$20,000 Donation from the Vikings	Congratulations to Bancroft Elementary for receiving a $20,000 donation from the Vikings on behalf of Korey's Crew, a community porgram founded by Korey Stringer to promote education and literacy. The check was presented by Kelci Stringer and other Vikings wives and players on December 11. Vikings player Lewis Kelly has carried on the reading program at Bancroft since Korey Stringer's death. Representatives from the United Negro College Fund spoke about the opportunities UNCF provides, and noted that many of the Vikings atteneded UNCF institutions. Hormel hams were also donated to students and distributed through Cub Foods as part of Hormel's "Hams for the Holidays" program.
MPS Nationally Board Certified Teachers	Louise Sundin, the President of the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers, presented information to the Board in January on the importance of having Nationally Board Certified teachers. MPS now has 52 Nationally Board Certified teachers. Chairperson Shreves and Superintendent Johnson presented MPS newly certified MPS teachers with their certificates. Visit http://www.nbcts.org where you can access a list of all 2000-2001 candidates from Minnesota.
American Teacher	The staff of Richard Green Central Park School is extremely proud of their first grade teacher, Bridget Rettke-Berg, as she was highlighted in the October edition of American Teacher. Not only is she featured on the front cover, she is also one of the teachers interviewed for the article, "Drawing the Connection," discussing the collaboration of the MFT and Staff Development to help teachers, especially new teachers, develop Best Practices and becoming the best possible teachers for our students. From all of us at Richard Green, thank you, Bridget, for your outstanding leadership and commitment to student achievement!
Pacesetter Award	District Food Service Director JoEllen Miner was recently named one of four finalists in the education category for a Pacesetter Award. This award is sponsored by the National Organization of Food Service Professionals known as "Roundtable for Women in Food Service." This award is intended to "recognize five women for their extraordinary commitment and dedication to the food service industry." The final awards were presented at a luncheon in Chicago in conjunction with the National Restaurant Show.
On-Site Wellness Grants	Congratulations to the following schools/ worksites who were recipients of the 2002 Wellness grants: Anne Sullivan, Bancroft, Brookside, Bryn Mawr, Dowling, Early Childhood Special Ed., Four Winds, Harrison, Hiawatha, Keewaydin, Lake Harriet Lower Campus, Jenny Lind, Longfellow, Lyndale, Northrup, Olson, Seward, Tuttle, Special Education and Teacher Instructional Services.
Percy Fearing Award	During October's Teachers' Convention, Stacy L. Berglund, Anthony Middle School's French teacher, was awarded the prestigious Percy Fearing Award. The Percy Fearing Award is for the creative development of curriculum by a Minnesota classroom teacher. The judges commented that they were pleased to present this award to a middle school as it is often granted to college professors. Way to go Ms. Berglund!
All State School Board Award	Congratulations to former School Board Member, Bill Green for being selected to receive the All State School Board award. The award will be given during the Minnesota School Boards Association' s Leadership Conference on January 17-18.
Minnesota Council on Activity and Sports	Judy Hoel from Webster Open School was recognized by the Minnesota Council on Activity and Sports (formerly the Governor's Council on Sports) for her contributions to physical education in the capacity of coordinating MPS's Traveling Physical Education Equipment program.
Holland Neighborhood Improvement Association's "Tulip Award"	The Holland Neighborhood Improvement Association has named this year's "Tulip Award" winner. The award is given each year to a member of the Holland community, located in the heart of Northeast Minneapolis. The winners represent the best in neighborhood community building. This year, the award was given to a team of three people from Edison High School, each of whom has contributed in a unique way to the formation of the Holland Neighborhood Youth Committee: Larry Lucio, Edison Principal, Brenda Johnson, Project Coordinator of the Family and Community Resource Center, and Michelle Wibe, ELL Coordinator. Congratulations!!
Education Minnesota Foundation for Excellence in Teaching and Learning Grant and Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher Recipient	Nhat Dang, English Language Learner teacher at Lake Harriet Community School Upper Campus, has been named a recipient of a grant from the Education Minnesota Foundation for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. He will be honored at the 2002 Education Minnesota Representative Convention at St. Paul RiverCentre on March 16. The grant will be used to improve the writing skills of ELL students at Lake Harriet, Upper Campus. Nhat Dang was also selected as a participant in the Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher (FMFT) program which will send him and 199 other educators from the US to Japan for three-week study visits in November 2002. The FMFT program is designed to increase the understanding of US educators with first-hand opportunities to experience Japanese culture and education through school visits, interactions with teachers and students, seminars, and home stays. Upon returning to the US, participants will share their Japanese experiences with their students, colleagues, and communities in the form of curriculum improvement, development of teaching materials, and other activities.
