EAGLE NATION NEWS

Newsletters will be sent via e-mail attachment monthly to all households with students enrolled at Norwich School. If you wish to be added to the e-mail list and you do not have a student enrolled, please contact Megan Dheming at the school 620-478-2235, mdheming@knusd331.com, and we will add you to our e-mail newsletter list.

Hello Eagle Families and Happy New Year!

I hope you all had a restful and joyful holiday season, and that you are as excited as I am to start the new year with fresh energy and enthusiasm. As we step into 2025, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the past semester, share some important updates, and look ahead to what we have in store for the remainder of the school year.

A Look Back at 2024

As we closed out the fall semester, we were able to celebrate many accomplishments—both big and small. From our fantastic fall performances both academically and athletically to our first Life's Hope event, it was truly heartwarming to see our students, staff, and families come together in new and exciting ways. Your support and involvement have made a positive impact on our school culture, and I’m so proud of what we’ve achieved as a community.

Looking Ahead: Exciting Plans for Spring

Now that we’re back, we are setting our sights on the months ahead. Here are a few exciting initiatives and events to look forward to:

• Winter Assessments: Beginning in mid-January, we will be conducting mid-year assessments to gauge student progress and identify areas where we can offer additional support. These assessments are important in helping us understand how each student is growing academically.

• Parent-Teacher Conferences: Mark your calendars for Parent-Teacher Conferences, which will take place in early February. These meetings are a great opportunity to discuss your child’s progress, set goals for the second half of the year, and collaborate with teachers on how we can best support your child’s learning.

• Spring Break & Breaks to Note: Spring Break will take place from March 17th-21st. Please be sure to check the school calendar for other upcoming holidays and breaks.

• Extracurricular Activities: Our sports teams have been busy practicing over break, and are ready to get back to competing. Our club members will be busy in the new year with many activities and competitions to attend and of course the jrs will continue to prepare for prom.

Important Reminders

• Dress Code: As we move through the winter months, please remind your child to dress warmly and appropriately for the weather. We want everyone to stay comfortable and safe during outdoor activities. Students will go outside for recess if the windchill is 32 degrees or above.

• Attendance: Consistent attendance is crucial to academic success. If your child will be absent for any reason, please notify the school as soon as possible to ensure we can support them in making up missed work.

Thank You for Your Continued Support

As we continue to work together to provide a positive and nurturing environment for our students, I want to take a moment to express my sincere gratitude for your ongoing involvement and support. Whether you’re volunteering, attending events, or simply checking in with your child’s progress, your partnership is invaluable in making our school a special place for learning and growth.

As you may have heard, 2024-2025 will be my last school year as principal of Norwich Schools. I am excited to begin a new chapter titled "Retirement" after being an educator here for the last 32 years.

I could not have chosen a more supportive and amazing community to call my home, raise my family and enhance my career, as Norwich. I have had the privilege to work hand in hand with some amazing educators and students through the years and I can never thank you enough for all the experiences I have been given. I look forward to new opportunities after retirement that include traveling and cuddling grandbabies! Thank you Norwich for believing in me and continuing to support me throughout the years!

Wishing you and your family a wonderful start to 2025. I look forward to another great year together!

Warmly,

Heidi Howard

Is your child sick or plans have changed during the day? If you need to contact the school office for any reason by email, please use our new email address norwichoffice@knusd331.com. This will help us get messages to your child when there are substitutes in the office for the day.

Please remember to send coats, hats, gloves and long pants to school during these winter months.

Students in grades Pk-6 will go outside for recess if the windchill is above 32 degrees.

With the winter months ahead, it would be wise to review where you should listen to find out if school will be dismissed in case of bad weather. We make every effort to make this decision prior to the start of bus routes, but sometimes this is not possible. If we do not have school because of the weather, the following T.V. stations will be notified:

TV: KSN – 3, KAKE – 10, KWCH – 12

Parents should receive an e-mail notice and/or phone call through our messaging system. It will also be posted on the school website. If you have not already, make sure to download the USD 331 app to your mobile device and sign up for notifications so you can stay informed! If you do not receive this message, please contact the district office.

We ask that parents who work please contact their child’s teacher and/or office with instructions as to where the child should go if we close school during the day and nobody is home. This is extremely important for the younger students.

The district has established a mud route procedure again this year. As you are aware, there are several roads in the district that become impassable under certain weather conditions. When the mud route procedure is in place, the parents will be contacted, and pick-up points will be established that can be reached by our buses. This procedure was established with the safety of children in mind. Your understanding and cooperation is greatly appreciated.

The start of a new year is the perfect time to check in on how we can support your family. Our school counselors are here to help students navigate challenges and build confidence. We also offer a mental health program with visiting therapists, providing care right at school. Need help with Medicaid or other services? We’re here for that, too.

Whatever this new year brings, we’re ready to partner with you to support your student’s success. Please reach out if you have any questions or would like more information about these resources.

Jostens is providing and easy way for students and patrons to upload photos for the yearbook staff to possibly use in the 2025 yearbook. Photos you take of school activities can be shared easily. By using this site, your photos will go directly into the yearbook image library. Start by photo sharing website. Enter your information and you are all set. Photographers will be credited for any photos used in the book. You DO NOT need to tag or enter caption information! Thanks in advance for your support and helping us capture all aspects of the 2024-25 story.

