News at NES
August 2023
Contact Us
Brady Sackett
Principal
@BradySackett
Tricia Ebner
Asst. Principal/Gifted Coordinator
@TebnerEbner
Website: www.nortonschools.org
Location: 3390 South Cleveland Massillon Road, Norton, OH, USA
Phone: 330-825-3828
Welcome to NES!
August 2023
8/15 Forms Day 9:00 am-3:00 pm
-This is a good time for incoming students to see the building and take a self-guided tour and for parents to speak to the principals or nurse.
- Class lists will be posted around the school and on the Cleveland-Massillon Rd. doors.
-4th graders may pick up Chromebooks (see more information below).
8/15 Literacy on the Lawn 6:30 pm at the Norton Branch Library.
8/23 Open House 10:30am-12:00pm and 1:00pm-2:30pm
(date changed from 8/22 to 8/23)
8/24 First Day for Students
8/29 Picture day - order ahead online at mylifetouch.com and entering our school's ID:EVTWDZ9G8.
4th Grade Chromebook Pick Up
We want you to know...
School Attendance
Consistent, daily attendance at school is important for all students’ continued learning, growth, and success. You may have seen or heard news stories about significant increases in school absences during and since the pandemic. We have seen a similar pattern here at NES, and one of our goals for the 2023-24 school year is improved attendance for all our students. It will take our continued partnership between school, families, and community to reach this goal, and the positive impact on our students is well worth the effort.
There are a few misconceptions about attendance that are important to address. One is that absences are a problem only when they are unexcused. One term used in reviewing attendance is “chronic absenteeism,” which is defined as missing 10% or more of school at any point in the school year, for any reason (excused, unexcused, or medically excused). For our youngest students, chronic absence is a sign of potentially being off-track for reading by the end of third grade. We are particularly concerned about this because the highest number of chronically absent students in 2022-23 was in the first grade. Attendance in elementary school is just as important as in middle and high school. After all, the elementary grades are when the foundational reading and mathematics skills are introduced, developed, and strengthened.
Another misconception is that missing two days of school a month doesn’t really impact learning all that much. Related to this misconception that sporadic absences aren’t really a problem. It’s important to remember those absences add up. Missing two days per month can equal 18 absences in a school year, which is nearly a month of school. That’s a lot of missed learning!
Of course, there are times when an absence is necessary, such as when a child has a fever of 100 degrees or more, or is vomiting. (Good news: we no longer need to keep children home from school when they have a cough; those pandemic restrictions are no longer in place.) Please remember in those instances to call the school’s attendance line (330-706-2760) to report when your child must be absent. When the absence is due to a dental or medical appointment, please be sure to ask your child’s dentist or doctor for a medical excuse.
This year we will be communicating frequently about attendance, including sending updates on students’ hours and days of absence, possibly in addition to the attendance reporting on your child’s report cards. Sometimes in our busy lives as parents, we don’t remember or realize how absences are adding up. Please know that our phone calls, emails, and/or letters about attendance are meant to inform you and help us work together to support your child’s learning.
Literacy
This fall we are excited to have new resources to use in teaching reading and writing to our students. In grades 1-2, students will continue to use Heggerty resources to work on their phonemic awareness skills. (Phonemic awareness: the ability to hear, identify, move, or change sounds in spoken words) These skills are an important foundational part of learning to read. Students in grades 2-3 will have opportunities to review and strengthen their phonemic awareness skills through exercises developed by David Kilpatrick as well. Our students in grades 1-2 will being using a phonics program we call UFLI to help them learn to break written words into their sounds. Finally, our staff is looking forward to using Open Court for vocabulary, reading fluency, comprehension, and writing in grades 1-3.
Students in fourth grade will be using Wonders for the English language arts learning. Wonders will continue to reinforce students’ skills in vocabulary, reading comprehension, and writing.
Another addition to our literacy programming at Norton Elementary School is the use of Acadience as a literacy screening tool. This will be administered to all students in grades 1-3 at three different points during the year to help teachers monitor students’ progress in their literacy skills and plan appropriate instruction. Title 1 services will continue to be available in grades 1 and 2 for students who qualify for this literacy intervention. We will also continue to have additional reading support available in grade 3 for students whose screening and diagnostic assessments indicate a need for it.
We are looking forward to using these resources and seeing our students’ literacy skills grow throughout this year!