News and events

October 1, 2025

After one month of school, things are settling in here at Northdale. I am hopeful routines have been established at home, students are adjusting to being back in school and the year has gotten off to a good start. October brings our first chance at Parent/Teacher conferences. I would like to invite you to attend our Fall conference night on October 9th, from 3:30pm - 7:30pm. This is arena style and will be held in the gym. There is no need to schedule a visit, please drop in when you are able.

I also want to share an update on how our conference communication is changing this year.

What’s Changing:

• Parent-teacher conference hours (in-person and scheduled meetings) will shift from 6 hours over two dates to 4 hours on one date in the Fall and Winter.

• Teachers will also offer scheduled office hours and flexible communication hours spread throughout the year. These can be used for in-person, virtual, or phone meetings—giving families more flexibility.

With tools like ParentVUE, families already have real-time access to grades, attendance, and behavior. Office hours and flexible communication hours allow for more timely, personalized conversations that fit your schedule. Our teachers will continue to communicate regularly with families as they always have, and remain responsive to families.

We still value in-person connections. Our goal is to strengthen school-family partnerships with flexible, responsive ways to connect. If you have questions or want to schedule with a teacher, please reach out. I look forward to seeing you on October 9th.

Jeff Leach

6th- NMS has School, No School for Elementary

8th- Picture Retakes

9th- Conferences 3:30pm-7:30pm

9th-14th- Scholastic Book Fair

10th- 8th Gr Choir National Anthem @ BHS, Football game, 6:55pm

16th-17th- No School, MEA

20th- No School, Staff Development

23rd- Orchestra 8 @ BHS 7:00pm

14th-16th- Fall Play

22nd- End of Tri 1

24th- No School, Staff Development

25th- No School, Staff Planning

26th- No School

27th-28th- No School, Holiday

Students in the Anoka-Hennepin School District will experience a minor adjustment in the 2025-26 school calendar due to a calendar change approved by the School Board at its August 25, 2025 meeting.

The staff development day originally scheduled for May 8, 2026 has now been moved forward by one week to Friday, May 1, 2026. The move was necessary due to support instruction and advanced placement (AP) testing for high school students.

The date change will be reflected in all future published calendars. For the most current calendar information visit ahschools.us/calendar on the district website.

In Anoka-Hennepin Schools, the safety of students, staff, and families is the first priority. Anoka-Hennepin Schools uses a multi-layered approach to protect school safety and has everyday safety and security protocol measures in place that provide an organized, coordinated, and common-sense approach to working through emergencies we may encounter.

• Close working relationships with law enforcement agencies across our school district, including School Resource Officers (SROs) assigned to school areas to make connections with our students and staff, and provide support as needed.
• Exterior building doors are locked during the school day. Visitors must enter at a central location at each building before being granted access to the hallways. In many cases, entrances have been reconfigured over the last several years to enhance safety.
• Required identification badges at all times. Upon visitors entering the building at a centralized location, they must show identification and receive a time-sensitive visitor badge that must be worn while on school grounds.
• Monitoring of guests as they walk the halls of school buildings; staff are instructed that, in the event they observe someone without a district-authorized identification, they are to question the individual’s presence and escort them back to the office.
• Visitor management systems at the school entries. A software-based visitor registration system enhances school security by retrieving data from a visitor’s state-issued ID. The information is then compared with information from several state and law enforcement databases, including the registered sex offender database. It also includes a locally stored database created by the district that could include parent or guardian custody issues, restraining orders, or visitors that have been deemed a threat to students and staff.

As a community, schools, families, and community members must continue to work together to do everything we can to keep our schools safe.

Anoka-Hennepin strongly encourages anyone with information relating to the safety of our students or schools to report these concerns immediately to the school (during school hours) or law enforcement (outside of school hours). The district investigates all safety concerns and will take immediate action to protect those trusted in our care.

View tips from a local therapist, for how parents can support students after events of school violence.

Dear Parent or Guardian,

There are many kids at Northdale this year with severe food allergies, especially peanuts. These classmates could experience a life-threatening allergic reaction by eating or touching food containing this allergen. These types of allergies are being seen more frequently in the school district. Through a cooperative effort and with caring about each other, we will do our best to help ensure a safe learning environment.

