Principal's Newsletter

Happy Friday to you,

"Nerf Wars" or "Nerf Assassins" have started up again. "Nerf Wars" or "Nerf Assassins" is a popular activity amongst some of our high school students. This activity is not sponsored or supported by South St. Paul High School or the South Saint Paul Public School District.

While students are not to participate in this activity in school, during school time or on school property, as the principal and a parent of a high school student I want you to be aware of this activity because it is dangerous. Injuries DO occur! In addition, the activities may be illegal and could result in criminal charges. In some cases, it has been reported that students use cars to block other teens; jump on top of moving vehicles; crawl on to homes, garages and/or on roofs without the homeowner's permission. While young people may find these types of activities fun they are often not thinking about the very serious potential consequence that may result.

Think about it, teens running around in the dark "shooting" at each other with Nerf guns, that sometimes resemble real guns, put themselves in danger. If your child is participating in this activity, please talk with your child about the potential danger and consequences for participating in “Nerf Wars.” I would really appreciate if you would talk with your child about "Nerf Wars." Thank you!

What else can you find in this week's newsletter? Information regarding:

• Dinner tonight at Chuck E. Cheese (help our friends from Kaposia Education Center),

• More information about Nerf Wars and Orbit Guns,

• New COVID guidelines,

• VFW is looking for students,

• 2024 District Facilities Task Force (we need to hear from you),

• and many more topics. Make sure to check the newsletter out.

Thanks for all the support you give your student and the school! Have an amazing weekend and we look forward to seeing your student/s on Monday! 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

cochocki@sspps.org

Packer Pride: Today. Tomorrow. Forever.

The 5K Run/Walk Fundraiser is back this year! For those unfamiliar, my family and I have organized this event for the previous 14 years or so to raise money for kids in our school district who struggle to afford activity fees. Our parents both graduated from South St. Paul in the early 50’s and believed in the importance of participating in co-curricular athletics and activities. We’ve done this event to honor them and help the kids who need it most.

We’d love to have a big crowd involved this year! Please consider participating (run or walk), volunteering (we never have enough volunteers), donating, and/or spreading the word to anyone who may be interested. A Kids Run is also part of this! All proceeds go directly to the kids of our community. Please contact me if you have any questions. Thanks and have a great day!

LINK TO SIGN UP, VOLUNTEER, DONATE

Pete Schultz

History Teacher

So. St. Paul High School

pschultz@sspps.org

The sent the following post on Tuesday, April 16, via Parent Square:

Dear Packer Families,

April showers bring May Flowers, what do May Flowers bring? May flowers and sometimes poor decision making. What do I mean? This past week we have had a couple of students bring orbit guns to school. Orbit guns are "Splatter Ball Blaster Toy Gun with Gel Balls". The students did not use the orbit guns in school but did bring a weapon to school and there were consequences for these students. I think that it is prudent at this time to remind all parents/guardians that:

Possession of Weapons, Explosives, Incendiary Devices, or Combustible Substances – School Board Policy 501 prohibits students from possessing, using, or distributing weapons. In order to assure a safe school environment for students, staff and the public, no student or non-student, including adults and visitors, shall possess, use or distribute a weapon in a school location.

• A “weapon” means any object, device or instrument designed as a weapon or through its use is capable of threatening or producing bodily harm or which may be used to inflict self-injury including, but not limited to, any firearm whether loaded or unloaded; air guns; pellet guns; BB guns; rifles, pistols, all knives; blades; clubs; metal knuckles; nunchucks; throwing stars; any combustible or flammable liquid; explosives; fireworks; tear gas, mace and other propellants; stun guns; ammunition; poisons; chains; arrows; objects that may have been modified to serve as a weapon and look-alike weapons.

• No person shall possess, use or distribute any object, device or instrument having the appearance of a weapon and such objects, devices or instruments shall be treated as weapons including, but not limited to, weapons listed above which are broken or non-functional, look-alike guns; toy guns; and any object that is a facsimile of a real weapon. No person shall use articles designed for other purposes (i.e., lasers or laser pointers, belts, combs, pencils, files scissors, etc.), to inflict bodily harm and/or intimidate and such use will be treated as the possession of a weapon.

• “School Location” includes a school building, school grounds, school activities or trips, bus stops, school buses or school vehicles, school-contracted vehicles, the area of entrance or departure from school premises or events, and all school-related functions.

