February 23, 2025 - Issue 13

February

27 - 6th Grade Target Field Trip (6th and 7th grade swap lunch)

March

3 - College/High School Spirit Day

3 - Anthony Site Council Meeting 4-5:30pm

5 - Japanese School Visit 1-3:30pm

🚩 Click to view full calendar of events

Note: This is not a complete list of events at Anthony. Subject to change.

Thank you to everyone's participation and time in helping us celebrate Black joy and Black history. Our 4th Annual Black Excellence Program last Thursday was a great success due to the support and participation from the following.

• Anthony Administration, Equity Team, and PTA
• Anthony students, staff, families, and guests
• Anthony teachers and staff
• Anthony jazz band, choir, and after school cooking class
• Keynote speaker, Dr. Kasim Abdur Razzaq

Congratulations to Annie Smith! She is the esteemed recipient of the 2025 4th Annual Black Excellence Award. Annie was selected for her outstanding leadership, unwavering dedication to our school community, and her exceptional talent for mentoring and connecting with students. Annie's relentless hard work and commitment not only inspire our students but also uplift the entire Anthony School community.

Dear Families, Anthony releases the entire student population at 3:20pm each day. To make this a safe and efficient process, please follow the standard procedures below.

• All Buses and Special Minneapolis Cab transportation lines up along Irving (east) from south of Door 1 going north to Door 10. Parent pick-up vehicles should not park anywhere along that street during afternoon dismissal.
• Parent pick-up options include the parking lot at Door 3 and anywhere along 57th street running West and East.

Thank You Sincerely for your cooperation.

🚩 Let's help each other out!

If you need to pick up your student during the school day, we ask that you PLEASE COMPLETE THE ATTENDANCE FORM or have your student BRING IN A WRITTEN NOTE so they can get a leave early "green" pass to come down. This would really help us not disrupt class and ensure your student is ready for pick up in a timely manner.

Please report an absence in one of the following ways:

• Attendance phone line 612-668-3271

• Nurse phone line 612-668-3265

• Google form Anthony Attendance Form

• Note given to the Main Office

Please provide documentation in one of the following ways:

• Google form Anthony Attendance Form

• Written note given to the Main Office

• Note from the healthcare provider

Attendance Calls and Emails

We are aware that occasionally absence calls and emails are going out related to Period 25. This period is designated for after school and special project classes and does not affect your student's school record. If you report an absence to the school and you still receive a call or email for Period 25, please disregard. We apologize if this has caused concern.

Hello Anthony Families!

We are excited to announce our annual Pi-Bee will return on March 14th, 2025. Each math class will go to the auditorium on this day and every student will have an opportunity to recite as many digits of pi as they have memorized. The reward for taking the risk?! Pie! If a student is unable to eat pie during the day in observance of Ramadan, we will have take home treats available for you so that they don’t miss out on the action!

Parents: As always, we need your help in securing sooooo many treats! If you’d like to sign up to volunteer or to bring in pies, please go to our sign-up genius website. http://tinyurl.com/AnthonyPiDay25

We’re so excited for 3/14!

The Anthony Math Teachers

6th graders in Mr. Olson and Ms. Ricks classes are finishing up their government and economics unit and will be transitioning into their war and conflict unit next week. In our recent unit we have covered such topics as the circular flow of a market economy and how goods and services are produced by businesses and purchased by households and individuals. We looked at different things that can impact that flow as well. We also go into how our state constitution is set up and how are government is funded through taxation. As we move into our next unit, we will be focusing on how regular Minnesotans have been impacted by major conflicts, focusing primarily on the Civil War and World War II with some Cold War sprinkled in for good measure. Once we finish this unit in about a month, we will begin our longest unit of the year, Discrimination and Social Movements.

Anthony 8th graders will soon be participating in a Model United Nations simulation in their World Studies class. The unit will begin April 7th with an exploration of the history, function, and structure of the United Nations. This will be followed by research about the global issue of refugees from the perspectives of the countries students will be representing at the school conference. Students will collaborate, negotiate, and create peaceful resolutions at the Conference on Friday April 25th.

There are two things that families can do to support the success of Model UN at Anthony. First, please sign up to be a volunteer at the conference; pencil April 25th on your calendar. There will be a volunteer sign-up with additional details shared in the future. Second, please assist students in meeting the Model UN dress code. Students should aim for business or business casual attire. For example, dress pants/business top/tie, skirt/business top, or dress. Model UN is a role play, and like any other play there is a costume!

We are excited to see what this year's 8th graders can do with their research and diplomatic skills. Any questions or concerns please contact Annie Ellingham or Toby Aickin.

