Normandy Park School

I hope that everyone had a great weekend!

Monday (11/8) is a C Day.

This week, the Primary unit will participate in the Free Space Dance Cultural Arts Residency (additional information listed below).

If there are changes in your child's dismissal plans (e.g. you are going to pick them up that day, instead of taking the bus), please use the attached form or call the main office.

Please know that I am here to help and support in any way that I can. Feel free to reach out to me directly at christopher.miller@msdk12.net.

Haga clic aquí para ver el boletín quincenal de nuestra Coordinadora de Alcance Latino, Cecilia Esteves.

Emily Ingersoll will be the Teaching Artist and Lisa Grimes, Managing Director of Freespace Dance will be assisting. The residency will include 5 classes from 11/8 to 11/12.

Each class includes a specific “Theme” with structured games giving the child the safety and freedom to explore their creative expression. Each of these themes will align with integrating of the elements of dance (Space, Shape, Time and Energy).

Dance classes will take place in the gym. Therefore, PE classes for next week will occur outside (weather permitting) and/or in the classroom.

On Friday, K/1 parents will be able to stream in and watch a shared dance performance. Stay tuned for additional information via ClassDojo from your child's classroom teacher.

Click here to visit the Freespace Dance website.

Thank you to our HSA for providing this opportunity for our Primary students!

On account of Freespace Dance, PE classes will meet outside (weather permitting) or in the classroom for the week of 11/8.

Please make sure to send your children in appropriate footwear to participate in PE on days when they have PE class. Temperatures this week look like they will be between 35 and 65 degrees. Make sure to send your child(ren) in a jacket/coat/sweatshirt when appropriate. Thank you!

November 11th is Veteran's Day.

To our men and women in uniform, as well as their families, thank you for your service.

In lieu of Veteran's Day, I would like to highlight some of the work our classrooms are doing to learn about and/or honor our service men and women (past and present).

This week, Mrs. Gilson will utilize Veteran's Day related text and media during library and computer classes across all grade levels!

Veteran Day Texts for Kids:

• America's White Table by Margot Theis Raven
• The Wall by Eve Bunting
• Veteran's: Heroes in Our Neighborhood by Valerie Pfundstein
  

The Candy Buy Back tradition continued this year in Mrs. Tulli's class, turning candy into both a math lesson and a two part community service project. Students in Room 26 went home last Tuesday to pick out the candy that they were going to bring to school on Wednesday for donation. They knew the candy was going to Operation Gratitude, an organization that gets care packages to deployed troops, local military units, veterans and first responders. Knowing this, the students carefully chose what to bring in, and they made sacrifices to donate some of the "GOOD STUFF" so that they could make hearts feel happy. After the sorting, counting and weighing was over, the collection resulted in over 650 pieces of candy weighing a total of 20 pounds. Congregation B'nai Israel offered to sponsor the service project and paid the class $1 per pound of candy. This $20 will now be used for a second community service project right here in our hometown! The students will be voting next week to decide how they will use the $20 towards the Morristown Community Service project!

To learn more about Operation Gratitude, click here!

The HSA is excited to announce a new school-wide fundraiser that promises to be a hit with students and provide opportunities for our community to participate in new ways. There will be a slate of both prizes and experiences students can win through a school-wide raffle in November. From throwing a pie in Mr. Miller’s face to guest starring on the morning announcements to toys, books, or visits to local venues and businesses, all children will get to choose where to place their tickets for a chance to win.

Stay tuned for additional information this week!

Thank you for taking part in the HSA Loantaka trail walk!

Kids and families got on their walking shoes, some brought scooters and we walked, scootered and ran a total of 2 miles on the B trail.

Thanks to Mr Russell who also came with 2 furry friends! He even was also kind enough to take pictures with adoring fans. We had a great time walking and talking and kids running! The kids got a chance to get some fresh air and hang out with old friends and made some new!

Due to the popularity of this event we will definitely be scheduling more during the year. If you have a trail suggestion, please email NPSHSAVolunteering@gmail.com.

UPDATE YOUR MEMBERSHIP TOOLKIT

If you haven't already updated your Membership Toolkit account, please do so now so you don't miss any HSA updates. Please make your account current by updating your children's grade and teacher.

You can access your account by clicking here: Membership Toolkit

The Membership Toolkit is the school directory for parents and signs you up for the HSA newsletter that announces HSA sponsored school-wide activities and fundraisers.

Are you having issues? Don't hesitate to reach out to Jenn Cromie at cromiej2@gmail.com.

As a school counselor I often play cooperative games with my students. These games teach a variety of important skills including team building, turn taking, personal space, good sportsmanship, Red Light, Green light had been a staple of one of my games. That is until Squid Game came along. In case you are not familiar with it, it is a Netflix series from South Korea about contestants who are in a lot of debt and who play children’s games (many of which you probably played as a child) to earn money. If you lose the game, you are killed. I wasn’t going to address this in the newsletter but recently I’ve been in many classrooms where students as young as 2nd grade say they have seen it, and if they haven’t seen it, they are talking about it. Many of the online school counselor groups I belong to are abuzz about this as well with a lot of concern about the impact this show is having on children’s mental health. One counselor in another state wrote that a 3rd grader said “let’s play red light, green light but without the guns.” According to a recent CNN article, doctors at the Child Mind Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to children’s mental health, have reported that it should not be viewed by children or young adolescents even if an adult is watching alongside (source: CNN.com 10/24/21). Some popular kids online games like Roblox and Minecraft have already incorporated Squid games into their play.

