April 2025

April 2025

Reader-Friendly Newsletter

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Guji badhanka Turjumaada: Badhankan waxa laga heli karaa xagga sare ee warsidaha.

Dear Seward Families,

March was a fun month of celebrating reading with the Read Around. Thank you to all who volunteered to support Read Around events throughout the month and actively encouraged and celebrated reading with your children! As new administrators, Kevin and I thoroughly enjoyed participating in Read Around and continue to appreciate the amazing events that have traditionally occurred at Seward.

April is upon us and that means SPRING! It is a short yet busy month of school as we launch the last quarter of the year and begin to think ahead to summer! Early in March, we completed our budget for the 25-26 school year. While the cuts were not as deep as last year, we did need to make some challenging decisions based on the priorities of our stakeholders at Seward. Since these decisions impact staff, I will share specifics after the staffing process is complete in June. As we continue to decrease the number of staff at Seward, we will have an increased need for parent volunteers and support to continue our amazing family events, support teachers in the classroom, and support the priorities of our school as a whole. Please keep an eye out for Shark News and PTA communication for ways that you can support us in those efforts.

We are continuing parent affinity meetings to gain a better understanding of their unique experiences at Seward. Thursday, April 17 is our LGBTQ Affinity Family Night. We look forward to this evening of connection and partnership.

In partnership,

Katie

catherine.hoffman@mpls.k12.mn.us

(612) 668-4951

MPS Transportation is excited to announce new routing and GPS systems for summer school 2025. In preparation for getting these new systems in place and ready, the current GPS will end on March 28.

This means Here Comes the Bus will no longer provide GPS information for yellow buses from March 28 to the end of the school year.

We understand families rely on Here Comes the Bus to know their student’s bus information. During this transition time, please continue to reach out to your student’s school or connect directly with MPS Transportation at transportation@mpls.k12.mn.us. Please be aware that SCHOOLS WILL ALSO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO GPS information during this transition time. Only staff at MPS Transportation will have GPS access. They can be reached at 612-668-2300.

For more information, check out: My Ride K-12 - Minneapolis Public School District.

Happy Spring, everyone! We've been extra busy in and around the gym lately—and there’s even more fun to come!

We’re wrapping up our second week of collaboration with Homegrown Lacrosse and the Indigenous Lacrosse Alliance. Over the past two weeks, E1 and E2 students each had a week of in-school presentations that shared the Native American history and cultural significance of lacrosse. Students heard the origin story of the “Great Game”—ask your student what happened when the four-legged animals played the winged, smaller creatures! They also got to try out lacrosse equipment and test their skills on the field!

When we return from break, we’ll continue building on these skills with small-sided games. Our K/CH students are working on lead-up skills using scoops and yarn balls. We’re also incredibly thankful for the lacrosse equipment donated by my mentors at Augsburg University—it’s made this opportunity even more special.

Coming in April: Our district’s traveling P.E. equipment will bring us two new activities: stilting and bowling—a fun way to keep everyone moving and trying new things.

Looking ahead to May: We're planning another short E2 biking unit, so please watch for more info and sign up to volunteer if you’re able. Also, Let’s Roll MPS is happening on May 7th—a district-wide biking event. Permission forms will be coming home soon!

Finally, a reminder: We’re always in need of gently-used tennis/gym shoes for students who either don’t have them or forgot them. Your donations truly make a difference—thank you!

See you in the gym!

Nicolas Collard (he/they)

nicolas.Collard@mpls.k12.mn.us

E1 students learning about where their food comes from.

Our kindergarten science class dives into density—will it sink or will it float?

At the end of February the 6th graders went to Junior Achievement BizTown in St. Paul, which was awesome! BizTown is a simulated city where the kids run various businesses including Delta, US Bank, City Hall, a construction company, a business journal and so many more! The kids prepared for their visit by learning about financial literacy, the process of getting a job, and business management. We were there with another MPS school, and the mayor of BizTown was from Seward.

The updates for my school counseling lessons include talking about identity in Children’s House with a focus on what melanin is, which is one of my favorite lessons! E1 and E2 both talked about online safety and the importance of not sharing personal information online and how to appropriately handle conflict when communicating via messaging (more for E2). We will be talking about consent and boundaries in April in both E1 and E2. A big part of it is helping the kids realize that comfort with physical boundaries can change. It’s important to think about what one’s own boundaries are and then learn how to communicate them.

What a wonderful celebration of literacy the Read Around has been! We hope that your family has enjoyed reading and documenting the minutes at home too. The Read Around is a great way for students to build reading stamina as they stretch themselves to read a little more than usual.

The whole school got into the poetry feeling! Classes got busy writing and reading poetry. Many classrooms made poetry books.

At school, we have had many fun events and the students have enjoyed the change of pace. One special moment was when E2 students read aloud to our Children's House classes. The older students carefully selected a book and invited a younger student to read with them.

We also played a school-wide bingo game! Each class created a bingo board filled with poetry books. Every day over the morning announcements Katie or Kevin picked one poetry book and the class would try to get book bingo! Congratulations to Sophie's class and Beth's class for reaching bingo --they earned a popcorn party!

Another event was mystery readers. Staff volunteered to provide clues about their identity. The students in the host classroom had to guess who was coming to read them a book. Many of the students are very good sleuths!

Finally, many thanks to the teachers, staff and volunteers who made the book fair a fun night for all. Teachers ran literacy stations for children while their families looked for books. We saw families walking out the doors with stacks of books. It was a wonderful celebration that got kids reading!

