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Greetings Apollo Families,
As we complete the first month of 2022, I find myself filled with pride at how we have conducted ourselves as a school so far this year. Our staff, students and families handled themselves with such understanding as we faced challenges in dealing with the Omicron variant. This strength of spirit we've developed as a school community over the past two years has been amazing to see, and even though so many things are back to normal, that strength remains. We have seen teachers, staff, and administration on all levels stepping in ensure students can not only attend school, but also have the supported day of learning they all deserve. I am confident that the collaboration your students have seen, and will continue to see, is a life-long skill we at Apollo are happy to teach.
We are also transitioning to the intense planning part of our school year, where our ninth through eleventh graders will be planning and choosing the courses they will be taking next year. This process began with Town Hall meetings for our high school families on January 20th and another town hall meeting will occur on February 3 at 6:00 p.m. This is an important process as our goal as a school is to ensure that all students have a career and/or college plan as they near graduation. As registration time nears a close for high schoolers, I thought I'd highlight our District 742 Career and College Academies: Business, Entrepreneurship, Communication, and Arts (BECA), Health Sciences, Human Services and Hospitality (HHH), and Manufacturing, Engineering, and Natural Resources (MENR). Within each academy, students will be able to select coursework that most closely matches their interests and possible future career.
Students who select an Academy will be alerted of special pathway-specific opportunities in our school and community. Students will be introduced to local businesses and industries which will help each student 'try careers on for size,' and they will also begin creating a professional network!
We encourage this year's 10th graders to complete this google form to let us know what Career and College Academy they find as a good fit for their future!
https://forms.gle/jhBmPtFsdky5xgrL7
Sincerely,
Principal Alicia Fischer
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Class of 2022 graduation is right around the corner and with only 4 months to go in this school year there are many monumental events on the horizon for our seniors. Families and students in the class of 2022 please mark your calendars for June 4th at 11:30am at the River's Edge Convention Center in Saint Cloud for this year's Apollo graduation ceremony. Rehearsal for graduation, which all seniors participating in the ceremony need to attend, will be in the evening of June 3rd with that time to still be determined. Please make sure to put this on your calendar. It is important that all seniors get their Cap and Gowns ordered. If you have not ordered your Cap and Gown and have questions about how to do so, please stop by the main office and any of the staff would be happy to help. You can also order Cap and Gowns online, these will be delivered to school in early May and handed out to seniors the last week of school. These can be ordered at the following link:
https://www.jostens.com/apps/store/productDetail/1062169/Apollo-High-School/-/1612510195/CATALOG_REPOSITORY/Cap-and-Gown-Unit/1612510198/
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The 2021-2022 school year has brought many exciting changes and new programs to the Apollo Community. We have so many coaches, students, and staff who are breaking new barriers. Their dedication to our school and community is awe inspiring.
One of our new teams at Apollo is the Apollo Majorettes Team led by Coach Shana Black! This team of enthusiastic, proud, energetic, and passionate students welcomes dancers of all abilities and experience levels. They support our school events with dance, chants, and movement. They incorporate different dance elements into their choreography including ballet, West African, jazz, contemporary, and hip hop. The Majorette’s will be performing for the first time on Friday February 4 during the Boys Basketball Game versus Brainerd.
Another new program is our Interact Club led by Coach Cindy Rimnac. The Interact Club is for Tech and Apollo students ages 12-18. The club empowers students to take action, become leaders, and engage in community service projects. The Interact Club helps students develop leadership skills. This club partners with the Rotary Club of St. Cloud and the St. Cloud Rotoract Club. We’re thrilled to have these organizations partner with our students.
We’re also excited to announce that Apollo Speech is BACK! After a few years on hiatus, the Apollo Speech Team is back and led by Coach Grace Weitz. With 13 different speaking categories to choose from, students can find the perfect way to express themselves and enhance their public speaking skills. The team has so far competed in 2 tournaments and is already bringing home medals. We’re excited to see this program back at Apollo and looking forward to a great season.