Minneapolis Community Education Association Awards	Community Education has received two awards from the Minneapolis Community Education Association. The Youth Service Award recognized the Sanford Peace Garden Project from the National Youth Involvement Day which celebrates the service and volunteer efforts of today's youth. It demonstrates how young people are great resources for improving communities, and encourages youth to become more involved in their communities. The second award recognized Community Education's original research to establish outcome measurements for community education youth programs. Several other initiatives received Certificates of Merit: Outstanding Organization, South Area Family Resource Center Community Mural at North Star School - a mural designed by northside students National Youth Service Day - a citywide collaboration of service-learning projects
Midwest Regional Japanese Quiz Bowl	Three students from Patrick Henry High School - Kwanjung Lee, Summer Dien and Dang Vang - won First Place in the Level 4 Midwest Regional Japanese Quiz Bowl sponsored by the Japan America Society on February 23, 2002 at Normandale Community College. This annual event included students from other MPS high schools, suburban high schools and schools from Iowa and Wisconsin. The three Henry students will participate in the National Japanese Quiz Bowl held in Washington D.C. on March 29th, 2002. The students are trying to raise funds to pay for their travel expenses to Washington. If you would like to help these students, please contact either Gaelle Berg, MPS World Languages Curriculum Specialist, at 668-5358 or Cynthia Wilson, Henry Japanese teacher at 668-2000.
Wheat Ridge Ministries Seeds of Hope Award	Kay Dole, Lead Occupational Therapist, has received a Wheat Ridge Ministries Seeds of Hope Award. She is one of four recipients of this national award. The group provides rehabilitation training to Chinese doctors and nurses and have been helping them establish rehabilitative centers to serve disabled adults and children in China.
State' s Mathcounts Competition	Field Community School made history when their all-girl team won the state Mathcounts competition on March 16. This is the first time ever in the competition's 19 year history that an all girl team has won! There were 131 students participating from 46 state schools. This was the first year that Field has participated in the program and the first time that the math teacher was a participant. Congratulations! You've made the entire MPS community extremely proud!! The Field math competition students are: Laura Evans, 8th grade, Rachel Loh, 8th grade, Melissa Lynn, 7th grade, Linnea Trandem, 7th grade. The Mathcounts competition is the only statewide math tournament for middle/junior high students and the oldest math program in the state. For more information about the Mathcounts program visit: http://www.mnspe.org/mathcounts or http://mathcounts.org/.
Minnesota Music Educators Association Board of Directors	Beth Fobbe-Wills, a music specialist at Pillsbury M-S-T, was elected as the Region Respresentative for Region V-VI AA for the Minnesota Music Educators Association Board of Directors. She will serve a two year term on the board beginning in May. There are eight region representatives who represent music educators throughout Minnesota. She will be joining a highly dedicated group of educators who are committed to serving music education.
Minnesota Association of Student Councils State Conference Winners	Congratulations to Henry Williams, Jr., from Washburn and Yokiana Brock, from Patrick Henry for winning their offices at the Minnesota Association of Student Councils State Conference. Henry was elected President and Yokiana is the Youth Advisory Council Representative to the CFL. Students from around the state competed for these offices.
University Council for Educational Administration Excellence in Education Leadership Award	Congratulations to Gwen Jackson, Assistant to the Superintendent, for receiving the University Council for Educational Administration Excellence in Education Leadership Award. Gwen received this prestigious award on April 11 at the University of Minnesota's Spring Recognition & Awards Celebration.
"Check It Out" Chess Competition	Congratulations to this year's MPS K-12 "Check It Out" Chess Competition first place winners: Primary: Kurt Hellerstedt, Seward Elementary: Nick Graves, Lake Harriet Upper Middle: Evan Krause, Lake Harriet Upper High School: Phillip Vu, Southwest
Association for Childhood Education International	The Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI) Presidents' Council elected Loren Meinke of the Minneapolis Public Schools as its president. The ACEI Presidents' Council is made up of the 16 country and 23 state/province presidents. Their role is to serve as the international grass roots feeder line to the executive board with membership and program issues. The council also serves as a resource to all of the local branches in the states and countries that have representatives.
2002 Patrick Francis Daly Memorial Award for Excellence in Educational Leadership	Congratulations to Carole Gupton, Principal at Jordan Park School of Extended Learning, for receiving the 2002 Patrick Francis Daly Memorial Award for Excellence in Educational Leadership. This award is given to Comer school principals who have demonstrated both outstanding leadership and commitment to children.
Minnesota School Counselors Association's Senior High School Counselor of the Year	Stella Jones, Guidance Counselor at North High School, has been recognized by the Minnesota School Counselors Association (MSCA) as Senior High School Counselor of the year. She will be honored at the MSCA conference in May at Madden's.
