The Scot's Scoop

Hello Highland Park Middle School families,

A reminder that the district has updated the phone number we use to send text messages. Our outreach text messages are sent using a local 10-digit phone number.

New Text Message Number for Outreach: 651-705-2351

We recommend saving it in your contacts as “Highland Middle School Alerts” so you always recognize messages from us.

Have a great week!

Monday, September 8 (A day): Fall sports begin

Tuesday, September 9 (B day)

Wednesday, September 10 (A day)

Thursday, September 11 (B day)

Friday, September 12 (A day)

Monday, September 15 (B day)

Tuesday, September 16 (A day)

Wednesday, September 17 (B day)

Thursday, September 18 (A day)

Friday, September 19 (B day):

• Chinese Immersion bonfire at 5:00-7:00pm

Monday, September 22 (A day):

• 4:30pm Boys Soccer (HOME game) HPMS vs Global Arts Upper
• 4:30pm Flag Football (HOME game) HPMS vs Global Arts Upper
• 4:30pm Volleyball (HOME game) HPMS vs Global Arts Upper

Tuesday, September 23: NO SCHOOL - staff development day

Wednesday, September 24 (B day):

• 4:30 Girls soccer (HOME game) HPMS vs Murray

Thursday, September 25 (A day)

Friday, September 26 (B day):

• Spanish Immersion bonfire at 5:00-7:00pm

The Smore family newsletter, along with other school documents and notices, can be translated. For the newsletter, click on the button for translation and select the language preferred.

Dear Middle School Families,

Thank you for a wonderful and successful first week of school! It was a joy to welcome our students back into the building, and we are already so impressed with their energy, enthusiasm, and positive start to the year. We appreciate all your support in preparing your students for a smooth transition back to the classroom.

We believe that a strong partnership between home and school is essential for student success. To that end, we have two important things we will be sharing with you for this week:

10/27/25 6:00pm

11/24/25 8:00am

1/12/26 8:00am

2/9/26 8:00am

3/16/26 8:00am

4/20/26 6:00pm

5/18/26 6:00pm

2. Grade Level Norms & Practices: This week, we met with each grade level (6th, 7th, and 8th) to go over a set of slides that establish shared norms, expectations, and practices for our school community. These slides can be found below. We kindly ask that you take a few moments to review them with your student. This will help reinforce what was discussed at school and ensure we are all on the same page as we move forward together.

1. 6th grade Slides

2. 7th Grade slides

3. 8th Grade slides

Thank you again for your partnership and for entrusting us with your children's education. We are looking forward to an amazing school year!

It was good to see many families at our Orientation for 6th grade and Open House! Here are slides of information about HPMS.

HPMS Parent Orientation 2025-26 (English)

HPMS Orientación para padres 2025-26 (español)

Please view Principal Mohamed's "2025-2026 Welcome Back Letter" by clicking here for English, and here for Spanish.

Student schedules are available for viewing in Parent and Student Campus! Please become familiar with your child's class schedule,.

If you have questions about your child' schedule, please contact your grade level school counselor :

• grade 6, Elisabeth Mulvaney (elisabeth.mulvaney@spps.org; 651-744-3399)

• grade 7, Danielle Seifert (danielle.seifert@spps.org; 651-744-7582)

• grade 8, Nou Katzmarek (nou.katzmarek@spps.org; 651-744-3400)

You can view your child's team monthly newsletter by clicking on their team below:

Eagles

Jets

Lobos

Sharks

Hello Flipside Families!

I’m so excited for another awesome year of Flipside! We’ve got a great lineup of hands-on classes—art, science, fitness, tech, and more—plus academic support, all led by amazing teachers.

New to Flipside?
It’s a free afterschool and summer program for middle schoolers. We help students grow socially, emotionally, and academically—while having a blast! There's no cost to families, and it’s a great way to stay connected to school in a positive way.

Here’s what’s coming up:

• Start Date: Monday, October 6, 2025
• Class List: Attached in today’s newsletter. Chat with your student and pick their top 2 classes for both Mon/Wed and Tues/Thurs. (Second choices help in case we can’t give everyone their first pick!) Here is the link to see the class descriptions: https://docs.google.com/document/d/17fXzgA6K7lYYeEEZzlncKM4Shd9R6LY2/edit

Fall Class Descriptions 2025 .docx

HPMS Fall Session - Class Descriptions 2025-26 MONDAY/WEDNESDAY CLASSES Class Title: Earth Explorers Teacher/Partner: Abby Addink Description: Science meets adventure in this hands-on, high-energy class! Start by exploring the outdoors—investigating nature, testing ideas, and making discoveries...

docs.google.com

• Registration: The online link goes live Wednesday. It’ll be posted around school, and I’ll also be at lunches, in classrooms, and in the hallways spreading the word.
• Transportation: To get a bus, registrations must be in by Friday, Sept. 19. Late signups may have a delay in bus service.
• Newsletter Link: The registration link will also go out in the Scots Family Newsletter next Sunday, Sept. 14. If you'd like it emailed directly, just shoot me a message: Nikol.gordon@spps.org

Confirmation letters (with transportation info) will be sent out the first week of October.

Can’t wait to see your students in Flipside this year!
Feel free to reach out with any questions—or just to say hi. 😊

See you on the Flipside!

-Ms. Nikol

Here is the list of classes:

Monday/Wednesday

Earth Explorers

Debate (DOES NOT START UNTIL NOVEMBER)

101Board Games Club

LEGO League

Introduction to Guitar, Chords, and Song Writing

Theater Production

Quest Keepers: Dungeons and Dragons

K-Pop Dance

The Root Squad

Studio Spark: A Maker Space for Creative Minds

Breakthrough Twin Cities Tutoring and Homework Skills Hangout

Retro Gaming: From Pixels to Power Ups

Tuesday/Thursday

Knowledge Bowl

Trading Card Games

Collaborative Tales: Exploring Narratives Though TTRPGs

Modern Band Project

Legends in the Making

Anime

Kendama Club

Brick by Brick

Fundamentals of Knitting

Creative Writing and Literary Arts Magazine

Registration for fall sports for Highland Park Middle is available now! Here is the QR code and the website: Arbiter Sports

Please make sure your students' sports physical is up to date. Sports physicals can be completed through your pediatrician, or the Health Start program at Highland Park High School.

At Highland Park Middle School, our mission is to:

• Provide our students with a sense of community and global perception in a nurturing and caring learning environment,
• Help students acquire the skills necessary to value themselves, and take pride in their accomplishments, and
• Develop respect and understanding of other people and their cultures.

Website: https://www.spps.org/highlandms
Location: 975 Snelling Ave S, Saint Paul, MN, USA
Phone: (651) 293-8950