ENG 2025-26 Family Update No. 11

⏰ Reading time: seven minutes, two seconds

Northfield Middle School sixth grade choral students sing at Winter Walk.

The school board will hold an exploratory discussion on starting the school day later for middle and high school students. If a change were to result from the discussion, it would not be implemented until at least the 2027-28 school year.

The board will hold work sessions, discuss the concept at its regular meetings, and conduct community meetings to gather feedback. You can view the discussion timeline here.

The first work session will be held on Dec. 15 beginning at 5:00 p.m. in the District Office Board Room.

Substantial research suggests health, academic, and other benefits for students who attend middle and high schools where the academic day begins after 8:30 am. There are also logistical issues to solve. Watch for additional information in future district communications.

Pertussis (also called whooping cough) continues to be reported among students at Spring Creek Elementary, Greenvale Park Elementary, and in our community. There are currently less than ten cases that have been reported.

Pertussis can be a serious bacterial illness. Pertussis may begin with a runny nose, sneezing, mild cough, and possibly a low-grade fever. After one or two weeks, the cough worsens and begins to occur in sudden, uncontrollable bursts. These coughing attacks can end in vomiting and/or in a high-pitched whooping noise. Coughing attacks often happen at night. Older children and adults may have a less typical cough. The cough can continue for up to three months.

Persons with pertussis should not go to school, work, or any activities until they have finished five days of antibiotic treatment unless they have already been coughing for three or more weeks. Although the cough can last longer than three weeks, a person is no longer contagious after the third week.

Pertussis can be less severe in adults and older children and when not recognized and treated, can be easily passed on to infants, who may become very ill.

If you or your child have a cough and have had contact with someone with pertussis or has been coughing for seven days or longer, discuss pertussis with your healthcare provider.

Most children have been vaccinated for pertussis, but protection can decrease over time. People who have completed some or all of the recommended vaccinations for pertussis may still get pertussis disease but will generally have a milder illness. Now is a good time to make sure you are up to date on your pertussis vaccines.

For information on how to access your or your family's immunization records, visit www.health.state.mn.us/people/immunize/miic/records.html.

More information on pertussis (whooping cough) can be found at www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/pertussis/index.html.

Questions from you or your healthcare provider can be directed to District Nurse Maimouna Toure-Keita or the Minnesota Department of Health at 1-877-676-5414.

A number of choral, band and orchestra groups have recently held concerts throughout the district. Pictured above is the Northfield High School Band.

Upcoming concerts include:

• The Northfield High School choral ensembles will hold their annual Traditions winter concert, "Love Will Guide Us" Saturday, Dec. 13 at 7:30 p.m. or Sunday, Dec. 14 at 2:00 p.m. at Skinner Memorial Chapel on the Carleton College campus.

• The Northfield Middle and High School orchestras will hold their winter concert on Monday, Dec. 15 starting at 6:00 p.m. at the Northfield Middle School Auditorium. There is no admission charge, however, non-perishable food and monetary donations will be collected before the concert to support the Northfield Food Shelf. This concert will also be streamed on northfieldlive.com.
  

The district has a legislative action committee that seeks to inform community members on how the Minnesota legislature works, provides updates on the progress of education related bills, and advocates for the needs of Northfield students. The district’s legislative action committee meets every other Saturday while the Minnesota legislature is in session from 9-9:45 a.m. via Google Meet. The committee’s introductory meeting for the 2026 legislative session will be held on Saturday, Jan. 24. Complete this form if you have an interest in serving on this committee.

To help keep our community connected and informed, we have added an audio-only version of the school board meetings to the board recap section of our newsletters. You can listen here or find the recordings on your favorite podcast platform.

• Board packets, table files, and meeting videos are located on our website.
• You can listen to the audio-only version of the board meeting.
• You can listen to Superintendent Hillmann’s update on KYMN radio.

At Northfield Public Schools, we value our strong community partnerships. To better connect families with local events and resources, we've created a community events newsletter. This newsletter is linked to our district newsletters, making it easy for families to stay informed about upcoming opportunities and important community resources.

This week's newsletter includes information about the Winter/Spring Community Ed Brochure, the NHS Traditions Concert, the 17th Annual Winter Orchestra Concert, Rice County Food Assistance resources and more!

The Northfield School District does not discriminate on the basis of sex and prohibits sex 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.