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Update Hopkins Public Schools
The community’s guide to the District.
Hopkins Public Schools community to vote on two levies
Hopkins Public Schools is conducting a referendum, Tuesday, November 5, with two ballot questions — an operating referendum levy and a capital projects levy. The Hopkins School Board made the decision to bring these two questions to voters at the August 15 Board Meeting. The dollars would be used to support curriculum and technology, safety at each school, and kitchen renovations. If both items passed, the increased tax impact would be equivalent to about $12 a month for a home valued at $250,000. More information about the 2013 referendum can be found at HopkinsPublicSchools.org.
Hopkins reaches highest level of financial accountability three years in a row
Hopkins Public Schools has received the Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting award from the ASBO (Association of School Business Officials International). The District was recognized for its high-quality Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the fiscal year ending 2012. This is the thirdconsecutive year the District has received the award.
September 2013
Vehicle Fair
Hopkins Education Foundation presents a night of food, fun, and music by Wheelhouse. Attendees must be 21 or older. September 28, 8-11:30 p.m. Hopkins Center for the Arts 1111 Mainstreet, Hopkins hopkinseducationfoundation.org
Join us for this FREE event. See a fire truck, ambulance, snow-plow truck, and more! Plus, fun family activities, face painting, and refreshments. September 6, 5:30-7 p.m. Harley Hopkins Family Center HopkinsCommunityEd.org
Coachable Moments Free parenting workshop! Bring out the best in your teen by integrating coaching skills into your parenting techniques. Help your teen become accountable and successful. 3 sessions. September 24, October 8 & 29 6:30-8 p.m. HopkinsCommunityEd.org
Summer Food Program Fuels Kids During the Summer Months Program ensures children continue to receive nutritious meals when school is not in session. During the school year, many students depend on school to provide them with an important staple — nutrition. Students need to fuel themselves with the right foods to function at capacity, and not just during the academic year. Five years ago, Hopkins Public Schools and Hopkins Community Education sought out funding for the Summer Food Program, to make sure all students had access to nutritious meals during the summer months. Every year since, the program has expanded to be more accessible to families. This year, two food trucks were added into the mix, and two of the three school sites served breakfast. By July 4, the program had served 29,985 meals to children. That’s a lot of fuel!
Children line up outside the 43 Hoops Summer Food Truck location. The meal served was a kid favorite — mac and cheese.
Nutrition and learning Research suggests that nutrition has a strong impact on learning. Having access to healthful meals is considered one of the strategies for closing the achievement gap. Brain growth does not stop during the summer, and losing access to nutrition affects students’ ability to learn when they return to the classroom in the fall.
“Nutritional support during the summer months is so important,” said Barb Mechura, director We can’t worry of school nutrition for Hopkins Public Schools. “Nationwide, only one in seven about students just kids in poverty receives meals during the summer.” during the school
“We can’t worry about students just during the school year,” said Mechura. “We have to make sure they are being fueled 365 days a year if we want to make a difference.”
The Summer Food Program is funded year. We have to This year, Mechura and her staff wanted to mix through a USDA grant that targets make sure they are up the Summer Food Program menu, while still geographic areas with high populations adhering to the same high nutritional standards of students who qualify for Free and being fueled 365 that students enjoy during the school year. This Reduced Lunch. The goal is to make new menu reflects Hopkins’ commitment to sure students continue to have access days a year if we scratch cooking, and includes more recipes that to nutritious meals during the summer. never saw the inside of a box. Orange chicken, want to make a Each meal consists of a healthful entrée, mac and cheese, gyro flatbread, and ovenfruit, vegetable, and milk. The majority difference. roasted chicken, are just a few menu items that of the entrées are made from raw are made from scratch and served up hot during ingredients and prepared from scratch. the summer. All children under the age of 18 are eligible for free meals, and adults can purchase them for a Introducing the Summer Food Program Food Truck reduced price. In an effort to remove even more barriers, this year a
decision was made to incorporate food trucks into the Summer Food Program. Having a food truck meant that families would not need to cross busy streets to eat lunch. The lunch could come to them. The strategy worked. Food trucks were stationed in two locations throughout the District, and both served about 40 kids each day, many were waiting in line before the truck even arrived. “We were able to reach a good number of families and saw ‘regulars’ at each site, but you always wish you could reach out to even more,” said Glen Ritter, assistant director of nutrition for Hopkins Public Schools.
Families dining outside the 43 Hoops Summer Food Truck location.
see Summer Food Program, inside