Another program we’re happy to see at Apollo is DECA. Cathie Helminick is leading the group and they’re set to compete at the District 5 Competition on February 2, 2022. DECA prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs to be college and career ready. They learn how to communicate thoughts and ideas, how to organize a presentation, and develop problem-solving skills. We’re glad that this program is now available to our Eagle community.
If you are interested in getting involved in these programs or starting your own student group, please contact Alex Badger at alexandra.badger@isd742.org or 320-370-8660
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Family Conferences: Thursday, February 3rd, 2022, from 4-7:30 p.m.
Apollo family conferences are an important way for families to connect with teachers and counselors regarding the academic progress of your child(ren). The format for this winter conference will be by telephone. Families wishing to speak with a specific teacher or counselor should use the links in the conference document below (link).
USE THIS DOCUMENT TO REQUEST CONFERENCE TIMES WITH TEACHERS AND COUNSELORS: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1A9X0FTT5bqd3UdSxZ7RG9E60y2M4sXabtZvehnUyvlg/edit
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During the months of January and February, students in the classes of 2023, 2024 and 2025 feverishly planned their pathways for next year through the registration process at Apollo. The process took place in advisories and students accessed all materials for inquiry and submission through Schoology- just like they do for their regular, academic classes. To complete the entire process, students worked with counselors in their Language Arts (current 9th and 10th grade students) or Social Studies (current 11th grade students) class, in person. There are several pathways students can take depending on their interests and future plans after high school. We encourage families to ask your students about the final list of their classes for next year.
Are you looking for tutoring for your scholar? Check out this free tutoring opportunity:
Ready, Set, FAFSA! Virtual Financial Aid Events
Free financial aid events are available to Minnesota students and families via Zoom! The series, running February 8 through March 1, will cover general financial aid information, details on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), the Minnesota Dream Act for undocumented students, and other ways to pay for college. Please let students in your community know about this opportunity. To access tools and materials to promote these events in your school or program, access our Ready Set FAFSA Promotional Toolkit.
What are the dates and topics? All sessions are at 7:00 p.m. and will last approximately 45-60 minutes. Participants can ask questions in the chat. Participants can attend any number of sessions (choosing dates during registration). Participants who attend 4 out of 5 sessions will be eligible to win a $500 scholarship!
• February 8 (Tuesday): Financial Aid Overview
• February 15 (Tuesday): Complete the FAFSA
• February 17 (Thursday): Complete the Dream Act
• February 22 (Tuesday): Understanding your Offer Letter
• March 1 (Tuesday): Scholarship Search
Click below for more information.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1N_bXDLzK4eMiHspZb77W-UC2l16yHVjx/view?usp=sharing
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February 2: Apollo Athletic Signing Ceremony
February 3: Apollo Parent Teacher Conferences
February 21: President's Day (NO SCHOOL)
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Registration: all students have participated in activities related to registration and are taking time in January and February to get registered for 2022-2023 classes. If you have any questions, please reach out to your child's school counselor, or check the Apollo Guidance webpage for all registration materials .
Deficient credits: if you child has any CNC or failed credits, please have them reach out to their school counselor to discuss credit recovery options.
Scholarships: There are 17 scholarships for you to apply for!!! They each have different criteria and different due dates. There is lots of scholarship money available through the Central Minnesota Community Foundation!
You must apply through this link: https://www.communitygiving.org/index.php/applyforscholarships
Scroll down Click on “High School Student”
Under “School,” scroll down to “St. Cloud Apollo High School” and click on it - then click “search.”
Create an account to start applications.
