Alice Smith Weekly Connections

Dear Alice Smith Community,

As many of you know, Tuesday, April 22nd is Earth Day and Friday, April 25th is Arbor Day. We have partnered with the City of Hopkins and Tree Trust to bring an amazing experience to our scholars and community.

• During SWE, students will explore educational stations that introduce them to the benefits of planting and caring for trees. (See stations below)
• Then, on Friday during specials, students will help plant 13 trees in front of Alice Smith. The plans are below and examples of what these trees will look like when mature

Lastly, there will be an Arbor Day Celebration at Alice Smith from 4 to 5 on April 25th.

Mr. Navidad

The North Middle School Jazz Band of 6th, 7th and 8th graders performed a half-hour concert today at Alice Smith! There were several former Alice Smith students in the group, it was fun to see them a little bit older. In fact, Henry Wyman made the state honor band that performed this last weekend. He was first chair...which meant he is the best saxophone player in the state!!! So cool seeing AS alumni doing great things. Check out the video below....

• 05/02 - Alice Smith Spirit Night, 5pm-8pm
• 05/08 - No School, Professional Development
• 05/16 - Dental Clinic @ Alice Smith
• 05/16 - Alice Smith's Got Talent, 6pm @ AS Gym
• 05/26 - No School, Memorial Day
• 06/05 - 5th Grade Graduation, 10a-1230p
• 06/06 - Last Day Of School

We start off every Friday with a PAW ticket drawing. Scholars earn PAW tickets throughout the week for being Respectful, Responsible, & Ready to Learn. On Fridays, Mr. Navidad draws 12 tickets randomly during morning announcements and if your name is on that ticket, you are rewarded with a prize. Congratulations to this week's drawing winners!

Two of our AMAZING Girl Scouts from Troop 18995 (Hopkins/Minnetonka), through their hard work, have earned many boxes to donate, and they chose our beloved school and the Ronald McDonald house. Thank you so much to these young leaders for their generosity!

PLEASE NOTE: Event is NOT at Alice Smith.

School Year 2025-26 Contract Request Window will be open Monday, April 14 at 8 a.m. - Friday, April 25 at 11:59 p.m.!

Contract Requests

Kids & Company Summer 2025 (Grades 1-4)

Blink Summer 2025 Grades (5 & 6)

Contract requests will open online on Monday, February 17, 2025 at 8 p.m. for Summer 2025.

Kids & Company School Year 2025-26 (Grades K-5)

Contract requests will be open online from Monday, April 14, 2025 at 8 a.m. to Friday, April 25 at 11:59 p.m. for the 2025-26 school year.

Please Note:

• Contract acceptance/waitlist notification will be sent out via email by the week of May 19th.
• Contracts will be accepted based on staffing and building capacity.

Families are welcome to make an appointment to receive groceries from a fully-stocked food market, while ICA relationship managers are on hand to provide additional resources at Alice Smith.

Appointments available: EVERY WEDNESDAY from 3pm-7pm. Call 952-938-0729 to reserve your 30 minute time slot.

Building our social-emotional learning (SEL) skills is an important goal for our school this year. We will be asking for your 3-5th grade child to reflect on their mindsets and approaches to learning via an online survey they will be completing at school in their homerooms.The survey will ask students to self-reflect on social and emotional competencies that align with the Hopkins scholar traits outlined in the district's strategic plan.

We are asking that all our students participate in the surveys. If a student doesn’t feel like they have enough information to answer a question, they can skip the item. The responses to these surveys are completely confidential. If you have any questions about the SEL survey or would like information about opting out, please don’t hesitate to contact us. You may also choose to opt your student out of this survey no later than April 30th here.

