The four Small Learning Communities at Humboldt Senior High have been working diligently to prepare for the 04-05 school year. The three 10-12 grade Academies have a 3-year course plan set, and the 9^th grade Academy has been planning some changes for next year as well as looking at instructional strategies and student work.

Within the next month, students in grades 9 and 11 will be selecting an Academy for the 2004-2005 school year. They will have the choice of Community Leadership Academy (CLA), Humanities, or Science, Engineering, and Technology (SETA). Students in grade 10 will have the opportunity to change their Academy, but need to follow a procedure that will be put into place for that purpose.

CLA is based on the principles of Community Involvement, Leadership, and Ethics. Students who choose this Academy, will have one trimester of a CLA Seminar class in grade 10 and 11, and a two trimester Senior Seminar class in grade 12 where they will complete a Senior Project. In each year, students must also participate in one of the following: Band, Child Development, Culinary Arts, Entrepreneurship, JROTC, or Public Achievement.

Humanities Academy is based on the Arts and Language. It weaves together an academic foundation with the other subjects of literature, art, music, and world languages. Students who choose this Academy will have a social studies/English Humanities block in grade 10, participate in a Humanities art and music classes in grade 11, the take a Humanities Senior Seminar in grade 12 where they will complete their Senior Project. Students in this Academy must also take at least 2 years of a foreign language and an advanced art class.

SETA is based on preparing students for a possible future in engineering, science and technical fields by providing a well-rounded academic and technical foundation. Students in SETA will enroll in a one trimester SETA Seminar class in grades 10 and 11 and a two-trimester Senior Seminar class in grade 12 where they will complete their Senior Project. Students in grade 11, will take 2 trimesters of a SETA approved elective, such as Automotive, Web Design, A+ certification or Computer assisted design.

9^th Grade Academy focuses on the student as an individual. 9^th grade students take their Math, English, Science, and Social Studies in a block. They take a full year of these courses with the same teachers. A strong emphasis is placed the academic success of all students.

Each student at Humboldt will also be enrolled in an Academy Advisory and will take 4 years of a Math, English, Social Studies, and Science. These courses may or may not be Academy specific.We encourage parents and students to talk about your Academy choice. This is a three year commitment that deserves careful consideration. If you have questions about the Academies, feel free to contact Diane Schroepfer, Small Learning Communities Program Manager, at 651-293-8600, extension 1263

We are pleased to announce that we had wonderful participation in our most recent parent conferences on January 22. Teachers were happy to have this occasion to share student progress in their classes and many met with as many as 20 or more families as the evening progressed.

We want to thank everyone who was able to come and to apologize for some of the long waits. We wanted to point out that many of our parents speak languages other than English and that they are in need of translation services which occasionally takes more time to complete an individual conference. We are proud of our multi-cultural and multi-lingual student body and their participation in this process.

To understand how complicated this process can be we have pictured Thao Yang assisting a Hmong mother while she was inquiring about her son's progress in his French class. Behind them is one of our College in the Schools French students discussing in Spanish her French portfolio of work with her mother.

This mix of languages and cultures is just one of the things that makes Humboldt a great place to get an education.

By Heidi Gilles

Humboldt Senior High School students did not have school on Friday, January 23, 2004. Though it was snowing and blowing, 12 senior high students and 13 junior high students braved the conditions to attend a college visit with St. Olaf GEAR UP.

The visit was to Inver Hills Community College, which is a two-year school located just South of Humboldt, in Inver Grove Heights. Students first attended an information session led by the Director of Prospective Students. Next, the students were split in two groups and went on a tour of the campus. During the tour, students learned not only where things were located on campus, but also about various services offered. To wrap things up at the college, the students broke into 4 groups and played a game similar to Jeopardy, only the questions were based on information about the college.

After the group left Inver Hills they stopped at West Side Lanes to bowl a couple games and eat pizza before returning to Humboldt Secondary Complex. The students enjoyed their time and now have a better idea of all the choices available to them once they graduate from high school. If your student is in 10^th or 11^th grade or participates in the Educational Talent Search program at Humboldt encourage them to ask about upcoming opportunities to visit post-secondary institutions.

Here are some upcoming Parent/Family Events:

3/18/04--Metropolitan State University visit and Dinner

4/20/04--Humboldt Senior High Awards Night (9, 10,11)

4/27/04--Family Bowling and Dinner Night

4/29/04--Parent/Teacher Conferences

The school district is seeking input from Saint Paul parents and community members regarding the budget for next school year. Come to the forum to hear about the district’s plans.

Child care and interpreters will be available. RSVP by calling (651) 774-2957 or e-mail jen3344@aol.com

The forum is co-sponsored by the Saint Paul Network of Education Action Teams (NEAT) and the Saint Paul Public Schools offices of Site-Based Improvement and Family & Community Involvement.

For information about NEAT, visit www.stpaulneat.org

The Saint Paul Public School District is facing a $12 million deficit for next school year. At this budget forum you will be able to hear about the budget options, ask questions and give your input into the process.

Input from the budget forum along with other input gathered from parents and community members through meetings and surveys will be compiled and presented to the school district administration and Saint Paul Board of Education. The administration and board will consider this input when making their final decision.

Input on the budget will be gathered late winter and early spring with final deliberations by the Board of Education this spring. By law, a final budget must be approved by the board in June 2004. The new budget year begins July 1.

The Humboldt JROTC had their Dining In at Humboldt on Dec. 19, 2003. The Dining In is a formal military dinner that is held every December. This year, the Dining In was a frustrating event to plan because not enough people would sign up. A minimum of 70 people were needed for the Dining In to happen. A couple of people worked really hard to get the Dining In to happen by offering students with money to pay for the Dining In and then pay it back later. This worked really well, there were over 90 cadets there. Cadet Justin Haugland, an 11^th grader, was Mr. Vice (the person who everyone complained to). He was so nervous, he didn’t know what to do or say at all even though he had a script in front of him the whole time. Boy, was he confused!? It was funny for a while.

For the Dining In, every company had to come up with a funny skit to make the colonel and the rest of the JROTC instructors and staff laugh.

Most of the plays were funny. The JROTC battalion staff had to put on a play too. Because the colonel and sergeant like The Simpson’s so much, some cadets had to perform skits involving characters from The Simpsons. The Dining In ended around 9:00pm.

(The Punch Bowl Ceremony)

Humboldt’s administration changed over the past few weeks. Assistant principal, Virginia Broich’s, position changed. She is now coordinating the alignment of curriculum amongst the academies and is working to increase the number of diverse students enrolled in Advanced Placement courses.

Humboldt welcomes Billie McQuillan as interim assistant principal. Ms. McQuillan will assume many of the roles previously assigned to Ms. Broich.

Ms. McQuillan, a former Humboldt English teacher, comes us from the district office where she assisted Gene Janicke, by coordinating the diploma completion program. Prior to that she coordinated curriculum at the Area Learning Center and taught English Humboldt Senior High.