Killingbeck's Corner

Dear Parents and Guardians,

We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving break and that your students were able to rest, recharge, and enjoy time with loved ones. We are excited to welcome everyone back as we head into the next three weeks before our upcoming break. This is an important stretch of learning, and we’re ready to continue growing socially and academically together.

We want to share how thankful we are for all of our parents and guardians who support both our staff and students every day. Your partnership means so much, and we are so grateful for you!

Schoolwide Focus: RAPS Responses

For the next three weeks, we will have a schoolwide focus on strengthening student written responses using RAPS. This strategy helps students give strong, complete answers when responding to reading and learning tasks.

• Grades 3–6:
  R – Restate the question
  A – Answer the question
  P – Provide evidence from the text
  S – Support (explain) your answer

• Grades K–1:
  Students will focus on good sentence formation and detailed pictures to support their responses.

• Grade 2:
  Students will concentrate mainly on the R and A, restate and answer, building a strong foundation for longer responses.

RAPS Celebration!

On the last day before break, the top three RAPS responses from each grade level will be recognized and rewarded with a Culver’s lunch. We’re excited to celebrate their effort and growth!

Thank you for continuing to support our students as they learn and stretch their thinking. We encourage you to stay up to date on your child’s progress and grades through Skyward. If you ever have questions about grades or assignments, please reach out, our teachers are always happy to talk with you. Building a strong bridge between home and school is so important, and we truly value that connection.

Let’s finish these next three weeks strong!

As a reminder, we have established clear procedures for both our arrival and dismissal processes. These procedures are in place to ensure the safety and well-being of all students, staff, and families.

It is extremely important that these procedures are followed. Please take a moment to review the arrival guidelines.

• No parking and walking up: Please remember that all parents should follow the car rider procedures and join the designated car rider line. This helps keep traffic flowing and ensures the safety of all students.

• For parents at the front of the line: Please pull all the way up to the last staff member to allow the maximum number of cars to pull forward. This helps keep traffic moving and ensures that all students can safely exit their vehicles as quickly as possible.

• For parents at the end of the circle: If you are at the sidewalk at the start of the circle, please allow students to exit your vehicle. This will help maximize the number of students being let out and make the car rider line even more efficient.

As a reminder, students should be exiting the vehicle on the right side only, and adults should remain in their cars during drop-off.

Additionally, as a reminder from First Baptist Church, which is next door to Northwood, they have requested that parents not park in or drop students off or pick students up in their parking lot. They have requested this for both pickup and drop-off. Please be mindful of this request and continue to follow Northwood’s designated arrival and dismissal procedures. Students should also not be dropped off and left unsupervised. If you are dropping a student off, you must follow drop-off procedures to ensure the safety of your student.

As a reminder, all visitors in our building must have an approved MCSC criminal background check on file in order to eat lunch with a student, volunteer in a classroom, or attend a classroom event or field trip.

Background checks can take up to two weeks to process, so please make sure to submit yours at least two weeks in advance of any activity you plan to participate in with students.

Our lost and found is filling up quickly with students’ sweatshirts and jackets. Please help us return items to their owners by labeling your child’s clothing and personal belongings, having a name on items makes it much easier for us to identify them and get them back to the right student. We will be making a post later this week on the Northwood Facebook page showing current lost and found items. If you see something that belongs to your child, please comment your student’s first name and their teacher’s name so we can send it home. Any items that are not claimed by the end of the semester will be donated to Churches in Mission.

As a reminder, parents and guardians should not pull into the drive along the middle school for pickup before 3:05 PM. This allows middle school parents and staff time to safely exit their parking lot before our dismissal begins.

Please help us maintain a smooth and safe dismissal process by adhering to this time. Your cooperation ensures the safety of all students and staff, both at the middle school and here at Northwood. Thank you for your understanding and support!

Please be sure to email any transportation changes to shelly.mayse@mooresvilleschools.org and angel.laplante@mooresvilleschools.org. For safety reasons, we cannot accept changes over the phone.

