What's up @ West
May 14, 2021
News from Dr. Kampfe
It Takes a Village
HOPKINS WEST JUNIOR HIGH:
AN INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE COMMUNITY SCHOOL
A village is a supportive and trusting group of people who would want for you what they want for themselves; they are not jealous, nor do they envy your pursuit toward justice. Instead they strive to make you great(er) because your triumph is their triumph; when you have good news, their first reaction is to be happy for you and to celebrate your light.
-Gholdy Muhammad, Cultivating Genius
In the spirit of modeling what we hope to offer your students, we are providing some choices for how you can learn more about what we are hoping to do next year at West. Of course, you are free to explore all options, but you only need to explore one in order to provide us with feedback.
Option 1: Screencast from Dr. Kampfe (approximately 5 minutes)
OR
Option 2: Text Set: Read 3 articles describing the components of our learning model (approximately 15 minutes-click links below)
- A deeper look at the flex model
- Guiding students to be critical thinkers & masters of their own education
- 3 ways to boost students' conceptual thinking
OR
Option 3: Videos: See it in action (approximately 12 minutes-click links below)
- Redesigning the school day at Summit Public Schools using a Flex model
- Paulo Freire & the development of critical pedagogy
- Teaching conceptual understanding
DONE EXPLORING? CLICK THE BUTTON BELOW TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK!
Event to Offer Comfort to Help Heal the Community
On Monday, May 24th and Tuesday, May 25th, WJH will be partnering with Rose McGee and Sweet Potato Comfort Pie to offer an Event to Offer Sweet Comfort to Help Heal the Community. Here at WJH, students, staff, and community members will have the opportunity to bake pies and participate in restorative conversations around community, reflection, and honor. Then we will deliver pies into the community to those who need comfort, healing, and restoration.
Some students will be baking pies with their classes on Monday, May 24th, and all students will take part in discussions about community restoration and healing during advisory on Tuesday, May 25th. Students will also be able to sign up in SST for WIN sessions where they bake and/or have restorative conversations around community.
How can you get involved? Parents and community members are invited to sign up for one or more activities!
Donate pie-baking ingredients by Thursday, May 20th (see list below)
2:00-3:00pm Friday, May 21st - Set up for Pie Baking at WJH
9:00-10:30am Monday, May 24th - Bake Pies at WJH
3:00-5:00pm Monday, May 24th - Bake Pies at WJH
4:00-6:00pm Monday, May 24th - Bake Pies in your Home with Rose McGee online
8:00-9:00am Tuesday, May 25th - Wrap Pies at WJH
3:00-4:30pm Tuesday, May 25th - Circle Conversations at WJH, followed by Pie Distribution to community members. Participants choose who receives pies.
Contact Jennifer Poncelet with any questions!
Ingredients needed:
Grocery store gift cards
9” Pie shells (unbaked)
Sweet potatoes
White sugar
Brown sugar
Butter
Eggs
Sweetened condensed milk
Lemons
Ginger
Nutmeg
Cinnamon
Vanilla
Plastic wrap
Waxed paper
Disposable plastic gloves
Important information regarding mask mandate
As you may know, today Governor Walz lifted the mask mandate for indoor spaces for those who are fully vaccinated. Please note that schools are still required to follow the guidelines in the School Safety Plan, which remain in place through the end of this school year.
Masks are required through the end of the school year for our scholars and staff in all of our indoor spaces — this includes busses. As we shared last week, masks are no longer required for outdoor activities and are “optional but encouraged” for students engaged in outdoor recess, outdoor physical education, and other outside learning activities. We will share guidance for our summer programming as soon as it is available.
Other West News
Free pizza!
Order your FREE Pizza Party Pack (from Nutrition) by May 23rd, click here to order.
Read here for more details.
Instrument returns
Tape your student's name onto the instrument case, so we know who's it is.
LAC urges parent advocacy -- it’s not too late!
iPad turn in, June 3rd
Distance leaners & kids with missing work will turn in on Monday, June 7th during Supply Drop-off day, more info to come.
Does your student know where their keyboard, case, block & charging cord are? Please look here for what we need you to do BEFORE turning in the iPad & accessories (students will do this in their advisory class June 2).
Supply returns
Distance learners: scholars should ask their teacher when the last day a supply is needed. Office staff will accept items the week of June 1st.
From Nurse Martin: Immunizations
The Hopkins School District has adopted a NO SHOTS-NO SCHOOL POLICY to be in compliance with Minnesota School Immunization Law. Read here for info.
WIN, AKA Flexible Learning Lab Update!
WIN Stats, May 3-7
- 9th grade - 18% attendance rate
- 8th grade - 24% attendance rate
- 7th grade - 38% attendance rate
- Highest attended sessions of the week:
Basketball in Gym
Art Time
Smash Club
High School Girls soccer pre-season meeting
Excitement is building for the 2021 High School Soccer Season!
