September 22, 2021 | Volume 2 • Issue 7
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Collective Responsibility |
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Thank you for all of your effort to make the first couple of weeks of the school year a success. Your compliance with our mitigation strategies has been important in keeping everyone safe. Each week I participate in a call with superintendents from school districts in the seven county metro area. As you can imagine, COVID is having a significant impact on school districts across the metro area.
Each time I finish these calls, I am extremely grateful for the students, staff and families in St. Louis Park. I especially appreciate the manner in which everyone is working to follow the mitigation strategies. While we have had positive cases as a district and have had to quarantine a number of students, I firmly believe that our numbers would be higher if it were not for your engagement and responsiveness to the actions we are asking everyone to take to keep each other safe.
We must continue to hold ourselves and each other to high expectations regarding compliance with our mitigation strategies. Our ability to sustain in-person learning this school year is dependent on everyone doing their part.
Thank you for doing your part. I firmly believe that the successful implementation of our mitigation strategies will go a long way in helping us prevent the spread of COVID in our schools.
In community,
Astein
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School Board Meetings and Open Forum Guidelines |
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Please remember that St. Louis Park Public Schools School Board meetings are being held on Tuesdays during the 2021-22 school year. Meetings are currently being held in-person in room C350 at St. Louis Park High School. Visit the School Board page on the District website for a full schedule of School Board meetings.
In the interest of open communications, the St. Louis Park School District wishes to provide an opportunity for the public to address the School Board. That opportunity is provided at School Board business meetings during Open Forum. Business meetings are held the fourth Tuesday of the month. Open Forum guidelines are listed below:
1. Complete the Open Forum Sign-Up form by 3:00 p.m. on the day of the meeting at which you would like to address the School Board.
2. Anyone that has signed-up to speak during Open Forum will be acknowledged by the Board Chair. When called upon to speak, you will be unmuted. Please state your name, address and topic. All remarks shall be addressed to the Board as a whole, not to any specific member(s) or to any person who is not a member of the Board.
3. If there are a number of individuals present to speak on the same topic, please designate a spokesperson to summarize the issue.
4. Please limit your comments to three (3) minutes. Longer time may be granted at the discretion of the Board Chair. If you have written comments, the Board would like to have a copy, which will help them better understand, investigate, and respond if necessary to your concern.
5. During Open Forum, the Board and Administration will listen to comments; they will likely not respond to your comments at this meeting. In the event your issue is not discussed immediately, your comments are important to us and will be taken into consideration. Board members or the Superintendent may ask questions of you in order to gain a thorough understanding of your concern, suggestion, or request.
6. Please be aware that disrespectful comments or comments of a personal nature directed at an individual either by name or inference, will not be allowed. Personnel concerns should be directed first to a principal, the assistant superintendent, the superintendent, and finally in writing to the Board. The Board reserves the right to mute individuals or remove them for the meeting for inappropriate behavior.
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High School Homecoming Schedule |
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Stakeholders are invited to help celebrate St. Louis Park High School's Homecoming on Friday, Sept. 24. A Homecoming parade will begin at 5 p.m. and will include the following streets around the High School: West 33rd Street, Dakota Avenue, W. Lake Street, and Library Lane.
The High School varsity football team will play Benilde-St. Margaret's at 7 p.m. at the High School Stadium (6525 Lake Street). Tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for students. Gates will open at 6:30 p.m. Please remember the following rules if you are planning to attend the football game on Friday:
- No backpacks or bags are allowed in the stadium
- No outside food or pets are allowed
- No re-entry after you leave the stadium
- Any student in grades K-8 need to have a paying accompanying adult with them
Go Park!
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Reminder: Friday, October 1 is a No School Day for E-12 |
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Parents and guardians are reminded that there is no school on Friday, October 1 as the District's staff will be engaged in a professional learning day. Kids Place will be open on October 1. |
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Bus Drivers Needed; Families Asked to Opt-Out of Transportation |
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2021-22 COVID Quarantine Information for Students,
Families & Staff
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*NEW INFO THIS WEEK*
Wondering How to Count Quarantine Days? Click here for guidance from the Minnesota Department of Health.
St. Louis Park Public Schools will continue to follow CDC and MDH recommendations regarding quarantine for students who test positive for COVID and those who are close contacts.
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Student Work During Quarantine |
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It is possible that your student might have to quarantine at home due to a COVID exposure at some point during the 2021-22 school year. Teachers and staff at each of our buildings are committed to ensuring that students continue to learn while at home during those times of quarantine.
Click here to view detailed information by grade level (K-5, 6-8 and 9-12) on what school will look like for your student during quarantine.
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2021-22 COVID Testing Options |
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*NEW INFO THIS WEEK*
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CLICK HERE to access community testing sites throughout the Twin Cities.
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TEST AT HOME: CLICK HERE to order at-home saliva testing kits for COVID to have on-hand for testing at any time.