Suggestions for snack time may include the following:

Goldfish crackers

Pretzels Ritz crackers (not Ritz Bitz)

Graham crackers, Teddy Grahams, Saltine crackers

Grapes, cuties or carrot sticks

Plain popcorn

Animal crackers (not frosted)

I hope you will appreciate the seriousness of food allergies and that you will assist us at the school in our efforts to create as safe an environment as possible. With your cooperation, we can minimize the risk of an allergic reaction.

Thank you for your support and understanding.

Remember that 7th grade students need to be updated on required immunizations. Please provide health services with verification of immunizations or exemption paperwork. If you are unsure of what vaccines your child still needs or need assistance obtaining vaccines, please contact health services.

If immunizations are not up to date, students (in 7th grade) will be excluded from school starting on October 14, 2025 until they provide immunization documentation or a signed and notarized conscientious objection form as required by the State of Minnesota.

It is also time to start thinking about getting your annual influenza vaccine. The flu vaccine is not required for school attendance but is recommended. The Minnesota Department of Health, MDH recommends that everyone 6 months of age and older should get the flu vaccine every year. Getting a flu shot (or nasal spray) helps protect you from getting the flu and prevents you from passing it to people who could get very sick.

If you have questions about the influenza vaccine, please check with your private medical provider or stop in health services and request to talk to the Licensed School Nurse.

Conferences are Thursday, October 9th.

Conferences will be held in the gym at Northdale, signing up will not be necessary this year.

Parents/guardians are welcome anytime from 3:30pm-7:30pm.

If you need an interpreter for conferences please contact Melissa Sweeney: melissa.sweeney@ahschools.us.

Provide the time you would like to come and the language you need.

After School Academic Support will be available every Wednesday and Thursday starting October 22nd from 3:15pm-5:00pm in the library commons area.

A light snack will be provided. Students can either ride the activity bus home or get a ride home. Two teachers are available to provide assistance as well as a few Blaine High School volunteers.

Does your student need extra support in math?

Join us before school (7:40am-8:20am) every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday in room 106 for math tutoring.

NMS Student Support Team will be doing a short classroom presentation and then meeting one-on-one with every 6th grader for brief "Minute Meetings" the week of October 6. These quick check-ins help us assess students' readiness for their transition to middle school and ensure they have the support they need for a successful start.

During these meetings, students will reflect on key topics related to middle school readiness by answering the following:

• I know how to request to see a support staff member at school.
• I have strong friendships at school.
• I understand how to get involved in sports, clubs, groups or activities. (If not, would you like more information about school activities?)
• I feel comfortable asking for help from teachers when needed.

These are great conversation starters to discuss at home as well! We encourage you to check in with your student about their thoughts on these topics. Our team will continue to support students throughout the transition, ensuring they feel confident and prepared for this exciting next step.

If you have any questions or would like additional resources, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our counseling team.

Ms. Ferrera, 6th Grade School Counselor, lauren.ferrera@ahschools.us

Each middle school has a Community Education office that coordinates a wide variety of athletics, classes, clubs, recreational activities, and events to enhance your child's academic and social experiences after school, in the evening or on the weekend. You can find the full list of Community Education Middle School Programs on our website.

• Girls Volleyball Gr 6 - Mondays - Thursdays, starting October 21. Open to girls grades 6.
• Viking Strength and Conditioning - Tuesdays and Thursdays, starting October 21. Open to grades 6-8.
• Advanced Drawing Anime - Mondays, starting October 27. Open to grades 6-8.
• Chess - Wednesdays, starting October 15. Open to grades 6-8.
• Viking Gaming Club - Mondays starting October 6. Open to grades 6-8.
• Viking Service Club - Tuesdays, starting October 7. Open to grades 6-8.
• Outdoor Skills 101 - Wednesday, October 22. Open to grades 6-8.

