Greetings, Northfield Public Schools Families,
I hope this message finds you well and your family had a successful first full week of school. It has been a true joy to have our students all back on campus this fall.
Open House [reminder]
Our district will (finally!) be celebrating the completion of our construction projects associated with the 2018 bond referendum. These celebrations were put on hold during the pandemic and we are excited to share these spaces with you. There will be open houses on Sept. 23 from 4:00 p.m.—7:00 p.m. at Bridgewater Elementary, the District Offices and Area Learning Center (the former Longfellow building), Greenvale Park Elementary, the Northfield Community Education Center (the former Greenvale Park building), and Spring Creek Elementary. A special ribbon-cutting program will be held at Greenvale Park at 6:30 pm. Please note that face coverings are required to enter school buildings.
Strategic Planning Sessions [reminder]
The district is preparing to update its strategic plan. This plan will be used as the guide for district decision-making over the next five years. We value your feedback about what outcomes you expect the district to pursue in the next five years. We will host the following sessions for you to provide feedback:
- Sept. 22 from 5 pm-7 pm at the District Office parking lot (this session is being held outside, weather permitting. If held outside, face coverings are not required)
- Sept. 30 from 6 pm-8 pm at the District Office gymnasium (face coverings are required)
- Oct. 4 from 6 pm-8 pm via Zoom (link to be posted in a future communication)
- Oct. 14 from 6 pm-8 pm at Greenvale Park Elementary (this session will be conducted in Spanish, face coverings are required)
COVID-19 general notifications, quarantine, dashboard, and vaccination [reminder/update]
- If your student is in a classroom where a positive COVID-19 case was identified, you will receive a general notification via email or text message. This general notification does not mean your student was considered a close contact nor does it mean they need to quarantine.
- If there is a situation where a close contact or the person who tested positive for COVID-19 were within six feet of each other and unmasked for more than 15 minutes, those close contacts will be notified individually. Students considered close contacts in these situations will not need to quarantine if they are vaccinated, have had a positive COVID-19 test in the last 90 days, or if all parties involved were wearing a face mask.
- The district uses the Minnesota Department of Health decision tree to address quarantines related to students or staff with a member of their household who has tested positive for COVID-19 and students displaying at least one common symptom or two less common symptoms.
- The district is updating our COVID-19 dashboard regularly. You can view the dashboard here. We will also start updating the weekly influenza-like illness rates and the weekly quarantine rates. We have changed the reporting period, which will now be Monday—Friday instead of Friday—Thursday. We will post the weekly rates as soon as practicable each week.
Vaccination is one of the best tools available to fight the pandemic and prioritize uninterrupted in-person learning. We strongly encourage families with eligible children (Ages 12-and-older) to become vaccinated. The district maintains this resource so you can find a vaccination location for your student.
KYMN Radio Segments [reminder]
I visit with KYMN radio’s Jeff Johnson at least twice per month, usually the morning after each school board meeting. KYMN records these segments and they are available through their website. Earlier this week, I talked about family conferences and the first day of school, district open houses scheduled Sept. 23, and the elementary science program presentation from Monday’s board meeting. You can also see all of the segments here. These interviews are another way the district uses to inform the community.
Have a great weekend!
Sincerely,
Matt
—
Matt Hillmann, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools