RICHFIELD

School wins national cook-off, recipe contestA Richfield school took first-place Monday in a national recipe contest hosted by First Lady Michelle Obama and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

A team of students and staff from the South Education Center Alternative beat out 340 other recipes for the grand prize with their "porcupine sliders" -- mini lean turkey burgers with brown rice, cranberries and spinach.

The team this spring was named one of three national finalists in the "Recipes for Healthy Kids Contest," which challenged schools to create nutritious recipes to combat childhood obesity. The team and two other finalists competed Monday in a cook-off in Texas.

The team included Parasole Restaurants corporate chef Todd Bolton, Mary Lair from Bloomington Public Health, teacher Terry Guthrie, school lunch supervisor Wanda Nickolai and students Adilene Dominguez, Dominic Lembo, Chris Dykes and Dolores Popescu.

The school is part of Intermediate District 287, a consortium of 13 west-metro school districts that offer specialized programs such as gifted and special education. The team won $1,000 for the school's food service program for being a semi-finalist and now takes home an additional $3,000.

Go to www.startribune.com/a539 for more details about the contest and recipe.

HOPKINS

Preschool registration open for Gatewood ElementaryRegistration for Stepping Stones Preschool at Gatewood Elementary in Hopkins is now open to children who will turn 4 years old by Dec. 31. This expanded age-range limit is a 2011-12 pilot program at Gatewood's site only.

If your child will turn 4 between Sept. 1 and Dec. 31, there are additional criteria they have to meet. To register, contact Ginger Ebeling at ginger.ebeling@hopkins schools.org or 952-988-5154 and schedule a site visit and complete a registration packet with deposit.

For additional information, go to www.hopkinsschools.org.

BLOOMINGTON

Notifications are due from home-school parentsBloomington parents who are planning to home-school their children during the 2011-12 school year must notify Bloomington Public Schools of their plans under the Minnesota Compulsory Instruction state law.

A Minnesota Compulsory Instruction Report can be found at www.blooming tonschools.info. Completed forms should be mailed to Bloomington Public Schools Home School Liaison, Educational Services Center, 1350 W. 106th St., Bloomington, MN 55431. For more information, call 952-681-6489.

EDEN PRAIRIE

Superintendent attends summit at the White HouseEden Prairie Schools Superintendent Melissa Krull joined a team of Minnesota leaders recently for a summit at the White House, discussing the challenges metropolitan communities face and how federal policy could help. The July 18 summit was sponsored by the Building One America, a national network of statewide and metropolitan organizations.

MAPLE GROVE

Online program's new parents to meet current familiesA parent meeting will be held Aug. 2 for prospective families of MTS Minnesota Connections Academy to meet currently enrolled families.

It is scheduled for 6 to 7 p.m. at Panera Bread, 7778 Main St. N. in Maple Grove. Real-time virtual online sessions also are available; go to www.connectionsacademy .com for the event schedule. MTS Minnesota Connections Academy is a St. Paul-based virtual K-12 public school program.

KELLY SMITH