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.

Students at Horace Mann School shattered the old record! They read over 708,000 minutes in the month of November. They also raised over $20,000.

Congratulations to the classes who won hot chocolate and cookies: Ms. Glass, Ms. Jalonack, Ms. Ryan, Ms. Witt, and Ms. Kortuem. Mr. Reckard's class won the school prize of a pizza party.

Mr. Litwin will honor the Principal's Challenge. He plans to sleep on the roof on Monday, December 16. To help celebrate and "prove" the sleepover, Mr. Litwin will do a Horace Mann School Read-aloud through Google Meet at 6:45pm on Monday, December 16. Join https://meet.google.com/nxo-kyoa-mys or dial: ‪(US) +1 575-567-3153‬ PIN: ‪783 118 519‬# to listen.

If the time doesn't work for your family, he will record the story and share the link next week.

Congratulations Horace Mann School community and thank you for all your support!

Mr. Schabert and the students would like to invite 5th grade families to a luncheon concert. The fifth graders will perform for the other students on Monday, December 16. We will have chairs available for family members who'd like to attend.

• 10:40am for Kindergarten and 1st Grade
• 11:25am for 3rd and 4th Grade
• 12:10pm for 2nd and 5th Grade

The performers will miss some class time. They will also eat lunch as a group after their last performance.

Any questions, please email jack.schabert@spps.org.

• Grade 2-3 Music Concerts- February 4 at 8:45am for School and 6:00pm for Families
• Showcase for National African American Parent Involvement Day- February 10 at 9:30am

• Grade K-1 Music Concerts- April 15 at 1:00pm for School and 6:00pm for Families
• Grade 4-5 Musical- May 6 at 7:55am for School and 6:00pm for Families

If your child took the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT), you will receive a letter from the district Talent Development and Acceleration Services (TDAS) department. All Kindergarten students took the screener. All 2nd Graders who weren't already identified took the full test. Some students took it by family request. The letter will give your child’s results from the Cognitive Abilities Test (COGAT) administered earlier this fall.

This article provides Horace Mann School information to your family, whether your child qualified or not. We recognize that the CogAT does miss students, especially at the Kindergarten level. Some students are not developmentally ready to take a standardized test in the fall. This year students also had to do the assessment on the iPad.

We want to stress that the COGAT is a cognitive ability test. It is not an academic achievement test. It shows what students might be able to do, not what they have already learned.

There is a correlation between cognitive skills and academic achievement. For Kindergarten families, you can opt to have your child take the CogAT again next year if you wish to see how they do with another year under their belt. You can wait until 2nd grade when students are scheduled to try again.

If your child did qualify, you may be wondering what it means. At Horace Mann School, we use a school-wide approach to Talent Development and Acceleration Services (formerly Gfited and Talented or G/T).

Horace Mann School has between 30-60% of our students who qualify for TDAS each year. Our school has been using a school-wide approach for almost two decades. We have the same curriculum as Capitol Hill. We provide training for staff on strategies that work well for identified students. We use the approaches simply because of the number of students who qualify each year.

All teachers prepare every day for a variety of learner needs. They maintain a high level of instruction and expectations for student performance, pacing of lessons, dividing students into flexible groups (math and reading) at their instructional level, and incorporating gifted instructional strategies in their everyday teaching. Individual teachers or grade levels also design activities to provide enrichment or challenge. We enjoy the support of our PTA to provide additional enriching experiences. We bring in artists-in-residence, business partnerships, performances, and give the students the opportunity to perform.

We continue to make sure that every student makes a year or more of growth. Even advanced students do not always know or have mastery of all required skills in a unit of study. By testing and measuring what students know, we can differentiate each day based on what they need without having to move students throughout the building.

We have had a few instances of students moving up a grade, but the bar is quite high for that to take place. In addition to academics, we examine social, emotional, and other factors. Students must demonstrate 2-3 years in a row of the 90th percentile or higher in standardized assessments, classroom assessments, and class work.

Every teacher assesses their students daily to decide what to teach and how to teach it. They are well-versed in identifying the students who need something new and different. The advantage of our system is that students are not pulled out for quick, disconnected lessons provided by a specialist they see infrequently. They develop deep, meaningful relationships with a trusted, caring adult. Many teachers use adult volunteers to help extend enrichments. For example, there are tutors and parents providing math enrichments, Art Adventure, and competitions like the Spelling Bee or Junior Lego League.

