Comet Connection
KELLOGG FAMILY NEWS | October 25, 2021
FOUR SCOOPS!
While none of these "scoops" are earth shattering this week, your partnership in sharing these topics and expectations with your child make a world of difference!
SCOOP ONE
Just a reminder that Kellogg covers regular wear & tear on Chromebooks, but damage is the responsibility of the student and family. We have been seeing more screen breaks lately, so please remind your child to put their device in their backpack when they are on the move, preferably in a protective sleeve. Damages should come to the office before being swapped out in the Media Center so admin can discuss what happened to the device. Once repairs are made, bills for damage will be sent home.
SCOOP TWO
While we have not had an issue recently, we are noticing lots of bikes that are not locked up during the day. Students are responsible for securing their bikes in the bike racks. Please make sure to send your child with a bike lock.
SCOOP THREE
Profanity has become a hot topic around Kellogg! We will continue to send the message, but your reminder would help! Students are expected to use middle school appropriate language while at school and at school events. Use of profanity can be either a level 1 or level 2 behavior offense. Our response to such behavior will follow district policy.
SCOOP FOUR
Although we have explained that outside food deliveries are not allowed, this continues to pop up a few times a week. We are not able to manage food deliveries with the staff we have available in the office. We want to be clear about how we will respond when food deliveries arrive. If possible, we will refuse the order, sending the food back with the person or delivery service. If the delivery cannot be refused, we will place it in the fridge to pick up at the end of the day. If you would like your child to have a special meal at school, please send it with them. Lunch is free for all students so no child will go without a meal option.
IMPORTANT DATES
October
- 28 Angst screening 7pm https://meet.google.com/voj-zbva-aym
- 4 Last Day Q1
- 5 Q1 Work Day (no school)
The Journey Continues
Kellogg's Mandy Yu continued her table tennis journey last week as the North American representative in the Pan American Championships. Mandy was invited into 2021 ITTF Americas Continental HOPE and after 2 full days and 11 challenging matches, Mandy is the ITTF Americas Continental HOPE champion. She is securely qualified as the American representative into 2021 ITTF World HOPE competition in December in Jordan . We wish her the very best!
If your Comet has an accomplishment to share, please send us the story so we can participate in the celebration!
Mental Health Matters
Dear Comet Families,
A couple of years ago, our principal, Ms. McAndrews, asked us to start this weekly “column,” where one of us writes about whatever is on our hearts and minds related to your children, adolescent development, life at school, etc. We called it the “Mental Health Minute.”
A couple weeks ago, Ms. McAndrews asked us to pick up our keyboards and starting writing to you again. Looking for new inspiration, we decided to change the name. We now call our weekly words, “Mental Health Matters” … and I just keep thinking about the difference between the only word we changed – Mental Health Minute is now Mental Health Matters. Such a small change. Such a big difference.
Of course, mental health mattered before COVID-19… and yet, before the pandemic, we likely chose the title because… we were busy and we knew you were busy. I’m sure we said to each other, “Okay, let’s just throw a few sentences out there each week so parents/guardians hear from us… we’ll give them something really short and quick that they can, hopefully, think about.” Done.
And then… COVID-19. Nothing was the same. Nothing is the same. Now, as a team, we often look at each other and say, “Is it just us… or do we have more students than ever with mental health concerns?” because every day, we are serving a significant number of students who are battling depression and anxiety.
Fortunately, and unfortunately, we are not alone… the JAMA Network* recently published findings that support our sense that the number of struggling students has grown…
The entire study, published in August, 2021, can be found at: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2782796 **
You might be thinking, “I don’t have time to read all of this,” and, “She linked a full-length article? From a medical journal?!” So, let me summarize the study for you…
Combined data from:
- 29 studies
- 80,879 youth
- across the globe
Depression #’s:
- pre-pandemic – youth with elevated symptoms – 12.9%
- currently - youth with elevated symptoms – 25.2%
Anxiety #’s:
- pre-pandemic – youth with elevated symptoms – 11.6%
- currently – youth with elevated symptoms – 20.5%
And because I know you only have a minute or two (😊), here are my quick takeaways…
- Mental health difficulties for youth during COVID-19 have likely doubled
- 1 in 4 youth globally are experiencing depression symptoms
- 1 in 5 youth are experiencing anxiety symptoms
- Our work has always included students with depression and anxiety.
