Northwood News

Dear Northwood Community,

I hope you all had a wonderful, relaxing four-day weekend! It was a well-deserved break for our students and staff, and we are so glad to have everyone back on campus. Hard to believe it, but we have officially wrapped up the first nine weeks of the school year! As a reminder, report cards for this grading period will be available to view in Skyward this Friday. Please take a moment to review your student’s hard work and celebrate their accomplishments with them.

Now that we are right in the middle of October, our calendar is packed for the second half of the month. We are kicking off our annual Fun Run this week, and the energy on campus is going to be electric! The APEX crew will be joining us all week long to inspire, support, and cheer on our students for our big fall fundraiser. They always bring so much positive leadership and excitement to our school, and we can’t wait to see our kids jump in and participate.

Please be sure to read through the rest of this week's newsletter to catch all the details on our upcoming fall events. There is so much good stuff ahead, so mark your calendars so you don't miss out on any of the fun. Thank you for your constant support, energy, and partnership in making our community such a wonderful place to learn and grow!

Have a great week,

Mrs. Harper

Retake Picture Day: Friday, Oct 16

If you're satisfied with your child's picture, no further action is required.

If you purchased and were unhappy with your Picture Package, please send your Picture Package to school with your student on Retake Day. Your Retake Picture Package will be produced and shipped to the school four weeks after Retake Day.

Students who were absent for Picture Day should come to school prepared to have their picture taken. If you have not preordered, please use the Retake Order Code 0508HMF to place your order at https://inter-state.com/Order. To see your Order History, check your Inter-State Account.

Find answers to Retake Day questions here.

APEX Fun Run

Our Apex Super Heroes fundraiser launches today, and we're on a mission to raise funds for Field Trips, School Beautification, and Instructional Materials while building the kind of leaders every school needs. Pledging opens up today! Students will bring home a VIP Badge with their login info for myapexevent.com. We'll be learning and having fun with the APEX crew leading up to our Fun Run event on Thursday, Oct. 22.

Family Engagement for the Week of October 12th - October 16th.

Monday, October 12th Student and Staff Holiday

Tuesday, October 13th - 9-10:30 AM Supporting the Daily Routine Northwood room 2

Wednesday, October 14th - 9:00 - 11:-00 AM Conversation English in person at Vineyard Ranch Elementary, PLC room

Thursday, October 15th - 9:30 - 10:00 AM Tai Chi

10:00 -11:00 AM Book Club "The Girl that was Left Behind" Chapters 13-23

6 -7 PM Social Media & Your Child Click here to Register: Family Engagement Fall Districtwide Trainings

Friday, October 16th - 9 AM - 1 PM 25th Annual Family Engagement Training at the Norris Center

Featuring Doc Brown

Register: https://canva.link/9gnb2me67to1ts5

Family Support Services

Community Resources

NEISD Food Distributions

Other Food Resources

Apply for Free/Reduced Lunch

Special Ed Parent Resources

For more information, please feel free to contact me.

Elizabeth De La Rosa, M.Ed.

edelar4@neisd.net

(210) 407-5465

Family Liaison for Northwood/Vineyard Ranch/Wilderness Oak

Northwood Elementary (Monday/Tuesday and Thursday)

News from PTA

October 13: Texas House District 121 Candidate Forum

October 16: Fall individual picture retakes

October 21: Reflections Art Contest Deadline

October 22: APEX Fun Run

Octobeer 22: Family Engagement Pumpkin Painting Night

October 26-30: Red Ribbon Week

October 26-30: Literary Pumpkin Display

October 29: Trunk or Treat 4:30-5:30 pm

November 3: Election Day/Student Holiday

Need the district calendar? Bookmark this link.

Reflections Art Contest

Reflections has been a staple arts program in many schools for 50 years. Through the efforts of Local PTAs, millions of students have found a creative outlet in the areas of dance choreography, film production, literature, music composition, photography, and visual arts.

All students are invited to express their creative interpretation of this year's Reflections art competition theme: What My Culture Means to Me

Deadline to submit entries: October 21, 2026!

There are two ways to get your creations (and entry form) to us for judging:
Submit Work Online OR Submit Work to the front office

All entries must be accompanied by an entry form, downloadable here: English | Spanish

To advance beyond the school level, at least one parent or guardianin the students' household must be a member of PTA. Need to join PTA? Do that here.

Students can present work in any or all of the following categories:

Visual Arts

Photography

Literature

Music Composition

Dance Choreography

Film Production

Accessible Arts Division

Questions? Contact Claire (Smalzer) Wolfe CLAIRE.SMALZER@GMAIL.COM

Family Literary Pumpkin Night

Use your imagination to bring a book charactr to life on a pumpkin! Come to the Northwood cafeteria on Thursday, October 22 from 5:30-7:00 pm and bring your family and your imagination to create your pumpkin. Northwood PTA will provide pumpkins, craft supplies and pizza. After you create your pumpkin, you can take it to the library to display for our Literary Pumpkin Patch.

Texas House District 121 Candidate Forum

The North East Council of PTAs, in partnership with Raise Your Hand Texas, invites you to join us for a Texas House District 121 Candidate Forum on Tuesday, October 13 at 11:30 a.m. at Piper Bass Memorial Student Center, 12002 Jones Maltsberger Rd.

