Highview Happenings

Dear Highview Families,

Happy Friday! We had another productive week of teaching and learning at Highview. I realized last week that I inadvertently forgot to include pictures for my "Principal's Pride" section featuring Class 3AK and Ms. Kern. I apologize for my oversight! Please visit the "Principal's Pride" section below to see some pictures of the amazing work Class 3AK did in creating symbols tied to their Class Charter.

Your child is bringing home a report card from Marking Period 1. Please review the contents inside the report card envelope. Those items are yours to keep at home. The only thing we ask is that you please sign the envelope and return it to school on Monday, December 16 so that we can keep it for Marking Period 2.

You can tell that the Winter Holidays are right around the corner. Our students are very excited for this festive season, and we certainly share in that excitement with them! Both G.W. Miller and Highview Schools are having optional Holiday Spirit Days next week. You can click the link to the flyer below for more information.

• Wednesday, December 18 - Cozy and Warm Day
• Thursday, December 19 - Pajama Day (no slippers, please)
• Friday, December 20 - Ugly Sweater/Festive Clothing Day

Holiday Spirit Days 2024

Finally, this week I sent information about Highview's upcoming RULER Family Night on Thursday, January 9, 2025 from 6:00-7:30 p.m. at Highview. We hosted a similar event last year, and it was great way for families to immerse themselves into the RULER approach to social-emotional learning (SEL). In an effort to plan accordingly, please complete the survey below so we know how many people to expect. Please complete the survey by end-of-day on Thursday, December 19.

HV RULER Family Night Interest Survey

I hope you and your loved ones have a wonderful weekend! We look forward to welcoming our Highview Knights back to school on Monday, December 16.

Sincerely,

Matthew Lutz

Principal

mlutz@nanuetsd.org

On a rotating basis, classroom teachers nominate two students from their classes to receive a Charter Shout-Out. The class charter is a RULER tool used in all classrooms to help students develop expectations for success as learners and members of the community. The Charter Shout-Out gives teachers the opportunity to highlight students who are living up to their classroom charters.

This week, students from the following classes received shout-outs and were recognized over morning announcements: Mrs. DeGennaro (3PD), Mrs. Collins (4HC), and Mrs. Cooney (4LC). Congratulations to Scarlett (3PD), Leo (3PD), Emily (4HC), Amreen (4LC), and Zara (4LC). See their proud picture below!

Being the Principal of Highview Elementary School brings me a tremendous amount of joy and pride. I am beyond lucky to be able to work with such incredible students, staff, and families. This week, I would like to give a shout-out to Class 3AK - Ms. Kern's class!

In social studies, students in 3AK learned about some symbols of the United States of America, such as The American Flag, the Bald Eagle, The Statue of Liberty, The Liberty Bell, and The White House. Students discussed how symbols chosen to represent a country can be objects, emblems, or other images that typically represent a country's values, history, or culture. Students were then asked to draw symbols to represent Class 3AK that outline the values in our Classroom Charter. Our 3AK class charter this year highlights the values of feeling supported, respected, happy, calm, and excited. Here are some symbols that the students chose to represent these values. Way to go, Class 3AK - and thank you, Ms. Kern, for tying our approach to Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) to the content areas!

At the beginning of the year, our School Counselor, Ms. Lipson, and School Social Worker, Mrs. Weiss re-launched a monthly Eat-and-Play Challenge for our students. The goal is for classes to work together to follow the Eat-and-Play rules during the lunch/recess periods. They have the opportunity to add a sticker in a square on an incentive chart. The classes with the most stickers at the end of the month get to shop on our FABULOUS prize cart! There will be at least one winner each month in both grade levels.

For the month of November, Mrs. Amann, Mrs. Brooke, Mrs. DeGennaro, Mrs. Merz, and Mrs. Stead's classes won the third-grade challenge. Mrs. Collins and Mr. Lawless' classes won the fourth-grade challenge. Congratulations 3KA, 3KB, 3PD, 3JM, 3KS, 4HC, and 4JL! We look forward to seeing which classes will win for the month of December!

In December, Ms. Lipson, School Counselor, and Mrs. Weiss, School Social Worker, held a social-emotional learning (SEL) assembly for all students. The focus for the assemblies was Developing and Maintaining Positive Relationships. During the elementary school years, your child is discovering more about his/her emotions while learning to deal with relationships, conflicts that arise, and peer pressure. Through each relationship, your child is learning how to use his/her communication skills and social skills to interact with others and work together. Your child is also discovering the importance of active listening, respecting others, and resolving conflicts effectively. Kelso’s Choice, our conflict management program, was referenced and reinforced during the assembly.

How can I help my child at home?

You can display Kelso’s wheel of choices and encourage your child to use the strategies when he/she needs to solve small problems peacefully. This works great with siblings! You can also remind your child to go to an adult when it is a big problem. Practicing these skills with your child can help provide him/her with the confidence needed to use the skills independently.

Our students at Highview Elementary School participate in a reading incentive known as Strive for 25. The goal is for every student to read 25 books by the end of the school year. Classroom teachers keep track of books read in their individual classrooms for this incentive. This year, we are adding some benchmarks along the way so that students have more opportunities for recognition. Please see the benchmarks below.

• Students who read 10 books will be recognized and given a small prize.
• Students who read 20 books will be recognized and given a small prize.
• Students who read 25+ books will be recognized and will receive a certificate and book.

Our first trimester Strive for 25 assembly will take place on Thursday, December 19.

Take a look at our daily Morning Affirmations that we recite together as a school community. The purpose of this practice is to encourage our students to use positive self-talk to get themselves excited and ready to conquer the day. We want our students to feel empowered and productive at Highview. You are more than welcome to use these at home as well.

