BRANDON-EVANSVILLE ISD

The 2021 Spring Fling will be held on Friday, April 23rd at the Brandon Lions Park.

Today's baseball game against St. John's Prep is POSTPONED. A makeup date will be announced at a later date. Varsity & JV no practice today. Jr. High practice will be indoors in Evansville.

Congratulations to Wesley Siira on being named the 2021-2022 Region III Secretary for FFA.

NO JV/JrH Softball practice today, Friday, April 9th.

Brandon-Evansville School District 206 West Third Street, Brandon, MN 56315 Phone 320-834-4084 • Fax 320-524-2228 Brian Novak, Principal (ext. 2115) Dear Parents and Guardians: We approach that time of year again where spring is in the air as well as statewide assessments. I find that parents and students experience more confidence in the assessment process when they better understand its purpose and expected outcomes. The information below is provided to answer your questions about what MCA assessments are and why we administer them to our students. Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCA) are state tests in mathematics, reading and science that meet the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA.) They are given every year to measure student performance against the Minnesota Academic Standards that specify what students in a particular grade should know and be able to do. This year, all testing will be conducted online except for paper accommodations that are available for eligible students. Assessment results can be used to determine whether all students are mastering key content knowledge and attaining the skills necessary for future success in education and the workforce. Schools use the information to improve classroom teaching and learning. Teachers and principals look for areas where students do well so they can reinforce the ways they teach these skills. They also look for areas of improvement so they can increase instructional time or change their instruction. Districts and schools use the results as only one part of the comprehensive information they collect on students and their performance. Furthermore, the amount of time preparing for and taking statewide assessments is a very small percentage of instructional time over the course of a school year, averaging less than one percent. Participation in these assessments is also important to your school as a whole. MCA results are used to determine school and district accountability, which are used in turn to help identify schools that need additional support as well as to recognize schools that are demonstrating high performance. If students do not participate in the assessments, the data for the district and school may be inaccurate and adversely affect the school, even making it ineligible for Celebration and Reward school recognition. Please contact your child’s school or teacher if you would like more information about the MCAs. We also have assessment information posted on the district website at b-e.k12.mn.us under District Assessments. Please read the enclosed tip sheet on how to prepare your students for testing. Test Prep Tips for Parents and Students Share an enthusiasm for reading, solving puzzles and discovery with your children. Provide students with a quiet study area. Encourage good study habits, setting aside a time every day for reading and homework. Talk to teachers and the principal if you have concerns about your children’s progress. Give students the opportunity to become familiar with the format of the test. Item samplers provide examples of the types of questions that are on the test. You can find item samplers for each grade and subject on the PearsonAccess website http://minnesota.pearsonaccessnext.com/item-samplers/ Student tutorials are available that also show students how to navigate the online test, use online test tools and answer different types of test questions. http://minnesota.pearsonaccessnext.com/tutorial/ Encourage students to answer all test questions. Have students get a good night’s sleep and eat a nutritious, protein-filled breakfast before taking a test. For additional information go to MDE’s website: https://education.mn.gov/MDE/fam/tests/ MCA Test Dates with grades. Reading MCA: Grade 3: April 26-30 Grade 4: April 19-23 Grade 5: May 3-7 Grades 6-8,10: April 13-15 Math MCA: Grade 3: April 19-23 Grades 4-5: April 26-30 Grades 6-8: May 10-12 Grade 11: May 4-6 Science MCA: Grade 5: May 11-12 Grade 8: May 4-5 Grade 10: May 4-5 Please contact me or your child’s teacher if you have any questions or concerns about this assessment letter. Sincerely, Brian Novak K-1, 6-12 Principal Brandon-Evansville Public School

No Track meet today in Minnewaska 4/8/21. The postponement date is to be determined and will be announced later this week.

B-E Prom is Saturday, April 10th - There will be an additional Grand March for those without an admission ticket. This will be outside, in front of the Brandon campus starting at 7:35PM. You may want to bring a chair in case you can't see from your vehicle.

