Wolf Pack Press

Wolf Pack Press - September 11, 2024

Sep 11, 2024
3 min read

Updated: Dec 18, 2024

Believe it or not, it's already fall—and another year has started at St. Anthony Park Elementary!

This is first edition of the Wolf Pack Press, the bi-weekly online newsletter published by SAPSA (St. Anthony Park School Association). We hope to keep you posted about school news and events, and celebrate the school and its students and staff. In the past we have also published interviews, columns, and other features. If you'd like to contribute or have an idea, please let us know (contact info at the end of this post).

The first week of school was beautiful and exciting. Thanks to the artists who showed up for Chalk the Walk to welcome everyone back!

Upcoming Events

All of September - Round up at the Register at Hampden Park Co-op

All this month Hampden Park Co-op's Round Up at the Register program will benefit SAP Elementary!

Friday, September 13 - Family Friday

After drop-off in the cafeteria. This is an informal coffee hour. Stop by for a coffee & pastry, and chat with some other SAP Elementary parents!

Saturday, September 14 - Kindergarten Popsicle Party

1:00-3:00 pm at Langford Park Playground. Come meet other families, let the children play together, and learn about the St. Anthony Park Elementary school association (SAPSA).

Thursday, September 26 - Welcome Night/Curriculum Night

5-6:30pm. Learn about the curriculum being taught in your student's classes (grades 1-5).

Saturday, September 28 - School Grounds Cleanup

9-11 am. Keep our school beautiful! More info below.

Thursday, October 3 - No school (Rosh Hashanah)

Friday, October 4 - Fall Festival!

5 - 7:30 at the school.

This is a major SAP Elementary fundraiser and also loads of fun!

The festival includes games, crafts, a bake sale, and a haunted house!

Many volunteers are needed - sign up HERE.

Tuesday, October 8 - Advisory Council and SAPSA meetings

Advisory Council Meeting 5:30-6:30pm in the school library

SAPSA Meeting 6:30-7:30pm in the school library

All are welcome! Please join us!

Now through October 15 - Fall Bulb Fundraiser

Get your tulips, daffodils and wildflowers here! Buy bulbs to plant this fall and enjoy next spring, while supporting our school! Shop online. Orders will ship directly to your home. The bulb sale is sponsored by Flower Power Fundraising. SAP Elementary receives 50% of all sales!

Orders accepted until October 15.

Order bulbs HERE.

Thursday & Friday, October 17 & 18 - No school, MEA

Friday, October 25 - No School, Conference Prep

School Grounds Clean Up

Saturday, September 28th from 9am – 11am.

We need your help cleaning up the school yard! We are looking for volunteers to help with weeding, mulching, revitalizing the peace garden and making our school yard shine! Or, if you have a large vehicle, please consider signing up to run bags to the yard waste site.

SAPSA will have some materials for the jobs on site, but ask that you bring your own weeding tools and gloves and any yardwork tools that you think would be helpful. We will keep you posted if we need specific items.

Little helpers are also welcome.

Teacher's Lounge Fall Stock Up

We are providing the teacher's lounge with snacks, beverages and utensils, and we could use your help! Our first step is an initial stock-up of food and supplies.

Click HERE to sign up for an item.

Welcome Bobbie Evangelist

Bobbie Evangelist, who served as principal at Como Park Elementary School prior to retiring, will be the interim principal at SAP Elementary this year. Welcome Bobbie!

Volunteers Wanted!

Sign up for a volunteer committee for the 2024-2025 school year. The best way to make community is working alongside others!

Spirit Wear

Rep your favorite elementary school! Both t-shirts and hoodies are available for youth and adults, Buy online or look for in-person sales at school events! Check it out HERE.

What's for lunch in September?

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 Joel Van Valin at communications@sapsamn.org

Wolf Pack Press - June 5, 2024

Jun 4, 2024
4 min read

Dear SAP families and community - As another incredible school year with all of these kids draws to a close, we are grateful for everything that we have shared this year. We wish you a wonderful and safe summer! Here are just a few highlights from the last couple of busy weeks at SAP:

SAP's EDL performance of The Lion King was gorgeous! Thanks to Mrs. Blackwell, Ms. Brandvik, and all the other helpers and volunteers. Great job, performers!

