Sanford Family Newsletter

February 27, 2026

Good People,

Today our 8th graders watched a performance by Illusion Theater called KEEPIN' IT REAL. This is a partnership that Sanford has maintained for longer than 10 years. From their website: "All the frankness, fun and failure that happens in middle school comes out in this interactive performance piece built from stories of older teens who tell their truths to younger teens — so the new teens entering high school can avoid some of the pitfalls the older students experienced. Over the course of the performance the teen audience gets to interact and discuss how they would act if they were in the situation, deepening the impact and long-term benefits of the work."

Last week in 7th grade science students were learning about how energy moves through ecosystems. We burned cheese balls to start our thinking about energy transfer. See the photos below!

Finally, please take a moment to log into Infinite Campus Parent Portal to see updated mid-quarter grades for your student. If you need assistance logging into Parent Portal, please reach out to the main office. Sometimes caregivers just ask their students to open Infinite Campus to show them their grades from their student view, that works too!

In Partnership,

Naida Grussing-Neitzel, Ed.S.

Principal

Maria Sanford Middle School

This year the coaches for Boys and Girls Track will be Mr. Kobe and Coach Ameilia. Registration is officially open to the first 60 kids to sign up. The meet schedule that is currently on the website is still the correct link. If more than 60 kids register, they will be added to the wait list.

For Girls Flag Football, Coach Lydia is coaching. The link on the website is also still the correct link. Registration is officially open to the first 25 girls to register.

Here is the link to register for Sanford Spring Sports Registration

Sanford Unified Club is participating in the Special Olympics - Minneapolis Cool School Polar Plunge on March 5th. Please consider donating! https://reg.plungemn.org/team/sanfordunified

Sanford Unified Club is a student led group that brings together students with and without intellectual disabilities to build friendships, develop leadership skills and promote an inclusive and respectful school environment. Unified club is happening at Sanford during advisory class, flex Fridays, lunches and in the afterschool program. Money raised is used for supplies, field trips and activities.

The day before Spring Break, March 26, we will host an Activity Day. The purpose of Activity Day is to reward positive behavior and achievement. Student eligibility will begin on Monday March 2 and continue up to March 26, 2026. During the month of March, students need to have:

good behavior, defined as no suspensions or lunch detentions,
good attendance, defined as no unexcused absences and fewer than 3 tardies
good academics, defined as passing all classes

If we plan any off campus field trips, those will be announced next week on Friday.

Talking Points is a service that we use to communicate with caregivers via text. Some of you might only see communication come through like a regular text and there is also an APP you can use on iPhone or Android.

Here’s how it works. We will send you a text message and you will receive the message through SMS text or a parent App. You can reply back through either method. You can also reply with an emoji. ☺ Please give it a try!

– TalkingPoints is free! There’s no charge if you have an unlimited texting plan. If not, standard text messaging fees apply

– You can unsubscribe at an time by texting GOODBYE.

TalkingPoints for Parents App: There is a free app available to download from the Google Play or Apple app store.

-The app provides additional features, like text-to-speech to read messages out loud.

-Once families have the app, all text exchanges happen through the app; some caregivers like this option as it keeps their communication with MPS in one easy to access place.

Gertens Fundraiser

It feels like spring and that means it’s time to start planning spring gardens! Save yourself a trip out to Gerten’s and pick your plants up right in the neighborhood while supporting the Sanford PTA. Order plants and veggies using our code [930] and a portion of all sales will help support the Sanford PTA as we plan for 8th grade graduation, purchase recess equipment, fund field trips, and plan future events and activities!

Ordering is easy. Just visit www.gertens fundraising.com, enter our store code 930 and choose your beautiful Gerten’s plants or gift cards. The website closes on April 2nd and quantities are limited, so get your order in today!!

Plants will be available for pickup at Sanford on Wednesday, May 6th. Keep in mind, this is a few days before Mothers Day and plants make perfect gifts! :)

Come to our next Meeting

Our next meeting is Tuesday, March 17th from 6:00p-7:30p in the media center at Sanford. Enter through the main entrance - Door 12. All are welcome!

To sign up for our email communications contact: sanfordmspta@gmail.com.

Website

Facebook

All things Roosevelt softball for 7 & 8 graders…

Roosevelt spring sports are open for registration at the link below.

Softball evaluations are March 9-11, from 3:45-5:45 at the Midtown YWCA.

https://students.arbitersports.com/organizations/roosevelt-high-school-6

Next Tuesday, Expedition Leader & Wildlife Guide, Helen Ahern, will transport us to the remote end of the world to explore the different species of wildlife and how they thrive in the coldest place on earth! We will learn about the landscape, glaciers, and the effect of climate change on this remote habitat and the global community.

Please pass along this information to your staff and students and encourage teachers to add this registration link to their google classrooms.

Helen Ahern is a citizen of New Zealand and reached out to us to provide a special opportunity to the students and staff of Minneapolis. We would love as many of our community to take advantage of this engaging program as possible!

JOURNEY TO ANTARCTICA

DATE: TUESDAY, MARCH 3, 2026

TIME: 6:00PM

WHERE: ONLINE – A Zoom link will be sent to participants before the event. Everyone must register in order to get the link.

REGISTER NOW!