Talk to me about the St. Paul Skyway system (condos, magnet school)

[Piglet99645]

Is it as cool as it sounds? I found a map online, but no real info.

Does anybody here live in one of the condos connected by the skyway?

The idea of living and working on the skyway system and walking to work sounds heavenly. Potential job is on the skyway system, so that could actually happen!

[golfgal]

Don't you have kids? Downtown St. Paul is not very "kid friendly" as in there just won't be many other kids around. The skyway is nice, easy to use but I wouldn't want to live there with kids. Young couple/single adult it would be ok though. There aren't any grocery stores in downtown, just an fYi.

[Piglet99645]

I do have kids. I was shooting for the gifted magnet school nearby...... I've got to get down there and walk around!!

[spectre000]

Originally Posted by golfgal

Don't you have kids? Downtown St. Paul is not very "kid friendly" as in there just won't be many other kids around. The skyway is nice, easy to use but I wouldn't want to live there with kids. Young couple/single adult it would be ok though. There aren't any grocery stores in downtown, just an fYi.

A Lunds will be opening late next year or early '14 in the Penfield development.

There aren't a lot of children in dt St.P, but there are families living downtown. Wacouta park has a nice childrens play area. There's also another one near the Union Depot.

[Mason3000]

Originally Posted by Piglet99645

I do have kids. I was shooting for the gifted magnet school nearby...... I've got to get down there and walk around!!

Just an fyi on that gifted/magnet school....you have to test in to it. For reference my 1st graders are at level P & Q in reading which corresponds to the end of 3rd grade by National testing standards. They just scored 35's (separately, same score, not coincidence according to SPPS) on the test with a minimum of 90 as the entrance scores. This is going to sound like sour grapes but I wanted to see where my "gifted learners" scored. They're excellent piano players, soccer players, advanced readers/learners, citizen of the month winners as classroom leaders & they scored 35s. I asked at parent/teacher conferences what was going on? I was told the test is spacial reasoning (i.e. how would this imaginary box best fit together?) & weighs no other factors. We're happy at Groveland Park (a great school!), with no intentions of leaving & took the test because they're mandatory. The results have me wondering though...35's?

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by Mason3000

Just an fyi on that gifted/magnet school....you have to test in to it. For reference my 1st graders are at level P & Q in reading which corresponds to the end of 3rd grade by National testing standards. They just scored 35's (separately, same score, not coincidence according to SPPS) on the test with a minimum of 90 as the entrance scores. This is going to sound like sour grapes but I wanted to see where my "gifted learners" scored. They're excellent piano players, soccer players, advanced readers/learners, citizen of the month winners as classroom leaders & they scored 35s. I asked at parent/teacher conferences what was going on? I was told the test is spacial reasoning (i.e. how would this imaginary box best fit together?) & weighs no other factors. We're happy at Groveland Park (a great school!), with no intentions of leaving & took the test because they're mandatory. The results have me wondering though...35's?

Actually, this is a perfect example of what gifted is not, gifted isn't just being a "good student", gifted is more about how they process the information they receive. Truly gifted students process information differently. Unfortunately our schools have turned "gifted" education into what we used to just called "advanced". A 1st grader reading at a 3rd grade level is very common for most average to advanced students around here. Reading at grade level is the MINIMUM requirement to move along in the schools, something most parents don't understand. The gifted kid would not only read at a higher level, usually, they would have 20 ways of rewriting the book while they are reading the book. There are a LOT of REALLY smart kids out there that are not truly gifted. I wouldn't sweat it.

[chilaili]

I always found the St Paul skyway system kinda creepy. You could walk for ages and never see another person but sometimes hear people in the distance without knowing which part they were in. I usually walked outside to get around downtown.