Como Park Senior High Newsletter

Prefer a language other than English? You can open the newsletter link and click the button on the top to have it translated into many different languages. Please know that the translation function may be inaccurate or incomplete. If you have any questions, please call us at 651-293-8800.

For Karen, Somali, Hmong, and Spanish, click here.

December

20- Winter Caroling at MOA 3:00-5:30

23 thru Jan 3- No School (Winter Break)

January

6- Students return to school

8- HOSA mid-winter conference at Anoka Technical College 7:30-2:30

8- Job Shadow Field Trip 8:50-1:30

9-12- Youth in Government Conference Field Trip

14- Winter Open House for Prospective Families 5:30-6:30

14- Booster Club Meeting 6:30-8:00

17- MCTC Intro to Urban Ed Classroom Observation at Highwood Hills Elementary 9:00-2:30

20- No School (MLK)

24- End of Quarter 2

Please check out our upcoming athletic events: https://sppscomoparkhighschool.rschoolteams.com/

Please make sure that if you are attending an athletic event at Como that you park in one of the designated parking lots in front of the school. We have had quite a few cars lining up alongside the entrance of the building, which restricts access to emergency responders.

Please do not park in spaces that are marked "Reserved". These are designated for admin who are working athletic events or other evening events at Como.

Please do not park in the space marked "Police Vehicle Only".

Thank you for your cooperation and for your continued support of our student athletes.

Attention Como families! We need your help!

Ms. Peterson's Health class is looking for personal hygiene products. If you are able to donate, please drop off items such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss, lotion, deodorant, etc. Thank you.

Shoe Drive Fundraiser starts January 6th! We need your shoes, Como families!

Attention Como Families and Community!

Youth wrestling has started for ages 5-12 at Como Park. Bring your child on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6-7 PM and have them get to know the sport of wrestling, learn some skills, and have fun. This is a free event that will continue tentatively through March 1st. Please enter through the athletic doors.

Don't forget to check out our new girls wrestling team led by Head Coach Roy Magnuson and Asst. Coach Thay Ler See. Boys wrestling is led by Co-Head Coaches: Anthony Minus and Peter Yang and Asst. Coach Mark Simmons. Check out this link for the wrestling season schedule.

The CPHS music department is doing a fundraiser with Snap!Raise! Friends/Family are encouraged to donate should they like to support the program. Funds will be put towards buying/repairing instruments, purchasing new music, transportation costs for performance opportunities, and bringing in guest artists and clinicians.

The deadline to donate is December 23rd.

Also available in Español

January 14, 2025

5:30-6:30

Please help spread the word about our Winter Open House for prospective families. Parents need to apply online by February 14th for the best opportunity to get into the school of their choice.

If you have any questions or need support, please contact your student’s counselor:

9th-12th (Alphabetical by last name):

A-Fr Holly Moser, holly.moser@spps.org, 651-744-4664, (https://calendly.com/holly-moser)

Fu-Ma Kia Thao, kia.thao@spps.org, 651-744-8170 (https://calendly.com/msthao)

Mc-Reh Farah Abuqalbeen, farah.abuqalbeen@spps.org, 651-744-1141 (https://calendly.com/farah1)

Rei-Z Choua Vang, choua2.vang@spps.org, (https://calendly.com/choua2-vang)

The CPC is Open! The Career Pathway Center (CPC) at Como is open Monday-Thursday from 9:00am-4:00pm in room 1304 (across from the Counselor’s Office). Students can email Ms. Aisha (amohamed.ach@spps.org), check out the Career Pathway Center website, drop into the CPC, or sign up for an appointment! for information on student career opportunities, college planning, and scholarships and check out the Como Park page under “Student” and then “Career Pathway Center”.

For the latest updates from the counseling department and the Como Career Pathway Center, click here.

