ENG 2024-25 Family Update No. 8
Oct. 18, 2024
Dear Northfield School District Families:
While we don’t want to think about it quite yet, winter will arrive in Minnesota in the near future. While last year’s winter was mild and caused no school cancellations, Minnesota winter weather has been known to disrupt our schedule. Some key items:
You can learn more about what goes into decisions to close school, start late, or dismiss early here.
The first full-day closure due to weather is a true “snow day.”
The district uses e-Learning days for the second and subsequent full-day closures. You can read the e-Learning plan here.
You can read more about the district’s response to weather related disruptions here.
This year, we are implementing a practice e-Learning day on Wednesday, Nov. 27. The purpose of the practice e-Learning day is:
To refamiliarize families, students, teachers, and staff with e-Learning day procedures without the pressure associated with early morning decisions.
To ensure families, students, teachers, and staff understand the sites they will need to use and have appropriate passwords readily available.
As with all e-Learning days, if you prefer your student not participate in the practice e-Learning Day, you may call them in as absent and it will count as excused.
You will hear more about the practice e-Learning day from your school as we get closer to Nov. 27.
Thanks in advance for your patience and understanding as we navigate the upcoming winter.
Sincerely,
Matt
--
Matt Hillmann, Ed.D.
Superintendent
mhillmann@northfieldschools.org | 507-663-0629
The district’s bond referendum election will be held in less than three weeks! Here is your checklist:
Ensure you are registered to vote. Learn more at the Secretary of State’s website.
Ensure you have become an informed voter by reading the district’s Reimagine Northfield High School web site or attending one of the district’s remaining tours.
Vote on Nov. 5 at your regular polling place or vote early. Contact your county for more information about voting early.
The district recently sent a special update focused on the bond referendum’s first question. As a reminder, the first question includes:
A 120,000-square-foot multi-story classroom addition. This includes new general education classrooms, science labs, special education classrooms, culinary kitchens, and three new music classrooms.
Retaining 168,559 square feet (or 62%) of the existing school. This includes renovating the auditorium, gymnasium, vocational classrooms and shops, art studios, cafeterias, and media center.
It involves strategically demolishing the D, H, M and S wings (102,000 square feet). This assists in improving security and energy efficiency.
New HVAC systems throughout the entire facility.
Cost: $95.38 million.
The third bond referendum question is focused on upgrading the new HVAC system installed as part of the first bond referendum question to run using geothermal technology.
Wold Architects and Engineers estimate that the district could save at least 25% in utility costs by using geothermal. Utility costs are paid from the same fund as teacher and staff salaries. This operational savings is vital for the district’s financial health.
Carleton College has installed a geothermal system and is offering our stakeholders a tour of their facility:
Monday, Oct. 21; 4 pm-6 pm
Anderson Hall (200 Nevada Street)
Rob Hanson, Manager of Campus Energy at Carleton, will give the presentation and tours while Superintendent Hillmann will be available to answer questions. Sarah Fortner, Director of Sustainability at Carleton, will present on the impact of geothermal on climate sustainability.
A high school tour is one of the best ways to personally see the facility problems the bond referendum aims to address. We look forward to hosting you on a tour!
- Oct. 21: 4pm - 6pm, Carleton geothermal tour at Anderson Hall
- Oct. 22: 7pm - 8:15pm, NHS Reimagine Referendum Q&A in the high school auditorium
- Oct. 24: 6pm - 8pm, NHS Tour, enter at door #10 and meet in the media center
- Nov. 2: 10am - 12pm, NHS Tour, enter at door #10 and meet in the media center
Visit our Reimagine Northfield High School website, which contains detailed information about the bond referendum.
The 2024 legislature required school districts to adopt a cell phone policy by March 2025. The Northfield School District has had a cell phone policy for many years. This year, Northfield High School updated its cell phone procedures.
Essentially, students are expected to have their cell phones put away during class time. You can read the full NHS plan here.
Recently, NHS staff were surveyed about how they view the updated plan’s implementation. 93% of staff agreed with the statement that “The school wide plan for cell phones/devices and use of iPads has been a smashing success!”
by Ray Coudret, Instructional and Systems Coach
Starting with the 2024-2025 school year, Northfield Schools have adopted the third edition of Bridges in Mathematics and Number Corner as our Kindergarten through 5th grade math curriculum. These curricula have been developed by the Math Learning Center.
Bridges in Mathematics focuses on building student understanding through rich learning experiences where students are encouraged to see themselves as mathematicians. In a Bridges classroom, students gather evidence, explain their results, and develop respect for others’ opinions. Teachers encourage students to employ multiple strategies when solving problems.
Using active student learning and manipulatives to create visual models, students engage in the process of learning in pairs and small groups where they think independently and then share strategies with the whole class. Teachers foster student initiative by providing opportunities to work in pairs, discuss in small groups, or share with the whole class. As a result, students develop positive math identities while building problem-solving skills, conceptual understanding, and procedural fluency.
For more information on Bridge in Mathematics and Number Corner, check out the following links:
On Nov. 5, Northfield School District voters will elect four school board members from the following candidates (listed in alphabetical order):
Corey Butler (incumbent, current vice chair)
Tristan Cox
Maggie Epstein
Amy Goerwitz (incumbent, current clerk)
Claudia Gonzalez-George (incumbent, current chair)
Iris Lee
Andreas Thurnheer
There are non-partisan election resources to help voters get to know the candidates:
We are 18 days away from election day on Nov. 5. The great suffragist Susan B. Anthony said: “Someone struggled for your right to vote. Use it.” You can learn where your polling place is at the Minnesota Secretary of State’s website.
We must also acknowledge that it has been a contentious election. Some of us will be pleased with the results of the election and some of us will not. That is reality.
Whatever the outcome, we must remember these three things:
We are all human beings, deserving of respect and dignity.
Our children are watching and listening. What we say and do matters.
The physical and social/emotional well-being of every student is our top priority.
Regardless of the election's outcome, I expect our school community to act with respect. Our students may have questions, and the staff will do their best to address them as objectively as possible. As adults, it is our responsibility to model what it means to be part of a democratic republic for our children. Thank you in advance for your participation in the election and your support of our American democracy.
