THE BEST

March 2 - Read Across America Week

March 8 - Daylight Saving Time (Clocks Ahead One Hour)

March 13 - All Pro Dad

March 16 - Professional Development Day (Students No School)

March 20 - PTA Blooming Mornings

March 27 - PTA Bingo Night

March 31 - Spring Pictures

April 3 - STEM Day

April 6-11 - Spring Break (No School)

April 17 - All Pro Dad

April 29 - May 1, 5-8 - GA Milestones Assessments

We have officially closed out the last week of February with purpose; classrooms have been active and busy.

Our fifth graders had a special visit from three current Atlanta Gladiators hockey players. They visited with the fifth graders and spent time reading with them. Our students had the opportunity to ask the players questions and learn more about what life is like as a professional athlete. The Gladiators also wanted to share a link (below) for our families to experience a game at discounted prices.

Please consider applying to run for SGC. Northwood’s SGC comes together to support learning, review the school budget, and act as a bridge between Fulton County, Northwood, and our community. Additional details and the application link can be found below.

Next week is Read Across America week! Don’t forget to show your love of reading by participating in each day's theme. We’ve included a graphic below. We love celebrating reading as often as we can at Northwood, and we can’t wait to enjoy all the fun next week!

Fondly,

Heather Rucker, principal

According to the most recent Department of Public Health Statement regarding influenza:

"Flu activity is widespread and severe in Georgia, and cases are likely to increase following the holidays and as Georgians return to work and school. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also projects a severe flu season. If you have not gotten a flu shot yet and have no medical conditions preventing you from doing so, the Department of Public Health strongly urges you to take advantage of the health benefits the flu vaccine provides as soon as possible."

We are seeing an increase in confirmed flu cases throughout out building, consistent with what we are seeing across the state. Please read through the attached document. Our teachers will continue to prioritize hand washing and classroom cleaning. Let us know if you have any questions or concerns.

Accidents happen - in the classroom, at recess, at lunch or the bathroom. When our Explorers get messy they often head to the Clinic to get cleaned up. We keep extra clothes on hand for those quick changes. We appreciate donations of all clothing sizes, and are currently in need of boys underwear and girls bottoms - all sizes. If you have any clothing items you'd like to contribute you can send them in with your student or drop them off at the front desk. Thank you!

We have successfully launched our new system called PickUp Patrol to help us track dismissals. PickUp Patrol provides families with a convenient way to make changes to your child’s dismissal plans and helps ensure that students are accurately dismissed each day.

If you haven't signed up, please email Mrs. Lorraine Robertson at Northwood's front desk, robertsonl1@fultonschools.org, and she will resend the registration email from PickUp Patrol with a link to set up your account. Moving forward, this is the only way to make dismissal changes. Please note that dismissal requests will no longer be accepted via the Northwood Dismissal email, teacher inboxes, or paper notes.

How It Works:

1. Your child’s regular dismissal plan will be entered into the system. This is considered their Default Plan.
2. Whenever your child is doing something other than their Default Plan, you’ll submit a Plan Change via PickUp Patrol.
3. Examples of a Plan Change:
• Your child normally rides the bus but needs to switch to carpool for the day.
• Your child is getting picked up by someone other than yourself (must be an emergency contact in Infinite Campus).
• Your child has a doctor's appointment and will be leaving early.
4. When the change is submitted, a notification will be sent to the front office and their teacher.

The parent portal is free to parents and can be accessed from your phone or computer. The link in your registration email will be live for 48 hours. As soon as you receive it, please log in and confirm your child’s default plan.

Thank you for using PickUp Patrol to make safety a priority and to ensure our dismissal process is efficient for all! Parents can access all of their children in the same account as long as the same email address is used. Once you are registered you do not need to re-register for each child, you will simply log out and back in again to view all children in the app.

If you have any questions, please first check the PickUp Patrol Parent Guide & if you need additional assistance, please reach out to Mrs. Robertson, robertsonl1@fultonschools.org.

March 2-6, 2026

Read Across America Week is a week to celebrate the love of all books and reading! To celebrate, we’ll have different themed dress‑up days. Check out the themes above so your child can join the fun!

Awards are one of the many wonderful ways we have to recognize and celebrate our Explorers at Northwood. Please see the attachment below for the January award recipients. Congratulations!

What can I do to help my child prepare?

• Be certain your child gets plenty of sleep and has a healthy breakfast.

