Dakota Minute

Hello DMMS Families,

I hope you are having a wonderful week! It is going to feel more like fall in the coming days. As we continue through this season, I want to share a few key updates and upcoming events across our school community.

1. Fall Parent-Teacher Conferences

Please mark your calendars for our upcoming Fall Conferences on:

• Thursday, November 19th

• Monday, November 23rd

Conferences are a valuable opportunity to partner with your child’s teachers and discuss their growth, achievements, and goals. Detailed information regarding scheduling and conference formats will be sent home shortly.

2. Veterans Day Assembly

We are honored to host a Veterans Day Assembly to recognize and thank the military veterans in our school family and local community. Please see previous communication from our main office regarding details on the assembly, as well as opportunities to honor the special veterans in your family. HERE is our bell schedule that we will follow.

3.End of Quarter & Grading Day

Please note that the end of the quarter is Thursday, November 12th. Make sure all pending assignments and make-up work are submitted by this date.

There will be no school for students on Friday, November 13th, allowing teachers dedicated time to enter final grades and finalize scores. Classes will resume as normal the following week. Please make sure to have your student review their schedule for the new quarter classes.

Thank you for your continued support and involvement in making our school a vibrant community for our students. If you have any immediate questions, please don't hesitate to reach out.

Gratefully,

Principal Hyer

More information on conference sign up was shared with families via email and the portal. Please see THIS message that was sent.

Snow season is just around the corner! In preparation, here is an important resource that is available on the ISD77 website for your review:

Weather Related Information - includes details on where to find out about weather related closings and late starts. Please note the MAPS Notification Line: 507-387-6046.

Please contact your child's school with any questions or concerns.

Dakota Meadows will be participating in a Stuff a Truck Food Drive for the ECHO Food Shelf over the next two weeks- November 9-20! We are hoping to have EVERY student at Dakota Meadows participate to support our amazing community.

The ECHO Food Shelf is collecting non-perishable food items and hygiene products. To add a little extra fun to our food drive, we are challenging EVERY student to bring in at least ONE full box of cereal!

Why cereal? We are hoping to collect enough boxes to create a SCHOOL-WIDE CEREAL BOX DOMINO CHALLENGE!

We will also have a friendly competition between advisories to see which group can collect the most food and hygiene products!

We are asking students to start bringing in their donations next week. Every item makes a difference, and together we can make a BIG impact! Let's show our community what Dakota Meadows is all about!

We know that sometimes students don’t feel their best during the school day, and we want to make sure they are cared for and supported when that happens.

As part of our district-wide Attendance Initiative, we are working together to help students attend school consistently while also making sure that absences are recorded accurately and appropriately. One way we can do this is by having a clear process when a student becomes ill during the school day.

If your student is feeling sick, please remind them to check in with the school nurse. The nurse will visit with your student and help determine whether they are well enough to remain at school. If the nurse feels your student needs to go home, they will contact you to arrange for your student to be picked up.

Following this process allows us to make sure your student’s illness-related absence is recorded as excused. If a student leaves school because they are feeling sick without first checking in with the nurse, the absence will be recorded as unexcused.

Thank you for partnering with us and helping your student understand this process. We recognize that every family and every situation is unique, and our goal is to work together to support your student’s health, well-being, and success at school. Your partnership plays an important role in helping students feel supported and connected while building strong attendance habits.

Dakota Meadows PTA: Our Students Need YOU!

We need more families involved. We need members. And we need donations. The time to step up is NOW.

The Dakota Meadows PTA has big plans for our students, but we need to be honest with our school community: we cannot make these plans a reality without more support from families.

The PTA is about much more than fundraising. We help provide field trips, student activities, teacher and staff appreciation, conference meals, school programs, and opportunities that make middle school a better experience for our kids. We are also working toward an exciting outdoor space where students can play, move, socialize, and enjoy time outside.

But these opportunities take money, volunteers, and people willing to help. So far, we have received very few donations toward our fundraising needs, and we need families to get involved if we are going to continue helping fund field trips and other student experiences. We don't want our students to miss out because we couldn't get enough people to participate.

1. PLEASE ATTEND OUR NEXT PTA MEETING!

Monday, November 9 | 5:30–6:30 p.m. | Dakota Meadows Middle School

We need people in the room. We need fresh ideas, helping hands, and families who care about making DMMS a great place for our kids.

You do NOT have to be an experienced volunteer, serve on a committee, or commit to hours of work every week. Come to one meeting. Learn what we're working on. Tell us what matters to your family. Find a way to help that works for you and bring a friend.

Our PTA needs a stronger base of family involvement to keep moving forward. If you've ever wondered why the PTA matters, or wished there were more opportunities for our kids, this is your chance to help make a difference.

2. BECOME A PTA MEMBER — IT'S EASY AND INEXPENSIVE!

Membership is one of the simplest ways to support our students and strengthen our organization. You don't have to volunteer at every event or attend every meeting to be a member. Every membership helps build a stronger PTA and shows that our school community supports the work we're doing.

