St. Louis Park Middle School's Weekly News |
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April 12, All students in school (except for distance learners) Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday
April 14 and 15, Student-led conferences
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The Athena Honor Ensemble is a unique music performance opportunity that showcases young female musicians from around the globe. This unique virtual event will include clinics and workshops led by renowned Athena faculty which will provide supplementary music and leadership opportunities for young women. Selected musicians will:
- Create a final, recorded performance to be premiered online this spring.
- Participate in master classes and empowerment sessions with trusted Athena Music and Leadership faculty.
- Develop leadership skills through mentoring opportunities and social-emotional learning activities.
The following SLPMS students were nominated and participated in this performance experience, which premiered on March 28:
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Erin Eichten, clarinet, 6th grade
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Allie Foster, clarinet, 6th grade
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Brooklynne Patterson, alto saxophone, 6th grade
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Renee Dominguez, clarinet, 7th grade
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Maddie Grecco-Rosen, clarinet, 7th grade
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Kayleigh Bishop, percussion, 7th grade
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Kateri Trebnick, flute, 7th grade
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Kylie Kaiser, flute, 7th grade
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Isabel Schmidt, clarinet, 7th grade
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Ellanor Foreman, trumpet, 7th grade
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Alexandra Coronado, percussion, 8th grade
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Julia Lorenzen, percussion, 8th grade
The performing honor ensembles include over 260 honor musicians who represent 90 band and orchestra programs from throughout the United States and Canada. Here is the link of the final virtual performance, which was produced by Athena leadership
Please join me in congratulating them on a fabulous performance, as they they were excellent representatives of the SLP community; I am so proud of them!
Band Teacher
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Students Bring Their Device to School on April 12 |
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Students (cohort A-K and L-Z) should bring their fully charged school issued Chromebook or their fully charged personal device to school on Monday. |
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Lunch Procedures starting April 12 |
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What will Lunch look like with the return to full in-person learning April 12?
As we return to school with combined cohorts on Monday, April 12, we wanted to give families a better picture of what this will look like for students during their lunch period.
First and foremost, for the remainder of the school year, breakfast and lunch are free for everyone.
Students will enter the cafeteria through the door marked "entrance" and exit through the door marked "exit."
All students are expected to wear a mask unless they are eating/drinking.
Students will eat lunch at desks in the cafeteria to ensure social distancing at 6 feet, limiting close contact exposure.
Once students arrive at the cafeteria, they will immediately go to their assigned desk.
On Monday, April 12, and Tuesday, April 13, students may choose to sit where they want to figure out their assigned seats. However, on Thursday, April 15, the seat they choose will be their assigned seat for the rest of the year.
Students will be dismissed by row/section to go through one of two lines to receive a lunch from nutrition staff, including silverware, napkins, and condiments.
Students must wait to eat until they are back at their assigned desk.
Students are expected to sit in their designated area while eating to ensure social distancing.
All students will discard waste at the available bins when they are done eating.
Students will be dismissed by row/section and exit through the field house.
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St. Louis Park Middle School wants to support, honor, and respect all of our Muslim community during Ramadan, especially our students who are choosing to observe this holy month of Ramadan. In order to best do this, we would like to offer our observing students whose families want their child/children to participate in prayer at school the following: Click here to read more and for the permission slip in Somali and click here to read more and for the permission slip in English.
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Safe Learning Plan Update: MS and HS Students Return to In-Person Learning on April 12 |
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St. Louis Park Middle School and High School students will return to school for four days of in-person learning starting Monday, April 12.
Click here to download the District's "Return to School for Increased In-Person Learning" Guide. This publication is full of information that will help create a smooth transition for students and families.
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Help us recognize and support our wonderful Middle School teachers and staff during the upcoming conference days. While we can't do our usual parent potluck meal for teachers on conference days, we can support them by donating boxed meals! We will be ordering 80 boxed meals to support all of the Middle School staff. Please consider contributing to the effort and donate $15 for a teacher! Click on the DONATE link below and contribute to buy a meal (or two!) for a teacher or drop off a check, payable to MS Site Council, in the school office. Please make your donation by April 12. Thank you!
Thank you for your support.
SLP Middle School Site Council
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Spring Student-Led Conferences April 14 and 15
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On Wednesday, April 14, and after school on Thursday, April 15, St. Louis Park Middle School will continue our new conference model with our spring student-led conferences. The student-led conference will be 25 minutes in length and students have been working throughout third quarter by placing their student work and class artifacts in their individual student portfolios to get ready for their conference.
