Hello Northlake,

Here's to our first full week of school in the books! The kids are settling in and getting into the swing of school. Teachers continued to work on procedures and routines over the past week and everyone got to enjoy a little bit of outdoor recess in the mornings. We will continue to have a condensed recess each day with the heat. Please be sure your child drinks plenty of water at home. I also recommend sending a water bottle to school with your child each day in order to stay hydrated as we navigate this heat. Looking ahead, Ms. Cady will be rolling out iPads to classes this week and we will begin some beginning of the year testing over the next couple of weeks. Ms. Walker and I will be meeting with each grade level next week to go over the Student Code of Conduct and review our campus expectations with each class. RISD has developed a new Code of Civility that we will be sharing with the students. You will see posters reminding students of the Code of Civility throughout the building. There are three rules that we will strive to follow. We will be safe, respectful and responsible at all times. Teachers have been reviewing these as they have been setting expectations over the past two weeks. Please take some time to read through the links below and talk with your students about what they have already learned about this in class.

Ms. Kellagher

Friday, August 30th is National College Colors Day! Students are encouraged to wear a college t-shirt to school. This is a great way to represent your favorite college, show your school spirit and kick-off the start of college football season!

During the enrollment process, you were asked to complete the Household Family Data Collection form. Many of you completed this information in Powerschool, however some of you did not complete or submit the form. I will be sending a paper copy of this form home to any family that did not submit this information. The form is white with a pink boarder. Please look for this in your child's Tuesday Folder. If you get this form, please fill it out and bring the completed form to Mr. Juan in the front office. He will verify that all the information is complete and we will send all the completed forms to the RISD Piems department. It is important to gather this information from all families as it directly affects our Title One Funding. Thanks in advance for your cooperation. Just a reminder, not everyone will recieve a paper form, but if you get one, please fill out out and bring it to Mr. Juan in the front office by Friday, August 30th.

RISD offers Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) lessons through Harmony SEL and Second Step SEL. Here at Northlake we are transitioning to Harmony SEL and we will begin these lessons in the next few weeks. We have time each day set aside for SEL and Community Circle. SEL is the process through which all young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions.

If you have any questions about these lessons, please contact Mary Kellagher (mary.kellagher@risd.org), Jen Walker (jenifer.walker@risd.org) or Anita Sorensen (anita.sorensen@risd.org). Additionally, you can find out more about these programs at https://harmony-academy.org/harmony-prek-6.

If you would like to opt your student out of SEL lessons, please fill out the Google form below. Please complete this form before September 6th in order to assist in logistics for alternative learning experiences during this time. You can opt your student out of SEL lessons at any time throughout the school year.

RISD Library Services offers an updated Select Title Opt-Out option to provide RISD parents with an opportunity to identify specific titles to opt out of library checkout for their child. RISD recognizes that families and students are unique, and different parents may have varying expectations regarding their students’ reading lives and choices. This year, parents of elementary students may sign-up to have their child(ren) placed on an “opt-out” list for Epic. Epic is a free reading platform for elementary educators to use as a reading resource in their classrooms during the school day. Students that opt-out of Epic will have the app removed from their iPad and the website blocked.

If you signed up your student(s) for the Opt-Out program in the past, you will need to submit a new form for each child for the 23-24 school year. Parents who would like to opt their student(s) out from access to specific titles and/or Epic can do so by contacting their school Library Information Technology Educator (LITE) or going to https://s.risd.org/elemlibraryoptout. Visit https://s.risd.org/RISDoptout for more information or to sign up.

Northlake Library Online Catalog: https://libraries.risd.org:8450/?config=121

We are using caution with recess during this heat wave. We review the weather report each morning and moving forward, if there is a time of day that is indicated safe for kids to be outside, we will offer a condensed recess period. Grade levels have signed up for 20 minute blocks in the morning between 8:30-11:00. As long as conditions are favorable during those hours, we will go out for recess. We'll also offer a condensed indoor recess time later in the day, allowing for a brain break and some social time. We'll continue to monitor the heat and hopefully get back to a regular recess schedule soon!

PTA will be selling student spirit shirts again this year at a discounted price. Thanks to a generous community member who made a donation allowing us to offset the cost of the shirts, we'll be selling them for $2 each. This price is only available for Northlake students and each family may purchase one shirt at this price. More information will be coming home soon once the shirts are in and ready for purchase.

You guys have been doing a great job in the carpool line. We really appreciate your patience as we work to get all the kiddo's in and out of school safely and in a timely manner. Here are a few reminders:

• Please stay in your car at all times. Do not park in the carpool line.
• We will help get younger children in and out of their cars.
• Pre K/ECSE/SDC pick up begins at 3:00. If you have older students and are in the pick-up line too early, we will send you around to get in the carpool line at 3:10. Kindergarten - 5th grade car riders are dismissed at 3:10.
• There is no left hand turn on Ravensway at the end of the carpool line.
• There is no left hand turn on Church from Ravensway.

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 home paper copies of your child's progress reports or report cards. 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 not allow lunch visitors for the first few weeks of school. We will use this time to establish our routines and procedures in the cafeteria. Teachers will be eating with their students in the cafeteria for the first week and a half and will use this opportunity to teach students the expectations in the lunch room.

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.

August 30 - College Colors Day - wear college t-shirts

September 2 - Labor Day - No School

September 3 - Progress Reports available on the portal this week

September 5 - PTA Board Meeting 6:00, followed by a general meeting

September 11 - First Responder Day and 9/11 Rememberance

September 12 - Meet the Teacher and PTA Meeting 5:30-7:00