Hopkins June Update 2019

Page 1

dates

i n

t he

com m u ni t y

2019 Kindergarten Playground Nights

Update Hopkins Public Schools

The community’s guide to the District.

Legatt Accepts BestPrep’s Carpenter Teacher of the Year Award

Jen Legatt, North Junior High School's library media specialist, was honored with the Carpenter Teacher of the Year Award at the BestPrep annual luncheon on May 23. The award goes to a teacher who embodies dedication and commitment to children. Legatt uses her role as library media specialist to connect with both students and teachers in a way that supports learning at the junior high. She works tirelessly to keep the media center an inviting and active learning space.

American Indian Education Program Celebrates Native Students

The second annual Hopkins American Indian Student Celebration on May 22 showcased student artwork and honored Native students for their accomplishments this year. With 120 students in the program, Hopkins social studies teacher Allegra Smisek said the event’s goal was to be completely studentfocused. Graduating seniors were specially honored with a Star Quilt and ceremonial song performed by the Red Lake Singers.

Summer 2019

Get excited for fall 2019 kindergarten! Explore the playground and meet staff before the start of school. For dates and times, check your school's online calendar, visit HopkinsSchools.org/kinder, or call 952-988-4110

Vehicle Fair

Join us for the Hopkins Early Childhood free Open House & Vehicle Fair! Explore a police car, fire truck, front-end loader, and more! Also enjoy face painting and fun activities. Fri., Sept. 6, 5:30-7 p.m. Harley Hopkins Family Center 125 Monroe Ave. S., Hopkins

Rock-n-Royal Block Party with HEF Celebrate the beginning of the school year with food, music, and friends! Sat., Sept. 7, 6:30-11:30 p.m. Hopkins Center for the Arts 1111 Mainstreet, Hopkins Tickets: call 952-988-4097 or visit HopkinsEducationFoundation.org

Class of 2019 Reflections Three students look back on their K-12 experience and ahead to what comes next. On June 6, a total of 563 brilliant scholars graduated from Hopkins High School. As part of our mission to go from Great to World Class, Hopkins aspires to deliver students to the world who are confident in their voice, critical and holistic thinkers, well-traveled and globalminded, and cultivators of empathy. In the final story of the year, we profile three seniors ­— Deb Chepkemoi, Isaac Gotlieb, and Leah Stillman — who have these attributes and are prepared to walk into a future that is complex, unknown, and exciting. Congratulations to them and the entire class of 2019 — the future is yours! Deb Chepkemoi: Born to lead If there is such a thing as an ordinary student, Deb Chepkemoi is certainly not it — and she does not want to be. She seeks experiences that are both unconventional and out of her comfort zone. Born in Kenya, she immigrated to the United States in 2008. This experience has both shaped her and provided her with a deep maturity. She is a leader, a change-maker, and an activist. And for Chepkemoi, this is only the beginning. Chepkemoi has an innate curiosity about her peers. This skill has helped her facilitate complicated conversations. As part of her work with HHS Responds, a student group that brings people of different backgrounds together to gain new perspectives, she led a fishbowl conversation about immigration, creating a space for students on all sides of the issue to be heard and to learn from one another. Many people would struggle with this task, but Chepkemoi thrives in this space. She is always challenging her view, and trying to understand others.

Deb Chepkemoi enjoyed the numerous leadership opportunities Hopkins High School provided her.

a day off from high school to examine who they were as individuals. Being allowed that time and space to be vulnerable led to students having a deeper understanding of each other. “When you see someone open up and be vulnerable, you are able to build relationships, which is the foundation for a strong school,” she said. Chepkemoi has an entrepreneurial spirit. After graduation, she plans to join a startup technology firm and give herself five years to learn as much as possible about networking, leadership, and team building. She is not quite sure what her future looks like, but she knows she is destined to do something bigger than herself. She also plans to take online courses at a community college because her mother convinced her that a backup plan is important.

The teachers have made my school experience strong. I consider many teachers here my mentors and friends.

“I feel so constrained when I am not doing what I want to do,” she said. “I love leadership. There is always a need for a conversation, and I push myself to see all sides of an issue.” Hopkins was a place that allowed Chepkemoi to find her voice. It supported her need to explore new areas, test herself, and carve out an individual plan. She describes the teachers as caring and passionate. Their enthusiasm for teaching made it easy for her to stay engaged and feel a sense of belonging. “When a teacher likes what they do, you can tell,” she said. “It draws you in immediately.” It was important to Chepkemoi that her high school valued not just academics, but also her as a person. An experience that continues to stand out to her is the Unity Day she attended in her junior year. The entire class took

“I like coding and technology, in general,” she said. "Artificial intelligence is a huge part of our future, and that is what I want to be working on. I want to use my skills to do something good for the community.”

Isaac Gotlieb: High achieving, service minded Isaac Gotlieb sets the bar high for himself. He does well academically and enjoys challenging himself, but he knows grades are not the only measure of success. Being of service to others is at his core, and he values maintaining strong and meaningful connections with those who are important to him. These values, which he learned through his parents, were reinforced in his school experience at Hopkins. He is grounded, humble, smart, and ready to embark on his next adventure. Gotlieb’s roots are strongly tied to Hopkins. He is the youngest of four siblings, all of whom attended the same sequence of schools — Tanglen Elementary, North Junior High, and Hopkins High School. He appreciated the ability to interact with a wide variety of people with different interests. This helped shape him. Hopkins was home base, and a good testing ground for trying new things. Gotlieb played tennis and competed with the swim team in junior high, but changed his focus to music in high school, performing in both band and orchestra. He even earned college credit for music through PSEO (Post Secondary Enrollment Opportunities). see The Class of 2019 Reflections inside


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.