THE BEST

November 2 - Daylight Savings Time Ends (Set Clocks Back)

November 3 - Fun Run

November 4 - Election Day/Teacher Work Day (No School)

November 5 - Hearing Screening (Grades 1, 3, 5 only)

November 10 - Fall Picture Retake Day

November 10 -14 - Book Fair

November 11 - Veterans Day Performance for 3rd Grade Parents

November 12 - Thanksgiving Feast (Grades 1, 2, 4, and AU)

November 13 - Thanksgiving Feast (Grades K, 3, and 5)

November 14 - All Pro Dad

November 19 - Vision Screening (Grades 1, 3, 5 only)

November 24 - 28 - Thanksgiving Holiday Break (No School)

The excitement and energy inside Northwood today has been electric. We had a great time starting the morning with a book character parade through the halls. I love the creativity showcased! The students also enjoyed the October PBIS celebration as well as Cranium Challenge Day today.

Thanks to all for your flexibility as the date for the Foundation Boosterthon Fun Run moved to Monday, November 3rd. We will keep our fingers crossed that the next round of forecasted rain misses us on Monday. In the event that the rain does come, we will need to move the event indoors that day. While I assure you the students will still have a great time, it does mean that there won’t be enough space to accommodate parents/guests to watch the run if we have to move inside. Thank you so much for your understanding. Foundation will make the decision Sunday evening and a school messenger will be sent out with the outdoor or indoor decision around 5:00 pm. The irony is not lost on us that we’ve had a month with zero rainfall and now it comes when we didn’t want it, however, nothing can cast rain clouds on how fun this week has been for the students and the staff! Our Explorers have had a blast and we have exceeded our fundraising goal!

On a very sunny note, two of our staff members, Jessica Gardella, AU Support Teacher, and Amy Dulion, Data Clerk/Registrar, were celebrated yesterday at the 2025 Fulton County Legacy of Excellence Awards Ceremony. It is a true honor to have them represent Northwood as our Teacher and Professional of the Year. Both Jessica and Amy exemplify excellence, care, kindness, and give their all to their work daily! Congratulations!

Please read below for information and to RSVP for the upcoming Thanksgiving Feasts. Be safe and have fun tonight!

With gratitude,

Heather Q. Rucker, principal

October in Health and Physical Education was all about building strong bodies and healthy habits! Our students rocked the Fit Georgia assessments and learned about the five components of health-related fitness: cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, and body composition. These lessons helped them understand how exercise keeps their bodies strong and also improves memory, concentration, and mood. We also explored how smart nutrition supports success. Eating balanced meals gives us the energy to move, think, and grow.

Our Morning Fitness Club is also off to a great start, with a record number of students enrolled! The club promotes health-related fitness and helps students begin their day energized and ready to learn.

Dear Northwood Elementary School Families,

NORTHWOOD EXPLORERS FUN RUN IS Monday, November 3, 🎉 which means this weekend is the LAST CHANCE FOR DONATIONS on MyBooster.com before our big event! 🚨 Every donation, no matter what size, makes a HUGE impact on our school!

So far, every share and donation has added up to $47,800. Would you consider reaching out to one or two more people to help keep the momentum going? Every contribution brings us closer to getting School Wide Enhancements for our students. ❗Don’t forget - this year, more of every dollar raised stays right here at Northwood. By updating how we run our fundraiser and keeping more of the day-to day work in house, your support and donations go even further—directly benefiting our students, classrooms, and programs. Thank you for helping us make a bigger impact!

❗REMINDER: Send your student to school wearing appropriate clothing and sneakers to be ready for the Northwood Explorers Fun Run. We look forward to seeing everyone Monday! Below is the scheduled run times for each grade level.

AU Classes (Sims, Gardella, English): 9:15-9:40 am

Grades 1 & 5: 9:50-10:45 am

Grades K & 2: 11:35-12:25 pm

Grades 3 & 4: 12:45-1:45 pm

Also, due to the Fun Run moving to November 3rd, we have the opportunity for a BONUS

CHALLENGE! We are doubling the Push Pop fun, with another PUSH POP PARTY for

the class with the most donations over the weekend!

Thank you for working hard to support our school. We truly appreciate you!