- The number of students battling those symptoms has increased.
- If your child is in a battle, it’s not just your child. You are not alone.
- If your child is not currently in a battle, keep your eyes and ears open.
Looking back, it makes sense that we recently changed the title for these weekly words. At first, I thought of “Mental Health Matters” as a noun. Like, we’re going to write about some mental health “topics.” But, it’s more than that… “Mental Health Matters” is really more of a what I guess they call an intransitive verb 😊… Like, we’re going to write about some mental health “things that are important.”
Sometimes, it’s hard to slow down and truly see and hear our children. We are all so busy. Most of us feel like there really isn’t enough time in each day. But, we can help. The five of us work with and among your children every day. Call us, email us, meet with us. We really do have more than a Minute and we really do believe mental health Matters.
Amy Carstensen
8th Grade Counselor
* JAMA Network is a medical & public health journal published in association with the American Medical Association (AMA)
** N. Racine, B. McArthur, J. Cooke
Important Information
- 328-5810
BUILDING HOURS
- 8:05 Doors open & breakfast begins
- 8:20 Classes begin
- 3:00 Dismissal
- 8:00-4:00.
TECH SUPPORT
- Monday-Friday, 7am-7pm
- (800)789-0051
PAST COMET CONNECTIONS
- September 6 https://www.smore.com/c9dbn
- September 12 https://www.smore.com/3uf50
- September 19 https://www.smore.com/c7yfn
- September 26 https://www.smore.com/m10ka
- October 3 https://www.smore.com/abjty
- October 10 https://www.smore.com/gjkt3
CONNECT WITH US!
Administration
Angi McAndrews, Principal
507-328-5817 anmcandrews@rochesterschools.org
Mike Widman, Assistant Principal
507-328-5815 miwidman@rochesterschools.org
Teri Linander, Assistant Principal
507-328-5816 telinander@rochesterschools.org
Health
Ashley Ray, Licensed School Nurse, LSN RN
507-328-5813 asray@rochesterschools.org
Office Staff
Robyn Davis, Office Manager
507-328-5801 rodavis@rochesterschools.org
Erin Kroc, Registrar & Attendance
507-328-5810 erkroc@rochesterschools.org
Abigail Haglund, Receptionist (morning)
507-328-5800 abhaglund@rochesterschools.org
Amy Clark, Receptionist (afternoon)
507-328-5800 amclark@rochesterschools.org
Support Services
Dan VanWinkle, 6th Grade School Counselor
507-328-5800 davanwinkle@rochesterschools.org
Trish Fierst, 7th Grade School Counselor
507-328-5800 trfierst@rochesterschools.org
Amy Carstensen, 8th Grade School Counselor
507-328-5800 amcarstensen@rochesterschools.org
Akilah Sharif, School Social Worker
507-328-5800 aksharif@rochesterschools.org
Leah Mattern, School Social Worker
507-328-5800 lemattern@rochesterschools.org
For assistance in (your language), please call 328-XXXX
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The Journey Continues
Kellogg's Mandy Yu continued her table tennis journey last week as the North American representative in the Pan American Championships. There are 14 counties and total 160 players at Pan American Championship. After 1 week competitive matches, Mandy got one golden medal for U13 girls’ double , one silver medal of U13 girls’ team silver , one bronze medal for U13 girls’ single for Team USA! Next up is the 2021 ITTF World HOPE competition in December in Jordan . We wish her the very best!
If your Comet has an accomplishment to share, please send us the story so we can participate in the celebration!
Kellogg Middle School
Email: anmcandrews@rochester.k12.mn.us
Website: www.kellogg.rochester.k12.mn.us
Location: 503 17th St NE, Rochester, MN, USA
Phone: 507-328-5800
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Kellogg.Middle.School/
Twitter: @KelloggMiddle