Location: 543 Front Ave. St. Paul, MN 55117

Attendance Line: 651-744-4513

School Hours: 7:30am - 2:00pm

Dear Crossroads Families,

I borrowed this information below from another school out of district: We will be discussing this with our students today, to make sure they are keeping their eyes safe!

Solar Eclipse on April 8. 2024

Minnesota isn’t in the path of totality for Monday’s solar eclipse. But the state will see about 75 percent of the sun blocked by the moon in an event lasting from 1 p.m. to 3:10 p.m.

People are preparing to watch the eclipse, but optometrists say it’s dangerous to look directly at the sun — during an eclipse or at any other time.

“It’s very tempting to look directly at it not having all of the glare, and that is exactly why it’s harmful,” said Dr. Lulwa El Zein, an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota specializing in retina health and pediatrics. “When you look directly at the solar eclipse you can actually damage your eyes.”

Even a quick glance directly at the sun can cause retina damage, including blurry vision and blind spots, according to Dr. Sandra Montezuma, at the University of Minnesota’s Medical School.

“Staring directly into the sun or watching a solar eclipse can cause eye damage known as solar retinopathy or eclipse retinopathy … the injury is similar to thermal burns caused by a laser and harms the cells in the eye that help you see,” Montezuma said. “Even a short duration of exposure — as little as a few seconds of fixation on the sun during the eclipse — can cause injury … temporary vision loss, blurred vision, distortion or permanent vision loss.”

“Some of (the damage) might be reversible, but the majority of it is not,” El Zein warned. “It only takes one second to burn your retina.”

Regular sunglasses do not provide sufficient protection. Neither does a camera lens, telescope or binoculars.

There are still ways to witness the eclipse. Here are two of them:

1.) Purchase a pair of safety eclipse-viewing glasses or goggles. It’s important that the goggles are approved by the American Astronomical Society, are not scratched or damaged and are labeled with the tag ISO 12312-2

2.) Use a pinhole projector to indirectly view the eclipse

Given our schedule, at the end of the day students waiting for parent pick-up or the bus will see part of the eclipse. It is an extraordinary event, however we will be reminding students to not look directly at the sun.

Please reach out with any questions or concerns,

Tracy

Staff Appreciation Week is April 29th - May 3rd. The PTO is collecting gift cards to be used in a daily drawing. Our hope is that we might even get enough for every staff member! Please consider donating one or more gift cards in any amount ($5, $10, $15, $20, or $25). Popular choices include coffee shops, Target, Lakeshore Learning, movies, and restaurants. Gift cards can be dropped off in the school office between now and April 26th. If you prefer to donate money towards the purchase of gift cards, you can pay via Venmo at https://venmo.com/u/Sarah-Wren-26

There will be no school for students on WEDNESDAY this week, due to the EID! Holiday! Thank you!

Intersession Confirmation Letters in Thursday Folders April 11

Confirmation letters, with classroom assignments, will be sent home in this week's Thursday folders. Call the school (651-767-8540) to add your student to the wait list.

Our next meeting of the year is: Thursday, April 11, 2024. We would love to have you join us online via GoogleMeet. The link is here and listed below in the Family Community Event. The meeting date for April was changed, due to our family movie night and EID. We did not want to have 2 events during the same week. Thank you!

During our April meeting, we will work together to come up with a plan to reach more families about the FLY and possible change to the year round calendar. As per our last meeting we will have Chief Jackie Turner from the District Executive Leadership Team join us again to help us plan this work for family engagement.

The FLY (Flexible Learning Year) refers to our year round calendar. The team that will be meeting on Thursday night, will be working to develop a strategy for engaging families in discussions about the application process and requirements for the year round calendar. The FLY is an application process that Crossroads must complete and submit to the state of Minnesota to actually be a year round school. Please feel free to join us or reach out to Mrs. Buhl for any questions you may have. Thank you.

