Hello Northlake,

I hope you have all had a wonderful weekend and have had a chance to enjoy the beautiful weather! Whew, we had a busy week last week. The highlight was certainly our annual fall carnival. A huge thank you to Katie Sauce, our carnival chair person and all the volunteers who helped make our carnival such a success. We also got to celebrate some wonderful wildcats at our end of the 9 weeks assembly. Looking ahead, we will have parent teacher conferences this week. If you haven't set up a conference with your child's teacher yet, please reach out to them to set up a time to meet. During this meeting, you'll get to review your child's report card as well as their MAP data from the beginning of the year. Just a reminder, we do not celebrate Halloween with a party at school. Students may not wear costumes or dress up on Halloween. We have three parties during school year. We have our winter party at the end of the semester, a Valentine's party in February and an end of the year party. Some grade levels may have a small feast just before Thanksgiving. Grade level teachers will reach out with more information about that. Students will have an opportunity to dress up as their favorite story book character on November 22nd for Richardson Reads Day.

Just a reminder, Wednesday is an early release day. Please be sure you have made arrangements for your children to be picked up at 1:00!

I look forward to seeing some of you in the building this week for conferences!

:) Ms. Kellagher

It was so good to see everyone at our annual NLE Fall Carnival. The weather was perfect and I loved having it out back again. A big thank you to Katie Sauce, our Carnival Chair who planned and organized everything and to all those that volunteered their time to help our carnival be such a success.

We had our end of the nine weeks celebration this past Friday and recognized kiddo's for perfect attendance, honor roll, academic growth and hard work. We also recognized self managers and AVID Ambassadors. Our fabulous cheer team performed and some students got to compete in a game with their teachers. Fun was had by all, but most of all, we love to celebrate students that are working hard and doing the right thing.

Wednesday, October 23rd is an early release day. Please be sure you have made arrangements for your children to be picked up early from school on Wednesday.

• 1:00 - Pre K/SDC/ECSE
• 1:05 - Walkers
• 1:10 - Car Riders

I caught Mrs. Burr's class having a great time reading during flashlight Friday!

Third Grade enjoyed a trip to the Richardson Symphony this past week!

Ms. Sorensen continues to host B.U.G. lunches each Friday and I think she would tell you, it's the highlight of her week! It's so fun to get some time to visit with our kids during lunch and to recognize them for Being Unbelievably Good!

Students who work with Ms. Braley designed some amazing arcade games out of cardboard! Students used their creativity and outside the box thinking to make some amazing games.

We had our first round of Garden Lessons last week. Rachel Bennion, Northlake parent and our Resident Garden Expert came to NLE and worked with several classes this past week.

Phase II of our renovations will begin after school on November 1st. RISD Facilities will be working on two of the porches out front. The only one that will affect arrival and dismissal will be the work done on Porch #2 (The Computer Lab). 1st and 2nd grade students will enter the main office porch during arrival and dismissal November 6th - 15th.

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 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.

We will are ready for lunch visitors! Please be sure to read through the following rules in order to keep the cafeteria running smooth and safe.

• No siblings, due to limited space on the stage.
• You may eat with your child only.
• Please do not take any pictures while visiting for lunch.
• When you are finished with lunch, please check out through the main office. Parents may not go back to class with their children to visit.

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 and the Carnival Committee is planning for our annual NLE Fall Carnival later this month. Please be sure to check out their website for different ways you can help out. You can also reach out to Amanda Hinders at Preseident@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.

October 23 - Early Release Day - Dismissal 1:00

October 24 - The NED Show - 1:15

October 24 - Paw Prints Music Night - 6:00

October 28 - Red Ribbon Week

November 3 - Daylight Savings - Fall Back

November 4 - No School

November 5 - No School

November 8 - NLE Movie Night - 6:00 at Northlake