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.

Hello NHE families,

We have had a great first week back from Spring Break. It was so fun to see the students again and hear all of the stories of what they did over break!

Thank you so much to those of you who came to our Open House and Pancake Supper event this evening. A special shout out to the pancake dad crew! What a fun night!

This week, we want to provide some reminders about carpool procedures. We appreciate your help in keeping morning drop-off safe and efficient for everyone. Please take a moment to review these important reminders to ensure the safety of our students, staff, and crossing guard:

🔹 Respect the Crosswalk – Always use designated crosswalks and avoid dropping students off in the middle of the road.

🔹 Follow Carpool Lane Procedures – Do not block the drop-off zone or let students out in the middle of the lane. Pull all the way forward before stopping.

🔹 Drive Safely & Be Mindful of Speed – Our staff members assisting with traffic are here to help but are not traffic officers. Please drive slowly and follow their directions.

🔹 Follow the Orange Cones – They are placed to ensure a smooth and safe flow of traffic. You may not make a left turn when exiting the carpool lane. All cars must turn right to keep traffic moving safely. No U-turns, no three-point turns, and no street drop-offs.

🔹 Watch for Students, Parents, & Staff – Staff are working hard to guide traffic and assist students safely. Please be aware of their presence and follow their instructions.

We understand that mornings can be hectic, but safety is our number one priority. Let’s work together to ensure all students arrive safely each day.

Thank you for your cooperation and support!

Best regards,

Jenni Smith
Principal

• March 21 - First-grade field trip

• March 28 - Fourth-grade field trip

• March 29 - NHE PTA Auction & Gala

• March 31 - I Know What To Do Day - Shelter

• April 2 - Paraprofessionals Appreciation Day

• April 3 - Class Picture & Individual Picture Day

• April 4 - Librarian Appreciation Day

• April 7 - 11 - National Assistant Principal Week

• April 7 - College Colors Day

• April 8 - Roman Cucina Spirit Night

• April 10 - Fine Arts Night 5:30-7:00

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 25

April 1, 8

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.

We are happy to share that in the fall, the school district successfully addressed the concerns in our garden by installing a new drainage system, a sprinkler system, a sidewalk around the garden, and new grass. With these improvements complete, we are excited to share more positive developments at Freddie’s Farm! The RISD Board has approved the PTA’s proposal for new garden beds and a butterfly garden. Ruby and Lilly (Freddie’s Farm Chickens) are also back in their brand-new coop. Thank you again for your patience and support throughout this process.

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!

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!

Link to register.

• 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.

• Support our amazing school by joining the 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