Open to all girls entering 7th - 12th grades.
You are invited to attend a Zoom meeting on Thur., May 27th @ 6:30pm., hosted by Varsity Coach, Justin Hegre, Varsity Team Captains and the Girls’ Soccer Boosters.
Email any questions to: hopkinswomenssoccer@gmail.com
More info @ hopkinsroyalswomenssoccer.shutterfly.com.
Clubs/Activities
- Athletics: High School registration.
- Boys Fall Soccer update, read here for info.
CLUBS:
- BAKING/COOKING CLUB: Tuesdays @ 3:30pm. Circle share, demonstrations, recipe Qs, the food cycle, nutrition, food and cooking safety, kitchen tools, holiday meals, and more!
- BOOK/MOVIE CLUB: Have fun connecting with friends (old and new) over books and movies! Group discussion and themes are open to suggestions!
- D&D CLUB: Mondays & Wednesdays, 3-4:15pm. Join this student interest group to explore and play the game Dungeons and Dragons!
- EARTH CLUB: Open discussion and exploration with creative brainstorming time- subjects includes basic concepts, finding resources, creating goals/track progress (data), work on a school or community environmental challenge, biodiversity, carbon emissions, and impacts on surroundings.
- Gender Sexuality Alliance (GSA): Fridays 11:30a-12:30p.Students, fill out this interest form.
- Girls United: Wednesdays @9:30am, Room 405, Ms. Wester
- LGBTQ+: info below on self-care and student session
- ROBOTICS CLUB: Join this student interest group to explore and play with robotics!
- the Big Question: Ms. Johnson
- Thinking Cap / Quiz Bowl. Contact Mrs. Regina Johnson or Mr. Tim Scully.
- Unified Club: Ms. Korsman, Ms. Jensen
- Video Content Creation Club: Mondays & Wednesdays, 3p-4:15pm
- Video Game Club: Tuesdays & Wednesdays, 3-4:15pm
Contact Nikki Marie (email: nicole.coler@hopkinsschools.org) to learn more about 2020-2021 student clubs! Stay Connected! #Hopkins
WIN sessions: too many to list! Check out what's offered.
Meal Ordering update
This meal order form:
- Opens on Thursday, May 20th
- Closes on Sunday, May 23th @ 6:00 PM
Meals ordered on will be:
- Picked up Curbside on Thursday, May 27th between the time of 3:00- 4:30 PM.
or
- be delivered for Critical Home Delivery on Friday, May 28th
Meal pickup locations are at:
- West Junior High
- North Junior High
- Hopkins High School
- Meal Pick- is from 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM:
Please do not line up early to avoid congestion with school dismissal and buses at the school.
Yearbook orders
Questions can go to our yearbook advisor, Mr. Beaubien
Upcoming Events
Important Upcoming Dates
May 31: No School (Memorial Day)
June 3: Last Day of School in the building, iPad turn-in (in-person students)
June 4: Last Day, asynchronous
June 7: iPad & supply drop-off for distance learners
Calendar for 2021-22 is now available
HEF Gratitude Gift FINAL ORDER DATE EXTENDED!!
Final order date extended to Sunday, May 23 at NOON.
Gratitude Gifts are a great way to wrap up an extraordinary year. Send your thanks to ANY Hopkins staff member.Gratitude Gifts generate many smiles from grateful, hard-working, innovative, and adaptive staff. For a $25 donation to HEF, we’ll deliver a sleeve of delicious cookies from Great Harvest Bread Co. in Minnetonka, along with your personal message. If COVID prevents us from hand-delivery, we’ll substitute with an equivalent gift card to Great Harvest. Remember, you can order a Star Card anytime for a donation of just $5; it’s a fun quick shout-out to any staff member. To order now, visit www.HopkinsEducationFoundation.org
Upcoming K-12 Royal Connections classes taught by HHS students!
Hopkins Community Education is excited to grow its Royal Connection classes- affordable virtual classes that are designed and taught by Hopkins High School students!
Explore and learn about our Royal Connections classes here. All classes are offered on a sliding-fee-scale of $5-$25 for the series, and registration dollars generated go directly to paying the students' instructor fees.
Royal Connections piloted this past summer. 100% of the participants who completed the course evaluation said they would sign themselves or their child up for a Royal Connections class in the future!
Ready Set Kindergarten- Summer Program
Do you have a 5-year-old at home who didn’t attend preschool this past year? Ready Set Kindergarten is a 3-week summer program offered through HopDina, a joint partnership between Hopkins Public Schools and Edina Public Schools. The program is for incoming kindergarten students for the fall of 2021. You can send completed applications to either Emily Acker at Alice Smith or Angela Sandok at Harley Hopkins. Applications must be submitted by May 14th at 12 pm to be eligible for the lottery.