SO much talent on display at the 2024 Talent Show! Thanks to Kelly Weeks, Emily Moody, Anita Severt, Kerrin Flanagan, Lauren Renner, Marjorie Borer Seabloom, and all the families, volunteers, and staff who helped make this night possible! Shout out to Murray Middle School for hosting the event.

Field Day was awesome! Thanks to Ms. Paulsen, teachers, staff, and the many, many volunteers! Woohoo!

Upcoming Events

Monday, June 10 is the last day of school!

Plant Sale

THANK YOU for volunteering and shopping the fabulous plant sale. This was a very successful fundraiser again this year! HUGE thanks to Lauren Renner, Anita Severt, Sarah Clark, and all the wonderful volunteers!!!!

Summer Internet Safety

Ms. Wilson put together a wonderful summer internet safety guide, including recommendations on how to handle screen time! You can access it HERE.

Wolf Ridge

Mr. Schrankler encourages SAP 5th graders on the ropes course, yesterday at Wolf Ridge!

The 5th graders are at camp up north this week, in Finland, Minnesota! Did you know that SAP students have been spending a week at Wolf Ridge (formerly called The Environmental Learning Center at Isabella) since the mid-1970's?

To help continue this tradition in light of rising costs and other challenges, and to honor Mr. Schrankler as he retires, SAPSA has started an endowment to help fund Wolf Ridge into the future. Donations are tax deductible, and money goes into a lasting endowment fund that will earn a guaranteed rate of return on investment each year.

To donate, or just to read more about Wolf Ridge, please click HERE.

If you are considering a gift of non-cash assets (stocks, real estate, retirement investments, etc.) please contact treasurer@sapsamn.org.

Message from Mr. Schrankler

Dear SAP Families,

As many of you probably heard, after 39 years I am retiring at the end of this school year from teaching in SPPS. I just wanted to reach out to thank you for everything you have done for me! The SAP community is absolutely amazing! I am truly going to miss being with our amazing students, families, and staff on a regular basis. I could not have asked for a better school! Thank you from the bottom of my heart! --Mr. Schrankler

Lost and Found

*EVERYTHING* FROM THE LOST AND FOUND WILL BE DONATED AWAY NEXT WEEK! There is SO MUCH there. Please check your closets, ask your kids, go peek at the lost and found before the school year ends!

Many thanks to SAP parent Anne Schroeder for all her work tending to the Lost & Found this year!

T-Shirts designed by SAP students

ADULT SIZES NOW AVAILABLE! Kari Jensen (Mom of Kendi-5th and Klo-2nd) has been partnering with art teacher Mara Schriver for much of this school year to help every kid at SAP create a t-shirt design. Twenty-one student designs were chosen to be featured and sold on Fable Clothing's website with a percentage of the profits going towards SAPSA. It's all so exciting!

Shirts are available HERE.

T-shirts will be produced that have been designed by the following students:

Melody, K-Lime

Remy, K-Lime

Marwa, Cariveau - 1

Kaisa, Austin-2

Zeynep, MacGregor-3

Torah, Funk-3

Soren, MacGregor-3

Ila, Weisman-3

Clara, Hausman-4

Isabelle, Hausman-4

Tilda, Hausman-4

Charlie, Stannard Pratt-4

Kaeh, Roth-5

Amelia, Roth-5

Kendi, Roth-5

Luke, Roth-5

Norah, Crowe-5

Kimberly, Crowe-5

Lulou, Hawkins-5

Ikhlas, HellaYelk-5

Cleo, HellaYelk-5

Join the SAPSA Board

Being on the SAPSA Board is a wonderful and rewarding way to get more involved at school! If you are interested in being on the board, please reach out to JoAnna Justiniano, the current Volunteer Coordinator for SAPSA at volunteercoordinator@SAPSAMN.org for more details on each position.

