Dowling Newsletter - December 5

From the Principal

Winter is here! The snow has come and hopefully will stick around for a while. 

All students are asked to wear a coat, snowpants, boots, hat, gloves/mittens and socks every day. We have some gear to borrow but not enough for everyone. Please send these items with your child and LABEL everything so if it gets lost, we can get it back to your child.

Last week we celebrated American Indian Family Involvement week with our Native students and families. We had an all school drumming assembly and story telling event. We also invited our families to a special reception. 

From the Social Worker

Hello everyone! My name is Ms. Kamara, and I am the new Social Worker for Dowling. I am very excited to be here. I look forward to getting to know the Dowling community.

We have students in need of Winter Clothing. Specifically, I am looking for new or gently used: Snow pants sizes small - XL, winter boots kid sizes. A few winter coats sizes small  - XL.  Sweatpants sizes small - xl.

Does your student need gear? Please use this form to request items: https://forms.gle/S2835y5h7NDVxq9s8

From Mr. Nick, Pool Teacher

Please help your student be prepared for pool class by bringing their swimsuit and towel. After swim class, these items should go home to be washed to be ready for the next class. Our extra swimsuits and towels should be reserved for students who do not have these items at home or do not have access to laundry facilities. Thank you!

Dowling Wishlist

Please check out the Dowling wishlist. We’d be very grateful for any donations!

Severe Weather

Winter has arrived! Dowling students go outside every day, unless wind chill factor is at or below 0° F.

Please familiarize yourself with Minneapolis Public Schools' severe weather policies and severe weather tips by visiting www.mpschools.org/about-mps/severe-weather. Full-day school building closure decisions are made no later than 5:30 a.m. the day of the closure.

If schools are closed, notification is sent by: 

• Robocalls, texts, and emails 
• The district website 
• Local television news
• Social media (Facebook and Instagram)  

It is important that schools have the most up-to-date contact information for families in Infinite Campus. If your profile is marked “private” in Infinite Campus, or if no contact is marked as guardian, you will not receive messages from MPS.

Contact the main office to make updates to your Infinite Campus profile.

From the School Nurse

FREE DENTAL CARE OPPORTUNITY!  Coming February 7, 2026 - Give Kids a Smile is a yearly event in which dental professionals, dental students, and other volunteers come together to give underserved children free oral health care! Services include: oral health education, dental exams, x-rays, cleanings, fillings, and other treatments that are preventative or restorative.  If there are services needed that can't be completed that day, the staff can assist in setting up additional appointments. 

For more information and to set up an appointment:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GeohxPW06An3MO9njjGO0QQCw60KyIAK/view?usp=sharing

Dismissal Update regarding Keychain Kids: 

Keychain Kids has reached its capacity!  In order to ensure student safety, we are suspending any NEW requests for Keychain Kids. Thank you for understanding. 

From Afterschool - Youth Enrichment   

(also known as Community Education and Afterschool) 

NO after-school classes November 24-26th (Thanksgiving Week)

WINTER: Session 2 is opening soon! 

• Paper FLYER go home on Monday, November 24th.
• Online Registration opens on THURSDAY, December 4th at 6:00pm 
• If you need help registering or need a paper registration form, call or email.
• Afterschool Transportation request deadline: December 16th at 12pm

Session 1: October 20-December 17

Session 2: January 12-March 4

Session 3: March 16-May 13 

Calendar: link 

*Questions for Nicole Melendez, Coordinator 

nicole.melendez@mpls.k12.mn.us

612-668-4444

Se habla espanol 

Dowling PTO

December at a Glance

No PTO meeting in December

Winter break December 22-January 2

New Dowling Merch is Coming!

With the arrival of cold weather what a perfect time to introduce our latest Dowling merch! Beanies! Stay tuned for social media posts and a message from membership toolkit when we have them available for purchase. 

Accepting Winter Gear and Camping Gear

Earlier this week Principal Page put a message out about donating gently used or new winter gear to help support Dowling students. One of the great things about our school is all the outdoor time but being dressed for the elements is essential. We are also periodically putting out a reminder to consider giving camping gear (sleeping pads, sleeping bags, tents) to be used at our Get Outdoors event in the fall. This year we utilized all the gear we had available and our school and attendance at events continues to grow so we anticipate needing more gear. 

Fridays “Stay to Play on the Ramps” from 4:05-5:00 p.m.

Join us for Friday Fun on the Ramps Playground after school to play and catch up with friends. Many thanks to parent volunteer Katie Murray for coordinating this event again!

MembershipToolkit

To get information from the PTO and connect with other families, you'll need to register or update your profile on Membership Toolkit. The district can't share your information, so this is the only way to be included in the school directory and receive important updates.

Register here: https://dowlingpto.membershiptoolkit.com