Montevideo Public Schools

🌟New Staff Spotlight!🌟 We are excited to welcome Mackenzie Landmark to Thunder Hawk Territory for the 2024-2025 school year! #HAWKPRIDE I am Mackenzie Landmark! I recently moved to the area and am excited to meet the students and start teaching band and general music at the high school and middle school! I am originally from Clinton, Minnesota. Growing up, I challenged myself to see how many instruments I could learn before I graduated high school. I Graduated college from Concordia in Moorhead, MN in 2023. I live in my home with my husband, Elijah, and two dogs, Caboose and Freya. In my free time, I love to build Legos or play games. Help us welcome Mackenzie to the Thunder Hawk community!

🌟New Staff Spotlight!🌟 We are excited to welcome Sarah Lee to Thunder Hawk Territory for the 2024-2025 school year! #HAWKPRIDE My name is Sarah Lee, and I am excited to join the 4th grade team at Sanford Elementary this fall! After spending nearly fifteen years working as a Medical Laboratory Technician at CCM Health, I realized that my lifelong dream was to become an elementary teacher. I have spent the past five years working as a paraprofessional in the 3rd and 4th grade while pursuing my Elementary Education degree online through Southwest Minnesota State University. I live in Dawson with my husband, Peter, and our four children: Brooklyn (17), Lauren (15), Nolan (12), and Addelyn (9). Some of my favorite pastimes include reading, going for walks, playing card games, and spending time with my family. I am looking forward to the start of the school year and getting to know the fabulous fourth graders at Sanford Elementary. Help us welcome Sarah to the Thunder Hawk community!

"Public School Boards Have Heart!" ❤️ Montevideo Thunder Hawks benefit every day from the leadership and vision of our school board members. September is Minnesota School Board Recognition Month! We thank our school board members for their hard work and leadership! #CelebrateSchoolBoards #HawkPride

🌟New Staff Spotlight!🌟 We are excited to welcome Adelle Kallemeyn to Thunder Hawk Territory for the 2024-2025 school year! #HAWKPRIDE Hello! I am the new special education teacher at the middle school for 5th grade this year. I am currently working towards my master’s degree at SMSU in Special Education as an Academic Behavioral Strategist. This will be my second year teaching in special education. I have a previous bachelor’s degree from Black Hills State University and Dakota State University in Communication Arts, Graphic and Website Design. Before deciding my career path in teaching, I worked on maintaining websites for 17 years, drove a school bus for 11 years and worked as a paraprofessional for 8 years. I enjoy helping students grow academically and seeing them grow up to be young adults with a bright future! I currently live on an acreage north of Lake Benton, MN with my husband, Jon, and two kids Kyle (17) and Kelly (14). I also have two cats that keep me company: Socks and Bella. When I’m not at school, I enjoy hanging out with my family and friends or watching movies. I am looking forward to a wonderful new year at Montevideo Middle School! Please help us welcome Adelle to the Thunder Hawk community!

🌟New Staff Spotlight!🌟 Next up in our new staff spotlight is a familiar face in a new role! Cassie Nelson is excited to go to kindergarten! We are happy to welcome Cassie to the kindergarten team at Ramsey Elementary School for the 2024-2025 school year! #HAWKPRIDE My name is Cassie Nelson. I went to elementary school at Sanford and graduated from Montevideo High School. I received my teaching degree at Southwest Minnesota State University and became a preschool teacher. For 14 years, I have been dedicated and loved teaching young children, and like my preschool friends, I am excited to go to kindergarten! As my son heads off to college in Mankato, I look forward to a new adventure for myself. When I’m not teaching, I love getting outside to walk, bike, kayak, travel to national parks, and finding fun activities to do with family and friends. I hope to continue to help with the fabulous ECFE program in Montevideo and be a great addition to the already wonderful kindergarten team and staff at Ramsey! Help us welcome Cassie to her new role as a kindergarten teacher at Ramsey Elementary School!

📅✨ Check out our school calendar for the 2024-2025 school year! It is also posted on the school website and can be found in the Documents file on the Montevideo Public Schools App! 📱🎒📚⏰Be sure to check out all the key dates, like no school, early dismissals, holidays, breaks, and special events, to keep the year running smoothly. 🌟📅 Reminder - No school on Friday, August 30th and Monday, September 2nd (Labor Day)!

🌟New Staff Spotlight!🌟 We are excited to welcome Alex Ourada to Thunder Hawk Territory for the 2024-2025 school year! #HAWKPRIDE My name is Alex Ourada. I grew up in Westbrook, MN and attended college at Mankato State University. My wife Lindsay and I have three children: Elijah 13, Emersyn 10, and Eden 7. As a family we enjoy camping in the summer as time allows. We have a 7-year-old English Yellow Lab named Cabella who helps with bird hunting in the Fall. I also enjoy golfing, fishing, and am a MSHSL wrestling official. With our kid’s activities increasing, most downtime is spent watching activities and trying to make some memories along the way! Carpe Diem! Help us welcome Alex to the Thunder Hawk community!

