The following policies and procedures are in place in the event that the Northfield Public Schools must be closed due to inclement weather. In addition to sharing the news with the media outlets outlined below, a gold alert will be placed across the entirety of the Northfield Public Schools website.
School Closings
- Emergency School Closing Procedures
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PLC Wednesday Winter Weather
If a two-hour late start weather delay occurs on a Wednesday, district PLC meetings for staff members will not take place and school will begin at the following times:
- Bridgewater: 10:25 a.m.
- Greenvale Park: 10:20 a.m.
- Spring Creek: 10:20 a.m.
- Middle School: 9:57 a.m.
- High School: 9:50 a.m.
- Area Learning Center: 10:10 a.m.
Note: Morning buses will pick students up two hours later than their regular (non-Wednesday) pick-up times. Afternoon buses will run at their regular times. Also, there will be no morning preschool programs.
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Skylert/School Messenger System
Northfield Public Schools utilizes the Skylert/School Messenger System for general announcements, meal account updates, and emergency/school closure messages. Skylert/School Messenger System uses the information you have in Family Access for these communications.
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e-Learning/Online Learning Day Plan
***Update***
- The State of Minnesota allows school districts to use five “e-Learning Days” each year for winter weather cancellations. The district used its fifth e-Learning day in February.
- Northfield Public Schools can continue to offer online learning for weather-related closures, using the same format as e-Learning, because the district has an approved online learning program.
- The school board authorized schools to continue using online learning when weather conditions necessitate school closures for the remainder of the 2022-23 school year on Feb. 27, 2023.
- If a parent does not wish to have their student participate in a weather-related online learning day, they have that option. Please call the attendance line at your school and let them know. That absence will be excused.
e-Learning/online learning days provide online learning opportunities intended to counter the loss of curriculum momentum resulting from school cancellations due to Minnesota’s winter weather. e-Learning/online learning days cannot replace the face-to-face time students have with their teachers but it can provide better continuity when school is interrupted. e-Learning/online learning days also negate the need for makeup school days in June, helping families more effectively plan summer activities.
» You can access the latest version of the e-Learning/Online Learning plan here.
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Broadcast Stations
In the event that there is a weather-related delay, closure or early dismissal, the following radio and television stations will broadcast this information:
- KYMN – 1080 AM – 95.1 FM Northfield
- WCCO-TV, Channel 4, WCCO Radio and WCCO.com – Minneapolis/St. Paul
- KARE-TV, Channel 11, and KARE11.com – Minneapolis/St. Paul
- KDHL/Power 96 – Faribault
- KSTP-TV, Channel 5, Minneapolis/St. Paul
- KMSP-TV, Channel 9, Minneapolis/St. Paul
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Winter Weather and Elementary Recess
Outside play is an important part of our elementary students’ day. Our goal is to ensure that children have an opportunity to be outside and engage in fun activities on a daily basis. However, in some circumstances, winter weather prohibits us from allowing students to go outside. Our students will have recess when the air temperature is warmer than 0º F and the wind chill is warmer than -10º F. Please make sure your children are dressed appropriately for the weather to enjoy playing outside during recess!
Since conditions and temperature recordings can vary between location, all three Northfield elementary schools use the Carleton College Weather Station as the official site to determine when weather conditions (as listed above) necessitate holding recess indoors.