THE BEST

December 16 - Winter Class Parties: Grades K and 3

December 17 - Winter Class Parties: Grades 1, 5 and Program Classes

December 18 - Winter Class Parties: Grades 2 and 4

December 19 - Reading is a Gift Day

December 22 - January 5 - Winter Break

A chilly but productive week has ended. Thank you to all our families who donated items for the PTA Caring and Sharing Gift Drive – it was wonderfully successful. We also had a fantastic turnout for the December All Pro Dad meeting this morning.

Schools across the area have seen an increase in respiratory illnesses. Please review the information letter attached below provided by District Health Services for a flu and respiratory Illness update. It gives guidance on when to keep children at home when ill, as well as guidelines on return to school clearance. Please do not send children to school until they have been fever and/or vomit free without medication for 24 hours. Our custodial crew is also being proactive and following the environmental services guidelines for cleaning during this season.

As we look ahead to the last week of the first semester, the holiday parties are next week! The schedule is listed below. Stay cozy this weekend!

Fondly,

Heather Rucker

Principal

In November, our students celebrated their success in meeting PBIS goals with a fun game of BINGO! Students who demonstrated positive behaviors enjoyed playing alongside their peers. As a special highlight, our 5th graders teamed up with their Kindergarten buddies for an extra dose of excitement and connection. It was wonderful to see students from all grade levels come together to celebrate their hard work and commitment to our PBIS expectations.

Please read the attached Fulton County Schools District Health Services Viral Respiratory Illnesses Update below to help protect yourself and others from the flu, RSV, pneumonia and other respiratory illness.

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 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!

Our attendance focus this school year is “Strive for 95!” We want our Explorers to be present for 95% of our school days. Excellent attendance ensures the best delivery of excellent instruction. Through the end of November, 77.9% of our Explorers have achieved that standard!

We understand that some absences are unavoidable. If your Explorer is absent from school, please email northwoodattendance@fultonschools.org to notify the proper staff.

Did you know that students can request up to 5 Participate Remote Learning Days per semester, and receive attendance credit by completing academic work remotely? Parents can submit this form to their child’s teacher prior to an expected absence.

Your involvement as parents and guardians is an essential factor in creating a positive and engaging school environment. Together, we can foster an atmosphere where students are excited to come to school, engage in learning, and build a foundation for a successful future.

Click here to learn more at Northwood’s Attendance Webpage. In addition, FCS attendance policy information can be found at FCS Attendance Matters Website or by contacting our school social worker, Patrick Hartigan, MSW at hartigan@fultonschools.org

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: My goal is to only take my fair share when offered something.

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. December's date is Friday, December 19.

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 $36 before the price goes up on January 1st.

Click here to order: yearbookordercenter.com/job/26362 — and don’t forget, 5th grade families can purchase a dedication ad to honor their student!

Questions? Email us at Yearbook@northwoodpta.com.

My name is Autumn Dalburg, and I am president of the International Thespian Society at Centennial High School. I’m reaching out to invite your students to see our production of "Junie B. in Jingle Bells Batman Smells.”

This one-act play runs less than an hour and is a TYA (theatre for young audiences) performance, meaning it is geared towards your students' age groups! We’ve put on this show, and our goal is to have those it caters to fill our audience! We would love to enrich your students and provide parents with an activity to entertain their kids.

Junie B. will be shown at Centennial in our black box theatre on December 11th and 12th, at 6 pm, and at 2 pm on December 13th. Ticket prices are reduced for K-5 students, so we’d love to see as many of yours as possible!

Thanks,
Autumn Dalburg

Parents can use this link to RSVP for one of the workshops: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040C4EAFA82FA0FF2-60741494-girl

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