The Scot's Scoop

Archived family newsletters for 2025-2026

Highland Park Middle School families,

A reminder that our outreach text messages are sent from 651-705-2351.

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

Have a great week!

Monday, November 17 (B day)

Tuesday, November 18 (A day)

Wednesday, November 19 (B day)

Thursday, November 20 (A day)

Friday, November 21 (B day)

Monday, November 24 (A day)

• FCC meeting at 8:00am in the library
• Girls basketball vs Global Arts at HPMS, 4:30-6:00pm

Tuesday, November 25 (B day)

Wednesday, November 26 (A day)

Thursday, November 27: No School - Thanksgiving holiday

Friday, November 28: No School - Thanksgiving holiday

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.

Last Friday, all six of our teams participated in an exciting and engaging Team Day across all grade levels. It was a wonderful opportunity for students to connect, celebrate achievements, and engage in meaningful activities both on and off campus. Special thanks to the Highland teachers and staff for making this special experience possible for our scholars!

Grade 6 Highlights

Our 6th graders had a fantastic day focused on community and celebration:

• Community Building: All 6th-grade students participated in team-building activities led by our 8th-grade WEB (Where Everybody Belongs) leaders.

• Offsite Adventures:

  • The Eagles team enjoyed a field trip to Zero Gravity.

  • The Immersion team had fun at PINZ.

• Celebrating Success: Each 6th-grade team held student award assemblies to recognize outstanding achievements.

Grade 7 Highlights

7th grade teams mixed offsite fun with onsite choice activities:

• Offsite Fun:

  • The Jets team spent the morning at Skateville.

  • The Lobos team visited Urban Air.

• Onsite Engagement: Students completed their day back at school with a variety of student choice activities.

Grade 8 Service Learning Project

Our 8th graders put weeks of hard work into their Service Learning Project:

• Pen Pal Connection: Students prepared for weeks by writing to their young pen pals at our feeder elementary sites: Adams, Highland Park Elementary, and Expo.

• Reading Day: On Friday, 8th graders traveled to these sites to read to their elementary pen pals in person, forging a wonderful connection between our schools.

• Relax & Recharge: They concluded their day with well-deserved student choice activities back on campus.

Another menu line will be added on Monday, November 17th in the cafeteria! Please see the new additions to lunches below.

Due to the federal government shutdown, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits will not be issued for November. Find the latest updates about SNAP benefits at dcyf.mn.gov/federal-shutdown. School meals are NOT impacted. Breakfast and lunch will continue to be free for all students at school.

Minnesota has more than 300 food shelves and meal programs to help support families. Click on this link to review a list of free food resources in St. Paul: https://www.spps.org/news-details/~board/news/post/free-food-and-meal-resources

Here are additional food resources that are frequently updated in real time as resources are available.

https://www.ramseycountymn.gov/residents/assistance-support/assistance/food-resources

Dear Flipside Families,

We’re thrilled to see students diving into their classes with excitement and energy! Most students are now settled into their schedules, and we hope they’re enjoying what they’re learning. Their enthusiasm is what makes Flipside such a vibrant program, and we’re grateful to have them with us each day.

📣 Debate Is Underway!
Our Debate team has officially started—and it’s BIG! In fact, we have the largest team in the district and possibly in the entire state. This means Flipside is buzzing with activity, and we couldn’t be more proud of these students. THERE IS NO DEBATE ON MONDAY, NOVEMBER 17. Ms. Hartman will be out, so that class will be canceled. We will resume on Wednesday, Nov. 19. Debate students should continue reporting to the cafeteria after school.

🦃 Flipside During Thanksgiving Week
Please note that Flipside will run November 24, 25, and 26 during Thanksgiving week. We’re excited to keep the learning and fun going right up to the holiday!

📞 Need Help or Have Questions?
If you need assistance or an early pick-up and no one is in the office, feel free to call or text Ms. Nikol at 651-420-0134. This is her work cell, and she’ll have it with her during program hours.

🎨 Interested in Joining Flipside?
We’re thrilled by the incredible interest—nearly 300 students are already registered! While many classes are full, we’re doing our best to accommodate as many students as possible.

📧 Attendance Notices
If you receive an attendance notice from Flipside, please know it does not affect regular school attendance. Flipside is an extracurricular program, and while we love seeing students every day, attendance is not required.

Thank you for your continued support—and for sharing your amazing students with us. We’re looking forward to an exciting season ahead!

Warmly,
The Flipside Team

Dear Highland Families,

At Highland, it is essential that learning expectations for students are clear and achievable. While we shared this information during opening week and FCC meetings, we would like to reshare the changes to the way we evaluate students’ academic progress this school year, as we close out the quarter. Our school is implementing a research-based grading strategy called Standards-Based Learning and Grading. Highland was selected as a pilot site this school year, in preparation for district-wide implementation for all 6-8 schools starting in the fall of 26-27.