Attention 7th and 8th grade families:

Your child will be switching to their 4th rotation class on Monday, March 3. See the graphic below to identify where they will go next based on their current class. All 7th/8th grade students will take all 5 rotation classes (Design, P.E., Exploratory Art, Robotics, and Explore) unless they are enrolled in AVID or a pull-out support class. They will receive a grade for their 3 rd rotation class when they receive all other Quarter 3 grades in March.

You may contact your child’s current rotation teacher or megan.gustafson@mpls.k12.mn.us if you have questions.

Hello Families -

Our incredible teacher, Ms. Bartholomew, is putting together the 2024-2025 yearbook and would like to know if you/your child has a "preferred name" that you would like listed in the yearbook. If so, please use this link to submit the preferred name listed in the yearbook.

If we don't hear by Friday, February 28, we will be going with the full name that is listed in the system.

Link to form: https://tinyurl.com/YBName2425

Yearbooks will be sold later in May 2025, so stay tuned for more information.

Thank you!

Congratulations on a successful winter sports season! The Anthony Middle School Athletic Department would like to take this opportunity to thank the Anthony Middle School coaching staff, student-athletes, families, and fans for all your contributions throughout the winter sports season. It was a pleasure communicating with you during the season at the games, via emails, phone calls, or running into you in the community or at a Southwest game/event. It’s always good to see members from the Anthony Middle School community! Anthony Middle’s Athletic program is strong due to the mindset of our student-athletes committing themselves to mastering the fundamentals of the sport, coupled with the mentality of playing in one gear, and that’s “GO”! Most educational research supports the idea that students tend to perform better and reach their goals when they have consistent support from the adults in their lives. Thank you, parents, for showing up for your child week in and week out, it made all the difference in the world. We will continue to value the partnership that we have with the parent(s) of our student athletes.

Anthony Middle believes in putting highly qualified adults in front of our students, in all facets, from academics to athletics. So, a big thanks goes to our coaching staff for their dedication, knowledge, and unwavering care they demonstrated for all of the student-athletes. Both basketball teams held the title of being the number one (1) seed for the entire season. Both teams advanced to the city finals that was played on Saturday, February 15th at Roosevelt High School. The boys competed against a well-prepared Sanford team. This was a rematch between both teams, Anthony was victorious earlier in the season. Sanford beat the returning city champion’s Anthony Middle School. A leadership shout out goes to the 8th grade players that will be going on to high school next season: Theo Juffer, Abe Meyer, Charlie Hitchin, Fulton Vetter, Hayden King, Isaac Moore, Jayden Carothers, Rory Kearin, Billy Haines, Ryan Haines, Yohna Asfaw, Marcus Jones, and Latrell Smith.

The Anthony girls basketball team worked to ensure they had an unblemished season by not losing a game during the 2024-25 basketball season. They finished 11-0 on the season and won their third consecutive city championship title! The team consisted mostly of 6th & 7th grade student-athletes. If they stick together, continue to work on the little things, and listen to the right people, there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be playing during the post-season when they become high school student-athletes. Please help me congratulate our Anthony girls basketball team: Leyah Abosi, Quinn Arpin, Talia Domenick, Stella Dorrow, Evelyn Hall, Nola Herron, Lily Kostner, Lily Kurtz, Emily Nevers, Jasmine Neuman, Ingrid Van Osnabrugge, Eleanor Pippin, Ariana McClenic , Kathleen Dealy, Celia Hendrickson, and Stella Dorrow.

Registration window for spring sports opens on March 3rd, 2025. Please be on watch for an email that will highlight our athletic offerings in the spring.

It is an honor to serve as your Athletic Director,

Dempsey E. Miller III

As mentioned in one of our previous newsletters, the IB Learner Profile is one of the foundations of an IB education. The IB Learner Profile outlines the traits that we help support our students to develop. According to the IB organization, "The International Baccalaureate® (IB) learner profile describes a broad range of human capacities and responsibilities that go beyond academic success. They imply a commitment to help all members of the school community learn to respect themselves, others and the world around them. Each of the IB's programmes is committed to the development of students according to the IB learner profile" (from ibo.org).

Basically, the Learner Profile consists of all the traits that help students navigate an increasingly global society, their relationships with others, and attain their future goals!

Here are the Learner Profile traits and what they entail:

Here at Anthony Middle, students engage with the Learner Profile in a variety of ways! Students may set goals in their classes for which of the profile traits they want to develop more for that quarter, or consider which of the profile traits they have to demonstrate in a particular learning activity, or reflect on which of the profile traits are personal strengths of theirs. Students are encouraged to reflect on the profile traits when engaging in social and emotional learning as well.

