Important Dates
Oct 2 Walk to School Day
Oct 8 & 10 Conferences
Oct 11-13 Wolf Ridge
Oct 14 No School, Prof Dev for staff
Oct 17-18 MEA - no school
Oct 21st PTA Meeting
Oct 30 Picture Retakes
Nov 18th PTA Meeting
Nov 27 Prof Dev for staff - no school
Nov 28-29 Thanksgiving - no school
Dec 23 Prof Dev for Staff - no school
Dec 24- Jan 1 Holiday Break
Jan 6th PTA Meeting
Jan 17 - No School Report Card Day
Jan 20 No School - Martin Luther King Jr Holiday
Feb 10th PTA Meeting
Feb 17-21 No School - Winter Break
Feb 24 No School - Prof Dev for Staff
March 10th PTA eeting
March 31-April 4 No School - Spring Break
April 21st PTA Meeting
May 12th PTA Meeting
May 26 No School - Memorial Day
May 27 No School - Prof Dev for Staff
June 5 Last Day of School
FAQ
How do I request a change for my child's bus stop?
Email heidi.klassen@isd709.org
How do I change my phone # or email?
Parent Portal
How do I volunteer in my child's classroom?
Please watch for information from your child's teacher and complete the mini background check form
Who should I let know about a health concern?
The teacher and also our health office joan.wick@isd709.org
Who do I contact about my child's immunizations showing up as non-compiant?
If your child is going into kindergarten, or you are a few family, the nurses will be entering them in the next few weeks. If they are missing any info, you will receive an email later in September.
Who do I contact about a charge on my child's lunch account?
Will I still receive messages from the school and teacher if I do not have a ParentSquare account?
Yes, as long as your contact information is correct in Infinite Campus.
Safety Drills at Congdon Park
Throughout the year, we practice several different safety drills in order to be prepared for an unexpected event at school. Below are the dates we plan to hold each of these drills.
Fire Drills:
September 10
September 24
October 4
April 30
May 20
Lockdown Drills:
September 18
November 13
January 14
March 12
May 12
Tornado Drill:
April 10
PTA
The Congdon Park PTA welcomes you back to school!
Please join us for our first meeting of the year on Monday, September 23rd in the media center. We will have a social from 5:30-6:00 PM and then our meeting from 6:00-7:00 PM. You may bring children - there will be some simple activities available and some middle school students to help with child care. Topics will include Walk to School Day, Safe Routes to School, Book Fair, Family Fun Nights, and more! Principal Kusch Marshall will share an update as well. All are welcome, regardless of membership. Come help to build community at Congdon Park for our students, staff, and families!
Looking for ways to volunteer?
Kindergarten and 1st grade lunch help: https://signup.com/go/tVGgadD
Congdon Park Garden Care Volunteering: https://signup.com/go/sSEWZQA
Walk to School Day: https://signup.com/go/yYzpGKD
Scholastic Book Fair: https://signup.com/go/DhHDcjD
Conference Dinners for Teachers and Staff: Sign-up coming soon!
Apple Crunch Day: https://signup.com/go/WAbRhbA
Teacher Wish List
Teachers have many needs for their classrooms. Our PTA helps to gather those requests and create a sign up for those parents that would like to purchase something for a teacher. Here is the sign up:
Fire Prevention Contest - Win a Ride on a Fire Truck
This week a Fire Prevention Contest form was sent home with every student. Please note that the completed form needs to be turned into any firehall, or mailed to the address on the form.
Life Safety Office
615 W. 1st St
Duluth, MN 55802
Do NOT turn it into the school. The completed form is due on October 14th, not post marked Oct 14th. The winners will be contacted on 10/17.
Family Directory
Each school year, the Congdon Park PTA provides a directory for families. This is a great resource for connecting with other families. This year's directory will provide the following information: Student's Name, Grade, Teacher, Parent Name, Phone Number, and Email Address. If you DO NOT want some or all of this information printed in the directory, you must return the following form, which will also be sent home with students. Thank you!