This means we are moving towards consistent grading practices across SPPS middle schools, making it easier for students and families to understand student learning and progress. As an MYP school, this isn’t a huge move for us. However, there are a few changes to consider.

Standards-Based Learning and Grading uses a grading scale of 0-4. As MYP, students are graded on an 8-point scale. We’ve created an adjustment that ensures both metrics are honored. The number corresponds with a description of how well a student understands specific content, ranging from “0 - Insufficient Evidence of Proficiency” to “4 - Extending Proficiency”. Please review the Middle School Standards-Based Grading scale we will be using below.

Things to look for:

• All classes at Highland will use the same rubric template to communicate what students have learned.

• Teachers will use improved criteria to clearly identify the skills and knowledge students are expected to learn in each content area.

• Students will have a better understanding of what content they know and areas where they need additional support.

• Students will have multiple opportunities to improve and demonstrate their learning by retaking assessments. Our goal is to help students recognize their growth.

• Students' grades will be based on 20% formative (homework, classroom practice, etc) and 80% summative (final projects, examination, etc). * See the PowerPoint linked below for more details.

During our FCC Meeting on October 27, Andrew Bacskai, the MYP coordinator, went over this with families. Please see this PowerPoint from the last FCC meeting for more details, or set up a meeting with our MYP coordinator, Mr. Bacskai, at Andrew.Bacskai@spps.org or email individual teachers if you have questions about specific rubrics.

Thank you for your continued support and dedication to your students’ learning throughout this school year.

Sincerely,

Hibaq Mohamed, Principal

Registration is now open for the 2027 Washington, D.C. trip!
Seventh-grade families can now sign up their students for this unforgettable educational experience—exploring our nation’s history, visiting iconic landmarks, and creating memories that last a lifetime. Don’t miss out! Learn more and register today at highlandms.spps.org/activities/washington-dc-field-trip.

Click here to view the counselor October newsletter! There is lots of helpful information including the topic of the month, Executive Functioning Skills, ways to practice at home, community resources, and much more!

Breakthrough Twin Cities (BTC) is a six-year, tuition-free academic enrichment and college preparatory program that helps students prepare for college success. Breakthrough supports 6th graders on their journey to college with an awesome summer program, school year advisor support and college counseling.

To apply, please visit the online application here. Early Action Applications are due January 2, 2026. Regular decision deadline is March 20th, 2026.

Have more questions- please contact BTC Program Manager, Simon Lee, at slee@breakthroughtwincities.org.

To have your student attend, please reach out to please contact Elisabeth Mulvaney, HPMS 6th grade counselor at 651-744-3399 or email at elisabeth.mulvaney@spps.org.

Each of the 6 teams at HPMS have a monthly newsletter for families. Teachers share what students are learning in their classes for the month, and other important information. You can view your child's team monthly newsletter by clicking on the team below:

6th grade:

Eagles

6th Grade Immersion

7th grade:

Jets

Lobos

8th grade:

Sharks

Tecolotes

An important note from the 8th grade teams

The Sharks and Tecolotes teams are excited to share that our students will be starting a service learning project this month. Our HPMS 8th graders will be paired with an Elementary classroom from SPPS and will begin writing letters back and forth as Pen Pals.

On our first team day, Nov. 14th, our students will travel to their partner elementary classroom to read a picture book with them and to lead a conversation about what the book makes them think about. With that in mind, we are asking for donations of gently used picture books.

Please send any donations of picture books by Nov. 6th. Donations can be brought to the main office where there will be a drop box. Thank you for your support!

The 8th grade teams, Sharks and Tecolotes

We believe that a strong partnership between home and school is essential for student success. Join us for our monthly Family Community Connection meetings!

10/27/25 6:00pm - Slides presentation from 10/27/25 FCC meeting

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

Know your child's Grade Level Norms & Practices and review them together!

Last 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.

6th grade Slides

7th Grade slides

8th Grade slides

Healthy eating is so important for children. At HPMS, we work hard to ensure students receive a healthy breakfast and lunch each day to support their developing brains and bodies. Research shows that children who eat regular, nutritious meals are more likely to attend school and be engaged in learning.

We are excited to partner with Every Meal again to offer a free weekend meal program to all our students.

Every Meal is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a mission to fight child hunger through community and school partnerships. They strive to make a difference in children’s lives by focusing on food gaps like weekends, school breaks, and summer when they can’t receive food in school.

• Free for all families
• No qualifications required
• Students enrolled in the program will receive a 4-5 pound bag of nutritious, nonperishable food each week
• Every Meal does not collect information from families; privacy is protected
• Families may choose to participate in the program anytime throughout the school year
• Families may choose from a variety of different weekend foodbag options

If you wish to participate, please fill out our enrollment form which can be found here. Or feel free to reach out to Katie Monroe, one of our social workers, at kathryn.monroe@spps.org or 651.744.4616.

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