Andover High School News & Events

February 15, 2024

Thank you to the Andover Student Council for all your hard work on putting together a great Snowdaze Assembly!

• February 19: No School; Presidents' Day
• February 20: No School; Staff Development
• February 21: Tri 3 Parking Permits Opens for Seniors 7:00 AM
• February 22: Tri 3 Parking Permits Opens for Juniors 7:00 AM
• February 23: Tri 3 Parking Permits Opens for Sophomores 7:00 AM
• February 23: Band Winter Concert 7:00 PM (AUD)
• February 26: Orchestra Winter Concert 7:00 PM (AUD)
• February 28-29: Parking Permit Distribution
• March 4: No Late Start; Classes begin at 7:40 AM
• March 5: No School; Staff Development
• March 8: End of Tri 2
• March 11-15: No School; Spring Break
• March 18: No School; Staff Planning
• March 19: Tri 3 Begins

Trimester 2 and 3 Late Start Dates are listed here.

You can also view a District Calendar here.

Husky House Tutoring Center Dates and hours are listed here.

• The Band Concert is being held on Friday, February 23rd at 7:00 PM in the Auditorium.

• The Orchestra Concert is being held on Monday, February 26th at 7:00 PM in the Auditorium.

The Cheer Team competed at the UCA National High School Championship in Orlando, FL!

Congratulations and Good Luck to Jack Jendro on qualifying for the State Meet this week up at Giant's Ridge in Biwabik!

AVID Students visited Anoka Ramsey Community College and Anoka Technical College to hear admissions presentations and get a tour of both campuses. Students saw different areas and opportunities such as glass blowing, nursing, electrician work, arts and athletics.

Online registration for our Spring Sports opened on Monday, February 12th. To register and view more information, please go to the registration website. If you have any questions, you can email Deanna Palmer at deanna.palmer@ahschools.us

Listed below are the start dates for the Spring Sports:

• Monday, February 26th - Adapted Bowling
• Monday, March 11th - Adapted Softball, Softball, Boys Track and Girls Track
• Monday, March 18th - Baseball, Boys Golf and Girls Golf
• Monday, March 25th - Boys Tennis
• Monday, April 1st - Boys Lacrosse and Girls Lacrosse

Andover High School's community faith partner, Constance Free Church, is offering spring break meal boxes to Andover families. If your family would benefit from this support please utilize this link. Families must pre register by February 26th. If you are in need of additional community resources, please reach out to Andover High School’ s social worker.

Robin Burge-Ross MSW, LICSW

robin.burgeross@ahschools.us

763-506-8584

The Andover High School Community Scholarship application is now live! Students received an email February 12 with the application link. All seniors are encouraged to apply. For these scholarships, students complete one application in order to be eligible. All students must apply by March 6th.

For more information, use the link below:

Andover High School Community Scholarships

For more information on other scholarships that are currently available, please see Mr. Feigum's Career Center Newsletter below in the College and Career Center Updates.

As we begin planning for the 3rd trimester, we ask that students review their trimester 3 schedule to be sure they are in the correct classes. All change requests must be completed by Friday March 8. After March 8, changes will only be made for errors or extenuating circumstances.

Thanks for your understanding.

Looking for some ideas on how to finish the year strong? Here is an article with some practical tips to get to graduation and end high school on a high note: https://www.usnews.com/education/k12/articles/how-to-fight-senioritis-and-get-to-graduation

Did you fail a required class? Are you behind in credits for graduation? If you have questions about making up credit for graduation, please contact your Counselor to get back on track with credits.

** Session is determined by attendance area for bussing**

The form, flyers, opt-ins and detailed information will come out the first week of tri 3.

If you have never visited the Career Center, make a point to stop in. We have great resources for all students.

For more information, please view the full Career Center Helpful Links and Newsletter.

The school district will be offering a FREE ACT with writing test for all juniors on Tuesday, April 23rd. Students do NOT need to register online for this test. Watch eNews for more details as the date approaches.

Is your student looking for a way to get involved at Andover High School? The Andover Leo Club is a student-led volunteer group that works to respond to needs within the community by volunteering their time. The group meets every other Thursday after school at 2:30 and welcomes new members anytime! For more information, please join the Leos’ Google Classroom. For meeting dates and additional information, please click here.

As part of the Leo Club’s work to address isolation and loneliness with senior citizens, they will be volunteering at Arbor Oaks Senior Living twice a month. At our next visit, students will be teaching the residents a dance!! Pictured below are residents and students simply chatting about life.

In January, Leo Club members made heartfelt Valentines for the non-profit organization, Gifts for Seniors. At their next meeting, they will be putting together Birthday Boxes for Meals on Wheels.

February 15th - Educational lunchroom Kahoot with statistics and information from the U.S. Surgeon General’s report on Isolation and Loneliness.

February 21 and 22 - Students will be given the opportunity to write notes of gratitude to peers and staff. The notes will be distributed during 1st hour on February 26th.