Hopkins Education Foundation recently awarded six Spark Grants totaling $20,400 to educators at Hopkins schools. Spark Grants help teachers acquire additional resources and kickstart classroom projects. These spring grants will help (1) expand ACT prep support to ninth and tenth graders at Hopkins High School; (2) provide tools for 3D recycling for North Middle School eighth graders learning about sustainable energy systems; (3) purchase color-coded cutting boards to help culinary students at the high school avoid cross-contamination and stage a mock restaurant; (4) add orchestral music by women and underrepresented composers so the high school orchestra can play a broader range of music; (5) fund recreational equipment for Transition Plus students that are suited for people who may struggle with fine motor skills or have limited mobility; and (6) support translation of materials for the XinXing program as it joins Eisenhower in transitioning to an International Baccalaureate curriculum. We had the pleasure of awarding these grants recently and even presented the orchestra with its grant during their recent trip to Cuba. Learn more about these Spark Grants and how you can help us continue to kickstart learning at HopkinsEduationFoundation.org.

Join us for candid conversation, listening, and learning. Soup with the Supe is sure to be informative while enjoying delicious soups crafted by our own chefs. Get to know our Hopkins Superintendent and other parents/community members. Come for the soup, stay for the conversation, and leave with a sense of community and new learning. Mark your calendars for the following dates: April 24, May 9, May 20, and June 24. Each session will be held from 12 to 1 p.m. We can't wait to see you! Sign up here.

Curious about how AI is shaping learning in Hopkins? Want to learn some AI basics? Craving pizza and great conversation?

Join us for our AI EXTRAVAGANZA — a night of hands-on activities, bold conversations, and community visioning as we shape the future of AI in our schools.

• Experience some of the AI tools that your students use & try your hand at writing prompts

• Share your voice on our district’s AI mission and guidance

• FREE dinner, real talk, and a chance to lead the way

Date: Tuesday, April 29

Location: Eisenhower Community Center, Room 233

Save your spot now - register here.

Let’s dream, design, and decide together.

Alice Smith Elementary will have the final Ready Set Smile Dental clinic on Friday, May 16th.

In order for your child(ren) to participate in the Ready Set Smile clinic at Alice Smith Elementary, you will need to fill out CONSENT FORMS for EACH CHILD. There are two ways to fill out the consent forms: QR Code or paper copy: Espanol and English

Kristin Lutz-Counselor will help get your children to and from the RSS Dental clinic on Friday, May 16th.

Please contact Kristin Lutz-Counselor at 952-988-4214 or via email at kristin.lutz@hopkinsschools.org with any questions or for more information

Saturday, May 3 & Sunday, May 4

National Teacher Appreciation Week is May 5-9, and the PTO has been making arrangements to celebrate and thank Alice Smith teachers in a variety of ways. One of the ways you can help: Stop by the school on Saturday, May 3 or Sunday, May 4 (whatever time works best for your family) and decorate the sidewalks outside of the school with chalk. You can draw something and/or write a message of thanks. The hope is that when teachers and other staff arrive at school on Monday, they will be reminded how grateful we are for them and all they do!

Tuesday, May 6, 6-7:30 p.m., Cafeteria or online

At this meeting, in addition to discussing regular PTO business, Principal Navidad and school staff will share a budget update for the 2025-2026 school year. Many of you filled out a survey to share your budget priorities; now, come to find out how funds are being allocated, share your feedback, and get your questions answered. Dinner and childcare will be provided, so please plan to join us!

Are you organized and skilled at facilitation? We're looking for a meeting leader to develop PTO meeting agendas and run the meetings. This is a great way to help our school in a significant way, meet other parents, and get a front-row seat to all the goings-on at Alice Smith! You will have the opportunity to shadow our current meeting leader to learn the ropes before fully moving into this role. Email Kelli Gabbert (kmgabbert@gmail.com) to learn more or indicate your interest.

The Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) provides a variety of fresh fruit and vegetable snacks to encourage children to try new foods, learn about seasonal produce, and set healthy eating habits to last a lifetime. Please see below for our FFVP offerings this week:

Website: https://hopkinsschools.org/schools/elementary-schools/alice-smith-elementary
Location: 801 Minnetonka Mills Road, Hopkins, MN 55343, USA
Phone: (952) 988-4200
Facebook: facebook.com/AliceSmithElementarySchool
Twitter: @AliceSmith270