Wolf Pack Press

- Mar 29, 2023
- 8 min read

Wolf Pack Press - March 29, 2023

Read on for brief news, as we head into Spring Break!

Upcoming Events

- Friday, March 31 - Spirit Day - Hat Day - Wear a fun hat to school!

- Week of April 3-7 - No School - Spring Break - See you back at school on Monday, April 10th.

Plant Presale Ends Friday

You can order your plants before Spring Break HERE!

Spring Carnival

Our fun spring event continues to take shape! Do you have a special skill, local business, make art, or have something else that you would be willing to donate as a silent auction item? Hooray! Please contact Amy Raddatz at president@sapsamn.org

How else can you help?

Volunteer to contact businesses to ask for silent auction items! This is a flexible way to support the event: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/904044aacaa28abfa7-2023#/

Donate an item to be a prize for the kids' raffle here: https://a.co/gsHqgGX Also, as always, we're looking to conserve resources when possible by using what we already have. If you have any new toys or other items that you think could make a good raffle prize (similar to items on the raffle prize link above), please reach out to president@sapsamn.org

Library Helpers

SAP Library TA Suzanne Gural would greatly appreciate help with reshelving books for an hour on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11am-noon. Re-acquaint yourself with the Dewey decimal system. Please pick a time slot if you can help keep the books organized for our kiddos. Sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/904044AACAA28ABFA7-library1

Dexter's Corner__________

A column by Dexter Jr., the guinea pig

Dexter demonstrating science. **Please use properly fitted safety goggles.

Wheek, wheek, wheek! It's here, it's here--the YUMMIEST time of the year! That's right--what else could I possibly mean? What could be more delicious than the SCIENCE FAIR? I live in the science classroom, so you know I love science. And each year I help some students with their projects, which usually involves me getting lots of healthy treats. Mr. Schrankler, Deena Strohman, and many other parent/community volunteers make it all happen, and the kids do such AMAZING and INTERESTING projects! Thank you and good job, all you humans!

By the way, this year I also did my own experiment, and I have concluded--with impressive statistical certainty--that young humans overwhelmingly like ICEE pops. Have a good end of the WHEEEK!

______________________

Staff Interview: Michele Brinkhaus

Hi, everybody at SAP! I’m Michele Brinkhaus. I am the clerk at St. Anthony Park and I have two friends here today to interview me. I’m so lucky to have Michelle Solomon and Sammy Schroeder, and they are taking just a few minutes out of their time to ask Ms. Michele a few questions. What would be your first question, Sammy?

Sammy: How old are you?

Ms. Michele: I’m very old. Um, we’re not going to share that, but I’m over 50, so I’m getting kind of old, but young at heart.

Michelle: What’s your favorite animal?

Ms. Michele: I had two dogs. One just passed away. But I’d say dogs would be my favorite animal. Do you have any dogs?

Michelle: Um, yes, one.

Sammy: I used to have two cats but they both died.

Ms. Michele: Oh, that’s sad. That’s really hard, isn’t it, when they pass away? Okay, what’s the next question?

Sammy: What is your favorite color? Ms. Michele: Oh, my favorite color ever is yellow. Would you think it’s yellow? Sometimes I wear a lot of yellow. But yellow is my most favorite color, because, you know why? I think it’s really bright and happy.

Michelle: Why do you have these birds and gnomes behind us?

Ms. Michele: That’s a really good question, too. See that little gnome up there, the little one with the red hat?

Sammy and Michelle: Yeah.

Ms. Michele: We got it as a gift for our staff and we played a game with it. I started a game with all the adults called Gnome on the Roam. And so a staff member would get the gnome and then we’d try to guess who had it, like with clues. So then, all of a sudden, I started getting lots of gnomes for gifts! I probably have 15 different gnomes. I have some for winter. I have some for Valentine’s Day. This one is for St. Patrick’s Day. I have spring ones. And I have a bunch of them in the back, because people love to give me gnomes now. Do you like gnomes? I think they’re pretty friendly looking. They’re kind of goofy looking, too. Don’t you think?

