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Updated: Oct 27, 2021

Leaders of the Pack!

This week, we would like to share with you some leadership opportunities in our school community.

Dine Out Fundraising Coordinator

Do you know the best local spots to eat out? Do you enjoy trying new cuisine? With a light commitment you'll be a great fit to help SAPSA as a Dine Out Fundraising Coordinator! Call your favorite local restaurants and search chain restaurant websites to develop about 6-8 dine out (or take out) events over the course of the year.


You will be the liaison on behalf of our school and in charge of booking the events. Our SAPSA board will support you with advertising, flyers and e-blasts to school once the dates are established. All communications must be translated into multiple languages. Please submit your ad/flyer well in advance of the actual date so SAPSA board can work with translators.



Service Project Team Leaders

We're looking for 2-3 Service Project Leads to work together as a team to identify organizations to partner with on service projects. Last year, we partnered with My Very Own Bed, St. Anthony Park Seniors and Project Reach. The team will create 2-3 service projects with a clear activity for the SAP Elementary Community and end date. They will also coordinate any necessary volunteer needs for each project.


Once projects are confirmed they will communicate the details to the SAP Elementary Community. The SAPSA board and school staff/teachers will support you and help you bring the project to fruition and completion. All communications must be translated into multiple languages. Please submit your ad/flyer well in advance of the actual date so SAPSA board can work with translators.


If there are deliverables (like blankets or coats), have a plan to get items to the partner organization. This will require medium commitment with planning meetings and availability during events. It's a great way to get the SAP Elementary Community involved with the larger community and help those in need.


EDL (Extended Day Learning) Music Instructors Needed!

Ms. Weisman writes: Our St Anthony Park EDL after school program needs music instructors for our 4th and 5th graders in the after school program. The school district is short staffed, and we usually have a full band and strings program. We also have a school set of decent ukuleles as well! I am very flexible and musicians who would like to teach or teachers who play an instrument would all be welcome. The program is Tue and Thu 2-3:45. Usually students receive small group lessons. I am very eager to provide a musical choice, and I’m open to various ways to do this. The program runs from Oct 26 - May 26. Please email Ms. Weisman at marcia.woods-weisman@spps.org


 

SAPSA & Advisory Council Meeting Minutes

Unable to attend meetings this month? At our monthly SAPSA meeting, we discussed the order for fifteen additional HEPA filters that SAPSA is purchasing so all classrooms will have these filters. We also heard a funding proposal from first grade teacher, Jennifer Williams, who has asked SAPSA to fund an additional set of First Grade Literacy Footprint readers. The SAPSA board will vote on that proposal at next month's meeting. There is quite a bit coming up and our meeting minutes are here.


At our Advisory Council meeting, we discussed planning for the school choice season, the ARP (American Rescue Plan) Advisory Committee, Energy Action Plan - Sustainability Advisory Task Force, the upcoming St. Paul School Board elections (November 2), as well as the Envision SPPS recommendations. We also heard from Dr. Duke who gave us her monthly Principal's Update. Here are the meeting minutes.


If you are curious in engaging with parents from across the district about these larger issues, please consider checking out the SPPS Parents Sharing and Support group on Facebook.


Next month's meetings will take place November 9th. Advisory Council is at 5PM and SAPSA at 7PM. Meetings currently take place on Zoom: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/7641657735


SAPSA Board Positions For 2022-2023

Almost our entire board will finish serving out our terms this spring. Are you interested in community leadership? Do you enjoy communicating with other parents? Perhaps you are really good at planning events? Maybe you just want to meet people with children the same age as yours? Board positions that will be open: Vice President, Advisory Council Chair, Secretary, Volunteer Coordinator, Communications Chair, Treasurer. Elections will take place in April/May 2022. Please reach out to Amy Raddatz for more information or plan to attend a monthly SAPSA meeting to see what it's all about.


Speaking of Elections . . . Election Day is November 2nd!

The Saint Paul School Board has seven members, each elected through a citywide vote. The board members are elected to four-year terms on a staggered basis. This November 2nd, Saint Paul voters will have the opportunity to fill four of the seven positions. Candidates will be elected from two pools. In one pool, there are six candidates running to fill three of the four vacancies. The three top vote-getters will each serve a four year term. In the other pool, there are two candidates running to fill one vacancy. The winner of this special election will be serving the remaining two years of a recently-vacated four year seat. You can learn more about the candidates in a number of ways, and we have tried to consolidate many of the resources here. Election day is Tuesday, November 2. Early absentee voting is open now. Information about how to register and vote on or before election day is available here.


