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Northpoint Elementary
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See translation information below / Consulte la información de traducción a continuación.
DECEMBER 13, 2023 - NEWSLETTER
Hello Northpoint Families!
With the winter season upon us, cold and flu season is also a current reality around the building. As I have shared many times in our newsletters this year, school attendance is a key factor in student success and this includes our staff as well.
In an effort to create a more consistent experience for our students, we are using a new approach when teachers need to be absent this year. Each of our pods has a paraeducator or an apprentice teacher that works with all the teachers and students in that pod each day. When a teacher is absent, that staff member, who already has a relationship with the students and staff, is able to step in. This helps keep the learning consistant and minimizes transitions. We’re really happy with how this is working so far.
Here are a few additional updates for this week:
Report cards: Next Monday, Dec. 18, report cards will be coming home with your student. If you have any questions after receiving and reviewing the report card, please do not hesitate to reach out to your child’s teacher. Please also check out the information and resources (including a video tour of the report card) in today’s newsletter.
Pulse check on Thursday: Our next pulse check with Possip is this Thursday. Watch for an email and text and take a moment to respond. You can include or name or remain anonymous. We value the insights/feedback on your experience.
For fourth grade families: Believe it or not, after winter break, we will start to prepare for the 4th grade transition to 5th grade at Westwood. Mark your calendars now for Thursday, January 25, when there will be three virtual information sessions offered at 9 a.m. 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. On Thursday, February 1, all families are invited to the Westwood Welcome event, 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Westwood. In addition, you can expect to hear from the Westwood team early in the new year.
We have a little more than a week to go before winter break. Please make sure your plans keep students in school and engaged in learning until the break begins on Friday, Dec. 22. As mentioned above and in previous newsletters, attendance is critical to student progress. As always, thanks for your partnership with this!
Tyler Nelson
Principal
Northpoint's Got Talent - 1st submissions due December 15
Who: Northpoint students
What: A virtual school-wide talent competition
When: Round 1 video submissions due December 15! There will be three rounds
Where: Film your video at home, watch and vote at school
How:
- Choose any talent
- Practice, practice, practice
- Record a video that is less than 1.5 minutes long
- Take a picture of yourself and talent (i.e. picture of student with soccer ball if soccer is your talent)
- Email to Mrs. Phillippo (tphill@district16.org) or share on Google Drive
- Get ready to vote for your favorite act!
Introducing our Health Navigator
Spring Lake Park Schools is partnering with Neighborhood Health Source to provide our schools with a health navigator. Our navigator is Talo Heh. Talo is able to help students and families with:
- Dental resources
- Child immunizations
- Finding primary care services
- Applying for SNAP
- Applying for MNSURE (health insurance)
- Vape prevention education
- Housing resources
You can reach Talo through the school social worker or healthcare specialist.
Resources for reading your child's report card (K-6)
Report cards for the first trimester are going home with students in Kindergarten-Grade 6 on Monday, December 18. Watch for paper printouts in your child's backpack.
Families will see more information than ever about their child’s learning progress as teachers report on student learning progress aligned to our academic competencies (learning goals for math, English language arts, science, etc.).
This 1-page handout provides some helpful information and you can also watch a brief video tour of what to expect:
Translate your child's report card
There are several ways you can use your child's iPad to translate the report card. We are recommending that you use the Google translate app found in Self Service. View this video or follow these steps for support:
- Get Google Translate. If the Google Translate app is not on the iPad, download it from Self Service.
- Open Google Translate. Find the Google Translate app and open it by tapping on its icon.
- Pick languages. There are two boxes at the top. Tap the first to choose English. Tap the second to choose the language you want the report card translated into.
- Select camera mode. Below the boxes, tap the option that looks like a camera to use it for translation.
- Allow camera access. When it asks for camera access, just say "OK" or "Allow."
- Take a Picture. Hold the iPad over the report card, with text in the frame, and take a picture.
