Dakota Minute

Hello Dakota Meadows Middle School (DMMS) Families!

We are thrilled to start the 2025-2026 school year! Our bi-weekly newsletters will keep you updated on all DMMS happenings during the upcoming school year. In this first newsletter, we extend a warm welcome to our incoming 6th graders and our new and returning 7th and 8th grade students.

Please read through the newsletter for important upcoming dates and information. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out to me.

I am looking forward to an another amazing year here at DMMS.

Gratefully,

Principal Hyer

I'm thrilled to share some exciting news with you all. Michelle Henderson will be joining our team as the new Assistant Principal at Dakota Meadows. We're incredibly excited to have her!

Michelle was selected from a large and highly qualified group of candidates, and we're confident that her experience and dedication will be a huge asset to our school community.

Michelle brings a wealth of experience to Dakota Meadows. Most recently, she served as the Dean of Students and Interim Associate Principal at Nicolet Middle School in Burnsville. Before her administrative roles, Michelle was a dedicated school counselor at both the middle and high school levels. Her background in counseling means she has a deep understanding of student well-being and academic success, and she's passionate about supporting students as they learn and grow.

We know Michelle will be a fantastic addition to our leadership team, and we're incredibly excited to welcome her to Dakota Meadows. We look forward to you having the opportunity to meet her!

As we prepare for an exciting year of learning, we are thrilled to introduce an important and beneficial change to our classroom structure: the implementation of unified classes. This approach is designed to create an even richer, more inclusive, and supportive learning environment for all our students. Please read THIS letter for further information and to sign up if you are intered in your student being in a unified class.

We're excited to announce an exciting enhancement to our middle school experience for the upcoming school year: the implementation of a multi-age advisory program. In this new model, your child will be grouped with students from different grade levels and remain with the same dedicated teacher-advisor for multiple years. We believe this innovative approach will significantly enhance your child's middle school experience by providing:

• Stronger Relationships: Students will develop deep, lasting connections with their consistent teacher-advisor and peers, creating a stable support system.
• Personalized Support: Teachers will gain a comprehensive understanding of each child's individual academic, social, and emotional needs over time, allowing for more tailored guidance.
• Peer Mentorship: Older students will have opportunities to mentor and inspire younger peers, while younger students will benefit from the guidance and experience of their older classmates.
• Enhanced Social-Emotional Skills: Students will learn to interact respectfully with a wider range of ages, fostering empathy, cooperation, and effective communication—essential life skills for navigating diverse environments.
• Increased Sense of Belonging: This consistent, small-group community within the larger school will help every student feel known, valued, and deeply connected.

It's important to note that this advisory period will take up only one portion of your child's school day. The rest of their daily schedule, including core classes and exploratory classes, will remain unchanged. This multi-age advisory program is designed to create a more nurturing and supportive environment where all children can truly thrive, complementing their existing academic schedule. We look forward to sharing more details with you soon.

Further details can be found in THIS letter.

Students and families are invited to come to school to kick off the 2025-2026 school year. This is an opportunity for students to meet their teachers and get their schedule. Families are welcome to come anytime from 4 PM to 7:30 PM on Wednesday, August 20th.

You will be able to see the school, meet your advisory teacher, have a printed copy of your schedule, and try your locker!

School pictures will take place here at DMMS on Wednesday, August 20th, 2025 during Open House. This year, Lifetouch and their 4 photographers will be taking photos for us.

Please watch your email for more details. Retakes will be Wednesday, October 1st.

**If you cannot attend Open House, you will be able to take pictures during retake day.

Please look for upcoming communication in regards to Entrance Conference sign ups on August, 25th (6-8th Graders) and 26th (7-8th Graders). Dakota Meadows uses the PTCFast system to have families sign up online.

Our Welcome Back to School Letter with trails and advisory teachers will be sent in early August.

• If you are needing to report an absence, please make sure to call or email the attendance line. You can always call or email ahead of time.
• please call (507)387-5077 Option 1 or via email at: dmmsattendance@isd77.org

• If you are needing to reach the Health Office in regards to questions or medications
• please call (507)387-5077 Option 2 or via email:Laurel Dorn, RN ldorn1@isd77.org

• If you are needing to reach either of our Counselors:
• please call (507)387-5077 Option 3 or via email: Leah Anderson Lander3@isd77.org Matt Ringhofer MRingh1@isd77.org

• If you are needing to reach the Building Secretary:
• please call (507)387-5077 Option 0 or via email at: dmms@isd77.org

• As a reminder, please use Door 1 to pick up and drop off your student during the school day. For example, if your student is arriving late or leaving early due to an appointment or an event please pick up at Door 1. Door 1 is locatated in our middle parking lot by the main office. This is where our new secure entrance is located. Students should not be dropped off or picked up at door 1 before and after school unless approved by Principal Hyer or here for a before school event.
• Please use Door 8 (the cafeteria side parking lot) for pick up and drop off before and after school. We ask that families do not pick up and drop off at Door 1 unless approved by Principal Hyer.
• Door 20 (our pond side parking lot) is used for buses to pick up and drop off students.

