Upper School Announcements

UPPER SCHOOL ANNOUNCEMENTS

NEW

END OF YEAR EVENTS

This letter is to inform you of some upcoming dates & times for our Spring events that are quickly approaching. Due to COVID-19 regulations, all these events will have capacity limits for in-person attendance, but we will have an online viewing option available for most events. Because of COVID-19 contact tracing, all guests must be registered ahead of time (Name, phone number, email address). Please save these dates on your calendar so that you do not miss any of the activities planned for the Upper School/Senior Class. Senior Dinner: Thursday, May 27 @ 6 pm, Eighth Grade Ceremony: Wednesday, June 2 @ 8:15 am, Acorns to Oaks Ceremony: Thursday, June 3 @ 3:00 pm and Graduation: Saturday, June 5 @ 6:00 pm. (Event details in the linked letter)

IMPORTANT

TUITION/SCHOLARSHIP CONFERENCES

Tuition/Scholarship Conferences will be May 17 – 19 from 4 – 8pm in the cafeteria. To prepare, please complete the following 3 tasks:

Complete a tuition/scholarship conference form. You will need your 2020 taxes or your W2s, any unemployment income statements and your Parent/Guardian number. (This was emailed to you from communications@hopeschool.org.Subject: [Important-Reponse Required] Hope Academy Tuition Conference
Information).
Schedule your 15 minute time slot using Pick-a-Time.
Complete our parent survey!

Deadline to complete all three steps is Monday, May 10th at 11:59 pm. Thanks! Let us know if you have any questions!

IMPORTANT

NO SCHOOL MONDAY MAY 10

There will be NO SCHOOL Monday, May 10th due to a Staff Development Day. Enjoy the time off!

UPDATED

WEEKLY COVID-19 UPDATE

Current student cases: 6
Current staff cases: 0
Current cohorts moved to Distance Learning: 1

Click here to reference our COVID-19 Case Grid. Please be praying for all those affected by COVID. Thank you for your continued partnership, and may God help us to trust him as our refuge and strength. Send questions to covidcoordinator@hopeschool.org.

Please note that the Minnesota Department of Health does not count students or staff who were not in the building when infectious.

SUMMER SESSION PLANS

Summer Session 2021 is June 14- July 9. Mon-Thurs 8:30-12:30 = June 14-July 1 & Tues-Fri 8:30-12:30 = July 6-9. We are planning that all Lower School Classrooms will have 100% in-person Summer Session. Upper School will have mostly in-person Summer Session with limited distance learning options. More details to come. Reminder that Summer Session will continue to be required for K-8th grades.

JUNIOR/SENIOR FORMAL

The Junior/Senior Formal is on Saturday, May 8th.

ACTSIX SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT

Congratulations Evelyn Marquez (Grade 12) on being awarded a full-ride/full-need ActSix scholarship to North Central University! We are so proud of you!

MAY & JUNE LUNCH MENU

Click here to download the May & June 2021 lunch menu!

REMAINING FRIDAY COHORT DAYS

Here is the schedule for the remaining Fridays this year:

Friday, May 14^th = Cohort A
Friday, May 21^st = Cohort B
Friday, May 28^th = Cohort A
Friday, June 4^th = Cohorts A & B

2021-22 CALENDAR

The 2021-22 school year calendar is ready! You can access it here for both the English & Spanish version.

CREATIVE EXPRESSIONS

This year’s Creative Expressions dates have changed. Lower School’s program will be released virtually on Friday, May 14th. Upper School will roll out their virtual programs on May 20th (Choir & Art), May 27th (CE Night) and June 3rd (Music & Musical Theater).

P-EBT BENEFITS

P-EBT benefits for September and October 2020 have begun to be distributed to eligible families. The P-EBT Hotline is available for families Monday through Friday 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. to answer questions about P-EBT benefits. You may call 651-431-4608 or 1-833-454-0153 or submit questions through the P-EBT Help Form. Please contact Janette Takata at 612-540-2010 or janettetakata@hopeschool.org with questions about eligibility for free or reduced-price meals.