- Adjust if needed. The words will be highlighted. To change the highlighted part, drag the corners of the box.
- Translate. After the text is selected, tap "Translate.” The words will change to the language you chose.
- Read the translation. If the translation is not right, you might need to fix it or try taking the picture again.
- Save or share. To keep the translated text or show it to someone, select the option you want.
Teachers and other school staff are able to assist with any questions or help you need.
Next Possip Pulse Check: Coming Dec. 14
Our next Possip plush check is coming your way Thursday, Nov. 14. Once again this month, you will receive a text message and email with a few simple questions asking for feedback on your experience with school. Watch for the messages from Possip and make sure to reply to the brief survey and help keep us updated on your experience. Your responses remain confidential if you choose and you can choose to reply in your preferred language. Thank you!
- December 22-January 1 - Winter Break, no school
- Tuesday, January 2 - Return from Winter Break
- Monday, January 8 - Northpoint PTO Meeting 6:30-7:30 p.m./Nortpoint media center
- Thursday, January 11 - Native American Parent Advisory Committee event, Woodcrest Spanish Immersion School (in the Piña Room), 5:30-6:30 p.m.
- Monday, January 15 - No School
- Wednesday, January 24 - Caregiver Learning Event: Child Development Over Ages, Westwood Intermediate and Middle School (The Den), 6-7 p.m. RSVP
- Thursday, January 25 - Westwood Welcome for 4th grade (virtual session) at 9 a.m., 1 p.m., 6 p.m.
- Tuesday, January 30 - Northpoint Kindergarten Information Night
- Thursday, February 1 - Westwood Welcome for 4th grade (in-person event at Westwood), 5:30-7:30 p.m.
The joy of music!
In Music class, Northpoint students will have the opportunity to hear various guest musicians perform live, sharing music from many different cultural backgrounds and showcasing unique instruments not available in the elementary music room.
Nanilo, a vocal duo, shared songs in multiple languages with 3rd and 4th grade students that come from their Jewish background, and encouraged students to draw musical connections to their own families diverse heritage and roots.
Get to Know Northpoint Elementary Principal Tyler Nelson
It's been great to welcome Tyler Nelson as the principal at Northpoint Elementary this year! Get to know more about him in this video where he shares about his background and what makes him #SLPPantherProud.
Northpoint Winter Skating Party
Be sure to save the date for the Northpoint Winter Skating Party. It will be held on Saturday, February 24 from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. More details to come as we get closer to the date.
January PTO Meeting
The next Northpoint PTO meeting will be held on Monday, January 8 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. in the Northpoint media center. We look forward to see everyone.
Supporting healthy homes . . . learning
Access to a doctor or a dentist. Winter gear that doesn’t break the bank. Food for the weekend. Support for parents in understanding and supporting their child’s development. All of these are necessary for creating the conditions for a child to learn. That’s why we’re focused on expanding our continuum of supports for families.
In all Spring Lake Park Schools, a full continuum of supports is available for each student’s academic, social, emotional and behavior needs and development. Over the last few years, focused work to strengthen how we work with all students as well as students who benefit from targeted support has been underway. This year, attention is turning to what families need to support a child’s learning.
Read the full story online.
Enrollment is open for the 2024-2025 school year
Enrollment is now open for the 2024-2025 school year. Families with students in any grade (K-12) can find all the information they need to learn more about SLP and enroll at SpringLakeParkSchools.org/Enroll. There will be opportunities for students and families to attend events to help prepare for the next steps in the new year. Stay tuned. Please feel free to share this announcement with friends, family and neighbors!
Translate This Message / Traducir Este Mensaje
To translate this information to another language, please click anywhere on the message to open it in a web browser and at the top of the page, select your language from the dropdown menu.
Para traducir la información a otro idioma, por favor presionen en cualquier lugar del mensaje para abrirlo en un navegador web y en la parte superior de la página seleccione su idioma del menú.