Nantucket Elementary School

Dear Families,

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and all were able to enjoy some time off. And now, downtown is so lovely with the lit up Christmas trees! Our students did a fabulous job decorating those trees on Wednesday, 11/29, to be beautiful for Stroll Weekend. This time does fly by!

We are busy preparing for teacher conferences on 12/13. You should be hearing from your child's teacher or the main office administrative assistants to schedule these. This is an important time for you to connect with your child's teacher. You can ask all the questions you have and hear about your child's performance to date.

The month of December can be a bit busy and sometimes hard for children. They are excited about the holidays and the vacation. This can distract them in school. We try very hard to help them stay focused. Please be sure they get to bed at reasonable times, do their schoolwork, eat healthy, and read nightly. Know that the classrooms have lots of activities to keep them busy too. Please keep track of the dates listed below for other school events. There is also a copy of the spirit calendar with suggestions for things to wear or do for each remaining school day!

We have heard some of our children talking about a game they like to play online recently. We felt this was important to share with you.

• This game is called Brookhaven and students have been heard saying "we can talk to strangers, we can do online dating and there are lots of secrets". One student was heard whispering "to be quiet, we can't tell grownups about it" and they stopped talking.
• Brookhaven is a part of the Roblox network
• For video and game information, as to whether it is appropriate, here is a safe site and we encourage you to reference Common Sense Media

Our lost and found table at NES is already filled up with coats, hats, gloves, water bottles, etc. We had this set up out front last week for parents to take a look. We will have this available on the Parent Conference Day, 12/13, as well. After this, we will be donating any leftover items just before the holiday vacation.

Two final things I need to reshare here.

1. The First Way Parking Lot is for staff only. There should be no parents dropping students off there, parking there, or even driving there. The NES staff is feeling very frustrated by the continued struggle to park in their assigned spots as people are dropping students off or have parked in their spot. This has happened to me at least 4 times already this year too! Not to mention, this is totally unsafe. There are signs that say this as well. License plates are being photographed, we are contacting the police for identification and following up with calls. I simply ask you to stop doing this, please, and thank you in advance.

2. Extended absences are not in the best interest of your child and their education. If your child needs to miss 5 or more days, you need to set up a meeting with me. If your child starts to struggle academically, we look at the number of absences the child has. If this number is significant, retention could be strongly considered.

Apologies for some of the ugliness above. We do hope you had a wonderful Stroll Weekend. We also wish you a magical holiday season and wonderful vacation. We will look forward to seeing your children in the new year!!

Best,

Kim Kubisch and Kim Albertson

Meri Lepore's Nurse's Corner

The fall is a great time to get your flu (Influenza) shot. There is significant research that getting the flu vaccine can decrease the severity of the flu. Every year children and adults get gravely ill from Influenza. Also if your child has a fever they must stay home until they are 24 hours fever free without medication before returning to school. We are trying very hard to keep all of our students healthy and vaccines, good hand hygiene and staying home when sick will help us to achieve this!

We have also seen quite a bit of hand, foot and mouth and lice throughout the school in the past month.

The Health Office has started vision and hearing screening, if your student does not pass, we will be sending home letters.

Meri Lepore RN, FNP-BC

School Nurse

Nantucket Elementary School

leporem@npsk.org

Counselor's Corner

Your child’s Social Emotional Learning (SEL) class has been very busy these past two months building upon their social-emotional skills toolbox and learning lessons specifically related to the topic of bully prevention. During the Bullying Prevention Unit in grades K-2, students learned to identify bullying versus mean behavior, developed problem solving skills by exploring the difference between tattling and telling, and practiced ways to be an upstander and respond with confidence to bullying scenarios. Students also learned various ways to be an upstander; upstanders are people who are empowered to take indirect or direct action to assertively “stand up” for what is right. Students practiced four different ways to be an upstander: 1. Be a buddy: proximity and support by being a friend can help someone who is the target of bullying or mean behavior. 2. Interrupt: interrupting the situation and inviting the target to go elsewhere with you. 3. Speak Out: speaking up and using an assertive body to say, “Please stop!” 4. Tell and get help: letting an adult know about the situation is an important “tell.” Adults are here to help children navigate bullying and stop it from happening.

