Newsletter Archive

Happy Summer to our Northpoint families and students!  

It has been a wonderful year of learning and community at our school, and I hope we will all close out this year with feelings of gratitude and pride in our school and district. 

Since March, most of my messages have been around learning in the time of COVID-19, and that has been necessary. But as we look back, I want us to pause and reflect on the entire year and the wonderful community we have created.  

Starting in September, our staff and families began our partnership for the common goal of educating our children to be leaders for our future. We worked to know each child, to be aware of and in support of their goals, to help them accomplish their hopes and dreams. We worked hard, laughed together and enjoyed one another’s company. 

Every day our teachers and support staff worked to provide each student with a personalized learning experience, one which captured the interests of their children and took them to the next steps in their learning. We focused on engaging our children in high level thinking, conceptual understanding in math, and collaborative learning around a common purpose. We helped develop kindness, responsibility and respect, along with seeing a job through to completion.  

Some of our processes were changed as we entered Extended Flexible Learning, but I am thankful for our staff and families that we did not stray from our purpose. We came together like never before, and we didn’t lose sight of our goals for each child as we supported them in their academic growth.  

I believe as educators we were able to learn from our experiences this spring. We learned how to create the conditions for students to have even more voice and choice in their education, how to help our kiddos see themselves as valuable contributors to a group, and how to provide students with increased ownership in their learning. I think we have positioned ourselves to move into the future with even more effective practices for providing our students with relevant and meaningful learning experiences!  

Here are a few highlights for this week as we wrap up the year:

• Tomorrow, June 4, is the last day to drop off any library and curriculum books and pick up any personal belongings. School-issued iPads do not need to be returned for the summer unless you are moving or leaving the district. Schedule for tomorrow is:
   
  • 8-11 a.m. -  Last names letter R-Z
  • 11-1 p.m. -  Last names letter J-Q
  • 1-4 p.m. - Last names letter A-I
  • 5-8 p.m. - Families who cannot make it during their scheduled time or have high-risk health concerns. 
     
• Friday, June 5 we hope you can join us for our drive-thru for families to wave good-bye to teachers and staff. Please follow the guidelines found in the Need to Know section.
• Wednesday, June 10, report cards for end of the year will be available in the Campus Parent Portal. An explanation of report card reporting and instructions for accessing report cards online can be found in the Need to Know section.
• Families of students referred to summer school will be receiving direct communication about the program and plan from their teacher and a follow up from school staff with an invitation to register. We also anticipate offering some online only, fee-based summer enrichment programming beginning in July. More information on the options will be communicated with families the week of June 22.

We know there are many unknowns and questions about the 2020-2021 school year. Planning for a variety of possible scenarios has begun. We continue to plan for school to resume Tuesday, September 8. We will plan to update families a few times this summer with status on the situation and our planning. Watch for those updates the weeks of July 6 and August 3. 

See the Need to Know section for details on these highlights, information about summer meals, reports cards, and more.

I wish you all a wonderful summer, one of health, safety and relaxation. Enjoy your children, family and friends! I will miss our fourth graders and those students moving from Northpoint, and I look forward to seeing our returning friends when school resumes!

Judi Kahoun
Principal

Trimester 3 Elementary Report Cards (Grades K-5)

Reporting on student learning during COVID-19 and extended flexible learning

Report cards are just one of many ways that we report on student learning throughout the year.  Report card grades reflect student learning, and teachers look at evidence of learning, over time, to determine where students are at in their learning at the time of report cards.

Because all of Trimester 3 occurred in a flexible learning environment, we wanted to provide a guide specific to Trimester 3 report cards for students in Grades K-5.