Michelle and Sammy: Wow. Yeah. Okay.

Ms. Michele: I just added the birds because I thought the birds were cute for Valentine’s,

Sammy: What is your favorite part about working here at St. Anthony Park?

Ms. Michele: Wow, you guys are really good with the questions! My favorite part is talking to all the people. Do you think I talk a lot? Do you see me talking a lot?

Michelle and Sammy: Mm-hmm.

Ms. Michele: I like to be social. I like to greet people, and say, “Hello!” I love the kids. I like the parents. And, you know what? It’s a very busy job. If you ever see me, I’m on the phone, I’m opening the door, I’m talking to people, and so I’m always busy, and I like being busy.

Michelle: Why did you choose to go to this school?

Ms. Michele: Oh my gosh, for first graders, you two are fabulous, very insightful.

Sammy: Thank you.

Ms. Michele: You know what? I worked at two other St. Paul schools before this school, and I just heard such fabulous things about St. Anthony Park. You guys don’t remember Ms. Jane. She retired two years ago.

Sammy: This is my second year.

Michelle: She retired right before we came.

Ms. Michele: Right. She was the clerk before, and so I started when you guys started, last year, when you were in kindergarten. So this is my second year, too, just like you guys.

Michelle and Sammy: Oh!

Ms. Michele; I just heard really great things about this school. What do you like best about first grade?

Sammy: I think I just like being able to meet new people, and I just like how this school is. I love the people here. It feels good!

Ms. Michele: Yeah, it does feel good.

Michelle: My favorite part about first grade is just that you can spend time with friends. You get to make a new friend. Another part that I like about first grade is that Ms. Cariveau is here.

Ms. Michele: You have really got a special teacher, don’t you?

Sammy: What is your favorite fairy tale creature?

Ms. Michele: Wow, you guys thought about this! I really like Snow White. Is she a fairy tale creature? She kind of is. It’s a fairy tale.

Sammy: Yeah, it’s a fairy tale person. That counts.

Ms. Michele: Which one is your favorite? Sammy: I think my favorite is gnomes and fairies and the Loch Ness Monster.

Ms. Michele: Oh, yeah, goodness.

Michelle: I like gnomes and I’m going to ask you something and then we’ll be done.

[Mr. Budin comes in to ask Ms. Michele a question. She helps him. She is so busy!]

Michelle: Do you like to read books?

Ms. Michele: I love to read books. I bet you guys do, too.

Sammy: Yeah, I have a connection. I have one full closet of books, and a whole bookshelf of books.

Ms. Michele: So how many books did you read for the Read-a-Thon?

Sammy: I read a lot. I forget how many, but it was a lot.

Ms. Michele: So did you fill up the whole page plus more?

Sammy: I definitely read a lot more, but I didn’t fill it up. I just love all the books and where they can take you.

Ms. Michele: Yeah, it’s almost like watching a movie.

Michelle: I think I got 109 minutes.

Ms. Michele: 109 minutes? Whoo!

Sammy: I think I got maybe 1000 minutes.

Ms. Michele: Oh my goodness!

Michelle: Or I might have gotten a couple trillion.

Ms. Michele: What kind of books are your favorite? Sammy: My favorites are Calvin and Hobbes and Jasmine Taguchi.

Ms. Michele: Oh, I’ve never heard of that!

Sammy: One’s a Japanese one, and you’ve probably heard of Calvin and Hobbes.

Ms. Michele: Yes, I’ve heard of Calvin and Hobbes. What do you like to read? Michelle: My favorite books are kind of like animal books. I don’t like the books that, like animals might die.

Ms. Michele: Oh, yes, and that happens.

[The doorbell rings. Ms. Michele lets someone into the office and helps them. See, she really is so busy!]

Michelle: I really don’t like those books. I love just cute animals and stuff. I just love to see and watch animals. I actually love squids, because I have a squid. A pet one.

Ms. Michele: You have a squid? What’s your squid’s name?

Michelle: It’s not a pet squid, it's just a stuffie. My pet squid is purple and that’s why I named him Purple Guy.

