The weekly eNews is our school community newsletter with information about O.H. Anderson Elementary School. All staff and families of O.H. Anderson Elementary School are subscribed to this newsletter.
Important Dates
May
May 14-Nature Trail Day at OHA
May 20- 6:00- Aloha Night Incoming 3rd grade Welcome to OHA
May 31-No School for Students or Staff-Memorial Day
June
June 1-3- Track and Field
June 4- All In Person Learning Students Turn in Devices
June 7- PTO Dilly Bars at Recess
June 8- Yearbooks at Recess
June 9- Zephyr Time
June 9- Distance Learners- 1:30-2:30, Pick Up Yearbooks, Drop Off Devices, Have a Dilly Bar with Friends on the Playground
June 10- Last Day of School- Classroom Celebrations
Principal's Message
Dear O.H. Anderson Students and Families,
It’s Teacher’s Appreciation Week.
I want to thank our O.H. Anderson Teachers for…
The love and care they show our students everyday.
The hard work they do to make engaging and focused lessons.
The flexibility they have shows in the past year and a half with multiple learning models.
The time they give students to show they are advocates for them and care.
✅If someone in your household has symptoms of COVID-19, is symptomatic and getting tested for COVID-19, or is symptomatic and awaiting test results, ALL household members must stay home until test results are known.
✅All Minnesotans age 16 and older are eligible to get a COVID-19 vaccine.
ALOHA Night Family Welcome for Incoming 3rd Grade Families
We would like to welcome you to the O.H. Anderson family and we look forward to meeting you in person in the Fall. Typically we hold an in person informational night for families to introduce you to all of the O.H. Anderson staff and important information about our school and third grade. We will do this virtually this year due to COVID. Please review the following resources to get acquainted with our school and think of questions you still wonder about. You will have the opportunity to have a Q & A Google Meet to answer all student and family questions on May 20, 2021 at 6pm. Our goal is to facilitate a smooth transition to OHA for students and families.
Families- Aloha Night
Click here to watch a 15 minute video presentation about OHA. Youtube
Here is the Family slideshow with all of the information linked.
Students- Third Grade Welcome- This will be shared with students at Wildwood.
Click here to watch a student video about OHA. Youtube
Here is the Student slideshow with all of the information linked.
Click here for a virtual tour of OHA from 2 current third graders.
Please think about things you wonder about and please Post a Question. Here are some answers to our questions. 3rd Grade Q & A
Meeting ID: 779 8733 3527
Passcode: wg8642
We look forward to meeting you and partnering with you to provide a great start to third grade!
Thank you Families
The Transportation company wants to thank you for the courtesy you have shown all year to our busses. We appreciate you allowing them in and out of the parking lot to keep things moving on Warner and safe.
Principal Roundtable and PTO May 18
Elementary Roundtable: May 18- 6:15- 7 in OHA Gym
PTO Meeting: May 18 7-8 in OHA Gym
We will have another principal roundtable on May 18.
It will be in person, socially distanced in the OHA gym.
This is an opportunity to have an informal conversation with Mr. Briske and Ms. Prather about current topics happening in the elementary schools. We will discuss how we will be supporting all students through this disrupted learning and answer any questions you may have.
Are you spring cleaning? The Mahtomedi PTO is hosting a
book drive for the month of May. Families are invited to donate any gently used books by dropping them off in the bin in the school lobby. These books, along with purchased Scholastic titles, will create a library that students will be invited to "shop" in the fall when they meet their homeroom teachers. Donations of all reading levels are welcome!
Lights Off OHA Challenge
LightsOff OHA Challenge
Mahtomedi Girl Scouts Troop 57411
A one week challenge: May 3-7, 2021
Staff, Students, and Families can participate
The challenge: Every time you leave a room (for specialist, recess, end of the day), shut off the lights.
Adults at home and at school will keep track of the behavior and submit a “Lights Off Challenge Recognition Form” (In-Person Learners will use a Class Form and Distance Learners will have Individual Forms)
Participate in the challenge and earn fun prizes!
We hope our project will remind everyone to shut off the lights and help our school to save energy!
Watch for more information coming soon!
Grade Level Music Programs 2021
All students this year will participate in a grade level program. This will be very different from the past because they will be pre recorded videos shared via YouTube. Over the next few weeks, video recordings of students will be made during music class. All of those videos will be edited together to create our program. Performances will include songs by individual classes and songs by the entire grade level. All of the work for these programs will be done during music time. The distance learners will be making recordings at home that will be merged into a class video so they may also participate.
There will also be speaking parts that will separate each of the songs. All of these parts will be recorded during school time. There is no need for students to memorize their parts or practice them at home.
The program videos will be available during the last week of school. All recordings will be made in compliance with the CDC and MN Department of Health guidelines for the performing arts.
The programs will not be perfect, but they give us the opportunity to share with you what we have been learning in music this year. Please let Mr. Pontious know if you have any questions or need further information.
