August 30, 2024

Dear North Barrington Families,

What a whirlwind week! Truly was windy with the extreme weather and then the extreme storm on Tuesday evening. Thank you to everyone who came out to our Back to School Night event despite the weather. It was wonderful to welcome everyone back to NBS. I know that your attendance truly matters to our staff and supports our school partnership. As promised, I am including the back-to-school night presentation in the button below. If you should have any trouble opening the link, please do not hesitate to contact me.

This week we also fully completed our Build 220 projects at NBS with the restoration of our courtyard pond. It has a new filtration system, aquatic plants, and beautiful waterfall, and new stonework. We will now start having our kindergarten classes feed our fish. Thank you again for your support of the Build 220 projects at NBS.

This week also allowed staff to work with students by assessing our kindergarten and first graders in Fastbridge Math and Reading assessments. Our teachers and staff will use these data points to support instruction in the classroom. Next week, our Second through Fifth graders will take the NWEA/MAP assessments. I've included the schedule below.

A reminder that we have an early release day on Friday, August 30, 2024. Elementary students will be dismissed at 10:45 am. We also want to remind you there is no school on Monday, September 2nd in observance of Labor Day. Enjoy your weekend and be safe.

REPEAT REMINDER - Arrival and Dismissal Procedures:

Arrival: If you are a parent drop off in the morning, drop off is on the west side of the building and there is an arrival sign with cones signaling where to pull up. If the cones are green, please pull up to the crosswalk and drop off your child or children to participate in morning recess. If the cones are red, please pull your car all the way around to the front door. Red cones represent indoor recess due to inclement weather. If you arrive at 7:55 or later, please pull around the front door. If it is 8:00, you need to park and walk your child into the office, sign them in, and then they will be given an attendance pass. Students who arrive at or after 8:00 am are counted as tardy.

Dismissal: If you are a parent pick-up, please arrive at school around 2:15 at our circle drive. Children will be dismissed and adult supervision will be on hand to help direct traffic. Please make sure to notify the office and your child's teacher if your child will be circle drive by 2:00 pm.

NBS PTO:

Thank you to Laura Canale for training our Room Coordinators. We are truly thankful for your commitment to our classrooms. We look forward to all the events and working together. We also want to thank all of you who attended our first PTO meeting. What a wonderful turnout! It was great to hear about upcoming events as well as get back together. Our next meeting is October 16th, at 9:00 am in the MPR at NBS. Dr. Winkelman and Dr. Carpenter will be our guest speakers. They will be presenting information about the 2024 Referendum.

Our PTO is looking forward to our Colt Connections!

Colt Connections are back! This year the PTO will host three parent get-togethers throughout the year- one in the fall, winter, and spring. These meet-ups are meant for parents to foster connections with others while building a sense of community within our wonderful North Barrington School family.

These gatherings are agenda-free, relaxed, and designed to provide an opportunity for parents to meet and mingle in a casual and welcoming environment. Whether you’re a new parent looking to make connections or a seasoned veteran seeking to have a fun time, these events are the perfect platform to create new friendships and strengthen existing ones. Younger children are always welcome to join and play!

So come have fun with us and mark your calendars for our very first Colt Connections Meet-up! We will have a lunch date at the Kelsey Roadhouse outdoor garden on Friday, September 20 at noon. Please bring your younger ones to run around and play!

Kind regards,

Dr. West, Principal, Mrs. Kalin Lomas, and Mrs. Lisa Neyfeldt, Co-PTO Presidents

Please note that you can reach Dr. West, Principal, at lwest@barrington220.org, Mrs. Jirasek, Assistant Principal/TOSA, at sjirasek@barrington220.org, Mrs. Kalin Lomas, co-PTO president, at kalin413@gmail.com, and Lisa Neyfeldt, co-PTO president, at lneyfeldt03@gmail.com. We would love to connect with you! Our joint newsletter will be distributed through Infinite Campus on Fridays at 3:00 pm.

