Northrop Newsletter

We have had a great couple of weeks welcoming our students back! Students are working hard to learn new routines in their classrooms and find ways each day to practice being respectful, responsible, and ready!

We work hard to help students enjoy school and we want them to see Northrop as a place they WANT to come to each day! In addition to the work we already do to help foster classroom relationships and build that love for learning, we are once again taking part in the Cleveland Browns Stay In The Game attendance campaign.

Research shows that consistent attendance at school is a critical factor for student success and we want students to be in school as much as possible this year! The Cleveland Browns Foundation, the Ohio Department of Education and Harvard University's Proving Ground have all partnered to create the Stay In The Game Network. This network helps local schools with the goal of student success, which begins with engaged learners who attend school every day. Our Northrop initiative has just a few simple steps:

1. Sign the attendance pledge - students will receive a certificate for signing the pledge and committing to coming to school each day.
2. Participate in school-wide spirit days - these include stay in the game shirt days as well as other fun spirit days in the coming months
3. Win prizes for regular attendance - from class attendance competitions to target attendance days, students can be entered into raffles to win prizes just by coming to school on time!

We understand that illnesses occur and unexpected circumstances arise...our goal is simply to improve attendance overall so that all of our learners can "stay in the game" here at Northrop!

Mrs. Dodez

Northrop families:

You should have received an email last week from Superintendent Sable detailing the strategic planning process. We have an incredible opportunity to have our voices heard in this process to help shape the future of Medina City Schools for our students. I would STRONGLY encourage you to take the opportunity to participate, whether through meetings, the online survey that will be sent in the future, or both!

Your voice matters. As we develop this roadmap for the future that will continue to build on our previous strategic plan, we invite input from parents, guardians, staff, students, and community members. Your insights will help us ensure the final plan reflects our shared priorities and aspirations.

You’ll have several opportunities to participate:

Focus Groups
We will also host one-hour focus group sessions, where you can join the conversation about our strengths, opportunities, and challenges ahead. Focus groups for parents, guardians, and community members will be held on:

• In-person Wednesday, September 24, or Thursday, October 2, from 5:30 PM-7:00 PM at Medina High School, 777 E. Union Street, in the media center
• Virtual option on Thursday, September 25, from 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM. To register to participate, click here.

Online Survey
An online survey will also be available to gather your thoughts and ideas. It’s a quick and convenient way to share your experiences, priorities, and hopes for the future. The survey will be released in early October.

The input we gather—from surveys, focus groups, interviews, and research—will guide the development of our draft strategic goals.

We believe thoughtful planning starts with listening, and your perspective is essential. Together, we can create a clear, focused plan that reflects our collective vision for the future of Medina City Schools.

Thank you for partnering with us in this important work.

Please take a few minutes to read this carefully. Following these procedures ensures a safe arrival and dismissal for all of our students!

Student fees can now be paid via the link below. Logins have not changed, but you'll need to add your student(s) and will need their 6 digit district ID number, which is located on Final Forms.

9/1 - No School - Labor Day

9/5 - Browns spirit day!

9/11 - PTO meeting - Northrop commons (cafeteria) - 6:00

9/12 - Green/White/Medina spirit day; Community Spirit Night; Kindergarten students walk the track; see flyer below; PTO mum sale ends (see flyer below)

9/16 - PTO Dine to Donate at Culver's 4-8pm

9/16 - Board of Education meeting - 6:00

9/17 - PJ Day for Sleep Health Awareness Week

9/19 - STAY IN THE GAME spirit day - wear your stay in the game shirt (if you have one) or Browns gear, or brown/orange!

9/21 - PTO mum sale pickup

9/23 - Picture Day (ordering info to come later in September)

9/25 - EARLY RELEASE (dismissal at 2:20)

9/26 - NO SCHOOL for K-5 students; teacher work day

We continue to be committed to safety at school. Exterior doors remain locked at all times as do classroom doors when students are in the building. Anyone coming to sign a student out must wait in the vestibule and must show an I.D. Only adults who are added as a student contact are permitted to pick up a student.

Additionally, we practice school safety drills a few times throughout the school year. This includes fire and tornado drills, as well as ALICE drills. We will have our first ALICE drill of the year soon and this can sometimes prompt questions at home after the drill. Here is a great resource to help understand and talk to your child about ALICE drills and school safety in general. Our classroom teachers also do a wonderful job helping students understand their role and the need to practice without bringing worries to the situation. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out.

As cell phones and smart watches continue to grow in popularity, we like to remind parents of the expectations for these devices during the school day. From the student discipline code:

RULE 4 - ELECTRONIC DEVICES

● Electronic devices such as (laser pointers, video cameras, cameras, etc.) are prohibited in school.

● Cell phones, smartwatches, electronic devices such as (Ipods, MP3 players, Ipads, Nooks, Kindles, Gizmos, etc) and any video game devices must be turned off and in the student’s book bag during school hours.

Please make sure to have a conversation with your student about this expectation so that everyone is on the same page in regards to these devices!

We recognize that birthdays are a special occasion for some families and we do our best to make this a special day for your student. While each classroom recognizes birthdays in a different way, we do not allow edible birthday treats for students. Please do not send in anything edible as a birthday treat (including candy), as we will contact you and send them back home. This is for the safety and consideration of all of our students. Thank you for your cooperation with this.

Medina City Schools has worked to implement consistent expectations across all buildings. The 3Rs (Be Respectful, Be Responsible, Be Ready) help each building to develop clearly defined expectations that are consistent across all classrooms and settings in the building. More information will be shared about this in the future, but we wanted to make sure you're aware of our building expectations.

Stacey Wielgus, M.A., LPSC

Eliza Northrop Elementary & Ralph E. Waite Elementary

wielguss@medinabees.org (330) 636-4607

I am at Northrop on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays each week.

As an elementary school counselor, I am committed to supporting the social and emotional needs of our students and the families of the students we serve. In addition, I am also committed to supporting our staff here at school to ensure that we are meeting the individual needs of each student during the school day. By addressing social and emotional needs as well as academics, we work together to increase learning and academic growth for each student here at Northrop and Waite Elementary Schools. As a school counselor, my typical services include small groups and/or individual meetings with students, as well as in the whole group, which is often in a classroom setting. I teach students new skills that can assist them with positive and appropriate emotional expression as well as in learning coping skills and the use of coping tools.

Office Hours: 8:00-4:00

Student Hours: 8:45-3:30

Tardy Bell: 8:55

Visit us on the web at https://www.medinabees.org/Domain/11

Principal - Amanda Dodez, dodeza@medinabees.org

School Psychologist - Kelsey Klatka, klatkak@medinabees.org

School Counselor - Stacey Wielgus, wielguss@medinabees.org

Northrop Attendance Line/Clinic - (330)636-4604

Northrop Office - (330)636-4600

• Amy Brewer - brewera@medinabees.org
• Mary Jarstfer - jarstfem@medinabees.org

We have an amazing PTO here at Northrop Elementary! You can connect with them via email , or on their Facebook page. Join us at the next PTO meeting on Thursday, September 11th at 6:00pm here in the Northrop commons or via Google Meet. Virtual joining info: To join the video meeting, click this link: https://meet.google.com/vfq-roue-yoc To join by phone instead, dial (US) +1 781-327-5828 and enter this PIN: 818 616 221#

If asked to enter a meeting code, it is: vfqroueyoc