Ms. Michele: Very cool. What’s your favorite class or your favorite part of your day?

Sammy: My favorite part of today, I think, was art class. But before I forget, there’s one thing I wanted to say. I also like that this school has a nurse for if you’re not feeling well. It’s just a really good school.

Ms. Michele: Yeah, it’s important because a lot of times, kids don’t feel good.

MIchelle: The main thing I like about today, I just like to spend time with people, especially you, today, and meeting new people.

Ms. Michele: What do we share in common, Michelle? Michelle: Our names.

Ms. Michele: Our names. You’re Michelle with two Ls and I’m Michele with one L. But it’s still the same name, right?

[Someone else needs help from Ms. Michele. She is so busy!]

Ms. Michele: So that’s a wrap, I think! You guys did really good! Do you want to sit here with me for a few minutes and help me work?

Sammy and Michelle: Yeah!

Ms. Michele: Well, we thank Michelle and Sammy, very insightful first graders, I’d say! You really thought about your questions, and I really enjoyed our time.

Michelle and Sammy: Thank you! Me, too!

All: Thank you!

Talent Show

Want to help with the Talent Show? More info coming after break, but get a sneak peek of the sign up HERE.

What's for lunch in March?

We like breakfast too!

Have a great week, Wolf Pack!

If you have suggestions for content or questions about anything in the Wolf Pack Press, please reach out to communications@sapsamn.org

- Mar 15, 2023
- 6 min read

Wolf Pack Press - March 15, 2023

Greetings, SAP community! In this challenging week of earlier mornings and more snow, we've all made it to mid-week! We're looking toward spring, and, in the meantime, good things continue to happen at school.

Bright African Adinkra-inspired prints done by first and second graders adorn the halls. This printing technique is traditionally done on fabric by people in Ghana and Cote D'Ivoire, using shapes that symbolize elements of traditional wisdom or the environment.

Thanks to the new art drying rack provided by SAPSA, Ms. Shomion can now dry art projects made by many classes all at once!

Upcoming Events

- TONIGHT! Wednesday, March 15 - Advisory Council Meeting, 5:00-6:00 pm in the SAP Library - Tony Walker, director of Community Education will attend the March AC meeting. Tony will discuss and answer questions about “Nature Discovery,” the new preschool program at SAP, coming this Fall.

To join the meeting on Zoom, use this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4792236521?pwd=L041WEU2a0N1d2JZaHhGc09qQWJWZz09

Meeting ID: 479 223 6521 Passcode: 534435

- Thursday, March 16 - Evening Conferences

- Thursday, March 16 - Carnival Game Set Up Night - 6:00-8:00pm in the SAP cafeteria - More info below!

- Friday, March 17 - Family Friday - 7:30am in the cafeteria - Walk your students to class, then join other families for coffee and conversation.

- Wednesday, March 22 - Picture Day

- Wednesday, March 22 - Evening Conferences

- Friday, March 24 - No School, Daytime Conferences

- Monday, March 27 - SAP Science Fair - See below for ways to get involved.

- Friday, March 31 - Spirit Day - Hat Day - Wear a fun hat to school!

- Week of April 3-7 - No School - Spring Break

Plant Presale Starts Saturday

But you can start browsing and dreaming of spring today HERE!

Spring Carnival

How else can you help?

Volunteer to contact businesses to ask for silent auction items! This is a flexible way to support the event: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/904044aacaa28abfa7-2023#/

TOMORROW - Thursday, March 16 from 6-8pm - Come dig out and set up the old carnival games that have been stored on the stage for years. Curious about what's there? We are too! This will be a fun night of discovery, with pizza and drinks. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/904044aacaa28abfa7-spring#/

Family Friday

Please join us for this month's Family Friday on March 17th. That's this Friday! On Family Fridays, grown-ups are invited to walk children to their classes, say hi to teachers and then meet in the cafeteria for coffee, tea and conversation. We do always need help making the morning a delicious success. If you are able to lend a hand, please sign-up HERE.

Spirit Wear - Hijabs

We're excited to share that SAP Wolf Pack hijabs are now available in a two sizes and a variety of colors! Look for them whenever Spirit Wear is sold at school events, or contact communications@sapsamn.org to purchase.

