GALLERY: Share Your Back-to-School Photos

Folks who want to share their photos either can email them to Burnsville Patch or upload them directly to this post.

Social media sites like Facebook are filled with back-to-school photos today. With that in mind, Patch is putting together a photo gallery of Apple Valley and Rosemount students. Anyone who would like to submit their first-day-of-school photos can email them to clare.kennedy@patch.com or photos can uploaded by clicking the “Upload Photos and Videos” button above.

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ISD 191's Pre-K Program to Kick Off on Sept. 10

Parents will have a chance to check out the program during two open houses in the weeks to come.

Starting Sept. 10, District 191's Tiny Tots Preschool will be in session. Tiny Tots preschool is fee-based program for kids aged three to five. Until recently, the district's kindergarten program also required a monthly or yearly payment from parents, but the school board approved a new, free all-day kindergartent program in January.  Classes are offered at Diamondhead Education Center in Burnsville, Hamilton in Savage and Rahn Elementary in Eagan. To get kids and parents warmed up for the new school year, the district will offer on-site open houses on Sept. 6 and 7. Open houses will take place at the location where your child is registered.  For students attending Tuesday/Thursday classes, open houses will take place on Thursday, Sept. 6…

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Parents Talk

School Supplies Are Just the Beginning: Seven Tips for Back-to-School Week

Hear from a teacher what parents should know about back-to-school week.

  Earlier this month, Samara Postuma wrote about how to shop for school supplies—and the potential nightmare that shopping trip can be. My daughter is 1. Her school supplies are food, so I've got that supply (mostly) covered. But my sister is a teacher in the Robbinsdale School District—and parent to two almost-teenage boys. ("We had an $800 grocery bill in one month this summer," she said last week. With a straight face.) As we began talking about school supplies, I learned a few things about the first day of school from one teacher out there for you. Something to think about beyond that first-day scramble—which arrives for many of you next week. 1. Make sure your kids' lunch money accounts are filled, as much as you can. (Yes, old people…

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Stop Summer Break Backsliding: District 196 Literacy Assessments Scheduled This Week

The assessments last 45 minutes each and will be conducted by classroom teachers from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 21 and Wednesday, Aug. 22.

Editor's Note: The following is an announcement from Independent School District 196, which includes a small portion of Burnsville proper and about 1,000 Burnsville-area students. The week of July 16, the parents and guardians of every child expected to be enrolled at a District 196 elementary school this fall received a letter from their child's school. The letter included the name of their child's teacher for the 2012-13 school year and asked parents to go online to register their child for a summer literacy assessment that will be conducted on August 21 and 22 at all 18 elementary schools in the district. The summer literacy assessments will give all elementary teachers the achievement data needed to target instruction for their …

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BHS Students Compete at Hooverball National Championships

A group of A.P. history students followed their passion for Herbert Hoover's presidential pastime all the way to West Branch, IA.

It’s been almost 80 years since Herbert Hoover held America’s highest political office, but “hooverball,” a sport made famous by the former president, is alive and well in the halls of Burnsville High School. In fact, the BHS Hooverball Club recently concluded its inaugural season by competing at the 25th Annual National Hooverball Championships in West Branch, IA. “It surprised me, initially,” said BHS social studies teacher Carla Staffa, whose advanced placement U.S. history students took an interest in the game earlier this year. In February, Staffa screened a 10-minute video about Hoover for her A.P. classes. The clip mentioned hooverball, a game invented by the president’s physician to help Hoover lose weight. Staffa’s pupils were …

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Back to School Health Alert: Watch Out for Whooping Cough

As summer is winding down, cases of whooping cough are on the rise in Minnesota and much of the nation. Here's what you can do to keep your kids healthy.

As your kids head off to school this year, a nasty bug may be along for the ride. According to health officials at Dakota County, whooping cough is on the upswing. More than 2,000 cases of whooping cough have been reported statewide, including 150 in Dakota County, which makes this the the largest outbreak of the disease since 1947. The growing epidemic is not limited to Minnesota. Whooping cough, or pertussis, is spreading throughout the U.S. with about 18,000 cases reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention so far. In all there have been 10 pertussis-related deaths in the U.S. over 2012. "The number of cases we're seeing is unprecedented," Kris Ehresmann, the Minnesota Department of Health director of infectious diseases…

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Pack Patch When You Head to College

From Facebook to apps, Apple Valley-Rosemount Patch is here to help you stay in touch with your hometown when you go back to school.

Want to bring along a little piece of home along when you head back to school?  Whether you’re an eager freshman or a wizened senior, let Burnsville Patch help you stay in touch with your hometown while you’re off living the collegiate life.

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District Seeking Interim Principal for M.W. Savage Elementary

With little more than a month before school starts, Principal Jeremy Willey has left M.W. Savage for another post in the Osseo Area School District.

Follow us on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Sign up for our daily newsletter The search is on for an interim principal for M.W. Savage Elementary after Principal Jeremy Willey tendered his resignation this week. Willey will soon head to the northern suburbs, where he has accepted a new job  as Principal of Fernbrook Elementary in the Osseo Area School District. The Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School District is hoping to have a temporary replacement ready by Aug. 30, when the open house for the 2012-2013 school year is scheduled. At this point, it is unclear what the future may hold for the school. The district is grappling with a shrinking budget. The Board of Education has discussed the possibility of school closures in an effort to cut …

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