During arrival and dismissal, the safety of our students is our top priority. Please review this document, which outlines our arrival and dismissal procedures for the 2024-2025 school year. We must all work together to ensure the safety of both students and staff during these important blocks of time. We thank you in advance for your cooperation and partnership in following these procedures each day.

HV - Arrival & Dismissal Procedures 2024-2025

As always, the safety of our students and staff is our top priority. When riding the bus, students are expected to follow three bus rules:

1. Be a good listener.
2. Use a quiet voice.
3. Stay in your seat at all times.

Please note that beginning in 2024-2025, no student in Grades K-4 will be released from the bus without an adult present at the bus stop. This is to ensure the safety of all students.

We appreciate your partnership in reiterating these expectations for a safe bus ride. Please note that unsafe behavior on the bus will result in a loss of bus riding privileges at the discretion of Principal Lutz, Assistant Principal Mehu, or their designee(s).

The Board of Education is committed to providing a safe and orderly school environment where students may receive and district personnel may deliver quality educational experiences without disruption or interference. We ask that you read and review the Code of Conduct for Grades K-4 with your child. Our goal is to ensure students are engaged in learning while making positive contributions to our school community.

Each week, documents will be loaded to our Digital Backpack, which is linked to the bottom of the Highview homepage. We encourage you to check the Digital Backpack, which is updated every Friday, to ensure you have updated information on important dates, events, and opportunities being offered to students and families.

Students in grades K-4 should not bring electronic devices, large amounts of money, or valuable items to school. This includes cell phones/smart phones, iPods, iPads/tablets, smart watches, personal computers/laptops, electronic games, expensive jewelry, card collections, and large amounts of money. Even if the student who brings in the item is not at fault, there are no funds to pay for its repair or replacement. The school carries no insurance that is applicable to these matters and there is no money budgeted for this purpose. Principal Lutz, Assistant Principal Mehu, and/or their designee(s) reserve the right to determine whether an item is an electronic device and/or valuable.

I am thrilled to share two photo albums from our Halloween Happenings event on October 25. As I mentioned in a previous newsletter, the event would not be possible without the dedicated PTA and volunteers who make it happen. Many thanks to Mrs. Holly Murray, third-grade parent, who compiled two different albums from the evening. The photos are absolutely adorable!

Halloween Happenings - Grade 3 Album

Halloween Happenings - Grade 4 Album

Over the next few months, the district and buildings are moving to a new communication system to send alerts out to parents, guardians and the community. Please check your email for an invitation from Parent Square or register on the website. Follow the video linked below to set notification and language settings in the app or website. The Parent Square app can be downloaded from your app store.

Registration Website:

https://www.parentsquare.com/signin

Video for how to change notification or language settings:

https://app.screencastify.com/v3/watch/HfHHWdCKIX8cQcYtdLYs

We are fortunate to have a wonderful Parent-Teacher Association (PTA). We encourage our parents to get involved with the PTA. If you have questions, you can always reach out to our PTA via email at nanuetpta@gmail.com.

Here are the 2024-2025 Board Members for the Elementary PTA:

• Jennifer Falzon, President
• Debbie Harris, Vice President for G.W. Miller School
• Linda Metress, Vice President for Highview School
• Kelly Ann Trombley, Secretary
• Stephanie Gannon, Treasurer

Additionally, please check out the PTA's website for more information on how to join this amazing group! Thank you to our fabulous PTA for all you do to support the students, staff, and families in the Nanuet School District!

Nanuet Elementary PTA Website

As you know, the safety of our students and staff is our top priority in the Nanuet Union Free School District. The Safety/Security Protocols for 2024-2025 are outlined in the document below. We thank you in advance for your cooperation with and prompt attention to these protocols.

2024-2025 Safety and Security Protocols - Highview School

Students do have a snack time daily and at the discretion of the classroom teacher. Your child's teacher will communicate this to you when they share their specific schedules. We encourage you to send a healthy snack to school with your child. If your child's classroom is designated as Nut Aware, you will receive a letter as well as a notification from the classroom teacher. Please do not send any products containing nuts.

Every student can have a water bottle in class. Water bottles must be capped (no straws or glass) and should be a personal size (16 oz. or less). There are opportunities to refill water bottles during the school day. Please be sure your child’s water bottle can fit in their backpack for transport purposes. Please label your child’s water bottle with their name and class code. Students cannot bring open containers, energy drinks, or coffee-related drinks to school.

Monday, December 16

Signed Report Card Envelopes Due Back to School

Tuesday, December 17

Board of Education Meeting

7:30 p.m. at Nanuet High School

Wednesday, December 18

Cozy and Warm Spirit Day

Hats, mittens, and socks, oh my!

Thursday, December 19

Pajama Day

No slippers, please!

Friday, December 20

Ugly Sweater/Festive Clothing Spirit Day

Monday, December 23 - Wednesday, January 1

Winter Recess

All Nanuet Schools Closed

Thursday, January 2

School Resumes

Happy New Year!

Friday, January 3

Classroom Charter RECHARGE Day!

Friday, January 3

Spirit Day - wear black and gold!

Go Golden Knights!

Thursday, January 9

HV RULER Family Night

6:00-7:30 p.m. at Highview

Email: mlutz@nanuetsd.org
Website: highview.nanuetsd.org
Location: 24 Highview Avenue, Nanuet, NY 10954

Phone: (845) 627-3460

Facebook: www.facebook.com/NanuetPublicSchools

Instagram: @nanuetschools