Will you join us to celebrate Kim's service?

School board chair Kim Salo has been serving students and families of the North Branch Area Public Schools (NBAPS) community since 1998 as a board member and as chair for over 13 years. At the November school board meeting Salo announced her intention to resign her seat at the end of December.

NBAPS would like to invite anyone and everyone in the community to a social hour planned from 6 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 12. The social hour will be held in room 126 of the North Branch Area Education Center, and include snacks, refreshments, cake, and time for reflection. Please be encouraged to bring children to this event, as the children of this community are Salo's passion.

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Parent Academy returns Nov. 16!

Session 2: Saturday, Nov. 16, 2013
Topic: Technology

This session is designed for parents to explore different technologies being used both in and out of the classroom. Parents will become familiar with the district’s technology initiatives and goals as well as ways to support learning through technology outside the school day, specifically in the areas of literacy and math. This session will be offered at North Branch Area High School from 8:00-11:00 a.m. with three, 45-minute workshops with free childcare available. Call 651-674-1025 to register.

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Give to the Max lass than a week away

Next Thursday is Give to the Max Day again! Last year we raised over $4,000 as a district toward technology in the classroom and this year we would like to shatter that total! This year you can start scheduling donations for Give to the Max Day right now!

Click this link to access links for participating sites and programs.

Please share this post with anyone you know who supports North Branch Area Public Schools and let's make some noise on Give to the Max Day!

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MMR results a reason for Viking pride!

MDE released the MMR results for schools across the state yesterday, and ours were great! Click this link to read how your school did.

Many thanks to our staff, students, families, and community members. This is what Viking pride is all about!

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Help us build on our sucess!

North Branch Area Public Schools (NBAPS) is coming to the end of its five-year strategic plan and wants your input on the next generation.

The existing plan "Mapping Our Future" resulted in sweeping changes to curriculum, security, community engagement, and educational offerings over the five years it successfully guided NBAPS. Now, NBAPS wants community input again to help guide the next five years of district growth with "Building on Success - NBAPS Strategic Focus 2013-2018."

There will be two public input sessions; May 21 at 5:30 p.m. in the Sunrise River School cafeteria, and May 23, at 11:30 a.m. in room 126 of the North Branch Area Education Center. Both meetings will include a free meal and free child care.

If you are unable to attend either of these meetings but would like to provide input, click here to access the strategic plan feedback form.

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FREE all-day everyday K coming soon!

In case you have not heard, North Branch Area Public Schools is offering FREE all-day everyday kindergarten starting in the fall of 2013-14. If you would like to register for this very exciting program, click here to access registration materials. If you have any questions about this program, or a half-day option, call the Sunrise River School at 651-674-1100.

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Parents seeing the benefits of technology in the classroom

Here is a very interesting study on how parents of school-age children view digital devices, including this fact:

Among parents whose children are required to use portable or mobile devices at school, 93 percent said they completely or somewhat agreed that the devices could make learning more fun, as compared to 83 percent of other parents who responded. The two groups overlapped less for all other learning benefits and showed the greatest divergence when asked if they agreed that mobile or portable devices could help their children "excel or perform better in school," when they responded positively at a rate of 77 percent and 50 percent, respectively.

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