March 31, 2008

7-minute Survey
What do our schools feel like? You tell us. This week, District residents and staff are invited to take our online 7-minute Survey on our district’s current climate. When participants are done taking the survey, they will be encouraged to join a digital discussion on this topic in Mounds View’s Chalkboard Chatroom. Visitors are invited to post examples of ways Mounds View provides a healthy, safe and positive environment, as well as suggestions for improvements. Links to the survey and chatroom are posted at www.moundsviewschools.org.



School Talk
From codes of conduct to collaborative grants, Mounds View is building a healthy climate for all students and staff to enjoy. Looking for examples of the District’s efforts? Read the spring issue of School Talk, the District’s community newsletter, now available online at www.moundsviewschools.org.






Chalkboard Capers
Want to hold a classroom’s attention? Entertain the students. Want to raise scholarship money for students? Entertain an audience. Chalkboard Capers is the annual entertainment/variety show written, directed, and performed by teachers from the Mounds View Education Association. Proceeds from this event provide scholarships for graduating students from Irondale, Mounds View, Oak Grove, Adult Basic Education, and the Area Learning Center. Tickets are $5 at the door, and the shows are held in the Irondale Auditorium, 2425 Long Lake Road, New Brighton. Showtimes are as follows:
* Wednesday, April 2, 5 p.m. (Dress Rehearsal)
* Thursday, April 3, 6:30 p.m.
* Friday, April 4, 6:30 p.m.
* Saturday, April 5, 1 & 6:30 p.m.


New principal
Todd Durand has been selected as the new principal for Island Lake Elementary School, effective July 1. He is succeeding principal Michele Brouse, who is retiring at the end of this school year. Durand joins Island Lake with eight years of elementary school teaching and administration experience with the Bloomington School District. He currently is serving as the Dean of Students at Washburn Elementary School, and also has served Bloomington as a fourth- and fifth-grade teacher. Durand is an Arden Hills resident, and his wife Jessica is a math teacher at Mounds View High School. The search for a new principal involved a committee of parents, staff members and Building Instructional Leadership Team members. Throughout the process, Durand expressed a desire to join Mounds View because of the District’s willingness to embrace change and because of the schools’ innovative and creative instructional approaches.


Editor's note: Take action
Looking for ways to effectively build grass-roots support in our communities for public schools? Consider attending the Parent Leadership Summit, April 7, from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. at the TIES office at 1667 Snelling Avenue in St. Paul. During this 6th annual event, attendees can hear success stories from other parents and speak with their legislators. To register, visit www.parentsunited.org.