News and events

September 2, 2026

Welcome back, Northdale families!

I hope your summer provided opportunities to relax, spend time together, and enjoy some well-deserved time away from the routines of school. As we begin a new school year, our staff is excited to welcome our students back and get started.

The beginning of a school year always brings a great deal of energy to a middle school. There are new teachers to meet, new friendships to build, new challenges to tackle, and plenty of opportunities for students to discover something new about themselves. We will continue to focus on VALOR: Valuing Ourselves and Others, Accepting Change, Learning and Growing, Owning Our Actions, and Refusing to Give Up.

We are proud of the work our students and staff accomplished last year, and we are looking forward to building on that momentum. Families play an important role in that work. Thank you for your partnership, your communication, and the support you provide your students each day. Please stay connected with us throughout the year, reach out when you have questions, and celebrate the successes, big and small, that come with being a middle school student.

It is great to have Northdale students and families back, and I am looking forward to another outstanding year together.

Jeff Leach

7th- District Closed, Holiday

8th- First Day of School - 6th Grade Only

9th- First Day of School - All Students

15th- Fall Pictures

7th-13th- Book Fair

8th- Fall Conferences, 3:30pm-7:30pm

15th-16th- No School, MEA

21st- Fall Picture Retakes

26th- No School, Elementary only (Secondary Reports to School)

Picture Day is Tuesday, September 15th.

Pre- order your students photos today at mylifetouch.com

Create an account or login with our Picture Day ID: EVTVTK6J4

Retakes are Wednesday, October 21st.

Questions about Packages/Payments? Call LifeTouch at 1-800-736-4753

Conferences are Thursday, October 8th.

Conferences will be held in the gym at Northdale, signing up will not be necessary this year.

Parents/guardians are welcome anytime from 3:30pm-7:30pm.

All students in grades 6–8 participate in key assessments throughout the school year to help guide instruction. FastBridge reading and math assessments are administered each trimester. ACCESS testing for multilingual learners takes place in Trimester 2, and Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCA) occur in Trimester 3.

If you have questions regarding district or state testing, please contact Laura Hendricks, Assistant Principal, at 763-506-5472 or Laura.Hendricks@ahschools.us. You can also find assessment information on both the NMS website and the district website.

Welcome back to Northdale Middle School! We are looking forward to the 2026-2027 school year. Each middle school has a Community Education office that coordinates a wide variety of athletics, classes, clubs, recreational activities, and events to enhance your child's academic and social experiences after school, in the evening or on the weekend. You can find the full list of Community Education Middle School Programs on our website.

FALL Athletics and Activities

• Cross Country - Mondays-Thursdays, starting Sept 9. Open to boys and girls grades 6-8.

• Boys Soccer - Mondays - Thursdays, starting Sept 14. Open to boys grades 6-8.

• Girls Soccer - Mondays - Thursdays, starting Sept 14. Open to girls grades 6-8.

• Girls Tennis - Mondays - Thursdays, starting Sept 9. Open to girls grades 6-8.

• Girls Volleyball Gr 7/8 - Mondays - Thursdays, starting Sept 14. Open to girls grades 7-8.

• Flag Football - Tuesdays and Thursdays, starting Sept 15. Open to boys and girls grades 6-8.

• FIRST LEGO League Challenge - Mondays and Wednesdays, starting Sept 21. Open to grades 6-8.

• Girls Volleyball Gr 6 - Mondays - Thursdays, starting Oct 19. Open to girls grades 6.

• Viking Strength and Conditioning - Tuesdays and Thursdays, starting Oct 27. Open to grades 6-8.

• Marvels of Matisse- Mondays, starting Nov 2. Open to grades 6-8.

• Babysitter Training - Sunday, October 11. Open to ages 11-15.

• Chess - Wednesdays, starting October 14. Open to grades 6-8.

• Drum Lessons - Thursday evenings, starting October 22. Open to grades 4-8.

• Dungeons and Dragons Club - Thursdays, starting October 22. Open to grades 6-8.

• Viking Gaming Club - Mondays starting October 12. Open to grades 6-8.

• Viking Service Club - Tuesdays, starting October 6. Open to grades 6-8.

• Intro to Acting - Tuesday evenings, starting October 6. Open to grades 4-8.

• Chess Fall Open Tournament - Saturday, November 7. Open to grades 1-8.

The Scholastic Book Fair will be held on October 7-13. These dates coincide with fall conferences. Come get some books during conferences!

As a part of district budget reductions last school year, individual Volunteer Service Coordinator (VSC) positions at secondary sites were eliminated. This means there will no longer be a dedicated VSC at each secondary school. We have moved to a centralized model to manage all volunteer needs.

Volunteers are still a very important part of our school community and we will continue to work to support volunteer needs in our buildings and process volunteer applications in accordance with district risk management procedures.

Take a minute and complete Northdale MS Volunteer Application for this school year. Email MSVolunteerServices@ahschools.us if you have general questions about volunteering.

We are looking for guest speakers to inspire our middle schoolers as they look ahead to high school and college. Our students absolutely LOVE learning about different jobs, hearing personal success stories, and engaging with hands-on or visual presentations.

Sharing your journey is a fast, fun, and incredibly rewarding way to impact local youth. We are scheduling spots for this school year now!

To volunteer or recommend someone, please email Rebecca Aman, AVID Coordinator, at rebecca.aman@ahschools.us.