Student-led conference times will be from 8:10 a.m.-7:40 p.m. on April 14, and from 4:20 p.m.-7:45 p.m. on April 15.
On Monday, April 5, a Sign-Up Genius was sent to you from your child's advisory teacher asking that you sign up for the time that works best for you and your student on either April 14 or 15. Families can select whether the conference will be in-person or virtual. Please contact your student's advisory teacher if you have any questions about this.
Please note that all students and their parents/guardians are required to wear a mask/face covering and to social distance at all times with non-family members while in SLP Middle School.
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The middle school is excited to be bringing back Global Interns for the 2021-22 school year. Global Interns are a great addition to our classrooms and make connections with many of our students, not only Park Spanish Immersion (PSI) students. Global Interns bring an exciting energy to the classroom and are eager to be involved in the SLP community. We are looking forward to hosting two more interns at the middle school. One is Angela from Spain and we are currently interviewing candidates to fill the other intern position. We are looking for two host families for the fall semester-late August through the end of January and two more host families for next spring- late January through the end of the school year in 2022. The main requirement is the intern must have their own legal bedroom. It is a great opportunity for your family to learn about another culture while introducing the Global Intern to Minnesota and our community in St Louis Park. All middle school families are welcome to host. There is no requirement for families to know Spanish as the interns are also fluent in English. We are currently in a global pandemic and the interns will often be coming from countries with more restrictions than the United States. Information is fluid and the governments of the countries represented as well as the program that facilitates the Global Interns are dedicated to making the experience safe. My family has hosted an intern the last two years and had great experiences with lasting friendships. Please reach out to me if you are interested or have questions. Karita Bentley at [email protected]
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Free Groceries for Families Who Qualified for Free or Reduced-Price Meals during the 2020-21 School Year |
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Families in our district who qualify for free or reduced-price meals are now eligible for additional emergency nutritional benefits offered from the Federal government.
These benefits are provided by Federal “Pandemic-Electronic Benefit Transfer” funds (P-EBT); a temporary food benefit to families with children who would have received free and reduced-price meals if schools were open. These additional benefits may be retroactive to September 2020, depending on when eligibility for free or reduced-meals is determined.
Families who qualify will receive separate electronic grocery cards for each student in the family. The cards would include funds (approximately $6.82/day) for each day your student was in distance learning during the school year. Cards will be mailed from the State of Minnesota in late March 2021.
If you have already qualified for free or reduced-price meals earlier this school year, you don’t need to do anything because your family will automatically receive these new Federal nutritional benefits.
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Community Project Update for 8th grade Families April 9 |
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Students are deep in the action of their Community Projects or have completed them. This week they met with their supervisors to talk through the action that they did using a variety of reflection questions. The criterion letters behind the questions below indicate which of the four criteria the question aligns to. Student reflection provides evidence to the supervisor and will help in securing students' final scores. (see rubrics in the abbreviated student digital notebook)
Sample questions:
How did your plan compare to what actually happened? Criterion D
What did you learn about self-management during your project? Criterion B
How did you grow your thinking skills during your project? Criterion C
Tell me a story about communicating with either your group members or someone in the community. Criterion C
How did you grow in your social skills during your project? Criterion C
Options to consider for the next meeting with the supervisor which is May 12:
Have your students record and send you the recording prior to your next meeting. Supervisor reviews recording and provides feedback at the next meeting. Then students revise and record the final presentation.
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Students present their presentation live at the next meeting and the supervisor provides feedback in the moment. Then students revise and record the final presentation.
We look forward to sharing some of the videos of the final presentations with you, our community! Kids are doing great things!
Upcoming key dates:
Rough draft of presentation due May 12
Final recording due May 19
Mia Waldera
IB Coordinator
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Click here for middle years newsletter.
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Boys' and Girls' Spring Sports Registration |
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There is still time to sign up for Spring sports.
- Sports offered will be girls' and boys' track and field, boys' tennis and 7th - 8th girls' lacrosse.
- The plan is spring sports will compete against other schools but we will have to wait and see as we get closer to the season starting.
What middle school sports will look like in the hybrid learning model and in a full in person model:
Full in person:
When we return to full in-person students will practice and participate in games/matches on days they are in school.
Hybrid Learning:
Students with last names A-K will practice and participate in any games/matches on Monday and Tuesdays.
Students with last names L-Z will practice and participate in any games/matches on Thursdays and Fridays.