• All grades received reflect student learning that occurred during Trimester 1, Trimester 2, and/or Trimester 3. Grades for K-5 include:
  • MS: Minimal progress toward standard
  • AS: Approaching the standard
  • S: Met the standard
  • ES: Exceeds the standard
  • You may see two other marks on the report card:
    • An NA indicates that students did not have opportunities to learn this outcome throughout the school year. Any learning outcomes marked as NA for 2019-20 will be addressed in Fall 2020.
    • An NE (No Evidence) grade indicates that students had opportunities to learn this outcome during Trimester 3, but did not submit any evidence of their learning. As a result, there is no evidence to determine where they are at toward meeting the learning outcome.
  • All life skills, for all grade levels, will be marked as NA (Not Reported) for Trimester 3.

Trimester 3 report cards will be available beginning Wednesday, June 10 and can be accessed through Campus Parent Portal. Note, this is the same way families accessed Trimester 2 report cards. Watch a video tutorial on how to access your student’s report card.

Northpoint Yearbooks

The delivery of our yearbooks from Lifetouch have been delayed due to COVID-19. When we receive a timeline for delivery, we will formulate a plan for delivery and will communicate out to families. 

End of Year Drive Thru Friday, June 5 (PLEASE NOTE TIME CHANGE)

On June 5 from 10-11:30a.m. (time changed from 9:30-11a.m.). All families are invited to do a “drive-thru” at Northpoint to wave good-bye to our teachers and staff members. Families will be asked to enter heading west on 124^th Court, proceed to the driveway in front of the school and then exit out to Cloud Drive.  Staff will be seated on both sides of the driveway. 

We ask that you do not stop or exit your vehicle at any time and follow the same safety rules as you do during Parent Pickup and Parent Dropoff times. To moderate traffic, the suggested visiting times are: last name A-K arrive from 10-10:30a.m., L-S from 10:30-11a.m. and T-Z from 11-11:30a.m. Please also visit the Minnesota Department of Health guidelines for Vehicle Gatherings/Parade Guidance. We look forward to seeing you!

Summer Meal Services Start June 9

Spring Lake Park Schools are providing free meals to children ages 1-18 throughout the summer. The last day of the current meal services format will be Friday, June 5. Beginning Tuesday, June 9 we will be starting the Summer Meal Program. Summer meals will be distributed at Spring Lake Park High School, door 32, Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Pickup will be curbside as it has been through the COVID-19 situation and will include a lunch and a breakfast.

Summer Camps and Clinics available for sign-up

A variety of summer camps and clinics will be offered throughout the summer for students of all ages. The current camps and clinics offerings were approved with requirements that follow the latest Minnesota Department of Health safety guidelines. 

Visit the Camps and Clinics section on Eleyo to check out what is available now for camps and clinics. If you had already registered for a camp prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Community Education staff will be contacting families to issue a refund or reassign the registrant to a new camp session. Any questions? Call SLP Community Education 763-600-5050.

Outstanding School Fees: How to pay through Campus Parent Portal

As we wrap up the 2019-2020 school year, we encourage families to pay any outstanding fees they may have acquired throughout the school year. Fees could range from technology and iPad insurance to library books and music fees.

A few months ago, our district had to discontinue services with FeePay, our fee payment and athletic registration system. All historical information and outstanding fees have been transferred into Campus Parent Portal. To check for any outstanding fees and for instructions on how to make a payment, follow these instructions.

Over the summer, we will be working on installing a new athletic and activities system called Affinity. This will allow us to manage and register our families for school programs. More information to come.

Questions? Contact our technology team at techsupport@district16.org. Make sure to include your name, contact information and a brief description of your request. If you are unable to email, call 763-600-5555 and leave a message.

The Panther Foundation seeking applications for their Board of Directors

The Panther Foundation is seeking candidates for their Board of Directors who have a passion and commitment to the students and families in Spring Lake Park Schools. The Foundation is looking for individuals who are ready to share time, talents and resources with the Foundation to support and enhance the efforts that contribute to our success. 

Learn more about joining the Panther Foundation Board and apply today.

Northpoint families:

I hope everyone’s unofficial start to summer got off to a great start last weekend. Although there were a lot of changes to our learning experience this past trimester one thing that remained the same for me was how fast it flew by! 

