September News

A special election is being held on November 7 asking voters to improve the educational facilities throughout Mankato Area Public Schools (MAPS). As parents of our #MAPSready students, we'd like to share with you the referendum plans that will be on the ballot this fall.

The school district is holding a two-question referendum on November 7 for the following:

• Safety + Security at all MAPS school buildings

• Early Learning Access for our youngest learners and families

• Learning + Wellness Spaces for students and staff

• Outdoor Activity Spaces for both high schools, youth recreation and community use

Since 2017, the school district and community task forces have been studying the long-range facility needs at all buildings. The projects included in this fall's referendum were presented to the community through three community surveys, all of which showed significant support for investing in future-focused facilities. As a result, the MAPS School Board unanimously approved moving forward with a bond referendum on November 7.

Please take 3 minutes to watch this video about the referendum. Learn more, including where and when to vote by visiting www.isd77.org/vote2023.

Strawbridge Studios will be here on Thursday, Sept. 28 for individual student pictures. Please check out this form for pricing and the online order code.

Hello Puma Community,

We are looking for wonderful people to support our students during lunch. If you are willing to be a classroom/lunchroom supervisor, please contact me ASAP. Our team needs you!

Dan Kamphoff

507-387-7672

dkamph1@isd77.org

School Safety is always at the top of our list. In the beginning of the school year we practice our safety drills to make sure students and staff are prepared. This primarily covers fire drills and lock-down drills. We had our first fire drill earlier this week. New this year, you will receive a brief email the day prior to our lock-down drills. This is intended to help keep families informed and at ease with our safety practice.

Mankato Area Public Schools uses a variety of digital tools to support student learning. Technology vendors and software is utilized to support work as we help all students develop the skills necessary to succeed in an ever-changing world.

We have an inventory of our curriculum, testing, and assessment tools posted on our district website at bit.ly/4835DET (or directly to our Learn Platform page bit.ly/3R9xvRB). This list is maintained and communicated annually to all families at the start of the school year.

Please reach out to me for additional questions regarding the use of the specific digital tools in classrooms. Please reach out to MAPS technology department regarding data, privacy, and vendor inquiries of the specific digital tools.

Sincerely,

Dan Kamphoff, Principal

Angie Potts, Director of Educational Technology

MAPS families, we will have early releases on the following Wednesdays:

2-Hour Early Release Days

September 20, 2023

October 11, 2023

November 8, 2023

December 13, 2023

January 10, 2024

February 14, 2024

March 13, 2024

April 17, 2024

May 15, 2024

• This means your student will start their day at the normal time of 8am and be released at 12:30pm. Your student will still receive lunch prior to the 12:30pm dismissal when buses will leave the building.
• Optional supervision by school staff is coordinated by the building and provided between 12:30 and 2:30pm. A Google form will be used to sign up again this year.
• Students who stay for the optional supervision and are not enrolled in ACES must have transportation home by 2:30pm, the end of a normal school day.
• Lastly, ExCEL and After School Club programs will not run on early release Wednesdays.

There is no time like the present to jump in and get involved. The Rosa Parks PTO is in need of new members and board level positions to be filled to keep us moving forward. If you are interested or would like to learn more about this opportunity please send an email to Principal Kamphoff at dkamph1@isd77.org

Rosa Parks Families,

Did you know that the number of families that qualify for free and reduced priced meals directly impacts the federal and state funds Rosa Parks Elementary School receives to support all students? We would like as many families as possible to complete the Free or Reduced Price Lunch application. The more who apply and qualify, the more benefit to those individuals and to our school community.

Here are the income guidelines from the state of Minnesota outlining who would qualify based on family size and wages earned.

During the pandemic, when meals were free for everyone, we saw a decline in the number of families completing the forms to qualify for free/reduced price lunch (FRP). If food is free anyway, why would we, right?

Actually, it has an impact. This meant that Rosa Parks received less federal and state funding for staffing, social/emotional and mental health services, equipment, and supplies than in previous years when families had to complete the form in order to qualify for free food.

There are individual and community benefits to registering for FRP status.

Benefits to you at no cost :

• School Breakfast
• School Lunch

Benefits to Our Community:

• Increased state and federal funding for Rosa Parks (more staff, equipment & supplies)
• Increased social/emotional & mental health supports
• Increased math and reading supports

Complete this form to apply.

Please reach out with any questions you may have. Thank you!

The Rosa Parks Office Staff

If you have not completed this task please do it ASAP. Information gathered allows us to be up to date throughout the school year. If you have problems logging in or need to set up an account, please contact our Infinite Campus support team at icsupport@isd77.org

We have our arrival and dismissal procedures in place to keep students safe, and operate in an efficient and effective manner.

Arrival:

• Doors will not open until 7:35 unless you are enrolled in our ACES program. Also, adult supervision does not start until 7:35.
  

• Students that arrive between 7:35 and 7:50 should either report to the playground or breakfast.

• Curbside drop off is in the lower lot, door (#3). Please follow the flow of traffic.

• DO NOT PASS cars and skip ahead in line.

• Pull ahead as far as possible at all times. It may be super convenient for your kid to exit the vehicle right in front of the door or playground but please be considerate of others. The better everyone follows the procedures the smoother the experience is for everyone.

• The upper lot, (door #1) is reserved for buses only. and special circumstances. Should you need to visit the office, use the upper lot to park and enter the building.

• Students who walk or ride their bike will approach on the path, on the playground side of the building. They will walk/bike around the building to the bike racks and use the lower door (#3).

THE END OF DAY PICK-UP PROCEDURES - THE NUMBERS ARE HERE TO STAY.

DISMISSAL PROCEDURES

• Students who walk home will exit door #7 (near orange playground equipment)

• utilize the walking path

• must promptly begin leaving campus once they exit the building.

• Students who bike home will exit door #7 (near orange playground equipment)

• utilize the walking/bike path

• must promptly begin leaving campus once they exit the building.

• Students who are car riders will exit door #3.

• We are committed to keeping Rosa Parks students, families, and staff safe. Thank you for your cooperation!

• Each family is given a number that will need to be displayed in the car window

• Families will get two numbers to have in multiple vehicles

• Display number on the passenger side

• When pulling up, always pull up as far as you can and we will load multiple cars at a time.

• Staff will communicate the numbers in the order they have arrived into the building.

• Avoiding the process and driving to the front will result in your number not being called. Follow the process!

• As cars load, they will be dismissed and the next batch of cars will pull in.

• Make sure your children know their number for dismissal.

Please make sure your child knows how they will be getting home each day. Inform your child’s teacher or the school office if there is a change in your family’s plan.

Rosa Parks is a Schoolwide Title 1 School. In the past, Title 1 funds were available to

provide additional support to students who qualified based on their test scores. As a Schoolwide Title 1 school we are now able to utilize those resources more flexibly to support any students that would benefit. This fits wonderfully with our small group instruction blocks when students receive acceleration or enrichment based on their specific needs. Feel free to contact the school if you have questions.

As a parent, you have the right to request information about the qualifications of your child’s teacher(s). For further information, contact Dan Kamphoff, principal at Rosa Parks Elementary.

Email: dkamph1@isd77.org
Website: rpe.isd77.org
Location: 1001 Heron Drive, Mankato, MN, USA
Phone: 507-387-7672