Growing Budgets, Michele Bachmann and Pricey Parks: Feedback Friday

The most thoughtful, moving, controversial or just plain funny comments from around the west metro between Dec. 7 and Dec. 13.

Each week, Patch users contribute numerous insights, opinions and observations. The following is a collection of the most thoughtful, moving, controversial or just plain funny comments that appeared on Patch sites in Eden Prairie, Edina, Golden Valley, Hopkins, Minnetonka, Richfield, Shakopee, Plymouth, St. Louis Park and St. Michael. Click on the headline to read the full story and join in the conversation. (The comments below are not meant to reflect the opinions of Patch or its staff.) *** Hennepin County News: Budgets Increase, New County Administrator The Hennepin County Board of Commissioners, on a vote of six to one, approved a 2013 county budget of $1.78 billion – a 2.85-percent increase over the 2012 budget, and a .93-percent …

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Kitzer

11:31 pm on Friday, December 14, 2012

David F -- I really doubt if the 'Wierd Iowan' even knows it exists!! There's way toooo many things 'it' doesn't know about or cannot fully comprehend!!   more ›

Bus Driver Fired After Asking ISD 281 Student to Pick Up Gun

A Metropolitan Transportation Network bus driver was fired after asking a Robbinsdale Middle School student to bring a gun onto the bus.

A Metropolitan Transportation Network bus driver has been fired after stopping at an intersection and asking a seventh-grade Robbinsdale Middle School student to pick up a gun and bring it on the bus. The incident occurred on Nov. 8 around 8 a.m. The district immediately took action after the driver notified school employees about the weapon. Fridley Patch reported that Metropolitan Transportation Network owner Tashitaa Tufaa said the driver ignored "very huge signs" inside the bus that prohibit drivers from stopping alongside the road to pick up items. "Even if they see a $20 bill, they cannot pick it up," Tufaa said. "They are supposed to call their supervisor immediately." Instead of calling a supervisor, the bus driver continued on the…

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District 281 Bus Driver Asks Student to Pick Up Gun

A Robbinsdale Area Schools spokesperson said a bus driver asked a seventh-grade boy to pick up a gun he spotted along the road. The district is shocked by the incident and has communicated with parents and students.

At 8 a.m. Thursday, a Metropolitan Transportation Network bus driver stopped at a Minneapolis intersection and asked a seventh-grade Robbinsdale Middle School student to pick up a gun and bring it on the bus, according to Robbinsdale Area Schools spokesperson Tia Clasen. Robbinsdale Area Schools uses First Student to transport the majority of its students, but the district contracts with Metropolitan Transportation Network for some smaller bus routes, Clasen said. When the driver asked the student to retrieve the gun at the intersection of 25th Avenue North and Irving Avenue North, the student exited the bus, picked up the gun, and gave it to the bus driver, Clasen said. After the student brought him the gun, the bus driver continued …

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Two Students "Jazz Up" National History Day

Two Robbinsdale Middle School students took home high honors on National History Day.

  A duo of Robbinsdale Middle School (RMS) girls “jazzed up” National History Day and came home with sixth place nationally. Amelia Heusinkveld and Cara Meyer advanced to the Kenneth E. Behring National History Day Contest at the University of Maryland with their junior group performance of “The Revolution of Silent Films to Talkies: How the movie The Jazz Singer Revolutionized The Movie Industry”.  National History Day ran from June 11 – 14, and the girls performed on Monday, June 11th.  There were approximately 70 junior group performances represented.  Monday evening, the girls learned they were one of 14 groups who advanced to the finalist round, so they performed again on Tuesday evening.  “Since November, we’d been working to make …

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Robbinsdale Middle School Students Earn Honors in Science Competition

Robbinsdale Middle School students are recognized for their work in a national science competition.