Here we are in the final week of student learning, and we have much to celebrate. Our students rose to the occasion of navigating a new way of learning, and they were champs as they encountered bumps along the way and settled into a new routine. The same can be said for each of the adults in our community, be it family or staff members. I am grateful and proud to be part of this experience, and I’ve learned we can do anything we put our minds to when we work in partnership for the benefit of our children.  

A few reminders as we wind down this 2019-2020 school year:

• May 28 is the official last day for new instruction. Teachers will be sharing individual schedules with families for final synchronous experiences in which they will celebrate a good year and wish one another a happy summer.
• On June 2-4 we will have end of year conversations with teachers/families. Our teachers are looking forward to these visits to chat with parents and caregivers. You can reserve your conversation time here. We are using the same tool we have used early this year during conference sign-up. 
• On June 3 or 4 parents will come to school to drop off library materials, curriculum books and to pick up any personal belongings. Please see additional information within the Need to Know section for suggested times and hours Northpoint will be open for this process. 
• On June 5 from 9:30-11 a.m. all families are invited to do a “drive-thru” at Northpoint to wave good-bye to our teachers and staff members. Families will be asked to enter on 124^th Court, proceed to the driveway in front of the school and then exit out to Cloud Drive.  Staff will be seated on both sides of the driveway. We ask that you do not stop or exit your vehicle at any time and follow the same safety rules as you do during Parent Pickup and Parent Dropoff times. To moderate traffic, the suggested visiting times are: last name A-K arrive from 9:30-10 a.m., L-S from 10-10:30 a.m. and T-Z from 10:30-11 a.m. Please also visit the Minnesota Department of Health guidelines for Vehicle Gatherings/Parade Guidance.  We look forward to seeing you!
• Reminder: iPads can stay home this summer. You DO NOT need to return iPads unless you are moving or leaving the district. 
• Please gather any books your child has checked out from the Northpoint library to be returned to school on June 3-4. Reach out to your child’s teacher if you have questions as to what books your child may have at home. They will have this information. 
• During the week of June 1-5, you will be notified if your student has been referred to summer school. Teachers are identifying students this week and referring them to summer programming that matches their needs based on where they are at the end of the year. Summer programming through the referral program is for students who have not yet met academic requirements for their grade level. It is offered at no cost to families, is tailored to student needs and will be offered with both live and/or extended flexible learning components. Fee-based summer programming also will be offered in a distance learning format only. More information about fee-based programming options will be available after the summer school referral process is complete.
• See the Need to Know section for a lot of important details for wrapping up the end of the year. 

Judi Kahoun
Principal

End of year drop-off and pick-up materials, June 3 and 4

Grades K-4 families will be allowed to drop-off and pick-up materials at Northpoint on Wednesday, June 3 and Thursday, June 4 during scheduled times. 

Wednesday, June 3 

• 8-11 a.m. -  Last names letter J-Q
• 11-1 p.m. -  Last names letter A-I
• 1-4 p.m. - Last names letter R-Z

Thursday, June 4 

• 8-11 a.m. -  Last names letter R-Z
• 11-1 p.m. -  Last names letter J-Q
• 1-4 p.m. - Last names letter A-I
• 5-8 p.m. - Families who cannot make it during their scheduled time or have high-risk health concerns. 

While you are at Northpoint:

• Follow safety protocols: We are asking that all families practice social distancing and wear a mask while at Northpoint. Staff will also be practicing social distancing and following safety precautions. Hand sanitizer will be available at the entrance and exit of the gym. 
• Follow designated traffic flow: Families will enter directly into the gym through Door 18 on the north side of the building and will exit out of the gym through Door 17. There will be signage to indicate traffic flow. Doors will be propped open. A map of the gym and pedestrian traffic flow can be found here.
• Drop-off and pick-up materials in designated areas: There will be a table inside the gym entrance where families can drop off items such as library books, textbooks, etc. We ask that these items are placed in a bag and labeled with student name and homeroom teacher. Student belongings from classrooms for pick up will be organized by grade/teacher in paper bags and will be in alphabetical order.  