Your child’s teacher can share your child’s progress and how she or he is working to teach and challenge your child. We continue to look at student performance and potential in future decisions like class placements. If you wish, you could apply for a spot at Capitol Hill Magnet School. Your child retains their spot at Horace Mann School until you accept a spot elsewhere.

If you have any questions about the test and how to interpret the results, you can contact Anne Commers, our TDAS contact or Grace Raymond, our district TDAS Coordinator. Please contact your child’s teacher if you have any questions about your child’s performance or how your child’s teacher views the results.

The Horace Mann School Leadership Team held its first meeting welcoming in parent/guardian representatives. The meetings take place once or twice a month. In the meeting, we will focus on staff challenges and successes, problem solving and school improvement, and family engagement strategies. In an upcoming issue, we will introduce our parent/guardian representatives and provide more details.

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

Saturday, December 14

• 9:30am-2:00pm School Choice Fair at St. Paul Rivercentre

Monday, December 16

• Fun Hair/Hat Day
• 5th Grade Luncheon Concerts (10:40am, 11:25am, 12:10pm)
• 2:00-3:45pm Extended Day for Learning (EDL)
• 5:30-8:00pm Virtual Karen Parent Advisory Council
• 6:30-8:00pm Virtual American Indian Advisory Meeting

Tuesday, December 17

• Wear Your Grade Level Color Day
• 2:00-3:00pm Language Sprouts Spanish

Wednesday, December 18

• Sports Day- Wear your favorite team gear
• 8:15am Tour for Prospective Families
• 2:00-3:45pm Extended Day for Learning (EDL)
• 5:00-8:00pm Somali Parent Advisory Council at 360 Colborne
• 5:30-8:00pm Virtual Hmong Parent Advisory Council

Thursday, December 19

• Dress Up/Fancy Day
• 8:30-10:15am 1st Grade Starbooks Cafe in Holleran Hall
• 9:00am-12:00pm Gr 4-5 Park Square Theatre Field Trip
• 2:00-3:00pm Language Sprouts Spanish
• 2:00-3:15 Community Education Classes
• 2:30pm Leadership Team in Rm 2104

Monday, December 23-Friday, January 3

• No School- Winter Break

Thank you to those that volunteered and attended the event - there were over 100 participants. Special thank you to the chairs and planning committee:

• Co-chairs: Sarah Haley & Allison Deep

• MITI Committee: Allison Broughton, Jasmine Anderson, Melissa Jensen, Stacey Tsantir, Brenna Finley, Catherine Polacek, Jennifer Duda Butwinick

• Volunteers at the event: Allison Broughton, Jasmine Anderson, Andrea Gleckner, Cara Gustafson, Jen Williams, Brittany Kubes, Melissa Jensen

• And thanks to all who donated food/drink and helped with clean up!

Thank you to Amy Sack for organizing and purchasing holiday gift cards for the HMS specialists and support staff! We appreciate our specialists and support staff and all they do for our students!

Thank you to all the Horace Mann School community members, friends, and families that gave to the HMS PTA during Give to the Max Day 2024!

There is still time to give to the HMS PTA before the end of the year! Although we did not reach our goal, we can still use your support to continue to provide excellent opportunities for our students→ link to HMS PTA fundraiser page. Or, you can drop off a check with Judy in the HMS main office!

Help us spread the word to members of our community. You can share this letter with employers, local businesses, and community organizations and ask for their support.

The Yearbook needs your photos! The yearbook wants to see all those smiling faces and include them in the yearbook for all to enjoy. Don't wait until the spring to send in photos of your kids and their Horace Mann friends, send them as you take them! Email all photos to yearbook@hms-pta.org. Please include your child's grade and teacher in the subject line.

HMS SPIRITWEAR AND MERCHANDISE STORE

The Horace Mann School spiritwear and merchandise store is always available! There are hundreds of styles, color, and size combinations available! Both the gnome logo and classic HMS logos are available. 10% of the purchase price of any product directly benefits the HMS PTA. There are no minimum orders and your items ship quickly, directly to you. Shop the store here!

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.

Perspectives Submission Deadline: Thursdays by 8:00am

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/