It is no coincidence that World Kindness Day falls on the calendar during a time when our school engages in our bully prevention work. Prevention starts with each and every one of us building and reinforcing a culture of care here at NES by promoting kindness, respect, acceptance, and inclusion.

On November 13th, students celebrated World Kindness Day. World Kindness Day is dedicated to promoting and celebrating acts of kindness and serves as a reminder that even small acts of kindness can have a profound impact on individuals and communities. On this day, people all over the world engage in acts of generosity, compassion, and goodwill towards others. SEL classes celebrated World Kindness Day by committing to being kind by decorating a kindness leaf and creating a school kindness tree together. This tree is proudly displayed in our NES hallway and serves as a reminder that no matter how small an act of kindness, we can create a meaningful impact together. Continue to recognise and encourage your child to participate in kind ways every day. Acts of kindness can be as simple as complimenting a peer, or tidying up if they see a mess. When students are in an environment that promotes kindness, they will have a stronger connection with others and feel a sense of community. Students who feel included in their school community will participate more in their school day, both socially and academically, and grow stronger relationships with their peers and teachers.

As always, we thank you for your continued partnership in promoting a respectful and inclusive school community.

Heidi Smith

Elementary School Counselor

smithh@npsk.org

Jenny Williams

Elementary School Counselor

williamsje@npsk.org

Madeleine Sybert

Elementary School Social Worker

sybertm@npsk.org

Prek Update

In November our PreK was busy learning about the colors of fall, the farm, and talking about our families while we learned about Thanksgiving. We went on our first field trip to Berry Patch Farm and saw lots of animals and got to learn more about turkeys first hand. We had community guest readers the day before Thanksgiving break. We loved getting to see our families when we went down to decorate trees! If you weren't able to meet us downtown make sure to check out the PreK tree at 18 Federal Street.

Kindergarten Update

Kindergarten is finishing up learning lowercase letters and will begin uppercase letters in January. Please focus on letter name and sound fluency at home using letter rings, asking students to identify the beginning or ending sound in a word (bottle- what letter do you hear in bottle?), and any letter sound games. This is important for students' reading foundation as we begin using letter sounds to read decodable books and words. In math students are continuing to practice identifying and writing numbers 1-10 as well as counting groups in different arrangements. Continue practicing these skills at home in game-like ways.

Our tree downtown was themed "In Our Kindergarten Era" and everyone made friendship bracelets to hang on the tree. In December we will learn about holidays around the world and read holiday stories to continue our practice of retelling a story, identifying story elements, and comparing and contrasting two similar stories.

First Grade Update

First graders have started reading and writing nonfiction books! We are finishing up our science unit on beams of light. During math first graders are reading, writing and comparing numbers up to 120. We had a fantastic trip to the Life Saving Museum and to town to decorate trees! We are looking forward to going to the Festival of Trees and making gingerbread houses!

Second Grade Update

This month we will shift our focus to nonfiction reading and writing. Second graders love to read and write about animals and nature as well as real people, places, and events. At home, you can help your child learn to navigate all the parts of a nonfiction book — from the table of contents to the diagrams, captions, glossary, and index. Encourage your child to learn as much as they can from the books that they bring home by reminding them to study the diagrams, photos and charts. Ask them-what is the most interesting thing that you learned from that page (or book)? In writing, we will focus on writing about nonfiction topics that we will that we are experts in. We will learn how to introduce a topic, include interesting facts and details, and provide a conclusion. We will take what we learned from nonfiction books and include them in our books such as a table of contents, diagrams, captions, glossary, and index.

