Minnesota Excellence in Learning Academy

At Minnesota Excellence in Learning Academy, we believe books are treasures… so we turned reading and writing into something magical ✨📚

Yes: we have a Book Vending Machine!

But here’s the twist…
Students don’t use money to get a book.
They use their words.

Each week, students respond to a creative writing prompt. They stretch their imagination, practice their craft, and share their voices. Our weekly winners receive a special token… and that token unlocks a brand new book from our vending machine to take home and keep forever.

We are building:
📖 A love of reading
✍🏽 Confident writers
💡 Creative thinkers
❤️ Joyful learners

Because at MELA, literacy is not just a skill - it’s a celebration.

Watching a student carefully choose their very own book is pure magic. And the pride on their faces? Priceless.

Words open doors. And at MELA… they open vending machines too. 💫

No school 1/23/26 due to frigid temperatures. Stay safe!

Due to the forecast of heavy snow and rapidly worsening road conditions, we have made the decision to close school for tomorrow Wednesday, December 10th 2025, to ensure the safety of all our students, families, and staff.

Keeping our community safe is always our top priority. With the expected snowfall and reduced visibility, we want to avoid having students and staff on the roads during the most dangerous hours specially cause tomorrow is already a half day.

Thank you for your understanding and partnership. Please stay safe, and enjoy the extra time indoors with your families.

Help us congratulate two of our winners from this week’s book competition! Every week, the stories get better and better! Winners receive a book from our Book Vending Machine! We’re so proud of our MELA students!

Please consider supporting our incredible MELA community so we can continue empowering students to learn, grow, and face the challenges of our world with strength, compassion, and hope.

Support Spark Joy at MELA #BigHeart on GiveMN MELA, "The Little School with the Big Heart," is a joyful learning community that needs your help!

Our first book fair of the year starts Monday!!! We are very excited!!! Drawing made by one of our 5th grade students!!

Here are some pictures of our book winners so far!!!

How can students earn a token?

• By meeting a class or individual learning goal
• By winning one of our school competitions
• By being recognized with MELA tickets that build up to a token

We can’t wait to see our students grow as readers and leaders through this fun and rewarding program!

📚✨ Exciting News! ✨📚

To encourage reading and celebrate positive behavior, we now have a brand-new, beautiful Book Vending Machine at MELA!

Students won’t buy books with money - instead, they’ll use special tokens they earn through their hard work and leadership.

How can students earn a token?
• By meeting a class or individual learning goal
• By winning one of our school competitions
• By being recognized with MELA tickets that build up to a token

Every token is a chance to pick a brand-new book to add to the classroom library OR to take home and keep forever.

We can’t wait to see our students grow as readers and leaders through this fun and rewarding program!

Dear MELA Families, Students, and Staff,

We are working hard to make sure everything is ready for our students! As we gear up for the new school year, I’d like to ask for your support - and your child’s!

This year, we’ll be using Bolt Bucks to encourage positive behavior and responsibility in the cafeteria.

To earn a Bolt Buck, the entire class must:

- Keep their cafeteria table clean
- Follow all cafeteria expectations as a shared community space

Bolt Bucks will be earned by the whole class and saved collectively. Students will work with their teacher to decide how to spend their classroom’s earnings. Here are some of the exciting rewards:

- 5 Bolt Bucks – A new book for the classroom library
- 10 Bolt Bucks – Extra recess
- 20 Bolt Bucks – Popcorn and movie party
- 50 Bolt Bucks – Pizza for lunch
- 100 Bolt Bucks – A class field trip

We’re very excited about this new initiative, and we’d love your help choosing which of the two designs will become our official Bolt Buck!

Please cast your vote using this form: https://forms.gle/9Pz79f1diaB49xoH7

Voting closes Thursday, August 7th!

Thank you for your continued support!
Best regards,

Families, I hope you’re all enjoying your summer!! We’re sharing this fun opportunity as we always want to encourage summer reading! ❤️

The Book It! Summer of Stories™ summer program officially kicks off on June 1!

To help you get started, we've created a User Guide (Link Below) with helpful information to navigate the app and track your child’s reading progress.

Book It! Summer of Stories™ App User Guide - https://www.bookitprogram.com/app-user-guide

Reminder: Your child must read at least 20 minutes a day for 15 days before you'll be able to receive the reward code for a free 1 topping Personal Pan Pizza®

Let's make this a summer full of stories, fun, and pizza!

Thank you for supporting BOOK IT!®

As their final projects, all 6th grade students develop a project about a topic they are passionated about.

One of our students decided to create an “animal shelter” for stuffed animals!! Her idea is that all the students at MELA should go home for the summer with a stuffed animal they adopt - and a book to read to their new pet friend while school is out!

If you have any stuffed animals in good condition, please consider donating them to us! They’ll certainly go to wonderful new homes!

We’re very proud of our students and we love supporting their projects!

Thank you!