The Principal's Perspective

We have reached the point in our scholar's educational journey for reporting on how the scholar is progressing. This causes a great deal of anxiety for students as well as for you, the caregiver. For some families it may be especially frustrating knowing that we are moving to Standards Based Grading as change can often be scary due to the unknown. While there is additional information about SBG that follows in this newsletter, and while we will also be talking to the students about it this week, we want you to know that we acknowledge that this is a new journey, but we are walking it with you. Please be patient with us, with your scholar, and with yourself during this time.

Here is a great article on dealing with stress and anxiety over grades: https://socalmentalwellness.com/anxiety/stressing-about-grades/

A Bilingual Parent Advisory Committee (BPAC) represents the interests of English learner (EL) students, parents of EL students, and community members of a school district. Its purpose is to ensure the district recognizes their voices and acts to meet their needs. This committee’s role is advisory; it focuses on helping bilingual parents and community members better understand how bilingual programming works so they may advocate for the academic needs of their students. Additionally, it offers a detailed overview of the bilingual programs available, provides access to important resources, and encourages continued involvement in the school district. Through such efforts, a BPAC can strengthen a community’s investment in the outcomes related to EL students.

Un Comité Asesor de Padres Bilingües (BPAC - Bilingual Parent Advisory Committee) representa los intereses de los aprendices de inglés (EL - English learner), de los padres de estudiantes EL y de los miembros de la comunidad de un distrito escolar. Su propósito es garantizar que el distrito reconozca sus voces y actúe para satisfacer sus necesidades. El rol de este comité es consultivo; se enfoca en ayudar a los padres bilingües y a los miembros de la comunidad a entender mejor cómo funciona la programación bilingüe para que puedan abogar por las necesidades académicas de sus alumnos. Además, ofrece una visión detallada de los programas bilingües disponibles, proporciona acceso a recursos importantes y fomenta la participación continua en el distrito escolar. A través de estos esfuerzos, un BPAC puede reforzar la inversión de una comunidad en los resultados relacionados con los estudiantes EL.

MEETING:

Wednesday, October 16th

6:00 - 7:00

Washington Elementary

914 Ashland Ave, Evanston

Please note that progress reports are set to go out to families and caregivers for students in grades 6-8 on October 2nd. Conferences are October 8th (in person) and October 9th (virtual). More information is forthcoming, however, here are resources that explain how to sign up for conferences in order to discuss your scholar. The window opens on September 30th.:

Conference Scheduler Steps in English:
Conference Scheduler Steps en español

What is standards based grading?

Through the brief survey and at curriculum night, we heard one question over and over — essentially, what is standards based grading?

At its core, this grading system does two things: (1) gives more details about what students have learned and are learning, and (2) separates the product of learning from a student's process of learning.

For example, in the past your child may have received a B in Math. Now you will receive information on how they’re doing in each math domain: geometry, expressions and equations, number systems, ratios and proportions, and statistics and probability. This allows you to see where your child is excelling and where there is room to grow.

Additionally, report cards will include “learning habits.” These are important behaviors that students need for future success in high school and beyond.

Learn more: your child’s learning and learning habits.

If you missed our curriculum night, please view this short whiteboard-style video explaining more about standards based grading at Nichols!

Standards Based Grading in Middle School Beginning SY24-25

If you are looking for a brief video that goes over SBG, you can find it here:

English- https://youtu.be/J81MVEZ7BoQ

Spanish- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zupdtuhWp14&t=66s

¿Qué son las calificaciones basadas en estándares?

A través de la breve encuesta y en la noche de presentación del plan de estudios, escuchamos una pregunta varias veces - esencialmente, “¿Qué es la calificación basada en estándares”?

En su parte principal, este sistema de calificaciones hace dos cosas: (1) proporciona más detalles acerca de lo que estudiantes han aprendido y están aprendiendo, y (2) separa el producto del aprendizaje del proceso de aprendizaje de un estudiante.