Lost & Found

It's overflowing again! Don't forget to check the Lost & Found when you come in for conferences.

Library Helpers

Science Fair

From Mr. Schrankler:

Dear SAP Families and Friends,

The St. Anthony Park Elementary Science Fair will take place on Monday, March 27th. Our 3rd-5th Grade students will be presenting their Science projects. I am reaching out to ask if you would be interested in helping at the SAP Science Fair. We could use at least 25 people to help with giving students feedback on their projects. No special scientific talents are needed, just the ability to communicate with the presenters (students) and give them some friendly feedback. We could also use some help in taking down tables and cleaning up after the evening session. Please pass this along to any other friends and family who you think would be interested. Here are the two opportunities:

7:45AM-11:05 AM Evaluators Giving Feedback (at least 25 volunteers needed)

6:45 PM-7:30 PM Science Fair Clean-up

LINK to sign-up as a volunteer.

Your support is greatly appreciated!

Staff Interview: Ms. Hass

This is Ms. Hass, the assistant principal at St. Anthony Park, and I am sitting here with our scholar Hassen Hassen, who is going to ask me some questions today.

Hassen: What is your favorite part of your job?

Ms. Hass: My favorite part of my job is to see students grow. I watch students grow in how tall they are, but I also watch them grow in the things that they know and learn and understand, and that is my absolute favorite part of my job.

Hassen: What do you like to do when you are not at school?

Ms. Hass: When I’m not at school, I love to spend time with my daughters. I have two daughters, and they are ages 21 and 12. And I love hanging out with them. At our house, we play a lot of board games and we watch movies together. I also like to go on long runs when it’s nice out. And I also love playing with my pets. I have two cats and a frog.

Hassen: What do you do in the summer?

Ms. Hass: In the summer, well, some of the time is spent working, getting ready for the next school year, and another part I spend doing not much of anything. I do spend a couple of weeks up at a cabin with my family, where I go boating and fishing. I love to fish. And I also love to go to the State Fair at the end of summer.

Hassen: Why did you decide to be an assistant principal?

Ms. Hass: So, I started out as a teacher, and I absolutely loved being in the classroom, being with kids and knowing families and again, watching them grow in lots of different ways. I loved working with kids and I thought, “Where can I have a bigger impact?” So then I went into administration, and now I get to have interactions and have an impact with our whole school, which is way bigger than a classroom. There are lots of classrooms, and I love leadership, and I love building other leaders in my job. That’s what my job is: to build other leaders, in kids, in other teachers, things like that, fostering leadership.

Hassen: What would you change about St. Anthony Park in the future?

Ms. Hass: What would I change about St. Anthony Park? Oh, goodness. Well, one thing I noticed when I came here is that they didn’t have a Pre-K, but now we’re going to be adding one in next year. So that’s something that’s going to change, that we are working on. And I really think that one thing that I want to work on to change at St. Anthony Park is really building in more opportunity for students to have a voice and student leadership, because that’s why we’re here, so I want to include students more in decision-making, and things like that.

Hassen: Thank you.

Ms. Hass: Thanks, Hassen.

What's for lunch in March?

We like breakfast too!

Have a great week, Wolf Pack!

If you have suggestions for content or questions about anything in the Wolf Pack Press, please reach out to communications@sapsamn.org

- Mar 1, 2023
- 8 min read

Wolf Pack Press - March 1, 2023

It's a wintery start to the month! Stay warm, and read on to learn what is happening at school.

A fire dancer mesmerizes the crowd in front of the school at the Luminary Festival.

Upcoming Events

- Friday, March 10 - No School

- Tuesday, March 14 - SAPSA Meeting, 6:30-7:30pm in the SAP Library

All are welcome!

Link will be made available to virtually attend, as the meeting nears.

Please note: Advisory Council March meeting date TBD.

- Thursday, March 16 - Evening Conferences

- Thursday, March 16 - Carnival Game Set Up Night - 6:00-8:00pm in the SAP cafeteria

- Friday, March 17 - Family Friday - 7:30am in the cafeteria, Walk your students to class, then join other families for coffee and conversation.

