![page background](https://cdn.smore.com/u/backgrounds/custom_bg-62d705c7b29504792c664783-169a196f974c.jpg)
Backpack Online - August 25, 2023
![Backpack Online - August 25, 2023](https://cdn.smore.com/u/thumbs/b27b/thumb-77c999eabf1a4fbd3d5eaf7a5f4276bf.jpeg)
August 25, 2023
2023-24 Back-to-school information
Looking for more back-to-school information? Visit our back-to-school website at ahschools.us/bts for supply lists, open houses, news and more.
The first day of school is Tuesday, Sept. 5. View the district calendar for important updates.
Make a plan to attend your school open house Aug. 29 or 30
School open house events serve as an opportunities for students and families to connect with new school teachers and staff that they will work with in the upcoming school year. The events provide an opportunity to make students more comfortable before the heightened excitement of the first day of school.
Open house events are scheduled for next week at the elementary, middle and high school levels. Elementary and high school open house events will be Tuesday, Aug. 29, while middle school open house events are set for Wednesday, Aug. 30. To view specific times for each school, visit ahschools.us/bts.
Parent Engage 360 Podcast episode: Welcome back with Cory McIntyre
Cory McIntyre began his new role as Superintendent of Anoka-Hennepin Schools on July 1 and has been off and running meeting with staff across the district. McIntyre joined Liz Burgard, parent involvement coordinator, in the latest episode of the Parent Engage 360 Podcast to share his excitement for returning to the district, discuss the theme for the 2023-24 school year and more.
Tune in to the Parent Engage 360 Podcast on Podbean, Apple Podcasts, or at ahschools.us/parentengage360. The Parent Engage 360 Podcast is also now available on Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, iHeartRadio and Samsung Podcasts.
The Parent Engage 360 Podcast aims to provide parents and guardians with knowledge from experts in chemical health, mental health, internet safety and more, as well as the tools needed to support their children. Anoka-Hennepin hopes that providing timely and helpful information through the Parent Engage 360 podcast series will strengthen the bond between school and home with resources parents and guardians can use and share with others.
Families must complete back-to-school verification before the first day
It’s important that each family completes the verification process (back-to-school forms) before the first day of school. Verification ensures that each student’s school has confirmed emergency contact information and releases for the safety of each student.
Even if families’ contact information has not changed, it’s important to log in to access a variety of other student information in the coming weeks, including class schedules and teacher assignments, attendance, school handbooks, progress reports and grades for middle and high school students. High school students will not be able to enroll in fall activities until the back to school verification process is complete.
By logging in to complete student verification for the upcoming school year, families may also apply to receive additional educational benefits, discounts and reduced fees after completing the verification process.
Login to A-HConnect to complete your student’s back to school forms for the upcoming school year. Visit the #AHSchools website to login and get started.
Anoka-Hennepin is seeking community members to join the district’s CACC
The process for review and comment on curriculum provided in Anoka-Hennepin Schools is expanding to include broader representation with the addition of community members. The district’s Community Curriculum Advisory Council (CCAC), composed of parents/guardians and employees, will add community representatives this school year and interested community members are invited to apply.
The CCAC's purpose is to:
Review PreK-16 curriculum, assessment, and instructional programming through a community lens.
Review proposed changes to curriculum, assessment, and instructional programming including new resources, courses, programs, assessments, etc.
Provide input and feedback to the School Board on proposed curriculum changes
The committee will be composed of parents/guardians of elementary, middle and high school students representing each high school attendance area in the district. There are currently five open positions for community members on this committee. These new voluntary positions are intended to be specifically for community members without current students enrolled in any Anoka-Hennepin school. This is a one year term.
CCAC meets monthly throughout the year to preview adoptions and standards changes as they are considered through the system. Meetings are scheduled from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on the following dates: Oct. 26; Nov. 16; Jan. 18; Feb. 15; March 21; April 18; May 16 at the Anoka-Hennepin Educational Service Center (ESC), located at 2727 N Ferry St. in Anoka.
School Spotlight: Jackson Middle School
"Jackson is so special and unique because it is such a diverse school and you can meet so many different friends with so many different backgrounds," Peter McNattin, student.
Learn more about Jackson Middle School: A Specialty School for Math and Science in the latest School Spotlight
Blaine grads “Go for the Gold” earning prestigious national award
The volunteer and personal development commitments of 2023 Blaine High School (BHS) graduates Andrew Rono and Aaron Anderson were recognized with the highest honor bestowed by the United States Congress upon youth: The congressional gold medal.
The award recognizes the initiative, service, and achievement by youth from throughout the United States. Rono and Anderson are two of four students in Minnesota to earn the designation. Nationally, 574 students collected the honor.