Por ejemplo, en el pasado su hijo tal vez haya recibido una ‘B’ en matemáticas. Ahora recibirá información acerca de cómo les está yendo en cada dominio de matemáticas: geometría, expresiones y ecuaciones, sistemas numéricos, razones y proporciones así como en estadística y probabilidad. Esto le permite a usted ver en dónde sobresale su hijo y en dónde hay espacio para crecer más.

Además, la boleta de calificaciones incluirá “hábitos de aprendizaje”. Estos son comportamientos importantes que los estudiantes necesitan para su éxito futuro en la escuela preparatoria y más allá.

Obtenga más información: el aprendizaje de su hijo y hábitos de aprendizaje.

"Si no pudo asistir a la noche de presentación del plan de estudios (Curriculum Night), por favor, ¡vea este breve video que explica más acerca de las calificaciones basadas en estándares en la escuela Nichols!

Las calificaciones basadas en estándares en la secundaria inician a partir del año escolar 2024-25

Nominate an excellent staff member for the High Five! Award!

District 65 is filled with incredibly dedicated educators and educational support staff members who go the extra mile each and every day in support of their students, fellow colleagues, and our families.

We want to hear from you about those impactful staff members! Nominations are open for the High Five: Celebrating Excellence in District 65 recognition program. One licensed staff member and one educational support staff member will be recognized each month through May. Please note that district supervisors and administrators are not eligible.

Applications must be submitted using the online nomination form (see below). D65 staff members who are selected will receive a $100 gift card, a framed recognition certificate, and will also be recognized at the monthly regular school board meeting and through district communication channels. We can’t wait to turn up the J-Factor this year and celebrate our amazing staff!

BUTTON: Submit a High 5 nomination today!

Nomine a un excelente miembro del personal para el reconocimiento “High Five!”

¡El Distrito 65 está lleno de educadores increíblemente dedicados y de miembros del personal de apoyo educativo que hacen un esfuerzo adicional para apoyar a los estudiantes, a sus compañeros y a nuestra familias!

¡Queremos escucharlos a ustedes acerca de esos impactantes miembros del personal! Las nominaciones están abiertas para el programa de reconocimiento High Five!: Celebrando la excelencia en el Distrito 65’. Un miembro certificado del personal docente y un miembro del personal de apoyo educativo serán reconocidos cada mes y hasta el mes de mayo. Por favor, tenga en cuenta que los supervisores y los administradores no son elegibles.

Las solicitudes deben entregarse usando el formulario para nominaciones en línea (véalo más abajo). Los miembros del personal del D65 que sean seleccionados recibirán una tarjeta de obsequio con valor de $100, un certificado enmarcado y también serán reconocidos en la reunión mensual de la Junta Directiva de Educación y a través de los canales de comunicación del distrito. ¡No podemos esperar para elevar el ‘Factor alegría’; este año y otorgar reconocimientos a nuestro increíble personal!

BUTTON: ¡Envíe hoy una nominación para ‘High Five!’!

It is bittersweet to say good-bye, but we must say THANK YOU again to Ms. Jennifer Roland, who has served the Nichols community for 22 years! As you know she is going on to another chapter with the district and we are so proud of her journey. Thank you so very much, Ms. Roland, for your care and commitment to Nichols!

You don’t have to wait until progress reports (October 2) or parent-teacher conferences (October 7-10) to be a partner in your child’s learning!

Nichols students learn about the world around them in a multitude of ways every day. As a parent/caregiver, there are ways to support and engage with young learners about their time in the classroom. Here are two easy ways:

1. For grade-specific information, view the Curriculum-At-A-Glance 2024-2025. Select your child’s grade to see what they are learning in core content areas at any given time during the school year! For example, you can see that this week, second grade students are learning about “Numbers Within 20” in math class.

2. For learning targets, which are “I” statements that give a clear idea of what a student should learn after instruction, view the Academic Domains section of our Standards Based Grading website. Links for every grade level are included. For example, by the end of this trimester, that same second grader should be able to meet the learning target of “I can draw and find information from pictures and bar graphs.”

