Thursday, January 26, 2023

Leer en Español
Af-Soomaali ku akhri

From your Proud Principal

Clarence Pollock




Happy Lunar or Chinese New Year to all our families that celebrate!

TONIGHT! Festival of Nations, 6 - 8 p.m. at Susan Lindgren

Kick off the long weekend with a night of FUN!  Get your face painted & a henna tattoo! Play BINGO and make origami!  Enjoy live performances & a dance party! Try a fun obstacle course and lacrosse! Learn about the many cultures of our Susan Lindgren community through food tastings, poster boards, and more!  


Welcome tables will be set up at both school entrances with event information and passports for all children.  The schedule of events will be posted around the building; get a sneak peek here.

A Family Bus is available for FREE transportation to and from the event.  All students must have a parent or guardian accompany them on the bus. Please find Family Bus Stops in English, Spanish, and Somali.  

The event will not serve a full meal so please plan accordingly.  Water and lemonade will be available, as well as food samples from some Susan Lindgren Families, Mexico City, and Park Tavern Pizza. 


A HUGE thank you to the Festival of Nations Committee including multilingual staff Carmen Rudin, Rebecca Phalin, and Elizabeth Guzman, and parents Sarah Scott, Kelsey Ankeny, Heather McDonald, and Meghan Aanenson for their effort planning this inaugural event! 

Important Reminders for Families


  • TONIGHT from 6:00-8:00 PM Festival of Nations Family Event~. You don't want to miss this fun and informative event. Hope to see you tonight!


  • No School Tomorrow, Friday, January 27th ~ End of Semester Grading Day


  • Monday, January 30th at 4:00 PM ~ Family Connections Sign Up Links will be sent out via a special edition of the Susan Lindgren Communicator


  • Thursday, February 2nd ~ First Semester Student Progress Reports will be sent home in student back packs


  • No School Friday, February 3rd ~ District Professional Development Day


  • Family Connections (Formerly called Parent Teacher Conferences) Thursday, February 16th from 2:30-6:30 PM & Friday,February 17th from 7:30 AM - 3:30 PM Offered in Person or Virtual


  • No School Monday, February 20th ~ Presidents' Day Holiday


Paraprofessional week

Thank you, Paras!


Susan Lindgren Amazing Para Team!



Angela Davis, Aneadra Davis, Lorna Smith. Mary Quinn, Erik Bergland, Modette Broz, Jen Baumgarten, Brenda Liang, Grace Hirte, Jodi Lorentz, John Frommelt, Sarah Farnham, Emma Hillis, Lisa Jergenson, Abby Fox, Kristie Knudson, Susie Jones, Jennifer Vaillancourt and Michelle Gutzke


January 23-29 is Minnesota Paraprofessional Recognition Week. Our school community wishes to thank our paraprofessionals, who are a vital part of our school community and student success!


Please say thank you to the paras who you work with!


Spotlight Kids the Susan Lindgren musical theater program is hosting a Parent's Night Out as a fundraiser for this season. On February 10th from 5-8 PM you may drop off any kid who is potty trained to Susan Lindgren. They will play games, do crafts and eat dinner while you go out to enjoy some time. We are asking for a suggested donation of $20/kid, please feel free to donate as you see fit. Sign-up for this amazing opportunity here. 

We could not do the wonderful things we do at our school without all of you and your never-ending support. We are a village and family for all of our 428 learners! 

 

Your Proud Partner in Learning,

Clarence Pollock

Principal

Ms. McDonald's Kinder Community Math Games

Key Dates for Families


  • Thursday, January 26- Festival of Nations- 6:00-8:00 PM at Susan Lindgren


  • Friday, January 27 - No School - End of Semester Grading/Work Day



  • Thursday, February 2nd - First Semester Progress Reports send home is student backpacks


  • Friday, February 3 - No School- Districtwide Professional Development Day
  • Monday, February 13 -



  • Thursday, February 16th - Family Connections (Conferences) 2:30-6:30 PM


  • Friday, February 17 - No School- Family Connections (Conferences) 7:30AM - 3:30 PM


  • Thursday, February 16 and Friday February 17- Book Fair in the SL Media Center during Family Connections


  • Monday, February 20 - No School - Presidents' Day Holiday

Attention All Girls in Grades K-8

Fifth Grade Band Concert Information ~ Thursday, March 9

Fifth Grade Band Students are expected to participate in the annual SLP District Band Showcase on Thursday, March 9. Fifth grade students will start rehearsing at 5:20 PM before the concert which starts at 7:00 PM.