The following scholarships will be available through the Apollo Local Scholarships in early March: Paul Edward Host, Kimberly Ann Ritsche, and Dick and Dorothy Putz
THE DEADLINE IS March 1st, 2022 FOR THE FOLLOWING SCHOLARSHIPS: Andy and Carol Hilger, Brian Klinefelter, Dan Foquette, Ernest Morgan, Miller Architects, Bernick Family, Michael and Karel Helgeson, Coborn’s, St. Cloud Public Safety, Terry Fox, Arthur A. Cater, John C. Sievert Memorial, Granite Companies, St. Cloud Builders, and St. Cloud Times Spark
For more questions, go to the main website: www.communitygiving.org or call 320-257-9715 or email
A-E Gretchen VanHauen gretchen.vanhauen@isd742.org
F-LE Jessica Glieden jessica.glieden@isd742.org
LF-P Richard Larson richard.larson@isd742.org
Q-Z Toni Backes toni.backes@isd742.org
9th Grade Amanda Stangel amanda.stangel@isd742.org
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Health Office Information
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Our district COVID 19 guidelines have recently changed. To view the most current student decision tree and student quarantine guidelines go to the district 742 webpage (https://www.isd742.org/), scroll down to the section titled Return to School/COVID-19 (Right hand side) and click on the links to view.
Reminder: If your student develops the following symptoms, stay home, and call the school nurse (320-370-8668 or 320-370-8667). Symptoms could include: fever 100.4 or greater, difficulty breathing, loss of taste of taste or smell, cough, sore throat, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, chills, muscle pain, excessive fatigue, headache, nasal congestion, or runny nose.
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Please join us; all 9th grade parents/guardians on Monday, February 3, 2022 from 7:00-7:30 or drop in. We will be introducing our Building Assets Reducing Risks program(BARR) for all 9th grade students. The first 20 minutes will be a brief introduction of BARR, explaining an I-Time lesson, the purpose of Big Block meetings, and introducing our BARR staff. The last part of the meeting will be opened up for Q & A. Parents, use your student’s login information or even easier, use their District 742 issued laptop. You may also use this login information:
User ID: townhall@apps.isd742.org
Password: townhall742
Join: tinyurl.com/barrparentmeeting
Each week, BARR teachers from one of the departments (Science, Language Arts, Math, or Social Studies & Health) will deliver an I-Time lesson.“I-Time,” is a key tool for building assets in students. Weekly I-Time activities are designed to create a positive school climate by engaging students and BARR teachers in shared activities around a variety of topics.
In the month of January, the LA teachers facilitated “Golden Nuggets.” The purpose of this lesson was to help students identify their own personal value and worth and to recognize the importance of building internal assets.
   
Ask your student about how it was determined to arrange the rocks in a line that shows the order of value and why. In terms of judging people, how do we usually decide who is valuable and who is not? What can you see on the outside vs what you cannot see on the inside?
If you have suggestions, feedback, or questions about BARR, please complete the brief questionnaire form at the link below:
Optional Parent Feedback Form
Cindy J. Rimnac
BARR Coordinator
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Congratulations to the December Students of the Month: Emily Allen (9), Isabella Husby (9), Jackson Warzecha (9), Kylie Cruser (11), Kimora Hall (9), Malyun Keynan (10), Brandon Zimmer (12).
Congratulations to the January Students of the Month: Brandon Le (10), Donald Schroeder (11), Samuel Pallansch (11), Abdihafia Haidar (10), Amara Ross (9), Guled Mohamed (9).
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Black History Month Writing Contest
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We are so proud to announce our 2nd Annual Black History Month Writing Contest here at Apollo. Through the use of four, thought provoking writing prompts, we hope to open the door for our students to contribute their brillance to this important conversation. Submissions will be accepted in the form of a 1 page essay, poem, or spoken word video from February 1st until February 25th. We will announce the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners on February 28th. We will feature the writings of our winners in the March/April issue of the Capsule.
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Apollo High School has been an Exemplar Status, PBIS school for over 15 years. Being a PBIS school means we utilize Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports to create a positive learning community with all of our students. The PBIS Team works with students and staff to create our School-Wide Expectations and provide Social-Emotional Learning Activities for our students.
If your scholar is at home due to illness or quarantine, please encourage them to read the daily agendas posted to Schoology and to reach out to each teacher - try a group message! - to ask questions or check in. Teachers appreciate it!
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Apollo High School
A 2013, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 Sustaining Exemplar School
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Copyright © 2019, ISD 742 All rights reserved.
Our mailing address is:
Apollo High School
1000 44th Ave North
St. Cloud, MN 56303
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