Social Media:

Instagram: northbarringtonpto

Facebook: North Barrington School PTO (run by the PTO) & North Barrington Elementary School (run by the school)

Twitter: @NBSPTO (run by the PTO), @NBES220 (run by the school) & @law281 (Dr. Wests’ account)

As shared at Back to School Night we are working with Character Strong this year to support all our students. I am including below the Kindness Kickoff Newsletter which gives you an overview of what we are learning in our classrooms now.

As we kick off Kindness at NBS, I am including a family activity you might want to do with your children. This is optional, however, it may be something you find enjoyable.

Dr. West

The fall assessments will begin August 26 and run through September 13, 2024. Please see the calendar below for reference.

Colt Connections are back! This year the PTO will host three parent get-togethers throughout the year- one in the fall, winter, and spring. These meet-ups are meant for parents to foster connections with others while building a sense of community within our wonderful North Barrington School family.

These gatherings are agenda-free, relaxed, and designed to provide an opportunity for parents to meet and mingle in a casual and welcoming environment. Whether you’re a new parent looking to make connections or a seasoned veteran seeking to have a fun time, these events are the perfect platform to create new friendships and strengthen existing ones. Younger children are always welcome to join and play!

So come have fun with us and mark your calendars for our very first Colt Connections Meet-up! We will have a lunch date at the Kelsey Roadhouse outdoor garden on Friday, September 20 at 12:00pm. Please bring your younger ones to run around and play!

Fall spirit wear sale will run Aug 23 - Sept 6th.

Show your colt pride around town in your new spirit gear!

Online orders run Aug 23 - Sept 6, 2024.

https://stores.inksoft.com/2024fallnbs

Don't miss out! No late orders will be taken.

Questions? Contact Courtney Young or Carly Renkens

courtney.y@me.com carlyrenkens@hotmail.com

If you missed our fall mum sale last year and saw everyone’s GORGEOUS mums make sure you don’t miss out this year!!

We’ll send you a link to order as soon as our shopping site is live and you’ll have until 9/3 to place your orders. Mums come from Countryside Nursery and are 16 to 18 inches wide and in 9-inch pots. The cost is $17 dollars which is less than many of our local retailers! They will be “cracking color” when we receive them on Tuesday, 9/24. Mums must be picked up at NBS on Tuesday, 9/24 between 5:00 and 7:00 PM. If you can’t be there to pick them up, make arrangements with a friend or neighbor…. You don’t want to miss out on these gorgeous plants!

Thank you to all our Room Coordinator volunteers.

We have one RC spot open in the following classes:

Mrs. Maxey

Ms. Zander

Ms. Fingerman

Mrs. Barry

If you are interested in the position, please contact Laura Canale ASAP at lglombowski@hotmail.com

Each classroom will have one (1) yearbook representative to come into the class and take pictures during parties, events, day to day activities, etc. They will be responsible for submitting classroom pictures to our yearbook team. If you are interested in this position, please contact Laura Canale at lglombowski@hotmail.com or your classroom RCs.

For families planning to drop off and pick up their scholar from school, please see the map below for the morning and afternoon procedures. The morning drop-off begins at 7:40 am at the playground. Please pull forward to the designated sign to allow traffic to move smoothly. , Students begin their day with recess. SAFETY NOTICE: You cannot park on Grandview or in the Circle Drive parking lot to walk your child in. If you are walking your child in because you have business with the office, please park in a legal parking space and enter the building. Otherwise, you should remain in your car and have your child exit to the sidewalk with NBS staff members' support.

Arrival and Dismissal Procedures:

Arrival: If you are a parent drop off in the morning, drop off is on the west side of the building and there is an arrival sign with cones signaling where to pull up. If the cones are green, please pull up to the crosswalk and drop off your child or children to participate in morning recess. If the cones are red, please pull them all the way around to the front door. Red cones represent indoor recess due to inclement weather. If you arrive at 7:55 or later, please pull around the front door. If it is 8:00, you need to park and walk your child into the office, sign them in, and then they will be given an attendance pass. Students who arrive at or after 8:00 am are counted as tardy.