Registration
Online Registration is now open for all middle school spring sports. Click here to register: Middle School Athletics Registration (Select Middle School sport you wish to register for).
When prompted to log in, you will log in with the same username and password you use to pay your students lunch account.
The first day of practice was April 5 for Cohort A and April 8 for Cohort B. The season will last until May 28. Practices are from 4:00 - 5:15 p.m.
The following must be received before attending practice:
- Registration and payment (see above for instructions)
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Proof of sports physical exam (exam date can be found on Powerschool) given within the previous three years (which clears the athlete for full participation) on file in the Health Office. If the physical expires during the season, a new physical must be provided before the athlete may begin participation. A well child check-up or immunization records do not count as a sports physical. Click here to download the 2020-2021 Sports Qualifying Physical Examination Medical Eligibility Form.
Transportation
An activity bus will be available after practice but will be different than it has been in the past. You will need to pre-register for the route your student athlete will ride. Once you sign up for a sport the athletic director will email you bus information.
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Co-Ed Ultimate Frisbee Team |
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St. Louis Park has a Co-Ed Ultimate Frisbee team for kids in 5th through 8th grade.
Practices will be on Mondays and Tuesdays from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. at the middle school which started April 5.
Many team members are brand new to the sport. No experience necessary!
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Listening Sessions with Superintendent Osei |
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School Board to Hold April 20 Listening Session |
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The St. Louis Park Public Schools School Board will host a Listening Session at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 20 in the Aquila Elementary School Media Center. Please note that capacity will be limited to what is safe in the space based on current social distancing guidance.
All stakeholders are invited to attend St. Louis Park School Board Listening Sessions to ask questions and have a conversation with school board members. Up to three school board members will attend to listen to stakeholders. It is not an official meeting and no official action will be taken. Please be aware that the school board members will end the listening session 30 minutes after the posted start time if there are no stakeholders in attendance.
Anyone who is not comfortable attending this Listening Session in person, but would still like to engage in conversation with school board members can either call the School Board hotline at 952-928-6040 or email all seven board members at [email protected].
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COVID-19 Testing for Students and Families |
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There are many options to get tested, depending on your needs, and each option is available to you at NO COST. You can even schedule appointments for the whole family at the same time.
For more information about scheduling group appointments for your family at a community testing site, visit COVID-19 Community Testing.
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COVID-19 Testing for Students...Made Easier |
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At Governor Walz’s direction, MDE is removing yet another barrier to testing: the UPS drop box. While some kids live down the street from a drop box, it’s quite a haul for others. Students will now be able to send their Vault-at-Home tests back to the lab through their schools. Please note that this program is currently only available to students and not entire families.
How this works:
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Students or families order tests through the Vault-at-Home program (remember tests are no cost to Minnesota residents).
- Students complete their test at home.
- Students seal their sample tube and place it in the biohazard bag. The biohazard bag then gets sealed in the shipping bag that came with the test. The shipping label sticker is attached to the bag.
- Students bring their sealed shipping bag with the shipping label to school on your designated onsite testing day. NOTE: THE NEXT TESTING DATE IS APRIL 22.
To help students comply with MDH’s bi-weekly testing guidance and use at-home tests as a screening tool:
- Students should test on the same schedule as staff.
- Students will need to have a Vault-at-Home kit on hand at home to complete and bring to school on staff testing day.
- Once students receive notice that their sample is being processed at the lab, they can order another Vault-at-Home kit for the next screening day.
- If you bring your test to school on a non-staff testing day, the school will have directions to the nearest UPS drop box.
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Congratulations to Jill Kivo. Jill has worked in the district for 26 years and retired on March 25. Thank you for your dedication and service to the students, parents and staff of St. Louis Park schools. |
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IMPORTANT D.C. TRIP UPDATE!
2021 Trip Families (current 7th and 8th Graders), due to the ongoing Covid situation the 2021 Trip has been postponed to 2022. Please check your e-mail for a message from WorldStrides and David Burr, trip coordinator. If you did not receive the e-mail, please contact David Burr at [email protected] or 952-928-6375.
2022 Trip Families (current 6th Graders), our trip is still running as planned! Interested travelers should also contact David Burr at [email protected] or 952-928-6375 for trip information.
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Other opportunities in the district/community:
SLP Boys Basketball Summer Camp
Lenox Foundation Spring Fundraiser
Joint the Largest Study of Autism Ever
Game Coding & Graphic Art Classes
HOPE Speaks Spring Classes
Softball Registration
2021-22 Student Calendar
Click here to see the flyers.
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