- Wednesday, March 22 - Evening Conferences

- Friday, March 24 - No School, Daytime Conferences

- Monday, March 27 - SAP Science Fair - See below for ways to get involved.

SAP Luminary Festival

From Bryn Manion, Luminary Organizer:

We had an extraordinary festival this past weekend at Langford Park with over 450 attendees Saturday evening! From beginning to end, our school and the broader SAP community displayed generosity, support, ingenuity, teamwork, positivity and whimsy to pull our winter oasis together. Here are a few things I want you to know and take heart in:

This festival was entirely funded by a community grant from the SAP Foundation, as well as cash and goods donations from you! And so far, we have raised over $2,000 to benefit the school. If you enjoyed the Festival and feel moved to donate, there is still time. Please visit: https://www.givemn.org/event/Sapluminary
With school out of session and so much snow, we had no idea how we were going to clear a path for everyone. But a few dozen people with sleds, skis and a good attitude, showed up and stomped out a path. Then school parent Ryan Courtney spent hours snowblowing the trail and performance circle.
On Saturday night, the kids ran and played and screamed and played and did all the kid things we are so grateful to see them do. And do you know what happened to all the paper and ice luminaries? Absolutely nothing. All one thousand of them were completely in tact when I took a solo stroll around the park that night. Our kids are responsible, thoughtful, careful and trustworthy young citizens. Thank you to their adults for guiding them so well and safely through the event.
Sunday many families returned! And because it was a more gentle evening, many families from the area with younger children and several older residents from the area were able to stroll through the park and take in the fruits of all our work. They were full of wonder because of your generosity and hard work.
And Monday? Guess what else happened! The clean-up was canceled due to rain, but volunteers still showed up and cleaned the entire park. It was such a gift and eased the workload once more.

You have all proved that we can be the light and that many hands do make light work. Thank you and bravo.

Spring Carnival - Coming up!

With all this rain and snow coming down, it's easy to start dreaming about spring. And what better way to help us get through these last weeks of winter than to announce our upcoming Spring Carnival on May 12th?

The Spring Carnival is an important fundraiser for our school, and with the support of our community we know we can make it a wonderful event for our students! It will be a fun evening of games, raffles, obstacle courses and a way to come together as a community to support our amazing school. Check your child's backpack this week or click on the links below for more information about how you can help us with this great event.

Volunteer to help with the Silent Auction! This is a flexible way to help with the event: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/904044aacaa28abfa7-2023#/

Carnival Game Clean Out Night is Thursday, March 16 from 6-8pm - Come dig out and set up the old carnival games that have been stored on the stage for years. Curious about what's there? We are too! This will be a fun night of discovery, with pizza and drinks. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/904044aacaa28abfa7-spring#/

Donate an item for our Silent Auction! Do you own your own business, or just want to help us add a fun item to our Silent Auction. Click this link : https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd9T3-9fm5JBZcSwNTCmgqlGduZcEmOCUzK-CQ-iuDKByrinw/viewform to complete the form.

Library Helpers

Science Fair

From Mr. Schrankler:

Dear SAP Families and Friends,

7:45AM—11:05 AM Evaluators Giving Feedback (at least 25 volunteers needed)

6:45 PM-7:30 PM Science Fair Clean-up

LINK to sign-up as a volunteer.

Your support is greatly appreciated!

Staff Interview: Mr. Engstrom

Kicking off the return of our staff profiles, first grader Keagan Beckstrom interviewed Mr. Engstrom!

Alright, I’m Joel Engstrom, the Math Intervention Specialist at St. Anthony Park, and I’m here with Keagan Beckstrom, the two Stroms, just hanging out! And Keagan has some questions for me.

Keagan: What job do you do at SAP?

