December 4, 2023

PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE

Greetings SLP Families!

I hope you are enjoying the above average temperatures that fall has provided. It is hard to believe that winter break is around the corner. When we return in the new year, the testing season will be upon us. It is important for students, families, and staff to be well informed on how tests benefit students, and inform our practice in meeting the needs of students. Equally important is understanding how high opt-out rates for tests like the MCA can unintentionally have a negative impact on schools.

Provided below are district resources to summarize the benefits of testing for SLP students and schools. Please join us at the PEAC meeting (virtual) on January 8th, 2024 at 7 pm for the latest high school testing data with Dr. Slivy Lafayette, Director of Assessment, Research, and Evaluation.

SLP District Testing Resources:

SLP District Testing Webpage & Video - "Clearing up the confusion about standardized tests: How testing benefits students and schools"

High School Testing Calendars

Take care, be well, & GO PARK!!

LaNisha Paddock

Principal

IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES

TESTING SCHEDULE

Teresa Petta

SLPHS Test Coordinator

petta.teresa@slpschools.org

IMPORTANT: ACT EXAM FREE AT SLPHS

SLPHS is offering an official administration of the ACT for all 11th grade students on:

Wednesday, March 6th 2024.

The exam is free and no registration is necessary.

The ACT measures knowledge and skills in English, mathematics, reading, and science reasoning.

The test will be administered online using student issued chromebooks. This administration does NOT include the writing option. If you want to take the ACT with writing you will need to visit the ACT site to register.
Transportation will be provided.
The test begins at the start of the 1st hour - 8:25 am and will conclude by 12:30 pm for standard test takers.
Students with test accommodations may receive extended test time. Details will be provided prior to testing.
Free test prep is available on the ACT webpage. We encourage students to start preparing NOW.
Additional information to follow.

Teresa Petta

SLPHS Test Coordinator

petta.teresa@slpschools.org

FRIDAY FLOWERS

On Friday, December 15th, our third month of Friday Flowers will be happening at the high school. Friday Flowers is an exciting way to celebrate the school year and bring joy to our SLP community! Buy a flower for a friend, staff, family or a special someone to show your appreciation and care for them! You can include a note or keep it anonymous! Flower prices range from $2-$10.

Have any questions? Contact Emma Engebretson (engebretson.emmac@slpschools.org)

DUBLIN, LONDON AND BERLIN

Your copy should address 3 key questions: Who am I writing for? (Audience) Why should they care? (Benefit) What do I want them to do here? (Call-to-Action)

Create a great offer by adding words like "free" "personalized" "complimentary" or "customized." A sense of urgency often helps readers take an action, so think about inserting phrases like "for a limited time only" or "only 7 remaining"!

Abigail Lugo

Business Teacher

lugo.abigail@slpschools.org

SPONSOR A STUDENT THIS HOLIDAY

DECA students partner with Family Partnership yearly to host a Holiday party for underserved preschool children. We make sure each child gets $30-35 in gifts from their wishlist and a hat and mittens to help keep them warm.

Please consider sponsoring a child and making a difference this Holiday season!

STEP 1: Pick a child to sponsor

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0945A4A929A4FB6-45960668-family?useFullSite=true#/

STEP 2: Giving of the gift(s) + hat + mittens (not gloves)

Spend $30-$35 on gift(s) from your child's wishlist
Purchase a hat and mitten (not gloves)
Don’t have time to get items - NO PROBLEM!
Bring or send $40 to Mrs. Lugo so students can purchase items for your child
Venmo: @Abigail-Lugo (last 4: 7413)

STEP 3: Deliver Holiday Cheer

Bringing a gift(s) + hat + mittens
Put your items in a holiday bag of your choice
Write your child’s name on the bag
You can include who it’s from too
Bring giftbag to B226 by December 13
Giving a donation
Cash or Venmo must be received by December 1

Thank you for making a difference in the lives of these children -

DECA, Family Partnership, and their families thank you!

Abigail Lugo

Business Teacher

lugo.abigail@slpschools.org

STORIOLE HOLIDAY!

https://the-storiole.square.site/sale

Abigail Lugo

Business Teacher

lugo.abigail@slpschools.org

WINTER ITEMS TO STOCK THE SLP THRIFT STORE

Looking for Winter Items to Stock the SLP Thrift Store

The SLP Thrift Store is a clothing closet run by students for any person inside St. Louis Park High School. If you have any clothing items, winter items, or new hygiene products you’d like to donate please drop them off at Door #1 marked ‘SLP Thrift Store'.

