Perspectives

This newsletter provides updates, information and event details for Horace Mann School, the Horace Mann School Parent-Teacher Association (PTA), and Saint Paul Public Schools. It is published weekly and distributed through email. Past issues can be found at mann.spps.org.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has launched an art contest in celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the opening of the EEOC.

We invite students to submit original art projects in all mediums, including drawings, paintings, photos, dance, songs, videos, poetry, essays, etc. The contest is open to all K-12 students who are residents of the United States. Entries must be submitted no later than January 20, 2025, at 9 PM EST. Additional details about the art contest can be found on our website. For more information, please contact Beth Commers at Beth.Commers@ci.stpaul.mn.us.

The lost and found was still full of winter coats, sweatshirts, shirts, hats, and water bottles at the end of conferences. It has all been bagged up. You have one more week to come in and check it.

We will begin washing and donating the clothing to children in need starting November 23.

The safety and well-being of students and staff are top priorities. We also know that exercise and play are essential for students to concentrate and learn. So we take students out for recess during winter and we go outside for field trips, but we also pay attention to the weather.

When the wind chill chart indicates that students could get frostbite in less than 30 minutes, we will do indoor recess. If a teacher determines that the weather does not allow the students to play safely and comfortably, they will do indoor recess. The one reason we don't want to limit recess is because of clothing needs.

Please dress your child for outdoor activities/recess by:

1. Giving your child layers to wear. A shirt and sweater/sweatshirt are a good start. Long pants and long underwear/PJ bottoms/leggings help. Warm socks are a must.
2. Ensuring your child has a good winter coat, gloves or mittens, and a hat.
3. Providing warm boots.

Help us keep your child clothed by labeling their winter gear with your child's last name. If you need help with clothing or boots, please email mann.sst@spps.org or call the office.

Our District has a winter weather plan. If there are changes to the school day due to weather, you will be notified through phone, email, text, and district websites. Notification will be sent to media outlets (TV, newspaper, radio.) Saint Paul Public Schools will not delay start times, but may close early.

Horace Mann School helps families in need at our school at this time of year. If you'd like to donate a gift card to Target or a local grocery store to help others, you may drop them off at the school office. Our counselors or social workers will help distribute them. We also have access to a free food program for the weekends called Every Meal.

If your family has a need food or toys, please email mann.sst@spps.org.

Wow! Thank you to everyone who participated in the plastic film drive. We're blown away by all the plastic film we collected at Horace Mann!

Curious about Ridwell at-home recycling pickup? They collect hundreds of common household items you can’t recycle curbside, like plastic food packaging, lightbulbs, clothes, Styrofoam, and more. If you sign up for a household membership by December 15, you’ll also help earn pickup of the school’s plastic film all spring. We just need 8 more households to sign up!

Find out more at https://get.ridwell.com/hms —it’s a unique link just for our school, so when you sign up there, your membership counts toward our totals. You can share it with friends and family, too, and their membership will also count! (Just make sure they live in a Ridwell service area.)

Bookmark our school calendar. It can be found at the top of our website. Here are some highlights for the next two weeks.

Monday, November 18

• 2:00-3:45pm Extended Day for Learning (EDL)

Tuesday, November 19

• 2:00-3:00pm Language Sprouts Spanish

Wednesday, November 20

• 9:30-11:30am Witt Class Field Trip to Como Planetarium
• 2:00-3:45pm Extended Day for Learning (EDL)
• 5:00-8:00pm Somali Parent Advisory Council at 360 Colborne (District Office)

• 5:30-8:00pm Hmong Parent Advisory Council at 360 Colborne (District Office)

Thursday, November 21

• 2:00-3:00pm Language Sprouts Spanish
• 2:00-3:15 Community Education Classes

Monday, November 25

• 2:00-3:45pm Extended Day for Learning (EDL)
• 5:30-8:00pm Karen Parent Advisory Council at 360 Colborne (District Office)
• 6:30-8:00pm American Indian Parent Advisory Council at 360 Colborne (District Office)

Tuesday, November 26

• 9:30-11:30am Commers Class Field Trip to Como Planetarium
• 2:00-3:00pm Language Sprouts Spanish




• 5:30-7:30pm Parents of African American Students Advisory Council at 360 Colborne (District Office)
• 5:30-8:00pm Latino Consent Decree Advisory Council at 360 Colborne (District Office)

Wednesday, November 27

8:15am Tour for Prospective Families

9:30-11:30am Vincent Class Field Trip to Como Planetarium

2:00-3:45pm Extended Day for Learning (EDL)

Thursday, November 28 and Friday, November 29

• No School- Thanksgiving Holiday

Mark your calendars for the first movie night of the school year! Bring your blankets + favorite snacks (or a picnic dinner) to cozy up for a movie night in Holleran Hall.

• Date + time: Friday, November 22 from 6-7:30 pm
• Location: Holleran Hall
• Movie: Megamind (rated PG)

All children must be accompanied by an adult. We hope to see you there!

