SMS October Newsletter
2026
Oct. 8th - Conferences 4:00 - 7:00 pm - School in Session
Oct. 13th - Virtual Conferences 4:00 - 7:00 pm - School in Session
Oct. 14th - Conferences (Daytime) - No School
Oct. 15th and 16th - Teacher Convention - No School
Oct. 22nd - SMS Quarter 1 Art Show
Oct. 27th - 8th Grade Choral Festival 7 - 8 pm (ERHS)
Oct. 30th - 8th Grade Band: Halloween Concert 7 - 8:30 pm (ERHS)
Nov. 2nd - End of 1st Quarter - School in Session
Nov. 3rd - Teacher workshop - No School
Nov. 10th - Salk STEM Family Night 6:00 - 7:30 pm
Nov. 26th and 27th - Fall Break - No School
Salk Middle School will soon be hosting our fall conferences. We look forward to partnering with you and being in community together. Please use the following link to learn more!
The Scholastic Book Fair is coming to Salk Middle School October 7th-14th! The book fair will be available during school hours and all in-person conferences. Please consider supporting Salk through your book fair purchases - a percentage of each sale goes directly towards purchasing more books for Salk's Media Center. Cash, credit cards, and eWallets are accepted forms of payment at the book fair. Click here to set up an eWallet for your student.
If you have any questions about the book fair, please contact Stacy Bray at stacy.bray@isd728.org.
Tuesday, November 10, 6:00–7:30 PM
Save the date! Join us for an open-house evening of hands-on fun with activities in partnership with THE WORKS museum, Robotics Club, StarLab constellation tours, 3D printing and more! Interested in how your business or club can participate? Contact caitlin.grandell@isd728.org to collaborate.
Families will explore exciting activities—including the Star Dome planetarium, interactive games, and creative challenges for students of all ages. Bring siblings, friends, and the whole family for this special community engagement event. Plus, enjoy door prizes and plenty of surprises along the way. We can’t wait to see you there!
At the end of each quarter, SMS Art Teacher, Ms. Jerke, hosts an Art Show in her classroom for parents/guardians to come in and see various items that the students worked on during each quarter. Our Quarter 1 Art Show is on October 22nd, from 3:00 - 4:00 pm in Ms. Jerke's Art Room.
The Magnet Lottery Application window for the 2027–2028 school year opens on October 15 and closes on December 15.
Families are reminded that any student who will be new to Salk Middle School next year AND lives outside of the Salk attendance boundary must complete a Magnet Lottery Application. This includes students who have a sibling currently attending Salk.
Students/families do not need to complete the application if:
· They live within the Salk Middle School attendance boundary, or
· They are currently enrolled at Salk during the 2026–2027 school year, regardless of where they live.
For more details and to access the application, visit the Northwest Suburban Integration School District’s Magnet Lottery page: https://www.nws.k12.mn.us/magnet-lottery.html
If you have further questions, please contact counseling office secretary Tim Dokken at timothy.dokken@isd728.org.
Tuesday, November 10, 6:30–7:00 PM
Do you know a family outside the Salk attendance zone who might be interested in our Pre-Engineering STEM Magnet program? Invite them to our information session on November 10 (6 - 7:30 pm) at Salk to learn more about the program and how to apply. It's the same evening as STEM Family Night, so they can see our STEM learning in action too! You can also find out more information on our website at https://sms.isd728.org/magnet
Order your 2026-2027 Salk Yearbook at Jostens.com for $30
The cost increases after January 1st. When asked for a teacher’s name, please put your child's homeroom teacher’s last name.
Please click on this link to review our October CTE Newsletter.
We want to let Salk families know that every student is eligible to receive free food each week through the Every Meal Weekend Meal Program. This program provides a bag of food every Friday—FREE of charge—to help ensure students have access to nutritious meals over the weekend.
Families can choose the type of food that best fits their preferences:
Blue Bag – East African foods
Green Bag – A wide variety of familiar food items
Orange Bag – Latino foods
Purple Bag – Southeast Asian foods
Yellow Bag – Ready-to-eat items (minimal or no prep required)
Signing up is easy! Students can pick up an enrollment form from the Salk Counseling Office. Once enrolled, they will receive a discreetly packed bag of food each Friday to take home.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Tim Dokken, Salk Counseling Office Secretary, at timothy.dokken@isd728.org.
STEM Ambassadors meet 1–2 times a month during Academic Edge to design hands-on challenges like robotics, 3D design and bridge building. They then lead these challenges for elementary students on 3–4 school-day field trips each year. Because ambassadors miss class on trip days, applicants need strong academic standing, dependable attendance and behavior, and the responsibility to make up missed work; apply on your student's grade-level Schoology page [link] by Friday, October 9th.
By age 11, about half of children in the U.S. own a smartphone. When you hand your child a cellphone, you're giving them a powerful tool for communication and entertainment. These devices become a constant companion in the lives of preteens and teens—a source of connection, creativity, and, yes, even distraction. Here are some ways for parents and caregivers to guide their children to use their phones in healthy and responsible ways.
GEMS is a free club that meets once a month during Academic Edge, where girls explore STEM through hands-on experiments, design challenges and connections to real-world STEM careers. Students must apply and keep passing grades each month to take part, and space is limited. Jazz Band students can't join because of a schedule conflict; everyone else can apply here [link].
All 7th and 8th graders present at our in-house Science Fair December 9th-11th, will be practicing their theme of Evidence-Based Communication by sharing their findings with community members like you. No Science background is needed: judges get a short orientation, then work a 2–3 hour shift during the school day, spending 10–15 minutes talking with each student and scoring with a simple Google Form rubric. Sign up here [link] to express interest, and Caitlin Grandell will contact you to set up specific times and answer any questions you have. You can also email questions to caitlin.grandell@isd728.org.