I can’t believe it’s already October!! This past weekend we celebrated homecoming with a rousing game of Quidditch on the back lawn, a splendid picnic in the cafeteria sponsored by our amazing PTO volunteers, and a Homecoming Dance Saturday evening (with the theme ‘ Back to the Fifties’) also presented by the PTO. Homecoming activities followed a week of spirit building with opportunities for students and staff to show off their creative costuming talents!!

Our First No Shame concert of the year on October 1 was simply outstanding. No Shame is all about allowing students the opportunity to perform for peers and family in a supportive, inclusive environment. Although staff members oversee the event, students truly run the whole show. This year, with more students enrolled, we have gone to six No Shame events. From hip hop to Bach. From ballet to comedy improv, Friday was a very memorable evening. Don’t miss the next No Shame on November 18th!

Conferences are coming quickly. Midterm reports for those students performing at a D or F level should appear in your mailbox prior to conferences Thursday, October 6th. Sign-up sheets for conferences are now posted at each teacher’s classroom door. Conferences will be held from 1:00 to 5:00 and from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Please make every effort to come visit with your child’s teachers! I will also be available during that time and look forward to talking with you.

Like all high schools MSSPA faces the messier issues confronting teens today. We are not any more immune to these challenges than other schools, but we are actively and purposefully working to maintain a safe and drug free school. Building community with parents is by far the most powerful tool we have in maintaining a safe, creative, and inclusive environment. This year we will again be offering a monthly Saturday morning group to address both the scary issues such as drug use, eating disorders, and bullying along with more appealing topics like college searches, dating, and just relating to our teens. I’m very interested in your ideas for topics and times to meet. We will be happy to bring in speakers and facilitators over the course of the year or just sit and discuss.

Please come by and share your ideas with me and give me some feedback during conferences. I will be stationed in the conference room next to the office from 5:30-6:30 p.m. during conferences October 6th. I look forward to meeting you and hearing your ideas.

Best,
Barbara

It’s hard to believe that Main Street School of Performing Arts is starting its eighth year as an outstanding charter school! MSSPA continues to meet all state and federal standards, maintain a 97% graduation rate, and offer rigorous AP coursework in every core subject. 2011-2012 is the first year for MSSPA to be authorized by the University of St. Thomas. We are already enjoying the benefits of partnering with UST and look forward to working with them this year.

As you are probably aware, the state has increased the percentage of holdback on all annual school budgets from 30% to 40%. Many of you have expressed concern about how that will impact MSSPA. It’s important to know that since the 40% will be repaid at the end of the 2012 school year, we are not actually losing money. We just won’t have as much available to spend during the year. We will need to be very mindful of our spending this year, but thanks to our outstanding board finance committee, our diligent teaching staff and our increased enrollment, we do not expect this to be a crippling blow. It will be rather an inconvenience.

As we watch our pennies, I want to assure you that your child’s education is our first priority. In fact with our steadily increasing enrollment we are actually adding staff in music and theatre to keep up with demand. We are also increasing the number of performance opportunities in dance, music and theatre. This year, thanks in large part to your donations, we were able to update our Mac Computer lab and upgrade our mobile laptop lab.

One major challenge this year is transportation. Since we are no longer using the Hopkins transportation program, we are now providing our own. This year for the first time Metro Transit is offering a student pass for high school students at a cost of $87.50/quarter for unlimited rides. Because some of our students will need financial assistance for the pass, we hope those of you who can afford to help out will consider donating the cost of a student pass. Donations may be dropped off with Molly at the front desk.

Fund raising of all kinds will be especially important this year in order to maintain and expand our artistic productions and our academic programs. Look for information coming your way on how you can help our MSSPA community through donating your time, energy, and yes, money!

Best,
Barbara