Northwood Hills News is the school newsletter written by campus leadership. You'll find important dates and information about upcoming activities including evening events, school-wide assessments, and RISD area events. The newsletter will go out via email on Thursdays of each week. Please ensure your email addresses and phone numbers are up-to-date in Focus so that you receive each week's updates in a timely manner.

Hello NHE families,

Brrrrr! What a COLD few days we just experienced. I hope that everyone enjoyed the wintery weather and that your kids had some fun in the snow! At this time, no decision on inclement weather makeup days can be made until the winter season concludes. We will share that information as we receive it.

As a reminder, the tardy bell rings at 7:50 am. Getting to school on time requires planning and leaving early enough to account for any delays. Arriving to school on time ensures all students aren't missing important lessons and are showing respect for our teachers and classmates. Please make it your New Year's resolution to be on time this semester.

This week we will be finishing up our MAP Growth assessments. Also, 2nd quarter report cards have been published in the Focus portal for students and parents to view.

For more information on how to log into Focus or to create a Focus Parent Account, please access the link below.

https://web.risd.org/home/focus-for-parents/

Also, please remember that there is no school next Monday, January 20th.

Sincerely,

Jenni Smith

Principal

• January 20 - Student & Staff Holiday - No School

• January 28- Progress Reports Shared

• January 30 - Parent Growth Goal Camp 5:30-7:00

• January 31 - 5th & 6th Grade Glow Party

• February 3 - 5th-grade field trip to Biz Town

• February 3 - College Color Day

• February 3-7 National School Counseling Week

• February 5 - I Know What To Do Day - Lockdown Drill

• February 13 - Early Release Day

• February 14 - Valentine's Day Parties

Tutoring will begin on January 21st. Students who are invited to attend tutoring will receive an invitation. Bus transportation is provided for tutoring. If your child brings home a tutoring invite, please make it a priority to have them attend. We are committed to closing instructional gaps and providing the support necessary for each student to meet their growth goals.

Tutoring Dates:

January 21, 28

February 4, 11, 18, 25

March 4, 18, 25

April 1, 8

NHE parent and community volunteers are essential for supporting our staff, implementing programs and events, and nurturing the learning experience for our students.

From Homecoming to Teacher Appreciation Week to Field Day, there is something for everyone. Any contribution of time helps, no matter how big or small. If you'd like to help on campus this year, we'd love to have you!

Please visit this link to see the various opportunities we have available this year and select those that interest you. You will need to sign up as a user on the site before completing the form.

Thanks in advance for your support!

NHE PTA

Your Lady Eagles Basketball Program will be hosting our Elementary & Junior High Night this Friday January 17th, our home game vs. Irving. We would love to see all of you in attendance as we continue to battle in District Play and focus on our goal to WIN DISTRICT.

Game times are Fr/JV 5:30pm and Varsity 7pm. Our Elementary and Junior High Students who attend will be recognized before the start of the Varsity game.

Students who are attending must mention they are part of the Elementary & Junior High Feeder in order to receive FREE entry.

Volunteer opportunities for female children who like basketball and would like to be a "ball girl" during the games of RHS Lady Eagles Basketball. All games are at 7 pm and at Richardson High School. SignUp if your child is interested. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0849ABA823A5FDC61-54161053-game

Every January, RISD recognizes our elected board of trustees, who volunteer many long hours each in their work to set the vision, mission, and goals for the district and determine the resources and budget necessary for RISD to operate in a way that supports every student, every teacher, and every leader every day.

The RISD community is grateful for the servant leadership of Board President Regina Harris and Trustees Eric Eager, Rachel McGowan, Vanessa Pacheco, Chris Poteet, Debbie Rentería and Megan Timme. Thank you, RISD Board of Trustees.

Enrollment for the 2025-26 school year opens Feb. 25. Save the date, and visit the online enrollment page for information and what to have ready.

• Create a Focus account – RISD provides electronic access to a student’s attendance, grades, and other information via the Focus school software system. . https://web.risd.org/focus/

• Please go to RISD Voly to fill out an application. Please make sure you select NHE as your school. This process needs to be completed every year!

• All of RISD will be utilizing Talking Points for classroom communication. Please download the free app to get started communicating with your child's teacher!

  You can find more information online at this link

• Download SchoolCafe app – RISD’s school cafeteria payment system is called SchoolCafe. https://www.schoolcafe.com/

• Download RISD Mobile Parent app – Access student information, view the latest news, receive important alerts, review archive of parent messages sent by RISD, view school menus and lunch account balances, find your bus stop, access student schedules, assignment grades, attendance and more via the RISD Mobile Parent app.

• Support our amazing school by joining the NHE PTA!

Beginning next week, visitors are welcome to join their students for lunch. Here are a few reminders when planning to visit for lunch.

• Due to space in our cafeteria we are asking that parents who wish to have lunch with their child do so only once per week.
• Arrive before your child's scheduled lunchtime.
  
• Bring your ID to be screened at check-in. You will be given a visitor badge to wear at all times while on campus.
• Visitors should sit at the designated visitor table with their child and are not permitted to sit at the class cafeteria tables.
• Lunch visitors may eat lunch with only their child. Friends will not be permitted to join another parent for lunch.
• We request that visitors follow a no-cell phone policy to ensure student privacy and quality time with their child. Taking pictures or videos in the cafeteria that include any other students or staff is not permitted.
• When your child’s lunch period is over, visitors should exit the building from the front or office doors. Lunch visitors should NOT walk their child back to class.
• If a visitor who is not a parent or guardian comes to eat lunch with a student, we must have permission ahead of time from the parent or guardian or they will not be permitted to eat with the student.

These guidelines may need to be adjusted from time to time. Updates will be communicated as needed.

All visitors must show a government-issued ID every time you are either visiting school or volunteering and will need to have a Verkada Badge. The great thing about our new system is that you can use the QR Code from home in the morning, and your badge will be waiting for you when you arrive. Please wait to access the code until 7 am the day that it is needed so that the badge doesn't time out. This is a requirement for any activity we will have during the school day.

Before entering the building, you will need to push the doorbell. Our office staff will ask how they can help you before letting you in. This is a requirement for everyone even if our office staff knows who you are. We appreciate your support and patience with this process.

With the increased need for security on all campuses, NHE will continue to use Verkada to sign in all visitors on campus. If you plan on visiting campus, please make sure to bring your driver's license to the front office to be scanned by our RAPTOR system.

During occasions when we have a big event, we will send out a QR code ahead of time for you to complete to help speed up the check-in process.

If you plan to volunteer on campus, please complete the additional background check with VOLY. It is best to complete the VOLY application as soon as possible. VOLY requests can take up to 72 hours to complete. Please call the Northwood Hills office for any help needed with completing VOLY. Sign up to volunteer at risd.voly.org