COVID RELIEF

If you have experienced loss of income related to COVID and would like to apply for assistance with rent, groceries, or utilities, please reach out to Jamie Leeper at jamieleeper@hopeschool.org.

FREE WEEKLY FOOD DISTRIBUTION

As of April 12, MPS has reduced their free meal pickup sites to 6, and has changed the times. Click here for more info.

A+ DRIVING SCHOOL

Thanks to our partnership with A+ Driving School, students can participate in virtual drivers ed classes! A+ Driving School gives Hope Academy students a discount, and an even greater discount if your family receives free or reduced lunches. The cost includes both the class and behind-the-wheel training. Students must be 14 years old or older to take the classes.
For more information and to register, click here: https://aplusdrivingschool.net/register-for-class/hope-academy/

CREATE YOUR POWERSCHOOL PARENT ACCOUNT

5 steps to create your Parent PowerSchool account: (1) Go to http://hopeschool.powerschool.com.(2) Click “Create Account” & enter your parent info. (3) Find your students access code & password. This was emailed to you twice from communications@hopeschool.org. (4) Link your students to your account. *For the relationship field – this is your relationship to your student (i.e. Mother, Father, etc.). (5) You’ve created your account! Verify your email and you are all set up! Now you can check your student’s attendance and grades online. Bonus: Download the PowerSchool app! (District Code: GGXD)

SIGN UP FOR SECURLY TODAY!

Ever wondered how to control what your child sees on the internet?

Well good news! Hope Academy has partnered with a software company called Securly to help do just that.

As a parent, you can manage your child’s Securly settings and see what they are working on in real time! You can begin your journey via the Securly website: https://securly.com/parent-login or you can setup in the Securly App!
Read More…

New Upper School & Lower School Email Addresses

To report any absences, tardies, and/or transportation changes, please contact the new email addresses listed below:
Grades K-5: LowerSchool@hopeschool.org
Grades 6-12: UpperSchool@hopeschool.org
ABSENCES & TARDIES: Please call 612-540-2000 or email by 10:00 a.m. to report your child’s absence and provide the reason for your child’s absence. Additionally, for Upper School 50/50 Hybrid students, our Upper School Office must be notified if your child is ill and needs to stay home from in-person classes so that we can notify your student’s teachers. It is not an option to stay home on in-person days for reasons other than illness.

TRANSPORTATION CHANGES: Please call 612-540-2000 or email by 3:00 p.m. to report all changes in transportation for your students.

COVID-19 INFORMATION

When do I need to contact Hope Academy about COVID symptoms or exposure?
Reach out to our COVID Coordinator ASAP if in the past 14 days you have (1) had close contact with someone testing positive to COVID-19, (2) tested positive yourself for COVID-19 or (3) someone in your household is exhibiting COVID-related symptoms. (See below for list of common symptoms).

How do I contact the COVID Coordinator?
Our COVID Coordinator, Nathanael Smith, can be contacted by phone (612.540.2820) or email (covidcoordinator@hopeschool.org).

TECHNOLOGY HELP

Want to submit a tech ticket? Have questions about Microsoft TEAMS or want to ensure your internet runs smoothly? Check out our Technology FAQ’s page! https://hopeschool.org/technology-faq/

Please remember that using the borrowed device is a privilege and not a right. You and your student are responsible for the borrowed device until you return it at the end of the year. Click here to read the Borrowed Device handbook.

ACADEMIC SUPPORT CENTER (ASC)

The Upper School Academic Support Center will be open before school Monday through Friday from 8:45-9:45 a.m. (or 7:45 a.m. by special arrangement). The after school Academic Support Center will also be open Monday through Thursday from 4:30-5:30 p.m. We will be taking extra precautions to make sure that students are following COVID-19 safety protocols and physical distancing expectations.

AMAZON SMILE

Set up your Amazon account so that any purchases via Amazon Smile automatically donates 0.5% of all eligible purchases to Hope Academy. Go to http://smile.amazon.com/ and search for “Hope Academy”. Return to smile.amazon.com for all your future Amazon purchases.