Montevideo Public Schools

🌟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

STAFF SPOTLIGHT Let’s get to know our Thunder Hawk staff! We are proud to shine the spotlight on Hanna Maloney! Hanna is a teacher of Language Arts at the Montevideo High School. This is her 3rd year at Montevideo and her 10th year teaching overall. She previously worked for seven years at GFW High School in Winthrop, Minnesota. Hanna grew up on a crop farm in Springfield, Minnesota, and she is the oldest of nine children. She has four brothers and four sisters. She attended Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato, Minnesota. Hanna and her husband Adam have a 1-year-old daughter named Alice. They also have two cats named Bean and Chip. Outside of work, Hanna enjoys reading mountains of books, drinking coffee, antiques, exploring book stores, cats, history, true crime, and going to the movies. One of Hanna’s favorite parts of teaching is dedicating some class time for students to read and select their own books. She loves talking to students about what they’ve read and giving them time to explore their interests. Hanna feels privileged to work with some amazing staff at Montevideo, saying “I have to give a special shout out to Renelle Enevoldsen and Ann Wachtler for being such inspiring English teachers. I learn from you two every day!” Your dedication to teaching, love for reading, and commitment to your students is admirable, and we are lucky to have you on our team, Hanna! We appreciate you! #StaffSpotlight #greatemployees #staffappreciation

Today is the day! The stage is set for the Montevideo Senior High class of 2024 to receive their diplomas and begin a new chapter. The Commencement Program begins at 6pm and will be livestreamed on our website. Congratulations Graduates.

Join our team at Montevideo Public Schools! See all job postings and access online applications at www.montevideoschools.org. Other positions available: Long-term Substitute Teacher - 7th Grade Science for August -October 2024 Full-time Substitute Teacher - Montevideo Middle School Special Education Paraprofessionals at High School & Elementary Schools Full-time Reading & Math Tutors through AmeriCorps

The class of 2 0 2 4 has nearly completed their time with us. Today they gathered together for breakfast. Some found creative ways to get to school today, and were all smiles for commencement practice.

SCHOOL CALENDAR REMINDER: Monday, May 27, 2024 - Memorial Day NO SCHOOL #rememberandhonor

STAFF SPOTLIGHT Let’s get to know our Thunder Hawk staff! Shining in this week’s staff spotlight is Zach Koepke! Zach is a special education teacher at Montevideo Middle School. Zach has been at Montevideo for 6 years. His hometown is Granite Falls, Minnesota. He graduated from SMSU with a degree in Social Studies Education, St. Thomas with a master's degree in Special Education, and Bethel with a Work-Based Learning license. Outside of teaching, Zach enjoys taking creative sports photography, dabbling in graphic design and videography, collecting history related artifacts and books, grill outs & exploring new food spots with friends, cheering on the Green Bay Packers, spoiling his niece and nephew, and trying (keyword trying) to catch up on a backlog of shows, movies, and video games. Zach feels Montevideo Schools is the perfect sized school, saying "Our class sizes are great and not too big where you don't know everybody. It's such a privilege to work with so many awesome students and amazing coworkers." We are proud to have you on our team, Zach! Your dedication, support, and creativity have not gone unnoticed, and we appreciate all that you do! Thank you for making a difference! #StaffSpotlight #HawkPride #staffappreciation