The board is a 2 year commitment, and we have the following positions becoming available in the fall. SAPSA meets once a month publicly and usually once or every other month just as a board.

Open positions:

Secretary - official note taker at meetings

Vice President - shadowing President, to take on President role the following year

Volunteer Coordinator - create sign up geniuses for volunteer needs for events and help recruit volunteers for events. For large events, help ensure volunteers know where to go.

Treasurer - manage SAPSA bank accounts. Receive and pay out funds. Create the SAPSA budget along with executive board members. File taxes.

Advisory Council Representative - plan parent/guardian informational sessions

Message from the Library

This message is from our library assistant, Tina Tsui: Thank you so much for an amazing year! If your kids still have library books, please help them bring back to the library as soon as possible. I really enjoy working with all of our kids in getting excited about books and sharing read-alouds and book talks in the library. And to our wonderful volunteers, I couldn't thank you more for all the time and efforts you have contributed to our school library. Thank you! Last but not least, students are encouraged to keep using MackinVia throughout summer and don't forget to seek out summer programming in the public library and LibraryGo services including Libby. Students can use student ID to access all of those. Have a great summer!

Community Events

Spirit Wear

Available online HERE.

Dr. Duke at 5th Grade Graduation. Congratulations, 5th Graders! We'll miss you, and we wish you all the best in middle school! You're going to do great!

Have a beautiful summer, Wolf Pack!!!

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

Wolf Pack Press - May 15, 2024

May 14, 2024
5 min read

Updated: May 17, 2024

Yesterday was a beautiful day for the Running Club race! Way to go, runners!

Enthusiastic kids pour out of the school before the race

Upcoming Events

-GOING ON NOW! May 15-16 - Plant Sale - 8am-7pm, Langford Park

-Tomorrow! Thursday, May 16 - Family Picnic - Join us during your child's lunch time!

-Friday, May 17 - Family Friday! 7:15-8am in the cafeteria - Walk your student(s) to class in the morning, and then join community members for coffee and conversation in the cafeteria. Coffee is provided. If you'd like, bring a treat or creamer to share, or just bring your good cheer!

-Friday, May 17 - Talent Show - At the Murray Middle School auditorium. Performers, please arrive by 5:30pm. Show starts at 6pm.

-Thursday, May 30 - 5th Grade Graduation - 5:30pm

Plant Sale

The plant sale is happening now - Wednesday and Thursday at Langford Park!

Bring beauty to your yard, while supporting SAP. And it's not too late to sign up to volunteer! This is a fun way to help! Sign up HERE

Spring Carnival Recap

It was so much fun to see so many of you at the Spring Carnival last Friday! So many family and community members volunteered, and teachers that stepped up to help make the event a reality! It takes over 200 volunteers to make an evening like this a success.

The Carnival earned a little over $8,000, which will help pay for science and PE materials, buy books for the library, help cover the end-of-year field trips, and more!

THANK YOU to the volunteers! And thanks to those below for putting together this event!

Breanna Mueller- Carnival Chair

Joel VanValin and Kerrin Flanagan- Activities

Anita Severt and Lauren Renner- Bake Sale

Sara Shepard and Parisa Sarkaratpour- Raffle

JoAnna Justiniano- Volunteer Coordinator

Starke Mueller, Jason Troutman, and Michael Bloyer- Games

Christina Samaroo and Laura and Andy Gillott- Food

David and Marti Deliema- Karaoke

Anne Schroeder- Signs and Decorations

Finally, a should out to our local corporate sponsors- Minnepau Veterinary Clinic and Saint Anthony Park Dental Clinic!

Gorgeous Quilts to raise Money for Wolf Ridge

SAP parent Emily Ronning has made 2 gorgeous quilts that are being auctioned off to benefit student tuition for the 5th grade trip to Wolf Ridge. They are made with batik fabric and flannel backing.

Additional heartwarming information can be found on her blog, and you can bid on the 32auctions website.

