February Family Connections

(Previously called Parent/Teacher Conferences)

Family Connections will be offered either in person meetings or virtual meetings. Families will choose when signing up. It is always always our goal that we partner and meet with all of our families

Sign Ups will be sent out on Monday, January 30th in a special edition of the Susan Lindgren Communicator, as well as on our school website for your convenience. 

Family Connection Dates:

• Thursday, February 16th from 2:30-6:30 PM (20 minute sessions)
• Friday, February 17th from 7:30 AM - 3:30 PM (20 minute sessions)

First Semester Progress Reports will be sent home with students in sealed envelopes in backpacks on Thursday, February 2nd.

Spotlight Kids the Susan Lindgren musical theater program is hosting a Parent's Night Out as a fundraiser for this season. On February 10th from 5-8 PM you may drop off any kid who is potty trained to Susan Lindgren. They will play games, do crafts and eat dinner while you go out to enjoy some time. We are asking for a suggested donation of $20/kid, please feel free to donate as you see fit. Sign-up for this amazing opportunity here. 

We could not do the wonderful things we do at our school without all of you and your never-ending support. We are a village and family for all of our 428 learners! 

Your Proud Partner in Learning,

Clarence Pollock

Principal

Key Dates for Families

• Thursday, January 26- Festival of Nations- 6:00-8:00 PM at Susan Lindgren

• Friday, January 27 - No School - End of Semester Grading/Work Day



• Thursday, February 2nd - First Semester Progress Reports send home is student backpacks

• Friday, February 3 - No School- Districtwide Professional Development Day



• Thursday, February 16th - Family Connections (Conferences) 2:30-6:30 PM

• Friday, February 17 - No School- Family Connections (Conferences) 7:30AM - 3:30 PM

• Thursday, February 16 and Friday February 17- Book Fair in the SL Media Center during Family Connections

• Monday, February 20 - No School - Presidents' Day Holiday

For the safety of students, and the consideration of our neighbors as well as all, please remember to:

• Know the different zones: DROP OFF, PARKING and NO PARKING.

• Drop off the student/s ONLY in the DROP OFF ZONE.

• Have student/s exit from the RIGHT side of vehicle, ready with supplies.
• If a parent or guardian needs to assist the student/s, go to the END of the drop off zone.

• Stay with your vehicle.
• If you need to pick up your student, park in PARKING ZONE and wait along the sidewalk.

• Move with the flow of the traffic.
• Don’t TURN AROUND on 41st Street. Instead, consider W 40th Street or W 40th Lane.

• Pull all the way up BEFORE dropping off or picking up your student.
• Staff will help students get to and from their vehicles.

Thank you for doing your part in keeping students safe!

Fundraisers:

Gotsneakers?: We would truly appreciate a donation of any sneakers (tennis shoes) that you are going to be getting rid of this year. Please bring them to the front office of Susan Lindgren or send with your student to drop off. Please see the attached document to learn more about Gotsneakers. 

Chipotle: Mark your calendar: March 7th 4-8 PM any purchase from Excelsior Blvd. (by Park Nicollet) Chipotle will give Susan Lindgren Spotlight kids 30% of the sales. You will need to bring the upcoming flyer either electronically or in hard copy. 

Donations: 

Snacks: We will be serving approximately 100 students snacks twice a week for 17 weeks. Any donations of snacks would be greatly appreciated. Please send snack donations to the front office. Here is a Sign Up Link for Snack donations.

Carpentry Supplies: If you have a connection or extra construction materials at your residence please let us know. We will be constructing sets and will need all of the supplies to make that happen. Email: Meg Schauer: schauer.meg@slpschools.org 

Fabric: If you have a connection or extra fabric at your residence please let us know. We will be constructing costumes and will need all of the supplies to make that happen. Please email so we can give you more specifics of what we are looking for. 

Email: Meg Schauer: schauer.meg@slpschools.org 

UPDATE for Susan Lindgren Spotlight Kids: 

The first dates of rehearsal will be 1/10/23 and 1/12/23.

We are excited for this opportunity and greatly appreciate any and all support! If you have any questions or concerns please reach out.

Sincerely,

Ms. Schauer schauer.meg@slpschools.org (Director)

Mr. Thomas thomas.joseph@slpschools.org (Musical Director)

Ms. Bertram bertram.emilie@slpschools.org (Choreographer) 

Ms. Nelson nelson.robin@slpschools.org (Producer) 

Important PTO News and Updates

Festival of Nations -Next Thursday! January 26, 6-8 p.m.

Festival of Nations is almost here!  More activities and performances have been added to the event; please find updated flyers in English, Spanish, and Somali.  We are thrilled to have so many Susan Lindgren families and SLP community members showcase their talent and cultures.  

The event will offer drinks and  a variety of food samples; there will not be a full meal so please plan accordingly.  Samples include food from Susan Lindgren Families, Mexico City, Sambusa King, and Park Tavern Pizza. 

A Family Bus Schedule will be available in the coming days- look for an email from teachers and/or Classroom Ambassadors with details about stops and pick up times.  We hope to see you there! Questions? Contact susanlindgrenpto@gmail.com 

Staff Appreciation During Family Connect:

February 16 & 17, 2023

It's time to show appreciation and celebrate our teachers & staff during Winter Family Connect meetings. They put in long hours on these days and what better to thank them but..with food! 

Thursday, February 16 will include an afternoon meat, cheese, crackers, nuts, veggies, and olive bar, then an evening baked pasta dinner.. Friday, February 17 will have morning doughnuts and coffee then Jimmy John's & Chips for lunch. The Snack Cart will be up and running in the mailroom ALL DAY Friday!

