North Branch Area Public Schools

✨ Drop In and Play – Free Event! ✨ 📅 Tuesday, March 18 | ⏰ 5:00 - 6:30 PM 📍 North Branch Area Education Center Bring your little ones and enjoy a fun-filled evening of play, learning, and connection at our Move & Learn room and ECFE classroom! This is the perfect opportunity for kids to explore, grow, and engage while caregivers connect with others. ✅ No cost, no registration – just drop in! 📞 Questions? Call 651-674-1220 📍 38705 Grand Ave, North Branch, MN 55056 Tag your friends and spread the word! 🧸🎨✨

Spring break is a perfect time to check out the latest Community Ed Highlights! It has options for youth enrichment, early childhood, youth recreation, drivers ed, adult enrichment, and more. It also has info on the upcoming We Are All the Same Sockhop! Click here to give it a look: https://secure.smore.com/n/15ufn

Coming up in Community Ed! Squishy Squishmallows with Kidcreate Studio (Ages 4-9) March 13 / 9 AM - 12 PM DIY Pinball Machine with Kidcreate Studio (Ages 5-12) March 13 / 12:30 - 3:30 PM The Great Southwest March 17 / 6:30 - 8:30 PM Medicare 101 March 18 / 6:30 - 8 PM Little Lego Bricks with Kidcreate Studio (18 months-6 years) March 19 / 5 - 6 PM Floral Design of the Month March 19 / 6 - 7:30 PM Registration here: https://northbranch.cr3.rschooltoday.com/public/getprogram/ or call 651-674-1025.

The Viking Newsletter - Feb./March is now available at this link: https://secure.smore.com/n/8pvxj Happy spring break!

✨🎓 A Taste of Kindergarten – A Night to Remember! 🎓✨ Our Taste of Kindergarten event on Tuesday, March 4 was a fantastic success! 🎉Families and future Class of 2038 students got to meet their teachers, explore the school, and get a glimpse of the exciting journey ahead. From fun activities to free t-shirts for every new kindergartener, the evening was filled with excitement and smiles! A huge THANK YOU to our wonderful families for attending and to our incredible staff for making this event so special. We can’t wait to welcome our newest kindergarteners this fall! ❤️ 📸 Check out these adorable moments from the night!

🎮 Exciting News for North Branch Area Families! 🎮 Our North Branch Area Esports program was recently recognized at a school board meeting, where mentor and coach Darin Marcussen highlighted our talented team! Team members shared their experiences and the impact Esports has had on their growth, teamwork, and problem-solving skills. What is eSports? It's a structured, competitive gaming program that helps students develop teamwork, strategy, and critical thinking—all while having a blast! North Branch Area Esports is offered through Community Education, and registration is now open for students ages 13 and older to join the 2025 Spring Club! 📅 Important Dates: 🔹 Team Information Meeting: Monday, March 24th at 3 PM | HS Commons 🔹 Registration Deadline: Friday, March 28th 📢 Ready to join? Find more details and register here: https://northbranch.cr3.rschooltoday.com/public/costoption/class_id/3894/public/1/sp/ Let’s game on! 🕹️

6th Graders Turn "Nothing" Into a Dragon Face in Art Class! Students in hex 4 of art class made symmetrical paint blobs and were challenged to turn them into a dragon's face by adding details. They learned how to draw twisted dragon horns and had to include at least one pair somewhere in the project. It took a lot of creativity to decide where the facial features would be and what the shape of the head would look like. One dragon was wearing a stocking cap, one was a cyclops and one even included the entire body and was sitting on a stool!

✨🎓 Calling All Future Kindergartners – Class of 2038! 🎓✨ Get ready for an exciting evening at Taste of Kindergarten with North Branch Area Public Schools! 🌟 📅 Tuesday, March 4 🕕 6:00 – 7:30 PM 📍 North Branch Area Education Center (38705 Grand Ave., North Branch, MN) This special event is designed for all kindergarten-eligible children and their families to: ✅ Meet our amazing teachers 👩‍🏫 ✅ Explore our school 🏫 ✅ Get excited for the kindergarten journey ahead 🎉 ✅ Receive a FREE T-shirt with each kindergarten enrollment! 👕 Want to learn more before the event about all the great things happening at the Education Center? 🎥 Check out this video! https://youtu.be/687F4P6Iwvw Don't miss out on this fun-filled opportunity to see what makes North Branch a great place to learn and grow!

