Although there was no school on Friday, November 8, the Zephyr Cooking Club kept middle schoolers busy with a visit to the Midtown Global Market in Minneapolis.

Students toured the Indigenous Food Lab, learned about Indigenous foods, and discussed access to Indigenous foods and cooking preparation methods. They sampled Wóžapi sauce (a berry sauce). After their tour, they could try foods from around the market, including bison walking tacos, sunflower cookies and Nepali momos (dumplings).

Registration is open at Mahtomedi Eleyo for upcoming after-school activities and the next service learning field trip.

Mahtomedi Area Preschool (MAP) teachers use a comprehensive literacy curriculum, including Literacy Without Tears (LWT), Handwriting Without Tears. (HWT), and Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS). The littlest Zephyrs have fun with a variety of activities, including Wet, Dry, Try and the Mat-Man song.

The LETRS curriculum provides a framework for teaching language and literacy to our youngest learners.

The Picture Story/Word Story strategy involves knowing what the phases of writing development look like in early childhood, and encouraging students to experiment with written language at their own developmental level. 

With this strategy, a teacher begins by collecting a writing sample from students to determine the phases of writing encompassed by the class. Next, the teacher draws a horizontal line in the middle of a piece of paper. The top half of the page will serve as the Picture Story, where the teacher will draw. The bottom half will be the Word Story, where the teacher will model writing related to the picture above. The teacher starts with phonetic phases, including writing the sentence conventionally. Then, the teacher demonstrates each additional stage (phonetic, semiphonetic, random letter strings, letters, and scribbles) to meet students’ needs.

This strategy encourages students that they can all be writers in their own ways.

In Veterans Memorial Park, a tree will be lit to remember people who have passed, to honor those who inspire, and to brighten the day of someone struggling. The lights represent loved ones. No registration is required to attend the event.

Lights are sold for $10 each - all proceeds benefit the Mahtomedi Area Food Shelf. To purchase a light:

• Visit the food shelf at Saint Jude of the Lake Church

• Visit the Mahtomedi Area Food Shelf website

• Contact Lisa at 651-395-5352 or lmoriarty@stjudeofthelake.org

This event's community partners include Mahtomedi Community Education, the City of Mahtomedi, MAEF, Wildwood Lions Club, the Mahtomedi Fire Department, American Legion Post 507, and Mahtomedi Public Works.

• Mahtomedi Community Groups

• Mahtomedi Athletic Associations and Recreation Clubs