ENG 2024-25 Family Update No. 12
Nov. 15, 2024
Dear Northfield School District Families:
The district’s vision statement drives our work to prepare every student for lifelong success by developing critical thinkers who are curious and ready to engage in our society. Our career and technical education program is one way we fulfill that vision.
District systems instructional coach Michelle Bauer has provided the following overview of our CTE programs. The programs offer diverse, hands-on learning opportunities that empower students with real-world experience, certifications, and confidence to succeed in diverse industries after graduation.
Northfield Middle School programming includes:
STEM students explore various career paths, learn how to budget and plan for life after high school, develop a business plan, learn coding basics with engaging tools like Sphero Bolts and Scratch, and practice woodworking skills through tool safety and carpentry projects.
Family and Consumer Sciences students practice skills related to food safety and sanitation, nutrition, food preparation, budgeting, and money management, family dynamics, clothing care and sewing, design, consumerism, and marketing.
Northfield High School programming includes:
In Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources (AFNR), students gain skills in environmental science, animal science, plant and soil science, and conservation.
The transportation programs offer training in automotive repair and maintenance and CAD/Introduction to Engineering Design teaches problem-solving and innovation.
Business and marketing courses teach valuable financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and advertising strategies.
Culinary arts students develop cooking and food safety skills in a professional kitchen setting, preparing them for hospitality careers.
Human services programs, including child psychology, child development, and human and family relationships, provide students with foundational knowledge in human behavior and childcare, essential for careers in social work, education, and counseling.
Computer programming courses introduce students to essential programming concepts using C++; the courses cover data structures, structured programming, strings, arrays, structs, classes, object-oriented development, and data abstraction.
Work-based learning programming allows students to gain practical job experience in collaboration with local businesses.
These programs are just some of the ways we prepare students for lifelong success. We are grateful to offer these opportunities to our students!
As always, don’t hesitate to contact me with any feedback or questions about the district.
Sincerely,
Matt
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Matt Hillmann, Ed.D.
Superintendent
mhillmann@northfieldschools.org | 507-663-0629
Today is the last day to contribute to Operation Joy for the 2024 season!
For decades, CAC has aimed to spread joy during the holiday season through Operation Joy, which has supported Northfield families since the 1970s. In 2023, over 500 families participated, benefiting more than 1,000 children through community donations.
Operation Joy's mission remains clear: to ensure everyone experiences joy. Your sponsorship helps provide each child with:
- A Target gift card for choosing a gift
- A new book donated by Content Bookstore
- A family blanket sewn by local volunteers
Donate here: https://communityactioncenter.org/holiday-programs/
Thank You Voters!
We will work with Wold Architects and Engineers and Knutson Construction again to design and manage the projects — these are the same partners that the district worked with on the construction of Greenvale Park and the additions and renovations at Bridgewater, Spring Creek, the Northfield Community Education Center, and the District Office (former Longfellow School.)
Here are the next steps in the process.
Establish a core planning team and schedule its meetings. This team will set the criteria and goals for the projects and develop the building diagram and adjacencies. Activities will include tours to create a common understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of different building element configurations. The team will consist of various stakeholders, such as students, teachers, staff, administrators, parents, community members, and board members. For instance, the core planning team for the new Greenvale Park comprised over 30 individuals. We will soon invite people to apply for membership on the team. The team will begin meeting in December and continue into the new year, with an expected six to eight meetings total.
Plan for user groups. User groups consist of stakeholders who use specific spaces. For instance, there may be a user group dedicated to the music classrooms, while another group concentrates on the locker room renovations. There will be several user groups formed, primarily involving staff, but they could also include students, parents, and community members, depending on the space in question. These groups are set to begin meeting in late spring and will meet two to three times each.
Again, thank you to the voters for their overwhelming support in approving these projects. We will continue to provide updates on our website: https://northfieldschools.org/reimagine. You can contact Superintendent Hillmann with any questions about the design, planning, or construction process.
