THE LION'S ROAR!

Hello Norris Lions!

We had a great first full week of school! Your student spent a lot of time this week learning about their classmates, their teacher, and the expectations of their classroom and our school. On Monday this week, we had our first whole school assembly! At our assembly, Ms. Croom and I reviewed the expectations of ROAR and held our first ROAR ticket drawing of the year!

ROAR ticket drawings are held each week on Monday afternoons! One winner is chosen from each grade level, and announced at the end of the day. Students work hard all week to earn ROAR tickets for their grade level buckets in hopes of being chosen.

Thank you for all you have done to get routines in place for your students as we settle into the 24-25 school year. It has been a GREAT start to the year!

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Dolezal, Principal

Wednesdays are an Early Dismissal for Elementary Students!

Norris will dismiss students at 2:30 every Wednesday!

8/27/24 - First Day of Band

8/29/24 - Picture Day!

9/2 & 9/3 - NO SCHOOL

9/5/24 - Family Picnic - 5:00PM

9/5/24 - PTO Meeting - 6:00PM

9/6/24 - Donuts with Dads (Watch D.O.G.S. Kickoff) - 7:45AM

9/12/24 - Qdoba Family Night (See flyer) - 4:00 - 8:00PM

Looking Ahead -

10/10 - 1/14 - No School, Conferences

10/25 - Fall Festival

Click HERE for the NORRIS 2024/2025 Calendar.

Click HERE for the MPS 2024/2025 Calendar.

Monday, August 19th

• 5th Grade MAP Reading
• 3rd Grade MAP Reading

Tuesday, August 20th

• Kindergarten MAP Reading
• Lower Elementary Montessori MAP Reading
• Upper Elementary Montessori MAP Reading

Wednesday, August 21st

• 1st Grade MAP Fluency
• 1st Grade Lower Elementary Montessori MAP Fluency

Thursday, August 22nd

• 4th Grade MAP Reading
• Primary Montessori Kindergarten MAP Reading

Friday, August 23rd

• Kindergarten MAP Math

We require that no peanuts, peanut butter or foods containing nuts of any kind are send to school for snack or lunch. All lunches purchased at school are already guaranteed peanut-free.

Students with food allergies have reserved seating in the lunchroom.

Hand washing will be a priority. If your child has any nut products for breakfast, we would greatly appreciate that his/her hands are washed with soap and water prior to arriving at school.

Birthday Invitations

If you wish to send invitations to a birthday party to school, all children in the class need to be invited. Please notify the classroom teacher in advance that the invitations will be coming. The teacher will make arrangements for the invitations to be passed out to all students.

If you do not plan to invite all students in the class to the birthday party, please distribute the invitations from home. The Norris Family Buzz Book will be helpful with this, which is shared through the PTO website.

Birthday Treats

Please do not send birthday treats/cupcakes/etc. to school. Student birthdays are recognized during morning announcements, and celebrated in the classroom without food products. Balloons or flowers are not to be sent to school for your child’s birthday, etc. due to student’s allergies in addition to distractions caused in the learning environment.

Each week, all students at Norris will have a lesson practicing a social skill. These weekly lessons are called our ROAR Skills of the Week! ROAR skills are practiced in the classroom during a Morning Meeting. All staff members are on the lookout through the week for students to be practicing the weekly skill. Students who demonstrate the skill of the week may earn a ROAR ticket and be entered into a weekly grade level drawing.

Please take some time each week to review the ROAR Skill of the Week with your child!

Dear Parents, Guardians, and Community:

Thank you for your continued support of the students and staff here at school. I want to share an important area where we need your help as we embark on the 2024-25 school year.

Chronic absence has become a national crisis. Data show chronic absence nearly doubled by the end of the 2021-22 school year. It now affects nearly one out of three students. Chronic absence is typically defined as missing 10% of the school year - or just two days each month - for any reason. Regardless of why your student may miss, studies indicate students who are chronically absent from school often read below grade level and struggle to understand math concepts. To tackle this challenge, all hands are needed.

We have set an average daily attendance goal of 95% for this school year.

Things to Consider:

• Absences: Please communicate all absences, each day, to the front office to avoid unexcused absences when possible.

• Appointments: Please attempt to make appointments early or late in the day to reduce missed classroom time. Remember to bring a note from the provider to the main office so it can be logged in the attendance record.

• Plan Around School Breaks: In education, every minute matters. Please make every effort to plan vacations, trips, and student absences around school breaks.

• Role Model the Importance of Education: Students learn about the importance of being on time and accountable at school, work, and other obligations by watching the adults in their lives. This is an essential life skill we can all teach them together.

• Monitor How Sick Is Too Sick: It will always be important to keep children home when they are not feeling well, but we hope we can cut down on the amount of school missed for other reasons. Reminder: If your student has accrued fifteen (15) medical parent excused (MPE) days of school, we will notify you that subsequent MPE days will require medical documentation in order to be marked as excused.

• Tardiness: Please ensure your student is getting to school on time so they can begin the day in a productive manner. School starts promptly at 8:30 AM.

Addressing chronic absenteeism and tardiness is a team approach. Our school attendance team, which includes Nancy Cole, elementary community counselor and Meagan Basye, early childhood community counselor, this year will identify attendance and tardy concerns and provide information and resources directly to families to improve student attendance.

Together, we can get back to an average daily attendance rate of 95% or higher, which helps individual and overall student achievement. Please help us achieve this critical goal. If you have any questions about your child’s absences or you want to brainstorm some strategies with me, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Respectfully,

Mrs. Dolezal

Principal, Norris Elementary

CLICK HERE to order Norris gear all year long!

Right now, 30% off EVERYTHING sale and FREE SHIPPING for orders over $75.

Picnic begins at 5:00 with PTO meeting to follow in the library at 6:00PM.

The Millard South Dance Team is hosting our 4th annual dance clinic on Saturday, September 14th!

CLICK HERE to register or scan the code below!!

President: Heidi Andsager

Vice President: Heather Doyle

Secretary: Sarah Burrus

Treasurer: Tim Malm

Volunteer Coordinator: Savannah Rajca

PTO Email: pto.norris@gmail.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/norrispto

Click here PTO Website for the latest PTO information!

Click HERE for the Norris Staff Directory.

Office Hours: Monday through Friday 7:45 am - 4:15 pm

Location: 12424 Weir Street, Omaha, NE, USA

Phone: (402)715-8340

Fax #: 402-715-6119

Website: norris.mpsomaha.org

Norris Website- Persian

Norris Website- Arabic

Norris Website- Spanish

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NorrisElem
Twitter: @NorrisElem

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday - 8:30 AM - 3:30 PM

Wednesdays - 8:30 AM - 2:30 PM (Early out EVERY Wednesday)

Mission Statement: Norris Elementary guarantees each child a world-class education in a safe and diverse learning environment where students demonstrate academic excellence, responsible citizenship, and self-worth. Through innovative practices, Norris empowers its educational community to actively pursue personal goals and ROAR with pride!

2024 MPS BOARD MEMBERS

• Dr. John Schwartz - Superintendent
• Stacy Jolley - President
  
• Mike Kennedy - Vice President
• Linda Poole - Secretary
• Amanda McGill Johnson - Treasurer
• Board Member - Mike Pate
• Board Member - Lisa Schoenberger