Notes from the North Park Hive

We have seen so much progress and growth in our students already. We had a GREAT first full week of school. Our students are doing a GREAT job independently coming into the building, getting their breakfast and finding their classrooms (with lots of staff supervision nearby, of course). We had to practice ALL of our safety drills (fire, tornado, earthquake, lockdown) and our students were FABULOUS. Their safety is our utmost priority!

Thank you, parents, for helping us with our morning/afternoon transportation procedures. We are now getting all students into the building by 7:30 am and reduced our afternoon car rider times significantly.

Please note that MORNING bus times WILL CHANGE some as preschool begins (August 28th). It's usually a slight change and it speeds up over time, but we have over 200 Tiny Trojans starting school at the end of the month and they share morning buses with our kindergarten students.

The bus garage is working hard to update times in the app. If you are still experiencing issues, please call the bus garage at 270-769-8890. We cannot help with the Stopfinder app, unfortunately. We are able to help with the HCS app!

We have 65% of our families connected on Rooms/HCS app. We need your help - let's get closer to 100%!!

• Download the HCS app if you have not already done so
• Tap on Rooms to see your child's Room and announcements from the teachers
• All students enrolled (in kindergarten) should now be accessible in Rooms. Preschoolers are mostly added and will be ready ASAP.
• If you are not getting notification alerts, please check the settings within the app and on your phone and make sure they are turned ON for the app and for Rooms.
• Follow us on Facebook

If you need assistance with the app in any way, please call the NPES office at 270-351-4464 or email laurabeth.hayes@hardin.kyschools.us

We look forward to a great SECOND FULL WEEK of kindergarten!!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Hayes (principal)

Please note that our lunch menu will sometimes differ from what is listed due to availability of items and delivery dates to our school sometimes being different. All students may eat breakfast and lunch for FREE.

We have a special painted tree in our cafeteria called our "Reading Tree." We add paper leaves to this tree when students read a book at home with family! We get excited to see how many leaves are added to the tree each month. Additionally, students earn a special sticker (like the kind at the doctor's office) each month. They LOVE collecting these seasonal stickers and adding their leaves to the tree. Paper copies of the leaves will go home tomorrow. You can also print them using the file below.

Be sure to follow our HCS app stream and your child's "Room" on the App for all of our important North Park announcements and weekly snapshots. We use our facebook page to showcase learning, events and activities and celebrate our student achievements. If you are not receiving HCS app notifications, please check your phone settings. Be sure you have downloaded the app and connected to your child's classroom. You do have to change the settings so that you receive push notifications. We send out multiple reminders and announcements each week. You can also directly message your child's teacher or administration staff.

Be sure to follow the HCS facebook page for important district announcements and reminders.

You may hear your students mention "Grow Time" at NPES. This is the name for our school daily intervention block. All elementary schools in HCS have an intervention block to service the individual needs of students. Students may receive enrichment, reteaching of skills they have not yet mastered, intense intervention support and more during that time. Students who have been identified for MTSS (multi-tiered system of support) will receive their intervention time to work on set goals during this block of time. Students who receive speech services and other related services will receive support during this time as well. It is a chance for many support personnel to visit each kindergarten team and provide support. Students will switch to a different teacher during that time (teachers on their team, within close proximity to their classroom). We look forward to seeing how each of our students GROW during this targeted time of support!

All students will have access to a free breakfast and a free lunch again this school year. However, each family is still required to complete a Household Income Form to maintain accurate data as a requirement for state and federal funding. If this information is not collected accurately, Family Resource Centers, Youth Service Centers and instructional resources are in jeopardy of losing essential funding.

Please fill out even if your family does not qualify. It does not take long at all.

The form is available by CLICKING HERE. Free lunches are provided through a program called the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). Its continuation is dependent on the number of school meals served. HCS encourages all students to participate in school lunch and school breakfast as much as possible!

• We have many students who still have not turned in Healthy Kids paperwork. Please note that your child cannot see the nurse (or even have their temperature taken by her) without this paperwork. If you need another copy, please let your teacher know. It's in your child's best interest to have these forms turned in so that the nurse can assist your child if he/she is in medical need.

Our Tiny Trojan store is OPEN for students to shop!! We are so excited to see how our students will be motivated and rewarded by the store. Thank you for your continued donations -- we are SO grateful!!

Students in preschool and kindergarten earn BEE BUCKS for many reasons at school. One important way they earn bee bucks is by showing up to school ON TIME each day. Students who are at school before the bell rings will receive a bee buck in their breakfast bag. If a student is not eating breakfast, we will provide one. We want to help our students understand that they earn this "buck" by showing up on time and ready to learn! This will help them understand that, some day, they will have a job and will earn money for showing up for work consistently and on time. We are instilling the basics of work ethic!

If students are tardy or absent, they will not receive a buck that day. We have reminded them that they can earn one again the next day!

Thank you for helping us keep our tardies to a minimum. Routine is SO IMPORTANT at this age, and we want our students to come to school on time so they have a GREAT start to their day. Instruction begins PROMPTLY so every minute (especially in the morning) counts.