Principal's Newsletter

Happy Friday! I hope this newsletter finds you healthy, happy, and ready for the weekend. Here are some of the topics you can read more about in this week's newsletter:

• ACT Test/Digital Learning Day- March 19th,
  

• Technology Update,
  

• SSP Job Fair,
  

• School Board Meeting Changes.
  
• Student School Board Representative,
  
• High School Youth Ambassadors,
  
• and many more topics. Make sure to check the newsletter out.

Thanks for all the support you give your student and the school! Have a fantastic weekend! Go PACKERS!

Sincerely,

Chuck

Mr. Chuck Ochocki

South St. Paul High School Principal

700 2nd Street North

South St. Paul, MN 55075

(651) 457-9402

cochocki@sspps.org

Packer Pride: Today. Tomorrow. Forever.

ACT:

On Tuesday, March 19, 11th grade students will be taking the ACT at SSP High School. We will be utilizing every high school classroom and all teachers to facilitate the ACT for the 11th graders in attendance.

Digital Learning Day:
That means all 9th, 10th and 12th grade students have a Digital Learning Day on March 19. The schedule for all 9th, 10th and 12th grade students will be:

• 7:30 AM: Work for the day is released in Schoology-Review work that needs to be completed for the day
• 7:30 AM-12:00 PM: Work on assignments
• 12:00 AM-1:00 PM: Lunch
• 1:00 PM-2:30 PM: Meet with teachers (virtually) if they have questions about their work. Teachers will have a google meet link for check in.

The high school Summer Strength and Speed program has a long tradition of fostering athletic excellence and healthy behaviors for grades 6-12. This program starts with safety, technique, and peer-to-peer support, and grows into highly competitive, intense summer workouts preparing student-athletes for physical fitness and varsity athletic success. See the attached flier to find the summer morning session that fits students’ goals and experience. Note the affordable cost ($90 for the whole summer): coaches are committed to ensuring access for the entire community. The teams and friend groups that work out together, find support AND excellence! Reach out to Tim Kennealy (tkennealy@sspps.org), Manuel Spreigl (mspreigl@sspps.org), or Tyler LaRose (tlarose@sspps.org) with questions.

Thank you for your patience as we continue to work through the ongoing technical issues. We will continue to send updates through ParentSquare, email, and the website. Secondary students are back on their chromebooks and have new passwords. Most elementary students are back on their devices or are in the process of logging back in. You can find all of the information sent to families on the family communication webpage.

Next week is the SSP Job Fair- Wednesday, March 20 from 3:00-7:00 pm at the SSP Secondary. The City of South St. Paul and South St. Paul Public Schools are hosting a job fair to connect you with employment opportunities in SSP. Anyone ages 16+ is invited to learn more about a variety of positions available in our city, apply, interview, and potentially receive an offer that day. Click here for more information.

The SSPPS School Board meets on the second and fourth Monday of each month, with the exception of July and December. The second Monday of the month is a work session (5:00 pm) and stakeholder comments to the board session (6:30 pm) held at the District Office. The fourth Monday is a work session (5:00 pm) followed by a regular business meeting (6:00 pm) held at City Hall. All meetings are open to the public. For more information on dates, times, and/or agendas for each meeting, visit the School Board section of our website at: https://www.sspps.org/about/school-board/meetings

One of the most important voices of our district is that of our South St. Paul Public Schools students. The School Board has made it a priority to bring their voice to the table through the Student School Board Representative opportunity. Student Board Representatives will serve as the liaison between the School Board and our students. They will work closely with the South St. Paul School Board to provide input and share their student perspectives. If your high school student will be in grade 11 or 12 next year and is interested in this opportunity visit the website for more information. This year’s application will be available there following spring break.

Three high school students are representing South St. Paul Public Schools (SSPPS) as Youth Equity Ambassadors. Youth Ambassadors is a collaboration between South St. Paul Public Schools, St. Paul Public Schools, and School District 197. One Saturday each month the student ambassadors from each school meet to build community and learn foundational equity leadership skills. Read more here.

If your student is interested in participating in baseball, softball, track and field, boys tennis and golf you can register them on the Athletics and Activities homepage. You must have an up-to-date physical! If you need help with activity fees, scholarships are available! In order to participate in Spring activities, you must have a 1.7 GPA during the 2nd trimester.

