The Dodge Dish

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Si aad u turjunto warsidahan fadlan ku dhufo badhanka "Turjumi" ee kore ama dhinaca midig ee boggan.

DMS Community,

As we are two months into the school year, we held class meetings this week to review our core values of community, empathy, and purpose. Each day our learners demonstrate these core values and show their Tiger Pride. We will continue to acknowledge learners that demonstrate community, empathy, and purpose with positive affirmation and Tiger Stripes.

One area we will be focusing on with learners is using passing time with purpose. To support a focused and structured learning environment, we will be launching a new tiered attendance plan. All learners will start with a fresh slate of tardies when the plan begins on Monday, November 2.

Here is a summary of how we are supporting your learners:

• Universal Expectations (Tier 1): Staff will be present in hallways during passing periods and hall passes will be restricted during the first and last 10 minutes of class. Students with 3 tardies in a week will receive a check-in from their Tiger Connections teacher, along with a phone call home. We will also actively celebrate students who show progress and positive attendance!

• Targeted Support (Tier 2): Learners with recurring tardiness will be assigned Lunch Tardy School, and our team will partner with families directly to help solve underlying attendance challenges.

• Intensive Support (Tier 3): For persistent concerns, additional steps may include parent meetings, before school Tardy School, modified passing times, goal-tracking, or other interventions

Thank you for partnering with us to help our learners start every class on time and ready to succeed!

Finally, as a reminder there is no school on Tuesday, November 3rd for a professional learning day. Have a great weekend!

Andy Nelson, Principal

📸 Yearbooks Are on Sale!

Capture the memories of this school year with a Levi P. Dodge Middle School yearbook! Yearbooks are available for $45 through November 20th. Don’t miss out on the chance to look back on all the fun, friendships, and special moments from this school year!

Ready to order? Purchase your yearbook here: https://jostensyearbooks.com/?REF=A09800732

Be sure to order by November 20th to take advantage of this price!

📸 Share Your DMS Fall Sports Photos!

Have you captured any great moments of our DMS students participating in fall sports? We’d love to see them!

Families are invited to share photos they’ve taken of our students at games, meets, and other fall sports events. Your photos may even be featured in the DMS yearbook!

Share your photos here: https://photos.jostens.com/2RQ74K

Thank you for helping us capture and celebrate our DMS students and their activities!

Starting October 19th, TalkingPoints will no longer send messages as regular text messages (SMS/iMessage). To continue receiving important updates, announcements, and direct messages from our staff, please download the free TalkingPoints for Families app on your mobile device today. Thank you for staying connected with us!

Business Professionals of America is a high school club and we are partnering with Funds2Org, to collect shoes for a fundraiser. Funds 2 Org will pay BPA a small rate for each pound of shoes and bring them to shop owners around the globe to provide jobs and income for families in poverty.

By contributing to the Shoe Drive you can clean out your closets of old used shoes and teach your learners about charity and recycling. The drive benefits BPA by paying for its club fees, it benefits the environment by giving shoes a second life, and benefits communities by bringing a source of income to those in need!

Sign up to receive a free bag of food every weekend (click the apple above to learn more about Every Meal). By the end of September bags will be placed in student’s lockers on the last day of the student

week. There are no qualification requirements and your family's privacy is protected. We place the bag in your student’s backpack during class time, to maintain privacy. If your student does not have a backpack, we are happy to provide one.

Bags are intended to provide enough food for 1 child, please complete the form for EACH child you have at Dodge. Please fill out the form for the current school year, even If you were receiving a bag last year.

If you have any questions or would like to arrange a different way to pick up the food bags, please contact Jen Hogan at (651) 460-1598 or jhogan@farmington.k12.mn.us .

Sign up link (in English, Spanish, Arabic, Somali, Hmong, and Karen)

We are looking for family and community volunteers to be present in our youths' lives at Dodge Middle School through Friendly Presence. We are excited to offer this volunteer opportunity and welcome the larger Farmington community into DMS. We are hoping many of you take this opportunity to be involved in our learners’ experience. For more information click here and to indicate interest please complete this google form.

Farmington School District has some great opportunities for you!

Click the link to apply for positions or reach out to the main office if interested.

Please take some time to visit the DMS Website where you will find an abundance of helpful information to support your middle school student. Dodge Dish is an electronic publication that you will receive via email every week from our principal Mr. Nelson and the Dodge Dish is always available on the DMS website under “News and Events”. It is very helpful to take time to read through this publication to keep updated on upcoming events and happenings.

Email: anelson@farmington.k12.mn.us
Website: https://dms.farmington.k12.mn.us/
Location: Levi P Dodge Middle School, 208th Street West, Farmington, MN, USA
Phone: 651-460-1500