Transition Plus Newsletter
December 2020 Edition
Want to add someone to our email list? Email colleen.knuth@mpls.k12.mn.us
Transition Plus Community,
While distance learning is not how we want to interact with our students, and we hope to get back together, we would like to thank everyone; family members, staff, students, and teachers who spend so much time and effort making connections possible. THANK YOU!!
In This Edition:
- Calendar
- Shout outs
- Upcoming events
- Shifting to Winter Mindset for Joy NYT article
- Family Resources
- Latest in MPS Covid Info
CALENDAR
December Calendar
December 5 - Last day to complete Educational Benefits form
No School December 21 - January 1 (winter holiday)
December 18 - begins the new Friday Schedule (look for an upcoming email for details)
***Take time to share how thankful you are for the people in your life throughout this month! Thankful thoughts for teachers, staff and students can be shared directly with the person or emailed to me and I will get the message to them.***
!!!BE SURE TO COMPLETE THE Educational Benefits (aka lunch form) AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. That little form ensures our school receives accurate funding so we can continue to provide a quality education for your students. There are enough forms missing from Tplus that we can lose 3-4 teachers. see below for more info
*ATTENTION* Educational Benefits form
You can help! Go to the Educational Benefits online form (log into SchoolCafe) to complete yours. If you need help, please contact your social worker:
- JoAnn.Gonzalez@mpls.k12.mn.us 612-668-4072
- Laura.Lyman@mpls.k12.mn.us 612-668-4073
- Rachel.Hawkins@mpls.k12.mn.us 612-668-4108
- Jeanne.Forbes@mpls.k12.mn.us 612-668-4088
Thank you for your help! Tplus will be calling families that haven't submitted their forms to offer assistance.
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Shout Outs!!!
Food Safety Certificate
The following students have taken and passed their Food Safety test. Their certification is good for 3 years and will help them if they choose to work in the Food Service Industry.
- Mark Daenzer
- Oscar Knecht
- Jacques Beech
- Maleah Patrick
- Christopher Diaz
- Shaneka Murray
- Amal Ahmed
- Sebastien Holmes
- Sabrina Roberson
- Aaliyah Simmons
- Victoria Bravo
- Ulacya Bronson-Tyus
Way To Go!! Awesome work!! WOWZA!
Cow Tipping Press
Cow Tipping Press gave a great opportunity for students to explore creative writing without worrying about construction. With all the resume writing, comprehension writing, and grammatical practice that we practice so much, this was a breath of creative fresh air.
The same opportunity will be offered again from February 12 - March 12.
Cow Tipping Press works with students 1: 1 to get their thoughts, ideas, and voices published. Students do not need to be able to write by hand.
Parents, Teachers, or Students simply need to email Colleen.Knuth@mpls.k12.mn.us or their education case manager to sign.
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Upcoming events
Make Your Own Lunch...with advice!
Could your student use some help preparing lunch during Distance Learning?
Jill is available each day for “Make Your Own Lunch” help from 12:30 to 1:00 Daily. She will have an open Google Classroom. Students who may need a little direction in the kitchen can pop in and ask questions or get advice about making lunch or cooking in general.
Share this link with any Tplus student: https://meet.google.com/ugf-juhj-mcg
Site Council 12/17 @ 4:30
Site council meets the third Thursday of every month at 4:30 pm via Google Meets. Our next meeting will be Thursday, December 17th at 4:30 pm.
Site Council is searching for active participants who can help collaborate with others to generate ideas of how our Transition Plus community operates. Students and parents are strongly encouraged to join.
Please email Shekinah.Dillon@mpls.k12.mn.us if you have any questions. Site Council meeting links will be posted on the Transition Plus website closer to date.
Google Meet joining info https://meet.google.com/kxj-rwph-nhn Or dial: +1 256-600-8312 PIN: 928 080 254# More
HMONG CELEBRATION MONTH in January
WE NEED YOUR HELP TO LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR HMONG FAMILIES!!
