Alice Smith Families,

Last night our halls were filled with the joy and laughter of our incoming Kinders (Class of 2037) and their guardians as they visited their future classrooms, checked out our Media Center, met Chocolate Chip, signed up for our PTO, received their first Hopkins T-shirt, and much more! Thank you Hopkins Community for trusting in us and choosing Alice Smith as your home away from home. We are honored to partner with you and help our next generation be the leaders of our future!

AS Guardians, please remember that next week is a VERY short week with school on Monday & Wednesday ONLY!

And the winner is....

Check out the Black History Month Classroom Door Decoration Contest BELOW!

Sign up for Spring 2024 Parent/Teacher Conferences (LAST CHANCE To sign up!!)

Elementary Fall conferences will last up to 30 minutes and will be held in person or virtually on Thursday, March 7 from 12 p.m.- 8 p.m. and Wednesday, March 8 from 8 a.m.- 4 p.m.

Please select the time slot that works best for your family.

Please contact Renee Shakerin at Renee.Shakerin@HopkinsSchools.org or call our office at 952-988-4200 if you have any questions about how to sign up for a conference. Please contact your student's teacher if you have any questions about a specific conference time.

Please click on the following links to sign up for a conference with your scholar’s teacher(s):

PreK - 1st grade

2nd & 3rd grades

4th & 5th grades

The Sign Up Genius will be closed for online sign ups at the end of the day Monday, March 4 @ 4pm. After this point, please contact your student's teacher individually to sign up for a conference.

Alice Smith Book Store!!

This spring, in lieu of hosting a large vendor like Literati or Scholastic for our Book Fair, our AMAZING Media Center Team is creating the New AS Book Store!

• The AS Book Store will allow ALL scholars to get a new or gently used book to love and read at a very very low cost!
• All profits of the Book Store will go directly back to the Media Center to buy more books for our school
• We NEED your help! We are welcoming donations of gently used books! (See Flyer Below!!)

Mr. Eduardo Navidad

Direct Line: 952-988-4201

Email: eduardo.navidad@hopkinsschools.org

Alice Smith Elementary Principal

Follow Alice Smith on Social Media

Twitter: @AliceSmith270 and @NavidadASE

Facebook: @AliceSmithElementarySchool

Alice Smith Weather Station

2/29/24 - Kindergarten Roundup @ AS - 6p-7:30p

3/5/24 - Professional Development - No School

3/7/24 - Conferences - No School

3/8/24 - Conferences - No School

3/12/24 - PTO Meeting @ AS - 6p - 8p

3/21/24 - Imagination Fair @ AS - 5p-7p

4/1/24-4/5/24- Spring Break - No School

4/10/24 - Eid al-Fitr holiday - No School

4/12/24 - Heritage Fest @ AS - 5:30p-8p

Every Wednesday ICA/AS Food Market From 3:30pm-6:30pm (Click Here For Appt)

We start off every Friday with a PAW ticket drawing. Scholars earn PAW tickets throughout the week for being Respectful, Responsible, & Ready to Learn. On Friday, Mr. Navidad draws 12 tickets randomly during morning announcements and if your name is on that ticket, you are rewarded with a prize. Congratulations to this week's drawing winners!

Alice Smith yearbooks are now on sale! The yearbook is a great way for students to remember all of the friends, staff and fun they will have this year. Yearbooks cost $22 and will be sold from now until April but don't waste any time in ordering! Yearbook order forms should be coming home with your scholar but in case it doesn't find its way, here are your purchase options:

1) Go to ybpay.com and enter Yearbook ID: 14430324

2) Use this QR code and enter Yearbook ID: 14430324

March PTO Meeting: The next PTO meeting will be March 12, 6-8, in the media center. Join us to hear about the fun events coming up this spring!

Snowball Dance: The Snowball Dance was a success! Thank you to all the families that donated, volunteered and participated! Check out the photo booth photos here: Snowball Dance Photos

We need your feedback! Please respond to this community survey pertaining to recent changes in our district (e.g., school start times, 6/9th grade transition, etc.). The purpose of this survey is for us to check in with families, staff, and students around these transitions and to understand any positive or negative impacts. Your responses are anonymous. The survey will take 5-10 minutes to complete. We will use the results to determine how to support staff, students, and families moving forward. Take the survey here.