• Be certain your student is at school on time, so they are not worried about being late.

• Remind students that cell phones and smart watches will be collected and stored in the secure testing room during test administration times. It’s best for students to leave them at home if possible.

• Get information and practice using this link: Georgia Milestones Resources (gadoe.org)

• Experience the online testing session. See below for more details, and use this link: www.gaexperienceonline.com

What happens if my child is absent?

• There will be rolling make-ups throughout the testing window. Please do not send your child in if they are sick.

Can visitors be in the building?

• During GMAS testing, we will not be allowing visitors in the building before 11:30 am; and there will also be no lunch visitors these days.

Georgia Experience Online

Georgia Experience Online is a practice site that can be used for students to learn more about the structure and content of the Georgia Milestones Assessment, experience online testing, and practice using online testing tools. Parents are welcome to explore this site and use it to practice with your child.

Please note that the EOG Test Practice site will have ELA and Math questions while the EOG Study Guide for Students and Parents only focuses on Math and Science (5th grade only).

Below you will find an attachment with directions and the link to access the site. Please contact your child’s teacher or our CST, Danielle Evangelista if you have any questions.

What is a School Governance Council?

The purpose of a School Governance Council (SGC) is to provide parents, school staff, and community members with a leadership role through monitoring and implementation of the strategic plan.

What is the commitment?

All School Governance Council members serve two-year terms. Time commitment varies from school-to-school, but expect 2 to 3 hours per month which includes meetings, trainings, and school and community events.

When are the 2026 elections?

Candidate Declaration: February 2 - March 27

Voting: April 22 - April 29

Where to declare candidacy?

Visit the SGC website and click on Elections for a candidate guide and/or declaration. Elections - Fulton County School System

Northwood is proud to be an AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) school. AVID Elementary equips students with the foundational skills and mindset needed for future success. Our staff is focused on enhancing instructional consistency, fostering a college and career readiness mindset, increasing student engagement and building organizational and study skills.

As part of this, each week Northwood will be focused on one goal as a school. Be sure to ask your child about it!

Next week's AVID goal is: to always be honest.

We can help you celebrate your child's birthday with his/her classmates by offering the purchase of ice-cream for $1.00 per child. Please go online and add money to your child's GENERAL LUNCH account based on the number of students in the classroom. Then email your child's teacher and our Cafeteria Manager, Chisthal Austin, at austinc4@fultonschools.org to let us know what date you would like to celebrate it. We will take care of the rest!

This year, with the new lunch system, our school community has the capability to create a Cafeteria Principal Account Fund. This account would be used to fulfill any meal costs for students that reach an account balance of zero. We often have families and extended family members that ask if or how they can pay off lunch balances or support our students in this way, now the process of doing so is easy!

Should you be interested in adding to the Cafeteria Principal Account Fund, just send a check or cash to school in an envelope to Ms. Cristhal Austin, our cafeteria manager in training, and notate that the funds go to the Principal Fund. Please reach out to Ms. Austin, austinc4@fultonschools.org, if you have any questions.

The Fulton County School Nutrition Program is dedicated to serving all students nutritious, safe and customer acceptable meals in support of academic achievement. Click the link below to see what thery are serving up today.

Nutrition.fultonschools.org/MenuCalendar

Parents, please encourage your students to check regularly for lost items in the Lost and Found. Please mark all student belongings clearly with the child's name so that it can be identified. Unclaimed items are donated to local charities after the last school day of every month. March's date is Tuesday, March 31st.

The Infinite Campus Parent Portal provides quick and easy access to information for all enrolled students in their household. Find grades, attendance, assignments, schedules, ID numbers, school announcements and more. If you haven't already joined, please do so today as Fulton County Schools is transitioning to managing everything via the portal.

For more information, access the Parent Portal Booklet for Infinite Campus here.

It’s time to pre-order your 2025-2026 Northwood Yearbook—celebrating our 30th anniversary with this year’s theme: REWIND! Reserve your copy now for just $41.

Click here to order: yearbookordercenter.com/job/26362.

Questions? Email us at Yearbook@northwoodpta.com.

Michelle Levine, Assistant Principal

Together We SHINE!

Email: NorthwoodAttendance@fultonschools.org
Website: https://northwood.fultonschools.org/
Location: 10200 Wooten Road, Roswell, GA, USA
Phone: 470-254-6390
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NorthwoodElementaryPTA/
Twitter: @FCS_NWES or @NWES_Principal