The Fall History Trip is Underway!

The 6th-8th graders arrived at school early today to depart on the 2013 Fall History Trip.  Click on the link to see a map of the places they'll visit and see more info about what they'll learn.

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26 Acts: In wake of Newtown tragedy, using kindness to heal

By Molly Guthrey mguthrey@pioneerpress.com
Posted: 01/13/2013 12:01:00 AM CST
Updated: 01/13/2013 09:52:21 PM CST

It was an opportunity for the mother and daughter to conspire to commit a random act of kindness.

"I gave the kid my gloves," Kouame says.

The Burnsville mom is on a mission: She and her family are conducting 26 acts of kindness in memory of the 26 who died at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 14.

"The most special acts are the ones my daughter witnesses," Kouame says. "I want her to see that when you put good intentions forth, I do believe they continue on and are passed forward. It's a way for all of us to focus on spreading a positive vibe and not dwell on the violence and sadness that is so horrible." 

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Parents and families have dedicated hundreds of volunteer hours to Southside Family Charter School this school year.  Southside staff would like to say thank you for all the work you do to make Southside such a great school!  Some of the work family volunteers have done include:

• Helping with field trips like camping and swimming at the Y.  We literally could not have made these field trips work without parent volunteers!
   
• Serving on the parent-majority Board of Directors and related committees like the Policy Committee and Finance Committee.  Many parents and family members spend hours each month ensuring that Southside stays on track, financially, legally, and ethically. 
   
• Donations, donations, donations!  Whether it’s school supplies, food for classrooms or history trips, financial contributions or art supplies for a special workshop, Southside families are extremely generous with donations all year round.
   
• Many family members also volunteer in classrooms, in the office, or for special projects like assisting with the annual appeal or leading fundraising efforts like the Equal Exchange project. 

There are so many ways parents and families contribute to Southside, many of them not listed here.  Thank you to everyone who contributes in so many ways to the Southside community.

Southside students demonstrated their leadership skills at the Good Leadership Conference held in October at Pillsbury House, organized by parent Heidi Batz.  Artwork by Southside students was displayed, and several students from Brynne’s reading class attended the event to talk about Southside Family Charter School and their own art.  Students were able to attend part of the conference and meet leaders from a variety of organizations.  Their poise and confidence made them great ambassadors for Southside!

Students and staff had a great time visiting the Target Center in October for the “Dribble to Defeat Diabetes” event.  Students learned about healthy lifestyle choices, met and played basketball with the Minnesota Lynx and all took home a commemorative t-shirt!  Southside also received a grant of $5,000 for participating in the event.  Thanks to the Minnesota Lynx for this great opportunity!

We are delighted to announce that Toni Wilcox will become the Executive Director of Southside Family Charter School effective August 13, 2012.

The board and staff reviewed many strong candidates. Toni’s strong experience, commitment to our mission and clear leadership capability won us over.

Toni brings to the school years of teaching in a variety of settings, experience in nonprofit management and charter schools, and has also been an elected official. It is clear that Toni is passionate about social justice, cares tremendously about kids, and knows how to lead!  You will have an opportunity to meet Toni at our September 19th annual meeting to be held at the school at 5:30 p.m. 

Rave Reviews

Students Present Inspirational History Lesson Posted on 03/02/2012 In February, middle school students were able to present Keep the Dream Alive! three times — to audiences at the MN Department of Education, Dorsey and Whitney law firm, and Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi law firm. We are pleased to share some of the wonderful feedback they received from audience members: “Such an important topic and so wonderful to see young people expressing their view points and what they are passionate about. Very inspiring.” “These students did a remarkable job and I wish more young people had the opportunity to learn about history, injustice and racism the way they were able to learn it.” “. . . It was very moving. It also prompted me to not be a silent witness and to sign up for a phone bank during the caucus to make calls to connect with people. And I hate to talk on the phone!” “My goodness, the agency is buzzing about the presentation! Folks who couldn’t attend are stopping folks that did to hear about it. Some folks are tearing up talking both about the information and your impressive students. And everyone who was there talked about things they learned that they had never known before.” We’re so proud of Southside students for their great work in the community!

Givens Foundation Partnership Announced

Dance Partnership

Cowles Center for Dance Partners with School Posted on 05/04/2012 Thanks to a great partnership with the Cowles Center for Dance, Southside Family Charter School students learned about movement and modern and jazz dance and were able to practice their new moves in several sessions with visiting teachers from Zenon Dance Company.  They later attended a performance featuring their dance teachers at the Cowles Center.

South Dakota Trip 2012

Travel Study Experience Deepens Learning Posted on 04/30/2012 Students from grades 6-8 recently returned from a 4-day travel study adventure in southwestern Minnesota and South Dakota. The months of pre-trip study and ongoing curriculum content during the trip prepared students for each of the stops they made with history, first-person accounts and context.  The experiences students had visiting such places as Pipestone National Monument, Sinte Gleska University's Heritage Center, the Stronghold Unit of Badlands National Park, the Oglala Lakota College History Center and the site of the Wounded Knee massacre and mass grave will surely stay with them forever.  Perhaps more critical, however, were the thoughtful, informative and moving conversations they had with leaders like Dwayne Stenstrom, Andrea Martinez, Marilyn Pourier, Charlie White Buffalo, Corey Yellow Boy, Leonard Crow Dog and Alex White Plume. Travel study is a critical element of Southside's middle school curriculum.  Students typically travel to northern Minnesota in the fall and a neighboring state in the spring.  Additionally, every three years, a 10-day voyage brings students through the American South learning about and from leaders of the Civil Rights Movement.