Upcoming Family Community Meetings:

6/12/24

7/10/24

Please join us on Thursday April 18th in the school gym from 5-7pm for our movie night showing Elemental. Popcorn and beverages will be provided, but feel free to bring your own snack. Consider bringing something comfortable to sit on.

Students must be accompanied by their adult at all times. To help with our preparations, please RSVP using this form Crossroads Movie Night RSVP.

Each spring, the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCA) is provided to students in mathematics (grades 3-8 and 11), reading (grades 3-8 and 10), and science (grades 5, 8 and in high school upon completing biology). These tests provide a snapshot of student learning of the Minnesota Academic Standards. The MCA is used to meet federal and state legislative requirements. The Minnesota Department of Education and SPPS can use results to look across student groups, schools and districts to evaluate equitable learning opportunities for all students.

Crossroads 3rd-5th graders will be taking the MCA Reading and Math tests the week of April 22nd. 5th graders will also take the MCA Science test.

If you have questions about your student’s participation in statewide assessments, reach out to test coordinator Patrick Thuente, 651-767-8540, patrick.thuente@spps.org.

The tulip bulbs Children's House planted in the fall are sprouting! We are participating in the Tulip Test Garden, you can see Crossroads on the map- Tulip Test Garden. Dr. Fraley's class planted tulips last school year (22-23) and those emerged about 2 weeks earlier. If you want to track the tulips' growth with your class, go take a look, they are planted around the peace pole at the front of the school.

Main Office Line

651-767-8540

Attendance Line

651-744-4513

Our Office Staff Include:

Paula McGaughey - Lead Clerk

Kiyauna Farris - Clerk

Angie Stoddard - Clerk

At this time of the school year, we request families to say "goodbye" to their children at the front doors. Teachers and staff have a lot on their plate at the beginning of the day, since students eat in the classrooms. Saying "goodbye" to your child at the front door will help build independent learners. Most students now know their way around the school and we have plenty of grownups in the building to help those that might be sad or need extra support. We promise, your child will get to class and not get lost. Thank you for your help and understanding.

For the SAFTEY and SECURITY of ALL children and families, please note the NEW procedures for late drop off and early pick up. These safety and security protocols are for the benefits of your children. Thank you for your understanding.

If you are dropping your child/ren off at school AFTER 7:45am - You must park and walk your child into the main office and sign them in with office staff.

If you are picking your child/ren up at the end of the school day BEFORE 1:45PM, you must park and come into the office to sign your child out with office staff.

Finally, if you do not call with a change of transportation for your child's end of day routine before 12:45pm, we CANNOT remove your child from the bus during our dismissal time. It makes it very chaotic/challenging to find 1 or 2 children during dismissal with 15 buses and 125 children waiting for parent pickup in the gym. Thank you for your understanding!

• No School April 10 - Holiday EID
• Family Community Meeting - Online 4/11/2024 @ 6:30pm
• Family Movie Night 4/18/24
• Conference Prep Day 4/19/24
• Staff Appreciation Week April 29 - May 3
• Conferences Evening April 30th and May 2nd
• Conferences Day May 3rd (No School)
• May Intersession May 6 - May 27 (No School Unless Registered)
• May Intersession May 7-10 and May 14 - 17 (Registered Students Only)
• No School June 19 - Juneteenth
• No School July 1-5
• Family Community Meeting - Online 7/10/22 @ 6:30pm
  
• All School Family Picnic 7/19/24
• Last Day of School July 31

English

All school documents can be can be translated or interpreters made available upon request. Please contact the school office for support at 651-767-8540.

Spanish

Todos los documentos pueden ser traducidos o interpretados oralmente si usted lo solicita 651-767-8540.

Hmong

Tej ntaub ntawv tom tsev kawm ntawv uas xa los rau nej, peb yuav pab txhais thiab nrhiav neeg txhais lus rau nej yog nej hais qhia peb 651-767-8540.

Somali

Dhammaan dukumiintiyada iskuulka waa la turjumi karaa ama waxaa la heli karaa turjumaan haddii la codsado 651-767-8540.

Karen

Contact Mookapaw Bei at 651-767-8540.