Homecomings 2008
This week is Homecoming week at Irondale High School.  Home varsity events for the week include boys' and girls' soccer and girls' tennis on Tuesday, September 16; girls' tennis on Wednesday, September 17; and football on Friday, September 19. Visit www.nsconference.org for details.

Irondale High School will induct six former athletes and two former high school coaches into the school's athletic Hall of Fame during a recognition banquet on September 19. The 2008 student athlete honorees are: Brian McCarron, 1974 swimming and baseball; Marcy Riggs Wiesner, 1978 swimming; Mike Olson, 1986 football, swimming, golf; Mike Schwartz, 1987 football, track; Kristy Kinzie Masso, 1991 gymnastics; and Jill Cattrysse-Larson, 1998 gymnastics, track and field. For the first time, Irondale High School will induct two former coaches into its Hall of Fame. Bill Beck and James Colletti will be inducted into the 2008 Hall of Fame alongside the student athlete honorees.

The week of September 26 is Homecoming Week at Mounds View High School. Coronation takes place on Monday evening at 7 p.m. in the auditorium. Home varsity events for the week include boys' and girls' soccer, girls’ tennis and girls' volleyball on Tuesday, September 23, girls’ soccer on September 25 at 5 p.m.; swimming and boys’ soccer on Thursday, September 25; and football on Friday, September 26. Visit www.suburbaneast.org for details.




Make it 11
For the 11th year in a row, K-12 enrollment has declined throughout Mounds View Public Schools. This fall’s count of 9,640 is 53 students fewer than last year. Despite the decline, actual enrollment was about 125 students higher than projected, creating some temporarily higher-than-expected class sizes in a handful of elementary schools. The good news? Mounds View will receive more state funding than expected, allowing the District to hire additional teachers and bring all elementary school classes within the School Board’s approved class size ranges. Core classes in middle schools and high schools remain within the Board’s approved class size ranges as well. To read Superintendent Dan Hoverman’s perspective on enrollment projections, state funding and hiring teachers, visit www.moundsviewschools.org/about_district/. To view class sizes and enrollments by grade and by school, please visit www.moundsviewschools.org/pdf07/9908enrollment.pdf. 


Elite eight
Minnesota Monthly’s “Top High Schools” issue names Mounds View High School among the state’s “new prep schools,” with its physics program ranked among the state’s eight standout programs “preparing kids for life after high school.” The article features Mounds View’s physics fair (the largest of its kind in the country) and the Science Olympiad team which has won four of the last six state championships. The September issue is available on newsstands now, and an online version is available at www.mnmo.com/media/Minnesota-Monthly/September-2008/Making-the-Grade/index.php?cp=3&si=2.






A Top 10 school district
Mounds View Public Schools ranked among the top 10 districts in the state for the most National Merit Scholarship semifinalists. In total, two Irondale High School students and 11 Mounds View High School students were named semifinalists. Recognition by the National Merit Scholarship program is one of the highest honors a student can receive for outstanding academic achievement. For a list of semifinalists please visit www.moundsviewschools.org/pdf07/NationalMeritSemiFinalists2008.pdf.


Saving energy
District schools and centers have partnered with the Schools for Energy Efficiency® (SEE) program in an effort to save about $300,000 over the next two school years. In schools throughout the District, students and staff have started to make simple changes to day-to-day activities that will help save energy, and will cut down on pollution and the use of non-renewable resources. Energy awareness campaign materials - with this year’s theme: You have the power - have been posted throughout hallways and classrooms District-wide to help prompt behavioral changes that are expected to contribute to a 10 to 15 percent energy cost reduction in the next two school years. Look for District progress updates in School Talk, the District’s quarterly newsletter. For more information on the SEE program, please visit www.seeprograms.com. 


Parent portal coming
This fall, our district is phasing in an improved parent portal that will give parents secure, electronic access to their student’s records, including attendance reports, assignments, schedules, grades and a host of other important information. Teachers and staff in all of our schools will use this system to provide families with more consistent and reliable communications about their child’s progress than we’ve been able to offer before. This new system called SchoolView, replaces our previous portal, Parent Connect. Around September 22 or so, every family will receive a letter asking them to verify their student’s information online before we can begin a phased-in approach to activating more and more features of this dynamic new communication system. The sooner parents verify their information online, the sooner we can make these features available for all of our families. Families should watch for a mailing soon.

Editor's note: Stay in touch
Mounds View Public Schools upgraded its phone system to include new safety features and direct-dial numbers for each classroom. The upgraded phone system allows parents to bypass the front office to reach teachers directly, and offers new safety features that will provide emergency response personnel with room-specific information in the case of emergency calls. Stay in touch with District schools and programs by visiting www.moundsviewschools.org/directories.asp.