When: Monday-Friday, July 19-August 6
9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Location: Alice Smith Elementary
801 Minnetonka Mills Road
Hopkins, MN 55343
**This program is tuition-free.
**Families living in the Hopkins or Edina School Districts will have access to transportation.
**Lunch will also be provided.
Link to flyer (English); Lottery Application (English)
Link to flyer (Spanish); Lottery Application (Spanish)
Link to flyer (Hmong); Lottery Application (Hmong)
Family Resources
Upcoming Vaccination Clinic
The district will host a vaccination clinic the week of June 7th (details are being worked out).
The clinic will be OPEN TO ALL, no appointment needed. This can be a 1st or 2nd vaccination for individuals. Details to follow.
Please visit our Healthy In Hopkins page for more information about this clinic.
Additional Vaccination Information
Getting vaccinated against COVID-19 is safe and easy. Everyone in your family 12 years old or older is eligible for vaccination. Anyone may sign up with the State by using the Vaccine Connector online or over the phone at 833-431-2053. Translations are available in Spanish, Hmong, and Somali. You may also sign up with the County by registering here: COVID-19 Registration Form. Many healthcare providers and retailers with pharmacies also now provide vaccination. They include Cub Food, Hy-Vee, Thrifty White Pharmacy, and Walmart / Sam’s Club.
The state has expanded its vaccination services by offering vaccination at the state fairgrounds. From now through May 4, the state has included walk-in vaccinations, with no appointment needed. For more information, please see this MDH website.
Other helpful links:
COVID take-home test kits
Important COVID-19 Reminders
COVID-19 case numbers are decreasing in the Hopkins community and the larger metro area. Thank you for staying vigilant and wearing your mask, keeping your distance, and keeping your child home when they are sick. Although the governor released new guidelines yesterday, the school safety plan mitigation strategies will continue through this school year.
Families should use the Health Screening Checklist every day to determine if their child should attend school in person. As a reminder, it is recommended and strongly encouraged that families test for COVID every two weeks. You can find free COVID-19 saliva testing sites here. Thank you for doing your part to keep our schools safe and healthy.
Vaccination
Getting vaccinated against COVID-19 is safe and easy. Everyone in your family 16 years old or older is eligible for vaccination. Anyone may sign up with the State by using the Vaccine Connector online or over the phone at 833-431-2053. Translations are available in Spanish, Hmong, and Somali. You may also sign up with the County by registering here: COVID-19 Registration Form. Many healthcare providers and retailers with pharmacies also now provide vaccination. They include Cub Food, Hy-Vee, Thrifty White Pharmacy, and Walmart / Sam’s Club.
The state has expanded its vaccination services by offering vaccination at the state fairgrounds. From now through May 4, the state has included walk-in vaccinations, with no appointment needed. For more information, please see this MDH website.
Other helpful links:
Information Sessions for Spanish, Hmong and Somali speaking families
The Hopkins cultural liaisons will be holding weekly information sessions for Spanish-, Hmong-, and Somali-speaking families to keep them better informed. Families will have the opportunity to ask questions and to seek clarification about recent news and correspondences from Hopkins Public Schools. The schedule is as follows:
Spanish(Elisa Dorfman)
Fridays from 10AM - 11AM (starting 10/16)
Google Meet joining info: https://meet.google.com/bpx-tpvr-ebh
Somali(Mona Yusuf)
Mondays and Fridays from 9AM - 10 AM (starting 10/16)
Google Meet joining info: https://meet.google.com/now-vnnu-ums
Hmong(Panou Xiong)
Thursdays from 2PM - 3PM (starting 10/8)
Google Meet joining info: https://meet.google.com/gqk-rrah-svw
Interpreter Services
Hopkins offers translation and interpreter services for families whose primary language is not English.
For information, please contact Carolina Lloyd at 952-988-4066, or email Carolina.Lloyd@HopkinsSchools.org.
Spanish communications specialist: Elisa Dorfman, 952-988-4211
Somali communications specialist: Mona Yusef, 612-221-0148
Hmong communications specialist: Panou Xiong, 612-282-2632
The Loop
Does your family have needs as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic? Please check out The Loop!
Topics include:
- Back to School
- George Floyd
- Parenting
- Food
- Health
- Internet
- Transportation
- County Resources
and more!
Hopkins Spirit Wear
Hopkins West Junior High
Website: https://www.hopkinsschools.org/schools/secondary-schools/hopkins-west-junior-high
Location: 3830 Baker Road, Minnetonka, MN, USA
Phone: (952) 988-4400
Facebook: facebook.com/hopkinswjh/
Twitter: @HopkinsWJH