Newsletter

ACCESS Testing Begins for English Language Learns this week!

February is "I Love to Read" and Black History Month!

February 5th: 4th/5th Grade Ice Fishing Field Trip

February 7th: No School K-8 Staff Development Day

February 12th: Family STEAM Event 3:30-5:00PM

February 13th: 4th/5th Grade Sea Life Field Trip

February 14: Spirit Day- Students may wear Red, Pink, or White

February 17th: No School K-8 President's Day

February 19th: Family STEAM Event 3:30-5:00PM

February 19th: NMFA School Board Meeting- 4:00 PM
February 19th: NMFA Annual Meeting- 5:00PM
February 21st: MPR Assembly for students- Afoutayui Dance Group

February 21st: 4th-8th Field Trip to Vocalessence at Northrop Auditorium

February 26th: Family STEAM Event 3:30-5:00PM

February 27th: NMFA February Birthday Celebrations

February 28th: No School K-8- Staff Development

March 3rd-6th: Spring Book Fair & Parent Conferences

March 5th: Family STEAM Event 3:30-5:00PM

March 7th-14th: No School K-8 Spring Break

NMFA has seen an increase in absences during the month of January, while we know that this can be due to cold/flu season and sickness. We do encourage you to send your students if they are not exhibiting respiratory symptoms, fever, vomiting, or diarrhea. Below is a video regarding how important attendance is for our students.

We recognize that recent changes at the federal level has raised concerns for many of our families. We are committed to fostering a safe, welcoming, and inclusive environment for every student and family.

We value the trust you place in us to care for and educate your children and we want to assure you that their safety and well-being are our top priorities. We'd also like to share important information below about your rights:

Your Rights as Families

1. Minnesota Human Rights Act - The Minnesota Human Rights Act (MHRA) is the state law prohibiting discrimination in Minnesota and is enforced by the Minnesota Department of Human Rights (MDHR). This law prohibits discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, public services, education, credit, and business based on protected class, such as: race, religion, disability, national origin, sex, marital status, familial status, age, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

2. Your child's right to education: Every child in Minnesota, regardless of race, sex, ability, sexuality, gender identity or immigration status has the right to access free public education. Schools cannot ask about a child’s or family’s immigration status as a condition for enrollment.

3. Privacy is protected: Policy 5.3.1 along with federal law prohibit us from sharing your personal information or providing access to your student without your consent or a valid judicial warrant.

4. Access to support: Schools are here to connect you with resources, including language support, legal assistance, mental health and community services.

5. Respect and dignity: All students and families are treated with respect, regardless of background, language, sexuality, gender identity or immigration status.

What You Can Do:

• Fill out the Family Preparedness Plan https://www.ilrc.org/resources/step-step-family-preparedness-plan
• Keep your contact information up to date in Campus Parent so we can reach you quickly if necessary. Add an emergency contact if one does not already exist in our system.
• It is important that your children attend school every day to ensure they are learning and we want to maintain consistency. Let your children know that they are safe at school to learn and spend time with their friends, teachers and classmates.
• Reach out to your school if you have questions or need assistance accessing resources.

Black History Month is an annual celebration of achievements by African Americans and a time for recognizing their central role in the U.S. history. The theme for 2025 is "African Americans and Labor", which focuses on highlighting the significant contributions of African Americans to the workforce throughout history.

During the month of February, NMFA staff encourage to to celebrate and promote the love of reading, and encourage your students to spend time reading across various genres! We encourage all our families to spend 20 minutes per day reading with your students!

Afoutayi Haitian Dance, Music, and Arts is a performance company that promotes Haitian culture through music, art, dance, and history education. Afoutayi presents an interactive, movement-based program that incorporates call-and-response, body percussion, and an introduction to Haitian and Afro-Caribbean culture. Students will be watching Afoutayi on Friday February 21st.

2nd and 3rd grade enjoyed their time at the MN Science Museum exploring the exhibits. They also enjoyed the show Stellar Tours: A Star is Born. During this show they were following the life cycle of a star in a live digital telescope adventure! Using the Omintheater's new Digistar 7 projection system, Stellar Tours lets audience take the wheel on a celestial expedition. More than a planetarium show, different than a movie, with real-time images from space, Stellar Tours gives audiences a rare glimpse at some of the brightest bodies in our universe.

