CPA Tiger Talk

This coming Friday, December 20, is an Early Release Day. Students will be dismissed at 12:30pm. Please plan accordingly to help us ensure a smooth dismissal and afternoon commute for all students. Thank you!

This is a reminder that CPA will be closed for Winter Break from Monday December 23 through Friday January 3.

We look forward to welcoming students back to school on Monday January 6. Until then, have a safe, relaxing, and fun Winter Break!

Friday December 20: Early Release Day (dismissal at 12:30pm)

Monday December 23-Friday January 3: Winter Break (no school)

Thursday January 9: Kindergarten Open House, 5-7pm

Friday January 10: Early Release Day (dismissal at 12:30pm)

Monday January 13: Board of Directors Meeting, 6pm

Wednesday January 15: College Knowledge & Active Citizenship Night, 5-7pm

Thursday January 16: Last day of Semester 1 / Quarter 2

Friday January 17: No School for students (staff grading & reporting day)

Monday January 20: No School for Students and Staff (MLK Day)

Tuesday January 21: First day of Semester 2 / Quarter 3

Wednesday January 22: Elementary Reading Night, 5:30-7pm

Thursday January 30: Tech with Your Teen Night, 5:30-7pm

For the full 2024-2025 CPA Calendar, please visit the CPA website.

Breakfast is available each day to all students for free, and the program allows students to eat in the classroom with their friends.

Breakfast is available to all students 7:40-8:30am every school day.

Please encourage your students to arrive on time and eat a free breakfast!

All Minnesota students are able to receive a free lunch every day. The free lunch includes an unlimited salad bar to ensure no student goes hungry. Students who wish to purchase a second lunch may do so. Students or staff can add money to their lunch account using the SchoolPay system.

Current breakfast and lunch menus can be found on the CPA website.

Make sure you are following CPA on social media to see all the amazing things that are happening at our school!

Follow CPATigers on Facebook and Instagram and subscribe to Rusty the CPA Tiger on Youtube!

Do you have a student who will be in kindergarten next year? Do you have a friend, family member, or neighbor who does? If so, come to the CPA Kindergarten Open House!

The CPA Kindergarten Open House is Thursday January 9 from 5-7pm. Come and learn what makes CPA kindergarten so unique!

• Explore classrooms

• Meet teachers

• Gather resources

• Get help completing our enrollment application

• Get excited for all the fun of kindergarten!

Don't forget--we have a $50 referral bonus! So, if you have a friend, family member, or neighbor who enrolls their child, make sure they tell us you sent them!

Applications are open for the Wallin Scholarship!

Wallin Education Partners offers a scholarship of up to $16,000 to be used over four years of college, with comprehensive advising and career support. Students can use their scholarship funds at four-year colleges or universities in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, North and South Dakota, or any HBCU in the United States.

Eligibility: Combined parental income of $0–$95,000. For families of six or more, parents can make up to $135,000. Unweighted GPA of 3.0 or higher.

The application deadline is January 31.

Applicants will need to write one essay, upload their unofficial high school transcript, and upload their parent(s) 2023 1040 tax form.

For more information, contact CPA's Guidance Counselor Carmita Hall at carmita.hall@cpapk12.org or 651-280-4516.

MNDoT is recruiting for a Youth Leadership Program centered around Rethinking I-94.

This program is perfect for high school students in grades 10-11 who are ready to explore leadership, research, community engagement, and career and job opportunities in the transportation field.

If you live or go to school near the Rethinking I-94 corridor (between the downtowns of Minneapolis and St. Paul), this is your chance to dive into the real world of transportation planning, environmental review, design and engineering, highway construction and maintenance, and community engagement. Whether you intend to go into the skilled trades, to college, or are simply interested in these topics, we encourage you to apply.

Through this program, you’ll receive:

• An inside scoop on the I-94 corridor and MnDOT’s Rethinking I-94 process
• Insights into what careers in transportation look like
• Presentations from experts in the field
• Potential field trip/tour
• Experience completing a self-selected independent project
• The opportunity to present your independent project to MnDOT leadership
• Compensation for your hard work, $18.75 an hour up to $600
• A great experience to add to your resume or college application

Sessions will tentatively be held Tuesdays from 4 - 6 p.m. from February to March 2025. Meetings will be hosted at locations that are easily accessible by transit. Visit their website to learn more or to apply!

CPA is not in charge of this program, and CPA staff will not be present.

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, is an important way for graduating seniors to get financial aid for their education after high school. FAFSA applications are open now, and there are upcoming opportunities to get help!

