On Memorial Day, we celebrate, honor, and remember those who gave their lives for our country. Thank you for your service!
Reminder: There is no school on Monday, May 27, in observance of Memorial Day. Enjoy your three-day weekend!
All District buildings will be closed on Monday, May 27, and will reopen under normal operating hours on Tuesday, May 28!
Gage Gator Night was a success! Enjoy some of these snapshots of the Gage families connecting, finding new books to read, and watching a performance from their students!
Graduation is an accomplishment for all of our seniors, but for our Indigenous students, their celebration began at our annual American Indian Education Powwow on May 4th, 2024. At the powwow, seniors received an eagle feather to recognize their education milestone and to reflect the honor the graduate brings to their family, community, and tribal nations.
Learn more about the eagle feather ceremony: https://www.rochesterschools.org/article/1614534
Congratulations seniors on your last day of school! We are proud of you, and can't wait to see what you do next! #classof2024
Though the debate is still ongoing on whether pineapple belongs on pizza, Rochester Public Schools (RPS) students had the opportunity to explore pineapple, learn about where it comes from and how it grows, and consider its nutritional impact. Of course, they had to taste-test the pineapple, too!
Learn more about our partnership with the Mayo Clinic Dietetic program: https://www.rochesterschools.org/article/1613708
Minnesota GreenCorps members serve full-time at their host site for 11 months, from mid-September through mid-August. Members implement environmental projects to build climate resilience in one of four topic areas: community readiness and outreach, energy conservation and green transportation, stormwater and forestry, waste reduction and recycling. Sample projects include activities such as coordinating multi-modal transportation events, developing climate action plans, educating community members and youth, removing invasive species, installing rain gardens, benchmarking energy, conducting waste sorts, and more.
To learn more about the program and apply, visit: https://www.pca.state.mn.us/business-with-us/minnesota-greencorps
Happy Vesak Day to those who celebrate.
Today, we had our annual senior walk-through, where our seniors get the opportunity to walk the halls of their elementary and middle school one last time before graduation! We are so proud of your accomplishments! Thanks to all of our schools for coming together to celebrate you!
At last night's School Board meeting, the Board voted to place a referendum on the November 5 ballot seeking $19.4 million annually to protect and enhance educational programs and student services. The referendum would support the district’s new investment plan to “Ignite Student Learning.” Guided by feedback from residents, this plan was developed to stabilize our operating budget, strengthen our curriculum, and support the programs that will ensure our students are ready for life after graduation. Read more: https://www.rochesterschools.org/article/1611885
The RPS community is invited to join us for two virtual budget info sessions to review the 2024-2025 RPS budget and submit feedback. Join us on June 5 from 12-1 p.m. or 5:30-6:30 p.m. via Zoom. The Zoom links can be found at www.rochesterschools.org/events. Select each event to see the details.
Pinewood Panthers, new and old, please join us for a Building Farewell Party of Pinewood Elementary building tomorrow!
Next school year, Pinewood Elementary will be moving to and sharing a building with Longfellow Elementary. We invite new, current, and old Pinewood families, students, and staff to join us as we walk the halls of Pinewood’s building and share stories with one another one last time tomorrow, Wednesday, May 22, from 6-8 p.m.! This event is open to the public. We’ll have snacks, the Flapdoodles Ice Cream truck will be on site, and Pinewood teacher Mr. Newkirk will provide music.
See you there!
Due to predicted severe weather, RPS is canceling all after-school practices and games.
Here's what this means:
- All sporting events and practices are canceled.
- All activity buses are canceled.
- All Middle School After School classes and clubs offered through Community Education are canceled. All other Community Education programs are on as scheduled unless you receive a direct message from Community Education to the contrary.
Please check with your schools about their plans for PTSA meetings, concerts, and other events. The School Board meeting will still occur at the Edison Building starting at 5:30 p.m. If you cannot attend in person, you can livestream the board meeting at https://www.youtube.com/@ISD535.
May is National Speech-Language-Hearing Month, and we want to highlight some of our speech-language pathologists (SLPs). Meet Meghan Kriesel, M.S. CCC-SLP, who works at Overland Elementary School. Meghan has worked at RPS for seven years. Read more: https://www.rochesterschools.org/article/1578567
Rochester Public Schools elections are coming soon. There will be three RPS school board seats on the November 5 general election ballot. If more than two people apply for a seat, a primary election will be held on August 13 to narrow the ballot for the general election to no more than two candidates per seat.
To apply for the school board, you must file an affidavit of candidacy at the City Clerk's Office at Rochester City Hall, 201 4th Street SE. The filing period begins on May 21 and ends at 5 p.m. on June 4. The filing fee is $2.
Please note that RPS staff at the Edison Administration Building are not processing school board applications in 2024. The City of Rochester has partnered with the school district again to take applications for the RPS school board.
However, school board candidates will file campaign finance reports with the RPS Office of Administration by delivering them to Room 121 of the Edison Administration Building or by emailing them to jocarlson@rochesterschools.org. All campaign finance reports will be posted publicly on the RPS website under RPS Reports after they are received.
The race is on to the end of the school year! Yesterday, our 5th-grade students came together for our Annual All City Track Meet, where they raced, jumped, threw, punted, & sprinted to the finish line! A big shout out to our physical educators who made this day possible for our students!
Longfellow 45-15 Elementary School has spots available in their kindergarten through fifth-grade classrooms for the 2024-2025 school year!
Longfellow 45-15 boasts a diverse learning environment that follows a balanced 45-15 instructional calendar that has students attend school starting at the end of July for 45 days, followed by a 15-day intersession break. There are three intersession breaks in the school year. There’s a 15-day fall break, a 15-day winter break, and a 15-day spring break, with a six-week summer break at the end of the school year. Through this calendar, students have shown above-average academic progress and a strong sense of belonging.
During the breaks, free childcare is available through the Boys and Girls Club. For one week of each break, Longfellow offers additional academic support in math and reading for students in grades 2-5 who qualify. (Students who attend these sessions receive free School Age Child Care for that week.) These academic support classes are all taught by Longfellow staff and typically have low student-to-teacher ratios, which allows for greater chances for direct individualized instruction.
If you want to learn more about Longfellow or tour the school, please call their office at 507.328.3600 to connect. To enroll, go to https://rochesterschools.schoolmint.com/login.
Pinewood Panthers, new and old, please join us for a Building Farewell Party at Pinewood Elementary building next Wednesday! Next school year, Pinewood Elementary will be moving to and sharing a building with Longfellow Elementary. We invite new, current, and old Pinewood families, students, and staff to join us as we walk the halls of Pinewood’s building and share stories with one another one last time on Wednesday, May 22, from 6-8 p.m.! This event is open to the public. We’ll have snacks, the Flapdoodles Ice Cream truck will be on site, and Pinewood teacher Mr. Newkirk will provide music. See you there!
May is Jewish American Heritage Month where we recognize Jewish contributions to American culture, government, science, and more. To learn more, visit www.archives.gov/news/topics/jewish-american-heritage
Yesterday, our students at the Rochester Academy for Independent Living (RAIL) had their second annual Sports Day! Students participated in an array of sports and even ran races against one another in the gym. We look forward to more Sports Days at RAIL!