Dismissal: If you are a parent pick-up, please arrive at school no earlier than 2:15 at our circle drive and 1:50 on Wednesdays. Children will be dismissed and adult supervision will be on hand to help direct traffic. Please make sure to notify the office and your child's teacher of any transportation updates before 2:00 pm the day of the update.

Afternoon pick-up at Circle Drive begins at 2:40 on M, T, TH, and Fridays and 2:10 pm on Wednesdays. Pick-up on the four early release days begins at 10:45 am. Please make sure to follow the directions of the staff who are supervising your children's safety.

We thank you for not using your cell phones during drop off and pick up and for supporting our procedures.

ALLERGIES:

At North Barrington, we continually focus on safety. Part of those safety procedures is allergy awareness. We want to begin the year by reminding all our families that sending group snacks or lunches to the classroom is not allowed. This includes birthday treats, trinkets, balloons, and candy.

Children can bring individual snacks to eat during their snack time and their classroom teacher will share information with you about snack. Sharing any extra foods is not part of our approved procedures and is a safety risk to our friends who have an allergy. If there is a Colt Pride celebration, teachers will work with administration and the school nurse and access the approved food list as well as notify families of students with allergies. Please do not bring or send snacks for the entire class.

PARTIES:

Our parties will have food from the approved list, and the room coordinators will work with the administration, classroom teachers, and the PTO to ensure safety.

NBS will have two parties and end-of-year events.

Our first party is on October 31, 2024, from 1:30 - 2:30, with dismissal at 2:40.

We will also have a Kindness (Valentine) Party this year. Based on input from our families and staff, we are switching to February from December. This change will give students more opportunity to celebrate with their classmates due to any possible travel during December.

Our February Kindness party will be on Friday, February 14th from 1:30 to 2:30.

More information about our parties will be shared with Room Coordinators.

Mystery Reader

Mystery Reader is an opportunity for our community to read to our colts. This year, we will have new guidelines for sign-up and book selections. More information will be shared by your child's teacher during Back to School Night on August 27th. We love mystery readers, and your child's teacher will give you details about how to sign up. Please note: For all those who participate in Mystery Reader, please do not bring candy, trinkets, or snacks to share during Mystery Reader. This will help align with our allergy awareness policies. Thank you for being so cooperative.

Research supports the importance of family involvement in education. Family involvement in education is linked to higher rates of school attendance, better grades, higher performance on testing, and much more. Family involvement increases student success mainly because of the partnership you form with the school.

Our North Barrington Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO) is integral to this ongoing partnership. It supports the school in achieving the above and creates events and activities for all of us to come together as one school community. Together, the PTO and NBS staff strive to model a committed partnership focused on creating an engaging, supportive, and fun educational experience for each child.

Please take a moment to access the North Barrington PTO website to stay informed as well as join this dynamic organization. If you are new to North Barrington, the PTO will connect you with a buddy parent who will help acclimate you to NBS, help you stay informed on upcoming PTO/School events, and get you connected. One of the best ways to make new friends in a new community is to volunteer and work together on common activities or events as well as come to the PTO meetings. Please do not hesitate to reach out to Amy or Lisa if you have any questions.

General Questions - email contact for PTO:

volunteers4NBSPTO@gmail.com

August 30th - 10:45 Early Release for students; 11:30 am -2:45 pm Teacher Training

August 23rd - September 30th - Fastbridge and NWEA MAP testing window open

September - Hispanic Heritage Month

September 2nd - No Student Attendance Day

September 5th - Picture Day

September 9th - 13th - SAFETY WEEK

September 20th—noon—Colt Connections—Parents and caregivers are invited to socialize and enjoy lunch and drinks at Kelsey Road House.

September 23 - 27th - Fall Book Fair

September 27th - 6:30 Pizza and NBS Fall Movie Night