NEW SITE!

Hope everyone is having a great summer!! We have changed our blogspot and we are now at:

http://trailblazersfpa.blogspot.com

Thanks so much!

Welcome Back

Welcome Back!! We hope everyone had a great long weekend! It's that time of year when the countdown is on and our Footprints Students are glad to say that they have 11 days left of school. 11 days! Where has the time gone? I feel like we just had the Halloween Party and now all of a sudden I have pictures from the Spring Carnival. It was great to see everyone on the 17th, we hope you had as good of a time as we did!

As the school year ends we have a few more upcoming events for our parents and students. This FRIDAY May 29th will be the Wine Gala put on by the Footbridge PTA. This event starts at 7:00pm and will cost $15.00 in advance or $20.00 at the door. We look forward to seeing you there.

Wednesday June 10th the students have early dismissal and what better way to celebrate the end of the year than golfing. Come to Cimarron Golf Course in Lake Elmo for 9 holes of family fun. Tee times will begin at 1:30pm and the picnic will begin at 2:00pm at the Robbins' House. We look forward to seeing you there!

With all this talk about the school year ending that brings us to SUMMER! We are very excited about summer camp and all the fun activities we have planned! The final Junior Camp Counselor schedules will be coming out soon so look for those to be posted online. Otherwise we have our deadlines for Summer Camp Sessions 2 and 3.

Summer Camp Session 2 Deadline: June 19th

Summer Camp Session 3 Deadline: July 17th

Please let Corey or myself know if you have any comments, questions, or concerns about anything! Thank you for all you do and for making the 2008-2009 school year so successful!

Update

Basketball Club will be finishing up next Thursday, May 7th. The kids have had a fabulous time and have learned a lot from Mr. Corey. We are looking into starting up a kickball club for the remainder of the school year. It would be one day a week for all who want to join. Look for details and more information on the gym door!

We are so proud of all the students. They do so many great things and we had a chance to see it on Tuesday afternoon at the Showcase Extravaganza. We have a great school and a lot of students who show their hard work and dedication everyday.

Fun in the sun!

We are all so thankful for the weather last week that we wanted to share some of our fun with you. As you can see even though we are outside we are still taking advantage of teamwork and studying together; we are quizzing each other on our state capitals. We are still encouraging all of the students to get their homework done inside before we head out but we are also encouraging them to continue to work outside. I mean come on if we can enjoy a good book outside then we can do a little studying too.

We wanted to let everyone know that last week we started putting sunscreen on all of the children. If you have any questions about special sunscreen please see Mr. Corey or myself and we will be able to help you. As of right now we are using the rest of our supplies before we order more for the summer. The kids weren't very excited about the start of the sunscreen, or skunk-screen as most of them call it. However, we figure that it's better to be safe than sorry and if they want to enjoy the sun then they need to have it on.

Last week was an awesome week to be outside. We love it when we can pull the JCC's out of their room and bring them outside with us. Not only do they entertain the teachers but they are also great helpers and step up when they need too.
This weather is definitely bringing the idea of summer camp closer. Which speaking of summer camp have you turned in your forms yet? We are hoping that you are thinking about summer just as muh as we are. I know we have said it a lot but there is a lot of fun stuff that is planned for this summer and we hope to see everyone there!

Oh yea and look for us outside on Thursday for sure, 80 degrees!

Updates

We hope everyone had a great weekend and enjoyed the weather, whether it was looking for Easter eggs or reading a good book in the sun. Can you believe it 8 weeks and 2 days left of school! We can definitely tell that the kids are ready for summer to begin. As the weather gets nicer we are hoping that we can start heading back outside in the morning. However if students have homework or need to work with teachers we will make sure we accomodate to everyones needs. Speaking of outside we are hoping that the playground continues to stay dry. However, we are still asking that the kids wear boots, jackets, and hats. We figure that it is easier to be prepared and have the option to remove layers rather than search to find items to keep us warm.

Basketball Club is off and running. The kids are having a great time and learning that they all have a competitive side to them. The kindergartners and 1st graders are enjoying their time on Tuesdays and the 2nd-6th graders are really showing their skills on Thursdays.

A few things to remember...

*Check the white board to the left of the front desk to find out where the kids are after school

*Mad Science is April 20th, sign ups are on the gym door

*Free Dress Day is Friday April 24th

*All School Carnival is Saturday May 16th

*Summer Camp Session I registration forms are due May 22nd

*Baseball Clinic Session I registration forms are due May 26th

We hope everyone is enjoying the nice weather like we are. Please continue to address us with any questions or concerns you may have!

Springtime!

Last week was spring break and the kids had an absolute blast! The week started with a craft extravaganza and a whole lot of paint. The kids had plenty of projects to choose from and did a great job creating great master pieces of art. On Tuesday we took all the kids to Bielenberg Sport Center where we had the whole field house to ourselves. The kids had complete freedom and control of what they wanted to do while spending their time there. The ultimate high light was when 3 high school boys showed up and the agreed to play soccer with the trailblazers. They kindergarten boys decided it should be the 3 boys versus all of Footprints. Footprints did a great job and won 5-3, the looks on many of the kids faces was priceless. On Wednesday that fun continued with a card tournament. The kids separated into their own groups and had a chance to play different games. The kids played spoons, go fish, crazy eights, speed, and war. I know you were jealous you couldn't make it so you should ask your son or daughter to play a game with you or even better have them teach you one of our games. On Thursday the kids had a chance to go to Rising Stars Gymnastics Academy. We had some students that were hesitant about the whole gymnastics thing but I can tell you that once they got there they all had smiles on their faces. When we arrived we all met on the floor to do a large group warm up. After that they were split into 3 groups so they all could make it to every station. One group was the trampolines, one was the foam block pit, and one group was at an obstacle course that they had created for us. The kids did a great job and had a great time. Finally on Friday we could tell that the students had a long week and needed a day to relax and prepare them for school to start on Monday. We decided it was a great day for a movie so we watched "Meet the Robinsons" and let the kids have some time to lounge around.

