The Principal's Perspective

Oct 19- Boys BBall try outs

Oct 26-30- Fall Festival Week (incentive days and school spirit) Details coming soon!

Oct 29- Student Town Hall

Today we had Indigenous Peoples' Day, a day formally known as Christopher Columbus Day. As a child I was taught "In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue." Those words stuck with me as a simple song, but what those words have come to represent, I would have never anticipated as a child. As I have grown and have taken the time myself to study what was not taught to me early on, I am so appreciative that we now truly celebrate today for the right reason, to honor those of Indigenous heritage and what they represent. We are given a powerful opportunity to reflect not only on the rich histories, cultures, and contributions of Indigenous communities, but also on how we learn about the world around us.

While history is complex and the facts often hidden or hard to decipher, and understanding it requires a commitment to factual accuracy and critical thinking - we must still encourage our students to look beyond surface-level narratives. We should always encourage them to gather authentic facts, and analyze historical sources. We must empower them to become thoughtful, discerning scholars. Teaching students how to study history accurately is about more than just remembering dates—it’s about giving them the tools to seek the truth, challenge assumptions and bias perspectives, and appreciate diverse thoughts and ideas with empathy and respect. We honor the real stories of those who came before us and hope that our scholars grow in the desire for continuous study and examination. We will always create an environment where history is examined, where culture is appreciated and affirmed, and where seeking truth is celebrated and not feared.

If you are a member of the Indigenous community - thank you for your ancestors who discovered the place we now call home. Thank you for your truth and resilience. Thank you for safeguarding the land, the language, the traditions, and all the things that make your soul beautiful!

Here is the link to the registration form if you are interested in having your scholar to join the debate team.

We have tentative placement at ETHS for graduation. We are awaiting official word.

Please note that students will be taking the anonymous Panorama Survey later this month. Information about this survey was sent in last week's Midweek Notification. Here is a link to the notice that was sent.

Caregivers- please remind your scholars that it is important that they attend their Give Back Time when it is assigned. Missing give back time means that scholars will have to do two sessions. If those sessions are not complete the scholar becomes ineligible for the upcoming incentive days. Please partner with us as we encourage our students to follow school wide expectations, to hold themselves accountable for the Nichols Way, and being a role model to others! Our first incentive week is coming up (Oct 26-30) and students will need to be eligible to participate in grade level incentives that take place throughout the week. If students have not completed their give back times they will be ineligible.

Congratulations to all of our scholars who have maintained on time daily attendance to school AND to class! 6th graders are leading the way at 96% daily attendance! 7th grade is at 93.5 and 8th grade is at 94.9. We are just shy of our goal of 95% building wide! We commend all those students who are here and on time. We are approaching attendance incentive days and we are excited about celebrating you soon!

The Grade Skipping Application window is now open. It will close January 22 and NO APPLICATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER THAT DATE. Here is the link for further information and the application. Please read the requirements for grade skipping before applying.

Lit Year helps families build a home library full of books where kids see themselves. Each student gets 15 new books across the school year, shipped straight to their home in three deliveries. Every book is hand-picked to celebrate Black characters, stories and experiences.

Middle school is when many kids start to drift away from reading for fun. The right book at the right time can change that. By adding 6th–8th graders, we can keep more young readers engaged and bring in older siblings, so the whole family can read together.

Applications for 2026–27 are open now. Apply at the link below or through District 65’s ELeap platform and help us spread the word to families, teachers and youth programs in your circle!

D65 encourages Safe Routes to School. Please check out the safe route maps found here.