Coming up in Community Ed! Lakeside with Canoe and Lily March 5 / 6:30 - 8:30 PM Learn the Sport of BMX Bike Racing March 6 / 5:30 - 7:45 PM Drivers Education Zoom Class Begins March 10 / 3 - 6 PM Slime Lab with Kidcreate Studio (Ages 4-9) March 11 / 9 AM - 12 PM Anime Workshop with Kidcreate Studio (Ages 5-12) March 11 / 12:30 - 3:30 PM Registration here: https://northbranch.cr3.rschooltoday.com/public/getprogram/ or call 651-674-1025.

Students in Mrs. John and Mrs. Peters' science class learned how to make a shadow clock. Our unit question was "Who set the first clock?" This led to a discussion on what patterns in daily changes in length and direction of shadows, day and night, and the seasonal appearance of some stars in the night sky that civilizations noticed long ago that led to the development of a clock to keep track of time.

SKOL! and congratulations to Ashley Bistodeau and Ethan Kester, NBAHS's nominees for the MSHSL Triple “A” award! The Academics, Arts, and Athletics Award, commonly known as the Triple 'A' Award, honors high school seniors throughout the state who have a 3.0 or higher-grade point average and participate in League-sponsored athletic and fine arts activities. Of being selected, Ashley said “I love this school, and I love doing a ton of activities and being involved in the community." Ethan and his dad sat down to learn more about the award, “We were wowed by these amazing students who get selected for it. I decided that these are the people I want to be identified with.” Both are multi-sport athletes also involved in fine arts activities while taking AP courses.

Recently, FFA students participated in FFA Day at the State Capitol. During their visit, students met with representatives Max Rymer and Jimmy Gordon to advocate for FFA and Ag education, as well as taking the time to tour and learn about the state capitol!

SKOL! and congratulations to Annabelle Lattimore and Andrew Witkowski, the 2024-25 ExCEL (Excellence in Community, Education, and Leadership) Award nominees for North Branch Area High School! The MSHSL ExCEL Award recognizes high school juniors active in school activities, leaders in their schools, and who demonstrate a strong commitment to community service. Annabelle is a 3-sport athlete, choir participant, NHS member, and a peer tutor. She volunteers with Operation Christmas Child. Andrew is a 2-sport athlete, symphonic and jazz band member, knowledge bowl and FTC Robotics participant. He has volunteered at Chisago County Community Center.

Use this link to watch this evening's 3rd grade concert "We Believe in Music" live: https://youtube.com/live/bmr-TJbIxeE?feature=share The 3rd grade concerts start at 6:15 pm and continue at 7:15...enjoy the show!

Here's photos from FFA week at NBAHS (Feb. 17-21). Students celebrated with a daily trivia question with prizes for correct answers. Students also read books to Education Center students, participated in a medallion hunt with clues each day, and finished the week with Bingo at all the lunches on Friday! It was a huge success for the school's first ever FFA week!

Use this link to watch this evening's 4th grade concert "Catch the Rhythm" live: https://youtube.com/live/rmQqRoAygYg?feature=share The 4th grade concerts start at 6:15 pm and continue at 7:15. See flier for schedule...enjoy!

North Branch Area Middle School 7th graders created food-themed layered paper collage projects in art class. They had the option of being inspired by Dairy Queen menu items and 27 students chose to do so. Our focus was creating depth through MANY layers with an emphasis on the shape, size, color and placement of paper pieces. This project is much more challenging than it appears to be because students have to work sequentially and really think about the order of when and how they attach the pieces together. The actual projects are on display at our North Branch Dairy Queen right now through Sunday, March 16. A huge THANK YOU to Dairy Queen owners James and Heidi Fowler, plus Alizabeth the manager for agreeing to collaborate with art teacher, Lee Ann Falen, and her students. Come check out their work in person! Fan Appreciation day at the North Branch Dairy Queen is Saturday, March 1, with menu items 50% off.

Coming up in Community Ed! Growing Sweet Potatoes in your Home Garden Feb 27 / 6-7:30 pm Chiropractic Care & Wellness For School Age Feb 27 / 7-8 pm Avoid the Pitfalls of Perimenopause/Menopause Virtual Workshop Mar 3 / 6-7:30 pm Fast Family Meals Virtual Mar 4 / 6:30-8 pm Registration here: https://northbranch.cr3.rschooltoday.com/public/getprogram/ or call 651-674-1025.

Thanks to the Snow Court for visiting with students across the district today! At the Ed Center, students greeted the court with a "snowball" fight (wadded up paper), and they were only too happy to join in! After the mayhem, the court answered questions from students.

Statebound gymnasts Dakota Esget and Ella Dick were treated to a walking pep rally at the high school yesterday. The two will compete this Saturday, Feb. 22 at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium at 11 am. Best of luck!!!