NTH Principal's Cardinal Connection

Dear NTH Families,

Welcome to the start of the 2026-2027 school year! We are excited to open our doors and begin another wonderful year of learning, growth, and success with our students and families.

At NTH, our focus remains the same: providing a strong academic foundation while supporting the social and emotional well-being of every child. We are committed to maintaining a safe, caring, and inclusive environment where students feel valued, make lasting friendships, and reach their full potential.

We are fortunate to begin the year with an outstanding team of teachers, aides, and support staff who are dedicated to helping every student thrive. Throughout the summer, our building received some extra care and attention. You'll notice that the school is squeaky clean, freshly painted in several areas, and ready to welcome students back for another fantastic year.

One addition we are especially proud of is the beautiful memorial garden located at the front entrance of our school. This special space was created in memory of Lakin Spoonhower, a former NTH student who passed away unexpectedly in 2023. The garden provides a peaceful place for reflection and serves as a lasting reminder of the impact our students have on our school community.

As many families already know, the biggest change this year is our new school schedule. Our official school hours will be 7:50 a.m. to 2:05 p.m. Please be sure to review the information below regarding parent drop-off and pick-up procedures, as well as bus arrival and departure times, to ensure a smooth start to the school year.

We value the partnership between home and school and look forward to working together to make this a successful year for every student. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact the office by phone or email.

Thank you for entrusting us with your children each day. We are excited to see everyone soon and begin another great year at NTH!

January Pratt
Principal

Please welcome Ray Lipinski as our new Physical Education Teacher. Mr. Lipiniski completed his coursework through SUNY Cortland and had a student teaching placement at NTH. After graduation, he was able to work for the district as a substitute teacher. Mr. Lipinski will make a great addition to our NTH team!

Please welcome Dayzja Tyler as our NV psychology intern. Miss Tyler will work in grades UPK-12 for the NV district during the 26-27 school year. Miss Tyler is an avid reader and huge movie fan. Although Miss Tyler is new to NV, she grew up over the hill in Binghamton. Miss Tyler is a SUNY Oswego graduate and now currently working to complete her master's degree through SUNY Plattsburgh. Miss Tyler will be a great addition to NTH and the entire district this year!

Parents may drop students off between 7:35 a.m. and 7:50 a.m. For the safety of all students, an adult will be available to assist children as they exit their vehicles. Do not drop your child off if there isn't an adult waiting for them in the loop. If you arrive after 7:50 a.m., please park and walk your child into the school office to sign them in. To help keep traffic moving smoothly and safely, please remain in the drop-off line and do not pass other vehicles.

To help ensure a safe and organized dismissal, student pick-up will begin at 2:15 p.m., after all buses have departed. Families may arrive earlier and wait in the pick-up line behind the school, but students will not be dismissed until 2:15. Once dismissal begins, staff will walk students directly to their vehicles. For efficiency and safety, we can typically load about six cars at a time. Please remain in line and pull out in the same order that you arrived. No passing is permitted.

If you have children at both NTH and the middle school, your students will be brought out together whenever possible. This year, we will be using QR codes instead of assigned car numbers. Each family will receive a printed QR code, and a digital version will also be available for use on your phone. Staff will use these codes to quickly identify students and help make dismissal run smoothly.

We ask for your patience, especially during the first few weeks of school. While the line may sometimes appear long, dismissal generally takes only about 15 minutes once it begins, although it may take a little longer as students and families learn the routine. Our top priority is making sure dismissal is safe and orderly for all students, including our youngest Cardinals, some of whom are just 3 and 4 years old. We appreciate your cooperation and understanding as we work together to ensure a smooth and successful dismissal process.

Please note: Students attending Cardinal Cares will follow a separate pick-up procedure.

Regular attendance is one of the most important factors in a child's success at school. In elementary school, students are introduced to new lessons, concepts, and learning experiences every day, making each day of instruction valuable. Beyond academics, children are also developing important routines, learning social skills, building confidence, and creating meaningful friendships with their classmates and teachers. When students attend school consistently, they are better prepared to master new learning, stay connected to their school community, and develop habits that will support future success. We ask for your partnership in making school attendance a priority whenever possible. Please refer to the attached school calendar and, when able, schedule appointments, trips, and vacations during school breaks to minimize missed instructional time. Together, we can help your child make the most of every school day.

Who are we? A group, composed of parents and staff, committed to helping support our school, students and staff members. Board positions are held at a 2-year term, our current board members are as follows;

President: Shayna Walter, School Nurse & Parent (Email: swalter@nvcs.stier.org)

Vice President: Brittany Elwood, Parent

Secretary: Natalia Conaty, Pre-K Teacher (Email: nconaty@nvcs.stier.org)

Treasurer: Cassie Gott, Parent

What does PTS do? PTS is proud to support our students and offer several fun activities to encourage and engage our students academically as well as socially. Some past activities sponsored by PTS include Scholastic Book Fairs, Family Movie Nights, Dances, Spirit Weeks, Teacher Appreciation Week, Popcorn and Movie days, Trunk-Or-Treat, Field Trips as well as many more!! We are able to offer such activities through our various fundraisers throughout the year. Some of our past fundraisers include, Cardinal Apparel sales, Gertrude Hawk Chocolates, Cherrydale, Otis Spunkmeyer cookie dough, Art to Remember and more.

**Be sure to stop by our first PTS sponsored event of the 2026-27 school year for an Ice Cream Social, in our new Sensory Garden in Memory of Lakin Spoonhower. The event will be held immediately following Meet the Teacher on Sept 9th from 2:30-3:30**

How can you help? PTS is always looking for volunteers to join us and help with our events and fundraisers; your time is always appreciated! Additionally, supporting our fundraisers throughout the year is what truly allows us to facilitate fun and learning opportunities for our students through engaging activities.

When and Where is PTS? PTS meetings are held on the First Monday of each month, unless otherwise conflicted, in which case we will notify of the different date. Be sure to follow us on our Facebook page, Nathan T Hall Elementary PTS, for updates and reminders. Meetings are at NTH, either in the cafeteria, library or conference room depending on room availability, with the new schedule starting this year, meetings will be held at 3pm. A typical meeting lasts no more than 1 hour. All are welcome and encouraged to join, we look forward to fostering another successful year with your engagement with NTH PTS!!

If you have any questions at any point throughout the year in regard to our PTS, please feel free to reach out via email or join us at a meeting! Our first meeting of the 2026-2027 School year will be Monday Sep 14, 2026, at 3pm, we hope to see you there!

~Nathan T Hall PTS

Dear NV families,

We’re excited to share that we’ve adopted a new communication platform called ParentSquare to help us keep you better informed and more connected with your school community. ParentSquare will replace Seesaw, which was the communication platform we used in previous years. ParentSquare will be launched UPK-12 making communication easier for all families.

With ParentSquare, you’ll receive all school and classroom messages in one place and translated into your preferred language—whether by email, text, app, or web. You’ll also be able to:

• Stay up to date on news and events

• Send and receive messages with teachers and staff

• Fill out forms and permission slips

• Sign up for conferences and volunteer opportunities

• View calendar items and photos from your school

All school, grade-level, and classroom communications will now come through ParentSquare.

To get the most out of ParentSquare, we encourage you to download the free mobile app, available for iOS and Android. You can also access ParentSquare from your web browser at www.parentsquare.com.

We’ll be sharing more information soon, including how to set up your account and customize your notification preferences.

Thank you for your continued partnership in supporting your student’s success.