CPA Tiger Talk

On Friday February 7, PreK-4th grade students do not have school; 5th-12th grade students have a Digital Learning Day and will work from home.

Digital Learning Days are school days, and students who do not do their work will be marked absent. Students are expected to attend staff office hours and be engaged with their course work for the entire duration of the school day.

Pre-planned Digital Learning Days have been included in the CPA calendar to allow time for state-mandated staff development. Please visit the CPA website to view the calendar for specific dates of additional pre-planned Digital Learning Days.

5th-12th grade students will follow this schedule for Digital Learning Days:

English: 8:00-9:30am
Math: 9:30-11:00am
Lunch: 11:00-11:30am
Science & Social Studies: 11:30am-1:00pm

Specialists/Electives: 1:00-2:30pm

Staff members will share Google Meet links in Google Classroom. In addition, students will receive physical materials in advance. For questions or support, contact your student's teacher.

All are invited to join us for the CPA Carnival Fundraiser & Online Auction! The Carnival will take place in the CPA gyms and cafeteria on Saturday February 8 from 11am-2pm, and will feature games, prizes, an inflatable, food, face paint, an online silent auction, and more.

This event is a fundraiser, and generosity is appreciated, but there are fun free activities to participate in as well--so the excitement doesn't have to stop when your tickets run out!

Elementary aged children and younger must be supervised while at this event.

Want to get involved? We are still looking for volunteers! If you can help for part or all of the Carnival, please sign up here! We will need around 75 volunteers to make this awesome event happen. Volunteers will receive 10 free tickets to use at the carnival as a sign of our appreciation. Thanks for your support!

Have you visited the online auction for CPA's Carnival Fundraiser yet? Bidding is open now and will close at 10pm on Saturday February 8. Check it out at new.biddingowl.com/CPA2025!

This year's auction includes a variety of exciting items valued at nearly $5,000! Some of the amazing items available on the auction include:

• Sports memorabilia including a full sized MN Vikings helmet signed by TJ Hockenson and a baseball signed by MN Twins legend Paul Molitor
• Admission tickets to cool local places such as Trapped Puzzle Rooms, the Minnesota Zoo, and Chanhassen Dinner Theatres
• Original works of art such as a glass scuplture, acrylic paintings, and a stained glass lamp

Bidders can also browse through teacher wish lists and purchase items for CPA classrooms through the Fund-A-Need category.

Please bid generously and share the auction link with everyone you know who would like to support CPA!

A special thanks to our donors:

• Minnesota Vikings
• Minnesota Twins
• Saint Paul Saints
• Topgolf
• Stages Theatre Company
• Rick Bronson's House of Comedy
• Trapped Puzzle Rooms
• Science Museum of Minnesota
• Minnesota Landscape Arboretum
• Oriental Trading Company
• Children's Theatre Company
• Sea Life at Mall of America
• Breadsmith
• Minnesota Zoo
• Chanhassen Dinner Theatres
• Circus Juventas
• Conquer Ninja Gym
• Total Wine & More
• Minnesota State Fair
• Trader Joe's
• Lady Printmaker / Claire Rohweder
• Carl & Molly Eller
• Matt Saros
• John Metcalfe
• Mary Schwartz
• Chelle York
• Jeff Bernard
• Kristen Arehart
• Rachel Ryberg
• Sadie & Joe Fischer
• Terri Huml
• Sarah Zosel
• And the list keeps growing!

The CPA New Student Lottery will be held tomorrow (Monday February 3) at 3pm and we will begin filling spots for the 2025-2026 school year. Hold your spot by communicating your intent to return, otherwise it will be considered an open seat.

If you have other children you wish to enroll at CPA, you must communicate that as well in order for us to save a seat for them.

If you have any questions please contact Bonnie Johnson at bonniej@cpapk12.org or 651-280-4587.

Did you know: the #1 reason people enroll at CPA is because a friend or family member recommended it?

We currently have openings, and we are offering a $50 gift card as a thank you for current CPA families who refer new families that enroll and attend CPA.

Who do you know? Tell them to check us out, and make sure they tell us you sent them!

Monday February 3: New Student Lottery

Thursday February 6: 5pm Boys Basketball Senior Night vs HCPA at CPA (see below)

Friday February 7: No School PreK-4th Grade, Digital Learning Day 5th-12th Grade (see above)

Saturday February 8: CPA Carnival, 11am-2pm (see above)

Saturday February 8: Bidding closes for the CPA Online Auction at 10pm!