This is an opportunity for PTA leaders and members of our school community to hear directly from the candidates and learn more about their perspectives on issues that impact our schools, students, and families.

Candidates Zack Dunn (D) and Representative Marc LaHood (R) will answer a pre-selected list of questions. While audience questions will not be taken during the forum, you can help shape the conversation by submitting a suggested question with your RSVP.

Lunch will be provided. Doors open at 11:30 a.m. and the program begins promptly at 11:50 a.m.

Elevate Your Impact: Join the PTA Today!

Unlock a world of opportunities by becoming a part of our passionate PTA community.
Membership is $8.50 and your involvement is a chance to make a tangible difference in your child's education and school experience.

By joining PTA, you are showing support for your child and their education. There is no obligation to volunteer or take on additional responsibilities (unless you want to!)

Join fellow parents and educators to shape the future, advocate for quality education, and create a nurturing environment where students can thrive.

Amplify Your Voice, Forge Lasting Connections, Enrich Learning Experiences, Drive Positive Change, Shape the Future!
Join the PTA today and embark on a rewarding journey of collaboration, empowerment, and growth.

Together, we can create a brighter future for our children and build a stronger, more vibrant school community.

School Meal Information

For more information on meal payments, you can visit our School Nutrition website.

We know that access to healthy school meals directly impacts student success, so we want to work with you to remove any barriers. Our campus family specialist can offer additional assistance and connect families to food resources at our District food pantry or any of our campus food pantries.

Please reach out to the School Nutrition office at 210-356-9113 or mealapplication@neisd.net with any questions about applying for meal benefits.

Beginning in the 2026–2027 school year, Northwood is no longer eligible for the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), which previously allowed all students to receive free meals. Students will now be charged for lunch unless they qualify for free or reduced-price meals.

If you believe your child may qualify, please complete a Free and Reduced Meal Application:

Online: Through schoolcafe.com
Paper: Complete the form included in your child’s First Day Folder

We encourage families to apply as soon as possible so applications can be processed promptly.

Good news! Free breakfast will continue to be available to all Northwood students this school year.

If you have questions or need assistance, please contact School Nutrition at 210-356-9113 or mealapplication@neisd.net.

Morning Drop Off 6:50 -7:20 am

Students may be dropped off no earlier than 6:50am. There is no supervison before this time and students will not be allowed into the building.
Breakfast is free for all students and is served from 6:50-7:20 am. Students arriving after 7:20 am will need to have breakfast at home.
Students who arrive before 7:20 will report to the follow locations to wait for their teacher:

Kinder - 1st grade: K/1 Hallway
2nd - 5th grade: Gym

Teachers will pick up the students at 7:20 and walk them to the classroom.
The tardy bell rings at 7:25 am, so please allow plenty of time to get to class.
In order to ensure the safety of all of our students, we ask that parents not come into the building in the mornings. We will make sure that everyone gets to class safely.

After School Dismissal 2:50-3:05 pm

In order to ensure the safety of all our students everyone picking up a student from school at dismissal is required to present an official Northwood Dismissal Tag, whether it is by car or walk up. If you need a dismissal tag, please come to the front office and present your ID. All students will wait inside the building for dismissal which will start at 2:50 pm

Parent Pick Up will line up on the sidewalk near the marquee, with their dismissal tag and wait to be called.

Car pick up will hang their tag on their rear view mirror, line up on Rockhill and turn right into the school driveway. Wait for your child's name to be called and pull all the way forward. Please stay in your car. If you need to help your child with their buckle, please park and walk up.

We understand that this may take a little longer, however, we want to ensure that everyone goes homes safely. Thank you for your cooperation.

School Hours 7:25 am - 2:45 pm

Threre is a change to our school day this year. The tardy bell rings and 7:25 am and the dismissal bell rings at 2:45 pm. Please make plans to get up a few minutes earlier so that your child is in class ready to learn at 7:25 am. Students who come into the building after 7:25 am will be counted tardy and parents will need to come into the office and sign them in.

Personal Electronic Devices

The NEISD Board of Trustees adopted procedures related to HB 1481 that mandates that public schools prohibit students from using personal electronic devices, including smartphones, tablets and smartwatches during the school day.

All students are expected to have their personal electronic devices powered off and out of sight during during the school day. If you need to communciate with your child during the school day, you can message their teacher through Class Dojo or call the front office at 210-407-5400.

Visitors to Campus

All visitors to campus will be required to present an ID and receive a visitors badge through the Raptor system in order to come into the building during the school day. This includes on the first day of school. We understand that this may not be convenient, but it is necessary in order to ensure safety.

School Absences

Our goal is for all of our students to maintain outstanding attendance (at least 95%).

The best way to learn is by being present at school and on time, ready to learn at 7:25 am every day! If your child needs to be absent due to illness, please be sure to send a note to school the day they return explaining the reason for the absence. Absences for illness and medical appointments will be excused with a written note. A student can have no more than 18 absences in order to recieve credit for the course/grade level.

Northwood News