NORTHWOOD FOUNDATION

Students in Ms. Sims and Mrs. Gardella’s class recently participated in a festive and educational Pumpkin Book Report project. After reading their chosen books, students worked diligently to identify key story elements and then brought their favorite characters to life by decorating pumpkins to represent them. The creativity on display was incredible! The entire school has enjoyed viewing the imaginative pumpkins showcased in the media center.

Northwood's annual Thanksgiving Feast will take place Wednesday, November 12th (Grades 1, 2, 4 and AU) and Thursday, November 13th (Grades K, 3, 5).

We have created a new way to RSVP in efforts to streamline the process. Please click the following link to secure your seats. Thanks! Northwood ES Thanksgiving Feast 2025 – Fill out form

Supporting North Fulton Community Charities (NFCC) Food Pantry

📅 November 11–14, 2025 🙌 Help Us Make a Difference!

We're teaming up again this year to support families in need across our North Fulton community. Your donations will go directly to the NFCC Food Pantry to help stock shelves with essential items.

🚗 Morning Carpool Collection

Dates: Monday, November 10 – Friday, November 14

Time: 7:10 AM – 7:40 AM

Location: Front of Northwood Elementary (Carpool Drop-off)

📝 Volunteer Sign-Up

We need 2–4 dads/families each morning to help collect donations. It’s a simple way to give back—and a great way to show our kids what community looks like. Join us in making this food drive a success! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F4EAFA728A3FBC70-59908003-allpro

🛒 What to Donate

Check out NFCC’s current needs: https://nfcchelp.org/food-bank

💬 Thank You! Your support of All Pro Dad at Northwood helps NFCC provide food assistance to individuals and families in need. Let’s show up strong for our community!

Awards are one of the many ways we have to recognize and celebrate our Explorers at Northwood. Below is a link to September's award recipients. Congratulations!

The Scholastic Book Fair is coming! SAVE THE DATE for November 10th-14th, and get ready to empower your reader with book choice. The Book Fair is also a wonderful opportunity to purchase books as holiday gifts for your children and family, or perhaps something special for your child's teacher! Start exploring together by visiting our Book Fair Website!

November 6th-7th: Students will preview the Book Fair and make a Wishlist. Teachers will send home a copy so you know what your student would like to purchase.

November 10th-14th: The Book Fair will be open for students to shop from 8am-2pm. We will close at 10am on Friday, November 14th.

Book Fair Volunteer Opportunities- Click Here to sign up to help during preview and shopping days. Be on the lookout for our child’s preview and shopping times in the weekly blasts from homeroom teachers.

Please be sure you are an FCS registered volunteer: https://www.fultonschools.org/volunteer

Set up your student's eWallet account for cashless, stress-less shopping. Friends and family can even contribute funds! Set one up here: Book Fair Website

Daylight Saving Time is ending this Sunday, November 2nd, at 2 am. Don't forget to set your clocks back one hour.

November 11th is Veterans Day, and we are having a performance to celebrate. We would like to invite you to post photos of your loved ones who served in the armed forces. Whether they are currently serving, served previously, or have passed on, we want to see and celebrate their bravery, sacrifice, and commitment to our country. These photos will be presented in a slideshow during the 3rd grade Veterans Day performance on November 11th. Please follow the link to share your photos with us.

https://padlet.com/dahl25/veteran-s-day-photo-share-prt6hx02ibnxb3t9

Fall Picture Retake Day is Monday, November 10th. If you are not happy with your Explorer's portraits, simply have your student return their original picture package to the photographer on retake day and they will replace the set at no additional cost. Don't forget to tell them to smile!

As part of our ongoing efforts to support digital safety, we’re excited to share that Fulton County Schools will launch Qustodio on October 20th, a free app that helps parents monitor and manage their child’s online activity. This tool gives families insight into how students use both district-issued and personal devices.

For district-issued devices:

• Parents can see how much time their child spends online, which apps are being used, and what searches are conducted during the school day.
• Families can also set time limits and restrictions outside of normal school hours to encourage healthy screen time habits.

