Information Center

Join us for candid conversation, listening, and learning. Soup with the Supe will be informative while enjoying delicious soups crafted by our chefs. Get to know our Hopkins Superintendent and other parents/community members. Come for the soup, stay for the conversation, and leave with a sense of community and new learning. Mark your calendars for the following dates: March 14, March 25, April 8, April 24, May 9, May 20, and June 24. Each session will be held from 12 to 1 p.m. in room 225 at Eisenhower Community Center. We can't wait to see you! Sign up here.

Applications for National Honor Society for your senior year are now open! NHS is a nationally recognized club for high academic achievers dedicated to the good of their school community. This is only for current 11th grade/rising seniors please.
The requirements to apply are you must have a 3.67 or higher GPA, 30 or more hours of volunteer hours (not connected to school, a sport, etc.), and a recommendation email from a teacher. You also cannot have any instance of academic dishonesty on your official school record.
Applications will be due Wednesday, April 23rd. We will have an induction ceremony in May, and one meeting toward the end of May. Otherwise, all activities and meetings will be senior year. If you have any questions, contact Jennifer Heimlich at jennifer.heimlich@hopkinsschools.org.

The district ACT test will take place on April 15th, 2025. Only juniors will come to school that day. It is important that your scholar take the exam because many colleges, universities, and scholarships have reverted to requiring a test score. We do not want our scholars’ options to be limited because they have not taken the test.

To help your junior prepare for the test, we will provide an online test prep program. Weekly emails and videos will be sent to your scholars to help them with a study schedule. Please check in with them and make sure they are doing their lessons as part of their regular homework schedule. The first email went out on Thursday, January 23rd.

College Rep Visits

Have a 10th or 11th grader who needs to explore colleges or a 12th grader applying to college? Have them sign up to meet with the many college reps that are coming to HHS. They will get to meet the people who will actually be reading their college applications and get to know the campuses better. To sign up, have your scholar use MaiaLearning (under the events tab).

College Rep Visit Calendar

Hopkins High School Senior Commencement will take place on Friday, June 6, 2025 at noon at Mariucci Arena on the University of Minnesota campus.

Below is important information related to after-school transportation and building access. Only scholars participating in after-school activities will be allowed to use the below transportation and access the middle school and high school buildings once the school day ends.

Daily Shuttles: “After-School Shuttle” This bus runs Monday-Friday on school days only. This bus will be located at the front of the bus line at WMS.

ROUTE: West MS (end of school day) > Hopkins HS/North MS > West MS

To ride this bus, athletes will be required to show their fall sport athlete bag tag (HS sports) OR lion head sticker (MS sports) on their student ID.

Activities Buses: Buses that return student-athletes home after practices. These buses do not go door-to-door. They are HUB stops and scholars may need to walk a few blocks. These buses run Monday-Thursday on school days only.

ROUTE: West MS (5:30pm) > Hopkins HS/North MS Bus Loop (5:45pm) > Hub Stops

To ride this bus, athletes will be required to show their fall sport athlete bag tag (HS sports) OR lion head sticker (MS sports) on their student ID.

Link to Activity Bus Routes

Team Charters: These are buses that bring teams to/from athletic events. Coaches make arrangements for these, in coordination with the Activities Dept. They return athletes to HHS, where parents can pick them up. Coaches communicate these details.

***For returning families, given the middle school time change, we are NOT running an “Early Shuttle” from WMS to the HS. WMS athletes participating on HS programs will ride over on the Daily Shuttle following their school day on practice and home game days. For away game days, the Team Charter will stop by WMS to pick up team members.

High school fall sport bag tags can be picked up from your head coach.

Middle school fall sport bus stickers can be picked up from your middle school activities secretary. (NMS - Debbie Herman & WMS - Amber Hampton) 

ATHLETES MUST BE PREPARED TO START SHOWING THIS PROOF THE WEEK OF SEPT. 9.