Through the month of January, please send Colleen.Knuth@mpls.k12.mn.us videos or photos:
- past or present celebrations
- dances
- family elders
- art
- beloved music
- Stories
- recipes
- the arts
- great educational resources
- books
- anything else that can help a person learn about your culture
Click on these links to start learning:
- Hmong Cultural Center
- Hmong in MN - MN Historical Society
- Embroidery traditions and symbols
- Where to find Hmong Culture & Cuisine in the Twin Cities
- 10 Things about Hmong you Probably Didn't Know
- Learn some Phrases in Hmong
- Hmong ABC Arts, Books & Crafts
- MN Hmong New Year video compilation
- How to play Tuj Lub (spinning top) tournament (video)
- Ball tossing video outside Luang Prabang
- Ball tossing tradition & Marriage customs
How it should be shared:
- use flipgrid to record videos of a student / staff member / family member reading a poem, story, story, or description, singing a song in English or an indigenous language
- write or take a picture of your favorite food/recipe
- link your favorite songs, or beloved song from your culture
- Digitally send photos or documents to their case manager or email Colleen
Tplus will celebrate many cultures represented by our community throughout the year, so please be prepared to share your resources with Colleen.Knuth@mpls.k12.mn.us
UMN Best Buddies
Connect with Best Buddies by contacting Corey Hughes at hughe889@umn.edu or262-442-4941
Get-togethers can be socially-distanced in-person or virtually. Best Buddies also hosts events for students involved in the program.
School Pictures
Lifetouch + Shutterfly have come together to make sure your child receives their 2020 school picture. Through the convenience of the Shutterfly app, you can now capture a quick snap, add your favorite Lifetouch background and order a picture package—all while @home!
Get Started Creating your School Pictures
Don’t miss your chance to add this year's picture to your school picture collection!
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FAMILY RESOURCES
Shifting to Winter Mindset for Joy
Read the NYT article(recommended) or just the excerpts I pulled out below.
For inspiration, we can look to Scandinavia, where people live with some of the darkest, longest winters and yet are consistently ranked as the happiest people in the world. How do they do it, and what can we learn from them? In Tromso, Norway, the sun doesn’t rise at all for two months. They get, at most, a few hours of indirect light a day from the end of November to the end of January. Yet the residents of Tromso have low rates of seasonal depression. One reason, I learned, is that they tend to have a “positive wintertime mind-set.”
Strategy 1: Get Outside
Norway has a concept called friluftsliv, which translates roughly to “open air life.” This means dressing for the weather and getting outside. If the idea of spending time outdoors even when the temperatures are below freezing sounds miserable to you, once you’re actually out there, something rather magical happens. The cold actually feels good: You feel refreshed, you feel maybe a little bit robust and vital, and you feel the benefits of being in contact with the elements.”
Strategy 2: Make Winter Special
Look for the opportunities winter provides. Intentionally using light to celebrate the darkness of winter and create coziness. Turn on some candles in the house and tell jokes or stories or think about what you are thankful for, or sit outside around a small campfire. Making things cozy is not just about fuzzy blankets and warm beverages. It’s about feeling content — a sense of coziness that is not just physical, but psychological.
Strategy 3: Appreciate Winter
Changing your mind-set can start with, well, changing your mind. Start by figuring out what you like about the winter. Having a positive wintertime mind-set doesn’t mean denying the realities of winter or pretending you like every aspect of winter. When it snows, it’s equally true that you might have to shovel your driveway as it is that there is beauty from the light sparkling on the snow or the world is calm and quiet with that new blanket of snow. Which one of these you pay more attention to makes a huge difference in how you experience that snowfall.
Appoint yourself a wintertime ambassador this year, and encourage everyone around you to notice what they like about the winter as well. Welcoming the shifts in seasons, instead of regretting them, puts you in contact with the rhythms of life and death, with nature, which might also help us put things in our life into perspective.
How to Access Vocational Rehabilitation Service
Watch this video about how to connect with VRS
Tplus Social Work Webpage
Childcare Options
Virtual Calming Room
The site is designed to help support pro-active self-control by providing opportunities for relaxation and calming. Participants may experience visual, auditory, and tactile stimulation, as well as both mindfulness and activities.
Enjoy!
Update Your School Messenger Preferences
- The school must be notified of updates of contact information - the school does not send school updates.
- Be sure to receive text messages by sending a "Y" to 67587.
- Families can manage their communication preferences by creating a SchoolMessenger account
- To learn more visit: mpls.k12.mn.us/school_messenger
All MPS schools use the SchoolMessenger to share important information about weather closures, building safety, school events, transportation and more.
Hennepin County Covid-19 Resources
- https://www.hennepin.us/residents/emergencies/covid-19-community-resources
Families can get a caseworker assigned to meet the needs of ONE call.
New Hennepin County Covid -19 Helpline 612-348-3000
Monday-Saturday 8am-8pm
Hennepin County multicultural services office 612-348-2193
- They provide appropriate cultural access and linguistic translation in different languages.
- https://www.hennepin.us/residents/human-services/multi-cultural-services
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The Latest Covid Information
COVID Tracking App
As you may have heard from Governor Walz, the State has rolled out a
Covid tracking app. It's described as opt-in, anonymous, and secure.
The more people who use it, the more effective the app will be.
