Northwood Hills News

Northwood Hills News is the school newsletter written by campus leadership. You'll find important dates and information about upcoming activities including evening events, school-wide assessments, and RISD area events. The newsletter will go out via email on Thursdays of each week. Please ensure your email addresses and phone numbers are up-to-date in Focus so that you receive each week's updates in a timely manner.

Hello NHE Families,

We hope you had a restful Thanksgiving break. These next three weeks will be full as we wrap up a great first semester. Please make sure you are keeping up with classroom communication from your child's teacher so you are informed about testing, field trips, deadlines for grades, and class winter parties.

This month we will focus on the character trait of responsibility. Responsibility is the willingness and ability to take ownership of our thoughts, words, and actions. We have a responsibility to our school, family, and community to be accountable for our choices and how they impact ourselves and others. It is also one of our district's core values.

Why focus on responsibility?

• Responsibility teaches resilience. It is not possible to persevere and achieve our dreams without taking personal responsibility seriously.
• Responsibility empowers us to own our actions. There is great power in being able to make conscious, calculated choices to reach goals and manage those things in our control.
• Responsibility teaches us to manage our time and resources. Responsibly organizing and prioritizing needs is an executive function of the brain that improves with practice.

Please take a few minutes to read through the Capturing Kids Hearts Newsletter below for some ways you can partner with us to grow and develop your child’s sense of responsibility.

We would also love to provide our families with an opportunity to provide feedback on our use of Capturing Kids Heart processes from your perspective. Please use the link below to answer a few quick survey questions. If you are unsure of what the question is referring to, ask your student. 😃 We look forward to finishing the semester strong!

Parent Survey:

https://iheartckh.com/squrl/filoxb2m

Sincerely,

Jenni Smith

Principal

• December 4 - 6th-grade field trip to the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum

• December 5 - NHE Spelling Bee

• December 6 & 9 - 2nd grade GT testing

• December 9- I Know What To Do Day

• December 10 - 4th-grade field trip to Austin

• December 10 - 5th-grade field trip to RHS choir concert

• December 10 - NHE Choir Concert at 5:30 pm

• December 13- 5th grade Be the Change

• December 19- Quarter 2 SOAR Awards

• December 20- Winter Parties & Early Release

• December 23-January 6 - Winter Break

• January 7 - College Colors Day

• January 9- 6th graders tour WWJH

• January 13-17 - Middle of the Year MAP Growth Assessments

• January 20 - Student & Staff Holiday - No School

• January 28- Progress Reports Shared

• January 30 - Parent Growth Goal Camp 5:30-7:00

Please Label Student Belongings

Please be sure to label all belongings that your children bring to school including sweaters, water bottles, backpacks, lunchboxes, sweatshirts, etc. We have several items in our lost and found that do not have names on them so they cannot be returned.

All unclaimed items in the Lost and Found that remain unclaimed on December 19th will be donated to the RISD Clothes Closet

Monday, December 9th will be our next "I Know What To Do" Day. Students and staff will revisit safety protocols and practice a Hold/Secure drill. No action or preparation is necessary on your part as a parent, however, we encourage you to talk with your student after the drill to ensure they feel that they understand what to do in the event of an actual safety situation.

Each class will have a Winter party on Friday, December 20th. Since this is an early release day, class parties will occur from 12:00-1:00. Homeroom parents will be reaching out for items needed and a few volunteers for each class. Any parents that are attending will need to enter the school through the front office and must scan their ID to receive their Verkada badge.

https://secure.smore.com/n/u9v6c

If you are planning to make Holiday Cards or need gift ideas, find two opportunities to give back to the school while you shop and get discounts. Minted not only have holiday cards but also personalized gifts, stationery, art, home decor, etc. Honey Bake Ham gift cards are also a great option for the holiday season. See flyer for codes and more details about the event.

Falcon gear that is!

Whether you are a proud parent, a dedicated student or passionate supporter of our fantastic school, we’ve got just the right apparel to help you showcase your Northwood Hills Falcon pride!

The store is open and now includes long sleeve gear! Deadline to place an order is December 4.

Each purchase you make directly supports our school and helps fund various exciting projects and activities for our students.

Browse through the online store, pick out your favorite items and join us in spreading some Falcon pride!

Go Falcons!

Proudly provided by the Northwood Hills Elementary School PTA.

NHE parent and community volunteers are essential for supporting our staff, implementing programs and events, and nurturing the learning experience for our students.

From Homecoming to Teacher Appreciation Week to Field Day, there is something for everyone. Any contribution of time helps, no matter how big or small. If you'd like to help on campus this year, we'd love to have you!

Please visit this link to see the various opportunities we have available this year and select those that interest you. You will need to sign up as a user on the site before completing the form.

Thanks in advance for your support!

NHE PTA

Beginning next week, visitors are welcome to join their students for lunch. Here are a few reminders when planning to visit for lunch.

• Due to space in our cafeteria we are asking that parents who wish to have lunch with their child do so only once per week.
• Arrive before your child's scheduled lunchtime.
  
• Bring your ID to be screened at check-in. You will be given a visitor badge to wear at all times while on campus.
• Visitors should sit at the designated visitor table with their child and are not permitted to sit at the class cafeteria tables.
• Lunch visitors may eat lunch with only their child. Friends will not be permitted to join another parent for lunch.
• We request that visitors follow a no-cell phone policy to ensure student privacy and quality time with their child. Taking pictures or videos in the cafeteria that include any other students or staff is not permitted.
• When your child’s lunch period is over, visitors should exit the building from the front or office doors. Lunch visitors should NOT walk their child back to class.
• If a visitor who is not a parent or guardian comes to eat lunch with a student, we must have permission ahead of time from the parent or guardian or they will not be permitted to eat with the student.

These guidelines may need to be adjusted from time to time. Updates will be communicated as needed.

All visitors must show a government-issued ID every time you are either visiting school or volunteering and will need to have a Verkada Badge. The great thing about our new system is that you can use the QR Code from home in the morning, and your badge will be waiting for you when you arrive. Please wait to access the code until 7 am the day that it is needed so that the badge doesn't time out. This is a requirement for any activity we will have during the school day.

Before entering the building, you will need to push the doorbell. Our office staff will ask how they can help you before letting you in. This is a requirement for everyone even if our office staff knows who you are. We appreciate your support and patience with this process.

With the increased need for security on all campuses, NHE will continue to use Verkada to sign in all visitors on campus. If you plan on visiting campus, please make sure to bring your driver's license to the front office to be scanned by our RAPTOR system.

During occasions when we have a big event, we will send out a QR code ahead of time for you to complete to help speed up the check-in process.

If you plan to volunteer on campus, please complete the additional background check with VOLY. It is best to complete the VOLY application as soon as possible. VOLY requests can take up to 72 hours to complete. Please call the Northwood Hills office for any help needed with completing VOLY. Sign up to volunteer at risd.voly.org