• “Possession” means having a weapon on one person or in an area subject to one’s control in a school location. A student who finds a weapon on the way to school or in the school building, or a student who discovers that they accidently have a weapon in their possession, and takes the weapon immediately to the Principal’s Office shall not be considered to possess a weapon.

Why am I sharing this information with you? Besides the incidents this week, our students start up a "Nerf War" competition. This is not school sponsored, school supported, and I think that this is a really bad idea (Crash that killed 2 Lakeville teens started with 'Nerf wars'). In addition to my feelings, we will be following the above Board Policy. I am asking that you have a conversation with your student/s about the possible consequences of bringing a "toy" weapon to school, on school property or a school sponsored event. In addition, our SSP Police Department are receiving many calls regarding teens and guns. The SSP Police may issue citations to the students. Even though it may appear that it is not a big deal, it is a really big deal. Please talk with your students.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has issued updated guidelines for managing respiratory viruses, including COVID-19. If you experience symptoms of a respiratory virus, it is recommended to take the following steps:

• Isolation: Stay away from others until:

• Symptoms have improved for at least 24 hours, and

• If a fever was present, it has subsided without the use of fever-reducing medication.

• Precautionary Measures: After resuming normal activities, it's important to continue taking precautions for the next 5 days to minimize the risk of disease transmission. This includes:

• Improving indoor air quality

• Practicing enhanced hygiene, such as frequent handwashing

• Wearing a well-fitting mask

• Maintaining physical distance from others

• Consider getting tested for respiratory viruses.

This updated guidance provides a unified approach to managing the risks associated with various common respiratory viral illnesses, including COVID-19, influenza, and RSV.

Greetings Parents,

My name is Terry Pieper and I’m the Post Commander of VFW Post 295 in South St Paul. With Memorial Day approaching, we are reaching out to families who currently serve in the military and/or are veterans. We would like to invite any child in the SSP School District who has a parent/guardian currently serving in the military or is a veteran to participate in our Memorial Day Parade and Ceremony as a Poppy child. You will have the opportunity to be part of the SSP Memorial Day Parade as well as participate in the Ceremony at the Oak Hill Monument.

For more information, contact me at twpieper12@yahoo.com

Memorial Day is May 27, 2024, and the parade takes place at 9:30 am with the ceremony following at 10:00 am at Oak Hill Cemetery. Information needed would be:

Student’s name, Parent/Guardian’s name, Parent/Guardian’s military status, and active service or veteran.

South St. Paul Public Schools invites interested staff, parents/guardians and community members to be a part of the District’s 2024 Facilities Task Force. The overall goal of this 25-30 member task force is to help build short and long-term plans that support the needs and goals for maintaining the District's facilities and assess our current programming and its use of space throughout the district.

To ensure consistency and continuity in the process, we kindly ask committee members to commit to attending the following meetings from 6:00 - 8:00 PM on May 21, June 4 and 18, July 23, August 6 and 20 and possibly into September if needed.

Please make sure to update your contact Information.

In order to receive important information regarding school closings and family messages, make sure your contact information is correct in our student information system, Infinite Campus- Parent Portal. To do so:

• Log into your Infinite Campus Parent Portal account

• Click on the user menu icon in the upper left hand side of the screen

• Click on Settings

• Click on Contact Preferences

• Check to make sure all information is correct and preferences are updated

ParentSquare Communications

South St. Paul Public Schools uses ParentSquare for school to home communications. When the need for an emergency school closing arises, this is the system that will alert you.

• One of the best ways to receive these alerts is by downloading the app from the Google Play Store or the iOS App Store

• Look in your ParentSquare account settings and be sure you HAVE NOT turned off notifications from your student’s school or the district, directions here

• Check your phone settings and be sure you are not blocking unknown calls, or you can add SSPPS as a contact in your phone 651-457-9400

• If you have not been receiving school texts, you many have accidentally opted out from receiving them, to start them back up send the word "START" to 66458 to opt back in

The high school Summer Strength and Speed program has a long tradition of fostering athletic excellence and healthy behaviors for grades 6-12. This program starts with safety, technique, and peer-to-peer support, and grows into highly competitive, intense summer workouts preparing student-athletes for physical fitness and varsity athletic success. See the attached flier to find the summer morning session that fits students’ goals and experience. Note the affordable cost ($90 for the whole summer): coaches are committed to ensuring access for the entire community. The teams and friend groups that work out together, find support AND excellence! Reach out to Tim Kennealy (tkennealy@sspps.org), Manuel Spreigl (mspreigl@sspps.org), or Tyler LaRose (tlarose@sspps.org) with questions.