T-Shirts designed by SAP students

Kari Jensen (Mom of Kendi-5th and Klo-2nd) has been partnering with art teacher Mara Schriver for much of this school year to help every kid at SAP create a t-shirt design. Twenty-one student designs were chosen to be featured and sold on Fable Clothing's website with a percentage of the profits going towards SAPSA. It's all so exciting!

Shirts are available HERE.

T-shirts will be produced that have been designed by the following students:

Melody, K-Lime

Remy, K-Lime

Marwa, Cariveau - 1

Kaisa, Austin-2

Zeynep, MacGregor-3

Torah, Funk-3

Soren, MacGregor-3

Ila, WWeisman-3

Clara, Hausman-4

Isabelle, Hausman-4

Tilda, Hausman-4

Charlie, Stannard Pratt-4

Kaeh, Roth-5

Amelia, Roth-5

Kendi, Roth-5

Luke, Roth-5

Norah, Crowe-5

Kimberly, Crowe-5

Lulou, Hawkins-5

Ikhlas, HellaYelk-5

Cleo, HellaYelk-5

Join the SAPSA Board

The board is a 2 year commitment, and we have the following positions becoming available in the fall. SAPSA meets once a month publicly and usually once or every other month just as a board.

Open positions:

Secretary - official note taker at meetings

Vice President - shadowing President, to take on President role the following year

Volunteer Coordinator - create sign up geniuses for volunteer needs for events and help recruit volunteers for events. For large events, help ensure volunteers know where to go.

Treasurer - manage SAPSA bank accounts. Receive and pay out funds. Create the SAPSA budget along with executive board members. File taxes.

Advisory Council Representative - plan parent/guardian informational sessions

SAP Open House and Tours

We need parents and guardians of current students to help promote our school!

School Tours happen on Tuesdays and Fridays through the winter and spring. 1-2 tour guides lead a group around the school so they can see our awesome teachers in action. Training and direction are provided if you want it.

Library Helpers

Help reshelve books on Tuesdays or Thursdays. More info and sign up HERE

Community Events

A 64-bed overnight-only emergency shelter for people living homeless will be relocating from downtown to a Luther Seminary building near Murray Middle School. On Tuesday, May 21 from 5:30-7:30pm, there will be an informational meeting about this for the community. Details follow:

Model Cities and Ramsey County to host Town Hall for Safe Space Shelter relocation

Model Cities, together with Ramsey County, will host a community town hall Tuesday, May 21 from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. to announce the relocation of Safe Space Shelter. The shelter is expected to transition to Luther Seminary in Saint Paul in mid- summer. The shelter move is a part of a phased approach to close Ramsey County’s Government Center East building, in which the shelter currently operates. Residents are encouraged to attend the town hall to ask questions and share comments with county and city officials as well as Model Cities staff. View full event details.

Those interested may also submit anonymous questions or comments online. Responses to questions or concerns will be posted to ramseycounty.us/HSD following the town hall event and updated periodically.

View frequently asked questions

What: Safe Space Shelter Community Town Hall

When: Tuesday, May 21, 5:30- 7:30 p.m.

Where: Location Change - Luther Seminary's Olson Campus Center, 1490 Fulham Street

Ramsey County Board Chair Trista Martinson
Saint Paul Deputy Mayor Jaime Tincher
Saint Paul City Council President Mitra Jalali
Ramsey County Director of Housing Stability Keith Lattimore
Model Cities Chief Executive Officer Kizzy Downie

More:

In 2019, Model Cities and Ramsey County partnered together to open Safe Space Shelter; a year-round, low-barrier emergency shelter, that provides a place to sleep for up to 64 people living homeless each night. Safe Space shelter reservations are being made by Ramsey County’s Shelter Entry and Diversion team. People in need of emergency shelter, as well as community partners, are encouraged to contact the team for assistance using one of the following methods:

Phone: 651-266-1050
Email: ShelterEntry@ramseycounty.us
In-person: Saint Paul Opportunity Center, 422 Dorothy Day Place, Saint Paul, MN 55102 (Second floor)