May 2004



	May 2004 *Passports to the World* Multicultural Week occurred from April 19-23, 2004, at Humboldt High School. Students were given a list of countries or cultures they could visit and experience during their Hawk Connection period from Monday through Thursday. Countries featured included Jamaica, Thailand, China, Finland, India, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Liberia, Russia, Ethiopia and more. The culture of the American Indians, Latin Dance, and USA culture were also featured. Teachers and students worked to prepare a tour of the country, with students experiencing music, dance, traditional dress and customs, and, of course, FOOD. Geography, history, and family stories also found their way into the presentations. Popular foods included salsa and chips, fry bread, guava paste on crackers, and Jamaican rice and beans. Students also dared to try a Scandinavian delicacy—herring. Student Ambassadors from other countries were available to answer some specific questions on each student’s Passport. Friday was costume day, with some students wearing cultural dress the entire day. Ninth graders attended an Aztec Dance show in the Auditorium on Monday with a wonderful drumming accompaniment to the dancing. A drawing for prizes was held on Friday; any student who had participated each day and had a complete passport was eligible for the drawing. Winners were Marissa Goode, Erin Gustafson-Baker, Manuel Garcia Ibarra, Jenny Kennedy, and Kalia May Lee. All in all, students could visit and learn about the world and each other, as Humboldt is fortunate to have many cultures represented here every day. *From Steve Lindberg* Welcome and greetings from Humboldt Sr. High, the best high school in the city of St. Paul! Every spring we have the opportunity to reevaluate our School Continuous Improvement Plan (SCIP) and our budget. We have completed the work on the SCIP and that was approved at the April site council meeting. The SCIP this year continues the work we started three years ago with our focus remaining on literacy across the curriculum and implementation of the four small learning communities at Humboldt Senior. As many of you have already heard St. Paul Public Schools is in the middle of decrease in the enrollment of students. We are looking at a decrease across the district of 2000 students K-12. This is now starting to impact the senior highs. This year we are projected to have 906 students at the beginning of the school year. As I look at the figures for each grade, the numbers are the smallest in the 9^th grade. We currently are in the middle of a calling campaign to encourage 8^th graders to sign up for Humboldt. We are working with the district placement center to call parents of students who have not signed up for a school. We are working hard to maintain our comprehensive curriculum. The cuts we are anticipating will preserve the existing programs for all our students. If you are still looking for a school for your next years 9^th graders", give our guidance counselors a call to find out all about the great things we are doing with our 9^th grade academy. We just completed a presentation to the school board on how we are instilling academic rigor, life relevance and relationships with a significant teacher in our school. Please call 651-293-8600 and ask for guidance. *More in Store for ‘04* There are five senior events coming soon: Senior Honors Night, cap & gown distribution, graduation rehearsal, graduation, and the all-night party. Each year, seniors who have been exceptional high school students, are honored on one special evening. The recommendation for an award comes from their teachers as well as through scholarships. This year’s Senior Honors Night is at 6 PM., Wednesday, May 19. An invitation will be sent to the home of each senior being honored. All parents, friends, family, and community members are invited to attend this free event. On Friday, May 28, caps and gowns, 15 free graduation admission tickets, and honor cords will be given out on the last school day for seniors. During period 3, seniors will be called to the library and guidance counselors will distribute them. Then families will have the weekend to iron the gown and take photos of their graduates. Also, if your graduate needs more than 15 admission tickets, s/he should ask another senior who might not need all of them. If you do not have enough tickets for your family, a parent/guardian must write note requesting a specific number of tickets. The note should be addressed to Mr. Lindberg and it should explain why need extra tickets. Deliver the note to Ms. Bobrowski in the office on the Monday before graduation. Graduation day is Thursday, June 3. There is a mandatory rehearsal at the Wilkins Arena downtown at 8:00 a.m. that morning. Rehearsal will take about one hour. No gown required—only a positive attitude. The Graduation ceremony starts promptly at 5:30 PM the evening of June 3. Students need to there by 4:45 PM After the ceremony, family and friends should meet the graduate at the lower level to take photos. Students may keep their cap and tassel as a remembrance. However, the gown must be returned and all school obligations paid before getting a diploma. Obligations cannot be paid at the graduation ceremony. After the graduation ceremony, there is an All-Night Party for the graduates at Humboldt. The party, sponsored by the PTA, starts at 10 PM. and ends at 5 AM Graduates will have an opportunity to dance, play games, eat and drink pop, and win fabulous prizes throughout the entire evening. The party costs only $25.00. Buy a ticket on Fridays during lunch or from Ms. Hinke, room 1247. *All Night Graduation Party* Parents – we need your help! The Graduation All Night Party will be held on June 3^rd. We’re looking for volunteers to set up for the event and/or to volunteer for a couple of hours during the event. If you can help us out, please call Anne Gangl at 651-222-4467. All Night Graduation Party tickets are on sale now for $25.00. Tickets can be purchased from Margo Hinke, rm. 1247. *Athletics!