Wednesday's Words

Dear Families,

Welcome back to the start of an exciting new school year! I hope your children had a great first week of school and have settled nicely into their new classrooms. It was wonderful to see their smiling faces and hear their excited voices back in our classrooms! Teachers worked hard this summer planning curriculum, setting up classrooms and preparing to welcome students back. In addition, our administrators, office staff, nurses, food service and custodial staff have put in many hours to make sure that our buildings were clean, supplies were stocked and that we were fully prepared to open. We are all looking forward to working collaboratively with you over the coming months to ensure that your children have a fantastic learning experience!

A few things you should be aware of as we start the new school year:

Buses and Bus Routes:

Please make sure that your children are out at their assigned bus stops a few minutes early each day. During the first week of school drivers are learning their new routes, students are getting used to finding their assigned seats and families are adjusting to new bus stops and schedules. As a result, buses may run slightly behind schedule. As the routines become more established, we expect buses to arrive earlier. We want to make sure that children are ready to be picked up and don’t miss the bus!

Parent Pick-Up:

Please remember when picking up your child at the end of the day that our schools are a ‘No Idle’ zone. If you arrive early and are waiting for your child to be dismissed, you must turn off your car engine. Staff supervising arrival and dismissal will be reminding parents of this requirement. It is important for us to maintain healthy air quality for our children.

Important Information:

This week the Norfolk Public Schools sent out several electronic documents that included links to important information such as the Family Handbook and Code of Conduct, details about how to access student insurance, as well as a summary of several privacy policies including the Child Internet Protection Act (CIPA), the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Please take time to review the documents and sign and return them electronically. We are working hard to reduce paper waste in our district and to improve efficiency. If you have not received the electronic paperwork, please reach out to our office. We are happy to assist if you have any questions or need support.

Have a great long weekend and enjoy the final days of summer!

Sincerely,

Ingrid Allardi

Milk with lunch

Reminder: School lunches and breakfasts are free this year and milk is free with lunch or breakfast. If students want to purchase milk only and not get a meal, it can be purchased for 50 cents. Milk is only free if students are getting a meal.

Calendar Reminders

Friday, August 30 - NO SCHOOL
Monday, September 2 - NO SCHOOL - Labor Day
Tuesday, September 3 - NO SCHOOL - State Election/PD Day

School Dismissal Manager

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Norfolk Public School uses School Dismissal Manager, an on-line student dismissal management system. This system is dependable, easy-to-use and can be updated by parents and guardians from the convenience of your smartphones, tablets, and PCs.

Through the on-line dismissal management system, you can create an exception (a temporary change to your child's default dismissal) in order to:

1. Report student absences and late arrivals

2. Schedule early departures from school.

We have already assigned your child/ren a ''default'' dismissal which is their bus number that was sent to you based on the information we currently have.

Once you login to School Dismissal Manager, please review your child's default transportation and make sure it is listed correctly.

If not, please change the default dismissal plan or call the

H. Olive Day School -508-541-5475

Freeman-Kennedy School -508-528-1266

Thank you,

Trish Kelley
Director of Technology

Norfolk Public Schools

NPS Employment Opportunities

Please click on Employment Opportunities to join our team!

CURRENT OPENINGS:

For more information contact Roxanne Verdeaux, Human Resources @ verdeaux@norfolk.k12.ma.us

Math Part time Paraprofessional
Educational Support Personnel
ABA RBT Technicians
Instructional Assistants Paraprofessional
Instructional Assistants Special Education
Facilities Crew Custodian Full time 2nd Shift
Substitute Nurses (RN)
Substitute Teachers
Food Service Assistants

EEE (Eastern Equine Encephalitis) Information

In mid-August the Massachusetts Department of Public Health announced the first human case of EEE virus infection (Eastern Equine Encephalitis). EEE is a rare, but serious disease that can affect people of all ages. EEE is generally spread to humans through the bite of an infected mosquito. EEE positive mosquitos have been identified in Carver, Abington, Halifax, Kingston, Middleborough, Plymouth, Wareham, and Whitman in Plymouth County, Taunton and Westport in Bristol County, Barnstable in Barnstable County, Dedham in Norfolk County, Sudbury in Middlesex County, and Amesbury and Haverhill in Essex County.

What can you do to protect yourself and your family?

Don’t panic- while serious, EEE is very rare. Taking a few small precautions can help to protect you and your family members from the risk of EEE or other mosquito borne illness.

Use insect repellent when outdoors that contains an approved EPA registered ingredient
Avoid peak mosquito activity from dusk until dawn- consider rescheduling outdoor activities during early evening or early morning hours
Wear clothing that covers the arms and legs (long sleeves, pants, socks)
Drain any area around your house, however small, that collects water

For more information visit the Massachusetts Department of Public Health

Helpful Links

2024-2025 Bus Routes

2024-2025 Norfolk Public Schools Calendar

Norfolk School Committee Meeting - August 20, 2024

Beginning with this issue, our most recent School Committee meeting will now be accessible through NCTV, (Norfolk Community Television), a school partner, who records each meeting and then posts them to YouTube a few days later. In order to take full advantage of the contents, NCTV has bookmarked each agenda item. To access this feature, once the video starts, hover over the Progress Bar - each item is bookmarked to the agenda. For a full view of the agenda, click on the YouTube icon and open directly thru YouTube. Once there, click in the Views box which will open the agenda in its entirety.

Norfolk PTO

PTO Volunteer Opportunities

Welcome back to school; we wish everyone a great year! We welcome any parents and caregivers who are interested in volunteering for school events, lunch, recess, library, etc. to please complete our volunteer sign-up form. Lunch volunteers start on 9/4 at Freeman-Kennedy and 9/16 at HOD so please allow enough time for CORIs to be completed before volunteering. It takes a village and we appreciate any time you can give.

Winter Photoshoot Fundraiser (see flyer)

We are grateful to partner with Kate Carlson Photography for a Winter Photoshoot Fundraiser. Check family photos off your list while supporting the schools! Spots are limited, sign up today!

PTO Business Sponsorships – Deadline is 9/5

Attention local businesses! Our PTO Business Sponsorship Program is now open for the 2024-2025 school year. We offer various sponsorship levels to suit different business needs and budgets. The deadline for this school year is 9/5. Please note: this is the ONLY time this year we will be asking for business sponsorship (with the exception of the Growing Together joint event with SEPAC in the spring). Please sign up here.

PTO Meeting – 9/11 at 7pm

Our next PTO meeting is scheduled for 9/11 at 7pm in the Freeman-Kennedy cafeteria. All parents and caregivers are welcome and encourages to attend. We hope to see you there!

Norfolk Recreation

Norfolk Recreation Events - click here!