ENG 2025-26 Family Update No.4
September 26, 2025
Dear Northfield Public Schools Families:
As we close out the first month of the school year, I want to express our gratitude for your partnership. We are honored to serve your family. We aim to provide a high-quality education for your students, rooted in our district vision to prepare every student for lifelong success by developing critical thinkers who are curious and ready to engage in our society. This work is joyful. And we need to keep working together to have continued success.
At the same time, our society continues to experience grief and loss. Grief and loss affect us all in different ways. It highlights the importance of prioritizing connections with those who share commonalities with us and those who we may not always see eye-to-eye. While we may not be able to influence the significant events of the day directly, we can positively impact those around us. By focusing on what we can control, we can help our small corner of the world be a model of basic human decency and civility. It is vital that we model what it means to be a good friend and neighbor for all children.
I wholeheartedly believe in our community. Thank you for your actions that inspire that belief.
As always, do not hesitate to contact me with feedback or questions about the school district.
Sincerely,
Matt
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Matt Hillmann, Ed.D.
Superintendent
mhillmann@northfieldschools.org | 507-663-0629
At the September 22 board meeting, Wold Architects and Engineers shared an update on the Reimagine Northfield High School project and presented renderings of the proposed building design. Sal Bagley, the project’s principal architect, presented views of both the exterior and interior of the building and provided samples of materials and color schemes. In addition, Wold provided the board with a video tour of the proposed building.
📝 You can view the presentation slide deck here.
📺 You can watch Ms. Bagley’s presentation to the board here.
📽️ You can view a video tour of the proposed building design here
Bagley described the process used to develop the reimagined high school. A core planning team and activities subcommittee met this winter to develop and provide input on preliminary floor plans. They also toured other high school facilities to explore design ideas. The team from Wold then met with user groups, which were comprised of the people who most often use the spaces in the building, to further develop the building details. In total, hundreds of people have been involved in the design process. A team from the district and Wold met with Xcel Energy’s design assistance team, focusing on how to make the facility as energy efficient as possible. Soil borings and a traffic study were also completed. Emergency responders met and reviewed the design to provide input on safety and security.
Wold continues to work with stakeholders as they prepare the final building design. You can continue to get updates about the Reimagine Northfield High School project on our website. Again, thank you to the voters who overwhelmingly approved these projects.
Expanded Gym
Cafeteria
Classroom
Flex Space
The Raider Goats are back! Fudge and Clover are joining us again from last year, and brothers Cash and Bob, as well as Hank, have joined them for this fall’s Animal Science curriculum. The goats will be in the V-Wing courtyard until MEA break.
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 local events, as well as opportunities from the Northfield Girls Basketball Association, Hiliners Dance, Northfield Softball, the YMCA and more!