App download: https://covidawaremn.com/
News spot/info: https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2020/11/23/new-tracing-app-released-hours-before-gov-walz-is-set-to-announce-new-covid-technology/
Message from MPS
5 Phases to Safe Learning
On Monday, we announced modifications to our 5 Phases to Safe Learning. MPS has maintained one of the most cautious stances in keeping staff and students safe from COVID-19 by remaining in distance learning.
Last month, we were excited to begin some in-person student support at six schools for about 250 kids. These supports provided after-school tutoring and other services for some of our students who need them most. While we have been pleased to offer these supports, the recent significant rise in COVID-19 rates requires that we pause those supports—and move the dial back—in order to ensure the safety of those staff and students. In addition to after-school in-person student supports, after-school Community Education services will also be temporarily discontinued.
This data-driven decision was made in consultation with our COVID Regional Support Team, which includes colleagues from the City of Minneapolis Health Department and the Minnesota Department of Health. Athletic practices and games will continue following MPS’s COVID-19 safety plan and under plans established by the MSHSL.
MPS will continue to operate in Phase 2 with Essential School-Age Care for families and a very limited number of staff in school buildings. MPS is also reviewing Governor Walz’s most recent Executive Order 20-94 as it relates to our continued service to students.
You might remember we previously said MPS hoped to move to Phase 3 of our 5 Phases to Safe Learning as early as Nov. 9. Given the rising COVID-19 cases in our community, however, that will not be possible until further notice. We are advised by our Regional Support Team that we must first get to well below 50 cases per 10,000 (at most 42), then stay there for 3-5 days. From there, the support team is recommending a waiting period of 28 days, two incubation periods, to ensure that rates have stabilized before considering a phase change. At this writing, we are at nearly 66 cases per 10,000.
At the same time, we know a number of our students do not thrive in distance learning. That’s why all year we’ve been planning and acting on ways to make our schools safer for students whenever we are able to return to learning in-person.
We’ve taken actions to improve indoor air quality and increase building ventilation rates, distributed and have reserves of face coverings and personal protective equipment, installed Plexiglas barriers, developed enhanced cleaning and disinfecting procedures, and are planning transportation, building and classroom readiness for social distancing. We’ve also prepared training on COVID health and safety and on cleaning and disinfecting that is required for all staff before they return to a school building.
Lots of hard work has been done to create safe learning environments for our students. We will continue thinking about the best ways to keep students and staff safe while we remain in distance learning so that when it’s possible to move the dial in our 5 Phases, we can hit the ground running.
REMINDER: Resources for those experiencing housing instability
Nowhere to call home? Living in temporary housing due to a lack of affordable options? You may be protected under the McKinney-Vento Act. Our website has more information and resources to support housing stability at hhmfc.mpls.k12.mn.us.
In addition, Governor Walz declared a Peacetime Emergency, which includes a pause on most evictions. If you are facing an eviction, learn about your rights with free legal help by visiting Homeline at homelinemn.org or Legal Aid at mylegalaid.org/get-help.
Also, remember rent is still due during the statewide moratorium on evictions. Take advantage of assistance to make sure unpaid rent doesn’t add up. Apply now for Hennepin County emergency rent help if you’ve lost income due to COVID-19.
Winter Weather Protocols
If the Superintendent decides to close school buildings or cancel activities, we will let you know by phone calls, emails, texts, social media, our websites, and local news stations. To receive the phone calls and texts, make sure we’ve got your updated phone number. You can log into School Messenger to see what contact information we have on file and how you have chosen to be contacted.
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Mission Statement
The mission of Transition Plus is to provide services to students with differing educational abilities & assets. We focus on meeting transition needs in post-secondary education and training, employment, and independent living to promote a successful transition from high school to adult life.
Our Vision
To provide experience and learning that will assist students to have meaningful, satisfying work and home lives as family members, leaders, employees, and citizens.
We offer students:
- Access to learning environments that help students develop their skills and confidence.
- A positive school environment characterized by peace, compassion, and the pursuit of knowledge and understanding.
- A structure of support and collaboration with our community, students, and families
- A team of highly qualified professionals with a passion for learning and sharing.
We offer:
- Continuing high school support after 18-21 years of age
- Lots of hands-on options
- Extensive learning & training in the community
- Additional resources available for individual needs
- Support the growth and maturity of each student
Transition Plus Services
Email: transitionplus@mpls.k12.mn.us
Website: transplus.mpls.k12.mn.us
Location: 2015 East Lake Street, Minneapolis, MN, USA
Phone: (612)668-4100
Facebook: facebook.com/transitionplus.mps
Twitter: @MPS_Tplus