Crimson Newsletter - July 15, 2025
July 15, 2025
Greetings from Maple Grove Senior High!
It's July, all is well in Crimson Territory, and I hope you and your families are enjoying another fabulous Minnesota summer! Whether you have a first-time high school student on the way, your last, or have several students scattered throughout our grades, it's good to reach out and connect ahead of the 2025-26 school year!
We're ready for the Class of 2026 to take the helm and lead our student body. I'm not sure if any class has made me prouder with their growth over their first three years, and now we expect them to finish strong! We also look forward to welcoming the new Crimson Class of 2029 and all returning students to Student Orientation on August 20 and partnering with families throughout the year. Relationships are the foundation here at Maple Grove, and I am thrilled to soon have our school filled with the best students any principal could hope for.
The Becker household continues to be happy, active, and healthy. My lovely wife, Olga, and I are grateful and blessed to have our four kids – Eli (19), Ania (16), Maksim (14), and Evelyn (12). They keep us on our toes and are active in swimming, basketball, Nordic skiing, tumbling, track and field, band, and choir. It’s hard to keep up with everyone! My roots are in the great state of Montana, while my wife is from Ukraine, having immigrated in 1996. And while Minnesota is proudly our home, there truly is nothing like family and we are happiest when we are together.
On to the 2025-26 school year: This will be my eleventh year as principal at Maple Grove; there's no place I'd rather be. It is an honor to work with, and for, your kids. We are slated to have a record 2600 Crimson students, and each one is personal to us. Our priority is strengthening and leveraging our positive school culture and climate so that each Crimson student can walk into our building knowing they are loved, supported, challenged, and driven to achieve their academic potential. The Crimson Way – Motivation, Gratitude, Scholarship, and Honor – is the bedrock of school and we purposefully teach, model, and reinforce these values for our students.
We want every Crimson student to be involved at Maple Grove, connected to something bigger than themselves! Each student will have every opportunity to engage in our school beyond their academic journey from which they can harness in their passions through student groups, clubs, sports, and fine arts programs:
Click here for the full list of extra and co-curricular activities (as of the conclusion of the 2024-25 school year). Is there something missing? Students can form new groups! They can contact our Activities Office for more information.
Click here for the Crimson Activities website which includes information for all athletics throughout the school year.
Communication is a significant priority, so I strongly encourage you to connect to our school social outlets:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MapleGroveSrHS
X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/MapleGroveSrHS
Instagram: https://instagram.com/maplegrovesrhs
School Website: http://mgsh.district279.org/
I invite you to connect with me, as well. I do my best to post the highlights of our Crimson Family as well as important information for students and families:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PrincipalBecker
X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/MGSHPrincipal
Instagram: https://instagram.com/principalbecker/
We aim to send a couple of newsletters a month to accompany periodic emails with timely school information. An increasing number of our staff utilize TalkingPoints, which sends text messages directly to you. Families are encouraged to download the app!
To conclude, this is a good school. From academics to fine arts to student groups and athletics, I'm very proud of Maple Grove, our staff, our positive culture, and we always strive to get better in every area. With pride we say, "We are Crimson." It's an honor to serve you and our Crimson students, and to see them learn, grow, and excel throughout the high school experience. I can't wait to welcome everybody to Crimson Orientation and the first day of school on Tuesday, September 2!
Feel free to reach out with any questions: beckerb@district279.org. Go Crimson!
Yours very respectfully,
Bart Becker, Principal
Take a drive by the high school on Fernbrook Lane North and you'll see how large a construction zone we have!
The photo shows our cafeteria courtyard; on the left, the entire cafeteria wall has been removed as they prepare for the expansion to double its size, connecting to the new academic classrooms being built this year. Unfortunately, we'll have a temporary wall up for all of 2025-26, and so we'll be eating without any natural light. But, the sacrifice will be worth it!
- The new Crimson Stadium wrap is being installed,
- Exterior walls are going up on the expanded weight room and locker rooms, and
- For the north/bus lot, the access road and additional parking lot have been curbed and paved.
We're told the new weight room, two new classrooms in the activities wing, and the renovated/expanded boys' locker rooms will be done by the end of the first trimester. (Fingers crossed!) Then, the work moves to the girls' locker rooms while continuing on the cafeteria and academic expansion to the north of the school, which has a projected finish date of August 2026.
