Backpack Online - June 3, 2024
Andover High School
The Huskies celebrated 446 graduating seniors during a ceremony on Sunday, June 2 at 3M Arena at Mariucci on the University of Minnesota campus.
Anoka High School - Center for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math
The 152nd Anoka High School Commencement Exercises will take place on Monday, June 3 at 7 p.m. at Goodrich Field in Anoka. AHS will celebrate 591 graduating seniors.
Blaine High School - Center for Engineering, Mathematics and Science
Friends, family and staff cheered on 703 graduates from Blaine High School during their graduation ceremony at 3M Arena at Mariucci on the University of Minnesota campus Sunday, June 2.
Champlin Park High School - International Baccalaureate Programme
Coon Rapids High School - Center for Biomedical Sciences and Engineering
Sandburg Regional High School
The district’s first graduation of 2024 was Wednesday, May 29 and celebrated 44 students from Sandburg Regional High School. The graduation ceremony was held at Anoka Technical College.
Anoka-Hennepin Technical High School
Leaders from ServeMinnesota, SPS Commerce and the Minnesota Department of Education announced a major investment last Wednesday that will help rapidly scale Bridge2Read (B2R), a science of reading-based approach in elementary schools across the state.
Two key things:
- Monroe Elementary School - Mathematics, Science and Children’s Engineering hosted the event. The school served as one of 12 schools in Anoka-Hennepin to pilot the B2R literacy instruction program, which is now being used in all 25 elementary schools in the district.
- Minnesota Education Commissioner Willie Jett attended: Jett provided remarks as ServeMinnesota announced an investment of $2.5 million over the next three years to allow B2R to train more than 500 teachers, reaching approximately 14,000 students statewide.
Go deeper: During the event at Monroe, visitors and state leaders toured first grade classrooms to see students receiving B2R literacy instruction.
📸 View photos from the event.
B2R is an initiative that has grown from the success of Reading Corps, an AmeriCorps literacy tutoring program, partnerships with school leaders and the Minnesota Department of Education. It is a free resource designed by ServeMinnesota for teachers to provide daily science-based instruction to K-3 students and helps all students in a classroom build foundational literacy skills.
The Anoka-Hennepin School District will participate in the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) once again this summer. Meals will be provided to all children 18 and under at no cost.
🥕 The details: Meals will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis, at 16 sites across the district. The program will start Thursday, June 13 at most sites. Meal availability and serving times vary from site to site and are subject to change. Review a list of sites and meal times for more information.
Meals will be served inside school buildings. Parents accompanying their children may purchase a meal. Adult breakfast is $3.00 and lunch is $5.00. Exact change is required, and no checks will be taken.
🍎 More about the program: The SFSP was created by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to ensure that children could continue to receive nutritious meals during summer break, when they may not have access to school breakfast or lunch.
For more information, please contact Anoka-Hennepin child nutrition at 763-506-1240 or staff.CnpEnrollment@ahschools.us.
đź“– Over 450 fourth- and fifth-grade students and just over 200 sixth through eighth graders from elementary and middle schools across the district turned a new page May 28-30, traveling to Bethel University in Arden Hills to attend the 33rd Young Authors Conference offered by SparkPath (formerly Success Beyond the Classroom) - along with students from 50 other schools in the Twin Cities.
Why it matters: The event gave students with a passion for reading and writing the unique opportunity to learn from and write with Minnesota authors, including Abby Cooper, Peter Pearson, Maya Washington, Anthony Walsh, Sarah Warren and Douglas Wood. The panel was moderated by J. M. Lee, known for the book “The Nightland Express,” and “The Dark Crystal” series - which inspired an Emmy-award winning series on Netflix.
“The conference allows students to envision themselves as authors and foster their love and interest in writing for future learning opportunities,” explained Chad Libby, Anoka-Hennepin Teaching and Learning Specialist for Elementary Talent Development.
đź“ť Between the lines: Students were able to choose from and participate in a variety of breakout sessions to learn new strategies, ideas and skills to become better writers, including developing characters; writing with music, song or soundtracks as inspiration; poetry; using an outline as a roadmap to build a story; incorporating dialogue; transforming personal narrative into fiction; bringing scenes to life; crafting surprise and burying treasure in a story; fantasy and science-fiction; writing for comics or picture books; and telling a true story - to name just a few.
đź“š Read the full story.
The Anoka-Hennepin School District will host a Special Education job fair from 1-5 p.m. on Tuesday, June 18 at the Educational Service Center (ESC), located at 2727 N Ferry St. in Anoka.
The job fair will be located in Erling Johnson Room A, and attendees are encouraged to enter the ESC through Door 7.
Anoka-Hennepin has employment opportunities for any phase of your work life. Full-time, part-time and substitute positions are available.
Join us to learn more about Special Education teaching and para opportunities available in Anoka-Hennepin for the 2024-25 school year. Job seekers will also have the opportunity to meet with district Special Education administrators and hiring managers. Staff and technology will be available to assist job seekers with online applications.
Anoka-Hennepin Schools is a great place to live, work, learn and play. Join us on Tuesday, June 18 to learn more about Special Education employment opportunities and find a role that fits your skills and interests.
Everyone plays a role in student achievement; help your community succeed by applying today.
Visit ahschools.us/jobs or call 763-506-JOBS for more information.
🔨 Students in Anoka-Hennepin have built sheds and a luxury dog kennel, which are now open for bidding. The sale of these student-built items covers the cost of materials and supports future hands-on learning opportunities.
Four student-built sheds
- Built by the Exploring Construction class at Coon Rapids High School.
- Sheds measure 50 inches by 6.5 feet by 26 inches.
- Each shed is fully trimmed and functional, they have not been painted.
- Bidding starts at $500 and the auction ends June 19.
- Shed #1 auction.
- Shed #2 auction.
- Shed #3 auction.
- Shed #4 auction.
Three student-built sheds
- Built by the Exploring Construction class at Andover High School.
- Sheds are 8 feet by 8 feet. Sheds have asphalt shingles, primed panel siding and 4 feet by 4 feet treated skids.
- Bidding starts at $500 and the auction ends June 19.
- Shed #1 auction.
- Shed #2 auction.
- Shed #3 auction.
Student-built luxury pet kennel
Dimensions and details
The kennel/animal shelter has a 10 ½ -inch by 17 ½-inch pet door. The enclosed house portion is 4 feet by 6 feet and the kennel portion is 6 feet by 6 feet. The size is approximately 6 feet, 11 inches wide by 10 feet, 4 inches long by 7 feet, 10 inches tall.
The starting bid is $1,500 and is up for auction until May 14, 2024.
Providing the academic planning students and families need often goes beyond the school year. Counselors at each of Anoka-Hennepin’s comprehensive high schools are continuing an option to fill that gap with regular office hours two days a week over the summer months.
A counselor will be available for walk-in service or appointments to assist students from 8 a.m. to noon on Tuesdays and Wednesdays starting June 17 and continuing through August 14 at Andover, Anoka, Blaine, Champlin Park and Coon Rapids high schools. The week of June 17-21, counselors will be available on Monday, June 17 and Tuesday, June 18. Service will not be available the weeks of June 24 through July 5 over the holiday.
The expanded hours aim to provide a consistent time for customer service to students and families. Counselors are also available the full week following the school year and the full week prior to the school year starting. Students are encouraged to contact their counselor for exact availability prior to the end of the school year.