Community Problem Solving Teams Place at State Bowl	Sat., April 20, was a big day for two Minneapolis Public Schools teams that attended the awards ceremony for the Future Problem Solving (FPS) program held at Armstrong High School in Plymouth. Both Nellie Stone Johnson and Lyndale School 4th graders were recognized for their hard work on important community issues as part of the Community Problem Solving division of the FPS program. The Community Problem Solving Program curriculum is part of the Catalyst 345 program, a federally funded Javits' Grant Gifted/Talented project in its second year at Nellie Stone Johnson and Lyndale. All 4th grade classes at the two sites participated in the program, led by the Catalyst 345 teachers, Chris Sobaski at Johnson and Terry Krider at Lyndale. Each class developed the problem solving skills needed to define an important community challenge and create an action plan to address it.
General Mills Boxtop Competition	Feta Holder's class at Nellie Stone Johnson was awarded the state championship for researching and implementing a project to increase the number of General Mills boxtops collected to fund their new playground by involving the community. Bev Ohmann's class at Lyndale (1st runner-ups) researched ways to keep kids safe in the neighborhood and implemented their action plan which included finding additional McGruff sites in the neighborhood, creating a Safety Tip brochure and providing additional information to the community at Lyndale's multicultural night. Several class members and their parents were present to receive the large trophies and speak about the projects. Although only two classes from the program were entered in the state competition, all 4th graders at the two sites deserve congratulations for the successful projects implemented in their communities.
National Merit Scholarship Winners	Congratulations to Ryan Peterson, Andrew Young, Benjamin Birnbaum, Zoe Corneli, Katherine Ray, and Oana Lungu, from South High School, and David Fontaine and Meredith Johnson, from Southwest High School, for winning National Merit Scholarships.
Teacher of Distinction Award	The Minneapolis and Minnesota Branches of the Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI) held its ninth annual Teacher of Distinction Award's Dinner. Eight outstanding Minneapolis teachers were recognized. They were: Jennifer Kraft, Powderhorn School; Gail McCanel, Bryn Mawr School; Ceola McClure-Lazo, Richard Green Central School; Marie Olson, Lyndale School; Sandy Rader, Brookside School; Anita Silver, Brookside School; Dave Vos, Holland School; and, Ellen Zampino, Lyndale School. It was a delightful evening with Superintendent Johnson in attendance to personally congratulate the recipients. Please join us in congratulating ACEI's Teachers of Distinction for 2002!
Dance Partners	Through a partnership with Dance Partners, Webster Open School's POHI students participate in an interactive exchange with Mississippi Horizons school in Brainerd. They're on-line at http://www.dancepartners.org. Click on Webster Exchange and then on Webster Movement Buddies. See us dance on-line!
"Steps of Hope" Walk	Students and staff from Minneapolis Public Schools early childhood and citywide autism programs participated in the "Steps of Hope" walk at Ridgedale Mall on Sunday, April 20. "Steps of Hope" is an annual fundraising event organized by the Minnesota Autism Society and supported by generous contributions from local businesses. The event was successful in raising over $37,000 for autism research and providing an opportunity for families and staff to work together.
Teacher of the Year	Howe Community School was proud to anounce that Regina Collinson received the Teacher of the Year Award and Jay McGowan is a finalist. The nominations for this award came from the students in the district. Two elementary and two secondary teachers along with 17 finalists were chosen out of the whole distsrict. Great job for a small school!!!!
ECFE Give Board Members May Day Baskets	At a May Board of Education meeting little children from Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE) gave "May Baskets" to Board members and the Superintendent. Children and their parents presented the baskets to express thanks for the districts ongoing support of early learning and parent education. Each year ECFE serves over 9,000 Minneapolis families. ECFE offers classes at ten neighborhood sites as well as providing information and resources for parents of a new baby in five different Hospitals.
Space Camp Award Recipients	Fifty five Minneapolis Public School students grades 4 through 8, traveled to Huntsville Alabama to participate in a rigorous math and science program aimed at developing their awareness of the U.S. Space program. Participants from as close as Chicago and as far away as France and Korea were outshone by Minneapolis students! Three of our students earned all of the top honors within their age groups. One award, “The Right Stuff Award” is given to a student in Space Camp (grades 4-5) for outstanding knowledge and the ability to pull their team together. One person is given this award for for each program. The “Right Stuff Award” for Space Camp (ages 9-12) was presented to Jordan Strickland, a fifth grade student at Ramsey International Fine Arts School. Molly Belk a seventh grade student at Marcy Open School, won this award by surpassing the efforts of 90 other participants in Space Academy (ages 12-14). Sometimes a special award, “The Outstanding Trainee” is presented to a child who has merited this recognition as someone who exemplifies what Space Camp is all about. This year the award was presented to Veronica O’Neill a fourth grade student from Mill City Montessori. Students from the following schools participated in the program this year, FAIR School, Marcy Open School, Mill City Montessori, Morris Park, Ramsey International Fine Arts and Seward Montessori. Call Agnes Kilpatrick, 612-306-8653 or Peter Dansky at 612-306-6114 with any questions.