Sanford Family Newsletter
From the Principal
August 14, 2026
Good People,
Back in the day when I was a middle schooler, my advisory teacher was my cornerstone in the happy chaos that is middle school. That teacher is the one that I am still in contact with to this day. Advisories are also very important at Sanford. Our school day will continue to start with an Advisory period, graded on participation and goal setting. This year advisory will be 20 minutes. To build long-term community, most advisories are mixed-grade and ideally keep the same teacher for three years.
Weekly Advisory Schedule: On Mondays, advisory focuses on social-emotional learning through our Wayfinder curriculum and the Sanford Game Show, reinforcing the IB Learner Profile and positive behavior. On Tuesday through Thursday, students participate in WIN (What I Need) with most students participating in Drop Everything and Read (DEAR) silent reading time, and there are some targeted reading/math interventions and advanced learner services occurring concurrently for eligible students. Students will go the same space Monday-Thursday for advisory. Fridays are reserved for Flex Friday, where students lead and choose from various staff-supervised activities, from pop culture and affinity groups to bike rides.
If you are a book lover and are looking for a good read to understand your middle schooler, I highly recommend Finding the Magic in Middle School by Chris Balme. This work frames our intention with advisory and aligns super well with our Wayfinder curriculum.
In Partnership,
Naida Grussing-Neitzel, Ed.S.
Principal
Maria Sanford Middle School
New Emergency Management Language
Our school has adopted the "I Love U Guys" Foundation's Standard Response Protocol. We will be training staff when they return and students on this new protocol in the first week of school. We will communicate these new actions and their subsequent communications at the State of the School Presentation with caregivers. Here is a video and a downloadable PDF to highlight the new language:
Annual Notice for Caregivers
Parents and caregivers, please review the forms located in this link:
Technology Update for Students: No more Youtube
Beginning this school year, students will no longer have self-directed access to YouTube when logged in to a device with their MPS student account. Students will still be able to access YouTube content that is shared by a teacher inside a Google Classroom course. It is important to remind you that students will only use chromebooks in class as needed/directed by the teacher.
Author Visit
To promote Reading at Sanford we will start the school year with an Author Visit! On Thursday September 10, we will have a whole school author talk during advisory for all students. Students who desire to engage with the author for a question and answer session will be allowed to stay in the auditiorium for an additonal 20 minute discussion with the author and will be excused to their first period class. We are grateful to partner with Wild Rumpus Books for this author visit!
Middle School Athletics
Following up on last week’s update about 7th and 8th graders playing up at Roosevelt High School, we want to highlight that Minneapolis Public Schools also offers Fall Coed Soccer for students in grades 6–8. Our teams compete against other MPS middle schools, and registration is open.
We also have an important update regarding our athletic leadership. Our Athletic Director, Mr. Josh Cannon, will be student teaching this winter, so Assistant Principal Ms. Miller will be stepping in as our Athletic Director moving forward. I am deeply grateful to Josh for his dedication and leadership of our athletics program!
Sanford After School
Afterschool clubs and activities will begin in early October and run Monday through Thursday. More information about schedules, registration, and available programs will be shared during Open House. We will also ask families for feedback about the types of clubs and activities they would like offered this school year. We look forward to creating engaging opportunities based on our students' interests!
If you have any questions, please reach out to Youth Programs Coordinator, Lissa Gordon, at lissa.gordon@mpls.k12.mn.us or 612-668-4922
Upcoming Important Dates
August 24, 2026: New Student Self-Tours 2:00-6:00pm
August 25, 2026: Site Council @ 5:00 & PTA @7:00pm
August 31, 2026: PTA Clean Up Event 6:00pm
September 2, 2026: Fall Open House, 5-7pm; State of the School 4:30-5:00 OR 7:00-7:30pm
September 8, 2026: First Day of School
September 15, 2026: Site Council & PTA
September 21, 2026: No School - Yom Kippur Holiday
September 22-25, 2026: Fall Spirit Week
September 25, 2026: Photo Day
Contact Us
Ms. Naida Grussing-Neitzel, Principal
naida.grussing-neitzel@mpls.k12.mn.us
Cell Phone: 612-730-1803
Sanford Middle School
3524 42nd Ave S
Minneapolis, MN 55406
Office Hours: 7:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Student School Hours: 8:40 a.m. - 3:20 p.m.
Main Office Phone: 612-668-4900
Parent Portal (Infinite Campus) - Call the main office for the activation code if you need it!
Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook
Previous Sanford Family Newsletters
Please consider donating to support our school supply needs through the Sanford PTA: https://giving.gofundme.com/campaign/811436/donate