Your Anthony IB Coordinators would love to address any questions you may have about IB at Anthony! If you have questions regarding IB, please fill out this Google Form and the IB Coordinators will address your questions in future Anthony IB Newsletters!

The 8 Point Scale:

The majority of your student’s assignments are assessed using an 8 point scale rather than traditional point based grading that grades assignments out of 100 points. This is because as an IB school, we, just like the majority of MPS’s middle schools, have adopted the IB assessment scale. In fact, Anthony had been using the 8 point scale exclusively prior to last year’s district-wide adoption of the scale.

Criterion - Related Assessment:

The 8 point scale is designed to show students’ level of mastery of the IB Criterion and state standards on both formative and summative assessments. You may have noticed that in some of your student’s courses in Infinite Campus, assignments are labeled with an A - D before the assignment title, or that in the notes for an assignment, a specific “Criterion” is mentioned. This is because each IB subject area uses four categories (4 Criteria) to describe the conceptual learning expectations and skill development that occurs in each subject. The categories and the specific objectives within each category are specific to each subject area. For example, Language & Literature creates learning activities and develops rubrics for assignments using these four criteria: Analyzing, Organizing, Producing Text, and Using Language.

Criterion-related assessment does/is the following:

• Focuses on student learning and demonstration of skills related to standards and objectives

• Based on evidence collected through a variety of learning experiences throughout the course

• Provides a clear and accurate picture of learning

• Encourages conversations about continued growth over time

• Allows additional opportunities to demonstrate their learning

So what are the benefits of Criterion- related assessment?

• Accurate: Scores are based solely on academic factors.

• Consistent: Clear expectations are established through IB objectives and state or national standards.

• Meaningful: Scores communicate learning and identify areas of strength and growth.

• Supportive of Learning: Reassessment allows new levels of learning to be reported when improvement occurs.

How IB Assessment Works in the District:

MPS has merged IB assessment philosophies with more traditional methods based on how our student information works. Here is MPS’s assessment scale and corresponding skill mastery descriptors:

Per district policy, Anthony Middle operates on a 70/30 weighted assessment system in middle school as well. This means that summative assessments (final papers, projects, tests, etc.) are worth 70% of students’ overall performance in a class and formative assessments (practice, assignments that teach skills necessary for summative assessments, etc.) are worth 30% of students’ overall performance in a class.

Interested in hearing more about IB Assessment at Anthony? Please check out this one pager or visit ibo.org for more details about IB assessment!

Your Anthony IB Coordinators would love to address any questions you may have about IB at Anthony! If you have questions regarding IB, please fill out this Google Form and the IB Coordinators will address your questions in future Anthony IB Newsletters!

Attention all 7th and 8th grade girls that are interested in learning more about the Minneapolis Girls Lacrosse Team!

We would like to welcome you to join us at Captain's practices! No cost to join and we would love to see you there! Captains and several current players will be present to help introduce you to the fun sport of girl's lacrosse and answer any questions you might have about the upcoming season!

Dates: 2/22, 3/1* 3/15, 3/22, 3/29

Time: 2-3:pm

Alternate time/ date: 3/8 ONLY 5-6pm

Location: Our Lady of Peace School gym (enter gym from parking lot off 12th Ave S)

Address: 5435 11th Ave S. Mpls, MN 55417

Details: Door 4N will be unlocked from 1:45-2:15pm After that you would need to text someone in the space to have them let you in.

*On Saturday, March 1, we will be hosting a TRY LAX FOR FREE Clinic at OLP from 2-3p - join us and bring a friend! Don't have a lacrosse stick? No worries - you can borrow one! Hope to see you there!

Questions, please contact Colette MacIver; cmaciver@mplshockey.com or 218-820-4978.

Attention all 7th & 8th grade boys that are interested in learning more about the Southwest Boys Tennis Team! We would like to welcome you to join us at

Captain's practices on Sundays from 8:00-9:00 at the Bloomington South Lifetime (1001 W 98th St., Bloomington 55431).

You do not need to be a member of Lifetime to attend! However, to enter the building, parents/guardians need to fill out the online waiver prior to attending a practice.

You can find it HERE: https://lifetime.formstack.com/forms/sponsoringmemberform

When players enter the building, there will be a sign in sheet at the front desk.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Jasper (612-446-8005) or Christa (612.860.2834)

Upcoming dates are:

- Sunday, February 23

- Sunday, March 2

- Sunday, March 9

- Sunday, March 16

- Sunday, March 23

Additionally, on Saturday, February 22, please join members of the SW Boys Tennis Team at Super Saturday at Inner City Tennis!

