We had lots of scholars excited about the Reading Competition. Many of them have turned in book logs and we are excited to announce our top 5 winners next week. If your scholar hasn't returned their book log it's not too late. We will announce our winners next week.

Reminder there is No School On Monday, January 20, 2025 in honor of Dr. King.

APTT and Literacy Night:

Kindergarten is hosting their winter APTT night along with our whole school literacy night. Come and join us to learn more about what your child is learning in literacy, what literacy can look like at home, district literacy initiatives, along with games, prizes, and food. Please click on the QR code to let us know if you will be attending.

Middle School Tours and Applications:

To our families that have fifth graders transitioning to middle school, please make sure to complete your school choice applications before the deadline. Also remember your child will have a seat at their area middle school. Maxfield's area school for F1 is Hidden River.

After winter break, the district will host Winter Open Houses at their sites from perspective families. I encourage all 5th grade families to explore options for your upcoming middle school scholar. As a parent of an upcoming middle school scholar, we will explore our options in SPPS as well. This is an exciting time for you and your scholar. You can learn more about their interests and see the possibilities we offer. Our school counselor is available to answer questions and provide some support for transition.

Saint Paul Promise’s program Project BOLD surrounds students and families in our partner schools, with sustainable and wrap-around supports to help them navigate choices, decisions, resources, and goals. Project Bold’s Family Success Coaches help connect students and their families to community programs, resources, and opportunities within the Saint Paul Promise Neighborhood and the greater city that put them on the path to create, implement, and achieve their cradle-to-career pursuits. Contact Faisa Aiden, Family Success Coach for Maxfield Elementary, for further information or if you have a family you’d like to refer. Faisa’s office is located next to the conference room just past the nurse’s office. You can also contact Faisa at Faisa.Aden@wilder.org or 612-548-4106

For more information on St. Paul Promise, please visit their website. https://saintpaulpromiseneighborhood.com/our-work/#education-initiatves

• Tommie Tuesdays: We are encouraging our scholars to wear their purple collaborative shirt on Tuesdays!
• 1/20/25 - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday
• 1/22/25 Maxfield Family Night at the UST Basketball Game - 7pm Transportation Provided to and from Maxfield for registered families.
• 1/23/25- APTT and Literacy Night 4:00
• 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
• 3/20 and 3/27 Evening Conferences
• 3/28/25 No School Conference Day

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.

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 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.

• 
  

  • 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.