Minnesotans can now claim the Child Tax Credit, with no limit on the number of children claimed. You must file a 2023 individual income tax return in order to claim the credit. Most taxpayers who are eligible to claim the new Child Tax Credit are also eligible for free tax preparation assistance. Learn more about income requirements and qualifications on the Child Tax Credit webpage.
The tax credit of up to $1750 per child is estimated to cut child poverty by up to one-third in Minnesota. Nearly 300,000 households including 513,000 children are estimated to qualify for the credit.

The Minnesota Department of Revenue offers two valuable tax benefits for parents who purchase school supplies for their K-12 students: the K-12 Education Credit and Subtraction. These benefits can reduce parents’ taxes to increase their refund but are only available for those who keep their receipts. Purchases for most school supplies, field trips, and musical instruments for school band are eligible.
Most Minnesota parents qualify for the K-12 subtraction, which reduces their taxable income. Parents under certain income limits may also qualify for the K-12 credit, which can refund up to 75% of their costs – even for parents who do not owe any taxes. Visit Revenue's website for details.

Last chance to bid in the Hopkins Education Foundation's silent auction! Register, for free, to be a Virtual Silent Auction Bidder if you're not attending the event. The Royal Bash gala fundraiser is tomorrow, Saturday, March 2, and the silent auction will close at 7:45 p.m. on Saturday during the event. There are more than 125 items, including a football signed by Kirk Cousins, an Oculus Meta Quest 2, hotel stays, tickets to sports and cultural events, gift cards, and more! The Royal Bash and its auction support grants that bring unique experiences to Hopkins classrooms and the 2024 special project, Fueling Future Minds: Computer Science, Coding, and AI. Please consider making a donation to support this project!

In our rapidly evolving digital age, where data-driven decision-making shapes various aspects of our daily lives, instilling foundational data collection and analysis skills in our scholars is more crucial than ever. These skills not only prepare our young learners for the future but also empower them to navigate and contribute meaningfully to the data-driven world we inhabit.
Fostering data literacy from an early age lays the groundwork for critical thinking and problem-solving abilities. As our society becomes increasingly reliant on data, the ability to collect, interpret, and draw meaningful conclusions becomes a fundamental skill. By exposing elementary scholars to age-appropriate data concepts, they develop a strong analytical mindset that will serve them well in future academic pursuits, careers, and life.
Caregivers can support by encouraging opportunities to collect data in everyday situations. Here are some ideas:

• Track the number of pages or chapters read each day and create a reading log. Look for trends in the data. Calculate weekly totals or daily averages. Ask questions like, "Do I read more on a certain day of the week? Why might that be?" Create a bar graph representing the genres or themes of books read over time and analyze the results.

• Count and categorize different types of toys or games, creating a simple bar graph or pie chart. Track the frequency of playing with specific toys or games over a week or month.

• Gather preferences for movie night or dinner choices using a survey. Share the results with the group and use the data to help in making your decision.

• Record the duration of daylight each day, from sunrise to sunset. Note how the length of daylight increases or decreases depending on the time of the year. At the end of each week, calculate the average hours of daylight.

• Family members can record a daily log of their screen time, noting durations spent on educational apps, entertainment, and social interaction. Categorize these activities—educational, entertainment, or socializing—and create a pie chart for a visual representation of the distribution. Discuss your trends, identify patterns, and set goals for achieving balanced screen time as a family.

Together, we will empower our young scholars to become confident, analytical thinkers equipped to thrive in our data-rich world.

Please take a look in our Electronic Backpack to find a variety of offerings & information for our scholars:

Hopkins Softball

Hopkins Little League

Try Hockey For Free!

Hopkins Youth Box Lacrosse

School Supply List 23-24

Cub Scouts Flyer

Winter Indoor Soccer Flyer

School Day: 7:50am - 2:20pm

Arrival Basics

School doors open: 7:30am.

Breakfast Available: 7:30am - 7:50am

No students are allowed to go to their classroom until the first bell rings at 7:43am. Class begins promptly at 7:50am. Late arrivals will check-in at the front office for tardy pass.

Dismissal Basics

Class ends at 2:20pm. If there is a change your students' end of day arrangements, please notify the school 2 hours in advance by calling the office at 952-988-4200 to ensure safety and avoid any miscommunication.

To Report your students absence:

• Attendance Line: 952-988-4210
• Online Attendance Form

Website: https://hopkinsschools.org/schools/elementary-schools/alice-smith-elementary
Location: 801 Minnetonka Mills Road, Hopkins, MN 55343, USA
Phone: (952) 988-4200
Facebook: facebook.com/AliceSmithElementarySchool
Twitter: @AliceSmith270