IMPORTANT: Both the high school fall sports bag tag and middle school sports sticker can serve as a bus pass. However, only the athletes with the high school fall sport bag tag can get into the high school building. Therefore, athletes who do not possess these items will not be allowed on the buses, nor into the high school building. Only scholars participating in after-school activities will be allowed in the middle school and high school buildings following the end of the school day.

For the past two years, Hopkins HS has participated in a program for Direct Admissions to colleges and universities in Minnesota. This year we have decided to not participate in the program. The two main benefits to the Direct Admissions program were that the scholars knew their admissions decision would be yes when they applied and there was a fee waiver, so the applications were free. With that said, scholars were required to complete the application for those colleges, so it did not save them time in that regard.

After looking at the data of how many students utilized the program, we found it was very low. We believe that the amount of time used to conduct the academic evaluation for each individual senior was very lengthy and began in summer extending through the fall. We determined that time could be better used to help students apply to the colleges they were truly interested in, or had intentions to apply to and attend if they were accepted.

We discovered that using the traditional application cycle, our scholars are highly competitive and qualified to get into most of the schools participating in the Direct Admissions program. In addition, the Common App has integrated the Direct Admissions program, so schools can identify scholars and allow them to apply for Direct Admissions.

If a student needs a fee waiver, the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system allows free applications during October. Also, counselors and Dr. Kuhl have access to fee waiver systems that allow students to apply to college for free. For our students, fees should never be a barrier to applying. Please connect with a counselor or Dr. Kuhl to get a waiver if one is needed.

Each year we will evaluate whether to participate in the program based on the colleges and universities that are participating, alternative avenues that achieve the same goals, and staff time allocated to administer the program.

Please watch this video from Principal Ballard for more information on the fun plans underway for the Senior Party.

JOIN US Friday, March 21 at Dave's Hot Chicken near Ridgedale (1805 Plymouth Rd) from 4-8 pm. Use the code "Give" in store or online. 20% of the sales from your order will be donated to the Senior Party.

YARD SIGNS

Last call for Hopkins Yard signs for graduating seniors. Order by April 14, and they will be here in early May.

Order at: https://hopkins-high-school-spirit-shop.square.site/ **Scroll to middle of Spirit Shop page to place your order**

· You will be emailed when ready for pick up.

· Accepting donations for a "Sign for a Senior", for classmates who may not otherwise be able to get one.

Even if you are not required to file Minnesota income tax returns, you can still file to claim valuable Minnesota tax benefits. The Working Family Credit and Child Tax Credits deliver tax relief to individuals whose income is below a certain level. Both credits are refundable, meaning you can receive a refund even if you do not owe tax.

The new Child Tax Credit is available to Minnesotans who have children under age 18. By filing a Minnesota tax return, you may qualify for $1,750 per child with no limit on the number of children.

The Working Family Credit is available to Minnesotans who earned income during the year. The maximum Working Family Credit is $350 if your earned income is $8,750 or more, and it can increase by:

• $350 for no qualifying child

• $1,275 for one qualifying child aged 18 or older

• $2,450 for two qualifying children aged 18 or older

• $2,850 for three or more qualifying children aged 18 or older

For more information, please visit the Working Family Credit webpage and Child Tax Credit webpage on the Minnesota Department of Revenue website.

Seniors can apply for these scholarships using the Hopkins High School Local Scholarship Application located in Maia Learning.
Application Instructions:

• You must log in to Maia Learning from Class Link to apply for these scholarships.

• The application can be found under Student - Financial Plan - Local Scholarships. It is titled Hopkins High School Local Scholarship.

• Please read the descriptions carefully to ensure your eligibility for that particular scholarship.

• The application will go live on February 3, 2025, and close on March 14, 2025

• Awards range from $100-$3000

• Please fill out the entire application and proofread your work!

Yearbook Sales

The yearbook remains for sale at Jostensyearbooks.com on a first-come, first-served basis. Once they are sold out, we cannot order more.

Senior Yearbook Tribute

If you were unable to submit a senior tribute ($40) to be in the yearbook for your graduate, email Jeff.kocur@hopkinsschools.org to be placed on a waitlist should space become available.