North Star News

11/8 PTC Meeting in room 100 from 4-5 p.m.

11/10 Veteran's Day Holiday - No School

11/16 Family Book Fair Night from 4-6 p.m.

11/20-11/21 Fall Parent Teacher Conferences - No School

11/22-11/24 Thanksgiving Break - No School

11/28 Picture Retake Day

11/28 Native American Heritage Family Night from 5:30-7 p.m.

11/30 Last Day of SUN

Hello North Gresham Families!

November is here, where has the time gone?! We have several things happening this month, including our fall book fair, family book fair evening on the 16th, and parent-teacher conferences on the 20th and 21st. Reminder, there's no school the entire week of November 20th-24th for conferences and the holiday break.

We are also celebrating Native American Heritage month. We are proud to have many North students who represent different Native American tribes and heritages. During the month, students will have opportunities to learn about Native American heritage through research, reading, writing, art, and other enriching projects. We will also host a Native American Heritage Family Night on Tuesday, November 28th. We hope our families from all backgrounds will join us to celebrate and have a fun-filled evening together.

I want to thank our families who continue to support us each day during our morning arrival and afternoon dismissal process by being safe, patient, and on-time. With that being said, we continue to experience a large amount of tardy students each morning, approximately 7-10% of our student population. Being on-time helps students start the day smoothly and not miss out on early morning activities. Every Morning from 8:40 to 9:20, we have small reading groups for a large number of our students. These small groups of 3-5 students help students who are struggling readers or have a specific lagging skill get additional supports. If students are late, they miss this opportunity. It also reflects well on their attendance record. All tardies, whether excused or unexcused, are entered in the system. It also reduces the amount of automated attendance calls and notices you will receive.

We also have an increased number of students not being picked up on-time at the end of the day, and many of them are waiting here for a significantly long time, often until after 3:30 p.m. and as late as after 4 p.m. School ends at 3:05 p.m. Families should be here in our parking lot no later than 3:15 p.m. If you have an unexpected emergency that is causing you to be late, please call the school and notify the office right away. If you consistently cannot make it on-time, you will need to arrange for an alternate plan either by having your student attend daycare (we have Champions onsite and they are open for enrollment), arranging for another family member or friend to pick up your student, or have your student ride the bus.

Thank you for your continued partnership in the education of your student(s).

Sincerely,

Shawnda Sewell

Principal

School picture day retake day is Tuesday, November 28th. Who is picture retake day for?

• New students who started after October 10th
• Students who were absent on our original picture day of October 10th
• Students who want their pictures retaken

If your student is new or was absent, you can make your purchase online by clicking here. Ordering opens on November 7th. If your student is getting their picture retaken, you will need to send back the original picture packet you purchased on retake day. Your student will hand this to the photographer and get their picture retaken. A new packet will be sent to the school to replace the original packet.

IMPORTANT: Our photographers will only be at the school for a few hours in the morning. If your student is getting their photo taken or retaken, they must be present at school in the morning, and we must have the original photo packet (if retakes) to hand to the photographer at that time. Late submissions cannot be accepted.

More Ordering Information Here.

This month we will be studying the character trait of Perseverance. To persevere is to “continue in a course of action even in the face of difficulty or with little or no prospect of success.” We felt as if this would be a perfect character trait to teach alongside Native American Heritage Month. Throughout this month, please look for ways you can talk to your children about perseverance and how that skill shows up in their everyday lives. Here are some tips and ideas on how to teach your child perseverance:

• Encourage them to set small, achievable goals and keep a progress chart to help them see how their perseverance has helped them grow.
• Embrace failure. Sometimes we don't always get it right, but we can keep trying and persevering by not giving up.
• Model perseverance for them. Show them how you persevere even when things get difficult.

I also want to give a shout out to our our leadership students - they're amazing! Our leadership students have been helping out in many ways throughout the building. We greatly appreciate their willingness to take on new jobs and lead through positivity. You might see some of our leadership students doing crosswalk/traffic duty at arrival and dismissal. Please give them a friendly wave when you pass them. Thank you leadership students for all you do at North!

Our parent conferences will take place on Monday, November 20th from 4:00-8:00 p.m., and on Tuesday, November 21st from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Please look for an invitation to sign-up from your child’s teacher next week, which will be posted in ParentSquare.

During your conference you will be able to find out how things are going at school, set academic goals for the year, and ask your child’s teacher questions. Meanwhile, if you are looking for ways to support your child's academic growth at home, here are some suggestions:

• Ask your child what they are learning at school, what their favorite subject is, and what challenges they are experiencing.

• Read to them, with them, or listen to your child read at home. Your student is able to check out books from our library, so they can have opportunities to engage in reading books of their choice.

• Help your child foster healthy habits, such as eating regular meals, getting plenty of sleep, and turning off electronic devices well before bedtime.

• Create a designated learning space where your student can work on homework. Please, send a message to your child’s teacher in ParentSquare if you are not sure if or when homework goes home.

• Spend quality time with your child and engage in learning and exploration activities as a family, such as going for walks, reading, and diving into their topics of interest.

Thank you so much for your support!

We are delighted to be able to go to each classroom every other week, giving us the opportunity to continuously watch the students’ learning and growth up close. Our students are amazing and we feel so fortunate to have the opportunity to engage with them on a daily basis at school. Thank you for the ongoing support and communication; working together as a team can greatly impact students’ academic success.

This year we are using the Sources of Strength curriculum to help promote social and emotional learning for your students here at North. Sources of Strength helps students think about, develop, and practice positive social and emotional skills. It is centered around the idea of leaning on our strengths and building our resilience to challenges, both as individuals and a community.

