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Dowling Newsletter

Friday, February 7, 2025

Valentine's day request: Please do not send candy or treats of any kind. We are unable to share them at school and they will be sent back home (per the district Wellness Policy). 

From the Principal

School Budgets which provide the funding for school staff will be released from the District to each individual school (including Dowling) after President’s Day. Caregiver input is very important to understand family perspectives and priorities. 

Our Site Council worked together to determine priorities for staffing that should be considered for the budgeting process. All Caregivers are asked to fill out this Google Form to share your priorities:

Dowling Budget Priorities 24-25

From the Front Office

Caregiver Survey

MPS wants to hear from you! Please take the MPS caregiver survey: bit.ly/2025MPSCaregiverSurvey 

Budget Information

Learn more about next school year's budget process: bit.ly/MPSBudgetProcess 

Report Cards - Repeat

Quarter 2 report cards will be available to caregivers for viewing/downloading/printing in the Infinite Campus Parent Portal beginning Thursday, January 30th. Individual report cards will not be printed and sent home. If you have not yet created a portal account, please email the school secretary at brenda.hennen@mpls.k12.mn.us for a link and your Activation Key. 

Introducing Mr. Mohamed!

Mr. Mohamed is our new Associate Educator-Behavior and started on Monday. Mr. Mohamed comes to Dowling with prior experience as a Behavior Specialist. Here is an introduction from him:

Hi,my name is Mohamed Salad. I am 25 years old and I am so excited to be here at Dowling. I am from Somalia and grew up in the south Minneapolis neighborhood of Cedar Riverside. A fun fact about me is that I love running. I ran track and cross country both at the high school and colligate level. I look forward to meeting everyone and getting to know each amazing parent!

Girls on the Run

Girls on the Run is returning to Dowling!  This program is for girls and nonbinary 3rd-5th graders and is more than a running program!  We engage in fun activities and games designed to help our students with their social and emotional health during a critical time in their development.  They learn healthy ways to connect with their bodies and each other, and there is a 5k race at the end to celebrate their efforts.  Caregivers can learn more about the program and register here. 

• Season Dates: April 7th - Week after 5k (May 31st or June 1st)
• Practice Times: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 4:00-5:30 pm
• "Pay what you can" model

• Once you join, your student must commit to the entire season

• Registration starts Friday, February 1!

We're looking for coaches as well!  You don't have to be a runner or identify as a woman (dads and male caregivers are welcome too!).  You just have to believe in the mission of GOTR.  Please contact Anshan Eckard (AnshanMoore@msn.com) or Eva Tangen (evainmpls@gmail.com) to learn more.  We hope to see your student there!

From the Health Office

VISION SCREENING!  Phillips Eye Institute will be coming to Dowling next Tuesday, February 11th, to do free vision screenings for students in grades K, 1, 3, and 5.  Phillips has been a wonderful partner and resource for MPS, not only in conducting these screenings but in consistently helping students to access follow-up care and to get glasses if needed. Reminder - if your student has glasses, please be sure they wear them on screening day.   Questions?  Call Roxanne Truen, RN, Licensed School Nurse, at 612-668-4416 or email roxanne.truen@mpls.k12.mn.us

Summer Scholars

Registration for Summer Scholars is now open. Please check out the link for information and registration about this great summer opportunity: www.mpschools.org/academics/extended-learning/summer-scholars 

Community Education

Caring, Cards, Cookie and Community! 