On January 23rd, our students showcased their musical talents for their families and friends during our Winter Concert. Students in our after school band and violin program also performed numerous songs that they have worked hard on. It was a great concert.

FastBridge testing has been completed. The purpose of this testing is to help our teachers identify student needs, align interventions with their needs, and measure the effectiveness of interventions in use. FastBridge uses a combination of Computer-Adaptive Testing and Curriculum-Based Measures.

During the reading assessments, it helps teachers identify skill gaps and provides recommendations for instruction. The math assessment help monitor math progress. We are also able to screen for social-emotional behavior.

Reading: Falling in Love with Authors & Illustrators.

Math: Students are focusing on knowledge of numbers 1-31

Social Studies: Students are learning about community helpers and maps.

Science: Students are learning about animals and seasons.

At Home: Parents can work on counting, adding 1-10 and focusing on letter sounds and blending words.

Reading: Our Love makes a Family Unit.

Math: Students are learning about place value, tens and ones.

Social Studies: Community helpers and maps.

Science: Learning about animals during winter and spring.

At Home: Parents can work on blending and letter sounds (vowels), and counting to 100 and place values.

Reading: Students are learning about more complex spelling patterns, and vowels that are controlled by the letter R and vowel teams. We are also focusing on immigration and discussing how to better understand what we read about.

Math: We are learning about money, place values up to 1,000, and adding and subtracting 3-digit numbers.

Social Studies: We are learning about the United States map and landforms, communities, and resources.

Science: We are discussing how plants, animals, and people get what they need from our environment.

At Home: Have your student read to you to get better at reading fluency smoothly, without having to sound out each word.

Reading: We are focusing on Folk Tales, learning the lessons within the stories, sequences, and character impact.

Math: Learning about Measurement and Fractions and Measuring time and volume.

Social Studies: How communities have changed over the last century.

Science: Ecosystems and the interactions of plants and animals that live inside them.

At Home: Parents can work with student(s) on learning to tell time on an analog clock.

Reading: Focusing on the American Revolution, the ideas and values behind the Revolution and what drove the colonists to seek independence.

Math: Learning about fractions, decimals, and angles.

Social Studies: Learning about states, capitals and resources.

Science: Learning about weather.

At Home: Students can work on multiplication facts and reading comprehension by telling parents a summary about what they are reading!

Reading: Students will be reading Trash Vortex. We will be working on figuring out solutions to reduce waste and opinion writing.

Math: We are working on place value and decimals.

Social Studies: Focusing on exploration of the new world and how the first colonies were built.

Science: Learning about living and working on Mars.

ELA: Students are reading Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina by Misty Copeland, exploring themes of perseverance, identity, and breaking barriers. Through multiple assignments, they will deepen their understanding of narrative structure, author's purpose, and the impact of personal stories.

Math: Students will be focusing on Geometry.

Social Studies: Exploring significant moments in history by researching and presenting Black History Month projects. They are also studying the origins of the Progressive Era in MN, examining how social and political changes have shaped the state.

Science: Students will be working on their Black Scientist Projects.

ELA: Students are reading A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, analyzing the themes of racial inequality, economic struggle, and the pursuit of dreams. This literary study ties in directly with their Social Studies lessons on the Civil Rights Movement, redlining, and the Great Migration, allowing students to explore historical and societal issues through both fiction and nonfiction.

Math: Students will be focusing on Geometry.

Social Studies: Exploring the Civil Rights Movement, the Great Migration, and the practice of redlining. Through these studies and Black History Month projects, students will analyze historical struggles for racial equality, the impact of systemic discrimination, and the ways in which African Americans have shaped American History.

Science: Students will be working on their Black Scientist Projects.

ELA: Students are reading Animal Farm by George Orwell, exploring and analyzing its allegorical connections to historical events and themes in Social Studies. Through multiple assignments students will examine themes of power, corruption, and propaganda, linking them to their study of European history up until the Cold War.

Math: Students will be learning about exponents and polynomials.

Social Studies: Students are studying European history up until the Cold War, examining key events, movements, and conflicts that shaped the modern world. They will explore themes of authoritarianism, war, peace, analyzing how historical leaders, ideologies, and global conflicts influenced societies.

Science: Students will be working on their Black Scientist Projects.