The strengths that we will talk about this year include family support, positive friends, mentors, healthy activities, generosity, physical health, and mental health. Learning to utilize the strengths in our lives can help us develop healthy coping and problem solving skills, resilience, and well-being. The first place of learning for students is at home, and we encourage you to talk with your students about your strengths which can help you navigate the ups and downs of life. To learn more about Sources of Strength, visit their website at https://sourcesofstrength.org/.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns,

Solen Chu & Nathan Stein

Join us for our monthly PTC meeting of the year on Wednesday, November 8th from 4:00-5:00 p.m.! Our meetings are in-person at North Gresham in room 100. Meetings will usually be held on the 2nd Wednesday of every month from 4:00-5:00 p.m. PTC meeting information will be shared each month via the school newsletter, website, ParentSquare, and Facebook page to confirm the date, time, and location. Spanish and Russian interpretation, and free childcare for school-aged children are available during the meetings. We hope you can join us!

Remember, to scan your grocery receipts using the Box Top App (After you scan the receipt, click on the STAR “Credit”, and put in your child’s teacher’s last name to give Credit to that teacher. Yes! We will have competitions.) You can also give back with Fred Meyer’s Community Rewards (North Gresham Parent Teacher Club). All funds go back to the school and support our students!

The last day for the fall session of SUN is Thursday, November 30th. Our winter SUN session will begin after winter break. More information and applications to come!

Please read more about our program and learn about our SUN teachers by clicking here.

Reach out to the SUN Program at:

Phone - 503-560-2855

Email - thanyar@mfs.email

ParentSquare is our communication tool district-wide. The app is free for download for all Android and iOS devices. Download it today to stay updated with school information, events, alerts, and to communicate with your student's teacher!

For more information and helpful tips, click here.

Please keep your students home when sick and report any absences to the school.

If your student has any of the symptoms below, please keep them home:

• New Cough - May return after symptoms improve for 24 hours (no cough or well-controlled cough)
• Difficulty Breathing - May return after symptoms improve for 24 hours (breathing comfortably)
• Sore Throat - May return when symptoms improve for 24 hours
• Vomiting or Diarrhea - May return when symptom-free for 48 hours
• Fever of 100.4 or greater - May return when fever-free for 24 hours without the use of medication
• Rash - May return when the rash is gone or with orders from a doctor or school nurse
• General Illness - If your student is feeling unwell in general and you feel it will interfere with their learning, please keep them home until they're feeling better
• Positive Covid-19 Test Result - May return when fever free for 24 hours without the use of medication and other symptoms have improved; if vomiting or diarrhea are present, please follow the guidance above; masking is encouraged for 10 days
• Family Member in the Household Tests Positive for Covid-19 - If your student doesn't have any symptoms, they may attend school; if they have symptoms, even if they test negative, please follow the guidance above for the symptoms they display

If your student tests positive for any other contagious disease such as measles, mumps, etc., do not send your student to school. Please call the office for further directions and a return-to-school date.

Please report any student injuries, such as a broken limb, recent surgery, etc., and provide the school with a doctor's note stating that the student is clear to be at school and that it outlines any limitations such as not participating in P.E., recess, etc.

All medications must be checked in at the office by a parent or legal guardian. Medications are kept locked in our health room, and are not to be sent to school with students and/or kept in the classroom. This includes over-the-counter medications such as cough drops and Tylenol.

If your student has an underlying health condition, such as diabetes, seizure disorder, asthma, severe allergy, etc., please call the school. We want to make sure we are able to support and treat your student's health in accordance with their doctor's orders.

Contacting the Office

You can reach the office staff by calling our school at 503-661-6415, Monday-Friday 8:15 a.m. (9:15 a.m. on Wednesdays) to 4:00 p.m. You can also email our office team at any time. Nina Davis at davis239@gresham.k12.or.us, and Yuli Nolasco at nolasco8@gresham.k12.or.us

Absences

Please call in your student's absence before 8:35 a.m. (9:35 a.m. on Wednesdays). Leave a message by selecting option 1 if you call outside of school hours. Please let us know your student's first and last name, teacher/grade, and the reason for the absence. Students not present by 8:35 a.m. (9:35 a.m. on Wednesdays) will be marked absent. Students that arrive late will receive a tardy slip, and their absence will be adjusted in the system to a tardy. Automated attendance calls go out and you may receive a call if your student arrives after the calls are made.

Changes of Transportation

If your student will go home differently than normal, please contact the office to make the change. Dismissal is a very busy time, so we appreciate you calling no later than 2:00 p.m. to make any changes.

Early Pick-Up

If you need to pick your student up early from school, please do so before 2:45 p.m. Dismissal is very busy, so if you arrive after 2:45 p.m. you will be asked to wait outside in the pick-up line until dismissal time to get your student.

ParentVue

Register for ParentVue to view your student’s attendance, grades, and make changes to your contact information. If you need assistance with setting up ParentVue, please call the school at 503-661-6415. You can also email our secretaries at davis239@gresham.k12.or.us or nolasco8@gresham.k12.or.us. Visit the ParentVue web page to login or sign up: https://www.gresham.k12.or.us/domain/2446.

Website: www.gresham.k12.or.us/nges
Location: 1001 Southeast 217th Avenue, Gresham, OR, USA
Phone: 503-661-6415
Facebook: facebook.com/NorthGreshamElementary
Twitter: @NorthGresham_ES