Monday February 10: Board of Directors Meeting, 6pm

Tuesday February 11: Informational Meeting for the Spring Break 2026 Trip to New York City, 6pm (see below)

Monday February 17: No School: Presidents Day

Friday February 28: Early Release Day (dismissal at 12:30pm)

For the full 2024-2025 CPA Calendar, please visit the CPA website.

Breakfast is available each day to all students for free, and the program allows students to eat in the classroom with their friends.

Breakfast is available to all students 7:40-8:30am every school day.

Please encourage your students to arrive on time and eat a free breakfast!

All Minnesota students are able to receive a free lunch every day. The free lunch includes an unlimited salad bar to ensure no student goes hungry. Students who wish to purchase a second lunch may do so. Students or staff can add money to their lunch account using the SchoolPay system.

Current breakfast and lunch menus can be found on the CPA website.

Make sure you are following CPA on social media to see all the amazing things that are happening at our school!

Follow CPATigers on Facebook and Instagram and subscribe to Rusty the CPA Tiger on Youtube!

Any high school students who are looking for a summer job: the Right Track application is now open. If you meet the program requirements, you can start your application. We will also have a staff member from Right Track who will come to CPA and help eligible students complete their application. Announcements will be made for this event.

The application will remain open through the month of February and is set to close at 11:59PM on Friday February 28th, 2025.

Right Track is the City of Saint Paul and Mayor Carter’s initiative to diversify the workforce and provide high quality internships to youth ages 14 to 21. We partner with employers across industries to provide internships in healthcare, education, youth development, STEM, finance, trades and more.

The link to our application can be found here: City of Saint Paul - RightTrack

Program Requirements:

• Young people ages 14-21
• Live in Saint Paul
• Meet Eligibility Guidelines

If you have questions about the Right Track program, contact CPA Guidance Counselor Carmita Hall at carmita.hall@cpapk12.org or 651-280-4516.

We’re going to New York in Spring 2026, and students currently in grades 8-11 are invited!

We’re excited to tell you more about the trip we’re planning with EF Explore America, our educational travel partner. Please be sure to register HERE for an info session on Tuesday February 11 at 6pm to be considered for this opportunity.

When students travel, they expand their knowledge of the world around them, discover more about themselves, and grow more confident. These skills are critical for creating the global citizens of tomorrow, and we would love to have your student join us on this adventure.

In this info session, we’ll talk about:

• How this opportunity will benefit your student
• What we’ll see and do on our trip
• Everything that’s included in this experience
• How we’re keeping this safe and affordable
• How to enroll on this trip

We would love to have you attend this meeting to learn more about this exciting opportunity!

Thanks,

Megan Cina-Bernard

The City of Saint Paul’s Public Works Department is exploring new ways to manage citywide snow operations to keep all streets safe and passable during the winter months. As a part of this ongoing work, Public Works announced they will pilot a weekly alternating one-sided parking cycle this season. One of the pilot areas is near CPA and may impact parking in our neighborhood between Sunday, February 2 and Saturday, April 12.

Within the pilot area, all vehicles must adhere to the weekly alternate side parking rules. During the “even” weeks, vehicles may only be parked on the side of the street with even-numbered addresses (typically located on the south and east sides of the streets). During the “odd” weeks, vehicles may only be parked on the side of the street with odd-numbered addresses (typically located on the north and west sides of the streets). Sundays are the “changeover” days.

Even Weeks:

No parking on the side of the street with odd-numbered addresses

• February 2-8, 2025
• February 16-22, 2025
• March 2-8, 2025
• March 16-22, 2025
• March 30-April 5, 2025

Odd Weeks:

No parking on the side of the street with even-numbered addresses

• February 9-15, 2025
• February 23-March 1, 2025
• March 9-15, 2025
• March 23-29, 2025
• April 6-12, 2025

Detailed alternate one-sided parking maps for odd and even weeks pilot area near CPA can be found below. The pilot area boundaries are Maryland Avenue to the north, Desoto Street to the east, Case Avenue to the south, and Mississippi Street to the west.

The safety and well-being of students and staff is Community of Peace Academy’s top priority. The decision to close school, delay the start of school, or dismiss school early due to winter weather is based on several factors: the ability to safely operate school buses, total predicted snowfall, predicted temperature, and predicted wind chill factor.

School Closure due to Snow and/or Ice

School will be canceled if heavy snow and/or icy conditions make it extremely hazardous or impossible for school buses to travel their routes and for employees to get to work safely. The decision to close school due to snow and/or ice will be made by 6:00 a.m. the morning of a cancellation, and earlier when possible.