* The Humboldt Physically Impaired and Cognitively Impaired Adaptive Softball teams are both off and running this spring. Both teams are young, learning and becoming more competitive as the season heats up. With only two seniors on the 2004 squad, the Hawks CI Softball Team find themselves with new talent and many players playing new positions this year. The Hawks have 8 team members and are co-captained by Seniors Danny Boyd - Humboldt and Tyler Hoyt, from Johnson Sr. High. The Hawks won their first game of the season, 14-13 in a 7th inning come from behind victory against Moundsview. Since that victory, the Hawks have dropped three straight, but hope to gain that second win this week when we play Buffalo and South Washington. The Hawks have 7 games left this season and the State Tournament is scheduled for June 4-5 at Hopkins High School. We are signing up for Fall Athletics during the weeks of May 17-28. Sign ups will be in the cafeteria during lunch or at the Athletic office. Sign-up for: Cheerleading, Cross Country, Football, Boys and Girls Soccer, Girls Swimming Girls Tennis, Volleyball, Adapted Soccer *Spanish Students Prepare For Advanced Placement Spanish Exam* Nineteen students in Ms. Atienzo’s advanced Spanish classes have been putting forth extra effort this school year in preparation for the Advanced Placement "AP" Spanish Exam, a three-hour long test that includes listening, reading, writing and speaking components. AP Spanish is the most demanding Spanish class offered at Humboldt, as rigorous a challenge as many college Spanish courses. Success in AP Spanish requires a strong background in the subject and strong study skills. Doing well in AP Spanish not only greatly improves students’ Spanish skills, but also builds their self-esteem in using the spoken and written language. Doing well on the AP Spanish exam will further enhances students’ self-esteem and promote the use of their advanced language skills. Having AP Spanish on your transcript is a definite plus for college-bound students, not to mention that students may receive credit and/or advanced placement in college for AP work done in high school. Ms. Atienzo and her students would like to thank Cristina Flores for inspiring participants to take the test. Cristina was the only Humboldt student to take the AP Spanish Exam last year, impressing us with her high score of 4 out of 5! We would also like to thank Theresa Behnke for helping us to get the books we needed to study, Linda Lee Sparling for helping us get nineteen tape recorders to take the speaking component of the exam and Valerie Atkinson and Theresa Behnke for facilitating testing. At 7:30AM on Tuesday, May 4^th, think of these hard-working, studious young men and women and wish them the best of luck! Rafael Bonfil, Erika Bonilla, Óscar Cortés Orozco, César Cruz, Miguel Flores *ECOLAB LUNCHEON HONORS STUDENT WRITERS* In late November, approximately 100 junior and senior high students submitted their stories to the West Wind Short Story Contest. In January, the stories were read and judged by staff from Ecolab and Humboldt Junior and Senior High School . The story categories were divided into 7th & 8th grade, 9th & 10th grade and 11th & 12th grade with 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners awarded in each category. The winners were as follows: 1st place: Tony Doelz,12 grade, Andrea Carlson,10th grade and Kou Yang,7th grade; 2nd place: Jose Camacho,12th grade, Jaclyn Silipa, 9th grade and Lauren Rea, 7th grade; and 3rd place: Mai Yer Vang, 12th grade, Annesteja Macedonio, 9th grade, and Nicolle Birch, 8th grade. On Thursday, April 8th, the students were honored at a luncheon given by Ecolab, our corporate sponsor. At the luncheon, the students were presented with Target gift certificates: 1st place: $50.00, 2nd place: $40.00 and 3rd place: $30.00. Everyone had a wonderful time, enjoying the good food and meeting the contest winners and judges. All are looking forward to seeing their stories in print. The students’ stories will be published in the Spring 2004 West Wind Literary Magazine. *Guidance Notes* As spring approaches and registration for next years courses take place we thought it would be a good time to remind all of our families about the "Parent Portal" the easiest way to get information on how your student is doing. Please log into http://saintpaullearns.spps.org and click on the parent portal link, you can also check out the graduation requirements using this Six Year Planning link. If you have any questions please feel free to contact your student’s guidance counselor. For those of you who have Juniors at home now is the time too become familiar with the college entrance requirements and the need to take one of the college entrance tests (ACT or SAT). If you have not already checked out the Six Year Planning web site you should log into the site and check under Planning for after High School and then check out the College Information tab. Once there you will find lots of very useful information about post High school planning. We hope this information is helpful and that you call the Humboldt Academy Guidance Center (293-8604) for any questions you may have. *Site Council News!* Humboldt’s Site Council recently approved the budget for the 2004-05 school year. The Site Council is also in the midst of the hiring process for a new principal. Your input is wanted!