English Language Learner Update

Multilingual learner update
English Learners are working hard developing their English proficiency and will soon be preparing for the ACCESS test.
What is ACCESS?
Federal and state laws require that English learner (EL) students be assessed annually to measure their proficiency in reading, writing, listening, and speaking English, as well as the progress they are making in learning English. In fulfillment of these laws, EL students are required to participate in ACCESS for ELLs tests. ACCESS for ELLs tests are administered annually in January-February.
Your student's English teacher will be sending more information as the ACCESS testing gets closer.
We hope you will be able to join us for the next Multilingual Parent Advisory Council (MLPAC) meeting on December 7 at 6pm in the CPS cafeteria.

Important Information - (Previously Shared)

• Any visitors to our school need to share their identification with the front office staff in exchange for a visitor's badge. You will need to sign in as well.
• There will be no charge for lunches again this year. However, all families should complete the free and reduced lunch forms that were sent home with teacher assignment letters.
• There can be no changes to a child's dismissal plan after 1:00 pm. Be sure your children know what they are doing each day after school.

Attendance - we are starting to see some students with higher absence numbers. It is very important that you notify your child's teacher or call the front office if your child is going to be absent. You can send a message to your child's teacher through REMIND or call the front office to leave a message regarding your child's absence at (508) 228 - 7290 ext, 3. If your child needs to miss 5 or more consecutive days, you must make an appointment with the principal well in advance of upcoming absence. The NES Parent Handbook has been posted on the NES website (www.npsk.org, click on schools, click on Nantucket Elementary School). Please review the important section on attendance. Retention in the current grade level is a possibility if a child has excessive absences. Children being in school each day is a necessity.

Driving and Parking on the NES/NIS campus

We have had several concerns shared regarding safety of students as they enter and exit the school recently. These concerns have been regarding parent drivers not following safety rules. These are listed below for your reference. We appreciate all of your anticipated efforts and required patience.

• NES will open in the morning at 7:35am. Students who are walking, biking or getting dropped off should go right to the doors (front one or the Kindergarten one) to come in and make their morning choice. Prek students line up outside in the front of the school.
• If parents wish to escort their child to the door, they must park their car in the Backus Lane parking lot ONLY.
• The parking lot off of First Way, behind the school is for staff only.
• All of the parking spots are assigned to staff or students at NHS.
• Parents and Guardians should not use that lot for any reason.
• This is a terrible place for students to be dropped off, this is not a drive through, and there is nowhere for any non permitted driver to park.
• Again, please stop driving in this lot. We are asking you to be a model for all children in the morning and the afternoon.
• Drive through drop off in the morning is permitted at the K and NES/NIS side entrances. This means parents stay in their car, and a staff member will open the passenger side door to help your child exit safely. Then, the car continues driving out the exit. This is for all students.
• Drive through pick up in the afternoon is permitted for all students grades 2-5 in the large circle between NES and NIS. This means parents stay in their car, and a staff member will oversee students entering cars. Then, the car continues driving out the exit.
• K and 1 students are met by parents at the back K entrance. Students will be standing in their assigned class lines.
• The circles and driveways on campus ARE NOT PARKING SPACES. An adult driver must stay in the car while waiting for students to exit or enter the car.
• At dismissal, all parents will continue to wait outside for students to dismiss from their teachers (kindergarten circle for kindergarten and first grade students, outside of the front door for second grade students).
• In the event of inclement weather (severe snow or rain), kindergarten and first grade students will be dismissed out the kindergarten and cafeteria doors to parents outside and second grade students will be dismissed out the gymnasium doors to parents outside.
• Drivers may not pull into the bus loop to pick-up their children EVER.

Remind App is a wonderful tool for both educators and families! We know this. We know our teachers love being able to communicate with the whole class as well as individually. We know that you, the parents, love this tool too! It is wonderful that this tool allows us to communicate in multiple languages. One caution for us to share is that teachers may not be able to respond to messages you send during the school day. They are teaching and not hanging onto their phones. You may not get a reply until after school dismisses.

Website: www.npsk.org
Location: 30 Surfside Road, Nantucket, MA 02554, USA
Phone: 508 228 - 7290