One of the most important voices of our district is that of our South St. Paul Public Schools students. The School Board has made it a priority to bring their voice to the table through the Student School Board Representative opportunity. Student Board Representatives will serve as the liaison between the School Board and our students. They will work closely with the South St. Paul School Board to provide input and share their student perspectives. If your high school student will be in grade 11 or 12 next year and is interested in this opportunity visit the website for more information. This year’s application will be available there following spring break.

W.I.N. Wednesday will start on April 3. Wednesday is NOT a late start. Doors will open at 7:30 AM and first period will starting at 7:50 AM.

Students who are earning a C or lower will need to attend W.I.N. Wednesday and come into school to get help in their classes. Students who are earning a C+ and above may work from home if they have their parent/guardian permission to work from home. You may always send your student to school.

9th and 10th grader students must come to school if they are earning a C or lower in any class. 9th and 10th grade students that are coming in for W.I.N. Wednesday must attend all their classes, no matter their grade in their classes.

11th/12th grader students must come in for the class/es that they are earning a C or lower in. Depending on their class schedule and the time of their classes, 11th/12th grader students that choose to come late or leave early must sign in and out of the high school attendance office if they choose not to attend the entire day (this is only for W.I.N. Wednesday).

Teachers will create 2 W.I.N. Wednesday folders for each week: C and lower (for Additional support), C+ and higher (extension) so your student will have work they need to complete both at home or in school.

Instilling healthy habits and routines (adequate sleep/nutrition) and consistent attendance ensures a student’s success in school even as early as kindergarten. We know that too many absences/tardies, for whatever reason, can cause children to fall behind both academically and socially.

To help ensure healthy habits consult with your health care provider regarding well-visits and immunizations, as well as maintain good personal hygiene. Also:

• Get the appropriate vaccines.
• Wash your hands frequently.
• Stay home if you are sick (so you do not spread the illness to other people) (do not return to school until fever free for 24hrs without use of medication or 24hrs after last time vomited).
• Use a tissue, or cough and sneeze into your arm, not your hand and turn away from other people.
• Use single-use tissues. Dispose of the tissue immediately.
• Wash your hands after coughing, sneezing, or using tissues.
• Do not touch your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands (viruses can enter your body from unwashed hands).
• Do not share cups, glasses, dishes, cutlery, or cellphones.

The school district will follow the guidelines from the Minnesota Department of Health for recommended exclusion and notification for vaccine-preventable diseases including mumps, measles, rubella, pertussis, diphtheria, viral hepatitis, chickenpox, and meningitis. Families will not be notified, and students are not excluded for lice, mononucleosis, pink eye or strep throat.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me:

Rick Moore BSN, RN, PHN moorer@sspps.org

651-457-9449

• April 23- Science MCA Test-Bio
• April 24-W.I.N. (G.S.D.) WEDNESDAY
• April 25-Science MCA Test-Bio
• April 25- Student/Family Connect (conferences) from 3:30-7:30
• April 26- Grand March and Prom

Want to see our students and staff in action? Come watch them at a home event. Here is the link to this weeks schedule: Weekly Schedule

If your family is experiencing homelessness, such as staying in a shelter, hotel or temporarily with others, we can help make sure your child has stability in their education through the McKinney-Vento Homeless Act. For help in accessing these services, please contact Candace Burckhardt, Special School District #6 Homeless Liaison/Local Coordinator.

For more information please look at the resources at the following link: https://www.sspps.org/departments/student-services/special-education

Additional resources can also be found at https://www.co.dakota.mn.us/HealthFamily/PublicAssistance/Housing/Pages/default.aspx or MDE's website: https://education.mn.gov/MDE/dse/ESEA/home/

Email: cochocki@sspps.org
Website: https://www.sspps.org
Location: 700 2nd Street North, South Saint Paul, MN, USA
Phone: 651-457-9402