News from Southwest 12.5.25

Food Drive Donates 1 ton of food

The November food drive organized by Southwest Student Council donated literally one ton of food to the Joyce Uptown Foodshelf. The students collected, sorted, and delivered food filling six large vehicles. Thanks to all members of the SW community who donated and to our amazing student council students and faculty advisors for their hard work and leadership.

Southwest at Orchestra Hall Dec. 9

Come hear Guitar Orchestra, Southwest Singers, Coro Voce, SHoCK, Wind Ensemble, Chamber Orchestra, and the Southwest Jazz Combo perform on the greatest stage in the entire state of Minnesota. It’s a special night for our community and we would love to see you there.

The concert begins with pre-show Jazz Combo in the lobby of Orchestra Hall with the large ensembles beginning at 7pm in the Main Auditorium. Post-concert refreshments will be available in the lobby with the jazz combo performing as well.

Reserve your free tickets here: https://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/tickets/calendar/rentals/southwest-orchestra-hall

Major Metro Transit Bus Changes Starting December 6

The following was shared with us by our friends at Metro Transit.

E Line: A new BRT line will be opening! E Line will serve the France Ave corridor, and SWHS students can board at France/47th stations.

Route 6: Route will be eliminated and replaced by the E Line (France) and Route 36 (Xerxes).

Route 36: New route will serve Mineapolis and Edina, via Xerxes Avenue. Route will connect with METRO E Line at Uptown Transit Station. SWHS students can board at Xerxes/47th.

Route 156: As part of the Dec 6th Service Change, Route 156 will be returning. This route will offer a connection for students in the Kenny/Armatage area who are attending SWHS. The trip timing on this route has been very intentionally set up so that it can facilitate transfers for students between Route 36 and Route 156 on Xerxes, with the timing in place so that students will arrive just prior to bell time.

Please see the following links for further information.

E Line Pocket Schedule
Route 36 Pocket Schedule
Route 156 Pocket Schedule
E Line / Route 6 / Route 36: Map & Differences
E Line / Route 6 / Route 36 Fact Sheets

Jacob Hartman Signs with St. Thomas

Congratulations to Southwest senior Jacob Hartman, who signed a letter of intent to play Division 1 football with St. Thomas. Jacob is pictured with his family members and Coach Zoucha.

Budget Meeting Reminder--Dec. 11 at 6:30 p.m.

MPS is hosting a series of community meetings to share more information about the budget and to hear your feedback as we reimagine the MPS student experience through our school transformation process. Your feedback is important to us. Come and join us at Southwest on Thursday, December 11.

Community meetings will be held from 6:30 - 8 p.m. on the following dates:

Dec. 10 at Roosevelt High School
Dec. 11 at Southwest High School
Dec. 16 at Edison High School
Jan. 14 at Camden High School

BLAST Day is December 19

Southwest will have our annual BLAST (Be Loving and Sharing Together) day on Friday, December 19th. During this day we will use an adjusted/shortened class schedule with students attending all six classes. Students will be in class from 8:30 am-12:35 pm. Lunch will be served at Southwest.

From 12:35 pm-3:10 pm, students will participate in their choice of activities and/or service opportunities. Some will be on campus while others will be off campus. All will be adult-supervised.