In the Know - October 14, 2022
This week, the district concluded a series of eight community meetings held in September and October at locations in each area of the school district to provide families, staff and community members the opportunity to see attendance boundary proposals, ask questions and provide feedback. Meetings were streamed online, live, and are archived on the boundaries website.
Recommendations will be presented to the School Board Nov. 7, and the board is expected to take action at its Nov. 21 meeting with a final vote. Updated boundaries are to go into effect in the fall of 2023. View the boundary change timeline for implementation.
Details by community clusters
There are no boundary changes proposed in the Andover or Coon Rapids communities. High school boundaries are also not proposed to change.
Read more details about proposed changes in the following community cluster of schools:
Feedback and input
The district continues to seek feedback from families, staff and community members on the current proposals. Submit feedback via online form at ahschools.us/boundaryfeedback or by emailing boundaries@ahschools.us.
Anoka-Hennepin and Allina Health partnered to provide district teachers and staff with a library of resources to support employee health and mental wellness.
SupportingYoU, an employee wellness podcast, has 23 episodes available now - featuring a range of topics from self-care fundamentals to the importance of gratitude.
Listen by visiting the website at ahschools.us/supportingyou.
Get behind your team! Have a game plan for the most enjoyment at the event.
Safety at school events continues to be a focus area for the district and surrounding communities. Anoka-Hennepin recently increased security procedures at events to ensure safety following incidents at other metro area high schools. These guidelines limit entrance to students at participating schools with identification and adult supervision for younger students, amongst other strategies.
The Anoka-Hennepin Educational Foundation (AHEF) has opened a second round of grants for the 2022-23 school year (the grant guidelines are here and the grant application is here). Described as “mini-grants” because each grant is capped at $500, this round of grants is in response to teacher and staff feedback about the annual grant process.
“We had feedback from teachers that our annual process, which is open in the spring and awarded for the next school year, doesn’t always work for them. Teachers may not know what grade they will be teaching the following year, or what unique needs or challenges their students may have,” said Tess DeGeest, executive director of AHEF. "The mini-grant process is designed to address these needs."
“It is because of our generous donors that we can sustain this second round of grants for this school year,” said DeGeest. “Donors make this possible because they care about kids and they care about education.”
The Minnesota Wild are showing their appreciation for educators and their hard work and dedication by holding an Educator Appreciation Night on Thursday, Oct. 20.
Educators have the opportunity to purchase an exclusively-priced ticket pack that includes a Wild-branded canvas tote, a pregame on-ice photo and a pregame gathering. Additionally, a donation will be made to the Education Minnesota Foundation from a portion of each ticket pack purchased.
Start MEA break by watching the Minnesota Wild take on the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday, Oct. 20. Opening faceoff is set for 7 p.m. at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
When the Champlin Park High School (CPHS) concert orchestra puts bow to string in their first performance of the school year Oct. 18, it will be an extra special night for one high school junior. Andres Johnson, a member of the concert orchestra, has been hard at work over the past seven months composing an original piece that will be performed live for the very first time.
Johnson’s composition, titled Olympus Mons, was inspired by his love for space and tells the story of a journey to the top of the tallest mountain in the solar system. The song has nine parts, with each part telling a story about the journey, including obstacles such as Mars quakes and dust storms. The notes hit the crescendo as the final destination is reached, the summit of Olympus Mons.
Johnson has been creating music for the piano for some time, but this was his first attempt at an orchestral piece.
“All of my life I have been creating music,” Johnson said. “I decided that maybe I should try making an orchestra piece, so I emailed Mr. Comstock [CPHS orchestra instructor] and asked if I could write one.”
He began working on the project in March during spring break. Following many hours of work and revisions, Johnson gets to hear his piece come to life each day during first-hour rehearsal.
When asked what it’s like to hear his music played by his classmates, he responded with a fitting answer for a composer of orchestral music. “It tickles my heartstrings,” Johnson said.
The CPHS concert orchestra will perform for the first time this school year on Tuesday, Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. in the auditorium.
Senior CJ Dean received the organization's "18 under 18" award
Coon Rapids High School senior CJ Dean made news this week when he was featured as a winner of an award recognizing the nation's most effective leaders under age 18 whose inspiration spreads positive influence for world betterment. Dean earned a $1,000 scholarship along with the award.
Read more about Dean and the positive influence he's making in his community.
All five of Anoka-Hennepin’s traditional high schools competed in the 18th annual Youth in Music Championships at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis Oct. 8. The premier marching band event featured 37 teams from Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Iowa.
Special guests included marching bands from North Dakota State University, Minnesota State University, Mankato, and the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
Andover, Anoka, Blaine and Coon Rapids high schools competed in the Class A division, while Champlin Park High School competed in Class AA.
Blaine High School scored 66.750 for second place and Anoka scored 65.750 for third place in Class A. CRHS finished seventh in scoring and Andover High School was ninth in the Class A preliminary competition.
Earlier this fall, the BHS marching band placed third overall at the Bands of America Iowa regional held in September.
CPHS placed third in Class AA competition with a score of 73.650.
Education Minnesota, the voice for professional educators and students in Minnesota, is now accepting nominations for the 2023 Minnesota Teacher of the Year award program.
Online nominations are open now through Nov. 14.
Anyone may nominate a teacher.
For more information or to receive a paper nomination form, call Ashley Behrens at 651-292-4862 or 800-652-9073.
This e-newsletter is published by Anoka-Hennepin Schools. It's sent to all Anoka-Hennepin staff on a weekly basis during the school year, excluding breaks (and periodically during the summer). Questions, comments or concerns about In the Know e-newsletter? Contact us.