...

November greetings to you as we collectively enter this season of warmth and gratitude. November is an unusual month as it includes our Fall Conferences, followed by the Fall/Thanksgiving Break. Six of the forthcoming days include early, 12:20pm dismissals. As noted in our calendar section below, our early, 12:20pm dismissal dates include this coming Friday, 11/3, and the entire week of November 13th (11/13 - 11/17).

Please see our Fall Conferences section below for more information about these important, forthcoming opportunities to connect with your child's teachers. Additionally, don't forget to checkout our Fall Book Fair, taking place in our North Library across the conference week.

Finally, please know how grateful we are to you and your family for the opportunity to serve you as part of our North community. As we pause this month to consider the many aspects of our lives for which we are grateful, the opportunity to partner with your family will be on our hearts and minds.

Thank you for your time in reading through the below update.

Para obtener una versión de este boletín en español, haga clic aquí.

Important November Dates:

• 11/3: 12:20pm Dismissal (Fall Conference Preparation Day)
• 11/7: Band/Orchestra Concert at EHS Auditorium (6:30pm)
• 11/10: NO SCHOOL (Veterans Day Observed)
• 11/13-11/17: 12:20pm Dismissal (Fall Conferences)
• 11/13-11/17: Kindness Week, 2023
• 11/13-11/16: Fall Book Fair
• 11/22-11/24: NO SCHOOL (Fall/Thanksgiving Break)

Other Upcoming Dates of Note:

• 12/12: Dental Screenings
• 12/15: 12:20pm Dismissal
• 12/18-1/1: NO SCHOOL (Winter Break)
• 1/2: School Resumes (regular schedule)
• 1/15: NO SCHOOL (National Day of Service Honoring Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.)

2023/24 Student Calendar

2023/24 Athletics Calendar

Our fall conferences are fast approaching and include the below schedule. For those new to secondary conferences, these differ a bit from elementary conferences and purposefully structure opportunities to meet with multiple teachers across a given time. Specific date/time/teacher reservations are rare and usually reserved for urgent, class-specific situations and/or meetings pertaining to IEPs.

Conference Schedule: Dates/Times

• Tuesday, 11/14: 1:00pm to 5:45pm (collective, gym/commons)
  
• Wednesday, 11/15: 1:00pm to 3:15pm and 4:30pm to 7:00pm (collective, gym/commons)

• Thursday, 11/16: 1:00pm to 3:15pm (reserved for scheduled online meetings and/or conference calls)

To attend, you simply need to attend one of the above, open windows. Sometimes, you will be able to meet immediately with a teachers. Other times, there may be quite a few parents/guardians wanting to meet with a teacher, requiring a wait. The 1:00pm to 3:15pm afternoon windows tend to be less busy.

Preparing for Conferences:

As you prepare to meet with your child's teachers, there are a number of key questions that you may want to consider asking. Questions related to specific behaviors tend to yield greater understanding related to a student's strengths and needs. For your consideration, please see the below, sample inquiries - sourced from several middle school educator and parent sites.

• Instead of, "how is __ doing?" consider, "is __ ready for learning each day in your class?"
• Instead of, "is __ behaving?" consider, "is __'s behavior limiting their learning in any regard?"
• Instead of, "is __ turning in their work?" consider, "is __ demonstrating a consistent level of responsibility?
• Instead of, "how are __'s grades" consider, "is __ understanding the needed concepts?"
• Instead of, "how can I help at home? consider, "are there specific areas that I need to support at home?"

Get ready! The Scholastic Book Fair is coming our way conference week (YAY!). Choosing their own books empowers kids and inspires them on their journey to becoming lifelong readers. AND—as always—every purchase at the Fair benefits our school library and classrooms.

Here’s what you need to know about the big event. It will take place from November 13th-16th in our North library. This purposefully coincides with our fall conferences so please stop-by to visit us.

Say goodbye to cash and hello to eWallet—your child’s digital payment account. Before the Fair, set up eWallet for worry-free, cash-free purchases. Anyone can contribute! Share each child’s eWallet so friends and family can add funds and give your kids more books to enjoy.

