REMINDER:  START OF THE SCHOOL DAY
Just a reminder that students are not allowed in the building until 8:05 a.m. (Students having breakfast may enter the building at 7:55 a.m. and must report directly to the cafeteria).  8:05 a.m. is the contracted start of the school day for teachers, and students are unsupervised prior to this time.  Please keep this time in mind if you drop your child off at school. Each student must be in their homeroom class by 8:20 a.m. to avoid being marked tardy.  Parents, please remember that students that are absent must return with a written excuse the following day.

NEED INFORMATION REGARDING THE NOVEMBER 7TH REFERENDUM?
If you would like the latest and most up to date information on the November 7th referendum, let your fingers do the walking and go to www.mann.spps.org/referendum.  Our Web Master Jim Johnson has made it easy to obtain facts regarding the referendum and has provided the community with a shortcut for obtaining such information.  Referendum information via the district web site may be obtained at www.spps.org.  Principal Lewis Scott is also available to answer questions.  You may reach Mr. Scott at 651-293-8965.

WANT TO GET INVOLVED IN HORACE MANN SCHOOL FUNDRAISING ACTIVITIES?
A fundraising meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 20th, at 8:00 p.m.  The meeting will take place at Café Amore (Grand & Milton).  Anyone interested in assisting with fundraising activities for the PTA is invited to attend this meeting.  If you have ideas for new fundraising, please come with an outline of your ideas.  If you have questions, please call Susan Lawrenz-Smith at 651-291-8898.

CORRECTION ON STAR GRANT AWARD & OFFICIAL CONGRATULATIONS!
On September 6th, the St. Paul City Council confirmed the Neighborhood Star Grant Committee's recommendation that Horace Mann School will be the recipient of a $60,000.00 Star Grant for playground improvements.  It was erroneously reported in last week's Mann Perspective that the Star Grant was for $65,000.00 On September 14th, Mr. Scott received official notification from the Mayor's office, St. Paul City Council and Neighborhood STAR Program that Horace Mann School's proposal for a STAR Grant had been accepted.  A big thank you to our Grants Committee for writing the perfect grant. Thank you to committee members Susan Snyder, Joan Sundquist, Karen Woodward, Karen Lewis, Kate Kysar, Donna Idstrom, Ted Angelo and Mariana Tennyson. Thanks also to Rebekah Doyle (Saint Paul Public Schools Grant Writing Department,) and Patrick Quinn (Director of Plant Planning and Maintenance).  The support of City Councilman Pat Harris and his administrative aide John Marshall also contributed immensely to securing our grant.  A special thank you also to parent Stephanie Hawkinson who will be our project manager.

DON'T FORGET TO SAVE YOUR BOXTOPS!
Mann Elementary can earn 10 cents for each box top from General Mills products such as Cheerios, Wheaties, Betty Crocker Fruit Roll-ups, etc. Last year box top money was used to fund various PTA projects and purchases for classrooms.  Box Tops will be collected each month and classrooms with the highest totals will earn a monthly reward.  So, save up your Box Tops and send them to school. If you have questions please contact Nancy Wagner at 698-6783.

WE'RE LOOKING FOR WEDNESDAY VOLUNTEERS IN THE LIBRARY
We have library volunteer openings on Wednesdays from late morning to the end of the school day. We are especially looking for parents of 3rd and 4th grade students. This is a great way to meet other Horace Mann parents and have some fun! Please contact Tracy Taubert at 651-699-2188 or Cindy Gipple at the school library.

Dear Horace Mann families and community:

As we continue to celebrate our district's 150th anniversary, I invite you to visit our district's Web Site, www.spps.org to find out more about our district's history as well as how to participate in a citywide celebration for Saint Paul Public Schools on Saturday, October 7th (Please see flyer
attached!)

Our new superintendent, Dr. Meria Carstarphen, has enthusiastically begun implementing her goals, which include accelerating achievement, closing the achievement gap and preparing all students for postsecondary opportunities to compete successfully in our rapidly evolving global economy.

As many of you know, our Saint Paul Reads program, which encourages students to read at least 25 books per year, has been extremely successful.
Since it began in 1999, our students have read more than 10 million books!
Dr. Carstarphen would like to build upon the success of this program.  You will be hearing more about this soon.

On Tuesday, November 7th, 2006, Saint Paul residents will be asked to vote on the Referendum for Continued Excellence in Schools.  Without a renewal of this levy, schools stand to lose nearly $17 million per year.  As mentioned previously in this newsletter, please visit www.spps.org or www.mann.spps.org for additional information.

Please continue to stay informed regarding this important issue.

Lewis Scott
Principal

Horace Mann's Chess Club

The first meeting of the Horace Mann Chess Club will be September 19th, 2006.  Students will gather before school at 8:00 a.m. to play a few games of Chess with friends and classmates.  If you ride the bus or eat breakfast at school, make sure that you are in the library before 8:15.

Any student who knows how to play chess is invited to play.  Please keep in mind that Chess Club participants range in ability from beginner players to advanced level players.  Your child only needs to know the basic Chess rules to play!

                  Start date: Tuesday, September 19, 2006
                  When: 8:00 until 8:30 every Tuesday
                  Where:      Library
                  Have questions, contact:      Mariana Tennyson