Your child recently completed MCA Math and Reading testing at O.H. Anderson. We have the preliminary scores for the Math and Reading tests available for you to view in your ParentVue account. The 5th grade also completed the Science testing and those preliminary scores will be available next week. Remember this is one data point that shows students progress toward MN Grade level standards. The best practice is to look at multiple data points to learn about someone’s data story to know what students know and their next steps for learning.
Here is a guide of what to look at.
Scale Score (Score 1 Column)
Level (Score 3 Column)
The following is the key to the results:
E = Exceeds Standards
M = Meets Standards
P = Partially Meets Standards
D = Did Not Meet Standards
Strands- Which are strengths? What are areas to work on?
Stanine—An abbreviation for standard nine, derived from the fact that stanine scores range from a low of 1 to a
high of 9. Stanines of 1, 2, or 3 are below the national average; 4, 5, or 6 are average; and 7, 8, or 9 are above
average. These three clusters of stanine scores are often referred to as below average, average, and above
average “ranges.”
Next steps- Type in the Learning Locator code here for more activities to continue to grow.
Please note that these are preliminary scores, with the final scores available late summer or early fall. We will continue to monitor students growth and meet their individual needs.
Track & Field Day
I am excited to give our Zephyrs a memorable experience during track and field day and I thank everyone who signed up to volunteer to help us during the events, the spots to sign up are all filled now and we appreciate your interest.
3rd grade students will be participating on June 1st.
4th grade students will be participating on June 2nd.
5th grade students will be participating on June 3rd.
We will be in contact with our volunteers as we get closer to the event days. Thanks again for your interest in helping with our special day. Now let’s hope for good weather!
Book Drive For Secondary Students
FREE BIKES!
Technology Support
Have an issue with your Chromebook or iPad?
Shut the device down (don’t just sign out).
Restart the device and check if the issue has been resolved.
Quarantines: During in-person learning, students are seated three feet apart. It is important to note that quarantine guidelines have not changed. It is still a rule per the Minnesota Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that if you are within 6 feet of someone contagious with COVID-19 for 15 minutes or more over the course of a day (24 hours) you will need to quarantine. Therefore, if we have a student who is contagious at school, students who are within a 6-foot radius of that person in class will have to quarantine. There may be situations where full classrooms will need to be quarantined (i.e. younger elementary classrooms where physical distancing rules are more challenging to follow).
A 10 day shortened quarantine will be offered to elementary students with a negative COVID test on or after day 5 of exposure on a case by case basis if your student meets the appropriate criteria.
Consult with the health office for approval of shortened quarantine and also for further information regarding criteria.
It is not possible to shorten the 14-day quarantine period if:
A member of your household has COVID-19.
Your child has tested positive for COVID-19.
Your child has COVID-19 symptoms.
You do not have a negative COVID-19 test result.
Your child’s full classroom was put on quarantine.
Questions about COVID-19? Need to submit a COVID-19 test result?
Marcia Senkler, Building RN O.H. Anderson School Marcia.Senkler@isd832.net 651-407-2335
Minnesota COVID-19 Vaccine Connector Information
The State of Minnesota has announced the launch of the Minnesota COVID-19 Vaccine Connector, which is a tool that helps Minnesotans find out when, where, and how to get their COVID-19 vaccine. Click here for more information.
During In-Person Learning, breakfast and lunch are FREE for all students at all of our school buildings on school days. Meal packs will continue to be available for distance learners, students in quarantine, and for all students on holidays and no school days.
Meal Pack Pick-Ups: April 9-June 4, 2021
Fridays from 11:00am-12:30pm
Mahtomedi High School, 8000 75th Street N., Mahtomedi
May question of the month - " What I am proud of is..." Dayton J - Grade 5
Answer-"Being myself and making my friends happy! "
PTO Information
A special shoutout to all of the amazing teachers!
They have all done an incredible job during an unprecedented school year. This year more than ever, WE APPRECIATE YOU!!!
Volunteers needed! Sign up to join the fun run or SPRING FUN FAIR committees! If you are interested in volunteering, please email Liz at president@mahtomedipto.com.
Book drive
- Donate your gently used children's books of all reading levels to the PTO book drive!
- There will be book collection bins in the lobbies of both Wildwood and OH Anderson throughout the month of May.
- Collected and purchased books will be distributed to elementary students when they are welcomed back to school next fall!
Spirit wear
Gear up for spring with new Zephyr wear! A portion of the proceeds go directly to the PTO to support our elementary teachers and students. Shop today at https://apparelnow.com/mahtomedi-pto-apparel
The PTO is committed to supporting Wildwood and OHA Students and invites you to play an active part of their organization. Visit mahtomedipto.com for opportunities to get involved and to sign up for their directory.
PTO Newsletter April 2021 Please click here for the April Newsletter
Follow me on Twitter to check out what’s happening at OHA! @prathesm 