• Visit the Sallie Mae website to register for a free webinar. Everyone who registers will receive a recording of the webinar, so if that time doesn't work for you, it's still a great idea to register.

• Visit the Minnesota Goes to College website to participate in help sessions that guide families through the process of applying for financial aid through the FAFSA or the MN Dream Act. Upcoming sessions will take place throughout January, and recordings of the sessions will be posted afterwards.

For additional support or any questions, please contact CPA's Guidance Counselor Carmita Hall at carmita.hall@cpapk12.org or 651-280-4516.

Did you know: the #1 reason people enroll at CPA is because a friend or family member recommended it?

We currently have openings, and we are offering a $50 gift card as a thank you for current CPA families who refer new students that enroll and attend CPA.

Who do you know? Tell them to check us out, and make sure they tell us you sent them!

Mark your calendars: the CPA Carnival will be on Saturday February 8 from 11am-2pm!

Plans for the CPA Carnival are underway. Anyone who would like to get involved in helping plan the carnival is welcome to participate. Contact Sadie Fischer at sadief@cpapk12.org or 651-280-4564 for more information about how to get involved!

CPA partners with a transportation management company called 4MATIV. Please call or text the transportation hotline at 651-478-2482 if you have any of the following:

• Daily transportation changes (cutoff 12pm)
• Questions about pickup or drop off
• Questions about the current location of your vehicle
• Transportation concerns

If you are planning on picking up your student early from school, you must notify the office by 2:00pm.

• PreK-8th Grade: 651-776-5151
• 9-12th Grade: 651-280-4589

To change your student's bus arrangements (either from bus to pick-up OR from pick-up to bus) you must call 651-280-4588 by 1:30pm.

After 1:30pm, staff are attending to students for end-of-day procedures and are unavailable to deliver messages to students.

We discourage parents from picking up their children ten or fifteen minutes before dismissal time. This is a valuable time when teachers are putting closure to the day and it is very distracting to the children when the classroom is receiving phone calls to have a student sent to the office. We want ALL of our students to receive the optimum learning environment and appreciate your understanding in this matter.

CPA partners with SchoolNow for mass communications. Here's how it works:

• In urgent situations, such as snow days, reminders about planned school closures, and unexpected incidents, we will communicate with phone calls or texts (you can choose your preferred method)

• For general communications, such as the weekly Tiger Talk newsletter and invitations for special events, we will communicate via email (you can choose to opt out of this service)

Visit the SchoolNow page to update your phone number and email address. You will need to log in with the email address or phone number that is on file with the school, because this secure system pulls family information directly from our database. If you are unable to log in, please ensure the school office has your correct contact information.

Please note that we cannot use this system to contact students directly from our database. However, families can add as many additional phone numbers as desired. If students have their own phone and/or email address and wish to receive communications, their families can add those by logging into SchoolNow.

CPA students are expected to in uniform every day for school. Families, please help ensure your children are wearing proper uniform clothing each day.

All students must wear:

• A CPA shirt as the outermost layer
• Blue, Black, Khaki or Gray Solid Color Pants or Shorts
• OR Navy Uniform Jumper, Skirt or Skort (elementary only)

Please review the full uniform policy in our Family Handbook for further details. Thank you!

CPA partners with the Every Meal program to provide free weekend food bags for interested families. Paper registration forms are available in the office. Families can also sign up electronically by completing this form.

To learn more about the Every Meal program or to make a donation to support their work, please visit the Every Meal website.

Please let us know if your child is absent from school. Families can report absences in any of the following ways:

• Elementary School Attendance Line: 651-280-4534
• Middle School Attendance Line: 651-289-3740
• High School Attendance Line: 651-280-4535
• Email: CPAAttendance@cpapk12.org
• Attendance Online Form: Available through the CPA Website

The schoolwide Lost & Found is located in the cafeteria. Please encourage your students to check for any missing items as soon as they are lost. All items that remain in the Lost and Found on the first day of each month will be discarded or donated. Thank you!

This newsletter can be auto-translated using the buttons on the top right of the page.

If you prefer, our liaisons will be happy to translate or explain any announcements in Tiger Talk or answer any questions you have about CPA. Contact Maikao Lee at 651-280-4545 (Hmong), Mariana Majil at 651-289-3742 (Spanish), or Paw Nay Bu at 651-280-4591 (Karen) for support.

Teaching Peace. Building Community. Developing Character.

Website: cpapk12.org
Location: 471 Magnolia Avenue East, Saint Paul, MN, USA
Phone: 651-776-5151
Facebook: facebook.com/CPATigers