Since 1994, Project Success has been connecting students to their purpose through a proven methodology of experiential learning called DIG (Dream. Ignite. Grow.) Project Success currently works with more than 16,000 6th-12th grade students and their families in the Minneapolis and Mankato public school districts.

• 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.

As a reminder, all bus pass requests are ONLINE. If your student needs a bus pass, you will need to complete the form HERE. If you have already completed this form, no further action is needed.

• Bus passes will ONLY be available during Conferences with advisory teachers.
• If your bus pass has not arrived by the time of Conferences, the Main Office will call the parent/guardian to notify and call the student down to the office to receive the pass.

MAPS is hosting a One Stop Shop enrollment event on Tuesday, July 22, from 7:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Mankato East High School.

This drop-in event is open to all MAPS families and provides personalized assistance with a variety of essential back-to-school tasks, including:

• Enrolling new students
  

• Completing online census verification for returning families
  

• Submitting address changes
  

• Signing up for middle and high school sports (grades 6–12)
  

• Applying for educational benefits

• Registering for Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE) and Community Education classes

No appointment needed. MAPS liaisons will be available.

Questions? Email mhelli1@isd77.org or call (507) 387-1868.

The MAPS School Board will be adopting a revised 2025-2026 school calendar in order to provide additional time for construction in the summer of 2026.

On March 4th, a proposal was shared with the school community that outlined changes to next year’s calendar. Since that time, another option has been identified that would end the school year even sooner, eliminating the need to start the 2026-27 school year a week after Labor Day.

On Monday, March 17, the School Board met and discussed the attached 2025-26 calendar option that would:

• Start the school year before Labor Day.

• Hold school on November 25, November 26, January 2, March 13, March 23, April 1 and April 2.

• Hold Parent-Teacher conferences during the evenings in November and March and move the ‘no school days’ associated with conference days (teacher comp days) to the end of the school year.

• Set the last day of school as follows:

• Elementary: Monday, May 18, 2026
• Middle: Wednesday, May 20, 2026
• High School: Thursday, May 21, 2026 (graduation)

The School Board is scheduled to determine next school year’s calendar at their meeting on April 7.

We’re excited to welcome students to middle school and want to make sure families feel informed and supported as we approach the start of the school year. The first day of school for our incoming 6th graders will be TUESDAY, August 26. On this day, 6th grade students will have the building to themselves—a great opportunity to ease into middle school life. They’ll spend the day getting comfortable with their new surroundings, practicing locker combinations, walking through their schedules, and building connections with teachers and classmates. While the optional 6th grade transition camp is no longer taking place in the middle of summer break, this first-day experience is designed to offer all students similar support in a more focused, real-time setting.

Our 7th and 8th grade students will join us starting WEDNESDAY, August 27. We’ve heard a few questions from families and elementary school staff about the transition camp, so we wanted to provide this update and will continue to communicate clearly as the first day approaches. We’re looking forward to a great start to the year for all of our students!

Registration for 2025 fall sports will open July 18.

To prepare for fall registration please:

• Make sure your email addresses in Infinite Campus (parent portal) are up to date.

• Verify that your student's sports physical is still valid. You can check your student's sports physical expiration date in the Parent Portal by going to the MORE and PROFILE tabs for your student. The date must extend beyond the END of the fall sport season which varies for each activity. The registration system will not allow you to register a student for an activity if the sports physical expiration dates does not exceed the end date of the activity. You can view the sport season dates on the MSHSL website calendar or by clicking HERE. Please do not call the Activities Office to check on sports physical dates. Updated sports physicals can be emailed to KCSIZM1@ISD77.ORG , faxed to 507-207-3998 or dropped off at Dakota Meadows Middle School. Mankato West is closed until August 11 for construction.

• Watch for our email to all students and guardians on July 18th which will include registration instructions along with information for each fall activity (coaches contact, 1st practice info, PAC meeting info, etc.).

Here at Dakota Meadows. we have been undergoing construction for over a year and is nearing completion, see THIS website showcasing exciting updates such as a new pool and pool area.

Please see our 2025-2026 school supply list 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.

• August 20th- DMMS Open House/Picture Day
• August 25th- DMMS Entrance Conferneces 6-8 Graders
• August 26th- First Day of School for 6th Grade & DMMS Entrance Conferences for 7-8 Graders
• August 27th-All students in attendance
• September 1st- No School
• September 10th-Early Release
• September 19th- 6th Grade Wacipi Education Day
• October 1st- Picture Retake Day
• October 8th- Early Release
• October 13th- No School
• October 16th-17th- No School
• October 24th- All School Dance
• October 31st- End of Quarter 1