Dear Northfield School District Families:
It was wonderful to get the school year started this week. It was delightful to welcome students back to campus on Sept. 9. Thank you for trusting us with your students and their education this year.
Open House/Ribbon Cutting
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 pm—7 pm 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. Watch your email for further details on this special event. Please note that face coverings will be required to enter school buildings.
Portage Update
A special greeting to our Portage families. Portage is the district’s state-approved all-the-time-online program. It is currently serving 106 students. We are pleased to offer a program that meets your needs.
Dashboard/Notifications
As we start the school year, I want you to know how the district will be notifying families about COVID-19 cases and exposures this year:
- The district will communicate its current cases via the dashboard. This dashboard began counting COVID-19 cases for the 2021-22 school year on Aug. 31. You can access the dashboard here.
- If your student is in a classroom where a positive COVID-19 case was identified, you will receive a general notification via email. Because of our universal masking requirement, people who previously would have been considered a close contact in these situations will not 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, that close contact will be contacted and required to quarantine.
- The district is using 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 for students displaying at least one common symptom or two less common symptoms.
You can view our district safety measures here.
Strategic Planning Sessions
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)
Thank You
Once again, thank you for your continued understanding as we have navigated these unusual times. We value your partnership and support. Have a great Defeat of Jesse James Day weekend!
Sincerely,
Matt
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Matt Hillmann, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools