
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!

One of our favorite things about our teachers at Rochester Public Schools (RPS) is their passion for the growth and well-being of our students. From kindergarten through 5th grade, our students are challenged to develop academically, socially, and emotionally. Elementary art teacher Elizabeth Rosendahl strives to do this each day through art.
Read more about Elizabeth: https://www.rochesterschools.org/article/1599595


With the end of the year around the corner, you might be looking for a creative way to thank an RPS Staff member for the impact they've made on your family. Consider honoring a staff member by donating to the Rochester Public School Foundation: http://www.rpsf.org/HonorStaff.
Learn more about honoring a staff member: https://www.rochesterschools.org/article/1597578

Last weekend at the Transportation Fair hosted by RPS Early Childhood Family Engagement, families enjoyed the weather while learning all about local vehicles, what they do for our community, & our community partners! We had a great time and can't wait to see you again next year!











School Age Child Care (SACC) registration for the 2024/2025 school year opens at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. If you are curious about what SACC is and how it may benefit your family, or know someone who may be interested in SACC, consider reading our article: https://www.rochesterschools.org/article/1555003

Minnesota MATHCounts Coach Jack Faillor from Kellogg Middle School shared, "Minnesota just found out the results! We placed 4th Place out of 56 teams in the national MATHCounts competition! I am very proud of the team effort, which shows that Minnesota can compete with the best mathematicians nationwide. As a result, we also won Most Improved State and got recognized in front of the countdown round. As an Individual, Eric, from Kellogg Middle School, took 5th Place in the written round!"
Coach Jack Faillor and Eric participated in the MN MATHCounts afterschool program through Rochester Community Education. Congratulations on your accomplishments!


May is National Speech-Language-Hearing Month, and we want to highlight some of our speech-language pathologists. Meet Audrey Holliday, M.S. CCC-SLP, who works at Hoover Early Learning School. Audrey has been working at RPS since 2020. Read more: https://www.rochesterschools.org/article/1576483


Set your alarms! School Age Child Care (SACC) registration for the 2024/2025 school year opens tomorrow at 6:00 a.m. RPS offers an opportunity to ensure your student is in the best care where they can learn, grow, and have fun through School Age Child Care Program (SACC) at all RPS elementary schools. SACC provides a safe, nurturing environment for before and after-school care where students can feel valued and have a sense of belonging. If you would like to learn more about how to register your student(s), check out our SACC webpage: https://rochesterce.org/sacc


School Age Child Care (SACC) registration for the 2024/2025 School year opens on Wednesday, May 15 at 6:00 a.m. SACC has been a wonderful resource for many families in the district. If you would like to learn more about SACC and how to register your student(s), please check out our SACC webpage:https://rochesterce.org/sacc


On Friday, May 10, Lincoln hosted an art show where the whole inside of Lincoln was nearly completely decorated in student art! At this community event, parents and caregivers had the opportunity to see the creativity of Lincoln students in full effect and even had an opportunity to create art with their students!
Please enjoy some snapshots from the evening!

Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) 2024 is the largest international pre-college STEM competition in the world and is currently taking place in Los Angeles, California, this week (May 11-17). Each year, Regeneron ISEF awards approximately $9 million in prizes. Four of our students, who are State Science Fair finalists this year, are currently in Los Angeles competing at Regeneron ISEF!
Ezra Weldegabriel from Mayo High School, Erik Hill from Century, and Ardashir Kocer from Century did a project where they made and applied a new type of high-capacity anode and an aluminum xerogel within a Lithium-Ion battery with the goal of making significant cost reductions and improved sustainability within Lithium-Ion batteries.
Dean Wang from Century strives to combat the drug epidemic that causes over 100,000 deaths in the US alone. He developed a framework that predicts interactions with certain drugs, such as methamphetamine, and their outcomes. He plans to implement a practical portal in all settings, streamlining prescriptions and improving drug safety to limit drug overdoses.
Good luck, you four! All of Rochester is rooting for you!

To celebrate Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Month, Tony Yang, school counselor at Jefferson Elementary School, has been sharing his book Banana. As a Hmong American, Mr. Yang drew from his own experiences to write a book covering race, identity, feelings, and belonging. #AANHPI
Banana is a story about a Hmong American boy named James. When he is called a "Banana," a term used to describe some Asian Americans, James struggles with his identity and feels that being a Banana is all he is. However, he learns to talk about it and find his true self, peeling away the names and expectations others put on him.





Happy Mother's Day to all of the amazing, loving, strong, happy, selfless and graceful mothers, stepmothers, grandmas, foster moms, late mothers, future moms, bereaved mothers, hopeful moms, those with estranged relationships with their moms, and motherly figures. Thank you for your contributions to our students, families, and communities.


As we wrap up this week, we want to take a moment to show our gratitude for all of our Preschool- and School-age child care employees! SACC provides a safe, nurturing environment for before—and after-school care where students can feel valued and belong. Thank you for all you do!


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.


We are proud to celebrate, recognize, and share the work and contributions of our Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander students and staff. Within our community, it's important for students to share their culture and feel a sense of belonging at Rochester Public Schools.


May 8 is National School Nurse Day, and we're celebrating by highlighting some of our school nurses throughout the day. Janyce McHale, LSN, works at Dakota Middle School. Read more: https://www.rochesterschools.org/article/1588963