Check out the full list of pick-up/drop-off schedules for all students in grades K-12

Turning in an iPad? What to know and do

Only students who are leaving the district, including our graduating seniors, need to turn in their school-issued iPad this spring. If you are a returning K-11 grade student, DO NOT turn in iPads or chargers. 

For students turning in an iPad and charger, please prep your device before dropping it off.

• [Optional] Follow instructions for backing up the device.
• [Required] Follow instructions for wiping and erasing the iPad.
• [Required] After the wipe is complete, power off the iPad (Hold power key, and slide on-screen button to turn-off.)

During each school’s designated pick up and drop off times, students and families leaving the district will drop the prepped iPad in a "hands-off" turn-in process. Students will be directed to place charging bricks, charging cables, and iPads (with case installed) in designated boxes. Technical support will not be available to verify prep is complete or to assist onsite with things like backup or wipe questions. We will take devices as-is. Any questions about prepping iPads need to be addressed before drop off. Email techsupport@district16.org or call 763-600-5555. Include name, contact information and a brief description of your topic.

Fourth Grade Families: Video Welcome to Westwood

This is the time of year when Westwood Intermediate and Middle School staff would normally welcome fourth graders and their families to the building for a welcome event. While we all wait for a time when Westwood can open its doors to you, the staff have put together a video to share some information about fifth grade. Take a little video tour and meet each of the staff members you with work with next year.

Fourth Grade Families: Intro to 5^th Grade Band

Starting in fifth grade, students can choose to take band lessons. Fifth graders perform in two band concerts – one in late winter and one in the spring. Learn more about band in this 1-minute introduction video. If your student is interested in signing up, please complete this form.

The Panther Foundation seeking applications for their Board of Directors

The Panther Foundation is seeking candidates for their Board of Directors who have a passion and commitment to the students and families in Spring Lake Park Schools. The Foundation is looking for individuals who are ready to share time, talents and resources with the Foundation to support and enhance the efforts that contribute to our success. 

Learn more about joining the Panther Foundation Board and apply today.

Northpoint families:

In order to support an effective wrap up to the year and partner with families, we are making some adjustments to the final days of school. The last day of student instruction will be May 28 for our students at Northpoint. Special education services continue for students through June 5. 

Teachers will be spending May 29 and June 1 completing report cards, preparing for students to pick up belongings and a variety of other closure activities. Then, we’ll focus on connecting with closing out the year with students and families with some key activities:

• June 2-4 – Teachers will be connecting with students and families for individual conversations to wrap up the year; signups for this will be coming May 27. We will be using PTC Fast to sign up for these virtual conversations. Please look for a message from your child’s homeroom teacher for next steps.
• June 3-4 – Families will be able to come to school to pick-up/drop-off materials. If you are able, please leave children at home. Details for this are in the “Need to Know” section of this newsletter
• June 5, 9:30-11 a.m. – Northpoint staff will be hosting a “Good-Bye to You Drive Thru” at Northpoint. We will send more details next week. In the meantime, please mark your calendars to take a little car trip with your children up to school, to allow our teachers to wish them a happy summer! 

iPads can stay home this summer. Students can keep their iPads at home over the summer. You DO NOT need to return iPads unless you are moving or leaving the district. 

We know families are thinking about summer programming. We received guidelines for summer from the state last week. We’re looking at tailoring our model to address the specific, individual needs of students after this spring trimester. We’ll have more information soon about how we’ll be identifying students and keeping the learning going over the summer. 

Finally, Memorial Day is Monday. There is no student instruction, and for families who take part in meal services, there is an adjustment to the schedule. Friday’s meal distribution will include meals for Friday, Monday and Tuesday. Regular meal services will resume next Wednesday.

