Every year in the spring, we look for educational field trip opportunities for our eighth grade students. Some years this takes the form of an overnight, and some years not--this time around we are planning a pair of all-day trips to wrap up the year.

The first of these is a science field trip to Banning State Park, where our eighth graders will study first-hand the history, geology and ecology of this unusual environmental area.  For more information on Banning, head over to:

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/banning/narrative.html

Students will need to bring in their permission slips right away (they are due Friday, May 9th), and parents should pay particular attention to rules for the trip (e.g. no radios or mp3 players, but students may bring cameras).  Students will be gone from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., so they will not be able to take their normal bus or carpools home.

We're looking forward to a great trip!

Come to the Parent Group on Student Learning meeting Tuesday, May 13th from 8:30-9:30 a.m. in the Large Conference Room.  We'll be discussing books on tape and webpage links for student services, as well as reflecting on this year's meetings and planning for next year.

Hope to see you there!

Those hazy, lazy days of summer always sound so good until the kids start saying, "There's nothing to do."  You can solve that problem by getting them registered for MPA summer classes or Panther Camp.  We have over 50 students already registered for the summer classes, but we have plenty of room for more--so pick up a brochure from the receptionists and get registered as soon as possible.

This year, we have reconfigured the day for you and your children. You sign up for a morning, afternoon or all day session.  Your children select their first five choices from the list of offerings and we do the rest.  We will try to get them into their first or second choice, but if one of those are filled or canceled we automatically move them to their third choice.  You can drop them off in the morning and pick them up either at noon or at 4:00 p.m.  Before and after care are also available.

Please be sure to browse through the beautiful art created by Middle School students that is now on display in the Gallery.  It is absolutely gorgeous!  I'm continually amazed by the high quality of work these kids create. There will be an art opening from 6:00-7:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 1st, and the show will remain on display for the next two weeks.

The Maplewood Police Department will be hosting an upcoming presentation on internet safety for parents. They will be discussing crimes related to internet use, internet predators, cyberbullying, MySpace (including teaching how to make your own MySpace page!) and many other areas of interest to parents. The presentation will be held on Monday, June 16th at 7:00 p.m. at the Maplewood Community Center on White Bear Avenue.