REMEMBER
Conferences - 2/7, 2/16
MIPTO Meeting - 2/7
Non-Student Day - 2/10
School Board Meeting – 2/13
President's Day, No School - 2/20
Rally4Reading Event - 2/24
For more details visit - Matoska Calendar
RALLY 4 READING
It's time to Rally and help us reach our school-wide goal of reading 1000 Hours by February 21st.
Rally 4 Reading is a month-long celebration of literacy, starting February 1st. All types of reading count! Read a book with your eyes. Read an audiobook or podcast with your ears. Listen to someone read. Record the number of minutes you spend reading on your reading log.
From Reading Challenge Bingo to a Bears Book Exchange, each week will have a different focus.
To close the month, we invite you to join us at our Rally 4 Reading event on February 24th from 6-8 PM at Matoska to celebrate all the hard work you did reading! Meet local author, VT Bidania, read to READ dogs, make bookmarks and more! Dress as your favorite literary character for even more fun. More details to come later in the month.
R4R EVENT VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
We are looking for volunteers to help make the Rally 4 Reading event on February 24th a success. If you are available, email Katie Aliota at klaliota@gmail.com to learn more about help needed.
MEAL PAYMENT SYSTEM CHANGE COMPLETE
If you have not already done so, please complete a one-time set-up at www.schoolcafe.com/isd624. That process will require families to enter their students’ ID numbers, so please be sure to have that information on-hand when starting the process. Student ID numbers can be found in ParentVUE by Synergy. Find more communications sent to families around the change here
WAYS TO GIVE - CORPORATE MATCHING
The MIPTO relies on donations to support our mission and our Matoska community. Donations go towards programs and needs to help classroom improvements, playground expansion, field trips, supporting our teachers and other educational opportunities for kids. So far this year, funds have supported large programs like Welcome Back Bears, Honk Jr. and Rally 4 Reading.
One way we receive donations is through corporate matching. Many employers, as part of their charitable giving programs, offer a direct match to donations made to a school. To find out if this is something your employer offers, reach out to HR about their programs and ask how your employer can match your donations.
They can add "Matoska International Parent Teacher Organization" to their charitable offerings and the donation will come directly to the MIPTO. If you need an EIN, please contact matoskaparents@gmail.com for help.
If corporate matching isn't an option, there are other ways to support and donate Learn more here: https://www.matoskaparents.com/donate
IB INQUIRERS
A note from Julie Stonehouse, PYP Coordinator
Hello, Matoska families
Thank you to all who took the time to respond to our recent Google survey; This was sent by Carolyn Kay last month. As a result of that feedback, I will be sharing some information about our International Baccalaureate (IB) framework in this newsletter for the next few months.
As an IB school, Matoska focuses on three aspects of learning:
What we learn: the MN K-12 Academic Standards drive the academic content of our learning.
Who we are as learners: the Attributes of the Learner Profile are the descriptors of the character we work to build as IB learners (Inquirers, Knowledgeable, Thinkers, Communicators, Principled, Open-Minded, Caring, Risk-takers, Balanced, Reflective).
How we learn: we believe that learning how to learn is fundamental to a student’s education. Five categories of interrelated skills support students at all grades to become self-regulated learners. These skills are known as our Approaches to Learning (ATL) and include: Thinking Skills, Research Skills, Communication Skills, Social Skills, and Self-management Skills.
Look for me in the main entrance of the school during conferences with more IB information. Please stop by and say hi!
REMINDER NOMINATE A TEACHER OF THE YEAR
White Bear Lake Area Educators’ Teacher of the Year Nominations close at 4 p.m. on Feb. 10.
Complete Teacher of the Year Nomination Form
WBL COMMUNITY EVENTS
MATOSKA PRIDE SHOP
Check out the gear in the Matoska Pride Shop. Order here >