Bridgewater Bear Tracks

Thank you for taking part in conferences! It is always wonderful to see Bridgewater families and even better to collaborate with you to encourage educational growth for our students.

Dear Families:

Our school will conduct a “lockdown” drill on Monday, February 2nd at 2:00 p.m. This drill is intended to prepare students and staff to respond to the exceedingly rare circumstance when an intruder enters the school. The drill includes teachers locking their classroom doors, shutting off all lights, moving people away from windows and doors, instructing students to remain silent, and instructing students to remain out of sight.

Minnesota Statute 121A.038 permits parents to opt their student(s) out of this type of required safety drill. If you would like to opt your student out of the drill, please notify the school office. You can pick your student(s) up 30 minutes prior to the start of the drill and return them 30 minutes after the drill is completed. This absence will be excused and no adverse action will be taken due to their absence.

If your student has experienced violence or trauma that this drill might reactivate, please notify the school office.

Again, these required drills aim to help students and staff know how to respond in an emergency situation. These are skills we hope are never needed.

Please contact Nancy Antoine with any questions.

Your printmaking project from Art class has been selected for the Northfield City Hall Art Show! The show will run till the beginning of April 2026. The artwork will be on display in the second floor hallway. This is a unique opportunity for Northfield schools and community organizations to highlight the visual arts achievements of our young artists. Thank you for your hard work and I hope you will get the chance to go see your art in City Hall!

City Hall hours:

Monday: 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Tuesday: 7:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Wednesday: 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Thursday: 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Friday: 7:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Congratulations and keep up the great work!

Every student receives a 👕FREE Fun Run T-shirt 👕, made possible by our amazing sponsors.

Your business logo will be printed on the back of every shirt—that’s over 550 students wearing your logo around town!

💰Cost: $300 per business logo
📅 Deadline: March 1
📩 Checks payable to:
Bridgewater Booster Club
401 Jefferson Parkway
Northfield, MN 55057

👩🏻‍💻 Logos & questions: Lahna Tran – ltran@northfieldschools.org

Thank you for supporting our students and our school!

This is the eighth year Bridgewater Physical Education classes grades 3-5 will be participating in our roller-skating unit 2/2/2026-2/13/2026. This is a very exciting and educational unit that the students participate in. Thanks to the Bridgewater Booster Club, we have enough funds to cover approximately 50% of the cost. We consider this an in-house field trip, and the cost for the unit will be $7.00/Student. This covers skates, helmet, and wrist guards. All students will be expected to wear a helmet and wrist guards. We do disinfect the helmets, but students are encouraged to bring their own. If you have a financial hardship for the cost of the unit, please let Mr. Bernhard, Mrs. McCabe, or Mr. Pietsch know. All permission and payment will be done online. Please use the QR code or link for payment If you don’t have access to the internet or have trouble with the link please let us know.

Yearbooks are ready to order!

1.Visit www.strawbridge.net

2. Enter code: YB32386

3. Select either the standard yearbook option, or select the personalization you would like (personalization is only available for online orders)

All yearbook orders are due by April 3, 2026.

In the event that Northfield Public Schools are closed due to inclement weather, the first full school day cancellation due to winter weather was not replaced with an e-Learning day. Any future school closures during the 2025-2026 school year will be replaced with e-Learning days. Please see the plan for e-Learning days linked below.

All absences should be reported by 9:00 AM each day a student is absent.

• Call the attendance line and leave a message (507-664-3306) OR

• Email: bwattendance@northfieldschools.org

• Student’s full name
• Classroom teacher
• Reason for absence and symptoms if it is illness related
• Phone number to reach you if there are any questions

Please do not leave messages on the attendance line for changes to the end of day routine. Please call the office at 507-664-3300 by 2:00 p.m. instead.

While documentation is not required until after 10 illness absences, it is recommended that parents/guardians provide the school with documentation each time their student misses

school and visits the doctor due to illness or for an appointment. After 10 illness-related absences, medical documentation will be required to excuse any additional illness/appointment related absences.

Personal days include vacations, family events, or non-school sponsored sports or academic activities, etc. After 5 personal absences, a request must be submitted via Google Form (link below) for any additional personal absences to be excused. Additional absences will be considered unexcused unless approved by the school administration.