• Parents can choose to install Qustodio on personal devices to monitor usage and set limits at home.
• Fulton County Schools does not have any visibility or access to data from student or parent/guardian personal devices — that information is visible only to the parent or guardian who installs the app.

After October 20th, use this link: qustodio.com/my-school to begin Qustodio. Please use your Parent Portal email address during the sign-up process.

Northwood is proud to be an AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) school. AVID Elementary equips students with the foundational skills and mindset needed for future success. Our staff is focused on enhancing instructional consistency, fostering a college and career readiness mindset, increasing student engagement and building organizational and study skills.

As part of this, each week Northwood will be focused on one goal as a school. Be sure to ask your child about it!

Next week’s AVID goal is: My goal is to learn from my mistakes.

This year, with the new lunch system, our school community has the capability to create a Cafeteria Principal Account Fund. This account would be used to fulfill any meal costs for students that reach an account balance of zero. We often have families and extended family members that ask if or how they can pay off lunch balances or support our students in this way, now the process of doing so is easy!

Should you be interested in adding to the Cafeteria Principal Account Fund, just send a check or cash to school in an envelope to Ms. Juana Moore, our regional supervisor and interim cafeteria manager, and notate that the funds go to the Principal Fund. Please reach out to Ms. Moore, moorejr@fultonschools.org, if you have any questions.

The Fulton County School Nutrition Program is dedicated to serving all students nutritious, safe and customer acceptable meals in support of academic achievement. Click the link below to see what thery are serving up today.

Nutrition.fultonschools.org/MenuCalendar

Parents, please encourage your students to check regularly for lost items in the Lost and Found. Please mark all student belongings clearly with the child's name so that it can be identified. Unclaimed items are donated to local charities after the last school day of every month. November's date is Friday, November 21st.

The Infinite Campus Parent Portal provides quick and easy access to information for all enrolled students in their household. Find grades, attendance, assignments, schedules, ID numbers, school announcements and more. If you haven't already joined, please do so today as Fulton County Schools is transitioning to managing everything via the portal.

For more information, access the Parent Portal Booklet for Infinite Campus here.

David Millican will be running a marathon in honor of sweet Ellie Langseth on November 8. We have partnered with Team in Training to run for a cure with individuals battling or who have battled Leukemia. If you would like to help support research and bring awareness of Leukemia in honor of Ellie, you can donate on the link below. We appreciate all of your support!

https://pages.lls.org/tnt/team/yourway26/RunForEllie

Date: Friday, November 14th
Time: 4:00–6:00 PM
Location: Willow Springs Park
Hosted by: Northwood Elementary PTA

Get ready for an afternoon of music, sports, games, crafts, and food — just for our 4th and 5th grade Explorers! Bring your friends and come make memories.

Cost: $10 per student
How to Pay: Scan the QR code to purchase through Membership Toolkit.

We can’t wait to see everyone there!

Northwood families — skip the ladders and tangled lights this year! Olympic Exteriors is offering professional holiday light installation with custom designs, safe installation, and takedown + storage included.

📅 Book your lights between Oct 3 – Nov 15 and a percentage of every project will be donated back to the Northwood PTA! 🎄💙

👉 Reserve your spot here: olympicext.com/holiday-lights-northwood

It’s time to pre-order your 2025-2026 Northwood Yearbook—celebrating our 30th anniversary with this year’s theme: REWIND! Reserve your copy now for just $36 before the price goes up on January 1st.

Click here to order: yearbookordercenter.com/job/26362 — and don’t forget, 5th grade families can purchase a dedication ad to honor their student!

Questions? Email us at Yearbook@northwoodpta.com.

Hitting the books is your ticket to watching the Gladiators hit the ice!

How it works: Read 3 books, fill out the information by clicking the link below , and get your free ticket to a Glads game! After filling out the form you will receive an email with a link and a code to claim your child's free ticket.

Atlanta Gladiators | Hat Trick for Reading

Michelle Levine, Assistant Principal

Together We SHINE!

Email: NorthwoodAttendance@fultonschools.org
Website: https://northwood.fultonschools.org/
Location: 10200 Wooten Road, Roswell, GA, USA
Phone: 470-254-6390
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NorthwoodElementaryPTA/
Twitter: @FCS_NWES or @NWES_Principal