The Scots' Scoop
Highland Park Middle School's Weekly Family Newsletter
August 28, 2022
All translations are computer generated.
We apologize in advance for any unintended errors.
Important Upcoming Dates
Thursday, September 1: New Student Orientation & Open House. Times of morning new student orientation activities vary depending on grade level. See article below titled, "Open House is Thursday, September 1" for details.
Tuesday, September 6: First Day of School!
New Student Orientation & Open House is Thursday, September 1
Please join us at our open house to welcome students and families to a new year this Thursday, September 1, 2022. Please see the following times to see when you should come to open house:
New 6th Graders Orientation only: Orientation for 6th grade students & parents/guardians begins at 8:00 a.m. (please arrive between 7:50 - 8:00 a.m.).
Students separate from parents/guardians upon entering the school building & go through orientation from 8:00 - 11:45 a.m. led by teachers & 8th grade student WEB leaders - students will have breakfast to go during this time, as well.
Parents/Guardians meet in the auditorium from 8:00 - 9:00 a.m. for parent orientation; at 9:00 a.m., parents are encouraged to leave the building until the end of student orientation. At 11:45 a.m. parents may return to reunite with their student in their student's Foundation class (Foundations teachers will connect with parents/guardians via email to provide their room numbers prior to Sept. 1.)
Please go here for more detailed information about 6th grade orientation.
New 7th & 8th Graders only: Orientation for new 7th and 8th grade students and their parents/guardians takes place at 11:30 a.m. - 12 noon in the school auditorium.
All Students & families, all new & returning students & parents/guardians • from 12 noon - 2:00 p.m., students and families may come & go as they please to visit classrooms & to get familiar with the school & staff.
Open House concludes at 2:00 p.m.
Student Schedule Available Now
Student schedules are available for viewing in the Student Portal on Campus. Please direct any questions about student schedules to HPMS' school counselors:
- Elisabeth Mulvaney, Grade 6 elisabeth.mulvaney@spps.org (651) 744-3399,
- Danielle Seifert, Grade 7 danielle.seifert@spps.org (651) 744-7582, &
- Nou Katzmarek, Grade 8 nou.katzmarek@spps.org (651) 744-3400.
School Hours
School Supply List
Cell Phone, Earbuds, & Electronic Devices
School Bus Transportation
Students will receive a postcard in the mail with transportation information at the end of August. The postcard lists details about where and when to get on and off the bus. Please arrive at the bus stop five minutes before the bus is scheduled to pick up your child. Track the status of your child’s bus on our school’s website or the Bus Status app.
If you believe your student is taking the bus but did not receive a postcard, please call Transportation at (651) 696-9600 as soon as possible.
Drop-Off and Pick-Up
School Drop-off
Please enter the parking lot off Montreal Avenue and proceed to Door 20. Once you are in front of Door 20, please have your student exit the vehicle immediately. We experience a lot of car traffic in the morning at drop-off, so we need to be as efficient and safe as possible.
Please do not drop off your student in the parking lot at any point until your car gets closest to the school building, nearest to he sidewalk to Door 20. We want students to be safe. Dropping off students in non-designated areas creates an unsafe environment.
During the morning at drop-off, feel free to drop off your student along Montreal Avenue, with your car facing east (school building side of the street) as there is a sidewalk, and students may walk to Door 20 via the sidewalk that runs along the parking lot curb to enter the building.
Upon leaving the parking lot, you may only turn right onto Montreal Avenue, as the line of cars leaving with you backs up very quickly.
You may not drop off your student along Snelling Avenue at any time, as this is a busy bus zone for both morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up.
School Pick-up
Follow the same procedures as listed above. However, you may not park on Montreal Avenue at the end of the day, as Montreal Avenue becomes a bus zone for our school buses.
Application for Educational Benefits/Free or Reduced Price Meals
Meal Information
Breakfast: All students receive a free breakfast at school. As students arrive at school, they can grab their breakfast and go to class. Hot and cold breakfast options are available.
Changes for the 2022-23 school year: School lunch will no longer be free for all SPPS students.
Students who qualify for free or reduced price meals will receive free lunch. See information about the Free or Reduced Price Meal Application above. For students who do not qualify, the 2022-23 paid lunch prices are:
Grades PreK-5: $2.70
Grades 6-8: $2.90
Grades 9-12: $3.10
Second Meal: $5.00
All students will be charged for single item purchases, such as milk and second meals. The prices for single item purchases can be found at spps.org/ns.
COVID-19 Guidelines
Families should familiarize themselves with SPPS’s COVID-19 Student and Family Guidelines, which cover prevention strategies, health screening and monitoring, and isolation guidelines.
Face masks are optional in all SPPS buildings and on school transportation when community levels of COVID-19 are low or medium in Ramsey County. Masks are required when community levels are high. This applies to all staff, students and visitors (ages 2 and older), regardless of a person’s vaccine status, unless a student has a qualifying exemption. SPPS will notify families and staff if COVID-19 levels are high and masks become required.
If your child is exhibiting any symptoms, do not send them to school, even if they are fully vaccinated. Report the absence to the school’s front office and submit a report to the COVID-19 Reporting System the same day for next steps.
Find more information on COVID-19 guidelines for the 2022-23 school year, including vaccines, COVID-19 tests available to students, field trips and more at spps.org/covid.
Immunizations
Please check in with your health care provider to make sure your child’s immunizations are up to date before school starts in the fall. Visit spps.org/immunizations or call our school nurse for more information.
Extracurriculars
The following sports are offered at Highland Park Middle School in the fall, beginning Monday, September 19, 2022:
Girls’ soccer
Boys’ soccer
Girls’ volleyball
Co-ed flag football
For more information about sports at Highland Park Middle School, including on–line registration and sports physical information, please go to https://highlandparkms.rschoolteams.com/.
Flipside is our afterschool program, Mondays through Thursdays, and it will begin October 10, 2022. For more information, please visit the Flipside website, or contact our Flipside coordinator, Nikol Gordon at nikol.gordon@spps.org.
Student Rights & Responsibilities and School Safety
SPPS strives to create welcoming schools where each and every student is seen, known and valued. There are rights students are guaranteed when they are at school as well as responsibilities that accompany those rights. Read the Rights & Responsibilities Handbook.
Attendance is an important part of student success. We realize there are many reasons that a student may be absent from school. If your child will be absent from school, please notify the school at your earliest convenience. Communication between home and school is a vital component to a positive school experience.
Safety is of the utmost importance at our school and district. Families, students and staff can use the MySPPS app to “Send a Tip” and confidentially report unsafe behaviors in school to SPPS Security and Emergency Management.
Volunteering at HPMS
Translations
Dancing Opportunities in Our Community
Please see the flyer below for more information, and go to www.youngdance.org, call at (612) 423-3064, or email at info@youngdance.org.
Please see the flyer below for more information, and go to www.youngdance.org, call at (612) 423-3064, or email at info@youngdance.org.
About HPMS
At Highland Park Middle School, it our mission is to:
- Provide our students with a sense of community and global perception in a nurturing and caring learning environment,
- Help students acquire the skills necessary to value themselves, and take pride in their accomplishments, and
- Develop respect and understanding of other people and their cultures.
Website: https://www.spps.org/highlandms
Location: 975 Snelling Ave S, Saint Paul, MN, USA
Phone: (651) 293-8950