Hello Northlake,

I hope you all enjoyed the beautiful weather this weekend! I had a quiet weekend at home. Rudy Kellagher, sweetest dog ever, gave me a little scare last week that resulted in an emergency surgery. He's home now, so I stayed close to home and watched some good college football with my little buddy. We had a great week at Northlake last week. Teachers met with parents throughout the week to go over first quarter report cards and MAP data. I hope you were all able to come for a conference. If not, please reach out to your child's teacher to find a time to connect with them soon. We had the NED show come to Northlake and that's always a good time. Take a few minutes and talk to your kids about his message! We have Red Ribbon Week next week and I've attached a flyer below from Ms. Sorensen. Some of you may remember Mrs. LaShon Easter, who helped last year while I was on leave. Good news, she will be at Northlake next week! Ms. Walker and I will still be here, but she had some time in her schedule and will be here to support and help out with anything needed. If you see her around campus, give her a warm welcome!

I mentioned this in previous Northlake Notes, but wanted to remind everyone of the upcoming construction that will be taking place at Northlake. The front of our building will be getting several updates between now and January 3rd. Beginning the evening of November 1st - November 17th, two of our front porches will be closed for updates. This will affect Porch 2, where 1st and 2nd grade enter and exit the building. During these two weeks, 1st and 2nd grade will use the main entrance. Carpool will run as usual, we'll just need to be patient as we'll have more students in one porch area. The other area of the building that will be under construction will be the porch between the main porch and the cafeteria. We don't use this porch on a regular basis, so this shouldn't be a problem. During these two weeks, you can anticipate these porches being coned off and there may be some construction equipment and materials out front, near the building. Please be sure to keep an extra close eye on your kiddo's during arrival and dismissal, especially if you walk and bring younger kiddo's with you. Thanks in advance for your patience and flexibility!

:) Ms. Kellagher

Red Ribbon Week is here! Please take some time to talk to your children about drug safety and making healthy choices. On Wednesday, the LHHS Peer Helpers will be here to do a puppet show for K-2 students.

This past week, students attended an assembly, called the NED Show. During this assembly, they learned the value of three important lessons; Never Give Up, Encourage Others, and Do Your Best! The yo-yo tricks are always a hit as well. Order forms for yo-yo's were sent home in Tuesday folders last week and yo-yo's will be on sale all week. Ms. Sorensen will sell them at the very end of the day. If you need another order form, you can pick one up in the main office.

This week, Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd Graders had fun riding the school bus up to LHHS to watch the play, Finding Nemo!

We welcomed volunteers from Grace Lake Highlands Church this week! We have about 25 volunteers that will come each week to read with our 1st and 2nd graders. We are so excited to have them as part of our Northlake community.

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 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

November 14 - PTA Board Meeting - 6:00

November 21 - PTA Meeting and Multi-Cultural Night 5:00

November 25 - 29 - No School