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.

Horace Mann School will have some staff changes for next year.

Please wish Jack Schabert well. Mr. Schabert heads to the University of Denver on scholarship to continue his pursuit of music education. We are in the final stages of hiring a replacement.

Mark Lindskoog will move from Reading Support to a 5th Grade Homeroom Teacher position.

Please wish Elizabeth Simmer well. Ms. Simmer took a full-time 3rd Grade position at Randolph Heights.

Ms. Jolanta Grey will be the long-term sub for Hanna Jacobsen in the fall. Ms. Grey was a student teacher with Ms. Kortuem and has subbed in the school after graduation.

Ms. Paige Villiard will be the long-term sub for Katri Kath in the fall. Ms. Paige has been a Reading Corps tutor here for two years. This year she also taught with Ms. Johnson.

Staff members at Horace Mann School may participate in two projects next year. Both projects are a joint collaboration between the teachers' union and the school district. Both programs are voluntary in SPPS. A few teachers at Horace Mann already participate.

The Home Visit Project (HVP) supports teachers in making connections with families and building relationships in a new and different way. If a teacher participates in the HVP, you may get contacted in August to set up a visit. It's possible it could be before a family sees the class placement on the Parent Portal (also August). We will still post the class lists on the Holleran Hall windows on August 22 so your child can see their class.

Academic Parent Teacher Teams (APTT) are an alternative form of conferencing. The focus of the program is on building relationships between teachers and families and between families. Families meet with the teacher in early fall all together. Then each family has a fall conference. Families have two more class meetings one in winter and one in spring. There are no spring conferences. Each session families get to know each other, see data about their student and the class, and focus on 1-2 important skills to work on at home with their child.

Former Horace Mann students stopped by to visit on June 4 on their way to Highland Park Senior High's graduation ceremony!

• Thu, June 5, 6:00-7:00pm - Molly Mons, Kristan Nolan
• Sat, June 28, 10:00am- Emily Van Deman
• Tues, July 15, 5:00-7:00pm - Bridget O’Brien
• Sun, Aug 10, 10:00am- Marie and Mark Rahne (coffee, doughnuts)

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

Monday, June 9

• 8:00-9:30am Kdg Field Trip to Highland Park Community Center
• 8:30am-12:30pm Gr 2 Celebration at Hyland Park
• 9:30am-12:30pm Gr 3 Celebration at Urban Air
• 9:30am-12:30pm Gr 4 Celebration at Zero Gravity
• 1:00pm Closing Assembly for Students/Staff

Tuesday, June 10

• Last Day for Students
• 9:00am 5th Grade Closing Ceremony on Field (alternate Holleran Hall)- please bring chairs
• 9:30am-1:30pm Kdg Celebration at Harmon Park

Wednesday, June 11

• Last Day for Staff

Thursday, August 28

• 5:00-5:45pm "Meet the Teacher" Night for Families Last Name A-K
• 5:45-6:30pm "Meet the Teacher" Night for Families Last Name L-Z

Monday, September 1

• No School- Labor Day

Tuesday, September 2

• Kindergarten Conferences
• 1st Day of School for Grades 1-5

Wednesday, September 3

• Kindergarten Conferences

Thursday, September 4

• 1st Day of School for Kindergarten

• Tuesday, September 23- Teacher Professional Development
• Thursday, October 2- Teacher Professional Development
• Thursday-Friday, October 16-17- State Teacher Convention
• Friday, October 31- Conference Prep Day
• Friday, November 7- Fall Conferences
• Thursday-Friday, November 27-28- Thanksgiving Break
• Monday, December 22-Friday, January 2- Winter Break
• Monday, January 19- Dr Martin Luther King, Jr Holiday
• Friday, January 30- Teacher Professional Development
• Monday, February 16- President's Day
• Friday, March 20- Conference Prep Day
• Friday, April 3- Spring Conferences
• Monday, April 6-Friday, April 10- Spring Break
• Monday, May 25-Wednesday, May 27- Memorial Day and Break

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/

A week later and we are still smiling from Friday’s incredible school carnival. It wouldn’t have been possible without the nearly 200 volunteers who showed up, took charge, and made the night unforgettable for our whole community. From middle schoolers and high schoolers to grandparents and neighbors, it was truly special to see so many people get together to celebrate the end of a fantastic school year.

A huge shout out to the students; thanks to your help getting those volunteer slots filled, Principal Litwin once again took the dunk tank plunge! And thank you to Principal Litwin for volunteering to get dunked.

We are excited to kick off a fun-filled summer, and we will do it all again next year!

Gratitude to our Spring Committees and exiting board members:

A HUGE thank you to the Carnival committee chair Jennifer Duda Butwinick. The amount of effort, creativity and care you gave to the carnival is unmatched. Thank you to committee members Molly Miller Mons, Emily Sadnick, Laura Hammargren, and Katie Bliss. The carnival was an amazing experience for the entire school community, and it may only last three hours, but it is the culmination of countless hours of work!

Thank you to our wonderful Free Family Fun Night committee, Kristan Nolan and Meghan Rodriguez. We had a wonderful year of fun!

A big thank you to the Yearbook Committee Christine Holloway, Jean Eich, and Maggie Pittelko for your work on creating a memorable yearbook for the students this year!

Thank you and to Sam Gorblirsch for your work with coordinating Art Adventure this year and past years. We will miss you and are grateful for your commitment to this wonderful program.

Thank you to Brigitte Koepke Smith and Ann Olsen Samms for an amazingly successful plant sale this year!

Thank you to Mariah Tollgaard for your work in organizing teacher conference meals this year and helping to support our HMS staff.

A huge note of recognition to the auction committee chairs Allison Deep, Virginia Ryan, and Sarah Haley, in addition to auction committee members. This year’s auction was so impressive, and is one of the reasons the PTA is able to support so many things for the school. THANK YOU!

The PTA board would like to thank and state our appreciation for our exiting board members.

A big thank you to Grace Hanson for filling the role of PTA president for the last two years.

• Thank you to Gina Corradi for your service as vice president.
• Thank you to Alex Stuart for your work as Treasurer (you loved it so much you are becoming VP).
• Thank you to Christine Holloway for your work as Volunteer Coordinator.
• Thank you to Andrea Gleckner for your efforts as Recorder.
• Thank you to Lisa Ortmann for your work on the communications team.

You all have made an immense impact in strengthening our family-school partnership and enriching our school community: THANK YOU!

Welcome to our new board members:

Welcome to our incoming PTA board members Katie Bliss (President), Alex Stuart (Vice President), Bethany Hyde (Recorder), Emily Phelps (Volunteer Coordinator), Annie Mach (Volunteer Coordinator), and Amanda Prutzman (Communications). We are so happy and grateful to have you join the team!

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.