Arrive:

5:20 PM Students should arrive in enough time to set up their stand, instrument, music

Where:

St. Louis Park High School - Field House (Large Gymnasium)

Wear:

Top: white or black (no words or images if possible)

Bottom: dark color or black

Bring:

Instrument, concert music, music stand (if you own one)


Please let me know if you have questions, don't have a music stand, or need assistance getting to the high school at 5:20 PM. Encourage your student to practice at home. Please check your emails for practice videos.


Thank you for your support,

Emilie Bertram, Elementary Band Teacher

bertram.emilie@slpschools.org

Hennepin County Library, St. Louis Park

Kindergarten Open House

Spotlight Kids Fundraisers

Fundraisers:

Gotsneakers?: We would truly appreciate a donation of any sneakers (tennis shoes) that you are going to be getting rid of this year. Please bring them to the front office of Susan Lindgren or send with your student to drop off. Please see the attached document to learn more about Gotsneakers


Chipotle: Mark your calendar: March 7th 4-8 PM any purchase from Excelsior Blvd. (by Park Nicollet) Chipotle will give Susan Lindgren Spotlight kids 30% of the sales. You will need to bring the upcoming flyer either electronically or in hard copy. 


Donations: 

Snacks: We will be serving approximately 100 students snacks twice a week for 17 weeks. Any donations of snacks would be greatly appreciated. Please send snack donations to the front office. Here is a Sign Up Link for Snack donations.


Carpentry Supplies: If you have a connection or extra construction materials at your residence please let us know. We will be constructing sets and will need all of the supplies to make that happen. Email: Meg Schauer: schauer.meg@slpschools.org 


Fabric: If you have a connection or extra fabric at your residence please let us know. We will be constructing costumes and will need all of the supplies to make that happen. Please email so we can give you more specifics of what we are looking for. 

Email: Meg Schauer: schauer.meg@slpschools.org 


UPDATE for Susan Lindgren Spotlight Kids: 

The first dates of rehearsal will be 1/10/23 and 1/12/23.


We are excited for this opportunity and greatly appreciate any and all support! If you have any questions or concerns please reach out.


Sincerely,

Ms. Schauer schauer.meg@slpschools.org (Director)

Mr. Thomas thomas.joseph@slpschools.org (Musical Director)

Ms. Bertram bertram.emilie@slpschools.org (Choreographer) 

Ms. Nelson nelson.robin@slpschools.org (Producer) 

Important PTO News and Updates



Staff Appreciation During Family Connect:

February 16 & 17, 2023

It's time to show appreciation and celebrate our teachers & staff during Winter Family Connect meetings. They put in long hours on these days and what better to thank them but..with food! 


Thursday, February 16 will include an afternoon meat, cheese, crackers, nuts, veggies, and olive bar, then an evening baked pasta dinner.. Friday, February 17 will have morning doughnuts and coffee then Jimmy John's & Chips for lunch. The Snack Cart will be up and running in the mailroom ALL DAY Friday!


We are asking for your help! You can contribute in three ways:

  1. Make a financial donation to cover the costs of ordered food: coffee, meat & cheese tray, doughnuts, sandwiches, and snack cart. 
  2. Sign up to bring a food item.
  3. Volunteer with us! We would love help with set up and clean up. You can sign up here. You can also go drop off a message from your family for the teachers and staff. We will post these messages in the lounge.


If you would like to contribute funds to support these efforts, please first sign-up here and then second, make a payment using the DONATE/PayPal button on the Susan Lindgren PTO webpage. For planning purposes, we are requesting all financial contributions be received by MONDAY, February 13. If you have any questions, contact Aimee Munson (612-385-8881) or Tara DiNicola (612-702-7636).

Scholastic Book Fair

The Scholastic Book Fair will be returning to the Media Center during Family Connections!


Keep an eye out for volunteer sign up coming real soon! We will need a lot of parent volunteers to help sell books- it’s a lot of fun and great to see the joy new books bring! Save the date: 



  • Thursday, February 16th from 2:30-6:30 PM
  • Friday, February 17th from 7:30 AM - 3:30 PM

Math Night- TBD in March! 

Keep your eyes out for an invitation to Math Night, happening sometime in March! Math Night is hosted with Mathnasium and is set up like a fun carnival of math activities! The event will be held in the evening in the Susan Lindgren gym. Contact Emily Hynes (emily.hurm@gmail.com) or Francie Steich (francie.streich@gmail.com) with questions.  


PTO Meeting Minutes 

The PTO Meeting Minutes from the January 17 meeting are now available for review.  Thanks to all the families who attended online or in person and to our Lead Teachers, Mr. Pollock, Colin Cox, Susan Lindgren’s school board liaison, and guest speakers for your contributions!  


Letter Day Calendars for January & February

St. Louis Park School District

News & Updates Section

23-24 calendar icon

2023-24 Calendar Now Available

The School Board approved the 2023-2024 school calendar at the December 13, 2022 Board Meeting. Visit the calendar page on the website and click on the calendar for next school year (23-24).

