Dear Maxfield Families,

We had an AMAZING Spirit Week last week. Staff and scholars alike enjoyed each day. We hope you had as much fun getting your children ready for each day. Please check out the website for some of the highlights. Thank you to Ms. Brittany and the Student Leadership Team for planning and executing a great week.

This week is a four day week with conferences ending our week. We will have evening conferences on November 7th from 3:20-7:00pm and on November 8th we will have day conferences from 8:00am-`12:00pm. The following week we will have our second night of evening conferences from 3:20p.m.-7:p.m. If you have not received your conference times please connect with your child's teacher.

Weather

As the weather is changing, please make sure your child's name is in his or her jacket or coat. We want our scholars healthy to come to school and we want to make sure they leave us each afternoon with the clothes you send them to school wearing. This is really helpful with our younger scholars as they are learning rituals and routines for winter at school.

Early Pick Up

We know that sometimes emergencies arise. If you need to pick your scholar up early from school, please call the office by 1:00p.m. After 1:00pm, the phone lines get busy and we are making sure we know how everyone is getting home and prepping for dismissal.

Attendance

Our school hours are 6:30 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.

After School Programs Please pay attention to the schedules.

There are no afterschool programs on Tuesday and Thursday of this week due to the Presidential Election and Thursday evening conferences. We will have regular program on Monday and Wednesday. Please connect with Ms. Brittany or Mr. Jo with questions.

EDL for Lego League (Monday and Wednesday) along with Academics

(Tuesday and Thursdays) will have activities led by our Beacons YMCA staff. More details to come on activities.

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.

Yours in partnership,

Dr. Leslie Hitchens

Principal

Our very own, Mrs. Pottle was honored last week and received the Excellence In Education Award, Dr. Artika Tyner and Planting People Growing Justice. Mrs. Pottle has been a long time educator in Saint Paul but specifically here at Maxfield. Read more about her here.https://www.spps.org/news-details/~board/brag-board/post/maxfield-elementary-teacher-wins-excellence-in-education-award

• Tommie Tuesdays: We are encouraging our scholars to wear their purple collaborative shirt on Tuesdays!
• 11/01/24 | American Indian Heritage Month
• 11/7/24 & 11/14/24 | Conferences from 3:20-7:00
• 11/08/24 | Conferences from 8:00-12:00
• 11/14/24 | Picture Re-take Day
• 11/28/24 and 11/29/24 Holiday Break | No School
• 12/23/24 - 1/5/24 Winter Break | No School

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. We are moving into Assertion for the months of November and December.

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!

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.

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  • 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.

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.