We also ask that you do not send transportation changes to your child’s teacher, as they are teaching throughout the day and may not see the message in time. Thank you for helping us ensure a safe and smooth dismissal for all students!

Being at school every day matters—so much. Our daily attendance goal is 98%, because consistent attendance is one of the strongest predictors of student growth and success. Every day in the classroom builds skills, confidence, and routines that are hard to replace when time is missed.

To encourage great attendance, we’ll keep recognizing students, classrooms, and grade levels who show up consistently and on time. These celebrations are a fun way to highlight the effort that goes into being present and ready to learn. Your help at home, getting kids here each morning and supporting strong routines, makes a huge difference, and together we know we can meet (and keep!) our 98% goal.

When students attend regularly, they stay connected to learning, keep up with new material, and maintain relationships with classmates and teachers. Missing school, even occasionally, can make it harder for students to feel confident and caught up.

Below, you’ll find this year’s school calendar and next year’s calendar. Keeping these handy can help families plan trips, appointments, and events outside of school hours whenever possible, so students miss less instructional time.

We also know that as the weather shifts, illness becomes more common. If your child has a fever or is vomiting, please keep them home until they are symptom-free. For milder symptoms, like a light cough or runny nose, students are usually okay to attend. Our nurse can always check on them during the day and will call if they need to go home. This helps students stay on track while still keeping health and safety first.

Thank you for partnering with us to keep students healthy, learning, and here each day. Your support truly helps our school community thrive!

Please take a moment to ensure that all your student’s information in Skyward is current. This includes emergency contacts, addresses, and phone numbers. Keeping this information up to date helps school staff reach someone quickly in case of illness, an emergency, or even to share a positive call home. Your attention to this ensures the safety and well-being of all students.

12/3- PTO blanket fundraiser orders due

12/4- 2nd grade field trip

12/4- Grades 3/4 Christmas concert at 6 PM

12/5- Hat Day for $1

12/8- PTO meeting

12/10- Title I Reading Night/Night with Santa

12/11- Dine to Donate Red Robin

12/12- Popcorn $1

12/17- Community Day

12/19- Beginning of winter break

You are able to add money to your student's lunch account via Skyward or by sending money in with your child. Please make sure to clearly label the envelope as lunch money so that it goes to the correct place.

With the cold weather coming up, we want to remind families to make sure students come to school dressed warmly and appropriately for the low temperatures.

Please be sure your child wears a heavy winter coat each day. We will continue to go outside for recess whenever it is safe to do so, so students should also come prepared with hats, gloves or mittens, and warm layers (such as sweaters, sweatshirts, or thermal shirts). Dressing in layers will help keep students comfortable during morning arrival and any time spent outdoors.

If your family needs assistance with winter clothing, please reach out to our school office. We are happy to help connect you with available resources.

Thank you for helping ensure all of our students stay warm, healthy, and ready to learn during these colder winter days!

Please make sure to include a change of clothes in your student's backpack. Accidents happen at recess, lunch, etc. and we want to make sure we have a change of clothes that will fit them appropriately.

Medications should be administered at home under the supervision of the parent/guardian when possible. If a student requires administration of medications during the regular school day, the following procedures will be followed.

1. Medications may be administered by a school administrator, school nurse, health assistant, teacher, or other school employee designated by the school administrator, after consultation with the school nurse. The person or persons authorized to administer medication is specified except in the case of a life-threatening emergency.
2. The parent/guardian needs to bring the medication to school. If they are unable to do so, they should make contact with Student Health Services prior to sending the medication. Parents must also sign a consent allowing the school to administer the medication. This shall include the student's name, medication name, dosage, time to be given, duration to be given, and parent's signature.
3. Prescription medications must be supplied in the original packaging or container labeled with the prescription that includes date, prescribing physician, student's name, time to be given, medication name, dosage, duration, and expiration date. No medications will be given unless they are in the original container. Ask your pharmacist for a duplicate bottle if needed. Request a second inhaler if your child has asthma that requires treatment at school.
4. Over-the-Counter medications must be provided in their original container. They will only be administered with written consent from the parent/guardian using the age appropriate dose listed on the packaging or container. The school will not give aspirin or phenylpropanolamine containing products unless accompanied by a physician's prescription.
5. A student with a chronic disease or medical condition may carry and self-administer medication after authorization from the parent/guardian and physician has been obtained.

