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Update Hopkins Public Schools
The community’s guide to the District.
Hopkins Public Schools receives two financial awards
Hopkins Public Schools has received the Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting award from ASBO (Association of School Business Officials International) and the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) School Finance Award. Certificate of Excellence awards are awarded to school districts that show a strong commitment to financial accountability and transparency. The School Finance Award is awarded annually to recognize schools for meeting statutory deadlines for submission of audited fiscal financial data and reporting criteria.
Consider a donation to the ResourceWest Back-to-School drive
ResourceWest is hosting a Back-to-School drive to ensure that all students come to school with the supplies they need to learn. Without this program, over 1,300 children in our community would not have the supplies they need on the first day of school. You can donate supplies now through August 29. For more information, please call 952-988-5350 or visit www.resourcewest.org.
September 2015
com m u ni t y This Fall, Try Something New!
Hopkins Education Foundation invites you to its third annual Rock-NRoyal event, an evening of mingling, live music, dancing, food, and fun. 952-988-4097. Saturday, September 12 6:30-11:30 p.m.
Try your hand at art, fitness, dance, wellness, and a variety of other activities through Hopkins Community Education. Explore adult and youth classes, meet new people, refine your skill set, or try something new!
HopkinsEducationFoundation.org
HopkinsCommunityEd.org
Early Childhood Fest
Join us for this FREE fun-filled celebration at the Hopkins Library with family-friendly entertainment and activities! Questions? 952-988-5000. Saturday, October 3 10:00-11:30 a.m. Hopkins Library 22 - 11th Ave. N, Hopkins
Immersed in Nature Summer tradition provides hands-on learning experiences for Hopkins students
The days are long and warm, the water is cool and refreshing, and a campfire is the perfect ending to a day. Summer camp just makes sense in Minnesota. Hopkins Community Education has provided campers with a unique educational opportunity for 30 years called the Summer Field Biology program. Students in grades five through 12 hunker down in nature for five days at the Wolf Ridge Lodge located on the North Shore in the small town of Finland, Minn. They hike, explore, learn, listen, and even write some poetry. The purpose of the trip is to immerse students in hands-on learning related to the environment. The experience is part educational, part community building, and part fun.
During Summer Field Biology, students in grades five through 12 spend five days enjoying nature and hands-on activities, while learning valuable team building-skills at Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center on the North Shore in Finland, Minn.
(or earlier for campers on kitchen duty) and are packed full Building a strong program of activity. Students attend two nature classes a day at the For the past 15 years, Summer Field Biology has been led Wolf Ridge Lodge, hike the Lake Superior Trail, where they by Scott Stillman, who is a gifted and talented teacher learn about edible foods in nature, and explore topics that at Hopkins Public Schools during the school year. The are relevant to Minnesota, like water conservation. There are planning process is intense and requires an estimated 100 a variety of unique activities to promote team building such hours, though Stillman, a life-long outdoor enthusiast, as zip lining, rock climbing, and participating is in his element as curator of the in adventures like the Wolf Ridge Amazing program. Each year, the camp schedule The trip allows Race, which was new this year. is defined by a different theme inspired students to escape “The trip allows students to escape the daily by a Minnesota concept — this year it city life and explore the natural world that they was songbirds. Stillman finds experts the daily city life don’t typically experience,” said Stillman. to present on the theme, and begins and explore the building a core schedule of learning The role of technology that incorporates nature, heritage, and natural world that Camp leaders will be the first to admit that the personal growth. role of technology in Summer Field Biology is
they don’t typically a complicated subject. On one hand, being in “I put a lot of thought into what we nature is about disconnecting and unplugging, are going to do each year to make it experience. and technology can be a distraction. On the as engaging as possible, and to make other hand, digital devices play a central role learning happen without the students in how students explore the world. After considering a knowing it,” said Stillman. “Seeing it all come together is complete ban on all technology, the program now promotes validating.” a more middle-of-the-road approach. The cost to attend the camp is $525 per camper, with a “We want to embrace youth culture with technology,” said limited number of scholarships available. Campers are Stillman. “For some students the ability to listen to music immersed in nature the entire time. Days start at 7:30 a.m. on hikes is important.”
Students are not allowed to use their phones in class, but they are useful on nature hikes. Larry Wade, a retired Hopkins Public Schools naturalist, has been part of Summer Field Biology for the past few years. He is known for leading epic hikes, and turning all of his students into unexpected poets. He encourages his students to use their phones to take photos during hikes, and then plops them in an especially scenic spot for a period of time and asks them to write poetry. And they do. He uploads the poetry and the photos to his blog, which he shares with the students. Students in Summer Field Biology explore the natural vegetation and wildlife during one of many scenic hikes at the annual excursion to Wolf Ridge.
See Summer Field Biology inside