• Safety Awareness - Wednesdays, starting October 1. Open to grades K-8.
• Intro to Acting - Tuesdays, starting October 7. Open to grades 4-8.
• Mighty Robotics - Robotics and STEM Program - Tuesdays, starting October 7. Open to grades 1-6.
• Drum Lessons - Thursdays, starting October 23. Open to grades 4-8.
• Chess Fall Open Tournament - Saturday, November 1. Open to grades 1-8.
• Sew Much Fun! Beginning Machine Sewing - Saturdays, starting November 1. Open to grades 4-9.
• Coon Rapids Middle School Community Education is hosting a Halloween Dance and Costume Party for Northdale Middle School students and Coon Rapids Middle School students who live in the city of Coon Rapids. This will be held Friday, Oct 24 at Coon Rapids Middle School. Students must have a Coon Rapids address to register.

Any students interested in participating in Battle of the Books should turn their sign-up sheet in to Mrs. Leighton in Room 428.

Extra sign-up sheets are located in the library.

Questions? Email: jessica.leighton@ahschools.us

Students in 8th Grade High School Spanish 1 celebrated Mexican Independence Day with some authentic treats from 3 Leches Bakery and Ecuamercado in Blaine.

What a great way to kick off the year exploring the bond of culture and language together! Thank you to all the parents that donated to this experience.

Thank you to all the parents who continue to donate to make learning memorable for students in Spanish!

This month Spanish 1 will be discussing the history and traditions of Día de los muertos, "Day of the Dead" that occurs annually on November 1st and 2nd. They will have the opportunity to try Pan de Muerto from local bakery, 3 Leches in Blaine, as well as Horchata, a traditional beverage on Friday, October 31st. SIGN UP here to help!

Help fuel our future engineers! Sign up to donate snacks for our awesome FLL robotics team. Your support keeps them building, coding, and problem-solving after school!

Click HERE to sign up to donate to our Lego Robotics Team.

Every year we participate in the Anoka County Christmas Committee food drive. This is a wonderful service project for our students as well as a great way to love our community. Please consider helping your student by participating in this food drive.

This year we will be collecting Birthday party cake items. Boxed cakes, frosting, muffins/cupcakes, brownies, sprinkles.

To make it a little more fun our student council will host a contest between VIking Huddles. The 3 classes with the most food donations will win a class party.

In addition to us collecting the food, Anoka county families are able to sign up to receive the food. More information to come.

The Northdale student council students worked hard spiffing up the front of the school by weeding the gardens, sweeping the walkways, and picking up garbage around the school grounds.

Student Council is collecting brand new socks for the entire month of October. All donations go to the homeless shelter.

There will be a basket located in the North Commons for the sock donations.

Do you have a career that could enlighten students and motivate them to do their best as they work through middle school and prepare for high school, college and careers?

We would love for you or someone you know to participate as a speaker for AVID!

The students absolutely LOVE hearing about various careers. Students love stories of your experiences tied in with anything hands-on, interactive, or visual. You will find that your time flies by as you share your story relating to the path your life has taken to bring you to the point it is today.

We would like to schedule speakers for this school year.

Please contact Rebecca Aman, AVID coordinator, by email: rebecca.aman@ahschools.us.

Yearbooks are on sale now. This is the best time to purchase your yearbook. Lowest prices of the year!

Call the attendance line at 763-506-5406 or enter into ParentVUE if your child will be absent from school, coming in late, or needs to leave school early.

Instructions for entering an absence into ParentVUE can be found here:

https://youtube.com/shorts/pHCThTCF9ss?si=1EVognG_PXS7mv8B

Please include your student’s name, reason for absence, and, if applicable, the time they will return to or be picked up from school. Only parents and legal guardians are able to pick students up early. We must be notified in advance if anyone other than a parent or guardian will be picking your student up during the school day.

If we are not notified regarding an absence you will be contacted by our automated phone system, which will prompt you to notify the school with the reason. If you do not notify the school, the absence will be recorded as an unexcused absence. No individual calls are made from our school, other than through the automated system.

Attendance support and resources can be found here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uKZ8p1_bnZnKt0ZV88VzoUg2pULxSZC7/view

Northdale Middle School has a security system in place. In order to enter the building, each person is required to have a valid form of identification, preferably a drivers license. Each person is required to scan their identification through our system before entering the building.

Please bring your identification each and every time you come to the building as you will be required to scan your identification through our system. Remember, a valid ID is required in order to check students out of the building as well.

Please scan your ID, then come into the main office to sign your student out of the building.

While these brief, but important steps may take a few extra minutes, the safety of your student is our number one priority.