Normandy Park School

Please see the attached letter regarding a COVID 19 Update at Normandy Park School.

Normandy Park will be closed to in-person instruction from October 26-November 4; all classes will access virtual instruction during this time. On Monday, November 9, the building will reopen and students will continue with instruction as normal according to their current enrollment in either in-person or all-virtual instruction. The virtual instructional day will be from 9am to 2:30pm. This includes specials and lunch. Students will log on to their Google Classroom at 9am to begin their school day with a live morning meeting. Classroom teachers will provide additional information on their classroom schedule.

Please note, that MSD will continue to share important information on the Coronavirus Update Center and on our MSD Forward pages.

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.

This part of the newsletter will have a question or a topic for you to discuss with your child(ren). This can be done on the way to school, on the way to sports practice, before dinner, at bedtime, etc.

Each week there will be a “something to think about” question and a “something to talk about” question. The “something to think about question” is for you as a parent to reflect on for yourself. The “something to talk about” question is for you to discuss with your child. These exercises are meant to stimulate a conversation on race, equity and inclusion in America.

Parent Reflection Question: What is your experience with immigration? Do you have an immigration story? Did you or your family come to the United States by choice? If so, do you know why your family immigrated to this country?

Seventh Question For Child: Have you ever met someone who immigrated to this country? Let's say we needed to move to a new country, how would you feel? Would you be scared? Excited? What new things might you have to learn (for example: a new language, customs, eating new foods, etc)?

During virtual instruction, students will use Google Meet. They will access their Google Meet links through their Google Classroom.

Google Meet is a videoconferencing tool that allows teachers and students to collaborate in real time using the built-in features (camera and microphone) of a Chromebook, iPad, mobile phone, or other device. Teachers can teach lessons, pose a question for discussion, or set up a virtual class activity through the camera or screen sharing, and students can respond and participate using the video, audio, and/or online chat feature of Google Meet.

Please see the following document for information on Google Meet Guidelines. This was shared earlier in August.

Thank you to all our students and teachers for your time, engagement, and participation last week! The theme for the week was Accepting Me, Accepting You, Accepting All of Us. It was part of our continued effort as a community to have conversations around race, equity, and inclusion. The activities for the week were designed by a committee of NPS teachers and the school counselor. Each day teachers facilitated a lesson and/or discussion within the classroom.

Students celebrated the power of diversity and uniqueness through guided activities and discussions! Teachers read and discussed books around the topic of race, equity, and inclusion. Students were able to reflect through guided discussion, FlipGrid, and/or projects.

Throughout the year, our teachers will continue to foster acceptance and inclusion for all within their instruction. In addition, Ms. Cohen will be following up with monthly lessons to continue and build upon these conversations and topics.

Please reach out to me with any questions at christopher.miller@msdk12.net

We will continue as planned with our instructional day with fall or Halloween activities embedded in classroom instruction. As we are now virtual on 10/30, students can wear costumes from home if they choose to!

Thank you to the HSA for sponsoring this event, and purchasing pumpkins!

A special shout out to our parent-volunteers, Pamela Lee, Dani & Chris Wolber, Beth Schreiber, and Beth Wall, for coming bright and early on Thursday morning to set up the pumpkin patch on our field. It looked fantastic!

Students were extremely happy to have the opportunity to visit the NPS Pumpkin Patch. Each student was able to bring home their own pumpkin!

The NPS School Spirit Store is Officially Open!

Order your NPS spirit wear between now and Friday, October 30th.

All orders will be distributed by the 1st week of December. Great opportunity to shop for holiday gifts! So much to choose from so make sure that you scroll all the way down.

We even have NPS masks and car magnets this year!

Items available include:

Masks • Long Sleeved T-shirts • Tie-Dye T-shirts • Hoodies • Sweatpants • PJ Pants • Shorts • Glitter Hoodies • Magnets

VISIT THE ONLINE STORE TODAY!

https://www.elainesteamwear.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=575

Message from Ms. Cohen:

Dear parents and guardians,

Thank you and your children for your support during the week of respect. It was great to see your children enjoying the daily themes. They did some amazing work!

I will be continuing to host the drop in, optional lunch meetings for students who are attending school virtually. It continues to be a great way for children to connect with each other socially. The schedule is as follows:

Mondays; 4th and 5th grade

Tuesdays: Kindergarten

Wednesdays: 1st grade

Thursdays: 2nd grade

Fridays:3rd grade

On another note, If you feel your child is feeling worried about anything, having difficulty dealing with a parental separation or divorce , feeling lonely, or depressed, please don't hesitate to reach out to me, I can provide individual or small group support. Remember: These are some challenging times but you are not alone. We are all in this together!

Cheryl

cheryl.cohen@msdk12.net

Grab & Go meals will be available for all students, who wish to receive them. The Federal Department of Agriculture has extended waivers that will allow MSD to serve ALL students meals for FREE through December 31, 2020.

Families can pick up meals at the following locations and times:

-MHS on Mondays & Thursdays from 3pm to 3:30pm

More information about School Breakfast & Lunch is available on the MSD Forward homepage under "Back to School Resources for Families."

Please see the menu below for meals offered each day:

Are you ready to request a library book? Please follow the instructions below:

Log onto the Normandy Park Library catalog:

https://nps-msd.narvi.opalsinfo.net/bin/home

1. Login on the top right hand corner where it says Login

2. Your user name is your six digit code

3. The password is blank

4. Search using title, author or anywhere.

5. Look for the orange request button and then click on it.

6. Put in your email address

Remember if a book is marked as lost, checked out or damaged it is not available! I will bring and pick up books from your classrooms.

Virtual learners will pick up their books on the table by the front door. For our remote learners, there will be a table by the front door. Families will have 5 days to pick up their books. There will be a bin for them to put returned books in.

Upon return, books will sit in a bin for 5 days before being shelved or circulated.

Parents are welcome to email me at wendy.gilson@msdk12.net if they have any questions or concerns.

Happy Reading! Mrs. Gilson

• When in-person instruction resumes, 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 3rd: No School / Election Day

• November 5th-6th: No School / Teacher Convention