Candidate websites: Saint Paul Board of Education At-large (three seats available, 4 year term)


Saint Paul Board of Education At-large Special Election (one seat available, serving the remaining 2 years of a vacated term)


Voter Guides:


Candidate forums:


No School Days:

Thursday, 10/21

Friday, 10/22

Friday, 10/29

Friday, 11/19

Thursday, 11/25

Friday, 11/26

Digital Learning Day:

Tuesday, 11/2

Election Day:

Tuesday, 11/2

Conferences:

Wednesday, 11/17 (3-6PM)

Thursday, 11/18 (3-6PM)

Friday, 11/19 (All day)

Thanksgiving Break:

Thursday, 11/25

Friday, 11/26




Lunch & Breakfast Menus

From Our Friends at Langford Park


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Elections! Saint Paul Public Schools Board of Education, Tuesday 11/2

On November 2nd, voters in Saint Paul will fill four of the seven seats on the Saint Paul Public Schools Board of Education. The school board is responsible for the care, management, and control of the school district. The League of Women Voters of Saint Paul is hosting a forum on Wednesday evening where you can learn more about the candidates and their plans and priorities. The forum will begin at 7pm and can be seen live on Channel 19 or via livestream on YouTube at this link: https://youtu.be/I5Rr_6cZjsU.


Please also note: Tuesday 11/2 is a Digital Learning Day!

Bulb Sale: Only Ten More Days!


We have raised $1,641 so far! We have a little over two weeks to hit our target of $5,000. Please share this link widely with your friends and family. Bulbs will ship directly to customers anywhere in the US! Click here.


Fundraisers like our bulb sale help fund materials for classrooms, field trips, teacher stipends, and numerous other enrichment opportunities for our students.

School Directories

Thank you to everyone who has already filled out their forms! We now have 310 out of around 500 responses. We will be sending out paper forms for anyone who needs to fill out their form that way, but digitally makes things much easier! Please fill out one form per child:

The St. Anthony Park Elementary School Directory (aka "the Buzzbook") is the main resource for student and teacher contact information. It includes class and staff lists, as well as SAPSA, Advisory Council and district contact information.


Every family will receive a copy. You are not required to submit your contact information for the directory, but we encourage you to do so! You may include as much or as little information as you choose. It’s a great way for the kids to connect with classmates and friends and for families to reach out to each other.


Your information will never be shared with or sold to 3rd parties. It will be included in the directory and used for occasional SAPSA communications.


What's For Lunch?

What's For Breakfast?

Calendar Notes

Please join us for our monthly meetings next week. We will share agendas next week.


Both meetings will be available via Zoom: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/7641657735

  • Advisory Council Monthly Meeting / Tuesday, October 12, 5:00 - 6:00 pm

  • SAPSA Monthly Meeting / Tuesday, October 12, 7:00 - 8:30 pm

No School Days Thursday, 10/21 Friday, 10/22 Friday, 10/29 Friday, 11/19 Thursday, 11/25 Friday, 11/26 Digital Learning Day Tuesday, 11/2 Election Day Tuesday, 11/2 Conferences Wednesday, 11/17 (3-6PM) Thursday, 11/18 (3-6PM) Friday, 11/19 (All day) Thanksgiving Break Thursday, 11/25 Friday, 11/26




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School Directories, Due October 1st

Please make sure to fill out this form to be included in the annual school directory. Please fill out one form per child:

The St. Anthony Park Elementary School Directory (aka "the Buzzbook") is the main resource for student and teacher contact information. It includes class and staff lists, as well as SAPSA, Advisory Council and district contact information.


Every family will receive a copy. You are not required to submit your contact information for the directory, but we encourage you to do so! You may include as much or as little information as you choose. It’s a great way for the kids to connect with classmates and friends and for families to reach out to each other.


Your information will never be shared with or sold to 3rd parties. It will be included in the directory and used for occasional SAPSA communications.



We have raised $1,264 so far! We have a little over two weeks to hit our target of $5,000. Please share this link widely with your friends and family. Bulbs will ship directly to customers anywhere in the US! Click here.



Thank You!

This Saturday, many volunteers came out to help with our annual school clean-up. We trimmed trees, planted bulbs, watered, mulched and hauled several loads of yard waste away! We were happy to make new friends and very proud of how much hard work the kids put in to making their school yard spiffy. They were especially great at filling and pushing heavy loads of mulch in wheel barrows to the correct spots in the yard! Lots of teamwork and encouragement was on display. And you will never guess it, but every single donut was gobbled up!


Particular thanks to Dina Kountoupes who taught us which plants were keepers and which were weeds and for guiding us on the more intricate gardening work that needed to be done! We are grateful for all the work she does during the year.



Staff Spotlight

Which teacher loves sushi and white Siberian tigers? This staff member also loves learning and teaching about plants and has some of the most colorful hair at SAP! She's an avid hiker, knitter, and is looking forward to the beautiful fall foliage. Any guesses? It's Ms. Walsh, St. Anthony Park's Active Inquiry teacher! She was recently interviewed by two of her students and you can learn more about Ms. Walsh by reading their interview here.


Would your student like to interview a SAP staff member? Please fill out this form to get started!


Outdoor Lunch Survey

We are thankful for your participation in last week's survey. We received 165 responses of which 136 supported outdoor lunches and 29 did not. We were able to recruit 45 volunteers to work lunch shifts through November. Principal Duke has decided that even with this additional people-power in place, outdoor lunch poses too many logistical hurdles in regards to student and staff safety and routine to be feasible this fall. Thank you to those who advocated for outdoor lunches and to the volunteers who put their hats in to help. Thank you, in particular, to Hans Thomsen who quickly mobilized volunteers last week in the event that this concept could launch.


What's For Lunch?


What's For Breakfast?


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