Bring your family for indoor fun - Friday February 14, 12-3 PM at Sanford middle school. More information: English, Somali, Spanish

Dowling Wishlist

We are in need of snacks for our various affinity groups. We have a few new groups started. Families can also drop off snacks purchased from other vendors in the office. Marisa has a storage space for them. Thanks!

www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/14PSR0XTC8HAL?ref_=wl_share 

Wolf Ridge Learning Center

The families are raising funds to send our sixty fifth graders on a 3-day, 2-night environmental education trip to Wolf Ridge Learning Center in northern Minnesota. The full cost per student is $332. The school has some funds to defray this cost, but the remainder is still significant for our families. Every student will have the opportunity to attend regardless of the amount their family can contribute. We are reaching out to our larger community for support in easing the financial burden. With your help, these wonderful urban young people will build confidence, bond as a group, and return with a deeper understanding and appreciation for our natural world.

https://gofund.me/bb1d154c

MPLS Kids

MLPS Kids Jr registration is now open for the 2025-2026 school year! Please check out this informational flier to learn more and please feel free to share with others in the community. Program and registration information can be found here: https://ce.mpschools.org/youth/mpls-kids/mpls-kids-jr 

MPLS Kids Summer Program registration opens on Friday, February 14th at 7am. Please see the summer program website for more information: https://ce.mpschools.org/youth/mpls-kids/summer-program 

Community Opportunities

Pangea World Theater 2025 Summer Camps

From the PTO

February Month at a Glance

2/10 - PTO Meeting 6:30-7:30

2/14 - No School

2/17 - No School

2/28 - No School

Next PTO Meeting

Please join us Monday 2/10/2025 6:30-7:30pm by Google Meet.

We’ll hear updates from Principal Page, updates and request from Unified (a large supporter of Dowling), information about the start of Read-a-thon, and some future planning conversations.

meet.google.com/ohv-sphv-oak

Phone Numbers(‪US)‪+1 678-653-1972 PIN: ‪871 538 047#

Winter Get Outdoors Recap

Our sincerest gratitude to Ms. Kristen, Principal Page, the many volunteers, and fun attending families who braved the cold for a lovely Winter Get Outdoors event on Saturday, February 1st. While we didn’t have the snow pack we had hoped, kids still had a great time playing in the woods, completing a nature scavenger hunt, looking for birds, roasting marshmallows, drinking cocoa and tea, and doing a bird feed craft. Your support through time, money, and talent makes these kinds of heartwarming, community-building events possible. Thank you!

Save the Dates! 2025 Spring Events & Seeking Leadership Interest

Please mark your calendar for these fun PTO events in 2025. We are seeking volunteers to help plan these events, and of course, additional volunteers to run them.

Friday, March 21, 2025 (evening) - Dowling School Dance

Thursday, May 29, 2024 (afterschool) - Carnival

Any interested in taking a PTO leadership role for the 2025-2026 school year? Roles for Co-Chair, Treasurer, and Secretary will be open.

Use this link to express your interest in planning or leadership:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc9DBfvu3ZMa5UpJuRchRAsfhjJ-nh57plfZzFXGiKvMOPhIQ/viewform?usp=sharing

Read-A-Thon!

The Read-a-thon has begun! Your student/s should have brought home an envelope to track their minutes read. Please help them tally their daily minutes and initial their envelope after each week. All reading counts– novels, picture books, graphics novels, audiobooks, read-a-louds– include it all and help reach our school goal of reading 400,000 minutes!

The Read-a-thon raises almost 2/3 of the PTO's annual budget. If you’d like to contribute, you can make a check out to the Dowling PTO or include cash in your student’s Read-a-thon envelope, or donate at the link here: https://www.givemn.org/story/Dowlingreadathon. Check if your employer does matching donations and share with those who might want to contribute to your student’s school!

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

Continue to stay after school on Fridays to play on the Ramps Playground, connect with old friends, and make some new friends. Our continuing gratitude for parent Katie Murray, who is coordinating again this year!

MembershipToolkit - AKA the way to find your kids’ friends!

Please register or update your profile now to connect with the families who are in your child’s class. Last year’s directory was wiped at the end of August for data management purposes, so your previous information does not carry over. The district cannot release any personal information, so registering for school does not include you in the school directory. Membership Toolkit allows you to be included in the directory as well as receive important messages and updates from the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) over the summer for informal meet ups and start of school opportunities. Please let us know if you have questions or concerns.

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