Mr. Engstrom: I am the, like I said, the Math Intervention Specialist, which means I teach half of a 1/2 split for Ms. Krider. I teach the first graders, which includes you. And then I take Ms. Crowe’s fourth graders, because she has a 4/5 split, and I teach them math. I take them for a full math period. And then Tuesdays and Thursdays, I take one third grade group and we work on skills that their teachers say they need some refresher on or something that they are getting into during class time. And then I take lots of small groups and help them out on things they need a little extra boost on.

Keagan: Do you have any pets?

Mr. Engstrom: I have three pets! I have a big dog named Bernice. I have a medium-sized dog named Blanche. And I have a wee, little dog named Jeff.

Keagan: What do you like to do when you are not at school?

Mr. Engstrom: I try to do some exercise. I play hockey on Sundays, but that’s only one day a week. But, if the roads are icy, it’s kind of hard to do some exercise. I also like to spend time with my family. We watch movies and my brother and I watch sports together. I like to go to Gopher hockey games, especially when they are number one in the nation!

Keagan: What is your favorite animal? Why?

Mr. Engstrom: My favorite animal…I’m thinking about that as what animal would I want to be if I could be an animal for one day, and I would say something cool like a killer whale, because then you could swim underwater for a long time, but nothing’s gonna eat you. And I always liked the ocean, and I always have liked whales.

Keagan: What do you do in the summer?

Mr. Engstrom: In the summer, you know, for twenty-some years I taught summer school. But for the last couple, we haven’t, either because of the pandemic, or last year, there just weren’t that many summer schools open. So, last summer, we did lots of gardening. I did some driving around for Meals on Wheels, which was interesting. I helped my parents out with their landscaping projects, and we always go on a trip in the summer, usually somewhere out west so we can see mountains and play in the water.

Keagan: What is your favorite book? Why?

Mr. Engstrom: My favorite book…I’ll tell you my favorite book I read as a kid, and I’ve read it probably ten times, if not more. I used to read it to my classes. It’s a book called Where the Red Fern Grows. And it’s about a boy and dogs, and I’m a boy with dogs, and one of my dogs is actually a coon hound. So the story is just really well-written. It’s about a boy and his two coon hounds that go raccoon hunting in the Ozark Mountains, I believe, and they just have lots of different adventures. It’s like almost every chapter is a new story, and I think a lot of it is based on the author’s real life experiences, so that makes it cool.

Keagan: What do you like to do outside?

Mr. Engstrom: Outside! I can tell you the things I like to do, and then I will tell you the things I have to do. Like, I know, this week I am going to have to shovel, and snowblow, and scrape. What I like to do, my wife and I like to go running. I like to sit outside on nice summer days and drink my morning coffee and do a crossword puzzle. What do you think of that, Keags?

Keagan: Good.

Mr. Engstrom: What do you like to do outside?

Keagan: Well, just, pretty much, I love to play in pools outside because my friend has a pool right next to his house.

Mr. Engstrom: Sweet!

Keagan: So I went with him in the summer.

Mr. Engstrom: That’s awesome! Alright, well, that’s all you got from Engstrom and Beckstrom! Until next time…Say something. Say, “Bye!”

Keagan: Bye!

Mr. Engstrom: See ya!

What's for lunch in March?

We like breakfast too!

"Did you know that you could bring a reusable bag for breakfast? Just bring your own bag, eat your breakfast and bring it for another day. Save a couple trees, and some money."

--Message from SAP Destination Imagination (STEAM club) team, The Pickled Gummy Bear Wolf Crusaders

Have a great week, Wolf Pack!

If you have suggestions for content or questions about anything in the Wolf Pack Press, please reach out to communications@sapsamn.org

SAPSA

Wolf Pack Press - March 29, 2023

More links

The SPPS COVID Policy is available HERE. Please don't forget to report any illness with COVID to SPPS.

What's for lunch in March?

We like breakfast too!

Wolf Pack Press - March 15, 2023

More links

The SPPS COVID Policy is available HERE. Please don't forget to report any illness with COVID to SPPS.

What's for lunch in March?

We like breakfast too!

Wolf Pack Press - March 1, 2023

More links

The SPPS COVID Policy is available HERE. Please don't forget to report any illness with COVID to SPPS.

What's for lunch in March?

We like breakfast too!