Date: April 7, 2021 Subject: Coronavirus Confirmed Case-Staff Dear Families/Students/Staff, We were notified by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) of a lab confirmed case of COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) with two staff members, one in the Brandon-Evansville Middle School and one in the Head Start classroom in Brandon with an exposure date of March 26, 2021, and March 30, 2021. We have 18 confirmed cases of a staff members since the start of school and 18 students in the district. We have worked with local health officials to identify those who had close contact with the cases, and have communicated with them individually. These cases were identified as staff in the Head Start room and a staff member in the middle/high school. The Head Start program both staff and students are on quarantine and the middle/high school staff member is on COVID leave. We have contact traced and notified people/students at risk of exposure. The risk of exposure for other individuals present in the buildings on that date is no greater than the risk of contracting the virus in the general community. If you were not identified to have close contact with the positive case you should still monitor for symptoms of illness, but do not need to stay home unless symptoms develop. If symptoms develop, stay home and consult with your health care provider to determine if medical evaluation is needed. We understand that this may create unease in our community. We have taken action to clean and sanitize the facility and are working closely with MDH to monitor the situation. We are asking all members of our community to minimize the spread of illness by taking the following actions: · Protect yourself and others by wearing a face covering when it is hard to stay 6 feet away from people; washing your hands often with soap and water; covering your cough and sneeze; and avoiding touching your face with unwashed hands. · If you are sick, stay home from child care and other activities. · Be prepared in case you get sick and need to stay home. Keep enough food, regular prescription drugs, and other necessities on hand in case you need to stay home and are not able to go out easily. · Frequently clean all commonly touched surfaces (e.g., telephones, doorknobs, countertops, etc.). If symptoms develop, stay home and consult with your health care provider to determine if medical evaluation is needed. If you are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, MDH recommends: 1. Stay at home for at least 10 days, and for 24 hours with no fever and improvement of other symptoms (your fever should be gone for 24 hours without using fever-reducing medicine). 2. Use the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website on how to care for yourself at home; see What to Do If You Are Sick: (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/if-you-are-sick/steps-when-sick.html)  3. If your household contacts were exposed to you while you had symptoms, they should try to stay home as much as possible for 14 days. This is a challenging time and I know many of you may be feeling stress or anxiety. We will get through this together as a community, and will be stronger when we emerge. Here are additional resources: · Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) (https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/index.html)  · If You Are Sick (COVID-19) (https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/sick.html)  · Coronavirus (COVID-19) (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html Sincerely, Don Peschel Brian Novak Superintendent Brandon Site Principal Evansville Site Principal

All are invited to the EAC Poetry Night!

The Agriculture Plant Science Class has been busy using the hydroponic system to grow lettuce this spring.

Charger Kids Club students were busy last week decorating eggs, and painting Spring pictures!

5th grade will be having their DARE graduation tomorrow, Tuesday, at 9:30 AM in the gym. It will be on Facebook LIVE!

Boys Basketball postseason awards banquet will be held this Thursday night (4/1/21) in the Evansville Senior Center after spring sports practices, at 5:45 PM. Pizza will be served and we will start handing out awards at 6:00 PM.

Brandon Campus Lost and Found. If you see an item that belongs to you or your child, please pick it up by the end of next week. These items will be donated the week of 4/5. Thank you!

ABE TRACK AND FIELD 2021 is now open! Find items that I've picked out specifically for our team. There is also spirit wear available for your family and friends. Check out the shop details below. OUR SHOP DETAILS - Shop Now: https://www.bsnteamsports.com/shop/ABETF2021 - Store Open From: March 23 - March 31, 2021

Brandon-Evansville Book Fair at the Brandon Campus is open for students until tomorrow, Friday, 3/26!

