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News and events
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September 2, 2023
Upcoming Dates
September 5: First day of School for Grades 1-5
[kindergarten will receive a letter regarding start date of either September 7th or 8th]
September 21: Meet & Greet Title I Kick Off & Ice Cream Social @ 5:15 PM followed by a PTO Meeting @ 6:30 PM [childcare provided]
September 22: Picture Day
October 6: Otter Fun Run [more information coming soon]
Parents of Kindergarten Students!
Parents of Kindergarten students; Please schedule a time to meet with your student's teacher on September 5th or 6th by going to myconferencetime/mississippi.
Parking Lot Safety & Procedures
Our goal is for a safe and efficient drop off and pick up of your child. Please follow the guidelines below to help with this process.
In the morning: You may start dropping off students at 9:00AM.
In the afternoon: Students are dismissed and will begin coming out of the school shortly after the 3:45PM bell.
- Please wait in the car line and patiently drop-off or pick up your child. This process can take about 10 minutes.
- Use the entire curb area for pick up and drop off. The first car in line should pull all the way up to the garage.
- Do not get out of your car.
- Do not let your child cross the parking lot alone.
- Do not park on Flora Street and walk your child through the Flora Street entrance.
Arrival and Dismissal Procedures
Busing Update for Alternate Locations
Dear Parent/Guardian,
Unless informed otherwise, the Anoka-Hennepin Schools Transportation Service Department will assume all eligible bus riders will be picked up and dropped off at the stop nearest their primary home address. Please complete this form if your child(ren) will attend a daycare facility, Adventures Plus site, or other alternate residence where they would need transportation services. Alternate address locations must fall within your child's school attendance boundary to continue being eligible for bus service. Please note, for safety reasons students are limited to only two pick up locations (1. Primary home address and 2. Day care/Alternate address), and only one single drop off location.
If the parent/guardian's have a split custody arrangement, please also complete the "Shared Custody Transportation Request Form". If any of your transportation requests are outside the school's attendance area, please complete the "Out of Attendance Area Transportation Request Form."
If you need to make a change in day care/alternate address locations during the school year, please complete and submit a new form. It could take 3-5 business days for the change to take effect, and during this time it is the parent/guardian's responsibility to transport.
For new school year priority, please complete this form before ASAP.
If you have questions, please contact Transportation Services at 763-506-1125 or email us at transportation@ahschools.us.
Work at Mississippi
Mississippi Elementary School is a great place to work and learn. Our communities work together to provide residents with safe and friendly neighborhoods, high-quality schools, a wide range of business and economic opportunities, beautiful parks and abundant recreational activities.
We need your help…Join our team! You can make a difference in your community, work at Mississippi and help prepare our students for life.
Visit ahschools.us/jobs for current postings.
FREE Student T-Shirt | PTO News
This school year, our very own Mississippi PTO will be purchasing a t-shirt for every student. Please complete this form and hit submit.
Please know that you are invited and encouraged to attend all Mississippi PTO meetings. PTO has arranged for child care for your student during the meeting. Our first meeting will be in the media center on Thursday, September 21st @ 6:30pm.
Apply for Educational Benefits for the 2023-24 school year
The state’s Free School Meals program to begin 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.
Volunteers Needed
Volunteering is a great way to get involved in your child's education. Studies show that students whose parents stay involved in school have better behavior, get better grades, demonstrated better social skills and adapt better to school. Please see the graphic below for more information regarding becoming a volunteer at Mississippi Elementary. Please reach out to Jackie Cimenski with any questions or visit the district website.
Jackie Cimneski - Volunteer Service Coordinator
(763) 506-3537
Health News
As you are preparing for your student(s) to start school, please make sure immunization records are up to date. If your child will need to have medicine administered during the school day, please contact our nursing staff (contact information below) and/or complete the correct district form.
Michelle Erickson, School Nurse
763.506.2834
michelle.erickson@ahschools.us
Katie Puchalla, Health Para
763.506.3504
This e-newsletter is published by Mississippi Elementary School. Questions, comments or concerns about the school e-newsletter? Contact us.