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FOCUS - March 2025

FOCUS - March 2025
FOCUS - March2025

March 6, 2025

Be in the know
Cory McIntrye giving student high five
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Students earning top gains in the district honored at Academic Growth Award recognition event

๐ŸŒŸ Schools have traditionally recognized the high honors in academics, athletics and artistic accomplishments of students. The Anoka-Hennepin School Board developed the Academic Growth Award program to celebrate additional โ€œwinsโ€ for students in the areas of math, reading and language acquisition. Approximately 3,000 students meet the criteria each year, and the top students from each school are recognized in person by the School Board and district leaders at the Academic Growth Award recognition events.

๐Ÿ—ž๏ธ
Read the full story, view the ๐Ÿ“บ archived live streams and the ๐Ÿ“ธ photos.

Conrad Kissel, Zachary Kuehn and Sawyer Lane holding the traveling trophy from the Battle of the Books competition
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Oak View Middle School takes home the Battle of the Books traveling trophy

๐Ÿ“– A team from Oak View Middle School (OVMS) will proudly bring the Battle of the Books traveling trophy back to its school after winning the annual competition on Feb. 25 that challenges middle school students to prove their knowledge and understanding of literature.


๐Ÿ’ป Read more about the competition, view photos and watch a replay of the event.

Ted Erickson
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Blaine High School special education teacher Ted Erickson named semifinalist for Minnesota Teacher of the Year award

๐ŸŽ‰ Blaine High School special education teacher Ted Erickson has been named a semifinalist for the 2025 Minnesota Teacher of the Year award. Erickson is one of 31 educators statewide who will be considered to move on as a finalist after being selected as a semifinalist from an initial field of 142 candidates.


๐Ÿ’ป Learn more about the Minnesota Teacher of the Year award.

Ramsey Elementary: Denise Schnabel, Emily Payan
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Ramsey Elementary staff members earn state and national recognitions

The Minnesota Elementary School Principalsโ€™ Association (MESPA) named Denise Schnabel, Ramsey Elementary School principal, the recipient of the 2024 North Suburban Division Leadership Award. Read more.


Emily Payรกn, teacher at the school, was recently selected as a recipient of a Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching, the highest honors bestowed by the U.S. government specifically for K-12 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics teaching.
Read more.

Calendar time icon
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Bell time changes planned for select schools in the 2025-26 school year

๐Ÿ”” Bell times for the five traditional high schools in the Anoka-Hennepin School District and for eight other secondary sites are shifting starting in the 2025-26 school year. The reason for the change is to prioritize staffing ratios and classroom support as part of a $26 million reduction and reallocation plan approved by the School Board at its Nov. 25, 2024 meeting. Get the full details.
Bus para standing next a bus with the stop arm extended
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District to host hiring event for operational and student support positions March 27 at Anoka High School

๐Ÿ“ฃ The Anoka-Hennepin School District will host an in-person hiring event for operational and student support positions Thursday, March 27 from 3:30-5:30 p.m. at Anoka High School. The hiring event will take place in the atrium located near the main entrance of the school.


๐Ÿ’ป Learn more about the upcoming hiring event.

Action of the School Board Feb. 24
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Action of the School Board - February 24, 2025

Action of the School Board provides brief summaries of Anoka-Hennepin School Board meetings. View the latest Action of the School Board from the February 24, 2025 meeting.


For agendas, meetings and minutes visit ahschools.us/schoolboard.

Interest stories
Max Minakov and his snowplow robot.
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Grad spotlight: Andover High School grad 'plows' forward with sixth-grade dream, future business plans

โ„๏ธ Max Minakov, Andover High School alum (22โ€™), who realized a potential career pathway at Oak View Middle School when his sixth grade Science project kick-started an idea that has snowballed into a pretty โ€˜coolโ€™ invention: A snowplow robot.

๐Ÿ“– Read the story to see where his journey has taken him.
Sydney Hagel
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Jackson Middle School student named stateโ€™s top gifted student

Sydney Hagel, eighth-grade student at Jackson Middle School, was recently selected as a recipient of the prestigious Star of the North Gifted Award, presented by the Minnesota Educators of the Gifted and Talented.

๐Ÿ“š
Read more about the award.
๐Ÿ“บ View the CCX-Media Student Spotlight, featuring Hagel.
Students perform at the middle school jazz festival
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District musicians jam at the annual Middle School Jazz Festival

๐ŸŽถ For more than 20 years, middle school students in Anoka-Hennepin have jammed out in a mid-year concert featuring talented musicians and a festive evening at the Middle School Jazz Festival.