*PARENTS, GUARDIANS & STUDENTS* THE B-E DFS DEADLINE IS FAST APPROACHING Q: Do you have a Senior that will be graduating this May? Q: Do you know if they have submitted their B-E DFS application? Brandon-Evansville Dollars for Scholars® is a Dollars for Scholars chapter, located in West Central Minnesota. We proudly support our Brandon-Evansville High School (B-E HS) current year graduating class. All Brandon-Evansville High School seniors who submit an application for a B-E DFS scholarship will receive at least one scholarship to help them with their college education the following year. The deadline to apply is Thursday, April 1, 2021. https://brandon-evansville.dollarsforscholars.org/ *Be sure that your application indicates that it is 100% complete, that you have checked the attestation box, and then clicked on the red/orange SUBMIT button. Merely having an open account without submitting the completed application is not considered as having applied. Applications will not be accepted after 04/01/2021. Brandon-Evansville Dollars for Scholars is a nonprofit foundation that supports academic success in our community. As part of Scholarship America's® national network of locally-based, volunteer-driven Dollars for Scholars chapters, our mission is to mobilize our community on behalf of post-secondary education success for our students. Dollars for Scholars chapters like ours help hometown students achieve their educational goals by raising scholarship funds, establishing endowments, providing assistance with college readiness and the financial aid process, and distributing scholarships each year. THANK YOU!

Junior High Football Coaching Positions: Brandon-Evansville Public School is looking for 2 junior high football coaches for the Fall 2021 season. These positions will follow the direction of the varsity head football coach and need to be ready to lead our 7th and 8th grade team(s). The season plans to start August 23rd and will run through early October. If interested please send a letter of interest and resume to Activities Director, Trent Hintermeister at thintermeister@b-e.k12.mn.us or call the school at 320-834-4084 with questions.

Date: March 23, 2021 Subject: Coronavirus Confirmed Case-Student Dear Families/Students/Staff, We were notified by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) of a lab confirmed case of COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) with a student in the Brandon-Evansville Middle School in Brandon with an exposure date of March 20, 2021. We have 16 confirmed cases of a staff members since the start of school and 18 students in the district. We have worked with local health officials to identify those who had close contact with the cases, and have communicated with them individually. This case was identified as a middle school student. The student was under quarantine at the time of exposure, so there is no threat to staff or students at this time. The risk of exposure for other individuals present in the buildings on that date is no greater than the risk of contracting the virus in the general community. If you were not identified to have close contact with the positive case you should still monitor for symptoms of illness, but do not need to stay home unless symptoms develop. If symptoms develop, stay home and consult with your health care provider to determine if medical evaluation is needed. We understand that this may create unease in our community. We have taken action to clean and sanitize the facility and are working closely with MDH to monitor the situation. We are asking all members of our community to minimize the spread of illness by taking the following actions: · Protect yourself and others by wearing a face covering when it is hard to stay 6 feet away from people; washing your hands often with soap and water; covering your cough and sneeze; and avoiding touching your face with unwashed hands. · If you are sick, stay home from child care and other activities. · Be prepared in case you get sick and need to stay home. Keep enough food, regular prescription drugs, and other necessities on hand in case you need to stay home and are not able to go out easily. · Frequently clean all commonly touched surfaces (e.g., telephones, doorknobs, countertops, etc.). If symptoms develop, stay home and consult with your health care provider to determine if medical evaluation is needed. If you are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, MDH recommends: 1. Stay at home for at least 10 days, and for 24 hours with no fever and improvement of other symptoms (your fever should be gone for 24 hours without using fever-reducing medicine). 2. Use the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website on how to care for yourself at home; see What to Do If You Are Sick: (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/if-you-are-sick/steps-when-sick.html)  3. If your household contacts were exposed to you while you had symptoms, they should try to stay home as much as possible for 14 days. This is a challenging time and I know many of you may be feeling stress or anxiety. We will get through this together as a community, and will be stronger when we emerge. Here are additional resources: · Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) (https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/index.html)  · If You Are Sick (COVID-19) (https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/sick.html)  · Coronavirus (COVID-19) (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html Sincerely, Don Peschel Brian Novak Superintendent Brandon Site Principal Evansville Site Principal

Miss Lori's Learning Readiness class went walking in the rain today and found worms, pinecones and feathers! They also sang "singing in the rain!"