Senior salutes are parents’ opportunity to commemorate student achievements and important milestones. Jostens is managing the senior salute sales so please do not contact or send materials to the school. This opportunity is for senior parents only! Page space is limited so ONLY ¼ page MAXIMUM is allowed PER senior. Room only allows for ¼ page to be dedicated to each senior. Parents in different households may share the ¼ page space and create it together or each buy an 1/8 page. The staff needs to know how much space to reserve so all online senior salutes MUST be complete and paid for by January 31, 2025. The staff needs to know how much space to reserve so all salutes MUST be finalized and purchased by this date. A printable instruction sheet and link to order online will come home with your senior. Senior salutes can be created online from both desktop and mobile devices. Parents have various salute designs to choose from giving them more creative freedom over their salute. Watch the school newsletters and school social media for important information regarding seniors. Contact Mrs. Brewster at tbrewster@knusd331.com with questions.

Strawbridge will be here Wednesday, January 29, 2025, to take spring individuals, winter sports, and another round of clubs. All basketball teams with coaches will be photographed. Please remind your student(s) to have the needed attire for team and club photos. Please be reminded that yearbook staff gets a commission from Strawbridge for the photos you purchase. It is one of their fundraisers. Your support is greatly appreciated! Thank you in advance for your support in purchasing pictures.

Mark your calendars as it’s IMPORTANT for all students, teachers, and staff to be present on picture days!

3/27/25: Spring sports and final round of clubs/organizations.

Still need to order follow steps below:

Having Strawbridge issues? Contact customer service at the number or email above.

It's that time of year again....Battle of the Book will be here before we know it. I have 4 brave 6th graders participating this year: Mila Durr, Leyton Lee, Wyatt Purkey, and Brynna Wright. These individuals have a list of 12 books to read from and study. Then in February, we will travel to different league schools and have competitions against other 6th grade teams. Our practices for these 6th Graders have started. We have practice each Tuesday morning at 7:20am in Ms, Lampe's Room. Please help encourage these kiddos to keep reading and we will "battle it out " with other 6th grade teams at our meets in February!!

Board policy allows students and staff to charge up to $15.00. Once they have charged $15.00, the policy dictates that we provide an alternative meal (in our case, this is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich).

Each Monday parents will receive a text and email when any payor account balance is $10.00 or less.

Once your account is negative you will receive daily texts, emails and/or phone calls to make arrangements for bringing your account current, as well as a reminder to send lunches from home.

All students enrolled in the Kingman-Norwich School District between the ages of 7-17 are required to attend school on a regular basis in accordance with Kansas statutes and district attendance guidelines. Daily attendance records shall be maintained for each student and building Principals are responsible for enforcing the attendance policy. The Kingman Norwich Board of Education has approved seven (7) reasons for students to be excused from school. The reasons are as follows:

1. Personal illness – Up to 7 absences for personal illness will be considered excused when parents make appropriate notification to the school office. Any absences due to illness in excess of 7 days will require documentation from a doctor or other qualified medical professional;

2. Health-related treatment, examination, or recuperation;

3. Serious illness or death of a member of the family;

4. Obligatory religious observances;

5. Participation in a district-approved or school sponsored activity or course;

6. Absences pre-arranged by parents and approved by the principal; and

7. Students of active-duty military personnel may have additional excused absences at the discretion of the principal for visitations relative to leave or deployment.

An unexcused absence is one which has been classified as such by the building administration. An absence will be classified unexcused if it does not fit one of the board’s seven stated reasons for excusable absence or if the building attendance procedure is not followed by the student and the parent or legal guardian.The long-term truant student may be dropped from school enrollment once the student has not attended for 10 consecutive school days.

When a student is absent, in order for the absence to be classified excused, the following procedure is to be used:

1. Parents or guardians are asked to phone the school by 8:30 a.m. the day of the absence informing the school’s

representative of the student’s reason for being absent.

2. If the school does not receive a call by 8:30 a.m. on the day of the absence, the school makes every attempt to contact

the parents or guardians during that school day.

3. In the event that phone contact is not made during school hours that day of the absence, on the day the student returns

to school, the student should bring a written note from the parent or guardian that explains the absence.

4. When the student returns to school from being absent, other than from a school activity, the student must report to the main office for an admit slip.

5. The student will have 24 hours from the time the unexcused absence is issued to provide either written or verbal communication from the parent excusing the absence. If no communication is received within this time, the absence will remain unexcused.

If you haven’t already, make sure and download our district app to stay connected. When you sign up for notifications you will receive the most up to date information as it becomes available

As proud Eagle alumni of Norwich High School, we want to help get the word out to all alumni of important events that will interest you so you can remain involved and support your high school alma mater. Please help us in making sure that we have your most current up to date information by either sending us an email at norwichalumni2015@gmail.com or sending us a note to Norwich Schools 209 S. Parkway Norwich, KS 67118. We have recently started an Alumni Facebook page as well. We would love for any alumni to register and follow us!

All events and times are subject to change. Please check the school website for the most up to date information.