¡Participe en el aprendizaje de su estudiante!

¡No tiene que esperar hasta los reportes de progreso (octubre 2) o hasta las entrevistas entre padres y maestros (octubre 7-10) para poder colaborar en el aprendizaje de su hijo!

Los estudiantes del Nichols aprenden acerca del mundo que los rodea de muchas maneras todos los días. Como padre/tutor, hay maneras de apoyar e interactuar con los jóvenes estudiantes acerca del tiempo que pasan en el salón de clase. Aquí hay dos formas fáciles:

1. Para obtener información específica vea el resumen del plan de estudios del 2024/2025. ¡Elija el grado de su hijo para ver que están aprendiendo en las áreas principales de contenido en cualquier momento durante el año escolar! Por ejemplo, usted puede ver que en esta semana, los estudiantes de segundo grado están aprendiendo acerca de los “Números hasta el 20” en la clase de matemáticas.

2. Para los objetivos de aprendizaje, los cuales son enunciados que empiezan con “Yo” y que dan una idea clara de lo que el estudiante debería aprender después de la instrucción, vea la sección de dominios académicos de nuestro sitio de calificaciones basadas en estándares. Hay enlaces para cada nivel de grado. Por ejemplo, hacia el final del semestre, ese mismo estudiante de segundo grado debería poder alcanzar el objetivo de aprendizaje que dice: “(Yo) Puedo dibujar y encontrar información de imágenes y gráficas de barras”.

Are you interested in learning more about the acceleration of students? Do you think that your child should skip a grade? Please read this important information.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DEuJEKQZTmVErogGVif0FMP9uWmrqsJ3HF1U3sI1rN4/edit?usp=sharing

To learn more from the counselors, please click this link https://secure.smore.com/n/qza85 !!

At Nichols we take bullying very serious. Student have learned about bullying during Character Strong days; an overview of that can be found here https://characterstrong.com/blog/proactively-preventing-bullying-a-comprehensive-approach

It is important to understand what bullying actually entails. This website explains the definition of bullying https://www.stopbullying.gov/bullying/what-is-bullying . Students, families and staff can report incidents of alleged bullying via the district website by filling out this form https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfmz1saxByoeeE8rWcuYctAquBs1GDAbY2iKucZSXMi_8_YaA/viewform . Once this form is sent we are notified and do an investigation. Additionally we notify the parent of the child who is suspected of being a victim, within 24 hours of accessing the report. We keep reports anonymous and investigate. If bullying has, in fact, occurred, our goal is to ultimately correct the behavior and restore both the victim and the person doing the bullying.

There will be no school on Thursday in observance of Rosh Hashanah. Additionally, there will be no school for students on October 11 or the 14th. The 14th is Indigenous People Day.

Here is the link to our clubs/activities page that is now active https://nichols.district65.net/students/clubs-activities

The Nichols student-athletes competed in their first Cross Country meet at Schiller Park. The biggest accomplishment was our Varsity (7/8th Grade Boys) finished in second place overall, out of 52 teams!! The 7/8th Grade Boys division (2 mile race) had more than 400 competitors!! BRAVOOOOOO!!

Dalston Wooller - 8th grade - finished in 16th place in 12:16.2
Leo Patton - 8th grade - finished in 20th place in 12:27.8

Bronx Tercero Day - 8th grade - finished in 37th place in 12:56.0

John "Bodhi" Young - 7th grade - finished in 42nd place in 13:04.9

Dylan Wooller - 8th grade - finished in 45th place in 13:09..2

Atticus Dean - 8th grade - finished in 85th place in 13:50.5

Lukas Weber - 7th grade - finished in 113th place in 14:25.7

A special shout out to 6th grader Penelope "Nellie" Patton for finishing in 2nd place individually and overall in her 5/6th grade division (1.5 mile race) which had 206 competitors! She completed 1.5 miles in a time of 10:44.4 to earn this medal, go Nellie!

Picture Retake will be Oct 23, 2024