So as a parent, what should you do? Kids are naturally curious and lots of people are talking about this show in particular and there have always been shows/video games that have violence in them. Make sure you continue to monitor what your child is watching/playing on any device. Have a conversation about what they have seen or are seeing, and use them as teachable moments. Ask them what they think about what they’ve seen and how others might feel when they talk about or play the game. Make sure you talk about how rules might be different in another person’s house. You might be ok with your child playing a certain video game but your child’s friend’s parents might not be. If your child has a playdate with a friend, tell those parents what your rules are about what your child can/cannot play/watch.

If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to reach out to me.

Stay awesome!

Cheryl

Cheryl.cohen@msdk12.net

973-889-7960 x6113

Parent teacher conferences will be held on December 6th and 7th.

Scheduling will begin shortly. Parents will have the option to meet in-person or virtually. Stay tuned for additional information to be shared this week.

I posted this last week, but wanted to leave it up, as I got a good number of e-mails thanking me for sharing this resource!

Your student’s teacher uses an instructional routine called Try–Discuss–Connect.

This routine helps students focus on important concepts, take ownership of their learning, and become fluent in the language of math. Check out these guidelines for using the Try–Discuss– Connect routine with your student.

To learn more about the Try-Discuss-Connect routine and how to support at home, please click here.

For additional activities to support math concepts at home, please click here.

Please pass on information to friends and family interested in enrolling in Normandy Park School for the 2022-2021 school year. I will be hosting an information session in December and February for prospective NPS families. The session will allow families to learn more about our program and community.

For additional information, please see below:

Date: December 9th, 2021

Time: 6:30pm to 7:30pm

*The session will be conducted virtually.

To register to attend please fill out the following Google Form by clicking here: https://forms.gle/5xE7LFjxfyq2MBcw5

REMINDER:

Students will be having snack time during the school day, with all necessary safety measures in place. Please send your child in with a healthy snack.

Breakfast and lunch will be served daily at school. All students will have access to school provided breakfast and lunch (if they choose to receive it).

As students enter the building, they will be able to grab-and-go breakfast if they choose to.

Click here for the MSD November breakfast menu.

For lunch, students will be asked at the beginning of the day if they would like to order (providing their choice of either the hot/cold option). Teachers will present the menu choices for the day.

Click here for the MSD November lunch menu.

Where will students eat lunch?

Students will eat lunch at 6 ft apart (seats facing the same direction). We will utilize classrooms, cafeteria, and lab to accommodate all students at 6ft apart.

Update from MSD Food Services:

You may be aware, Nationwide shortages and delays have affected availability of certain food items, leading to substitutions of menu items we’ve been able to offer regularly in the past. These supply issues are occurring throughout the country and are especially challenging for school systems, due to the quantity of meals we serve and the nutrition standards we follow. The entire food service industry is currently faced with unprecedented shortages and massive delays or cancellations of
deliveries, and in addition to food service department labor shortages. All of this means that we may need to make quick substitutions to our menu(s) based upon what we are able to acquire. We want to help limit the effects this has on our students, and we are doing our best to provide updates about menu changes when possible as soon as we identify an issue.

Arrival Procedures: Students are permitted into the building at 8:40 a.m. Students bussed to school will be dropped off in the front of the building.

Drop Offs: Students being dropped off in the morning may enter through the back doors. Please use the drop-off/pick-up line in the back of the building. There is no supervision before 8:40, and children who arrive before that time, will not be permitted to enter the building. A staff member will be at the door between 8:40 and 8:55 a.m. to welcome students. Any student arriving after 8:55 must enter the front of the building and report to the nurse’s office with a parent or guardian to obtain a late pass.

Dismissal Procedures: Dismissal begins at the conclusion of our last period, 3:05 p.m.

All students are encouraged to ride the bus to and from school.

At dismissal, students will be dismissed from the back of the building. When picking up your child, please use the pick-up line. Stay in your vehicle. Teachers will accompany your child to your car.

Pick-Up During the Day:

If a situation arises that requires you to pick your child up during the school day, please use the attached form or call the main office. Students being picked up early are asked to be picked up before 3 p.m. Before leaving, you must sign your child out in the notebook provided in the office. Unless an emergency arises, please refrain from calling the office after 1:30 to make changes to your child’s dismissal.

• If there are changes in your child's dismissal plans (e.g. you are going to pick them up that day, instead of taking the bus), please use the attached form or call the main office.
• For written communication between you and your child's teacher, please utilize Class Dojo and/or e-mail, rather than hand-written letters (when possible).

• November 24th: Early Dismissal
• November 25th-26th: School Closed (Thanksgiving)
• December 6th-7th: Early Dismissal (Parent-Teacher Conferences)
• Week of December 6th: Book Fair (Additional Information to be shared this month)

• Parent Handbook
  
• Arrival and Dismissal Procedures
• School Breakfast and Lunch Information
• Sunset and Sunrise