Northwood Hills News
May 1, 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
NHE Families,
Can you believe it’s May? This year has flown by! The final weeks are packed with end-of-year testing, field trips, and many other exciting activities!
Next week is Teacher Appreciation Week, and we’re excited to celebrate the incredible dedication, passion, and hard work our teachers and staff bring every single day. They go above and beyond to support our students, create meaningful learning experiences, and build a positive school community. Our PTA has some special surprises and tokens of gratitude planned to honor them throughout the week, and we encourage our families to join in by sharing notes of appreciation or small gestures to make our educators feel truly valued.
We’re also counting down to Field Day on May 16th—a favorite event for both students and staff! It’s a day full of fun, teamwork, and lasting memories! Please review the "Coming up @ NHE" section of this newsletter for the dates of the many exciting May events!
With gratitude,
Jenni Smith
Principal
Northwood Hills Elementary
Coming up @ NHE
Please be aware of the upcoming events at NHE!
May 2 - School Lunch Hero Day (cafeteria employees)
May 5-9 - National Teacher Appreciation Week
May 5- College Colors Day
May 6 - 3rd grade field trip
May 5 - Author Visit in the Library for 4th- 6th grade
May 7 - National School Nurse's Day
May 7 - 3rd-6th grade Science MAP Assessment
May 8 - K-6th grade Reading MAP Assessment
May 8 - PTA General Meeting & Awards Night 5:30-7:00
May 9 - NHE Career Day
May 10 - NHE Garden Day 9:30-11:00
May 13 & 15 - LAS Links Spanish Assessment for 3rd-6th grade Dual Language Students
May 13 - NHE Senior Breakfast 7:30-8:30
May 14 - K-6th grade Math MAP Assessment
May 14- NHE Talent Show
May 16 - Field Day
May 19-21 - 5th grade at YMCA Adventure Camp
May 20 - 6th grade field trip to Pin Stack
May 20 - Retirement Party for Cheryl Derrington 5-6:30
May 21 - 6th grade kickball game
May 22 - 6th grade picnic
May 22 - Kindergarten Promotion 8:30-10:00
May 22 - 6th grade Promotion & Honor Night 5:30-7:30 @ RHS
May 23 - 6th grade Clap-out 12:40
May 23 - Last Day of School & Early Release @ 1:10
Teacher Appreciation Week
🌟 NHE Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week of May 5 - 9: Celebrating Our First-Class Heroes! ✈️
Dear Northwood Hills Elementary Families,
We’re thrilled to honor our incredible teachers and staff during Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week May 5th-9th! With the theme, “Our Teachers and Staff Are First Class - They Make a World of Difference”, we’ll recognize the dedication and love they pour into every student’s journey.
Get ready for a week of FUN! Each day, the NHE PTA has planned surprises that remind our teachers how much we value them. From heartfelt thank-you notes to special treats, let’s show our gratitude in style.
We invite students and parents to join the celebration—together, we’ll make this a week to remember!
Thank you for helping us make a difference for those who make a difference every day.
With appreciation,
NHE PTA
🌟 Semana de Apreciación para Maestros y Personal de NHE del 5 al 9 de mayo: ¡Celebrando a Nuestros Héroes de Primera Clase! ✈️
Queridas familias de Northwood Hills Elementary,
Estamos emocionados de honrar a nuestros increíbles maestros y personal durante la Semana de Apreciación para Maestros y Personal del 5 al 9 de mayo. Con el tema, “Nuestros Maestros y Personal son de Primera Clase - Hacen una Diferencia en el Mundo”, celebraremos la dedicación y el amor que brindan en cada paso del camino de nuestros estudiantes.
¡Prepárense para una semana llena de DIVERSIÓN! Cada día, el PTA de NHE ha planeado sorpresas para recordar a nuestros maestros cuánto los valoramos. Desde notas de agradecimiento hechas con cariño hasta golosinas especiales, ¡mostremos nuestra gratitud con estilo!
Invitamos a estudiantes y padres a unirse a la celebración—¡juntos haremos que esta semana sea inolvidable!
Gracias por ayudarnos a marcar la diferencia para quienes hacen una diferencia todos los días.
Con aprecio,
PTA de NHE
Congrtaulations Mrs. Derrington
2025 RISD Champion Award Recipient
Today, Mrs. Derrington was presented with an RISD Champion Award. She received a monetary award and was honored for demonstrating a consistent commitment to excellence, going above and beyond in her daily work to positively impact students, staff, and the NHE community.
Way to go, Mrs. Derrington! NHE loves you!!!
Capturing Kids Hearts May Focus: Integrity
Final NHE PTA General Meeting & Awards – May 8 at 5:30 PM
Please join us for the final Northwood Hills PTA General Meeting on May 8 at 5:30 PM, and stay afterward for the NHE Awards Ceremony!
During the meeting, we will vote to approve the 2025–2026 NHE PTA Budget. We encourage all members to review the proposed budget in advance of the meeting.
We look forward to seeing you there as we celebrate a wonderful year together!
NHE Garden Day
Hey NHE Gardeners! Freddie here!
Our garden is almost ready — and Lilly, Ruby, and I need YOU to help us finish it! 🐓🌻 Grab your gloves and join us at Freddie’s Farm for some fun, dirt, and big smiles. Let’s make it awesome!
NHE Talent Show
Talent Show Information
The NHE 4th-6th grade Talent Show is May 14th, 2025! Auditions are May 6th. Students need to turn in the audition application form by May 1st.
NHE K-3rd grade students will have the opportunity to share their talents in music class the week of May 5th - 9th. There are no forms to turn in and students will only perform for their classmates.
Please contact Anne.Tracy@risd.org or Victoria.Medrano@risd.org with any questions.
Field Day 2025: May 16th
Upcoming Sixth Grade Events
Save the Date
NHE Seniors
Summer Opportunities
6th to 7th Grade Summer Acceleration Courses
6th Grade Families-Our 6th graders have an option to take PE or Health in the summer for a fee. Just a reminder that all students must take 1 year of PE or Athletics in 7th or 8th grade. Health is a required course in high school for graduation. The window to register for summer acceleration classes begins April 1st and ends May 2nd. Check out the Junior High Programs Acceleration section on the following site:
2025 Summer School
Parents, please check your email to see if you received an invitation to RISD summer school. This is a valuable opportunity to reinforce key concepts, improve academic skills, and ensure continued progress for the upcoming school year.
We strongly encourage you to sign your students up for summer school, as it will provide them with the support they need to succeed. Please take a moment to complete the registration process at your earliest convenience.
If you have any questions or need assistance with registration, feel free to reach out to your child's teacher or our assistant principal Mr. Bell.
PTA Needs YOU!
Future Falcons
School Supplies On Sale Now
Click below for more information
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
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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