Comet Connection
KELLOGG FAMILY NEWS | September 26, 2021
An Important Message from Mrs. McAndrews
Dear Kellogg Parents,
As the COVID pandemic forges on, I wanted to mention a few things that have been on my mind recently.
- Thank you for keeping your kids at home when they have symptoms of any kind. Regardless of your view of COVID, we can all agree that keeping kids in school is the #1 goal. If each parent does their part, monitoring their child for symptoms and communicating with the Health Office, we will get through this more seamlessly.
- Your follow-up communication after quarantine or isolation makes EVERYTHING easier for your family, your child, the Health Office, clerical staff, and teachers! Keep sending the emails and making the calls to discuss symptoms, share results, and stay connected! Our two COVID Coordinators are Nurse Ashley Ray asray@rochesterschools.org and your truly anmcandrews@rochesterschools.org. We WILL respond to your messages to make sure we are all on the same page.
Regardless of your level of frustration, we would really appreciate communication that maintains a respectful and professional tone. We know that the protocols associated with the pandemic can be frustrating at times, but communicating about questions or concerns in a professional manner is critical.
No one signed up for this chapter. When I was little, I never dreamed of growing up to be a contact tracer in a global pandemic, but I show up everyday and make the best of it.
We all do.
Every day.
For your kids, my kids, all kids.
Your patience and respectful communication goes a long way in making everyone's life a little easier.
We WANT to hear your concerns.
We WANT to answer your questions.
We WANT to communicate openly.
When we are met with anger and hostility, it makes this work so much harder than it needs to be. On the other end of the phone or email is a person.
Our commitment is to respond with grace, patience and understanding.
We hope you will do the same.
Working With You,
Angi McAndrews
Proud Principal
Kellogg Middle School
SEVEN SCOOPS!
Yearbooks will be here late October. Between late spring pictures and a couple other hurdles, this is a VERY late delivery of the 20-21 yearbooks. We will be sure to get yearbooks delivered as soon as they arrive!
SCOOP TWO
My best tech advice for parents is always to stay smarter than your kids about tech. As a mom, I know how challenging that can be! To help, I will let you know, from time to time, when we see new or returning patterns surface. Last week, we heard more about an old chat platform called Discord. It seems to be the new place for students to chat virtually. Here's what Common Sense Media has to say about Discord. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/parents-ultimate-guide-to-discord
SCOOP THREE
Mitigation strategies in band are tougher than in other places. Between bell covers, modified masks, extra distancing, and all the blowing, we have to be extra careful in these environments. To complicate matters, the district supply of modified masks are on backorder. Our band directors are working to make some arrangements so kids can play outside, but we are at the mercy of suppliers when it comes to traditional rehearsal. Please know that they will be producing music soon! If you have questions, please reach out to your child's director.
SCOOP FOUR
There are two seasons in Minnesota. Winter and road construction.
Road construction season is still with us! Beginning around Oct 11, the Elton Hills Bridge will be out of commission. This impacts some families in terms of bus eligibility. It impacts MANY other families in terms of your route to drop off and pick up your Comets each day. Please plan ahead for an alternative route.
SCOOP FIVE
There has been some confusion about grades in Skyward that we wanted to clear up. Because of Grading for Learning principles, practice work is worth 0% of the grade and summative assessments are worth 100%. Once a grade is entered, the program starts calculating a course grade. 0% of any number of points is zero, so until a summative assessment grade is entered, the grade appears to be an NC (no credit). This is not an accurate reflection of their progress because they have not yet completed a summative assessment.
When reviewing your child's grades, please look for two things:
- Are they completing practice work to help build their skills for summative assessments?
- How are they doing on their summative assessments?
SCOOP SIX
Just a few reminders about Chromebooks
- Kids should charge them each night and bring them to school each day.
- If a device is not working properly, students can take it to the Media Center for tech support.
- If a device is damaged due to neglect (broken screen, missing keys, water damage, port issues, etc.) we will meet with your child to talk about the incident and follow up regarding possible charges for repair. The same is true for a missing device or charger.
SCOOP SEVEN
Can you believe we are already to mid-quarter? By Friday, you should expect a progress report email from each of your child's teachers, giving you a glimpse of their quarter so far. Please reach out to teachers directly with questions about academic progress. If your child is having trouble beyond the academic content, I recommend reaching out to one of our counselors or social workers. Their contact info is listed at the end of each newsletter.
IMPORTANT DATES
SEPTEMBER
- 27-30 FastBridge Make-Ups
- 1 Q1 Progress Reports sent home (directly from teachers)
- 1 Flu Shot Clinic
- 4-8 Homecoming Week
- 6 Century Spirit Wear for sale during lunch
- 7 Century Spirit Wear for sale during lunch
- 8 Homecoming Parade & Game
- 14 Picture Retakes
- 14 Fall Parent-Teacher Conferences
- 19 Fall Parent-Teacher Conferences
- 21 Fall Break (no school)
- 22 Fall Break (no school)
- 4 Last Day Q1
- 5 Q1 Work Day (no school)
More Comets on Team USA
Can you believe Kellogg is home to ANOTHER Team USA athlete?
6th grader Elliot Su was recently selected for USA Baseball’s 12u national team trials after competing through three rounds of tryouts this summer. He was the only player from the entire Midwest selected.
Check out the official news on Elliot here:
https://www.usabaseball.com/news/topic/general/usa-baseball-announces-2021-national-team-identification-series-selections
Way to shine, Elliot!
(If your Comet has an accomplishment to celebrate, feel free to send me the story at anmcandrews@rochesterschools.org!)
YAYA
If your child is a budding author or artist, you might consider this awesome enrichment opportunity!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oqqS5lecFvp5Gi0eHZRqqs0hwybAsshm/view?usp=sharing
Please contact Ms. Michet, Gifted Specialist, with any questions.
Essay Contest
The VFW Patriot’s Pen essay contest asks students to answer the question, “How can I be a good American?”
Each year more than 165,400 students in grades 6-8 enter the VFW’s Patriot’s Pen youth essay contest for a chance to win their share of more than $1.4 million in state and national awards. Each first place state winner receives a minimum of $500 at the national level, and the national first place winner wins $5,000!
The essay contest encourages young minds to examine America’s history, along with their own experiences in modern American society, by drafting a 300- to 400-word essay, expressing their views based on a patriotic theme chosen by the VFW Commander-in-Chief.
See English or Social Studies teachers for more information!
Important Information
- 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
- Back-to-School Edition https://www.smore.com/6ycjh
- August 29 https://www.smore.com/468bp
- September 6 https://www.smore.com/c9dbn
- September 12 https://www.smore.com/3uf50
- September 19 https://www.smore.com/c7yfn
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
Lori Dietrich, Health Office Nurse, LPN
507-328-5813 lodietrich@rochesterschools.org
Ashley Ray, Licensed School Nurse, LSN RN
507-328-5800 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
Para asistencia en español, por favor marque al 328-4241.
Za pomoc na bosanskom jeziku pozovite 328-4243
"إذا رغبت في الحصول على هذه المعلومات باللغة العربية يرجي الإتصال بقسم الترجمة علي الرقم 4246-328"
Haddii aad jeclaan lahayd in aad hesho macluumaadkaan oo ku qoran Soomaali, fadlan la soo xiriir waaxda EL(bartaha ingariiska) 328 4247.
“如果需要中文援助请拨打电话 :507-328-4238 (办公室) 或者 507-398-9448 (手机)
“ Để được giúp đở bằng Tiếng Việt xin Gọi đến số 271-8366
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