If you can’t make it to the Fair, then shop at our school’s Book Fair online using the link below. All orders ship directly to your home, and shipping is free for book orders over $25. Every online purchase will also benefit our school. Online shopping is open from Nov. 13-26th.

Please visit our Book Fair homepage to learn more and get started with eWallet and online shopping:

https://www.scholastic.com/bf/northmiddlestars

Catch you at the Fair!

November is Native American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month and we look forward to our month long opportunity to learn and celebrate. Across the coming weeks, we will pause to honor the diverse cultures, traditions, histories and contributions of Native Americans and Native Alaskan Americans. This will include messages as part of our morning announcements along with classroom-based opportunities. We invite you to continue this learning at home and have include a few easy-to-access resources below.

National Native American Heritage Month

Smithsonian Celebrates

National Congress of American Indians

PBS

Thank you for your shared commitment as we celebrate, learn, and grow as a community.

As a school, we honor and thank the men and women that have served and our currently serving our country in our Armed Forces. Veterans Day is Friday, November 10th (non-school date) and, campus wide, we will seek to honor our Veterans across the weeks that lead up to this important day.

If you or a loved one is a veteran, having served our county through military service, please know that we are appreciative and honor your service, sacrifice, and commitment. As we have discussed as a school, veterans are true ("real life") heroes, having made sacrifices to keep us all safe and secure. As we prepare for a season of gratitude, please know how thankful we are for all of the veterans who have served our county.

Also, please note that The United States Army Field Band and Chorus will be performing a free concert at the Everett Civic Auditorium on November 11th at 7pm. Doors will open at 6:30pm, with a maximum number of free tickets per transaction at four. Please visit GoFan to get your tickets today.

Recently, our Front Office has been receiving meal and snack deliveries for students. These are occurring in the midst of our instructional day and create challenges in terms of matching students with their incoming deliveries. We ask that you refrain from using DoorDash and other food delivery services during our school/instructional day. Should deliveries arrive, please know that these will be held within our office for pick-up only during our passing periods (between classes). Thank you for your support in limiting such deliveries to our school.

Our Everett Public Schools has created a unique family resource entitled Parent University.

Parent University aims to provide parents and guardians with resources and videos to support the needs of families and empower them to become leaders and advocates for their child’s learning. Please click here for additional information including individual course listings, dates, and times.

As the winter/holiday season approaches, please consider utilizing the many amazing family resources that we have in our Everett and North communities. These include Maverick Care - Holiday Food Resources, Toys for Tots and the organizations listed as part of the below icons.

Thank you for your support and participation in our recent fall fundraiser. Together, our Stars met our fall goal for this fundraiser which will directly benefit and enhance student activities, athletics, and events here at North. We appreciate each/every student and family that participated, from selling one box to our top fundraisers. Associated prizes will be going home to students shortly and our top fundraisers are set to visit Arena Sports later this month.

To help ensure a more efficient system for first period late and tardy passes, we have begun incorporating both into our Student Conductor system. If a student arrives late, they will receive a "late pass" which does not count against them as a tardy. However, if a student arrives on-time with plenty of time to get their first period class, and they still do not attend on time, they will receive a regular tardy pass. Please note that parents/guardians will receive an email (or text) notification for both late and tardy passes.

Our Everett Public Schools newsletter for the month of November is linked/attached below. This specifically crafted monthly communication is designed to connect with all of our families and provide information pertaining to all of our schools/programs. This month's newsletter includes updates pertaining to:

• Reminder to Vote, 11/7
• School Performance Reports
• Harvest of the Month
• and more!

---

Thank you again for taking the time to read our November edition of North News. We appreciate your time and partnership as a valued part of our North community.

goNorth!

With Gratitude,

Allison, Drew, & Tyler

North Middle School

tream@everettsd.org - amacgregorfornes@everettsd.org - abaewilliams@everettsd.org

Phone: 425-385-4800

Fax 425-385-4802