See this week's Need to Know section for more information on all these topics, including specifics for pick-up/drop-off days at school. We’re working to keep families with multiple students in the district in mind as we coordinate these activities. We’ll also remind you of the plan over the next two weeks.

Judi Kahoun
Principal

End of year drop-off and pick-up materials, June 3 and 4

Grades K-4 families will be allowed to drop off and pick up materials at Northpoint on Wednesday, June 3 and Thursday, June 4 during scheduled times. 

Wednesday, June 3 

• 8-11 a.m. -  Last names letter J-Q
• 11-1 p.m. -  Last names letter A-I
• 1-4 p.m. - Last names letter R-Z

Thursday, June 4 

• 8-11 a.m. -  Last names letter R-Z
• 11-1 p.m. -  Last names letter J-Q
• 1-4 p.m. - Last names letter A-I
• 5-8 p.m. - Families who cannot make it during their scheduled time or have high risk health concerns. 

While you are at Northpoint:

• Follow safety protocols: We are asking that all families practice social distancing and wear a mask while at Northpoint. Staff will also be practicing social distancing and following safety precautions. Hand sanitizer will be available at the entrance and exit of the gym. 
• Follow designated traffic flow: Families will enter directly into the gym through Door 18 on the north side of the building and will exit out of the gym through Door 17. There will be signage to indicate traffic flow. Doors will be propped open. 
• Drop-off and pick-up materials in designated areas: There will be a table inside the gym entrance where families can drop off items such as library books, text books, etc. We ask that these items are placed in a bag and labeled with student name and homeroom teacher. Student belongings from classrooms for pick up will be organized by grade/teacher in paper bags and will be in alphabetical order.  

Northpoint PTO Sponsored Virtual Mileage Club - Final Week

This is the last week for the Northpoint Virtual Mileage Club! Please see the attached flyer for the activities for this week! If your student would like to post their activities on Flipgrid and they don't already have an account, they can set one up using their mypanthers.org email that can be found in the Campus Parent Portal. 

See the Virtual Mileage Club flyer

No meal services on Memorial Day - Monday, May 25

There will not be meal services on Memorial Day. For this Friday’s meal distribution, families who are taking part in meal services will receive meals for Friday, May 22, Monday, May 25 and Tuesday, May 26. The regular meal service will resume next Wednesday, May 27.

Keep up with the latest Meal Service Announcements here.

Social and Emotional Health: Utilizing Social Work and Community Resource Liaisons 

Did you know that Spring Lake Park Schools Social Work and Community Resource Liaisons are available and ready to support your family throughout the summer? The Social Work and Community Resource Liaison can meet with you to discuss your family’s questions and connect you with community agencies or programs that will best serve you and your family’s needs.

What is a Social Work and Community Resource Liaison?

Essential Functions:

• Assist with communication between families, teachers and schools to establish positive connections and support
• Assist families in identifying and removing any barriers that may be interfering with your child's positive growth and development
• Locate and connect families to community resources to address basic needs and support stability, health and wellness, and learning readiness
• Provide a spectrum of services from a one-time consult to ongoing support for students and families
• Provide education on topics such as: mental health, child development, stress reduction, discipline and safety and teacher/parent/student communication

How can I access support?

Social Work and Community Resource Liaisons can be accessed through your child’s teacher or can be contacted directly:

• Abbey Pierce (Centerview/Northpoint/Early Childhood): 763-600-5737 or apierc@district16.org
• Whitney Fenne (SLP High School/Lighthouse/Transitions): 763-600-5089 or wfenne@district16.org
• Naomi Pitlick (Westwood/Woodcrest): 763-600-5338 or npitli@district16.org
• Amber Buer (Park Terrace): 763-600-5663 or abuer@district16.org

The Panther Foundation seeking applications for their Board of Directors

The Panther Foundation is seeking candidates for their Board of Directors who have a passion and commitment to the students and families in Spring Lake Park Schools. The Foundation is looking for individuals who are ready to share time, talents and resources with the Foundation to support and enhance the efforts that contribute to our success. 