Please be sure to contact Health Services if your child requires medications or has a health care need that may need special consideration. Any allergy information or care plans are required to be renewed each year.

• K-12 Authorization for Prescribed Medication Treatment
• High School - Authorization for Nonprescribed Medication Treatment
• K-8 Authorization for Nonprescribed Medication Treatment

Students must show compliance with Indiana State Immunization Requirements in order to attend school. A 20-day waiver may be granted from the first day of school in order to schedule/obtain any needed vaccines. Please contact Student Health Services if your child is not in compliance or you need assistance in obtaining vaccines.

Read full requirements here.

Stopfinder App

Stopfinder is an all-in-one parent app that allows Mooresville Schools to securely share your student’s transportation schedule, announcements, and more as quickly as possible from your mobile device. Features include:

• View your student’s daily transportation assignments – including transfer trips and stops
• Securely share your student’s schedule with caregivers
• Receive notifications and updates related to transportation
• Send real-time vehicle location notifications based on GeoAlert regions you create for your student
• Send private messages to the Transportation Department

Check out the Stopfinder Informational Video.

To use the App, first download Stopfinder in the App Store or Google Play Store.

After you download the app, you will be able to utilize the subscriber information from the email sent by the Transportation Department. Access to student schedules is granted only to the student’s designated contacts in Skyward by the Transportation Department. The Stopfinder contacts, at their own discretion, may share their student’s schedule with caregivers (sub-subscribers).

An invitation to activate your Stopfinder account will be sent to all bus rider families via email on the afternoon of August 4. You must follow BOTH steps in the email to activate your account.

If you do not receive your child's Stopfinder subscriber access at the beginning of the school year, please:

• Check your spam or junk email for a message from "no-reply@stopfinder.com"
• Check that your Skyward profile contains the correct email. If it doesn't, please be sure to correct it in Skyward and watch for the email the following day.
• Check that you have completed your Back to School forms in Skyward Family Access, especially the form noting your transportation needs. Once this is completed, you should receive the form via email the following day.
• Contact your child's school office to verify that your child's name, pickup address, and other information.

If you need to have the email re-sent, please email the Transportation Department with your child's name and school for an invitation to be sent. Once you've subscribed, you'll be able to set GeoAlerts to be notified when your child's bus is within an area you set from your child's bus stop and/or school. Also remember that most buses will pass by your bus stop 4 times per day (AM and PM for elementary and secondary) and mark only the routes you want to track. Learn how to set up GeoAlerts.

Learn more about the system at Stopfinder.com.

Visitor Information and Volunteering

District Policies:

1. No lunch visits are allowed before Labor Day.

2. Anyone visiting at lunch must be listed in the child’s Skyward profile as a parent/guardian or as an authorized contact for the child and must have passed a background check to come into the building.

3. No lunch visits are allowed during ILEARN, NWEA, or other testing windows. Dates will be posted in the weekly newsletter.

4. The school must receive at least 48-hour notice before a visit to ensure a visitor’s background check has been completed and passed.

5. Visitors can include a maximum of two adults. No lunchtime visitors under age 18 are allowed.

6. To respect the privacy of everyone in the lunchroom, cell phones must be put away and no photos are to be taken during a lunchroom visit.

7. Each student is limited to one visit per month.

VOLUNTEERING IN BUILDINGS:

All schools have opportunities for parent, grandparent, and community volunteers. If you have time available to help with class events and activities, library services, or other projects, please contact the school you are interested in helping. Volunteers who spend one-on-one time with children or who will be traveling with children are subject to criminal background checks. Please fill out the form and return it to your child's school if you are interested in serving as a volunteer or chaperone.