New Visitor Badges
The School District has provided all of their schools with new red Visitor badges. These badges are only for adults as there are not enough for children visitors.
If we run out of badges, there are still the Visitor/Volunteer stickers. Please return the red badges when you leave the school. Missing badges cost the school district money.
You will still need to sign in and out of the binder outside of the office. We will still need to buzz you into the office.
Parent Teacher Conferences
Friday, Sept 27, you will receive an invitation from your child's teacher to sign-up for a time to meet with the teacher for conferences. The sign-up will be through Signup Genius. Conference dates are October 8 and 10. We will also be having the Scholastic Book Fair during conferences.
Walk to School Day - October 2nd
Is it tough to get your child out to the bus on time? Do you wait in a long line to pick up your kid after school? Have you considered walking or biking to or from school? Many families don't realize how close they live to work or school!
We invite EVERYONE to join us for Safe Routes to School Walk to School Day on Wednesday, October 2nd. While every day can be a walk to school day, we invite you and your family to walk (or bike, either is great) on 10/2. Kids who ride the bus will be dropped off at Ordean Middle School and walk 2.5 blocks down Hawthorne to school.
An opt out form will be sent home next week or you can email your student's teacher if you do NOT want your child to participate.
Did you know: kids who walk to school perform better, are more prepared, and are healthier having walked or biked to or from school?
Just do it. Spread the word.
Volunteer sign up HERE
Do you have a middle schooler who wants to volunteer? We welcome all big kids to come and help us greet students on Superior St. between 7:10-7:45am.
Elizabeth (Beth) Larson - Para Professional
I started at Congdon February of 2022, then worked at Lester Park the last 2 years, and now I’m back at Congdon.
My family: I just got married a little over a year ago to my husband Andrew, and we have a dog named Jovie. Andrew was diagnosed with cancer last December, but after several surgeries and weeks of radiation he’s doing well and appears to be cancer-free now.
In my spare time I like to read, bake, and go on walks with Andrew and Jovie.
My hope for the school year is to make a positive impact on the kids I’m working with.
Jim Lundorff - Mr. L - Setting III Para Professional
My wife and I have two (soon to be 3) grandsons right here in town. We enjoy camping, fishing, hiking, etc. My hope for the year is to make meaningful connections with students and staff.
Jennifer McDowell - ELL
Hello! I'm the new English language teacher for our multilingual learners here at Congdon. I have taught EL for 16 years, 7 here in Duluth. I have two children, August and Violet – ages 18 and 14. I love to hike with my dogs, spend time with my family, and travel. This summer we traveled around a few countries in Europe. I love learning about other cultures and languages – so this was really special! I have taught High School English since 2020. I am so excited to be back in elementary, which are my favorite grade level!
Infinite Campus, Parent Square and Parent Portal
We have received a lot of questions about what these 3 are and how they work together. Below will hopefully help explain the difference
Infinite Campus
Program containing the database with all our student and guardian information, schedules, bussing, etc.
Parent Portal
Parent/Guardian access to Infinite Campus and how they view their child's information, as well as change their own contact information.
ParentSquare
The communication system our school district uses to send emails and phone calls to families, and families can respond back in a secure way. It uses the contact information set up in Infinite Campus. ParentSquare syncs with Infinite Campus every night, so any updates will go into effect the following day.
Click HERE for more information on ParentSquare
Click HERE for instructions on signing up for ParentSquare
WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO REACH MY STUDENT'S TEACHER OR OTHER STAFF? EMAILING IS BEST
We have a list of staff and their extensions that you can access by clicking HERE. You can also find this on our website. Click on "About Us" then look for link on the right side of the page directly under the Classrooms title.
On the list you will also find their full name to use for an email:
email: (first name).(last name)@isd709.org
About Us
Kathi Kusch Marshall - Principal
ISD709 SCHOOL DISTRICT UPDATE CENTER
Website: https://www.isd709.org/congdon-elementary
Location: 3116 E. Superior St
Phone: 218.336.8825
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cpsduluth