Children’s House students enjoyed working with author-illustrator Cori Doerrfeld. She demonstrated her drawing techniques and answered questions about the writing and illustrating process. Cori is the author-illustrator of many picture books, including one of the Star of the North Picture Book Award nominees for this year, Beneath, which students read during their Media time. Some Children’s House classes also read The Rabbit Listened during story time in Media.

E1 students learned words and phrases from Ojibwe author James Vukelich Kaagegaabaw, who focused on his book Medicine Weavers, about the Ojibwe language and dream catchers. Teachers also received copies of his book, The Seven Generations and the Seven Grandfather Teachings, from which many read excerpts to their classes.

E2 students were lucky to meet with Shannon Gibney, co-author of this year’s Minnesota Reads title, Where We Come From. Shannon was named educator of the year for her writing instruction at Minneapolis College. Teachers prepared the students for her visit by reading chapters 6-9 of her book, See No Color. Shannon made a follow-up visit during which students signed up to have individual or small group conversations with the author and have her examine their writing for suggestions. She suggested that some of the Seward young writers consider attending the Young Authors Conference at Bethel College in late May. Shannon is also moderating the free “An Afternoon with Jason Reynolds” at the Guthrie Theater on Thursday, May 8.

Camp Read Around: Students enjoyed having tents set up in the Media Center. Each tent had a theme, with nature-based nonfiction books to match, and those students who successfully found the answers in the books to scavenger hunt questions were awarded a Camp Read Away Challenge button. If you loaned a tent to the school, thank you! Please make arrangements with Dhaivyd to pick it up at your earliest convenience. David.hilgendorf@mpls.k12.mn.us

We are so grateful to our Seward Montessori Read Around sponsors for their generous support:

• Moon Palace Books

• Davanni’s Riverside

• Seward Coop

• Bench Pressed
• Raising Cane’s

Seward community—please show your appreciation by supporting these wonderful local businesses that give back! These companies' contributions help make our celebration of reading even more special.

As we move into the spring and the various transitions it brings, we can all start to feel big emotions. Kaisa, Tiara, and Michele recently came across the Coping Skills for Kids website that has free resources and visuals that we can use as we all support children through the various transitions and feelings. We share this resource with you hoping it can be helpful for your family as well. As always, please feel free to reach out to Kaisa, Tiara (E2), or Michele (CH/E1) if you have any specific concerns about supporting your child.

Pre-order now through April 20, 2025.

Order online and pick up your plants at the sale on May 9th & 10th

https://plantsale.sewardmontessori.org

Choose from:

Perennials – Annuals – Fruits & Vegetables – Hanging Baskets

Volunteers Needed:

Help us make this event bloom - sign up to volunteer here or contact our Family Liaison, Kerry Cashman, at 612-668-4952. Thank you for supporting our school!

Join the Seward Parent Book Club as we begin our last book of the school year, The Minneapolis Reckoning: Race, Violence, and the Politics of Policing in America (published in 2024). It is about "challenges to radicalized policing, from early reform efforts to BLM protests and the aftermath of George Floyd's murder." This book is six chapters—our goal is to read the first three chapters (or as much as you are able) by the Zoom conversation on Wednesday, April 30th from 7:30-9:00 p.m.

You can preview the preface and introduction at Princeton University Press. Moon Palace has a couple copies of this book available for purchase. It is also within the Hennepin County library system, though there's a waiting list for print and e-copies at this time.

To join the call, please email Neota, parent volunteer, Seward PTA book club organizer at bookcluborganizer@sewardmontessori.org.

Registration for Summer Scholars is now open! All programming, meals, and transportation are provided at no cost.

The program will run from June 23 to July 31, 2025, Monday through Thursday.

Seward students entering Kindergarten through 5th grade in the fall can choose between two options:

1. A traditional summer school program, Discovery and Learning, at Folwell School.
2. A GEMS/GISE/STEM program at Sullivan School.

Students entering 6th or 7th grade in the fall can select programs ranging from one to six weeks at Sullivan School for GEMS/GISE/STEM.

Both Folwell and Sullivan programs run from 8:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Aftercare is available through Minneapolis Kids or Beacons (a cost is associated with this).

For more information, please call 612-668-0730 or email summerscholars@mpls.k12.mn.us.

These free MPS Summer Programs include breakfast, lunch and transportation for eligible students. Registration is now open for American Indian Scholars (Grade 1-9), Líderes Bilingües (Grades 1-6 at Whittier International Elementary), and Natural Leadership Summer Program (Grades 1-9 at Whittier International Elementary). There are a limited number of spots available.

Minneapolis caregivers, we encourage you to reach out to Josh Downham, our district lobbyist, at downham@gmail.com if you would like to receive regular legislative updates and get involved in advocating for systemic changes in state education funding. Your voice matters in shaping the future of our schools!

In January, over 100 Seward Montessori family members gathered at Matthews Park for our annual Family Night—an evening filled with ice skating, a cozy bonfire, and hot cocoa. It was a joyful night that reminded us how special this space is for our community.

Now our beloved Matthews Park outdoor ice rink is at risk of being eliminated due to budget cuts.

A note from a Seward Parent:
“This rink is more than just a winter activity space—it's a cherished community gathering place where neighbors connect, families skate together, and kids develop a lifelong love for skating and hockey. Many children from our school and the Matthews Park Rec Plus program rely on the rink, and free loaner skates make it accessible for everyone.”

Let’s come together to preserve this important part of our neighborhood. Please consider signing the petition and emailing the Park Board Reps to help save the rink:
👉 Sign the petition here

Every voice and signature makes a difference!

Every Meal is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides bags of food to students on Thursday afternoons or the day before longer breaks. All students are eligible to participate in this program. Please complete this online form if you are interested in these food bags. Contact Michele Edwins (School Social Worker) at 612-668-4965 with any questions.