Happy fall, everyone. We have so many fun events coming up, plus some resources we wanted to share - Read on!
Upcoming Events
- Friday, October 7 - School Picnic
Join your child for lunch on the lawn. Visitors are invited to purchase school lunch (or bring one from home), meet kids as they come outside, and eat during students' regularly scheduled lunch times:
Grade 2 and Krider - 10:10-10:40
Kindergarten - 10:30-11:00
Grade 4 - 11:00-11:30
Grade 1 - 11:20-11:50
Grade 5 and Levine - 11:50-12:20
Grade 3 - 12:10-12:40
Bring your own chair or blanket, spend time with your student, and connect with other families.
- Tuesday, October 11
Advisory Council - 5:00pm
SAPSA Meeting - 6:30pm
All are welcome to attend! Meetings held in the school library. Stay informed and help shape what is happening at our school.
- Friday, October 14 - Fall Festival and Book Fair
5:00pm
More info below!
- Thursday & Friday, October 20-21 - No School
MEA Break
- Monday, October 31 - No School
Conference prep
Fall Festival & Book Fair
Friday, October 14th, 5pm
Join us in celebrating the return of the Fall Festival at St. Anthony Park Elementary!
This will be a super fun night, and to make it all work, WE NEED HELP from our amazing school community - sign up to volunteer for a small portion of the evening, and you'll still have plenty of time left to enjoy the festivities!
Click on the links below to sign up to help with the Fall Festival or the Book Fair!
Scarecrow Garden at the Fall Festival
This year, we will be setting up a Scarecrow Garden at our Fall Festival & Book Fair on October 14th. Members of the school community can create a scarecrow and bring it to the Scarecrow Garden to show off during the event. Big Kids (aka Adults) can create a Scarecrow, too. Please know, this is not a contest – it is just art for art’s sake! There are two ways to participate: 1. Make & Design Your Own Scarecrow. Create your own frame and dress up your own scarecrow! Please be prepared to mount the scarecrow yourself between 2:15-5PM on Friday, October 14th. Bring your own tools. Please sign-up here to let us know you are participating so we can assign you a place in the garden and create a sign to celebrate your creation: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/805084DA4AC2DA0FA7-2022 2. Purchase a Scarecrow Frame Kit. **Update - scarecrow frames are sold out** You can still see them here: https://scarecrow-garden-2022-109922.square.site/ Here is a fun video for inspiration! https://youtu.be/KGY1tv9iLH8
Social and Emotional Resources at SAP
In addition to our wonderful school counselors, Errol Edwards and Kelly Lynch, and our behavior intervention specialist Ashley Cropsey, we have some additional staff and resources to support our students. Our school social worker and school therapist would like to introduce themselves -
Hello Families, my name is Rachel Curtis, your school social worker, and I am thrilled to be at St. Anthony Park full time this year! I started work within SPPS in 2016, right after completing my Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work at Concordia College (Moorhead, MN.). Most recently I completed my Master’s Degree in Social Work at Augsburg University (Minneapolis, MN) in 2020. Outside of work, I am enjoying being a newlywed, being social with friends, and taking my two puppies on walks around my neighborhood.
This school year, I am available to support special education and general education students explore their social-emotional wellbeing as well as be a resource for them during times of high stress or upset. Another one of my roles in the building, is to coordinate our school based mental health program. Alicia Vang, from Nystrom & Associates Counseling, will be offering school-based therapy for students this school year and is in our building two times a week. School-Based therapy is a convenient way to provide mental health therapy to students. It removes barriers such as transportation and scheduling difficulties which often stands in the way of students receiving therapy. It also allows for students to work with therapists directly in the environment in which they often struggle the most; in school. Our therapist can provide individual therapy, assessments and referrals for additional services. In addition, there is the possibility of seeing the child and the family outside of regular school hours. A student may be a good fit for school-based therapy if they are experiencing symptoms of depression or anxiety, they have behavioral problems in the classroom, you notice a change in their behavior (they become more quiet/withdrawn or more disruptive, they begin missing assignments, etc.), or there have been recent stressors that are concerning. If you would like more information or if you are interested in this service for your student, please contact me directly at rachel.curtis@spps.org or my phone at 651-744-7962. I would be happy to discuss this resource with you and determine if a referral would be appropriate. Finally, please enjoy this monthly newsletter from the School Based team at Nystrom and Associates, on Sleep Hygiene HERE. I am so grateful to have a partnership with Nystrom and look forward to sharing more newsletters with you in the future.
Hello Everyone, My name is Alicia Vang and I graduated with my Masters in Social Work. I am currently a School Based Therapist with Nystrom & Associates. I enjoy working with children and guiding them into finding their strengths and learning to persevere in this world. When I am not working, I enjoy hiking, walking with my fur-baby, and camping. Thank you for taking the time to get to know me and I hope I get to meet you as well.
Dexter's Corner __________
Greetings! In case you missed my previous column, I’m Dexter Junior, the guinea pig that lives in Mr. Schrankler’s science room!
Did you know that everyone has big feelings sometimes, even little guinea pigs like me? Sometimes I get so jumbled up that I'm not even sure WHAT I'm feeling! It's so nice to be able to waddle down the hall to talk to our counselors, Mr. Edwards or Ms. Lynch, or to one of the other members of our supportive staff. Parents and kids, don't be shy to reach out to them - we could all use some extra support sometimes!
Well, that's it for now, Wolf Pack. As we guinea pigs say, I wish you a good wheek, wheek, wheeeeek!
____________________________________
Fall Bulb Sale Fundraiser
Our fall bulb sale is short of its fundraising goal, with less than a week to go! The best part of this fundraiser is that our vendor ships to customers anywhere in the US. That means you can share this link with friends, co-workers and family and they can help support SAP! Just forward them this link: https://www.flowerpowerfundraising.com/index.php/marketplace/seller/profile/shop/sapsa
Fundraisers like the bulb sale help fund materials for classrooms, field trips, teacher stipends, and numerous other enrichment opportunities for our students. You can learn more about what is going on at our school and how funds are spent by attending monthly SAPSA meetings on the second Tuesday of every month at 6:30PM in the school library!
Every Meal - Weekend Food Program
Every Meal is a program that focuses on the food gaps during times that children aren’t able to receive free or reduced-price meals. At SAP, non-perishable food items are distributed to students on Fridays, to provide food for the weekend. Information is available in English, Spanish, Somali, Hmong, Karen, Arabic, Amharic, and Pashto.Use the links below to find out more about this free program or to enroll.
Last Chance to be included in the School Directory this year!
The deadline for including your information in the School Directory has been extended until Friday, October 7. Participation is optional, and you can provide as much or as little information as you want. Complete the form online HERE.
If you have questions about the School Directory (or anything else) please feel free to ask the SAPSA Communications Team at the school picnic on Friday, or via email at communications@sapsamn.org
More links
The SPPS COVID Policy is available HERE.
School Spirit Wear can be purchased HERE.
Saint Paul Parks and Rec Activity Links for all ages:
Preschool- Preschool Activities
Youth- Youth Activities
Adult- Adult Activities
What's for lunch next week?