Districtwide Career Pathways Program at the 3M Advanced Training Center

Are you an SPPS student interested in taking college courses that match your interests and career goals? We invite you to review the course offerings and signup during your high school's course registration process. Students enrolled in this program are exploring high demand, high wage careers. They will spend mornings at their home high school and afternoons at the Districtwide Career Pathway Center, located on the campus of Saint Paul College, completing career-related college courses. Students need to meet the college eligibility requirement for the PSEO course(s) of interest.

*Note - Counselor's approval is needed for final enrollment into the program to ensure students can stay on-track to graduate.

Course Descriptions and Schedule: SPPS Districtwide Career Pathways Program

Hello everyone! My name is Sara Worthington and I am a new EL teacher at Como. I currently teach in our Language Academy: level 1 Literacy, level 1 Science, level 1 Geography, and level 1.5 Science.

I am a new teacher in our district but I am not new to teaching. I lived in Madrid, Spain for 12 years and I taught English to preschoolers, elementary and secondary students, and adults there.

When I am not at Como HS, I love walking around Como Lake, cross-country skiing on Como Golf Course, and watching my children participate in their favorite activities like basketball, soccer, and dance.

I am so excited to be working in the same community that I live in. I am a graduate of SPPS schools myself (Central) and I have three children of my own that attend SPPS schools. Como HS is a wonderful community- I’m grateful to be a part of it!

We had our first 3DE onsite culminating event with students in the auditorium for the Case 9.3 - APi Group challenge. The event went really well and the APi Group leadership repeated over and over how impressed they were with the 9th grade students. Our winning group for the Case 9.3 challenge once again comes from one of Mr. Youle's Freshmen Focus classes: Azariah Freeman, Amethyst Gibson, Vivienne Dankert and Anna Peltier (top left). The slides with all the award winners are linked here.

Our Lady Cougars recently competed in the Buffalo Wild Wings Classic in Hector. Our team of eight female wrestlers made history as it was the first time Como has sent a dedicated team of female wrestlers to their own tournament. Nearly 200 female athletes participated, and we are proud to share that every wrestler won at least one match, with two athletes earning medals in their respective weight classes. Additionally, our Lady Cougars are confirmed to compete in more tournaments, with upcoming dates on December 20 in Monticello and December 27 at Champlin Park, along with additional events being planned.

As we approach a much-anticipated break, our wrestling and winter teams continue to work hard, striving for improvement every day. This past week, our boys' wrestling team traveled to Andover's winter tournament, where our Cougars could have faced wrestlers from two of the top five teams in the state: Shakopee and Mounds View among many other talented teams . Hser Poe gave his all but ultimately fell in both of his matches bringing his record to 8-2.

Senior Htoo Htoo, who decided to try wrestling in his final year, has been putting in significant effort both in the classroom and on the mat, resulting in a fantastic achievement—he won his first JV bracket! Jere Miah Saw has also been steadily improving and finding his confidence, and he earned 1st place in his JV weight bracket.

Additionally, Senior Hser Da made her way to the podium for the first time this weekend, proving that hard work can lead to new opportunities. Makiya May also celebrated her success by reaching the podium for the second consecutive tournament!

All of our wrestlers have experienced victories both on the mat and in their studies. We encourage everyone to keep reaching out as we continue to grow as student-athletes.

Being a student-athlete is no easy feat, but each individual is discovering more about themselves and what it means to be part of the Como Community.

Congratulations to the following wrestlers for their outstanding performances:

• Sarah Dar, Sara Williams, Noreah Chatman, Morador Lor, Hser Da, Gay (Joy) Par Pyo, Makiya May, Persephone Yang (Murray), Htoo Htoo, and Jere Miah Saw.

The Como Kindess Club is a new club at Como Senior focusing on promoting acts of kindness throughout our community. The club's first project was to host the Como Gratitude Tree. Students were encouraged to write down a person, place or thing that they are thankful for on the leaves and hearts of our tree. As you can see, Como students are very Thankful!