- TEACHERS & STAFF: A limited number of at-home saliva testing kits for COVID are available in the school office for teachers and staff experiencing COVID symptoms. We are awaiting the arrival of individual biohazard bags and upon receipt we will distribute them for the return of tests.
- PARENTS & FAMILIES: We hope to receive COVID tests for students soon! Upon receipt, we will communicate with parents and families about how to access the tests.
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FOR STUDENTS: BinaxNOW Rapid Tests
If a student develops symptoms at school, they will be sent to the health office. The parent/guardian listed as the first emergency contact will be called to pick up their child (if the first emergency contact is not available, the school will move down the list of contacts). The parent/guardian will be called to pick up their child. They will be sent home with a BinaxNOW test. These tests will be completed at home. The results are rapid (15 minutes) and the parent/guardian will call the school health office to report the result to the Health Aide or Nurse, where they will receive further information as to whether or not they have to quarantine and for how long. If a student is at home and is showing symptoms of COVID, a parent/guardian can pick up a BinaxNOW test from school to administer at home.
Tests are allocated to Minnesota schools based on 2020-21 student enrollment. St. Louis Park Public Schools is waiting on the arrival of tests; an update will be sent once the tests arrive.
Information on BinaxNOW Rapid Tests is available here:
FOR STAFF: Vault PCR Tests
The school district’s current allocation of VAULT PCR (saliva) tests are being distributed to buildings for staff use. Testing dates will be scheduled at each site and tests will be returned via UPS mail in batches for analysis. Results are usually available 48-72 hours after samples are received at the lab. Vault tests are for staff use only and available in the school office. Once the testing dates are scheduled we will send updated information.
Information on Vault PCR Tests is available here:
For additional testing opportunities for families see below.
ADDITIONAL LOCAL OPTIONS FOR TESTING:
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District Seeking Kids Place Staff |
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District Seeking Stakeholder Feedback on ESSER III Funds Plan |
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St. Louis Park Public Schools has received one-time federal funding under the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER), which is part of the American Rescue Plan. The District has been allocated approximately $4 million as part of this legislation.
In order to receive this federal funding, the District must provide an opportunity for public feedback related to the plan. Stakeholders can click here to view Director of Business Services Patricia Magnuson’s presentation to the School Board on September 14 to learn more about the District’s plan to use ESSER III funds. Stakeholders can click here to submit feedback. All feedback must be submitted by September 27 in advance of the September 28 School Board meeting.
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Reminder: Face Coverings are Required
in District Schools and Centers
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Please remember that masks are required to be worn by all students (K-12) and staff in district schools and centers when indoors with the exception of when individuals are eating breakfast or lunch. Masks are also required on school busses at all times.
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Keep Schools Open: Stay Home When You Are Sick |
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Families are also reminded to keep students home when they are sick, including if they have any COVID-related symptoms such as a fever, difficulty breathing, loss of taste or snell, muscle pain, chills, cough, runny nose/congestion, sore throat, headache or fatigue.
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Are you or someone you know looking for a fun, energetic environment where you get to work with kids? Kids Place is currently hiring a number of positions at our four elementary schools. Find out more and apply by visiting our job postings page
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PowerSchool Parent Portal Access |
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As we welcome students, parents/guardians, and families for the 2021-22 school year, we are providing many of our communications electronically. Many of our systems rely on - and can be accessed through - the PowerSchool Parent Portal.
IMPORTANT NOTES:
If you already have a PowerSchool Parent Portal account, you DO NOT need a new one. All student, parent/guardian, and family information entered last year will be forwarded to this school year. You can now review and update the information as requested in the Required Forms communication.
If you created an account and forgot the username or password you chose, click the Forgot Username or Password link found on the PowerSchool Parent Portal sign in screen. If you do not receive a reset email from PowerSchool, contact your child’s school for assistance.
Letters were mailed on August 27 to all students and parents/guardians who NEED TO CREATE a PowerSchool Parent Portal account. Parents/Guardians with a kindergarten student, those who are NEW to St. Louis Park Public Schools, and returning families who have not created an account previously should have received a letter with instructions and access information.
Click here to access the PowerSchool login page where you can also create a new account.
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REMINDER: Complete the 2021-22 Required Forms |
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This year we are requesting that students, parents/guardians, and families complete the majority of the required forms for the school year electronically. Forms included are:
- Annual Student Update
- Student Meal Accounts
- Application for Educational Benefits
- Bus Information & Tracking
- Student Digital Equity Survey
- Technology Device Loan Agreement
- Seesaw (K-5) & Schoology (6-12) Use Agreements
- Student ID Badges
- … and more!
Our goal is to increase efficiency for families by completing forms one time and electronically, eliminate the expense of printing and mailing forms, and reduce the environmental impact of paper and ink. We hope you find this helpful in preparing for the 2021-22 school year. And we ask for your patience as we implement this new process.
Click here to view the publication as an interactive flipbook in the publishing platform Issuu.
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