Happy Sunday Northlake!

I don't know about you, but I had a BUSY weekend! I ventured to North Park on Saturday to run a couple of errands with my good friend and next door neighbor, Phyllis. We got there early and it wasn't too crowded. I love North Park during the holidays, the decorations are beautiful and everything is so festive. I also did some holiday baking and wrapped up a few gifts. Teachers, you have some goodies coming your way this week!

It's hard to believe we are wrapping up our first semester! I know the teachers have some fun things planned for the week and we'll wrap up on Friday with winter parties and an early release day. I do have one update for you. We are rescheduling the 2nd Nine Weeks Assemblies. The assemblies will be held in the afternoon on January 10th. This will allow teachers to finalize grades and get all the awards together before we meet. We tried to squeeze it all in before we left for break, but time was not on our side.

Friday, December 20th, is an early release day so please plan accordingly. Teachers have been planning with Homeroom parents to plan their Winter Parties. These will be held at different times throughout the day due to a condensed specials schedule and early release. If you are volunteering, please remember you need to be approved in Voly and no siblings may attend while you are helping in the classroom.

See you all tomorrow!

Ms. Kellagher

We are so excited for the SMU Mustangs! They'll be heading to Penn State later this week and will play on Saturday night. Wednesday will be a spirit day and if you have some SMU gear, now is the time to wear it. If not, please wear blue and red to cheer on the Mustangs as they head to college football playoffs. Wishing Coach Woods and the team the best of luck! We'll be cheering you on in Dallas.

This year, we had two amazing nominees for our Northlake Teacher of the Year.

Ms. Ducre is a Dyslexia Teacher and works with students from all grade levels. Prior to coming to Northlake, she taught 1st grade at Thurgood Marshall. Ms. Ducre is such a strong advocate for all students. It's a treat to watch her teach and I'm consistently impressed with the growth her students make throughout the year. Ms. Ducre also leads our NLE Cheer Team and is committed to giving kids great experiences in school and outside of school. You'll find her cheering kids on at sporting events on the weekend or attending their after school activities.

Mr. Aleman is our LITE (Library and Information Technology Educator). He taught 4th grade at Northlake before moving into his current role. He works with all grade levels Pre-K - 5th grade and does a great job helping our kiddo's develop a love for reading. He finds ways to integrate all content areas into literacy and embeds technology into most of his lessons. He plans with teachers and is committed to making learning fun and meaningful for our kids. Mr. Aleman helps out in so many other ways on campus as well. He's always up for a game show or any competition. He'll help put a video together and heads up our Northlake Spelling Bee.

Our staff voted and this year our Northlake Teacher of the Year is Mr. Aleman. Please wish both nominees congratulations. They are both wonderful and we are so lucky to have them at Northlake. Good luck to Mr. Aleman, who moves on to the district level for the RISD STARS Teacher Award.

Friday, December 20th is an Early Release Day. Please make arrangements to pick students up early from school.

1:00 - Pre-K, ECSE, SDC

1:05 - Walkers

1:10 - Car Riders

This week, teachers got to play some Merry Mahjong after school. A big thank you to Peace Love Mahjong for outfitting our library with some fun tiles and all the things we needed to play.

We all loved wearing PJs to school on Friday! And, we had some great mystery readers visit classrooms throughout the day. It's always fun when a parent or special teacher comes to share a fun story with your class. I asked non-classroom teachers to drop in and read to classes and honestly, I don't know who had more fun. I know Mrs. Walker LOVED reading to 4th grade!

Thanks to everyone who attended our General PTA Meeting on November 21st! During our meeting, Amanda Hinders shared some great information, including links to volunteer for upcoming events and activities. There is also a link to the Amazon wish list for our Golden Ticket Store. Please click on the link below to access the agenda from our meeting. You will find all the information you need here! Feel free to contact Amanda Hinders for further information at President@NorthlakePTA.com.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qj6He1f7VzVJvsdBqHth-JzEmypYZhAtw8lLeagLMmE/edit?usp=sharing_eil&ts=673f4cf1

We are looking for parent volunteers to help monitor students during lunch in the cafeteria. If you have some time or flexibility in your schedule please consider giving an hour or so each week. I am attaching a sign-up link below. Once we have our group of volunteers together, Mrs. Walker will host a training, so we can go over campus expectations with you. Consistency is key and we want to be sure you have the tools you need to help things run smoothly in the cafeteria.