Learn more about joining the Panther Foundation Board and apply today.

Northpoint families,

Here at Northpoint and in our elementary schools across the district, we plan to report on student progress this spring as we normally do through the Trimester 3 report card. We will use our usual categories of minimal progress, approaching standard, at standard, or exceeds standard to communicate where your child is in their learning.  

Despite the unusual spring, our goals haven’t changed. We strive to ensure students are learning at the highest of levels, are able to demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways and are prepared to move to the next steps in meeting expectations.  

Given the unique environment we are in, it’s even more important to us to give students multiple ways to show their progress, and extended time as needed, to demonstrate their learning. We’re working with our teams to make sure this is happening now for our students…and may continue to happen as we move into the summer. If something in our extended flexible learning environment is impeding a student’s ability to demonstrate their learning, we will determine what that might be and partner with our families to support the student. 

We’ll have more information very soon for families on end-of-year teacher and family connections. This will include providing updates on your student’s learning progress and what we are continuing to learn about your child’s strengths, interests, and needs.

We continue to work on plans for the end of the school year and exploring what is possible given current and evolving guidance from the state. Thank you for your patience as we work to develop plans to honor the end of the year and keep everyone as safe as possible. 

See the Need to Know section for additional information on community food resources and other topics critical during this time. 

Once again, I offer a heartfelt thank you for your involvement in your children’s education and the partnership you are offering to our entire Northpoint staff. We continue to be grateful for the communication, support, and caring you show our Northpoint team, and we know we our work during extended flexible learning is strengthened as a result of collaboration with our families!

Judi Kahoun
Principal

Northpoint PTO Sponsored Virtual Mileage Club

Northpoint PTO Virtual Mileage Club is on week two! Please see the attached flyer for the activities for this week! If your student would like to post their activities on Flipgrid and they don't already have an account, they can set one up using their mypanthers.org email that can be found in the Campus Parent Portal. 

See the Virtual Mileage Club flyer

SLP and Community Food Services continue to be available for families

We have prepared and delivered thousands of meals for children in our community and will continue to do so at 10 locations throughout the district. Starting May 20, on Wednesdays at the High School Distribution Center we are piloting a hot entrée option as part of our meal service to families. We are only able to offer the hot entrée at the high school location and may have limited quantities available.  Entrées may include pizza, chicken patty sandwiches and more. 

In addition to Spring Lake Park School meal services, there are local community food resources available to families to check out on our COVID-19 meal services page.

Attention: Families with Comcast Internet Essentials

Reminder, families who enrolled in the Comcast Internet Essentials program under a 2-month free trial are coming to the end of that period of free service. Families who are unable to continue service at the rate of $9.95 per month should call the District Services Center at 763-600-5000. Please be ready to share the name of the person the current contract is under and zip code. Please note, it is important to contact the district before the 2-month trial period ends. Internet service is essential for learning to continue for your student, and the district will help ensure your student has the internet access they need to continue their learning.

Social and Emotional Health: Reinforcing Social and Emotional Skills at Home

Strong social and emotional skills are important for children to become responsible decision makers both in school and in the outside world. Spring Lake Park Schools teachers and staff are continuing to provide social-emotional learning to students through our extended flexible learning environment and we want to share some tools with families to continue this important learning at home. When this learning is brought into the home, it allows your child the ability to learn from real-world situations as well as those practiced in the school setting. Families are our best partners and you can deepen your child’s experiences and learning. 

The good news! Reinforcing social and emotional skills in the home does not need to be a separate lesson or activity that you plan. This can happen naturally throughout your day and experiences. Below you will find ideas on how to incorporate social-emotional learning into the home environment.