PE: During the month of February we will be focusing on parachute activities (Kindergarten-4th), jump roping activities for Heart Health, and finishing up our 4-square games.

Health: Grades 5-8 will be focusing on learning about first aid care, CPR, choking, and AED education.

Music: We will be working on:

• KG/1st: Reading rhythms, singing as a group, and moving to music.
• 2nd/3rd: Notes on a staff, rhythm reading, playing classroom instruments as a group.
• 4th: Playing our recorders (Purple, Blue, Red, Brown, and Black Belts).
• 5th-8th: Ukueles, learning the basics, playing along with songs, and music genres.

Art: We will be working on:

• KG/1st: Geometric Shapes and Paintings
• 2nd-4th: Black History Month- Alma Woodsey Thomas Paintings
• 5th-8th: African Art Patterns- Black History Month

Families, please report your students absence as soon as you know they will be gone. You have multiple options to submit attendance. You may call and leave a message on the attendance line, you can submit through the JMC Family Portal, you can text or email: attendance@nmfamn.org or you can submit the absence via the attendance link on the website.

If you have not submitted the absence by 9:30AM, you will receive a call notifying that your student is absent. Students are marked tardy after 7:45AM and MUST BE SIGNED IN.

School buses begin to arrive at the school by 7:20AM and typically depart the school by 2:07PM. If there is an issue with your student's bus route, please start by contacting the transportation company directly.

If your student will not be riding the bus home from school, please call and notify the front desk no later than 1:00PM. We also kindly ask that if possible to avoid picking up students at the front desk at 1:45PM as the buses are lined up and we have students walking out to buses starting at 1:55PM.

Students who live in district ISD 622 please contact them at 651-621-1980. Students on these routes are also able to download the K12 Bus app. Please reach out to ISD 622 with information on how to login.

Student who live in East St. Paul please contact our vendor at 612-808-8868.

JMC offers parents the ability to view their students, grades, attendance, and more by logging into your family portal account. Use the button below to head to the login page. You can also download the JMC Family App in your mobile phone's app store. The mobile pin is 0691. If you do not know your username or password, please contact the front desk or email info@nmfamn.org to obtain the information.

All students are able to receive 1 breakfast and 1 lunch daily, free of charge. However we still ask that families fill out the alternative application for education benefits. Doing so can help NMFA receive funding for field trip grants and more. You can find a copy of this application by clicking the button below.

If your student brings a home lunch and takes a school milk, they will be charge 38 cents for the milk. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide the milk for free unless it is taken with a school meal.

If your student is sick, we kindly ask that you follow these guidelines on when to keep your student(s) home:

• A fever of 100.0 or higher
• A positive test (Flu, RSV, COVID, ect.)
• Any contagious virus/disease confirmed by your doctor
• If your student is excessively coughing and is uncomfortable
• If your student has vomited or has had diarrhea in the last 24 hours

If you have any questions on when to keep your student home, please let us know.

If your student needs medication while here at school, you will need to fill out the medication form and return to the health office. You can get a copy of the form using the button below.

Know someone who is interested in our school?

We are always accepting applications for enrollment!

The NMFA School Board meets the 3rd Wednesday of every month at 4:00PM at the school. The board meetings are open to the public and anyone can attend. If you are interested in joining the school board and making a difference for our students please reach out to the school for more info.

Current Board Members:

Mike Leary: Board Chair

Kyle Johnson: Teacher/Treasurer

David Isaacson: Teacher Member

Joe Palkowitsch: Parent Member

Barbara Smith: Parent Member

The Cooke Young Scholars Program is a selective five-year, pre-college scholarship for exceptionally promising 7th grade students with financial need. It provides comprehensive academic and college advising, as well as financial support for school, Cooke-sponsored summer programs, internships, and other learning enrichment opportunities. Learn more on their website:

Email: info@nmfamn.org
Website: www.nmfamn.org
Location: 2350 Helen Street North, North Saint Paul, MN, USA
Phone: (651)300-6300
Facebook: https://facebook.com/NorthMetroFlexAcademy/

o Debbie Kranz ~ Principal dkranz@nmfamn.org

o Dave Isaacson ~ Special Education Coordinator disaacson@nmfamn.org

o Chelsea Smieja ~ Operations Manager csmieja@nmfamn.org

o Jenny Hubin ~ Office Assistant jhubin@nmfamn.org