The Congressional Gold Medal requires youth to complete 400 hours of volunteer service and 200 hours each of personal development and physical fitness activities along with three educational expeditions. The students provided valuable volunteer service to the North Anoka County Emergency Food Shelf - or NACE - over the past several years and were also active in the Bengals in Action volunteer program at BHS. To add to their list of achievements, Rono and Anderson are also eagle scouts through Boy Scouts of America.
Minnesota’s sixth district Congressman Tom Emmer presented the congressional medals to the students at BHS in August. View photos from the event.
District high schools move to online ticketing for athletics and activities
All five Anoka-Hennepin traditional high schools (Andover, Anoka, Blaine, Champlin Park and Coon Rapids) have made the transition to online ticket sales for athletics and activities events. With the exception of boys and girls hockey, all ticket sales for events hosted by district schools will be online using VANCO Events, the official ticketing system.
Payment will no longer be accepted at the admission gate. Fans and spectators are encouraged to purchase tickets prior to a scheduled event and be prepared to show their confirmation email with QR code to be scanned upon entry to the chosen event. Fans may show a confirmation email/QR code on their smartphone or with a printed copy.
Adult (18-59) tickets for football games are $8 and other athletic events are $6. Students (K-12) are $6 for football games and $4 for other athletic events. Fans 60 and older receive free admission to all events.
Students from the hosting and visiting schools must be prepared to show student identification at events and middle school students and younger must be accompanied and supervised by an adult chaperone. Students from any other schools/non-participating schools must also be accompanied by an adult chaperone.
Ticket information for each school can be found at the following websites:
Andover High School: ahschools.us/huskytickets
Anoka High School: ahschools.us/tornadotickets
Blaine High School: ahschools.us/bhstickets
Champlin Park High School: ahschools.us/cphstickets
Coon Rapids High School: ahschools.us/crhstickets
Gawreluk named NHSBCA Region 5 Assistant Coach of the Year
Gawreluk started coaching at Coon Rapids High School (CRHS) in 1993 and after some time as an assistant at CRHS and Champlin Park High School, became Andover High School's first head baseball coach in 2001. He joined the AHS coaching staff in 2018. Gawreluk is currently at Wilson Elementary School after teaching for more than 25 years at Franklin Elementary School.
Read more about Gawreluk's passion for teaching and coaching the sport he loves from this ABC Newspapers story.
Nearly 250 new teachers welcomed to the district
Anoka-Hennepin Schools officially welcomed nearly 250 new teachers during a three-day orientation Aug. 23-25.
The first day brought together new teachers from schools across the district to Anoka High School for the new teacher orientation, which is just one of a number of events held this week for staff to get acquainted with Anoka-Hennepin and prepare for the upcoming school year.
Superintendent Cory McIntyre welcomed the new teachers and highlighted the district theme, “The Power of Purpose,” by sharing his “why” he works in education. Teachers attended breakout sessions that featured topics around growth mindset, positive behavior interventions, student mental health, dealing with student debt, and how to find balance in work and life. View photos from the new teacher orientation. Read more about the New Teacher Orientation.
Families can save money, earn educational benefits - application opened Aug. 1
While the state's Free School Meals program to being in 2023, families will still need to apply to qualify for more educational benefits
Starting Sept. 5, 2023, every student may receive one breakfast and one lunch at no cost during the school year. The state’s Free School Meals program will cover the cost of one breakfast meal and one lunch meal for every student daily, however the cost of a la carte items, such as milk, other drinks, or extra meal items will not be covered. Students will need to have funds in their meal accounts to purchase any additional food items.
If your family needs access to any other educational benefits available to your student, please visit ahschools.us/freereduced to complete an application. The enrollment window for the 2023 Applications for Educational Benefits begins Aug. 1, 2023.
Anoka-Hennepin asks that all families complete an online application to provide additional school funding to support all students in the district. By filling out this application, your school can earn funding and you can save money.
Educational benefits include:
- Athletics fees: Eligible students may qualify for fees to be waived or reduced.
- SAT, ACT, AP Fees: Students may be eligible for discounted fees for academic tests and some lab fees.
- Other high school activities: Students may qualify for discounts on speech, debate, theater, band and others.
- Additional benefits and cost savings: Chromebook device protection, Comcast Internet Essentials discount, Amazon Prime membership discounts, discounted bus fares with Metro Transit, Xcel Energy account assistance, discounts at museums and theaters.
You can make a difference. Join our transportation team!
The district is hiring bus paras and transportation partners are hiring drivers. You can make a difference, join our team! Visit ahschools.us/jobs for more information.
Additional district news
Translate this message
To translate this information to another language, please click anywhere on the message to open it in a web browser and at the top of the page, select your language from the dropdown menu.
This e-newsletter is published by Anoka-Hennepin Schools. It's sent to Anoka-Hennepin families and community members who subscribe on a weekly basis during the school year, excluding breaks (and periodically during the summer). Questions, comments or concerns about the Backpack Online e-newsletter? Contact us.