• Use your own family experiences to start conversations with your child.  When you are interacting with others, take note of how your child reacts to situations that come up. How do they respond when frustrated, when told “no,” or when they meet new friends? Try to remember a few examples of what your child has done well and what they could work on as well. Discuss these situations to help your student reflect on their interactions and growth they have made.
• Listen when your child may be struggling with something. This is an easy way to validate your child’s feelings and it shows them that their feelings are important. 
• Anticipate new situations. If you know a new experience is coming up for your child, talk with them about how they are feeling and come up with a plan for how they will deal with the upcoming situation. 
• Use creativity. If you have a child who enjoys drawing, give them paper to draw how they are feeling. This is a great opportunity to talk about their feelings and discuss other coping skills. You can also do the same activity with writing as well. 
• Read books. While reading books that you have at your home, ask your child questions like, “How do you think the character was feeling?” or “How would you handle the situation the character was in?”

Northpoint families:

We were grateful for the time on Friday and Monday to plan and prepare for these last five weeks of the school year. Feedback shared last week from families helped inform our planning. We heard from our families a suggestion that as a school community we don’t make large scale changes due to the fact that things are going well! Sincere appreciation for teachers and their efforts came through. It also seems that we have found a rhythm in pacing, amount of work assigned, and meaningful use of technology.   

We will be building on the strengths identified by our families. These include ongoing, clear, and detailed communication around assignments and student experiences, personalized instruction in which the needs of each child are recognized and addressed, and opportunities for students to connect with their teachers in small group live sessions on WebEx. 

Ending the year

Our last day of school for this year is Friday, June 5. Details of wrapping up the year are on our minds. This includes plans for students to pick up personal items, yearbook distribution, and a way to celebrate the learning we have accomplished and the community teachers have created in their learning environments.   

We will have more information on how we will handle these year-end topics in the next few weeks. We also are planning for summer programming and still waiting to understand what our parameters will be for summer. We hope to have more clarity in the next few weeks and will share information with families as soon as we have it.

Keep learning

Although there is much uncertainty in our community right now and many questions to answer, there is reason for hope and optimism! In a few short weeks, we have done the unimaginable in going from school as we have known it for hundreds of years to extended flexible learning. I don’t think anyone of us would have predicted or even welcomed this change had we considered this platform last September. Yet here we are, two months into the planning and implementation of online learning.  

As a school community we have partnered together, staff and families, to create an engaging and meaningful school experience. We will continue to grow in these practices, of that I have no doubt. We also will apply these lessons to our future model of learning with the same passion and focus on our students as we always do at Northpoint Elementary and across Spring Lake Park Schools.

See the Need to Know section for expanded information regarding social and emotional health, community food resources and other topics critical during this time. 

Judi Kahoun
Principal

Northpoint PTO Sponsored Virtual Mileage Club

Northpoint PTO kicked off virtual Mileage Club on Tuesday, May 5. Please see the attached flyer for the activities for this week! If your student would like to post their activities on Flipgrid and they don't already have an account, they can set one up using their mypanthers.org email that can be found in the Campus Parent Portal. 

See the Virtual Mileage Club flyer

Attention: Families with Comcast Internet Essentials

Families who enrolled in the Comcast Internet Essentials program under a 2-month free trial are coming to the end of that period of free service. Families who are unable to continue service at the rate of $9.95 per month should call the District Services Center at 763-600-5000. Please be ready to share the name of the person the current contract is under and zip code. Please note, it is important to contact the district before the 2-month trial period ends. Internet service is essential for learning to continue for your student, and the district will help ensure your student has the internet access they need to continue their learning.

Additional Covid-19 Resources Added to Support Families 

SLP is committed to supporting our students and families health and wellbeing.  Additional resources have been added to the Response to Covid-19 page to direct families toward factual and relevant information on Covid-19. Additional resources cover topics including mental health supports, food shelf and other community meal services for families, mindfulness and movement resources, housing resources and more for families during this time of extended flexible learning and beyond. 