Students from Ms. Mohamed and Mr. Willis' classes attended a Design Thinking workshop at the University of St. Thomas with faculty and students from the university's Opus College of Business.

Education Pathway Students Volunteered at Junior Achievement Biztown

The Education Pathway students spent a day at Junior Achievement volunteering with 5th graders during their BizTown experience. They helped the 5th graders as they ran their "businesses", earned a paycheck, made decisions with their money, and had a great time!

MCJROTC NEWS

It was a great trip and desert experience visiting Arizona for the Como Park Raiders. Thank you to Kofa High School MCJROTC for hosting all who attended. Great event aboard the Yuma Marine Corps Air Station. Not a Como Park win this time, but certainly not a loss for our nine motivated mixed team cadets who gave it their best and again experienced some really good West Coast Raider Teams . Ooh Rah!

The JROTC cadets will continue to perfect their physical fitness craft as temperatures do change. Wood 🪵 PT down onto Como Lake with the Sophomore class. Flipping tire 🛞 PT down onto Como Lake Fishing Dock with the Freshman class. Great leg and shoulder cardio workout. Ooh Rah!

The annual MCJROTC Devil Dog Drill Competition held here at Como Park High School was a huge success this past weekend. Accolades to all those cadets from various JROTC's across the Midwest that attended despite our typical Minnesota weather. The Como Park cadets remind all of us that winning is great and does feel great, but so does that sportsmanship of brotherhood to all our fellow JROTC brothers and sisters who attended this past weekend. Eight JROTC Schools participated in more than 11 events across the span of the entire day. Cadet Sergeant Nally See was awarded the Best Unit Leader "MANGO" Trophy Award at Devil Dog 2024 for her performance as the Como Park MCJROTC Varsity Unarmed Regulation Commander. Congratulations to all who came out Saturday. Ooh Rah! 🤠

Como Park's MCJROTC tis the season to be Jolly. 🎅 Conducting our Toys 4 Tots #1 at our own Mall of America sorting and packing thousands of toys for those in need. Great job cadets. Happy Holidays. 🎄

Would you like to know what is happening around the Como Park neighborhood? Click the link for the latest news and updates from your District 10 Como Community Council. View as a webpage.

Also in Karen and Spanish.

Joseph’s Coat

1107 West 7th Street, St. Paul, MN 55102
Shopping Hours: Mon/Wed by appointment only 9am – 3pm Call 651-291-2472 to schedule; Must have a valid ID https://www.josephscoatmn.org

St. Thomas More Free Store

St. Thomas More School Basement, 1065 Summit Ave, Saint Paul, MN 55105 Open from 10am – noon on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of each month https://www.morecommunity.org/free-store

FOCUS House Clothes Closet

550 Rice Street, Saint Paul, MN 55103
Open Monday, Wednesday, & Thursdays 10am – 2:00pm Call for appointment: 651-222-0712 https://www.focusmn.org

Kaitlyn’s Kloset

Saints Martha and Mary Episcopal Church, 4180 Lexington Ave S, Eagan, MN 55123 Open Mondays & Wednesdays 10am – 4pm, and Saturdays 11am – 2pm https://kaitlynsklosetmn.com

Hallie Q. Brown Clothing Closet

270 N Kent St, St Paul, MN 55102, Enter on MacKubin Street & come up the stairs Shopping by appointment only; Call for appointment: 651-224-4606 https://www.hallieqbrown.org

Alley Shoppe

Arlington Hills Lutheran Church, 1115 Greenbrier Street St. Paul, MN 55106 Tuesdays, 9:30 am – 1:00 pm, by appointment only
Call for appointment: 651-771-5501 ext. 100
https://ahlc-stp.org

Neighbors Clothes Closet

222 Grand Ave W, South St Paul, MN 55075
Based on need, certificates for free clothing and household items may be available for use in their non-profit thrift store. Call 651-455-5000 to request certificates. Monday through Friday: 9 am to 4 pm
https://www.neighborsclothescloset.org/