Attendance Line

507-664-3306

Benjamin Bus

507-645-5720

BW Main Office

507-664-3300

Office Hours: 7:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

Nurse

507-664-3305

• School starts each day at 8:20 a.m. (except Wednesdays) and dismisses at 3:20 p.m.

• On Wednesdays, students start at 9:20 a.m.

• Students are allowed to arrive between 8:00-8:20 a.m. (9:00-9:20 a.m. on Wednesdays) if not eating breakfast at school. Supervision will be in place during that time on the playground.

• Please do NOT park in the drop off lane. If your child isn't exiting your vehicle right away, please park in the lot and walk them to the building at the appropriate time.

• Breakfast (optional for all students) begins at 7:50 a.m. (8:50 a.m. on Wednesdays). Once they are done eating, students will go outside until 8:20 a.m.

If your student’s end of the day plans is going to differ from their normal routine (ie. your child will be picked up by mom/dad instead of riding the bus home), please call the main office number (507-664-3300) no later than 2:00 p.m.

*Please do not leave messages on the attendance line for changes to the end of day pick up routine.

The safety of our students is always our top priority. Each year, we practice a variety of safety drills so students know what to do in case of an emergency. This year, our elementary schools will be using the Standard Response Protocol, which includes five simple actions that give everyone a shared language and clear steps to follow. These drills are designed to help students feel prepared, not scared. Families will always be notified at least 24 hours in advance before we hold a lockdown drill.

All volunteers in our school buildings are required to complete a confidentiality acknowledgment, plus an informed consent form that grants permission for the district to conduct a criminal background check. A background check needs to be completed each year in order to volunteer in the schools or chaperone field trips. Please click the link below to complete a background check for the 2025-2026 school year, and allow processing time of 24 hours prior to your event. You can call the Bridgewater office at 507-664-3300 if you have questions.

There are many activities that children and adults may access during the course of the year. Click the "button" below to check out current event, activity, and resource opportunities.

Current opportunities include girls lacrosse clinic, basketball registration, community youth orchestra, girl scouts, and more!

Feb 2-13--Roller Skating Unit Grades 3-5

Feb 5--District Choral Festival (4th&5th Grade Choir @ NMS Auditorium), 11:30-3:00

Feb 12--Kindergarten Information Night (For 2026-2027 Kindergarten Families) 5:00-6:30 p.m.

Feb 16--No School-President’s Day/Staff Development Day

Mar 5--3rd Grade Field Trip - History Museum

Mar 6--4th Grade Field Trip - Mill City Museum

Mar 20--End of 3rd Quarter

Mar 23-27--No School-Spring Break

Mar 30--No School-Teacher Preparation Day

Apr 17--2nd Grade Field Trip - Science Museum

May 11--Kindergarten Field Trip - Children’s Museum

May 15--Boosterthon Fun Run

May 22--No School-Teacher Preparation Day

May 25--No School Memorial Day

June 9--5th Grade Graduation (1:15-3:00)

June 10--Last Day of School (2 hour early dismissal)

The Northfield School District does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, familial status, status with regard to public assistance, sexual orientation, including gender identity or expression, or disability and prohibits discrimination in any education program or activity that it operates, as required by Title IX, including in employment. You can learn more at: https://northfieldschools.org/about/departments/human-resources/ under the Title IX tab.

World-Class Learning for Elementary Students, Bridgewater Elementary School, situated on a 14-acre campus just south of downtown Northfield, is a K-5 public school serving approximately 560 students. It serves the neighborhoods on Northfield's southern side, Dundas, and the rural area south of Highway 19 and west of Highway 246. Students benefit from an active parent-teacher organization, Bridgewater Booster Club (BBC) and many parent volunteers.

The staff is intensely dedicated to offering a high-quality, well-rounded education that strives to meet the specific needs of each student. We focus on empowering our students in their academic and social emotional learning along with building a solid foundation for their educational journey in partnership with families.

Main Office Number: 507-664-3300

Attendance Line: 507-664-3306

Address: 401 Jefferson Parkway

Web page: northfieldschools.org/schools/bridgewater-elementary/