More information available here: ---> https://innercitytennis.org/youth-tennis/super-saturdays-program/

Coach Neil Hill as well as several current SW Boys tennis players will be present to answer any questions of perspective players and families.

Take Me Out to the Taproom Event Supporting SWHS Softball and Baseball Teams

Please join us for a fun event supporting the SWHS diamond sports teams on Friday, March 7 at LaDona Cerveceria Brewery from 6:30-9:00 pm. For more information and to purchase tickets, please see the link below. Hope to see you there!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2025-take-me-out-to-the-taproom-tickets-1154922477219?aff=oddtdtcreator

PTA Needs Your Help!

Dear Anthony School Families,

We need your help! The Anthony PTA is looking for a Co-President and a Co-Treasurer to join our leadership team for next year. These key positions are vital for the success of our PTA and the continued support of our school community. Kellie Riley has volunteered to be one of the Co-Presidents and Sash Jensen has volunteered to be one of the Co-Treasurers. You will be well supported with the roles of social media, volunteer coordinator, and secretary which are filled for next year.

Serving on the PTA is a fantastic way to meet other parents and caregivers, engage with the school administration, and contribute to enriching our students’ experience at Anthony. Your involvement will make a lasting impact on the school’s activities and events.

If you are interested or want to learn more, please reach out to us as soon as possible. We truly appreciate your time and consideration in making a difference for our children.

Thank you for your support!

Marie Idelkope - PTA President

anthonypta23@gmail.com

Claire Bryan - PTA Treasurer

anthonyptatreasurer@gmail.com

Please join us on Wednesday, March 12th from 5:30-6:30 in Room 102. All are welcome.

Google Meet joining info

Video call link: https://meet.google.com/drv-nngo-ofm

Black Excellence Event - 2/20

Plan to attend this fantastic event! The presentations, performers, and a meal with the Anthony community makes this an event not to miss. If you are interested in helping out that evening, please contact parent Jerrisha Goines at goines.risha@gmail.com or 612.642.2720

Pi Day - March 14th

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D49A5AF22A2F9C16-54768183-piday

Plan ahead - get these other dates on your calendar for volunteering and supporting important Anthony events!

Spring Musical: High School Musical - March 19th thru March 22nd

**Change in date - 8th Grade Model UN - April 25th

Anthony Family Day - May 22nd

Any questions about volunteering can be directed to Kelsey Tritabaugh at ktritabaugh@gmail.com

MPS Culinary & Wellness Services is seeking 6th-8th grade students from your school to apply to compete in the Jr Iron Chef Competition on Tuesday, April 29! Back in-person for the first time since 2019, selected student pairs will be matched with local chefs to compete iron-chef style for a panel of judges. All MPS 6th-8th graders with interest in cooking and tasty food are invited to apply. Students are strongly encouraged to apply with a partner since students will be selected in pairs to represent their school. Individual applications will be accepted.

Apply by online by Friday, March 21 at: bit.ly/IronChef2025

For more details, please see attached PDF or visit: https://www.mpschools.org/departments/cws/chef.

We appreciate your help sharing this exciting opportunity with your school community! Please pass this information on to your colleagues and consider promoting the application via your school’s website, newsletter, social media, etc. Application posters will be arriving in your school kitchens with the March menus – in the meantime feel free to use the attached.

Questions? Please contact Julie.Danzl@mpls.k12.mn.us or Amanda.Ewest@mpls.k12.mn.us.

Please make sure the following forms are filled out and turned into the main office. Forms can be downloaded or picked up in the main office.

• Emergency Contact Form -- (required)

• Media Release Form -- (required)

• Student Behavior Acknowledgement Form -- (required)

• Technology/Bus/Cell Phone Form -- (required)

• Technology Use Pledge -- (required)

• Health Form -- (required)

• Medication Authorization Form -- (only applicable if student takes medication at school)

• Family Activity Form -- (only if student will be absent more than 3 days in a row during school year)

Life gets busy. In case you missed an issue of the Panther Post Newsletter, click here to read them.

Attendance Line: (612) 668-3271

Anthony Attendance Form

District Transportation: (612) 668-2300

Secretary: Annie Smith

Office Assistant: Julie Robertson

Principal: Mai Chang Vue

Associate Principal/Athletic Director: Dempsey Miller

Website: anthony.mpschools.org/

Address: 5757 Irving Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55419

Phone: (612) 668-3240
Facebook: facebook.com/AnthonyMiddleSchool/
Instagram: @mps.anthonymiddle