The in-person Scholastic Book Fair is over, but you can shop our online Scholastic Book Fair through November 20th. All orders ship directly to your home, and shipping is free for book orders over $25. Your online orders will also benefit our school.

A huge THANK YOU to everyone who shopped at the Fair. It was great to see all of you, and together we raised a few thousand dollars for Horace Mann (the final amount is still in the works). Thank you for supporting Horace Mann's students, library, and classrooms!

Let Famfare Kitchen take care of dinner once again and support Horace Mann! We are back on Wednesday, December 4th when you can order a hot, homemade, family-style meal from Famfare Kitchen and 15% of your order will go back to Horace Mann.

Famfare Kitchen prepares hot, homemade meals for the whole family. Their mission is to help busy families eat better, together. Each meal serves 4-6 people and includes an entrée, salad, sides, and bread. You can even order frozen meals for another busy night!

You know the deal:

• Order through our platform by 12 PM on Sunday, December 1st (orders open at noon on 11/25).

• Pick up your meals at The Ryan Residence (1931 Saunders Ave, St. Paul) between 4:00 - 6:00 PM on December 4th

• Enjoy a stress-free dinner!

On the Menu:

• HOT: Thai Lettuce Wraps (Bowls) with Jasmine Rice, Iceberg Lettuce and Fresh Toppings

• COLD: Chicken Wild Rice Soup with Sourdough Boule

• Don’t forget to add freshly baked cookies for dessert!

Order here: famfarekitchen.bottle.com and remember to choose the 'Horace Mann' fundraiser when ordering!

• Thursday, Dec 5th from 5pm-7pm
• Holleran Hall (Horace Mann cafeteria)

Bring the entire family to this FREE night of seasonal crafting for kids, sponsored by the Horace Mann School PTA! Click HERE to get a sneak preview of the craft projects.

One project uses photos (a 1.5 inch circle will be visible in the finished project); bring a printed photo from home that's okay to cut to fit inside the frame OR we will have a photobooth and equipment available to take and print a small photo at the event.

Make it Take it is FREE, but please SIGN UP through this online form to let us know you're planning to attend. You can also sign up to volunteer or donate snacks for the event through the form - thank you!

Please note this is not a drop off event - all kids must be accompanied by an adult.

Questions? Contact Sarah Haley at girard312@gmail.com

READ-A-THON

Horace Mann's Read-A-Thon is here! For the month of November, students will track how many minutes they read per day to contribute to our school's goal of 600,000 minutes. During this month, your goal is to find new ways to make reading a part of your day. Read in the morning, read at night, read something new, read something old, read to yourself, and read to others because every minute counts! If we can collectively read 600,000 minutes, the “Principal Challenge” will be unlocked.

Please see the packet of information sent home with your student(s) for more details.

There is still time to join/submit membership dues to the Horace Mann PTA if you haven't already. The PTA exists to improve the educational experience of every Horace Mann Student. Our students receive engaging enrichment experiences as well as an academically excellent curriculum that is enhanced by our PTA volunteering and fundraising. Becoming a PTA member supports our local PTA as well as the Minnesota PTA which offers tools, resources, and guidance to advocate to support children and local chapters throughout the state.

• Family Membership: $14
• Single/Staff Membership: $7

Each membership contributes $2.25 to National PTA, $4.00 to MN State PTA, and $.75 to our local PTA chapter. If you would like to make an additional gift to the PTA to support enrichment programming for Horace Mann students add a donation to your cart in addition to your membership.

To pay for your membership, please visit the Givebacks online store.

If you would like to pay by check, please make checks out to the Horace Mann PTA and write membership in the memo line. Checks can be dropped off or mailed to the school office.

President: Grace Hanson, president@hms-pta.org

Vice-President: Gina Corradi, president@hms.-pta.org

Treasurer: Alex Stuart & Sam Smith, treasurer@hms-pta.org

Teacher Reps: Amy Kortuem & Mark Lindskoog, teacher-rep@hms-pta.org

Communications: Lisa Ortmann, communications@hms-pta.org

Volunteer Coordinator: Christine Holloway, volunteer.coordinator@hms-pta.org

Recorders: Andrea Gleckner & Sarah Liuzzi, recorder@hms-pta.org

Check the HMS PTA website for the most up to date information about meetings, latest forms, announcements, contact information, volunteer opportunities and more. Click on the “Treasurer’s report and Budget” to see this year’s budget. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions please email web-admin@hms-pta.org.

Saint Paul Public Schools (SPPS) is not sponsoring, endorsing, or recommending the activities/events announced in the PTA Section and no SPPS student will be turned away due to inability to pay.

Perspectives Submission Deadline: Thursdays by 8:00am

Email: jim.litwin@spps.org
Website: https://mann.spps.org/
Location: 2001 Eleanor Avenue, Saint Paul, MN 55116

Phone: 651-293-8965
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SPPSHoraceMannSchool/