#WomeninRPS: Bobbi Jo Tweed works with our littlest members of the RPS community, along with their parents, to help them learn and grow. She's advocated for herself throughout her career and now helps families advocate for their students. Learn more about Bobbi: https://www.rochesterschools.org/article/1501633
Assistant Principal Kara Merrill shares a little about herself for Women's History Month. Kara has served in many roles at RPS, giving back to students and promoting equity and access for all. Learn more about Kara: https://www.rochesterschools.org/article/1501633 #WomeninRPS
During National Nutrition Month, we wanted to remind families that all students can access a nutritious and free school lunch under the Minnesota Free Meals Program. What qualifies for a free meal? For a student to receive a free meal, their meal must contain three components. A protein, grain, milk, fruit, and vegetables are all considered components. One of these three components must be a fruit or vegetable.
Wondering what's for lunch? Visit https://www.rochesterschools.org/page/school-meals-and-menus
Ramadan Mubarak to all who participate.
It's almost time to "spring forward!" Daylight Saving Time begins on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at 2:00 A.M. Don't forget, our clocks need to “spring forward” one hour.
Each year, the Art Educators of Minnesota (AEM) hosts a flag design contest for elementary schools statewide, where the winning flag will represent Minnesota at the National Art Education Association Convention in April. In February, we learned that Aerie Wurtz, a fourth grader at Overland Elementary School, won first place! Her flag design, inspired by her uncle and his love for nature and fishing, will be made into a flag that will be used to promote the AEM Youth Art Month Student Art Show during the Convention in April, and she will get to keep the flag afterward. Additionally, Aerie will be awarded gift cards for art supplies. She does not know what she will do with them yet, but she looks forward to making those decisions. Congratulations, Aerie!
Today, March 8, is International Women's Day. At Rochester Public Schools, we are proud of the women and girls who contribute to our school district as staff, students, parents, and community members and celebrate the women who have positively impacted our lives.
Happy Maha Shivaratri to those who celebrate.
March is Social Work Month, a time to celebrate social workers and their incredible work within their profession. Last year, Rochester Public Schools received a $1.9 million U.S. Department of Education Grant. This grant has allowed RPS to provide up to 30 Master’s level Social Work scholarships and internship placements at RPS with necessary supervision and support while increasing our social work staffing by at least 10% in the next five years. This month, we will highlight four of our School Based Mental Health Scholars and see how they have been doing after their first semester!
Our first highlight is Amy Petersilie. Amy is in her 22nd year in the district and has been teaching Health and Physical Education at RALC for the past 16 years
Learn more about Amy: https://www.rochesterschools.org/article/1497634
#WomeninRPS: Meet Suhair Abushara, a Bilingual Educational Support Professional (ESP) who has been with the District for 18 years, is highly educated, and shares a passion for helping families with the opportunity to better connect with the education system.
Learn more about Suhair: https://www.rochesterschools.org/article/1495643
March is Women's History Month, dating back to 1981, a national celebration of the contributions women have made to the United States. This year, we will be sharing and celebrating some of the women at RPS and their contributions to Rochester Public Schools! #WomeninRPS
Our first highlight is Andrea Bacon, DAPE lead teacher. Andrea shared with us a woman who influenced her life, some of her proudest achievements, and her favorite free time activities. Learn more about Andrea: https://www.rochesterschools.org/article/1495643
It's National Breakfast Week! Breakfast Week is a weeklong celebration organized by the School Nutrition Association, helping to inform families of the federal breakfast program available to their students.
Did you know that our students have free breakfast available to them every morning before school starts? Whether it was a busy morning, a student forgot breakfast, they needed the extra meal, or if they are a school breakfast regular, students can grab a nutritious morning meal to fuel the start of their school day!
See what's for breakfast here: https://www.rochesterschools.org/documents/school-meals-and-menus/493023
Rochester Century and JM Hockey Team is headed to State for the first time in 15 years after winning the Section championship game. After ticketing on Ticketmaster failed - tickets for state will now be released in the following sequence:
Google SENIOR Grade Level Classroom 1:30 pm
Google JUNIOR Grade Level Classroom 1:40 pm
Google SOPHOMORE Grade Level Classroom 1:50 pm
Google FRESHMAN Grade Level Classroom 2:00 pm
General Public and District Employees 2:10 pm
General Public and District Employees must check this website for your passcode at 2:10 pm.
Please go to www.centurypanthers.org or www.johnmarshallrockets.org for your password at 2:10 pm
As you're replenishing school supplies for the last few months of school, remember to save your receipts. The Minnesota Department of Revenue offers two valuable tax benefits for parents who purchase school supplies for their K-12 students: the K-12 Education Credit and Subtraction. These benefits can reduce parents’ taxes to increase their refund, but is only available for those who keep their receipts. Purchases for most school supplies, field trips, and musical instruments for school band are eligible.
Most Minnesota parents qualify for the K-12 subtraction, which reduces their taxable income. Parents under certain income limits may also qualify for the K-12 credit, which can refund up to 75% of their costs – even for parents who do not owe any taxes. More details here: https://www.revenue.state.mn.us/press-release/2022-08-03/save-those-back-school-shopping-receipts-valuable-tax-benefits
This week is School Social Worker Week. At RPS, our social workers work across all grade levels to serve students from Pre-K through age 21 and their families. School social workers help light the way, emphasizing the whole child and linking students and families with needed services. Thank you to our school social workers for all that you do!
Update on the 2024-2025 Budget Deficit
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Dear Members of the Rochester Public Schools Community,
Survey results of metropolitan school districts in Minnesota released today show that Rochester Public Schools (RPS) is not alone in facing a major budget deficit for the 2024-2025 school year. RPS has cut more than $20 million from the budget over the past two years to put the District on a path to financial stability. Our deficit, shown in this survey, would also be much greater if the Mayo Clinic had not generously gifted the District $10 million dollars. RPS will continue to make the hard decisions necessary to reach financial stability in the years ahead. However, these survey results also show that due to inflation and other factors, more support is needed from both the State of Minnesota and the community of Rochester to provide all Rochester students with the caliber of education they deserve and that Rochester's future workforce requires. Toward that end, RPS will continue to advocate for increased funding at the legislature, and I will recommend that the Rochester School Board place a referendum on the ballot this fall to increase local support for our schools.
To read a summary of the survey results and to compare the projected deficit for Rochester Public Schools with projected deficits in other school districts, visit the Association of Metropolitan School Districts (AMSD) website or use the link listed below:
Association of Metropolitan School Districts (AMSD) Budget Survey: https://www.amsd.org/2024/03/04/2024budgetsurvey/
Kent Pekel, Ed.D.
Superintendent
Happy Read Across America Day! What better way to enjoy a beautiful day than with a good book? 📚
This week, we’re celebrating National Public Schools Week and highlighting various roles that help our schools run smoothly and efficiently. To close out the week, we’re spotlighting Brooke, the office manager at Dakota Middle School. Learn a bit more about Brooke and her job: https://www.rochesterschools.org/article/1470553
March is jam-packed with a lot of great highlights! In the coming weeks, we will celebrate Women’s History Month, Youth Art Month, Music in Our Schools Month, National Nutrition Month, and Social Work Month!
RPS families - It's the end of the trimester, which means there is no school tomorrow, Friday, March 1. Our school staff will be participating in a professional development or end-of-trimester work day. We'll see the rest of our students on Monday!
