
Principal Hitchens's Notes

January Highlights
First Lego League
We have lots to celebrate this week. First our Lego Robotics team participated in the First Lego League Competition last weekend. The Maxfield Lego Masters learned about coding, leadership, and research. Underthe guidance of Mr. Rynish, they worked collaboratively to share the work and discover their individual talents. Great Job Lego Masters! We are proud of you and hope you are proud of yourselves. Thank you to all the families and staff that come out to support our team.
Maxfield Night at UST
Wednesday was student night for Maxfield at the Girls Basketball Game. Ms. Jade Hill, had her Maxfield fans cheering her on all night. We are thankful to all who came and showed their support and build collaboration between Maxfield and University of St. Thomas. This partnership we have developed and continue to build for all students. We show our support for Ms. Jade in basketball as well as a future teacher. Ms. Jade will complete her student teaching with Mrs. Pottle. She brings her A Game to school every day by setting the same high expectations and standards for the scholars in her class.
Literacy Night and APTT
Thank you to all the families who were able to attend APTT and Literacy Night. We appreciate you coming out to learn more about what is happening at Maxfield in your children's classrooms as well as learning how you might support increasing literacy at home. #SPPSREADS. We look forward to announcing our top 5 winners of our reading competition at our all school assembly this Friday.
Family Engagement Question of the Month🤔
What is most important in your child’s education right now?
HMONG: Dab tsi yog qhov tseem ceeb tshaj plaws ntawm koj tus me nyuam txoj kev kawm tam sim no?
KAREN : အခဲအံၤ တၢ်အရ့ဒိၣ် ကတၢၢ်လၢနဖိတၢ်ကူၣ်ဘၣ်ကူၣ်သ့အဂီၢ်န့ၣ်မ့ၢ်တၢ်မနုၤလဲၣ်.
SOMALI: Waa maxay waxa xilligaan la joogo ugu muhiimsan waxbarashada ilmahaaga?
SPANISH: En este momento, ¿qué es lo más importante para usted en la educación de su niño?
- Tommie Tuesdays: We are encouraging our scholars to wear their purple collaborative shirt on Tuesdays!
- 1/27/25 No School Professional Development
- 2/1/25 Black History Month
- 2/10/25 National African American Parent Involvement Day NAAPID
- 2/17/25 President's Day No School
- 3/1/25 National Women's History Month
- 3/7/25 No School Conference Prep Day
- 3/20 and 3/27 Evening Conferences
- 3/28/25 No School Conference Day
- 3/31/25-4/4/25 SPRING BREAK
Winter is Here 🥶
Cold Weather Guidelines ⛈️
- Families are encouraged to monitor their children’s clothing selections to make sure they are appropriately dressed for cold weather. Our students have daily recess except in extreme weather conditions such as rain or severe cold/wind chill. Students will have indoor recess on any day with a wind chill or actual temperature that is below zero. As weather changes, sweaters and layers are needed! Please consider these factors related to weather as you and your child make decisions for winter clothing. Students must have a WARM coat, hat, and mittens/gloves for outdoor recess. Visit Saint Paul Public School Weather page for more information. To prevent lost Clothing please Label students' names on clothing.
- Thank you to Beacons YMCA for the generous donation of mittens and hats. Each Maxfield Scholar received a pair of all weather gloves and a hat.
Parent Pick Up Updates
- Please call the office 651-293-8680 and speak to front desk staff. All changes need to be made prior to 1:00 PM. Do not leave a message on attendance line for changes to afternoon student pick up. All scholars will be in the parent pick up area if you do not pick up your child before 1:40pm.
- Parents in the Paren Pick up Line: Please remain in your vehicle. When you choose not to follow the process it makes it difficult on those who do and impossible for staff. Everyone has some place to be. We have procedures in place for safety as well as flow. Do not walk up to the get your child. You will be sent back to your vehicle. Thank you to the families that consistently follow the procedures. We appreciate you. The Maxfield Parent Pick Up Crew
Attendance
Our school hours are 6:00 am - 3:30 pm. If your child is going to be absent it is your responsibility to inform us. We also know that the phone lines in office can be very busy at times, so, we do encourage you to leave a message on the attendance line.
Please check our school website regularly maxfield.spps.org for information and updates. You can also check out our 2024-25 School Year Calendar . If you have questions the website doesn’t answer, please call the front office at 651-293-8680.
Maxfield C.A.R.E.S.
Hey Hey Listen Up! We continue to demonstrate our use of PBIS C.A.R.E.S. all year. C.A.R.E.S. stands for Cooperation, Assertion, Responsibility, Empathy, and Self-Respect. With the new year we move into Responsibility for the months of January and February.
Attendance
Attendance
Attendance is an important part of scholar success. Missing less than nine days of school each year helps students to stay engaged, experience success in their schoolwork and keep on track to graduate on time. We recognize there are many reasons a student may be absent from school. If your student is ill, check SPPS’s illness guidelines at spps.org/studentwellness. Please call the main office 651.293-8680 at your earliest convenience if your child will be absent. Communication between home and school is vital to a positive school experience. More information about consistent attendance can be found at spps.org/attendance.
If you have questions or concerns with getting your scholar(s) to school please contact school counselor Kary Kuenzli, 651-744-7644 or text 612-405-9477 or principal Dr. Hitchens 651-744-4534. We are here to support you and your family!
Breakfast and Lunch Menus
Student Wellness
Please check in with your healthcare provider to ensure your child’s immunizations are current before school starts in the fall. Visit spps.org/studentwellness or call our school nurse for more information.
Transportation
SPPS Bus Information
- If your family moved over the summer, update your address at spps.org/onestop.
- If you believe your student is taking the bus but did not receive a postcard at the end of August, please call your child's school.
- Please arrive at the bus stop five minutes before the bus is scheduled to pick up your child.
- Track the status of your child’s bus on your school’s website or the Bus Status app linked below.
- For your up-to-date bus pick-up and drop-off times, log on to your Campus Parent account and click on the Transportation tab.
TRACK YOUR BUS WITH THE BUS STATUS APP
The Bus Status app reports buses greater than 10 minutes late and displays up-to-date bus information for SPPS families and students.
Notice: Bus Status has a new and improved app just in time for the new school year! The Bus Status app currently installed on your phone will not update automatically to the new app, and will end notifications after September 29. Download the new Bus Status app for free at the Apple App Store and via Google Play.
Nutrition Services
Nutrition Services
All students are eligible to receive free breakfast and lunch under the Minnesota Free School Meal program. As students arrive at school, they can grab their breakfast and eat in class. Hot and cold breakfast options are available.
Application for Educational Benefits
While all in-person students will receive free breakfast and lunch under Minnesota’s Free School Meals program, it remains critical that all families complete an Application for Educational Benefits each school year. These applications determine how much funding your child’s school receives for educational programs and supports. Additionally, eligible families can qualify for other benefits. The application can be completed online at schoolcafe.com/spps. Paper applications are available at school.