School Closure due to Cold

School will be canceled if the wind chill is forecast to reach -40°F or colder at 6:30 a.m.; and in other instances where predicted temperatures or wind chill presents a danger to students waiting outdoors for school buses. The decision to close school due to cold temperatures will be made by 6:30 p.m. the evening prior.

School will remain in session whenever safely possible. School buildings are warm and comfortable, and a nourishing breakfast and lunch is available for students on winter days.

Family and Staff Notification

If school is canceled, delayed or dismissed early due to severe weather, CPA families and staff will be informed via the following:

• SchoolNow text, voice, and email notification

• Television and Radio announcements on the following local media stations:

• WCCO Radio 830

• WCCO TV

• KSTP 5 TV

• Kare 11 TV

• Fox 9 KMSP TV

• Website listing on the following media outlets:

• http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/school-closings/

• https://kstp.com/school-alert/

• http://www.kare11.com/closings

• http://www.fox9.com/closings

• The CPA website

School closures will be announced under Community of Peace Academy. CPA is independent of the St. Paul Public Schools and is not impacted by SPPS closure decisions.

CPA partners with SchoolNow for mass communications. Here's how it works:

• In urgent situations, such as snow days, reminders about planned school closures, and unexpected incidents, we will communicate with phone calls or texts (you can choose your preferred method)

• For general communications, such as the weekly Tiger Talk newsletter and invitations for special events, we will communicate via email (you can choose to opt out of this service)

Visit the SchoolNow page to update your phone number and email address. You will need to log in with the email address or phone number that is on file with the school, because this secure system pulls family information directly from our database. If you are unable to log in, please ensure the school office has your correct contact information.

Please note that we cannot use this system to contact students directly from our database. However, families can add as many additional phone numbers as desired. If students have their own phone and/or email address and wish to receive communications, their families can add those by logging into SchoolNow.

CPA partners with a transportation management company called 4MATIV. Please call or text the transportation hotline at 651-478-2482 if you have any of the following:

• Daily transportation changes (cutoff 12pm)
• Questions about pickup or drop off
• Questions about the current location of your vehicle
• Transportation concerns

If you are planning on picking up your student early from school, you must notify the office by 2:00pm.

• PreK-8th Grade: 651-776-5151
• 9-12th Grade: 651-280-4589

To change your student's bus arrangements (either from bus to pick-up OR from pick-up to bus) you must call 651-280-4588 by 1:30pm.

After 1:30pm, staff are attending to students for end-of-day procedures and are unavailable to deliver messages to students.

We discourage parents from picking up their children ten or fifteen minutes before dismissal time. This is a valuable time when teachers are putting closure to the day and it is very distracting to the children when the classroom is receiving phone calls to have a student sent to the office. We want ALL of our students to receive the optimum learning environment and appreciate your understanding in this matter.

CPA students are expected to in uniform every day for school. Families, please help ensure your children are wearing proper uniform clothing each day.

All students must wear:

• A CPA shirt as the outermost layer
• Blue, Black, Khaki or Gray Solid Color Pants or Shorts
• OR Navy Uniform Jumper, Skirt or Skort (elementary only)

Please review the full uniform policy in our Family Handbook for further details. Thank you!

CPA partners with the Every Meal program to provide free weekend food bags for interested families. Paper registration forms are available in the office. Families can also sign up electronically by completing this form.

To learn more about the Every Meal program or to make a donation to support their work, please visit the Every Meal website.

Please let us know if your child is absent from school. Families can report absences in any of the following ways:

• Elementary School Attendance Line: 651-280-4534
• Middle School Attendance Line: 651-289-3740
• High School Attendance Line: 651-280-4535
• Email: CPAAttendance@cpapk12.org
• Attendance Online Form: Available through the CPA Website

The schoolwide Lost & Found is located in the cafeteria. Please encourage your students to check for any missing items as soon as they are lost. All items that remain in the Lost and Found on the first day of each month will be discarded or donated. Thank you!

This newsletter can be auto-translated using the buttons on the top right of the page.

If you prefer, our liaisons will be happy to translate or explain any announcements in Tiger Talk or answer any questions you have about CPA. Contact Maikao Lee at 651-280-4545 (Hmong), Mariana Majil at 651-289-3742 (Spanish), or Paw Nay Bu at 651-280-4591 (Karen) for support.

Teaching Peace. Building Community. Developing Character.

Website: cpapk12.org
Location: 471 Magnolia Avenue East, Saint Paul, MN, USA
Phone: 651-776-5151
Facebook: facebook.com/CPATigers