We are asking for your help! You can contribute in three ways:

1. Make a financial donation to cover the costs of ordered food: coffee, meat & cheese tray, doughnuts, sandwiches, and snack cart. 
2. Sign up to bring a food item.
3. Volunteer with us! We would love help with set up and clean up. You can sign up here. You can also go drop off a message from your family for the teachers and staff. We will post these messages in the lounge.

If you would like to contribute funds to support these efforts, please first sign-up here and then second, make a payment using the DONATE/PayPal button on the Susan Lindgren PTO webpage. For planning purposes, we are requesting all financial contributions be received by MONDAY, February 13. If you have any questions, contact Aimee Munson (612-385-8881) or Tara DiNicola (612-702-7636).

Scholastic Book Fair

We will be hosting a Scholastic Book Fair in the Media Center during Family Connections.



• Thursday, February 16th from 2:30-6:30 PM
• Friday, February 17th from 7:30 AM - 3:30 PM

Math Night-  TBD in March! 

Keep your eyes out for an invitation to Math Night, happening sometime in March! Math Night is hosted with Mathnasium and is set up like a fun carnival of math activities!  The event will be held in the evening in the Susan Lindgren gym. Contact Emily Hynes (emily.hurm@gmail.com) or Francie Steich (francie.streich@gmail.com) with questions.  

Winter Youth Enrichment Clubs and Classes

To view the Ultimate YEP Winter Guide with ALL the winter offerings, click here.

Questions? Contact Kelleen at obrion.kelleen@slpschools.org or 952-928-6399

Cooking Club (no bake edition) (click to register)

Learn how to make new no-bake recipes each week while learning the basics of cooking, ingredients, and baking. 

Mondays, January 23-March 20

2:15-3:30 pm 

Sliding Scale Pricing: $49/$59/$69/$79

Family Class Opportunity from Youth Enrichment Programs and The HOPE Speaks Project

We See Color! Grades K-2 w/ caregivers

This six-week course is designed for children in grades K-2 with their caregivers. Rather than instill false notions of "colorblindness" that ignore parts of our identity, this course will teach kids and caregivers how to engage in meaningful conversations that celebrate and honor our unique differences. Raise the racial consciousness of your child rearing and have fun in the process! 

Cost per family: $99 (includes dinner at each class for all attending members

Day/Time: Tuesdays, January 24-February 28, 5:30-7:00 pm 

Location: Susan Lindgren Media Center 

Click here to register now: We See Color!

Raising Racially Conscious Kids (Grades 3-5 w/ caregivers) 

This six-week course is designed for children in grades 3-5 and their caregivers. Students and caregivers will be given tools to engage in uncomfortable conversations, develop key terminology and concepts to understand racism and promote healthy racial identities of all people centered in love and humanity. Caregivers will be able to begin to unpack how everyday child-rearing choices can be obstacles to equity. 

Cost per family: $99 (includes dinner at each class for all attending members

Day/Time: Tuesdays, January 24-February 28, 5:30-7:00 pm 

Location: Susan Lindgren Media Center 

Click here to register now: Raising Racially Conscious Kids

2023-24 Calendar Now Available

The School Board approved the 2023-2024 school calendar at the December 13, 2022 Board Meeting. Visit the calendar page on the website and click on the calendar for next school year (23-24).

We’re Improving Weather-Related Notifications

St. Louis Park Public Schools is making sure families receive weather-related announcements in a more timely manner with these improvements:

• Weather-related announcements will be prioritized in our notification system, which will significantly speed up the time it takes for families to receive calls.

• Our system will now call up to two contact numbers listed for each student. Previously the default was to only contact one unless otherwise designated. 

• We now have a solution in place to mitigate the issue of SLP emails going to spam.

• Families can now receive communications in their preferred language, such as Somali and Spanish. If we are unable to record a multilingual call, the family receives the phone message in English and the email in the preferred language.

• In addition to local news outlets airing school closings/delays, we are expanding our media partners to include KMNV La Raza Radio and other language-specific news agencies. 

• In the coming months, we will begin the process of enabling text message notifications.

Want to receive District emails and phone recordings in Spanish or Somali?

Families can now receive district-level communications (emails and phone recordings) in a preferred language such as Spanish or Somali. If you wish to update your language preferences, please contact our front office staff and ask that the preferred guardian language be updated in the student information system (PowerSchool). This will ensure you receive district-level communications such as closures and emergencies in your preferred messages. Whenever possible, we will do our best to ensure SLP phone recordings go out in your preferred language. 

Want to receive District emails and phone recordings in Spanish or Somali?

Families can now receive district-level communications (emails and phone recordings) in a preferred language such as Spanish or Somali. Some families currently receive messages in Spanish or Somali and may wish to receive information in English.

If you wish to update your language preferences, please contact your school and ask that the preferred guardian language be updated in our student information system (PowerSchool). This will ensure you receive district-level communications such as closures and emergencies in your preferred messages.

Whenever possible, we will do our best to ensure SLP phone recordings go out in your preferred language. 

Share the Mic Podcast with Suwaydah Aden, Erin Enright, and Ibtisam Ahmed whose climate action project inspired the Idle Free SLP Campaign

Seventh Graders Suwaydah Aden, Erin Enright, and Ibtisam Ahmed coined the term "Idle-Free SLP" during their Climate Action presentation last spring during science class. Their slogan and presentation have since served as inspiration for a new initiative in St. Louis Park to reduce carbon emissions in parking lots all across St. Louis Park. Listen to episodes 1-3 on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Missed the December episode? Listen or Watch now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6satuElql-c&t=6s 

Clarence Pollock, Principal

Arsenio Richardson, Elementary Support Supervisor

4801 West 41st Street

St. Louis Park, MN 55416

Phone: 952-928-6700

Fax: 952-928-6713

pollock.clarence@slpschools.org

https://sl.slpschools.org