🌟New Staff Spotlight!🌟 We are excited to welcome Katelyn Siebert to Thunder Hawk Territory for the 2024-2025 school year! #HAWKPRIDE My name is Katelyn Siebert, and I am the new middle school and high school choir teacher here in Montevideo. I am from Waconia, MN, and I studied music education and French at Luther College. I took a little bit of a break after college to travel! For the past year I lived in Luxembourg as a nanny and traveled to thirteen different countries! In addition to traveling, I also love reading and knitting. I can’t wait to get to know the community of Montevideo and start making some music! Help us welcome Katelyn to the Thunder Hawk community!

Good afternoon, Here is the first Superintendent Stream for the school year; please tune in to listen to Superintendent McKittrick's message. https://youtu.be/aW3doLIotfQ

🌟New Staff Spotlight!🌟 We are excited to welcome Brooke LaHaye to Thunder Hawk Territory for the 2024-2025 school year! #HAWKPRIDE My name is Brooke LaHaye, and I am excited to be joining Montevideo Schools at Sanford Elementary as the music teacher. My family moved to Montevideo this summer from Dallas, GA, near Atlanta. I was born in Minnesota, and grew up in West Fargo, ND until I finished high school. I graduated from Florida Atlantic University in 2003 with a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. I have lots of experience teaching K-4th grade as a classroom teacher and supporting K-7th grades in various other roles including paraprofessional, Title 1 Teacher, and Special Education teacher. I have a husband, Gregg, who works from home as a Software Engineer and three children who will be attending Montevideo Schools. Zach is almost 15 and will be starting 9th grade. Josh is 12 and will be starting 7th grade and Becca is 10 and will be starting 6th grade. We also have two dogs: Cody and Luna. My family enjoys traveling, riding our bikes, going out to eat, and spending time with family and friends. I also enjoy going for walks and going to the gym. We love Montevideo and are looking forward to meeting friends and getting more involved in the community. Help us welcome Brooke to the Thunder Hawk community!

New Staff Spotlight! We are excited to welcome Holly Spicer to Thunder Hawk territory for the 2024-2025 school year! #HAWKPRIDE My name is Holly Spicer! I just moved to the Montevideo area from Willmar. This is my 8th year teaching. I have my master's degree in Special Education. I got into special education initially as a parent whose son had a learning disability. I was also a paraprofessional for many years and decided that I could be more helpful as a special education teacher. I love my job! I have three wonderful kids who are all grown, two boys and one girl. I currently live with my boyfriend and am experiencing empty nest syndrome. I love to fish, kayak, and hike! I am excited to join the Montevideo team, and I cannot wait to meet the students and families that I will be working with! Help us welcome Holly Spicer to the Thunder Hawk community!

ISD #129 Montevideo Schools participate in Minnesota's Free School Meals Program where all students can have healthy meals - one FREE breakfast and one FREE lunch - each day at school. Although an application is not required to receive this free meal benefit, filling out the Application for Educational Benefits is still important! Your student may qualify for other benefits like reduced fees at school. Your application may also help the school qualify for educational funds, discounts, and other meal programs. A new application must be submitted each year. Apply online through JMC when registering your student OR paper applications are available in each school office.

Calling all 2024 MHS Grads! Preordered yearbooks are ready for Grads to pick up, as well as scholarship checks.

🌟Get Ready for the New School Year🌟 Registration is now open online for new & returning students through the JMC Portal at www.montevideoschools.org. - Register returning students - Enroll and register new students/families - Update parent & student information - Complete and sign forms - Pay student expenses, including Chromebook insurance Complete the online registration by Tuesday, August 20th, Open House day. Contact your school if you have any questions about online student registration.

The Montevideo Public Schools District Office will be closed from July 1, 2024, to July 5, 2024, for cleaning. Staff may be reached by email or phone.

REMINDER: Montevideo Public Schools is closed today in observance of the Juneteenth holiday. No summer school, summer meals for kids or activities. School offices are closed.

We are excited to offer an easy, optional back-to-school shopping experience this summer! Montevideo Public Schools has partnered with Impacks to give parents a convenient option to buy school supply kits online for the upcoming school year. Impacks offers teacher-approved, high-quality, affordable school supply kits for grades K-8. Kits get delivered to your child's school to be picked up during open house. Go to: https://www.myimpacks.com/montevideo-public-schools/ before July 15, 2024. Check it out!

The Montevideo Public Schools District Office hours will be 7:30 am to 4:00 pm, Monday-Thursday, and 7:30-11:30 am on Fridays, starting June 3rd through August 9th.

STAFF SPOTLIGHT Let’s get to know our Thunder Hawk staff! We are proud to shine the spotlight on Sara Erickson! School may be out for summer, but you’ll find Sara working in the middle school office all year long. She is an Administrative Assistant to the MMS principal. Sara’s hometown is Montevideo. She has lived in Montevideo her whole life. Sara graduated as a Montevideo Mohawk, and she is proud to still be in this community! Sara has three adult children; Lyndsey, Brennan & Brady, and she is also the very proud grandma to two little girls, Charlotte and Ania, along with a grandson due in October! Sara and Steve enjoy camping, and they try to go every weekend during the summer months. Sara loves fall camping most of all! We are lucky to have you on our team, Sara! Your hard work and dedication do not go unnoticed, and we appreciate all that you do! Thank you for making a difference! #StaffSpotlight #greatemployees #staffappreciation

SCHOOL CALENDAR REMINDER: Thursday, May 30, 2024 - Last Day of School for Students and Early Dismissal