Nansemond News

11/1- All District Reads Kickoff!

11/5- No School

11/6- Make Up Picture Day

11/11- Veterans Day- No School

11/14- Early Dismissal/Parent Teacher Conference, Report Card Distribution

11/27-29- Fall Break- Division Closed

Thank you for supporting our Fall Book Fair! As a school our gross sales were $10,400! With that support our school has about $3,000 to use in the library.

November has arrived, and with it comes a season of gratitude, reflection, and excitement. As we continue working together to support our students’ success, I am reminded daily of the strength and unity of our NPES family. Thank you for your ongoing support as we move forward through the school year.

Spotlight on Our Staff:
This month, we want to extend a special shoutout to Mrs. Creek, who has been named our Teacher of the Year! We are incredibly proud of her dedication, hard work, and positive impact on our students. Congratulations, Mrs. Creek!

Continuing Our Journey Together:
As we enter this season of gratitude, I want to thank each of you for your commitment to making Nansemond Parkway a wonderful place to learn and grow. Your involvement, whether through volunteering, supporting at home, or attending school events, plays a significant role in our success.

Please stay connected through our school’s website, ClassDojo, and social media for the latest updates and events. If you have any questions or need assistance, our doors are always open.

Wishing you and your family a happy and healthy November filled with warmth and gratitude.

Early Start: We are on a roll in Early Start! We are now beginning a unit in our Streamin3 curriculum called “Who We Are” where we’ll discuss features of ourselves, our community and our Five Senses: seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and touching. We will focus on letters A, P, N,C in November. We will also begin our classroom library exchange where students will check out books on a weekly basis and return them every TUESDAY! Please have students record their nightly reading on the reading log!

Kindergarten: Please remember to send your child’s water bottle each day. Please send it full. We will not refill it throughout the day. Our current read aloud is about following rules in various places. Everyday is a good day to review school rules with your child. Remind them that they must be safe, respectful and responsible while at school. Please spend some time reminding them of the value of school property (no writing on desks, chairs, floors etc.) as well as personal property (do not break crayons and/or pencils on purpose. If you drop a crayon, pick it up). As always, please reach out to your child’s teacher if a concern arises and keep using the study guides to keep up with skills taught in class. Thank you!

First: 1st grade has been working hard learning lots of new skills. We will continue this as we begin November learning about Jamestown, Pocahontas, Chief Powhatan and Christopher Newport in Social Studies. In Math we will continue to learn our numbers to 120 and begin to skip count by 5’s and 10’s as we learn about money. In Reading we will continue to write about what we have read. We will also continue to work on ask and answer questions and identifying nouns and verbs in our sentences. We ask that you continue to read with your child nightly.

Second: Our 2nd Graders have been doing a fantastic job these past few weeks! For the month of November in Math, students will work on place value (ones, tens, hundreds) and base 10 up to 999. In Reading students will work on reading words with soft c and g. In Grammar students will practice identifying nouns (common, proper, collective). In Science students will continue to learn about weather. In Social Studies students will learn about Veterans Day. Parents are encouraged to read nightly with their child to help them with their fluency and comprehension.

Third: In November, third grade is diving into hands-on learning with engaging topics in science, social studies, and math. Our science unit will explore the fascinating world of dissolving solids in liquids, where students will conduct experiments to see how different substances dissolve in water and investigate what factors influence this process. In social studies, we’ll study the basics of economics, focusing on concepts like specialization and how people work in specific roles to produce goods and services efficiently. Math will be filled with activities around graphing, pattern recognition, and measurement skills. Students will practice reading and creating various types of graphs, identify and extend patterns, and use measurement tools to understand length, capacity, and weight.

Fourth: Hello Families,

WOW! We can’t believe how fast marking period 1 went by. We have enjoyed all the growth that we have witnessed thus far. As we enter into the next marking period, new skills may present a bigger challenge to students. Please encourage your student to ask questions, do their homework and utilize our weekly newsletters to review information being taught in the classroom. We appreciate your partnership in ensuring your child’s success.

Math: This month we will be wrapping up our units on addition and subtraction of decimals and diving into fractions. Please continue to utilize the links and extra support offered in our weekly newsletters sent out on class dojo to help your student at home.

Reading: In reading, students move into Unit 2 and our theme is all about animals! Students will analyze multiple genres including nonfiction, fiction, plays, and poetry. The big reading standards we will focus on are: character development, theme, plot, and central idea and relevant details. Be sure to utilize the Wonders resource at home. Your child can access it through their google account.

Writing: Unit 2 is all about expository writing! Students will engage in research from multiple sources and synthesize this information into a paper. In order to do this, students will review the rubric and a mentor essay so expectations are clear.

Science: In science, we will be learning about weather systems. Topics include, types of clouds, weather instruments and the type of weather you can expect to have during certain patterns of air pressure. We will also research extreme weather events in the environment.

Social Studies: In VA studies students will be learning about Colonial Virginia including the culture, barter/trading, relocation of the state capital, and what everyday life was like during that time. Students will also begin learning about the Revolutionary war. Continue to utilize the study guides and information sent home to help your student review.

We look forward to discussing your child’s progress at conferences. Thank you again for your support at home. We appreciate all your hard work that is contributing to your child’s success.

Fifth: It is amazing how quickly time flies. We have finished our 1st quarter and your 5th graders are working their way to being ready for Middle School! November is going to be a BUSY month. Please remind your child to bring home materials for review and studying nightly. We always remind them that nightly retelling of their day to caregivers at home helps them to recall what they’ve been working on. Connecting your child’s Google account to a home device is a great way to make sure they can access materials for review.

• We Value Your Opinion!

Families, if you attended the Open House and Title I Family Engagement Night on October 15, 2024, please complete the survey below.

OPEN HOUSE & TITLE I INFORMATION NIGHT SURVEY

• FREE Digital Literacy Resources

Virginia Literacy Partnerships (VLP) provides free digital resources for families including digital books, computer games, and videos that can help improve your child's literacy skills.

DIGITAL RESOURCES FOR FAMILIES

• The Nansemond Parkway Elementary School Parent and Family Engagement Policy/Plan and Procedures was finalized on October 11, 2024. A copy has been sent home with every student and will be available on the NPES webpage.

Guidance: Congratulations to our students who were selected for October’s Student of the Month for being respectful. Check out the Student of the Month recognition board below.

The character trait for November’s Student of the Month is RESPONSIBILITY: the ability to

choose right from wrong and to understand that when mistakes are made, we must learn from

them and make different choices.

I would also like to thank students for participating in our Bullying Prevention Month activities

and encourage them to continue to stand united against bullying by treating others with

kindness. A special thanks to all students who created a poster for the Bullying Prevention

poster contest which was sponsored by our Anchored 4 Life Club.

CONGRATULATIONS to the following students who were selected as the winners by our

Anchored 4 Life Team Leaders:

*Ava Begbie

*Lilly Scoggins
*Macyn Blow

*Ryen Hunter

*Christopher Frarey/Nathan Maskelony (one poster)

*Orihanna Harris

*McKenzie Robinson/Leilani Jones/Karlton Williams (one poster)

We have reached the end of the 1st nine weeks. If you have concerns with your child’s

academic or personal/social needs, please feel free to contact me for assistance. I can be

reached via email at chandapittman@spsk12.net or by calling the school at (757)923-4167.