October News

Congratulations to our October Pumas of the Month! Every month teams at Rosa Parks nominate students for Puma of the Month. They are looking for students who are upholding Puma Pride (Be Safe, Be Respectful, Be Responsible, Be your Best). At our monthly assembly these students are recognized. October winners are listed below.

(Students left to right)

Kindergarten: Colt Landsteiner

Grade 1: Micah Parrent

Grade 2: Sloan Dunn

Grade 3: Vincent Matson

Grade 4: Hazel Budinger

Grade 5: Mohamud Egal

Strawbridge Studios will be here the morning of Wed. Oct. 30 for picture retakes. If you purchased a packet and would like your student to get retakes, please send the packet to school with your student on that day. Any student that did not have their picture taken when Strawbridge was here in September will have it taken during retakes. Click here to view the price list and online ordering information. This link will allow parents to sign up to receive updates via email regarding their child's school portraits. These updates include promotions, additional deals and the ability to order more pictures at a later time. When entering student information, parents should be sure to enter the student's name as it is on file at the school.

We are in need of one parent volunteer to help with retakes. Please email nfesse1@isd77.org if you are willing to help out.

We held our third task force meeting on Tuesday, October 9th. During the meeting, the team continued to explore various school choice models, analyzed district survey results, and discussed the benefits and challenges from a systems perspective to help guide our next steps.

We used survey data from Jefferson Elementary, Rosa Parks Elementary, and Bridges Community School families, along with district-wide results, as part of this evaluation. Key priorities were identified for each individual school, as well as from a broader, system-wide perspective.

These priorities will be crucial as we move forward in identifying recurring themes at each site. Our next steps include gathering additional input from staff and narrowing down themes using the following six key criteria:

• Enrollment: Attracting new families and retaining existing ones.

• Staff/Specialists: Shared staff, travel time, and specialty areas.

• Alignment with Choice Look-Fors: Key characteristics identified from the survey results.

• Professional Development/Resources: Needs for staff development and physical resources.

• Space/Location: Feasibility, accessibility, and capacity to accommodate.

• Student Achievement: Supporting high levels of academic performance.

Please refer to the updated visualization, as we are wrapping up phase 1 and beginning work on phase 2. Stay tuned to the newsletters for more information and next steps as we move forward with this exciting opportunity for our families and staff.

Oct. 17 NO SCHOOL

Oct. 18 NO SCHOOL

Oct. 21 PTO meeting 7:00 PM Media Center

Oct. 30 Strawbridge Picture Retakes

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

2-Hour Early Release Days

November 13, 2024

December 11, 2024

January 8, 2025

February 12, 2025

March 12, 2025

April 9, 2025

May 14, 2025

• 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.

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 -

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.

The Greater Mankato Mental Health Hub has launched! This hub was developed by Greater Mankato Area United Way's Youth Mental Health/Suicide Prevention Committee and is hosted by the Center for Rural Behavioral Health at Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Rosa Parks is a School-wide Title 1 School, meaning we receive additional funding to provide supplemental interventions or services to students. The purpose of Title I, Part A under the Federal ESEA Act is to supplement services to students to help them learn what they need to know to be successful on high academic standards.

Rosa Parks' Parent Engagement Plan emphasizes the importance of collaboration between parents and educators. We encourage you to participate in our school activities, attend meetings, and provide feedback to help us create a supportive learning environment for your child. A copy of Rosa Parks' Parent Engagement Plan is available upon request.