Please take a few minutes to join. A small investment from many families can make a meaningful difference. The PTA needs 20 members to remain an organization in good standing, and we are currently far below that required number. Please sign up to become a member here: https://www.givebacks.com/causes/e005c3e2-1841-4059-a3f5-32e338f26581/shop/items/27784fc206b0

3. PLEASE DONATE SO WE CAN SUPPORT STUDENT FIELD TRIPS!

This is where we especially need help right now. We have received very few donations, and our fundraising directly affects how much support we can provide for student experiences, including field trips. We are seeking donations from 6th and 7th Graders in the amount of $50 and $100 from 8th Graders (we like to do something special for their last year).

Field trips give students opportunities to learn, explore, and experience things beyond the classroom. We want to help make those opportunities available to DMMS students, but we cannot do it without financial support from our school community.

Every donation matters. Whether you can give a little or a lot, your contribution helps. Please consider making a donation and sharing our fundraising efforts with family and friends who want to support Dakota Meadows students. Here is the link: https://www.givebacks.com/causes/e005c3e2-1841-4059-a3f5-32e338f26581/shop/items/f48eaa199c

WHAT ELSE IS YOUR PTA WORKING ON?

Even with limited resources, we're working hard to make good things happen for our school.

• Outdoor student space: We're exploring a long-term project that could include swings, obstacle and play features, shaded seating, and space for students to connect and enjoy the outdoors. We're pursuing grants, business sponsorships, community partnerships, and other funding opportunities.

• School events and concessions: We're expanding concessions beyond dances to athletic and other school events. Proceeds support PTA programs and student projects.

• Teacher and staff appreciation: Our teachers and staff work hard for our kids. We help provide conference meals and other appreciation opportunities. A huge thank-you to Atomic Star for donating food for our November 19 conference meal! Please thank them if you visit.

• Upcoming volunteer opportunities: We welcome help with the Book Fair on November 19 and 23 and teacher conference meals on those dates. If you have meal ideas or would like to donate toward the November 23 meal, please email us at ptadmms@gmail.com.

THIS PTA BELONGS TO ALL OF US.

We want the Dakota Meadows PTA to be an organization supported by our entire school community—not just the same small group of people doing everything. But for that to happen, more families need to get involved.

If every family assumes someone else will volunteer, become a member, or donate, we won't have the resources we need. Our students deserve a community that shows up for them.

Please choose one way to help today:

• Attend the PTA meeting on Monday, November 9, at 5:30 p.m.

• Become a PTA member.

• Make a donation to support student field trips and programs.

• Volunteer for an upcoming event or project.

We have exciting ideas and so much potential. Now we need more people willing to help make those ideas happen.

Let's show our kids that their school community is worth showing up for!

Thank you,

Meghan Maes, President | Melissa Weinacht, Vice President | Ashley Richards, Treasurer | Amy Bennett, Secretary

HERE you will find the DMMS Daily Bulletin. This Bulletin is updated daily to show:

• the date
• A Day/ B Day
• and other information such as sports, lunch menu, special announcements.

Two hour early releases will take place on the following dates:

November 11th. December 9th. January 13th. February 10th. March 10th. April 14th. May 12th.

Your student will start their day at the normal time of 8:35 am and be released at 1:25 pm. They will receive lunch prior to the 1:25 pm dismissal when buses leave the building. Students participating in varsity co-curriculars will need to go home, then return to practice at the designated practice time. There will be no middle school co-curricular practices on early release Wednesdays. All students need to ensure they have transportation home by 1:25 pm.

• Anytime your student is absent from school or if you plan on your student being absent from school, please call the office and leave your name, student’s name, grade and reason for absence.

• Verified reasons to excuse your student:

• Illness

• Religious Holidays

• Appointments (Doctor, Dentist, Therapy), Please provide documentation for appointments

• Vacation

• The attendance office can be reached by:

• calling (507)387-5077 Option 1

• via email at: dmmsattendance@isd77.org

• If your student is marked absent for a class the system will send an automated courtesy call/email in the evening to remind you to excuse the absence. All absences not excused within the 48 hour time window will remain unexcused.

• If your student is marked absent and you feel it was made in error, please have them talk directly with their teacher.

• Students will be allowed to carry their backpacks during the school day. PBIS lessons during the first few days of school will teach expectations.

• Please see this important page in regards to cell phones at DMMS and our expectations.

• At DMMS we expect that students will not have airpods and if students have cell phones during school, we will follow these school wide expectations.

Please see our 2026-2027 School Year Calendar HERE.

Please make sure to view the student calendar on our district website. This will have our early releases and no school days. In addition, the Google Calendar will have DMMS Specific information.

Please see our MAPS Quick Guide HERE

• November 11th- Early Out & Veterans Day Assembly
• November 12th- Last Day of Quarter 1
• November 13th- No School; Teacher PREP Day
• November 19th & 23rd- Fall Conferences
• November 25th-27th- No School
• December 9th- Early Out
• December 23rd-January 1st- No School