Northwood Hills News
February 27, 2025

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.
A Note From Mrs. Smith
Hello NHE families,
We’re excited to announce that enrollment for the 2025-2026 school year is now open! As we prepare for another year of academic excellence, we encourage all families to complete their student’s enrollment as early as possible to ensure a smooth and timely start to the year.
To make the process easier, simply visit www.risd.org/enrollonline and follow the steps to complete your registration. If you need assistance or have questions, feel free to contact the NHE enrollment office at (469) 593-4300 or via email at Sadaf.Ramzan@risd.org
We look forward to welcoming your child to Northwood Hills Elementary next school year!
Best regards,
Jenni Smith
Principal
Enroll Today for the 2025-2026 School Year
Coming up @ NHE
Please be aware of the upcoming events at NHE!
February 28 - Author Visit for K-3 students
March 3 - College Colors Day
March 4 - Chick'-Fil-A Spirit Night
March 6 - Kindergarten Round-Up
March 7 - SOAR Awards for Quarter 3
March 10-14 Spring Break
March 20 - Open House, PTA Meeting, Pancake Supper
March 21 - First-grade field trip
March 28 - Fourth-grade field trip
March 29 - NHE PTA Auction & Gala
2025-2026 NHE Kindergarten Round-Up
Northwood Hills Elementary will host a Kindergarten Round-Up on Thursday, March 6th from 5:30-6:30 PM in the NHE cafeteria. Parents and prospective 2025-2026 kindergarteners are invited to hear about NHE and the online enrollment process, as well as tour the school during this event.
If you have a prospective 2025-2026 NHE Kindergartener, please RSVP at https://s.risd.org/NHEKRoundUpRSVP25 including regrets, for Kindergarten Round-Up. Once you complete this form, you will receive an email with detailed enrollment information.
RISD’s online enrollment process begins on February 25, 2025. All 2025-2026 students must be enrolled online at https://web.risd.org/enrollonline/.
Show some LOVE for our NHE Teachers
Teacher Extended Lunch
We are excited to show our appreciation for our incredible teachers by providing an extended lunch on February 28th! To make this happen, we need volunteers to help supervise students and facilitate provided activities.
We truly appreciate any time you can give, and we’d love your help in spreading the word.
Please review the available slots below and click on the button to sign up.
Thank you!
***Richardson ISD requires every volunteer re-register with VOLY annually to be eligible for volunteer opportunities during each school year.***
**ID required to sign in at school
NHE PTA Auction & Gala
Random Acts of Kindness Calendar
Students are encouraged to do as many random acts of kindness as they can throughout the month of February. Students who do at least 20 of the random acts of kindness included in the calendar can turn in their completed calendar signed by a parent or guardian for a prize. Completed calendars are due to Mrs. Konkle or Mrs. Pendery by March 4th.
Author Visit Now on February 28th
Mr. Barton needed to reschedule his visit. He will be on campus February 28th
On February 28, author Chris Barton will be visiting with kindergarten through 3rd graders. He will speak about his books and writing process. If you would like to purchase one of his books to be signed by him, please use the following link to make a purchase. The deadline is February 5. Your purchase is a fun keepsake, and it benefits our school!
Afterschool Tutoring Information
Students who are invited to attend tutoring will receive a permission form. 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:
March 4, 18, 25
April 1, 8
Upcoming Assessment Dates
STAAR Dates:
April 15: STAAR RLA (grades 3-6)
April 16: Make-up STAAR RLA (grades 3-6)
April 23: STAAR Science (5th grade only)
April 24: Make-up STAAR Science (5th grade only)
April 29: STAAR Math (grades 3-6)
April 30: Make-up STAAR Math (grades 3-6)
*Please avoid scheduling any doctor's appointments or out-of-town travel on these dates. We want every student to have the opportunity to show what they can do on these important state exams.
Calling All Dads!
We need your help to make pancakes for the NHE Pancake Supper on March 20.
Scan the QR code or click here.
Thank you in advance from your kids and the NHE PTA!
Future Falcons
Attention Future Falcons! We have lots of fun events coming up this Spring and would love for you to join us! Please let me know if you can attend or would like to be included on our email list! Also don't forget to follow us on Facebook at NWH Falcons & Friends!
Partners Programs
Building a Trusting Relationship Around Food: Picky Eating 101
RISD Special Students Services invites parents to register and attend this dynamic parent training opportunity with guest speaker Jenny McGlothlin on March 20, 6:30pm-7:30pm. Jenny is a certified Speech Language Pathologist and Certified Lactation Counselor specializing in feeding for newborns through adolescence. Her passion is working with caregivers to give them confidence and competence to be their child’s best feeding and communication partner. Childcare is available with advanced registration by March 7th.
RHS Eaglettes Spring Mini-Clinic
April 5th 9am-12pm w/Parent Show-Off at 11:30am
Online registration- $40
Pay at the door- $50
Grades K-5 will learn a fun dance
Grades 6-8 will get a drill team prep session
If registration is paid online, attendees will receive a goodie bag, snack, water, and a t-shirt!
Special Student Services and SAGE PTA Parent Symposium
Please join us for an evening of virtual parent education sessions on topics such as: disability support in higher education; accommodations and modifications; special education evaluation process and more! Registration is required - use the link or QR code on the flyer to get registered!
Helpful Parent Resources
- 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.
District Links
Focus Parent Portal
Library Opt-Out Program - Elementary
SEL Opt Out 2024-2025
Lunch Visitors
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.
NHE Recurring Links and Information
NHE Volunteers & Visitors
Safety and security is a top priority for us. You must complete a background check yearly if you will be volunteering for ANY school activities. Please go to RISD Voly to fill out an application. Please make sure you select Northwood Hills Elementary as your school. Again, this process needs to be completed every year!
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.
Parents and Families On Campus
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
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