School safety is our top priority. Students and staff practice established safety procedures and protocols in accordance with Indiana Code. Our school uses the Standard Response Protocol as part of our emergency response guidance.

Please see the parent guide for additional information about the protocols that are in place and the common language our school uses for our teaching and practicing safety protocols.

1. IXL – Offers practice questions in math and language arts for all grade levels. Students can work at their own pace and get immediate feedback to strengthen skills. (Note: Some features require a subscription, but many schools provide access codes.)

2. Khan Academy – A free learning platform with video lessons and practice exercises in math, reading, grammar, and more. Lessons are organized by grade level and skill.

3. Starfall – Great for early readers! Offers interactive activities and games to build phonics skills, vocabulary, and reading fluency.

4. ABCya – Fun, educational games in math and reading for grades PreK–6. Kids can play engaging games while building important academic skills.

5. ReadWorks – Provides free reading passages and comprehension activities for all grade levels. Parents can create accounts to assign reading practice at home.

6. Prodigy Math – A free, game-based math program where students solve math problems to progress through a fantasy world. Keeps kids engaged while reinforcing skills.

7. Epic! – A digital library with thousands of books for kids to read online or listen to as audiobooks. Free for educators; parents can access with a small free trial or through their child’s class account.

We are looking for parents who can consistently volunteer to work with students. A background check is required. Volunteers will have the opportunity to work with individuals or small groups, helping lead teacher-provided activities designed to support academic growth.

If you are available on a specific day or days consistently, please reach out to your child’s classroom teacher to get started. We greatly value parent support and the connection it creates between home and school. This opportunity is not just for younger grades, our older students benefit from your help too!

Thank you for partnering with us to help our students succeed academically! We really enjoy having parents in our building!

Please talk about these traits with your child/ren. It will be great to have common language between home and school. These traits help us teach the whole child and help students learn life lessons and good manners.

Positive Attitude- Have a positive attitude and listen to adults and follow directions.

Respect- Keep hands and feet to self. Listen to adults and follow directions.

Integrity- Voice level appropriate. Always doing what is right.

Determination- Follow Pioneer Pride and encourage others to do same.

Excellence- Do your personal best and encourage other do the same.

This month, our character focus is on excellence, one of the core values we work to build in all of our students. Excellence means doing your best every day, taking pride in your work, and continuing to grow, even after you’ve already done something well. It’s about aiming high, making thoughtful choices, and giving strong effort in everything you do.

You can help support this at home by talking with your child about what excellence looks like in different parts of the school day, such as the classroom, hallways, lunchroom, and playground. Encourage them to share examples of when they showed excellence by working carefully, being kind and responsible, improving after feedback, or going above and beyond what was expected.

Teachers will be nominating a Student of the Month from each classroom who demonstrates excellence and our monthly character traits. By working together at home and at school, we can help our students grow into confident, responsible, and motivated individuals who strive to be their very best!

We’re excited to share a monthly resource created especially for families! This resource is meant to strengthen the same skills your child is learning at school and gives you easy ways to practice together at home. We believe that when families and schools work as a team, students grow even more, academically and confidently, and the home-school connection becomes even stronger.

This month, our focus skill is providing evidence. When students answer questions about what they read, it’s important that they don’t just give an answer, they also explain why by pointing to proof from the text. Evidence can be words, phrases, or details that support their thinking. Learning to provide evidence helps students become stronger readers and writers because it teaches them to think deeply, make clear connections, and back up their ideas with information they can find in what they read.

This week, as you read the article below with your child, encourage them to practice this skill. After they respond to a question, ask:

• “What in the text makes you think that?”

• “Can you show me where you found that answer?”

• “What detail supports your idea?”

Practicing evidence-based responses at home will help your child build strong habits that support success in the classroom.