February 28th - The Leo club will be heading to Andover Elementary to read the book, Last Stop on Market Street to third grade students. This book highlights the importance of intergenerational relationships, and the unique perspectives older adults hold. After reading the book, the Leos will help the students create cards for residents at Arbor Oaks Senior Living.

February 29th - Educational lunchroom Kahoot with statistics and information from the U.S. Surgeon General’s report on Isolation and Loneliness.

March 1st - Students will be encouraged to send a kind/uplifting text to a family member.

In an effort to bring the spirit of service to Andover High School, Youth Service will be hosting a variety of fun and meaningful service projects during select late start Mondays. Service projects will take place right here at school; participating students will receive 1 service hour per session. Click here for details on second-trimester dates, times, and room location. At the last Drop In for Service, students created alphabet flashcards for Love Letters for Literacy.

Join the Youth Service Google Classroom to see a list of upcoming volunteer opportunities in our community. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at tammy.peterson@ahschools.us.

Andover High School appreciates our volunteers. Thank you to all volunteers who helped at the Snow Daze Dance. Your help was much appreciated.

You are invited to attend the 2024 Fundraising Vendor and Mini-Workshop Fair. Please join us for this FREE EVENT on Wednesday, February 28, 2024, 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM at the Educational Services Center - 2727 N. Ferry Street, Anoka.

This open house style event is a great opportunity to connect with local businesses regarding fundraising opportunities, network with other booster clubs and PTOs, hear valuable information from experts in the field, and attend mini-workshop sessions.

Register Here: 2024 Fundraising Vendor & Mini-Workshop Fair Participant.

Volunteering at an event or activity at Andover HS is a great way to stay connected to school happenings. We are always looking for adult volunteers to help during and after school. Volunteers just need to complete a current Andover High School Volunteer Application and Criminal History Release Form (CRHR) each year. Complete Volunteer Forms Here: Andover HS Volunteer Forms.

If you have any questions regarding volunteer opportunities at Andover HS, please Contact Volunteer Coordinator, Tina Huston at tina.huston@ahschools.us.

“In 2022, nearly half of US teens between the ages of 13 and 17 experienced cyberbullying.”

It’s important for parents to understand what cyberbullying is so they can recognize when their child may be a victim of electronic harassment and have the tools to address it.

A blog post from icanhelp.net titled, “How Parents Can Tackle Cyberbullying,” helps parents identify the signs of cyberbullying, the impact on a child’s well-being and ways to protect their children.

The blog is broken up into these sections:

• Understanding Cyberbullying.

• Impact of Cyberbullying on Children.

• Identifying Signs of Cyberbullying.

• Steps to Address Cyberbullying.

• Take Preventive Action to Protect Your Child.

Read the full blog post to learn more.

Check your mailbox this week for the Anoka-Hennepin Schools’ quarterly "Focus" newsletter, which is mailed to all homes and businesses in the community as a report on services and updates from the school district.

Inside this edition of the newsletter, you can read about a school recognized with the Minnesota's Future Award from the Minnesota Business Partnership, students named AP scholars, College Now - a partnership giving students a head start on college, a student author, Minnesota State High School League Triple "A" Award winners, demographic projections for the district and more.

Read the electronic version of the Focus newsletter at ahschools.us/focus.

Join parents and guardians from the Anoka-Hennepin Schools community for information and resources to support the needs of students today.

The big picture: Anoka-Hennepin is hosting three Parent Engage 360 community and parent education events during the 2023-24 school year. These events aim to provide resources for parents and guardians to support their students and others in the community. Topics range from mental health, chemical health, internet safety, and more. Parent Engage 360 forum events are offered both in-person and in virtual formats and are free and open to the public.

To read more about what to expect and how to register for the event, please read more here.

Alison Kacer began her journey as an advocate for her son, Lucas, who was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder when he was four years old. Then, her mindset shifted from finding a fix to finding the right support system for her son.

That support system now includes Andover Elementary School special education teacher Donna Macoskey. On the latest Parent Engage 360 Podcast, Alison and Donna joined host Liz Burgard to discuss the Kacer family’s experience navigating the district’s special education services and the importance of the relationship between home and school.

Alison and her son Lucas were featured in KARE 11 journalist Boyd Huppert’s Land of 10,000 Stories, sharing Lucas’ passion for pencil sharpening.

Tune in to the Parent Engage 360 Podcast on Podbean, Apple Podcasts, or at ahschools.us/parentengage360. The podcast is also available on Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, iHeartRadio and Samsung Podcasts.

Episode highlights:

• 3:12 - Alison shares the story about her son Lucas’ autism diagnosis and his being featured in KARE 11 journalist Boyd Huppert’s Land of 10,000 Stories, sharing Lucas’ passion for pencil sharpening.

• 11:30 - Alison shares her family’s experience in learning about her son’s diagnosis and how she went about seeking support.

• 16:33 - Donna discusses support systems that are available in schools across Anoka-Hennepin for families seeking extra support for their children, including special education services.

• 22:04 - Alison and Donna talked about the importance of a team approach to supporting Lucas at home and in school.

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.