Hidden River Newsletter

This Week:

Tues., Oct. 13th - Fall Conferences from 4:00-7:00pm (Night 2), most 6th grade teachers will NOT be present due to APTT

Thurs., Oct. 15th & Fri., Oct 16th - NO SCHOOL (MEA Break)

Next Week (10/19-10/23):

Mon., Oct. 19th - Picture Retake Day

Mon., Oct. 19th - EDL Starts

Conference Food Donation: Calling all Hidden River Families! Help us fuel our amazing staff's energy during conferences and donate to the potluck if you are able. Food and/or beverages can be dropped off on Monday (10/12) or Tuesday (10/13) between 8:30am and 2:30pm. We do have the ability to refrigerate items if needed. Thank you!

Family Fall Climate Survey: We are asking you to complete this survey in order to help all members of the school (students, parents/guardians, and school staff) understand how you feel about Hidden River. This survey is a measure for the climate of Hidden River, not what is happening outside of school ie; community, social media. Students took a student focused survey this week and we had 95% of students complete the survey! Your responses will provide us with important information to help HRMS become even better, help us reach our goal of 50% completion by families. All of your responses are completely anonymous.

Capti Testing: The Capti ReadBasix reading screener will be given to some students during the month of October. This screener gives a more detailed analysis of reading needs for students. If you have questions about the screener or want to know if your child will be taking it, please reach out to Katie Bannon at kathryn.bannon@spps.org.

Safety Drills: We will conduct our third fire drill next week. The Saint Paul Fire Department will be present to observe the drill. During the drill, firefighters will observe staff and student performance and provide recommendations to help make future drills more efficient and effective. Please take a moment to talk with your child about the importance of participating in school safety drills and following directions carefully during an emergency. Thank you for your continued support in keeping our school community safe!

Dear Families,

It is hard to believe that we are already midway through the first quarter! I enjoyed seeing many of you at the first night of conferences. If you were unable to attend last Thursday, there is another opportunity this coming Tuesday, October 13, from 4-7 p.m. No appointments needed and teachers are in their classrooms, most 6th grade teachers will not be present.

A reminder that next week is MEA and there is NO SCHOOL on Thursday Oct. 15 and Friday, Oct. 16!

We strongly believe that a close partnership between home and school is vital to student success. We invite you to stay involved and connect with us throughout the year through the following opportunities:

• FSO - Family Staff Organization - next meeting is November 19, from 5:30 - 7:00 p.m.

• Coffee with the Principal - next coffee date is January 20 and will be held indoors!

• Volunteering: We offer both one-time volunteer options (shared in our weekly newsletters) and long-term roles in classrooms, the cafeteria, or the main office. Please email Cassi Hanson (chansen0308@gmail.com) for more information or to start volunteering!

Thank you for your warm welcome, trust, and ongoing partnership. Together, we are continuing to make this a wonderful and rewarding year for our students!

Warm regards,

Teresa Vibar
Principal

Due to a health condition, your student may need to take medication or have a medical procedures administered during the school day.

Written parental/guardian authorization is required for any medication given during the school day.

In cases where medication is prescribed for short-term use and required to be administered 3 times daily, students are encouraged not to bring the medication to school but to instead take their dose upon returning home in the afternoon.

Healthcare provider authorization is required for prescription medication intended to be taken for more than 2 weeks and/or if the medication is controlled. Medication to be given in school must be supplied in the original container or prescription bottle.

Schools do not supply 'stock' over-the-counter medication such as Tylenol or Advil for students.

Children’s Dental Services (CDS) is a non-profit dental provider dedicated to providing care to patients of all ages! CDS offers preventative, diagnostic, and restorative dental care to all school children within your child’s school. Upon completion of the attached consent, children are provided with dental care during school hours by Children’s Dental Services. Return the consent form to Nurse Mary🩺

Our school is excited to partner with Florida State University on a study aimed at enhancing data and probability instruction! Participating teachers Ms. Haukom, Ms. Pineda Johnson, and Ms. Skaja are serving as part of the study’s control group.

As part of this group, our teachers will continue delivering our standard district curriculum while submitting video recordings of specific lessons on data and statistics to FSU researchers. This research helps support ongoing teacher professional development and improves math learning without changing your child's daily instruction. Parent/guardian letter (English) & Parent/guardian letter (Spanish)

If you've driven past the front of the school and have seen a blue and white flag along with our American flag or noticed the large logo on the back wall in the office, you may be wondering what IB stands for. Hidden River has been an IB (International Baccalaureate) World School since 2009. As an IB middle school, we strive to create caring and knowledgeable global citizens who are prepared to take on any challenges they face in the future. We will be sharing more about our MYP program in the newsletter this year, but you can learn more about the IB Middle Years Program at Hidden River by visiting the IB-MYP page on our website (https://hiddenriver.spps.org/academics/ib-myp).

The Family-Staff Organization (FSO) would like to invite all of you to complete the Family Directory for the 2026-2027 School year! Please complete the directory by October 19 by filling out the form here: https://forms.gle/QN1GCGvmHjNywLgg6.

Mark your calendars!

• Give to the Max Day is on November 19 and the FSO's biggest fundraiser of the year. Gifts to the FSO will support school programming by providing busses for after school activities, support the beloved Otter Days, and other student and staff requests. Community support of the FSO ensures our school community can offer the great programming it does today.
• Hidden River Plant Sale Coming this Winter/Spring - for the first time we'll be offering a Gertens plant sale as a fundraiser for the FSO. Be on the lookout this winter for sale information. Saturday, May 15 will be the pick up date for plant orders.

The Readers' Hall of Fame is up and running. If you student would like to be HRMS famous and have their photo in the hallway, have them come see Mr. Sheridan in the library.

EDL Information

EDL starts after MEA break on Monday, October 19th on Mondays and Wednesdays! A few important notes:

• EDL Schedules will be passed out to students this week at school

• EDL bus route information will be passed out to students at school this week

• Starting Monday afternoon, parents and guardians can access EDL bus information in Campus Parent

• Starting Monday afternoon, students can access EDL bus information in Student Campus

• Bus drop-off locations for EDL may be different from your student’s bus stop location on non-EDL days - please make sure they know how to get home from their stop location.

• Anticipate delays! Please wait at least 20 minutes after the scheduled drop-off times before calling your school. Buses are often late during the first few days of your program as students and drivers have new routes.

• The Versatrans My Stop app provides live bus tracking.

• If your student enrolled after October 5, you may need to provide transportation during the first week of the program while SPPS Transportation determines your bus route.

• If you signed up your student athlete for transportation on Mondays and Wednesdays that will also be passed out at school this week if it was submitted by October 5th.

• If you need to contact SPPS Transportation, their phone number is: 651-696-9600

• Please contact Katrina Haukom (EDL Site Lead) at katrina.haukom@spps.org or 651-744-6475 with any questions.

Check out the FREE classes at the Black Youth Healing Arts Center, they also provide FREE transportation. The Black Youth Healing Arts Center is a safe space in Saint Paul’s Frogtown neighborhood for Black youth.