NHS Raider Update

If there is a need to be absent, please call 507-663-0616 or use the NHS Student Absence Form. The link for attendance reporting is also be linked on the NHS website. If your student is ill, please provide symptoms within your message. This is a 24-hour voicemail system. Thank you!

Northfield High School staff has a goal to effectively use Skyward as a means to communicate measures of academic progress and achievement to all stakeholders. Our current grade reporting includes communication related to measures of academic learning and indicators of learning behavior.

Commitments:

1. Scores for work submitted on time will be entered into Skyward within 5 school days of the due date; larger assignments/projects/tests will be entered within 7 school days.

2. If an assignment is not graded within the 5/7 school days, “HING” (Handed In, Not yet Graded) will be entered into the “code” cells for the work that has been handed in.

3. For work that was submitted late, teachers will need more time to grade the assignment, especially at the end of a grading period.

If you have questions, a good next step is to email the teacher.

Dear NHS Students, Families and Staff:

I hope you had a restful break and enjoyed family time. While the holiday season can be stressful and busy with all sorts of activities competing for your attention, time with family and the opportunity to reflect on the important things in life bring a certain amount of peace, joy and thankfulness.

The end of the fall semester and final exams/project week is scheduled for next week. The Fall Semester Final Exam Schedule is linked; click here for details / Espanol . Preparation for final exams/projects includes the work done everyday in class and completion of learning tasks. Studying for exams can be stressful, especially without a thoughtful plan. The first step in reducing stress is to create a plan; a plan to study and prepare a few minutes each day leading up to the final exam or project sets students up for success. Thank you for your continued support and confidence in the NHS team's capacity to serve in the honorable role as educators in your child's life.

Note for Exams taken after Friday, January 17th:

Exams need to be both completed by students and graded by the teachers in order to be calculated and posted for a semester grade. Students, who have not completed all semester exam-related requirements by the end of school on Friday, January 17th, may receive an Incomplete "I" for up to a ten day period. Grades will be finalized and posted for the semester within that 10 day period.

Important Information to know:

Students must be present during all classes on their schedule for the entire final exam/project period.

• Buses will run at regular time schedules during finals week.
• Lunch will be available on all three days from 12:05-1:05 pm. Students who are late coming back from lunch will not be allowed in the testing session. This will result in students providing their own transportation on make-up test days scheduled for January 21 and 22. Students will report to the office to complete make up tests.
• Study center will be available in the Media Center.
• No School on Monday, January 20 and Tuesday, January 21 or Wednesday, January 22.
• The first day of spring semester is Thursday, January 23
• Semester Grades will be posted by 4 pm on Wednesday, January 23rd.

Sincerely,

Shane Baier

NHS Principal

Key Points to Remember:

• Students must be here during all scheduled exam times.
• All Students are allowed to leave during their study hall and lunch periods.
• Passes are not necessary for leaving school but, *being tardy/late for an exam is unacceptable and will result in students needing to show up Tuesday, Jan. 21 and/or Wednesday, January 22 during teacher prep days to make up exams. Students will need to provide their own transportation on make-up days.

It is our expectation that each student engages in academic honesty throughout the learning process. We want to be mindful of the often self imposed pressure of being perfect, the availability of Artificial Intelligence tools, and many other short cut options that students' have at their disposal. Be sure to have the conversation about the importance of preparation and doing your best work. Let's do our part to help our students recognize the value of doing the hard work. Violations of the academic honesty procedures are laid out in the student handbook as follows:

Incident 1:

1. The teacher will address the student with evidence when the infraction occurs and notify parents / guardians.

2. The student can receive a zero on the assignment, but teacher may arrange a time to meet with the student and set up an opportunity to re-do the assignment with supervision.

Incident 2:

1. All of the disciplinary action of the first offense will occur.

2. The student will receive an automatic zero on the assignment or test and no make-up work will be offered to compensate for lost points.

3. The teacher will file an incident referral form with the Assistant Principal, who will conference with the student and notify parents/guardians.

If you are interested in participating in the first Parents as Partners on Monday, February 3rd, click here.

February 3rd Session: Dual credit opportunities and how to access these opportunities for NHS students, (Advanced Placement (AP), Concurrent Enrollment and PSEO).

Future PAP sessions will be as follows:

• April 7: Financing my student's future and other topics selected by parents.

Mock Trial, coached by Stephen Cade, had their first meet on Tuesday, January 7th vs Watertown -Mayer. The next meet is January 22nd at 1 pm at the Rice County Courthouse. The team is excited for the upcoming season! Check out the team photo below.

Spring Semester schedules are mostly ready. Prior to the start the semester scheduled for January 23rd, our counseling team will be reviewing schedules, adding study hall periods when appropriate, and cleaning up schedules that require changes for the following reasons listed below.

Please note that schedules will be changed only in the following situations:

• Incorrectly enrolled in a required course (ie. a sophomore in World History rather than American History)

• Enrolled in two courses during the same hour

• Study halls are imbalanced (i.e. no study halls 1st semester and two study halls 2nd semester)

• Changes for students accepted to the St. Olaf or Carleton Senior Honors Program over the summer.

Happy New Year from the trout in D102 and V100!

Craig Johnson, Biology Teacher, has participated in the Classroom Trout Program for many years. This year, he is collaborating with TJ Austin, Fish, Wildlife and Forestry Teacher. They each have the equipment in their respective classrooms to support the project. Interested students in each classroom will help support this journey.

Currently, most of the eggs have hatched and are doing well absorbing their yolk sacs. Many of them are now called "swim up fry" and in the next few days, when a majority of them are able to swim and not sit on the bottom of the basket, we will start feeding them some ground up fish food. Many of them have reached the one inch mark or 2.5 cm. We will do a weekly update with pictures!

We will keep you posted on the development of the Rainbow Trout in the biology classroom. If you have questions, email Craig Johnson at cjohnson@northfieldschools.org. We will provide a weekly update on progress between now and the Trout release date.

Craig Johnson

Northfield High School Biology Teacher

Northfield High School Fishing Coach

MNTU Trout in the Classroom Program Teacher

TJ Austin

Northfield High Agriculture Teacher

FFA Advisor

MNTU Trout in the Classroom Program Teacher

Link to order: https://www.jostens.com/apps/jcom/router.mvc?affiliateId=1062320