Parents are welcome to bring a small birthday treat to celebrate their child's birthday. Here are a few reminders:

• Treats must be store bought or baked (cupcakes and cookies are best). We ask for store bought so teachers can see the ingredients listed in order to be mindful of any allergies students may have.
• We do not pass out drinks, party bags or balloons.
• Parents may drop treats off in the main office and we will get them to the classroom.
• We will not call students out of class to come to the office for pictures with their treats.
• Teachers will pass treats out at the end of the day.

Please be sure to sign up for your Parent Focus Account. This will give you access to all kinds of important student information. Most importantly, you will have access to your child's grades. We will not send a home paper copy of your child's report card. So, please be sure to sign up for an account soon!

The Golden Ticket store is still open! We'll probably wrap up on Thursday. A huge thank you to all who have donated items for the store and to those of you helped with the store. It's been so much fun to watch kids shop and pick out gifts. Some have shopped for themselves and some have picked out gifts for their family members. Such a fun tradition.

The district has updated the Elementary Dress Code. Please be sure your students are dressed appropriately for school each day. Please let me know if you have any questions.

The school day is from 7:50-3:10

• The building opens at 7:30.

• Breakfast is served in the classroom from 7:30-7:50.

• Your child is tardy at 7:51 and will receive a tardy pass to get to class.

• Your child is late for school after 8:05 and a parent will need to sign them in at the office.

• If your child arrives to school after 9:00 AM they are counted absent for the day.

• If your child is absent for any reason, please be sure to send a note to school on the day your child returns, letting us know the reason for the absence. Any excuse notes must be received within 3 days of returning to school in order to receive an excused absence.

If you have any questions regarding attendance, please email our Student Data Specialist, Mrs. Logan at pam.logan@risd.org.

If you would like to volunteer at Northlake Elementary, you must complete a volunteer background check EVERY new school year. Volunteering could include helping with class parties, attending field trips with your children, working in the library, helping at Field Day, or many other activities. We will not allow anyone who has not completed and passed the volunteer background check to volunteer. Please click on the link below to complete the background check. You MUST also watch the very short powerpoint at the end to complete the entire background check. Failure to watch the powerpoint will make your application incomplete and you will not be able to volunteer.

We are so fortunate to have a wonderful PTA. They have been working so hard already this year! PTA has helped with school supplies, spirit wear, Back to School Night, Reflections, etc. Our Garden Committee is planning Phase II of our NLE Garden. Please be sure to check out their website for different ways you can help out. You can also reach out to Amanda Hinders at President@NorthlakePTA.com for more information about PTA.

We need your help! We are working hard to grow our PTA membership. It costs $10 to join PTA and there is no time commitment needed. We always need volunteers at PTA school events such as Carnival, Multi-Cultural Night and Buddy Fun Day. But, we are flexible and you can work as much or as little as your schedule allows.

You can find more information out about our PTA on their website. Thanks in advance for supporting our school!

Parents must apply for their child/children to receive free or reduced breakfast and lunch. Last year everyone received free school breakfast but this year families must apply to receive free or reduced breakfast. The application must be completed as soon as possible to ensure that there is no interruption to their meal service. This application needs to be filled out every year. Please click on the picture or link below to get to the lunch application.

Students are welcome to pack a nutritious lunch from home or a lunch may be purchased in the school cafeteria. If your child happens to forget their lunch from home, please drop it off in the front office by 10:30 AM. This will ensure that the lunch will reach your child by their lunch time. Please refer to the RISD Child Nutrition website for menus, pricing and payment options.

In the interest of safety & security, every visitor to a Richardson ISD campus must present a valid form of identification and be processed through the Raptor background check system each visit, regardless of previous checks. Please be sure that you have your valid identification with you every time you visit Northlake Elementary. Thank you for your patience and understanding as RISD works to ensure the safety of students and employees. Volunteer questions may be directed to the office of Strategy & Engagement.

Additionally, the front office staff will use the intercom system to ask visitors to identify themselves and the purpose of their visit before granting access to the office. This is part of our heightened security measures. Please be cooperative and patient as we all get used to these new measures. As you enter the building, please do not allow others to enter with you or to follow you through the doors as you enter or leave. Everyone who enters should ring the buzzer and speak to someone in the office before entering the school building.

December 20th - Classroom Holiday Parties and Early Release Day

December 23rd - January 6th - Winter Break

January 7th - Return from Winter Break

January 10th - 2nd Nine Weeks Assemblies