Welcome to High School Spanish for 8th graders! In this year-long course, students will earn credit for their first year of language learning on their high school transcript. To advance to level 2 Spanish the following year, students must earn a C- or higher. The grading schedule is shown below to follow the high school schedule. Please contact katie.liekhus@ahschools.us for any questions you may have. See you soon!

Call the attendance line at 763-506-5406 or enter into the ParentVUE app if your child will be absent from school, coming in late, or needs to leave school early. You may also call the main line at 763-506-5400 and press 0 to speak with someone in the office directly.

Instructions for entering an absence into ParentVue can be found here:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/pHCThTCF9ss

Please include:

• Your student’s name

• Reason for absence (along with any symptoms if they are ill)

• If applicable, the time they will return to or be picked up from school.

If we are not notified regarding an absence you will be contacted by our automated phone system, which will prompt you to notify the school with the reason. If you do not notify the school, the absence will be recorded as an unexcused absence. No individual calls are made from our school, other than through the automated system.

Only parents and legal guardians are able to pick students up early. We must be notified in advance if anyone other than a parent or guardian will be picking your student up during the school day.

Anoka-Hennepin Schools is committed to providing students and staff with a safe, secure, and positive learning and working environment. In an effort to improve student focus on learning and reduce distractions during the school year, the school board has communicated that cell phones are not permitted to be used from 8:25am - 3:05pm in the middle schools.

The middle school guidelines state: At all six middle schools in the district, electronic devices must be concealed and shall not be powered on or used in any way during regular operations of the school day, during other school-sponsored and supervised group activities during the school day (e.g., during student assemblies, field trips, events, or other ceremonies, etc.), or when their use is otherwise prohibited by school personnel.

Students may call home from the Health Service phone. We prefer that the student comes to the health office first rather than calling or texting home to parents about not feeling well.

All medication must arrive in the original packaging, which displays dosage, frequency, and age requirements (do not send medicine in baggies or just in the bubble wrap). Prescription medication needs to have a pharmacy label with the student’s name and directions for giving. Prescription medication needs both a signed physician’s order and parental permission. Over the counter medications need parental permission. Medication authorization forms can be found on the health service website Health / Overview (ahschools.us)

With an order from the doctor and signed permission from a parent and the school nurse, students are allowed to carry their own inhaler. It is recommended that a back-up inhaler be kept in the health office. All inhalers must have a pharmacy label on the inhaler.

If a student has an appointment, please send a note and have your student bring it to the attendance office before the start of the school day. If the student is being transported by someone other than a parent, that information should be included in the request. Please do not call at the last minute and request that we have your student ready to leave for his/her appointment.

Only individuals identified on the emergency contact form are allowed to pick up a student. If this is not possible, special arrangements need to be made with the school health service staff. If you must have someone pick up your child who is not listed on the emergency contact form, contact the Health Service Dept. directly.

The direct number for the health office is 763-506-5404. The school nurse direct line is 763-506-5504. The fax number is 763-506-5403. All immunizations and doctor orders can be faxed from your clinic/hospital to health service.

Minnesota state law requires all students to be immunized to attend seventh grade.

In addition to previously received immunizations, seventh grade students need one Tdap booster after the age of 7 years and one meningitis shot. Your student could need one or more vaccinations or a legal exemption to meet these requirements. You may check your student’s immunization records in AH Connect.

If your child is not in compliance with state laws regarding immunization requirements, they will not be allowed to attend school as of October 13, 2026, until they are in compliance. If you have a medical appointment for your student to get their shots, but it is after the October 13th date, you will need to get a legal exemption form signed and notarized to have on file until your student has their appointment.

Contact your medical provider or Northdale Health Service at 763-506-5404 (fax: 763-506-5403) if you have questions.

Our goal is to provide a fun, safe, and engaging opportunity for middle school students and their families to support high school athletes as they participate in football, band, dance, and cheer. The following expectations are in place to ensure that all who attend experience a safe, welcoming, and positive environment.

All five Anoka-Hennepin traditional high schools (Andover, Anoka, Blaine, Champlin Park and Coon Rapids) have made the transition to online ticket sales for athletics and activities events. With the exception of some boys and girls hockey events, all ticket sales for events hosted by district schools will be online using Bound, the official mobile ticketing system for athletic events.

• Students will be admitted to football games with a valid Bound ticket, accompanied by a valid ID and a guardian escort, with a 2:1 student-to-adult ratio.

• Unsupervised students will not be permitted entry.

• The student code of conduct for school extends to all Anoka-Hennepin school events. Students running, throwing objects, using profanity, or causing other disruptions will be required to sit with their guardian for the remainder of the game.

• If the student’s guardian is not present, an administrator on duty will call home and escort the students to the front of the gate to wait to be picked up.

• There will be no refunds if a student is removed from the game before its conclusion.

• If a guardian has to be called about a student’s behavior, the student will not be admitted to a football game for the remainder of the year.

• Significant disruptions and policy violations are subject to further disciplinary action.

• Students are not permitted to bring backpacks, footballs, soccer balls, etc., to games. Balls will be confiscated at the gate or by administration if brought to the stadium.

• Students still on campus 15 minutes after the conclusion of a game will not be permitted to return to a game for the remainder of the season.

• Do not drop your student off unattended at the football game. It is expected that guardians supervise their students.

• Please review expectations of behavior with your student(s) before arrival and arrange for a meeting location at the end of the game.

• If your student is brought to you in the bleachers, please make sure your student remains with you for the duration of the game.

• As stated above, please be aware that students still on campus, unsupervised, 15 minutes after the conclusion of an event will not be permitted to attend future events.