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,

As we wrap up a wonderful semester, I wanted to take a moment to express my heartfelt gratitude for your support and partnership throughout these past months. It has been a pleasure working with your children and watching them learn, grow, and thrive.

Your involvement and encouragement have been invaluable to their success and to the sense of community, we are building together. Thank you for trusting us with your child's education and for your continued collaboration in making this semester a meaningful one.

We hope you and your family enjoy a season filled with joy, rest, and special moments together. We look forward to welcoming your child back in the new year, refreshed and ready for all the exciting opportunities ahead.

Thank you again for a great semester, and warmest wishes for a wonderful break.

Sincerely,

Jenni Smith

Principal

Here are a few dates to remember:

December 19th- Pajama Day and SOAR Celebrations

December 20th- Class Winter Parties and Early Release at 1:10 pm

December 23rd to January 6th- Winter Break

January 7th- Students return to school

January 9th- report cards published in Focus

• 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

All items not claimed by Winter Break will be donated to the RISD Clothes Closet. Are you missing something? Please come by to collect your student's missing items from the Lost & Found. Everything remaining on December 20th will be donated to the RISD Clothes Closet.

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.

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.

Enrollment for the 2025-26 school year opens Feb. 25. Save the date, and visit the online enrollment page for information and what to have ready.

• Create a Focus account – RISD provides electronic access to a student’s attendance, grades, and other information via the Focus school software system. . https://web.risd.org/focus/

• Please go to RISD Voly to fill out an application. Please make sure you select NHE as your school. This process needs to be completed every year!

• All of RISD will be utilizing Talking Points for classroom communication. Please download the free app to get started communicating with your child's teacher!

  You can find more information online at this link

• Download SchoolCafe app – RISD’s school cafeteria payment system is called SchoolCafe. https://www.schoolcafe.com/

• Download RISD Mobile Parent app – Access student information, view the latest news, receive important alerts, review archive of parent messages sent by RISD, view school menus and lunch account balances, find your bus stop, access student schedules, assignment grades, attendance and more via the RISD Mobile Parent app.

• Support our amazing school by joining the NHE PTA!

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