Como Park Senior High School

School News 

Booster club fundraiser coming 

• The Como Park Booster Club will host its fifth annual fundraiser on Sunday, March 3, from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Urban Growler, 2325 Endicott St., St Paul. Como parents, alumni and community members are invited to attend the event, which includes great food, music and entertainment. 

All event proceeds benefit Como High students. The Booster Club is dedicated to enhancing educational opportunities and all extracurricular programs, clubs, activities and athletics that need financial support. Information about ordering event tickets is available in the Booster Club advertisement in this edition of The Bugle. Email questions to comoparkboosterclub@gmail.com 

• The Como Park Asian American Club (CPAAC) sponsored a Multicultural Fair on Jan. 11 in the Como auditorium. Community members joined Como Park student performers to provide a variety of performances to a packed house. The celebration concluded in the cafeteria with a spread of ethnically diverse and delicious food offerings.
  
• After first-semester final exams on Jan. 24, Como High students held a talent show in the school auditorium. A dozen musical and dancing acts were selected to perform after open auditions were held the previous week. Como’s student leadership team, Link Crew,  and music honor society, Tri-M,  sponsored the show.
  
• Faith Jackson, a St. Paul attorney and creator of the scholarship and recognition program  Minnesota Black Girl Magic Showcase, visited Como High to speak with students interested in STEM careers (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math). Two representatives from the STEM community and the National Society of Black Engineers also shared their stories with students and gave suggestions for successful preparation in STEM careers.

• As part of their studies about art and social movements, students in Mademoiselle Patricia Teefy’s Level 2 French classes took a field trip to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and the Walker Art Center. Museum docents provided tours of French art and provided information about Francophone artists. Students engaged in discussion about the pieces and made connections to their classwork preparation.
  
• Fifteen Como students participated in the Youth in Government Model Assembly program at the state Capitol from Jan. 10-13. The program gives Minnesota high school students opportunities to serve as legislators, judges, attorneys, lobbyists, government officials and media representatives in the sessions conducted by the youth themselves. Como seniors Asha Hassan and Pa Nhia Vang have enjoyed the assembly so much that they’ve participated in multiple years. 
• Cadets from the Marine Corps JROTC spent a couple of cold January days at the Minnesota National Guard training facility at Camp Ripley near Little Falls. The bitterly cold temperatures did not deter the determined cadets from participating in activities that ranged from winter-skills training and ice fishing to nighttime cross-country skiing and fat-tire biking. 

• The National Honor Society (NHS) at Como is continuing its book drive to support students at Como Park Elementary School. Como’s NHS is coordinating with the Children’s Book Express, an organization that collects picture and chapter books and donates them to young beginning readers. 

So far, Como High students have brought in more than 100 books toward their 500-tome goal. The community is also invited to support this book drive. There is a big box in the main office where donations are being collected. NHS students will organize all deposits and deliver the books to the elementary students at the end of April.

• The public is invited to attend and participate in the Como Community Input Meeting on Monday, Feb. 25, at 6 p.m. at Como Park High School. The meeting is meant to gather information and feedback about potential enhancements to Como Park’s athletic facilities. 

—Eric Erickson, Como Park High School teacher

Murray Middle School 

Activity Day starts with rockin’ send-off

Murray Middle School it has been a long tradition of ending the first semester with Activity Day, a time to have fun with classmates outside the classroom and free of class work. This year, on Jan. 24, students could choose from several activities, such as Green Acres snow tubing, bowling at the U of M, visiting the Maplewood Community Center, and Grand Slam. 

With this annual tradition, the Murray Rock Band puts on a concert in the morning for the students before they board the busses that take them to their activities.

For our Murray rock stars, the excitement of being on stage is one thing. But to teach students on how to make it look easy and have fun while doing it has been in the hands of three creative, selfless teachers.  Two of those teachers—Tyrin Anderson and Will Toney—were in the same Murray Rock Band six years ago as students. Anderson and Toney have been working with Andy Rockwood, a longstanding Flipside Rock Band Teacher. The trio mentors fledgling Murray rock musicians, helping them develop skills with various instruments, including electric guitar, keyboards, drums and voice, stage presence and performance. Anderson and Toney know the drill because they played in the band when they were students at Murray, when it was known as Murray Junior High School. 

Another former student with music skills, Erik Stoeckeler, had mentored the band for years as well. 

Other graduates from the program are taking their experience and making it a career choice. Keagan McCully and Gabriela Nesheim performed a sold-out show in January at Bryant Lake Bowl in Minneapolis. Keagan’s music is available on Spotify.

—Tim Chase, Murray Middle School science teacher 

St. Anthony Park Elementary School 

The Saint Anthony Park School Association (SAPSA) will host its fourth annual Social Night Out on Friday, March 8, from 6 to 9 p.m. This year’s event will be hosted by Nico’s Tacos on Como Avenue. All ticket sales and donations will directly support the staff, students and school community at SAP Elementary. 

For ticket and donation information, please contact Anita at akord01@gmail.com. All community members and SAP alumni are invited to attend.