We’re Improving Weather-Related Notifications

St. Louis Park Public Schools is making sure families receive weather-related announcements in a more timely manner with these improvements:


  • Weather-related announcements will be prioritized in our notification system, which will significantly speed up the time it takes for families to receive calls.


  • Our system will now call up to two contact numbers listed for each student. Previously the default was to only contact one unless otherwise designated. 


  • We now have a solution in place to mitigate the issue of SLP emails going to spam.


  • Families can now receive communications in their preferred language, such as Somali and Spanish. If we are unable to record a multilingual call, the family receives the phone message in English and the email in the preferred language.


  • In addition to local news outlets airing school closings/delays, we are expanding our media partners to include KMNV La Raza Radio and other language-specific news agencies. 


  • In the coming months, we will begin the process of enabling text message notifications.


Want to receive District emails and phone recordings in Spanish or Somali?

Families can now receive district-level communications (emails and phone recordings) in a preferred language such as Spanish or Somali. If you wish to update your language preferences, please contact our front office staff and ask that the preferred guardian language be updated in the student information system (PowerSchool). This will ensure you receive district-level communications such as closures and emergencies in your preferred messages. Whenever possible, we will do our best to ensure SLP phone recordings go out in your preferred language. 

Want to receive District emails and phone recordings in Spanish or Somali?


Families can now receive district-level communications (emails and phone recordings) in a preferred language such as Spanish or Somali. Some families currently receive messages in Spanish or Somali and may wish to receive information in English.

 

If you wish to update your language preferences, please contact your school and ask that the preferred guardian language be updated in our student information system (PowerSchool). This will ensure you receive district-level communications such as closures and emergencies in your preferred messages.

 

Whenever possible, we will do our best to ensure SLP phone recordings go out in your preferred language.

Central clinic

Central Community Clinic

The Central Community Clinic is a free, walk-in clinic for children from birth to high school who live or go to public or private schools in St. Louis Park. Central Clinic's mission is to reduce barriers to healthcare for the children and youth of our community. 


Services are no-cost and include: 

  • treatment for acute illness and injuries
  • well-child/baby check-ups
  • immunizations and vaccines (for uninsured/Medical Assistance/MNCARE)
  • sports and camp physicals
  • sexual health care

Interpreters can be arranged by calling ahead of time. At this time, Central Clinic is not able to administer Covid vaccines.


Hours: Tuesdays & Thursdays from 1:00-4:30 p.m. 

Location: Central Community Center - 6300 Walker Street - Door 7

Contact: Call 952-933-1100 or email central clinic@parknicollet.com


Dental Care

Low cost dental care is also available at this location. Call Children's Dental Services to make an appointment at 612-746-1530.


The Central Clinic was founded in 1996 as a response to the Children First initiative. The clinic is funded by a grant from the Park Nicollet Foundation, staffed by doctors from Park Nicollet Creekside Clinic, and governed by an advisory council.


Somali Central Clinic Flyer

Spanish Central Clinic Flyer

Early childhood screening

Early Childhood Screening

The state of Minnesota requires all children to complete an Early Childhood Screening before entering kindergarten. The screening is most valuable at age 3.5 years old.


Early Childhood Screenings:

  • include a vision, hearing, and developmental assessment as well as an opportunity to discuss any circumstances that you feel may affect your child's learning readiness. 
  • identify any areas in which your child may benefit from early childhood services before they enter kindergarten
  • can connect families with appropriate resources and programs to best support their child
  • take approximately 45 minutes to one hour to complete

Screening results can be submitted to any public school in the state of Minnesota. Click here to register your child for a screening at the Central Early Learning Center (6300 Walker Street). Call 952-928-6774 or email Jenna Reynolds (reynolds.jenna@slpschools.org) with questions. 



Sign up for Board Briefs

We’re now publishing an e-newsletter with highlights from School Board meetings. Briefs or subscribe to future newsletters.

Clarence Pollock, Susan Lindgren Principal

Arsenio Richardson, Susan Lindgren Elementary Support Supervisor

Jane Watts, Susan Lindgren Administrative Assistant to the Principal
952-928-6698 ~ watts.jane@slpschools.org

District School Calendar

District School Calendar 2022-2023

Familias Latinas

Familias Latinas de nuestras escuelas, ahora ya tenemos una página de Facebook con información totalmente en español! Les invitamos a visitar y a darnos un me gusta.







Clarence Pollock, Principal

Arsenio Richardson, Elementary Support Supervisor


4801 West 41st Street

St. Louis Park, MN 55416

Phone: 952-928-6700

Fax: 952-928-6713

pollock.clarence@slpschools.org

https://sl.slpschools.org

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