The District Calendar Advisory Committee, comprised of both families and staff, engaged in collaborative dialogue over the last several months for the development of the 2024–25 academic calendar. To guide their efforts, the committee created a comprehensive Guide Change Document, to guide their work in ensuring the recommended calendar not only met state instructional requirements, but also the committee’s established priorities, including minimizing consecutive week disruptions for families and allocating ample time for staff professional development, particularly in meeting the Read Act training requirements, were seamlessly integrated into the calendar. View the Calendar.

South St. Paul Public Schools has summer learning opportunities for all ages. Whether your student is going into a new school or you want to keep their brain stimulated during the summer months, there’s a learning opportunity for your student. Click here to enroll your student or to learn more about any of the programs listed below.

• Kindergarten Camp, Incoming Kindergarteners

• Elementary Summer Learning Academy, Grades 1-5

• Packer Preview, Incoming 6th Graders

• Middle School Summer Learning Academy, Grades 7-8

Instilling healthy habits and routines (adequate sleep/nutrition) and consistent attendance ensures a student’s success in school even as early as kindergarten. We know that too many absences/tardies, for whatever reason, can cause children to fall behind both academically and socially.

To help ensure healthy habits consult with your health care provider regarding well-visits and immunizations, as well as maintain good personal hygiene. Also:

• Get the appropriate vaccines.
• Wash your hands frequently.
• Stay home if you are sick (so you do not spread the illness to other people) (do not return to school until fever free for 24hrs without use of medication or 24hrs after last time vomited).
• Use a tissue, or cough and sneeze into your arm, not your hand and turn away from other people.
• Use single-use tissues. Dispose of the tissue immediately.
• Wash your hands after coughing, sneezing, or using tissues.
• Do not touch your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands (viruses can enter your body from unwashed hands).
• Do not share cups, glasses, dishes, cutlery, or cellphones.

The school district will follow the guidelines from the Minnesota Department of Health for recommended exclusion and notification for vaccine-preventable diseases including mumps, measles, rubella, pertussis, diphtheria, viral hepatitis, chickenpox, and meningitis. Families will not be notified, and students are not excluded for lice, mononucleosis, pink eye or strep throat.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me:

Rick Moore BSN, RN, PHN moorer@sspps.org

651-457-9449

Reminder - Individuals who test positive for COVID-19 must isolate for at least 5 days from the onset of symptoms or test date (asymptomatic) and can return when fever free for 24 hours (without fever reducing medication). Following symptom improvement and return, individuals must wear a mask (not shield) for days 6-10 OR individuals may remove their mask sooner than day 10 with two sequential negative antigen tests 48 hours apart. See MN Department of Health Guidance for further details.

Please make sure to update your contact Information.

In order to receive important information regarding school closings and family messages, make sure your contact information is correct in our student information system, Infinite Campus- Parent Portal. To do so:

• Log into your Infinite Campus Parent Portal account

• Click on the user menu icon in the upper left hand side of the screen

• Click on Settings

• Click on Contact Preferences

• Check to make sure all information is correct and preferences are updated

ParentSquare Communications

South St. Paul Public Schools uses ParentSquare for school to home communications. When the need for an emergency school closing arises, this is the system that will alert you.

• One of the best ways to receive these alerts is by downloading the app from the Google Play Store or the iOS App Store

• Look in your ParentSquare account settings and be sure you HAVE NOT turned off notifications from your student’s school or the district, directions here

• Check your phone settings and be sure you are not blocking unknown calls, or you can add SSPPS as a contact in your phone 651-457-9400

• If you have not been receiving school texts, you many have accidentally opted out from receiving them, to start them back up send the word "START" to 66458 to opt back in

March 20- NO W.I.N .WEDNESDAY- all students are in the building

March 25- March 29- No School, Spring Break

Want to see our students and staff in action? Come watch them at a home event. Here is the link to this weeks schedule: Weekly Home Schedule

If your family is experiencing homelessness, such as staying in a shelter, hotel or temporarily with others, we can help make sure your child has stability in their education through the McKinney-Vento Homeless Act. For help in accessing these services, please contact Candace Burckhardt, Special School District #6 Homeless Liaison/Local Coordinator.

For more information please look at the resources at the following link: https://www.sspps.org/departments/student-services/special-education

Additional resources can also be found at https://www.co.dakota.mn.us/HealthFamily/PublicAssistance/Housing/Pages/default.aspx or MDE's website: https://education.mn.gov/MDE/dse/ESEA/home/

Email: cochocki@sspps.org
Website: https://www.sspps.org
Location: 700 2nd Street North, South Saint Paul, MN, USA
Phone: 651-457-9402