Editor's Note: The following information was provided by the Robbinsdale School District. Three teams of students from Robbinsdale Middle School have earned honorable mentions in the 2012 Toshiba/National Science Teachers Association ExploraVision competition, placing them among the top 10 percent of all ExploraVision projects submitted to the competition this year. In all, the state of Minnesota received seven honorable mentions, three of them coming from students at Robbinsdale Middle School. The ExploraVision competition encourages students in grades K-12 of all interests, skill and ability levels to demonstrate innovative thinking in their exploration of science and its impact on technology and the future. The competition is open to …

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Middle School's New Principal Is A Familiar Face

John Cook has moved from assistant principal at Robbinsdale Armstrong.

John Cook, the new principal at Robbinsdale Middle School, believes in the power of words to change lives. He first heard the call to education while he was finishing his bachelor’s degree in English and communications at Alcorn State in Mississippi. “I realized I wasn’t as passionate about a career in journalism as I’d hoped,” he said, “so I was considering which direction to go next.” A billboard for the University of Minnesota which said the school was seeking black educators caught his attention. “I really love being with kids. That idea stuck with me.” After completing his undergraduate degree, he headed north to earn his master’s degree in education from the U of M. He taught English in several Minneapolis schools, where an …

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Robbinsdale Science Scores Drop

Compared to last year, the percentage of students who met state standards dropped at nine out of 11 of the district's schools.

Almost two-thirds of the Robbinsdale Public Schools students tested in science in March failed to meet state standards, according to data the Minnesota Department of Education released Friday. While state scores mainly remained flat from last year, most Robbinsdale schools saw a decrease in the number of proficient students over last year. (Details on each school’s performance are available here.) The percentage of fifth-graders who were not proficient increased by more than 6 points over last year, from 62.1 percent to 68.5. Only two elementary schools beat the state average of 54 percent not proficient: the Spanish Immersion School with 46.5 percent and Zachary with 45.9 percent. The Spanish Immersion also improved over last year's …

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Robbinsdale Cooper Finding Success With International Baccalaureate

This coming school year, the entire freshman class will be enrolled in the program.

Ninety-three percent of the Robbinsdale Cooper students who were candidates for an International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma this school year received them. That's 14 of 15 students, according to Tia Clasen, marketing and communications program director for the Robbinsdale School District. That's compared to an 80 percent average pass rate worldwide. The "IB curriculum spans all the major disciplines and offers a blend of courses to ensure that students receive a comprehensive liberal arts education," according to the IB Minnesota Website. The program also aims to "foster understanding among young people around the world." To be eligible for an IB Diploma, a student must "earn a comprehensive score of 24, which ... is earned over two years…

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shewithnoname

10:18 am on Wednesday, April 24, 2013

What flavor of Kool Aid are you drinking today, Pullingpants? No one is attacking the students, the students are the victims of this UN indoctrination scam.   more ›

Warning to Parents: Students Playing 'Choking Game'

School officials in Robbinsdale sent messages about this potentially deadly activity.

Editor's Note: We've updated this story with a clarification from the communications director of Robbinsdale Schools, who says no one has been injured. Late last week, Robbinsdale Middle School parents were sent an email and a phone recording warning of students involved in a potentially deadly activity known as the "choking game." In an email to parents, Principal Tom Henderlite wrote: "It's called the passout game or choking game. At RMS,  it is being called space monkey." In this activity, one student deprives another of oxygen by choking him or her, often creating a tingling sensation or causing the student to pass out. Many school districts are concerned the trend is now making a comeback. "It certainly took me by surprise," said Gail…

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Robbinsdale Schools Spotlight

Musical History Takes Center Stage

RMS Students Present “The Evolution of African-American Music”

You may be used to the high school music concert where the audience claps politely at students who learned to perform a song we've all heard more than once before.  Proving that music can do much more, Robbinsdale Middle School brought people to their feet and history to center stage Friday night in its "The Evolution of African-American Music" concert. The evolution took the audience from the 1600's all the way to today's Black Eyed Peas.  This history lesson had the crowd shouting its approval more than once. Making the evening even more special, singer, songwriter and educator Bruce A. Henry joined Robbinsdale Middle School eighth graders in the band, choir and orchestra performance at RMS auditorium.  Henry has performed with and …

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