๐ŸŽบ On March 4, a packed Anoka Middle School for the Arts Fred Moore campus auditorium tapped their feet and clapped to the beat as students from all six middle schools in Anoka-Hennepin displayed their talents. Read more and view photos from the Middle School Jazz Festival performances.

Andover High School boys high school hockey team pictured after winning the section title in Duluth on Feb. 27
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2024-25 winter sports and activities round-up

With the winter sports and activities season wrapping up, hereโ€™s a look at whoโ€™s heading to state, and how they fared when they performed and played. Also included is information about postseason awards gathered by student-athletes and coaches.


โ„๏ธ Visit the district website for updates on boys hockey, boys swimming and diving, adapted floor hockey, wrestling, girls hockey, gymnastics, alpine and nordic skiing and dance.

Triple "A" Nominees
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Ten district student-athletes recognized for their work in academics, athletics and the arts

Ten Anoka-Hennepin student-athletes have been nominated for the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) Triple โ€œAโ€ Award for the 2024-25 school year.


๐ŸŽถ ๐Ÿ“– ๐Ÿƒ๐Ÿปโ€โ™‚๏ธ ๐Ÿƒ๐Ÿปโ€โ™€๏ธ Learn more about the Triple "A" Award.

Nawal Arafa and Sarrah Es-Sabha
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Two district seniors awarded full scholarships through QuestBridge

๐ŸŽ‰ Blaine High School - Center for Engineering, Mathematics and Science (BHS) seniors Nawal Arafa and Sarrah Es-Sabha were recently announced as two out of 2,627 finalists to receive full four-year scholarships through the 2024 QuestBridge National College Match program.


๐Ÿ’ป Read more about this opportunity for two BHS seniors.

Students presenting blankets to Alexandra House
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University Avenue students team up to donate warmth to the Alexandra House

๐Ÿ˜Š Kindergarten and third grade students at University Avenue Elementary School - Aerospace, Childrenโ€™s Engineering and Science teamed up to make and donate tie blankets to the Alexandra House in Blaine. Alexandra House is a dedicated refuge created to support victims and survivors of violence.


๐Ÿ“ธ Read more and view photos from the donation event.

School and law enforcement partnerships in action

Preparedness and partnerships between schools and law enforcement are essential tools to enhance school safety. Anoka-Hennepin Schools partner with local law enforcement agencies to provide school resource officers across the district, and CTN Studios recently spent time at Coon Rapids High School to see how school resource officer Meng Yang engages with students and staff.
Meet School Resource Officer Meng Yang

Oxbow Creek Elementary celebrates the Arts and Academics

From writing to drawings to sculptures to woodworking to singing and dancing, the wide array of talents of Oxbow Creek Elementary students was on full display at the 25th Annual Arts and Academics Expo. ๐Ÿ“บ Learn more in a video story by CCX Media.

https://youtu.be/sEbWI8SX_wo?si=r1uN0xLLZyEprcD8
Summer informational flyer
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Registration open for Community Ed summer youth classes and camps

Try something new! Have fun! Make new friends! Anoka-Hennepin Community Education offers a variety of youth programs/classes/camps over the summer, ranging from sports, arts and craft, musical theater, robotics and more! Most programs will be held at Anoka Middle School.


View the 2025 summer flyer and follow links inside to register.

Preschool students sitting cross-legged in a classroom
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Preschool Information Night set for March 20

Families considering preschool for their children will have an opportunity to attend Preschool Information Night on Thursday, March 20 from 4:30 โ€“ 6 p.m. or 6:30 โ€“ 8 p.m.


Held at the Educational Service Center in Anoka, Preschool Information Night is for families with children that will be three or four years old by September 1, 2025. This is a FREE event, but registration is required.

  • March 7, 2025 -No students - staff development.
  • March 10-12 , 2025 - No students - spring break.
  • March 13-14, 2025 - No students - district closed.
  • March 17, 2025 - No students - staff development.

๐Ÿ“† View the district calendar online.

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This e-newsletter is published by Anoka-Hennepin Schools. It's sent to Anoka-Hennepin families and community members who subscribe on a monthly basis during the school year, excluding breaks (and periodically during the summer). Questions, comments or concerns about the FOCUS e-newsletter? Contact us.

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