Then, work moves to the front of the building in 2026-27 with plans to add a new front office, open up and renovate the media center, enhance the auditorium, and repurpose the fine arts wing for our expanding music programs! We've got a long ways to go, but it'll be worth it!
Crimson students are invited to Back to School Orientation at Maple Grove Senior High on Wednesday, August 20.
- **NEW** Student chromebooks will be deployed
- Tentative student schedules will be viewable
- Eligible students will be able to pick-up their first trimester parking permits (must have valid driver's license)
- Learn about athletics, fine arts, and student groups
- School pictures will be taken with Kemmetmueller Photography; photos are required for all students to receive a valid school ID.
Freshman attend from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., hosted by our Crimson Link Crew! Families drop off students at the main entrance (Door A), and we'll take it from there.
Sophomores, juniors, and seniors attend on a drop-in basis during the hours listed below.
- 10th Grade – 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.
- 11th Grade – 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
- 12th Grade – 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
If your student is unable to attend Crimson Orientation, have no worries! We will have Link Leaders and school staff readily available to assist on the first days of school to help every student find their way across the school. **Picture make-ups will be on Monday, September 8, and retakes will be on Monday, October 6.
A common question for incoming 9th graders is regarding school supplies. There is no supply list for high school; encourage your student to bring the basics and teachers will communicate accordingly if anything further is needed for class.
All Crimson student-athletes must have a physical on file in order to compete in MSHSL activities; here is the required form.
Twin Cities Orthopedics is again offering free high school sports physicals. Click here for information regarding their locations and openings.
Contact our Activities Office with questions:
- Ricardo Jones, Activities Coordinator: jonesr@district279.org
- Rhonda Osatiuk, Activities AESP: osatiukr@district279.org
- Dana Trouth, Activities AESP: trouthd@district279.org
It's official! The Lake Conference now includes the Maple Grove Crimson as we join Buffalo, Eden Prairie, Edina, Hopkins, Minnetonka, St. Michael-Albertville, and Wayzata. We look forward with great anticipation to new experiences in fall, winter, and spring activities! Our gratitude and appreciation will always extend to the Northwest Suburban Conference (NWSC) for 29 years of membership and memories.
We will continue competitions with many NWSC schools, especially with our fellow district high schools, Osseo and Park Center. Also, intra-district activities such as Adapted Sports, Synchro Swimming, and Grove Area Percussion partnerships will continue; these activities include student participants from all our district high schools.
As a new Lake Conference member, we are very excited to partner in announcing the launch of the Lake Conference Network (LCN), an online streaming network which will serve as the official live and on-demand streaming platform for Lake Conference 9th grade to varsity level sports and fine arts!
- 16 sports will live stream on the LCN, featuring all Lake Conference games and non-conference home contests.
- Varsity events will have LCN announcers, and weekly highlight shows will feature fall, winter, and spring seasons.
- LCN staff will provide enhanced social media promotions and coverage of schools, teams, and players.
- Fine arts programs open to the public will be included in the LCN network with performances streamed live from member schools' auditoriums.
- The LCN will collaborate with each school to provide students with opportunities to engage in production announcing and other multi-media roles.
Mark your calendars for Tuesday, September 10, as Maple Grove Senior High will be hosting our annual Learning Conference from 4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
A welcoming meeting will begin in the auditorium at 4:00 p.m., and then families will attend class sessions according to their student’s daily schedule. Families can expect to experience the following:
- meeting teachers and Crimson staff members,
- learning about course standards, class expectations, assessments, and
- experiencing the school and classroom environments in which their student learns.
We hope to see you there!
For 12th grade families: The first Senior All-Night Party planning meeting will occur in the forum room following the conclusion of conferences at 7:00 p.m.
- July 30-31: Fall sports PAC (parents/families, athletes, coaches) meetings at MGMS
- August 1: Fall sports/activities registration opens
- August 4: Parking permit sales open in EduTrak (to be confirmed)
- August 11: Fall sports practices begin
- August 20: Crimson Student Orientation
- August 25: Licensed staff report
- September 2: First day of school!
- September 8: Picture make-up day
- September 10: Learning conferences
- September 29-October 3: Homecoming week
- October 4: Homecoming dance
- October 6: Picture retake day
- October 9 and 13: Mid-trimester conferences
- October 16-17: No school (MEA weekend)
