Supporting Children and Donating for Overdue Lunch Fees

This winter, one small, easy thing you can do for kids in our community is help pay off an overdue lunch account. 

For many of our families this past years have been financially difficult.  Few employment opportunities, low wages, high expenses and other money emergencies have left many families with school age children with limited cash.  The school will continue to see that all children have a breakfast and lunch.  Thus, many families have large lunch obligations that are unpaid.

 

There are about 4,000 overdue accounts in our district, with a total balance of $160,000. However, gifts as small as $25 can pay off an account for a student and mean a great deal to a family having a tough time making ends meet. 

 

If you'd like to make a tax-deductible donation through Achieve Minneapolis, the district's nonprofit partner, follow these simple steps:

1.    Go to https://www.achievempls.org/support-mps-fund
2. Select a gift of any amount
3. Under Designation, where it says, "Specify MPS school, fund or program," select "Other" -- designate "Southwest High School"
4. In the box below, type "Nutrition Services - School Lunch"
5. Complete the form and click "Donate"!

5 Ideas for Handling the Holiday Blues

By Diana Simeon
For many people, the holidays can be anything but wonderful. So, we asked Dr. Molly McVoy, program director of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Cleveland’s UH Case Medical Center, for ideas to help the holiday blues.

5 Tips for the Holiday Blues

1. Manage expectations.

“There are so many expectations around the holidays and it’s hard to meet all of them, which can be disappointing,” says McVoy, noting that a key preventive for the holiday blues is to set realistic expectations in advance. “Look at what’s happened in years past, and match your expectations to your prior reality,” recommends McVoy. So if your mother-in-law tends to complain about everything, then she’s going to complain about everything this year too.

2. Note to self: there is no perfect.“Anyone who is not in the ‘ideal’ family may feel more down around the holidays,” says McVoy. “It’s more obvious around this time of year because the ideal is splashed everywhere.” This can be particularly true for families dealing with divorce, illness, or other difficulties. Remember that the perfect nuclear family enjoying each and every moment of the holiday season is more marketing myth than actual reality (despite what you see on social media).

3. Stick to a schedule (as much as possible).

Staying up too late. Eating too much rich food. Not getting to the gym. The toll the holidays take on our physical well-being can lead to crankiness. McVoy recommends families stick with their regular routines as much as possible.

4. Take your vitamin D.

The lack of sunlight during the winter can cause some people to feel down. Add in the stress of the holidays, and it just makes matters worse. “If you have a hard time in the winter in general, it can be helpful to take vitamin D supplements or do light box therapy,” suggests McVoy. If you or your teenager often feel down during the winter months, then you may want to talk to your doctor about Seasonal Affective Disorder.

5. Give yourself a break.

“We have a lot of ‘shoulds’ for our holidays,” notes McVoy. “‘It should go this way. It should go that way.’ The more of those you have in your head, the more stressful it will be because it probably won’t go that way.” So this year, why not change up some of your shoulds? The world will keep turning and you may just enjoy yourself.

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Diana Simeon is managing editor of Your Teen Magazine.

Southwest Student Emma Weaver Spurgat Achieves Top ACT Score

Southwest Student Achieves Top ACT Score

Emma Weaver Spurgat and a senior at Southwest High School, earned the highest possible ACT composite score of 36. On average, less than one-tenth of 1 percent of students who take the ACT earn a top score. In the U.S. high school graduating class of 2016, only 2,235 out of nearly 2.1 million graduates who took the ACT earned a composite score of 36.

The ACT consists of tests in English, mathematics, reading and science, each scored on a scale of 1–36. A student's composite score is the average of the four test scores. Some students also take the optional ACT writing test, but the score for that test is reported separately and is not included within the ACT composite score.

In a letter to the student recognizing this exceptional achievement, ACT Chief Executive Officer Marten Roorda stated, “Your achievement on the ACT is significant and rare. While test scores are just one of multiple criteria that most colleges consider when making admission decisions, your exceptional ACT composite score should prove helpful as you pursue your education and career goals.”

ACT test scores are accepted by all major U.S. colleges. Exceptional scores of 36 provide colleges with evidence of student readiness for the academic rigors that lie ahead.

Dec. 12 Council Member Linea Palmisano - A Local Conversation about Islamophobia

MPS Safety and School Climate Focus Groups

MPS improve safety and school climate and share your opinion at a focus group!
Safe in Our Schools is an engagement initiative of Minneapolis Public Schools’ Office of Operational & Security Services (OSS) to improve safety and our schools’ climates. Together we work to foster a community that supports students, parents and community members, staff and educators. With your help  we will create a more welcoming school environment for all.  Please RSVP using the following links:

·         American Indian Focus Group http://bit.ly/2gmMDLE

o   Wednesday, Dec. 7, 5:30-8 p.m. at Anishinabe

·         Hmong Focus Group http://bit.ly/2gmPS5X

o   Hnub Wednesday, 11 Hlis. 30, 6-8:30 p.m. Hmong International Academy

·         Somali Focus Group http://bit.ly/2fliDuH

o   Arbacada, Bisha Dec. 7, 5:30-8 Fiidnimo Anishinabe Academy

·         LGBTQ Focus Group http://bit.ly/2g108j0

o   Monday, Dec. 5, 6-7:30 p.m. Davis Center – Rm: S1-433 

·         Parent/community meeting (at-large) Focus Group http://bit.ly/2g05OY9

o   Monday, Dec. 5, 6:00-7:30 p.m at Davis Center – Rm: S1-435 & Assembly room 

Avenues as Partner with Southwest BLAST Day Introcution

Monday, December 5 is a regular school day with some period adjustments.  Every year, the entire school and community works together to support a worthy youth organization.  This year Student Council selected Avenues fo Homeless Youth.

Below is the day's schedule and times.  If you have questions please contact Sean Kier, Advisor

On Monday December 5th there will be an adjustment the daily schedule in order to host an Auditorium to introduce BLAST DAY (BLAST DAY 2016 is DECEMBER 16th) to the entire student body. This year we are partnering with the local organization Avenues for Homeless Youth, a group that works closely with homeless teens in Minneapolis and surrounding areas. Student Council has been working hard on this project and with your help it will be a success, the cause is one I think that we can all get behind as it effects us and our students directly. 

In an effort to not imbalance peoples class schedules/ensure that every hour still gets time for actual class we are adjusting the day as follows: 

1st hour – 8:05 – 8:40 

2nd Hour – ROTATION (school would be divided into groups and complete one of three activities throughout this class hour) 

                - AUDITORIUM – 8:45 – 9:25 

or

                - “Behavior Presentation – 9:30 – 10:10 

or

                - Regular Class – 10:15 – 10:55 

3rd hour – 11:00 – 11:35 

4th hour – 11:40 – 12:15

5th hour – 12:15 – 1:45 

                Lunch A 12:15 – 12:40 

                Lunch B 12:45 – 1:10 

                Lunch C 1:15 – 1:40 

6th hour – 1:45 – 2:20 

7th hour – 2:25 – 3:00 

Southwest Area Author and MN Center for Book Art Winter Book by Heid E. Erdrich