
South St. Paul High School Weekly
The Principal's Newsletter: May 5, 2023
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From the Principal's office!
Happy Cinco de Mayo Friday Packer Families,
Last week I had the opportunity to attend an educational conference. It was a great conference were I learned many different strategies to better serve our students. In addition to the strategies I had the opportunity to listen to some experts talk about issues our students are facing. I would like to share some of the things I learned.
Teens and Social Media:
- Teens that use social media for more than 4 hours a day have a heightened risk for mental health issues
- Teens that use social media more than three times a day are predicted to have poor mental health and well-being
- There are direct links between high levels of social media use and depression or anxiety symptoms
- Lastly, greater social media use, nighttime social media use and emotional investment in social media— were each linked with worse sleep quality and higher levels of anxiety and depression
I shared this information with our high school students this past Tuesday in my Tic-Taki with Ochocki. I asked students to look at the number of hours they are on social media and I suggest you also ask your child. Start the conversation with them!
Please make sure to read over the rest of the newsletter because some very important information can be found in the newsletter. Just some of the topics are:
- Lasting Impact presentation, for grades 10-12, by the Minnesota State Patrol,
- Vaccinations for 12th graders (this year's 11th graders),
- SSPPS Graduation Rate Increase,
- Purchasing a yearbook (order closes on May 13),
- and much, much more.
Have a wonderful weekend. Go Packers!
Sincerely,
Chuck
Mr. Chuck Ochocki
South St. Paul High School Principal
700 2nd Street North
South St. Paul, MN 55075
(651) 457-9402
Packer Pride: Today. Tomorrow. Forever.
Important upcoming dates:
May 10: Packer Plus W.I.N. Wednesday
*Educational Foundation Scholarship Program
May 12: Lasting Impact presentation
May 17: Packer Plus W.I.N. Wednesday
May 24: Packer Plus W.I.N. Wednesday
May 29: No School, Memorial Day
Lasting Impact
Attention Parents of 11th Grade Students:
Minnesota law requires that all children are vaccinated against certain diseases or have a legal exemption on file to enroll in school. Students entering 12th grade will be required to have documentation of (or a legal exemption) for the booster dose of meningococcal vaccine. (Most students received the initial dose of this vaccine when they entered 7th grade.)
Teenagers and young adults are at higher risk for meningococcal disease, a serious illness that can lead to an infection of the brain and spinal cord. This booster dose is important to make sure they are fully protected. Here is a link for more information: https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/meningococcal/basics.html
If your child has already had the meningococcal booster shot, which is usually given at age 16, please bring in his/her shot record to the Health Office. If he/she has not had it, plan to get this. We are a "No shots, No school" school district. Your child will not be admitted to classes if we don't have a record of the shot. He/she/they will be sent home.
Order a yearbook for your SSP High School student
MEMORIES: EVEN SMALL ONES COUNT
The friends. The classes. The teachers. Safeguard the memories, big and small, by ordering a yearbook for $60.00 before May 13, 2023. BUY A YEARBOOK
SSPPS Graduation Rate Increase
The four-year graduation rates for the Class of 2022 were released earlier this week by the Minnesota Department of Education. A preliminary look at the data shows the 4-year graduation rate for the South St Paul High School class of 2022 is 89.9%. This is 5 percentage points higher than the graduation rate for the class of 2021 (84.4%) and above the graduation rate for the class of 2020 (88.6%). The statewide average 4-year graduation rate is 83.6%, which has been stable over the past five years. Read more here.
Summer Strength & Speed Camp (Incoming 6-12 graders) 2022
More info: https://drive.google.com/file/d/19yeIoWjaP6SsVI-FffwF3BwZBGB72xWm/view?usp=sharing
Link to sign up: https://www.vancoevents.com/us/events/landing?eid=20950&embed=1
Silver Apple Award Winners
Congratulations to this year's South St. Paul Educational Foundation Silver Apple Award winners! Students were invited to nominate a South St. Paul Schools staff member as someone who has made a positive impact on their life. This year Bridget Contreras, Secondary Student Support, was honored.
Homework Help
W.I.N. Wednesday Attendance
We are changing how we will be doing attendance on W.I.N. Wednesdays for Trimester 3. Students will no longer take their own attendance. If a student needs to be here on a W.I.N. Wednesday AND does not show up for there class, we will mark them absent. You, parent/guardian, then will receive a message from the school letting them know that they were mark absent for a class they were supposed to attend.
So, the communication loop for our parents/guardians for W.I.N. Wednesday will be:
- Teacher emails parent/guardian on Tuesday that the student needs to come in because of their current grade.
- If that student does not attend class on W.I.N. Wednesday, teacher will mark student absent and the parent/guardian will receive a message letting them know their student did not attend class.
Vaping- What every parent/guardian needs to know
To help all of us better understand vaping, I have created a 4 part series about vaping called Vaping 101: What Parents/Guardians Need to Know. Please check out the first three videos (they are short).
Vaping 101: What Parents/Guardians Need to Know- part 1
Vaping 101 What Parents/Guardians Need to Know- part 2
Vaping 101 for Parents/Guardians Need to Know- part 3
PSEO (Postsecondary Enrollment Options)
Postsecondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) is a program that allows 10th-, 11th- and 12th-grade students to earn college credit tuition free while still in high school, through enrollment in and successful completion of college courses. With traditional PSEO, these courses are generally offered on the campus of the postsecondary institution; some courses are offered online.
Want more information about PSEO at SSP High School? Please check out this video: PSEO Video
South St. Paul Food Resources
Open Door Mobile Pantry: Free food distribution once per month at Kaposia. Open to all residents, No appointment or personal information is required to receive food. The next distribution is February 13 from 4:00 - 6:00 pm.
Saturday Food Distribution: Neighbors Inc is hosting Saturday food distributions for anyone in need. The third Saturday every month from 10:00 am - 11:30 am at Neighbors Inc in South St. Paul.
Free Take ‘n Bake Meals: Free meals are available to residents each week at Central Square. Meals are available Mondays after 3:00 pm and can be picked up anytime before Saturday at 2:00 pm while supplies last.
Every Meal: Every Meal is FREE for all families. Meals are placed discreetly in student’s backpacks before going home each weekend to help fill weekend food gaps. Families with multiple students can sign up for a bag for each student. Click here to apply.
Stay Healthy/Stay Safe
Need to contact me?
Email: cochocki@sspps.org
Website: https://www.sspps.org
Location: 700 2nd Street North, South Saint Paul, MN, USA
Phone: 651-457-9402