We hope that you had a great spring break. If you didn't hang out with us let us know what you did on your break...we would love to hear!

Just a few reminders...

1. ALL PROGRAMS CLOSED FRIDAY APRIL 3rd

2. Basketball Club sign ups are up on the gym door

3. Mad Science is Monday March 30th

4. If your child attends district 833 we WILL NOT be having care available the week of the 30th.

5. Please continue to bring in your child's boots because as the weather gets nicer our playground gets a little messy.

March is here!

Where has the time gone? I feel like just yesterday I was writing a blog welcoming Mr. Corey and now it is March and everything is on a roll. The kids had a blast Friday at Maggie Moos. Each group had a chance to see how they make their cakes, ice cream, and even had a chance to decorate their own cupcakes. I would have to say that Cotton Candy ice cream seemed to be a strong favorite due to the large amounts of blue mouths! They were all very excited to eat their ice cream and come back and have their cupcakes for snack.

Please remember that spring break is next week and we still have a lot of blank spots next to students names. We have many things planned for next week and we hope we get to see everyones smiling faces! Also Rising Stars permission slips are out and we are asking that you turn them in by WEDNESDAY MARCH 11th.

Basketball Club is in the final works of preparation and will begin Tuesday April 7th. This club will meet Tuesday and Thursdays from 4:15-5:15pm. The cost is $15.00 and the students will alternate days; Tuesdays K-2 and Thursdays 3-6. Sign ups will be posted on the overlook doors as well as the gym doors. Running club is also in the works and will beginning sometime after spring break. It was a huge success this fall and I know the Footprints teachers are very excited to do it again.

One last thing....SUMMER CAMP, SUMMER CAMP, SUMMER CAMP!!! Just in case you forgot!

FYI

Just a few quick reminders about the next few months:

*Please turn in your permission slip if you are planning on going to Maggie Moos' on Friday March 6th. We will be taking the Footprints/Trailblazers vans and going in shifts between the times of 11 and 3 with a break for lunch at noon.

*Floor Hockey Club is off to a great start, the kids had a ton of fun yesterday with stick handling, passing, and a four on four game. If you are still interested feel free to sign up or let me (Erin) know.

*ALL PROGRAMS WILL BE CLOSED FRIDAY APRIL 3RD FOR STAFF TRAINING

*Check out our links to the side or pick up your summer packet at the front desk! Session 1 registration is DUE MAY 22nd.

*Don't forget to let us know if your child will be attending Trailblazers the week of spring break, the sign ups are posted on the gym doors. The activities for the week include:
-Craft Extravaganza
-Bielenberg Sports Center: Soccer Activites
-Card Tournament
-Rising Stars: Open Gym
-Dodgeball Tournament

Finally please feel free to address us with any concerns you have! We continue to have a blast everyday with your child(ren) and we hope they feel the same in return!

Spring Break/Summer

Anyone want to play some floor hockey after school? Floor Hockey Club will start next Monday the 23rd and run till the end of March. Look for sign up sheets on the glass doors when you enter the gym or the doors upstairs when you enter the overlook. We are very excited to get that started and then to have basketball and running club following soon behind. Also we will be having sign ups for spring break week that will be posted soon so if you can let us know if you will or will not be attending that would be great. If your child attends another school and does not have the same spring break as Footprints Academy, please let us know if you will be looking for care during the week of March 30th. If we have enough students that need care we will have Trailblazers open that week, however we need to know so we can prepare for staffing.

The summer camp information is now available online on the Footprints Academy website as well as in the lobby across from the front desk. Pick up your packets now and reserve your spot for the summer. There is a lot going on and the Trailblazer team is very excited for the weather to start changing and for the summer to begin!

Welcome Back Mr. Corey!!

Welcome Back! For those of you that didn't know Mr. Corey isn't new he is actually a returning player to the team. Corey started Monday Jan. 26 and was very excited to get right into the action and go snow tubing with all the studets. In the past Corey worked in preschool so he is very excited to see all his past students again as well as develop relationships with the other students. Corey is very excited to pick up the pieces and get the ball rolling as School Age Coordinator.

Corey has a bachelors degree in exercise sports and science and has a huge passion for sports. In the next month Corey is looking to start some after school sports club that will include: floor hockey, dance, and basketball. If you have any ideas that you would like to contribute please let the trailblazer team know.

Please keep a look out for the 2009 Summer Camp schedule as final changes are being made. We are all very excited for this return and have nothing but positive thoughts about the remainder of the school year. If you have any questions or concern you can contact Corey at cstrinmoen@footprintsacademy.com.

FYI ALL PROGRAMS ARE CLOSED ON FEB 13 FOR STAFF TRAINING DAY!