February News

We want to see every Puma at school

Rosa Parks Families,

Did you know that if your Puma misses 17 or more days of the school year that they are considered chronically absent by the state of Minnesota? We know that students miss school for many reasons such as illness, vacation, or family emergencies. It is expected that a student will miss a few days throughout the year. However, when students start to miss more than a few days of school, it can be detrimental to their academic growth. Research shows that students who miss 7 or more days of school are more likely to struggle to be at grade level academically. Here at Rosa Parks, we want to see our Pumas in school as often as possible so that they can continue to get what they need to succeed in school.

Here are some important things to know about how we will be approaching attendance for the remainder of the year:

• Stay below 17 Days Absent: Mr. Kamphoff will be sending a message out to all families who have students on pace to miss more than 17 days of school this year. We have about 18% of students who are at this point. Our school goal is to have less than 5% of our students missing 17+ days this year. If you receive that message from me, know that we are looking to partner with you to make a plan for better attendance for the remainder of the year.
• 7 Sick Days=Med Letter Needed: If you have had a student who has missed up to 7 days because of illness, we will be requiring a doctor's note to excuse any further absences for illness. If your child isn't feeling good but they seem like they could be at school, I encourage you to bring them to school and have them checked out by our school nurse, Michal Blasing or Bethany Dierks. They will let you know if your student should stay at school or go home for the day.
• Doctor's Note Needed: Every time your student goes to an appointment (doctor, dentist, therapy, etc.), they must come back with a note from the visit excusing them from the time they were absent. If they have no note and it is just called it, it will be marked as unexcused until a note comes in verifying the absence.
• County Involvement: When a student has 7 or more unexcused absences, our school partners with Blue Earth County to support families with a plan to get their students to school more often.
• Helpful Video: Please take a few minutes to watch a great video on the importance of students being at school every day. Click here to watch the video.

Thank you for your partnership around attendance. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out.

It’s great to be a Puma!

Dan Kamphoff

Rosa Parks Principal

Hey Puma Families - We need dependable people who can occasionally help our Pumas succeed on the playground for 2 hours a day. This is a paid position and is available 5 days a week from 10:20-12:30. If you are not available for all 5 days we can be flexible with your schedule. Sometimes we have days of notice for needing a sub, and sometimes we find out the morning of. Flexibility is key.

Click here for the job posting. From there, click on para-educator and then scroll down to the non-classroom (playground/lunchroom) supervision posting. Please give us a call if you have any questions.

Thank you for considering!

Our dreaming team has been working hard to solidify plans and logistics of what a day will look like for the Fall of 2025. We are excited to have more information to share with you that will include a mock schedule, a peak into what special area transformations will look like as well as what instructional changes are we are planning on as we get more professional development in the coming months.

Our lottery window closed on Friday, January 24. We are excited to now begin looking at all applications and what that means for enrollment numbers here at Rosa Parks. Families will be notified on February 14th on whether they were accepted or placed on a waitlist for next year. Families will then have the opportunity to accept or decline their seat up until March 1.

Here are some things that we do know right now:

• Our start time will continue to be 8:00 with an end time of 2:30. As we have worked with transportation they have communicated the need to not adjust start and end times too much to make secondary routes possible. As we learn more specifics with transportation we will share those details. Look for information to come out about transportation needs in March.
• We will still follow all reading and math standards and guidelines for reaching those subjects. Across grade levels we will start integrating our new learning and instruction with our science standards as our focus. The content of what we are teaching will remain the same, how we teach the content is what will change.
• We are working on logistics of how our special area classes will incorporate the concepts to STEAM and how we adjust instruction to meet the hands on, critical thinking and problem solving our families shared as critical to engaging students.

Sign Up TODAY! Kids Heart Challenge is coming to Rosa Parks Elementary!

Quack, Quack! The Heart Heroes are coming back! Our school is participating in Kids Heart Challenge, kicking off on 2/11/2025 and it’s time for you to sign up your student to become an official Heart Hero.

Sign up TODAY

• Download the FREE AHA Schools App for Apple or Android and click on “Register Now” then scroll down to join your school's team.

• OR click HERE. and choose “Sign Up” to get started.

Thank you for your support, together we are building a Nation of Lifesavers!

Rosa Parks is excited to kick off the STEAM school next year. Students will have opportunities to explore, ask questions, hands on projects, and more. However, as we prepare for our new model we realize that we are in need of different supplies that you may have around your house. We are asking that every month you help us gather supplies. Please look at your grade level and see if you can donate these supplies in February.

For the Month of February we are kicking off our donations. Just send them into your classroom teacher.

Kindergarten - Paper Towel/Toilet Paper Rolls

1st grade - Empty Water Bottles

2nd grade - K-Cups

3rd grade - Pom-Poms

4th grade - Egg Cartons

5th grade - Pipe Cleaners

We are currently accepting donations of new or gently used winter clothing items such as coats, snow pants, and boots. Items can be dropped off in the office.

Winter weather will be here soon, so it’s a good idea to have a plan for your family in case of school closings, early dismissals, or late starts.

Notices for school closings and early dismissals will be posted on the following websites, radio, and television stations. You can also hear a recorded message on the District Notification Line at 507-387-6046.

Other ways to track school closing delays/dismissals/closures:

● www.isd77.org ● katoinfo.com ● mankatofreepress.com ● southernminnesotanews.com ● keyc.com ● KEYC 12 - TV AND MANY MORE.

Click HERE for a copy of the Winter Weather Information.

*Blue Earth Area Schools is a smaller school district south of us. When you hear or see this, IT IS NOT Mankato Area Public Schools.

Feb. 6 STEAM Family Night

Feb. 10 PTO Meeting, 7:00 pm, Media Center

Feb. 11 PTO Fundraiser-Qdoba

Feb. 12 Early Release

Feb. 17 NO SCHOOL

Feb. 28 Grades 1, 3, 5 music performances

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

2-Hour Early Release Days

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.

The hub is meant to be a tool for parents and caregivers to easily find information on crisis support, local mental health services, parent education, and more.

Find more information HERE.

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.