Items Most Needed

Winter Boots
Body wash
Deodorant
Hats/Mittens/Gloves
New socks
$10 Target Gift cards (these are gifted to students based on teacher requests)

Thank you! - Students of Business & Management Operations

Abigail Lugo

Business Teacher

lugo.abigail@slpschools.org

BLOOD DRIVE

RedCrossBlood.org and enter: Orioles

Abigail Lugo

Business Teacher

lugo.abigail@slpschools.org

YOU'RE INVITED! SCHOOL BOARD FAREWELL RECEPTION

St. Louis Park Public Schools staff are invited to the farewell reception for two outgoing school board members, Ken Morrison and Heather Wilsey. The reception will take place on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023 at the Central Community Center from 5:00-5:55 p.m., with the program beginning at 5:20 p.m. Cookies, coffee, & juice will be served. The School Board meeting will start directly after the reception.

IN THE LOOP SLP CONSTRUCTION UPDATE

View updates from Knutson Construction and St. Louis Park Public Schools about construction projects in the school district. November highlights include project milestones and progress for the High School and Middle School.

Fun Fact:The new synthetic turf field installation consists of 199 tons of sand and 174 tons of fine rubber pellets installed on top of the turf to ‘fill in’ the turf fibers and reduce the impact of the field users. This volume of sand is enough

to fill over 300 backyard sandboxes and this amount of rubber is roughly the equivalent of over 28,000 car tires! View the construction updates webpage.

In the Loop: SLP Construction Newsletter

OUR COMMUNITY EDUCATION WINTER CATALOG IS HERE!

Checkout our new activities today - registration is available online now. The catalog will arrive in St. Louis Park residents mailboxes in early December.

Link: https://slp.ce.eleyo.com/

PARENT ENGAGEMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE (PEAC)

Our Parent Engagement Advisory Committee (PEAC) MIssion:

We partner to create a collaborative and inclusive learning environment for students, families and educators that fosters and embraces the brilliance of the St. Louis Park community.

Parents and Caregivers, as the calendar turns to December and the realization that we’re almost halfway through the year, it’s a great time to think about volunteering for one of the many opportunities to give back to the St. Louis Park High School community. If you have questions on any of these opportunities, please send us a note at slphsPEAC@gmail.com.

Be sure to check out our latest opportunities to give back to the St. Louis Park High School community.

Ways to help:

Staff Appreciation Week - lead a luncheon and snacks early in May ~2-3 hours

Attend a Coffee with the Principal.

When:

December 12, 3 - 3:30 p.m.
March 4, 12 - 12:30 p.m.

Where: High School front office

Why:

It’s your opportunity to spend time with Principal LaNisha Paddock—she’ll share updates on timely topics and you can bring your questions.

Mark your calendar and attend our PEAC meetings, which will provide you with important updates from your Principal team and key department stakeholders. All meetings are from 7:00 - 8:00 p.m:
January 8 - Zoom
April 16 - in person at the high school

Treats for staff needed for Jan. 9 and 23 Please continue to show our staff how much you care by signing up to donate treats for staff - sign up here.

Urgent! Lead the Ultimate Sport for the Mind: the FIRST Robotics team for SLPHS - established in 2009, this team brings together students who have a love of robotics. The team is looking for a new leader who will support the team in 2024 by helping students raise funds, design a team "brand," hone teamwork skills, and build and program industrial-size robots. A new leader will have access to a very supportive community of team leaders from other schools. To learn more about this role, please contact Ken Rosen at krosen@firstinspires.org .

Help ensure the senior party is a free event!

Please click the link below to sign up to sponsor:

https://form.jotform.com/slpseniorparty2024/individual-sponsorship-request?fbclid=IwAR1fZgo-YJevE_Kvbjct-8cybNSYtGn_46uAppvdGrhYRSgiv8GKIBrNoio

Donate via Amazon Wish Lists! You have two opportunities to give:
General school supplies at Amazon (Attention: School Supplies)
Art supplies at Amazon (Attention: Art Teacher Herbst)

Drop off your donations at the Main Office or manually enter the school address for delivery, including Attention: School Supplies or Art Teacher Herbst

_______________________________________________

If you are interested in being part of the PEAC, we’d love to have you join the team. Please send us a note at slphsPEAC@gmail.com.

We’re looking forward to hearing from you!!

PEAC - Parent Engagement Advisory Committee

Roni Falck, Julie Yakes - Co-Chairs

Ben Schein - Treasurer

Jen Beach - Communications

6425 West 33rd St. | St. Louis Park, MN 55426

Phone: 952-928-6100 | Fax: 952-928-6113

hs.slpschools.org

Submit HS Attendance

SLP's Athletics Website

St. Louis Park District Website