Northwood Hills News

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.

November is the month of gratitude! We would like to show our love and gratitude for the NHE staff as we near the Thanksgiving holidays. Please take a moment to send a note or two to the people who have impacted the lives of your children. We will print these for the staff.

Thanks in advance for taking the time to share your positive experiences! Our staff members are going to love these shoutouts!

• November 21- NHE Multicultural Night 5:30-7:00

• November 22 - Richardson Reads Day

• November 25-29 Thanksgiving Break

• December 2 - College Colors Day

• December 9- I Know What To Do Day

• December 10 - NHE Choir Concert at 5:30 pm

• December 19- Quarter 2 SOAR Awards

• December 20- Winter Parties & Early Release

Please Label Student Belongings

Please be sure to label all belongings that your children bring to school including sweaters, water bottles, backpacks, lunchboxes, sweatshirts, etc. We have several items in our lost and found that do not have names on them so they cannot be returned.

All unclaimed items in the Lost and Found that remain unclaimed on December 19th will be donated to the RISD Clothes Closet

November is a time to acknowledge and celebrate the rich and diverse cultures, traditions, and histories of Native Americans. Please visit National Native American Heritage Month for more information about the indigenous peoples of this area.

Learn how RISD is celebrating Native American Heritage Month.

We would like to welcome all parents to join their students for lunch during the week of November 18-22. We welcome you to come and bring your child's favorite lunch food any day this week.

You can also purchase a Thanksgiving meal from the cafeteria for $10 if you plan to come on Thursday. Thanksgiving meals must be purchased online. Advanced purchase is required for this meal and it will only be available on the 21st.

Due to seating capacity, we encourage visitors who do not plan to order the Thanksgiving meal to come on any other day of the week.

To speed up the check-in process, use the QR code below to print your visitor badge at 7:00 am the day of your visit.

Please see the "Lunch Visitors" section of this newsletter below for more details on campus procedures.

Richardson Reads Day is an annual districtwide event celebrating student choice and reading for pleasure. This year Richardson Reads Day will be celebrated by all schools on Friday, November 22, 2024. Our theme is “Fall for Books”.

Northwood Hill’s Fall Book Fair is just around the corner! Mark your calendars for November 18-22 because it’s time to unleash your inner bookworm! Parents, you’re invited to join the shopping spree during Family Lunch each day of that week. Plus, feel free to pop in during your superstar student’s class library time! And don’t miss the fun at Multicultural Night on November 21 from 5:30-7; the Book Fair will be open for all your literary treasures! Remember, every book you snag helps our school thrive! If you would like to volunteer during the book fair, please sign up on the Sign-Up Genius.https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040848ACAA29A2F49-53053954-fall

https://secure.smore.com/n/u9v6c

All students in grades kinder-5th grade are being given the opportunity to participate in RISD's Anti-Victimization lessons taught by their campus school counselors during the month of November. Please click on the newsletter link to learn more and fill out one form for each child you have in kinder-5th grade by Friday, November 1st. You can either fill out the form that was sent home by your child’s teacher or click on the form in the newsletter to fill out and return. Here is the link to learn more about the lessons being taught: https://secure.smore.com/n/980vx

If you are planning to make Holiday Cards or need gift ideas, find two opportunities to give back to the school while you shop and get discounts. Minted not only have holiday cards but also personalized gifts, stationery, art, home decor, etc. Honey Bake Ham gift cards are also a great option for the holiday season. See flyer for codes and more details about the event.

Falcon gear that is!

Whether you are a proud parent, a dedicated student or passionate supporter of our fantastic school, we’ve got just the right apparel to help you showcase your Northwood Hills Falcon pride!

The store is open and now includes long sleeve gear! Deadline to place an order is December 4.

Each purchase you make directly supports our school and helps fund various exciting projects and activities for our students.

Browse through the online store, pick out your favorite items and join us in spreading some Falcon pride!

Go Falcons!

Proudly provided by the Northwood Hills Elementary School PTA.

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

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