Social and Emotional Health: Establishing Structure and Routine to Support Mental and Physical Wellbeing and Student Learning

We are more than halfway through our extended flexible learning portion of the school year and are heading into our last month of school. Some families have started to settle in - maybe trying a new hobby or enjoying time to get outside more. That is great! Others may be finding it difficult to cope with the huge disruption to their daily lives and are experiencing higher levels of stress or anxiety. That is okay, too! Be gentle with yourself and remind yourself that the wide range of emotions experienced are valid and normal. 

During this time of uncertainty, establishing structure and routine can help in many ways by providing a sense of normalcy, safety and predictability for children and families. Routine also helps stabilize our body clock, which controls our sleep, mood and physical health. Each family will have unique circumstances to consider when creating a routine - don't over-commit or schedule every moment. It's okay to start small and continue to build based on what is working for your family! 

Tips for Establishing Structure and Routine:

• Create both daily and weekly routines - this will help to keep days from blending together. Weekly routines can include things such as certain types of exercise on specific days, a weekly phone call to a family member, Friday night movies or other family rituals and activities.  Daily routines could include things such as building in time for schoolwork and daily movement activities.
• Set aside time daily or weekly to discuss the schedule and expectations with your child. Consider using a visual schedule for younger children. Prepare children for transitions throughout the day with reminders or alarms. 
• Set aside a consistent space for schoolwork and class meetings. 
• Schedule times for learning, movement and breaks. Scheduling more difficult work earlier in the day while children are most rested is beneficial. A good guideline for younger children is 20 minutes of learning followed by 10 minutes of movement. Older children may be able to go longer stretches of time focused on schoolwork.
• Incorporate social interactions into your routine such as video chats, phone calls, virtual play dated and class meetings. This is especially important to maintain social connections and combat isolation during this time of social distancing!
• Don't forget to build in time for fun and family! Creative play, hobbies, games, puzzles, etc.

Virtual Zumba with Angela

The Spring Lake Park School Community Education Department is hosting virtual Zumba classes throughout the month of May for the community.

Zumba is a fitness program that combines Latin and international music with dance moves. Zumba routines incorporate interval training — alternating fast and slow rhythms — to help improve cardiovascular fitness.

Virtual classes will take place May 11-29 on Mondays/Wednesdays/Fridays from 7-8 p.m. or May 10-31 on Sundays from 10-11 a.m.

Learn more and register today for Zumba with Angela

Northpoint families,

The news we got last week regarding school being closed for the year was perhaps anticipated, and yet, still disappointing for students, families and staff alike. Our Northpoint teachers and staff truly miss being at school with our kids. I share these feelings of loss, on not seeing our kiddos and engaging in the fun and rewards of being together at school.  

We will continue to focus on what we can control, and that is the opportunities we will provide for our students during extended flexible learning. Based on my observations, conversations and feedback from families, we have made the most of this new reality. We continue to grow and improve with each passing day. 

I hope your family is settling into a routine and that any concerns are being shared with teachers and/or me, as we want to continue to refine and improve our practices. I also ask that you share celebrations. As I receive messages of appreciation I pass them along to teachers. They are uplifting and appreciated!

Please remember, there is no student instruction May 1 and May 4. Across the state, teachers will be using these days to plan for the end of the year in this unusual environment. The input you have shared will help inform our planning

We are working on the logistics around winding down the school year. This includes getting into the building to pick up personal belongings, seeing teachers one last time, and other related inquiries. We are working to address these and other topics as we create a safe and meaningful end to our school year. 

Next week is staff appreciation week – and National Teacher’s Day. As educators…we appreciate nothing more than the work we do with our students. Please join us for SLP spirit day – wear SLP gear or school colors on Tuesday, May 5. We’ll appreciate, together, being part of this extraordinary SLP learning community. 

See the Need to Know section for more information and important reminders.

Judi Kahoun
Principal