Well, this past week was unexpected! While I heard the news and weather channels announcing snow, I truly did not believe it until I woke up Wednesday morning! Wow, just wow on the amount of snow in the area. We hope each of our families have enjoyed the snow! But, we do look forward to returning to school next week! Please encourage students to continue reading as much as possible as this is the foundation for learning!

Additional School/PTA Information to Review

• 1/26/25: Silent Disco, a PTA event at HiWire Brewing, 4-7pm, benefiting Eaton's Music & Art Departments
• 1/29/25: Staff Coffee Cart -- The 5th Grade Service Club is seeking additional treats to make the Staff Coffee Cart extra special! Please see information under Student Support Services to sign up to bring something!
• 2/3-2/17/25: Read-a-thon -- information coming home 1/27/25
• Bus Driver Appreciation Week is February 10-14 -- For those riding the buses, this is a great opportunity to show your appreciation for our drivers and the role they play in ensuring student safety.

As we prepare for the return to school (again), we encourage all families to review the information in this newsletter specifically related to arrival & departure information, transportation, and any upcoming school and district events.

If you need anything or have additional questions, please email either the principal or the assistant principal, respectively: rosemarie.wheeler@nhcs.net and/or karen.mccarty@nhcs.net

Morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up is located in the front of our school (Gordan Road entrance at traffic light). Please follow the flow of traffic which lines up in font of the school and circles through the gravel lot. Parking is not permitted in the grass area of the gravel loop.

When you park and walk across the partking lot to drop off students,

this slows down the car drop off process.

Arrival / We encourage all drivers to maintain composure and patience in our car line!

• To assist in a safe and speedy arrival, students should have backpacks on and ready to exit cars when you near the zone of transition. Students are encouraged to practice independence by opening doors and exiting vevhicles in the event that neither Safety Patrol nor staff members are present (before 7:40am).

Late Arrival (Tardy)

• The tardy warning bell rings at 7:35 am. The tardy bell rings at 7:40 am. Students arriving to class after this bell will need to visit the front office to receive a tardy slip for class.
• Parents: If you arrive to car drop off after the tardy bell at 7:40 am, you will need to park in a designated parking space, walk with your child to the front office, and sign your child in to the front office.

Departure Afternoon Volunteers: If your child is a car rider, please park in the car line before coming to volunteer and then return to your car so that you may follow the standard car pick up procedures. When you park in a parking spot, this creates unsafe conditions during dismissal when you and your child must cross the dismissal line.

Departure (WALKERS): Walker Tags: Please ensure you have these out and visible when you approach the school. If you need a car or walker replacement sign, please email Dina.Dillon@nhcs.net.

Departure (Car Pick Up): We encourage all drivers to maintain composure and patience in our car line! Car Tags: This sign should be displayed at all times until after you have pick up your student..

Early Pick-Up (Early Check-Out) -- Deadline is 1:45pm

• If you need to pick up your student (s) early, you must do so before 1:45pm. Photo identification is required every time you check out students.

We appreciate everyone's role in helping to ensure and maintain a

safe arrival and departure for all stakeholders!

• Staff Coffee Cart: The montly staff coffee cart is this Wednesday, 1/29/25, and we are in need of additional donations. Please visit this link to sign up for items needed for this monthly staff treat. The 5th Grade Service Club THANKS YOU!
• Seeking Donations- If you are willing and able, we are accepting donations of small rewards (erasers, stickers, small toys, etc.) to use as incentives for our school-wide positive behavior system.

School Counselor Newsletter

Contact Information:

Email: anne.matney@nhcs.net

Phone: 910-397-1544 x71706

• February 25, 2025: 3rd Grade Math NCCI
• February 27, 2025: Grades 3-5 ELA NCCI
• March 10, 2025: Grades 4-5 Math NCCI
• April 15, 2025: 3rd Grade Math NCCI
• April 24, 2025: 4-5 Grade Math NCCI

EOG Window: May 30-June 12, 2025 / Specifics Dates for Testing will be determined later.

• Eaton Schoolwide Book Club is returning in February! Our 2025 selection is Frindle by Andrew Clements. More details will be coming soon about daily readings and questions as well as a culminating project. This book is available in many places in paperback, eBook, and audiobook formats if your family would like to participate at home. The book is currently available from Scholastic Book Clubs for $2.00. Click the link if you would like to order a copy: https://orders.scholastic.com/GKGD3 Orders need to be placed by January 24th.
  
  From the author's website:

  Nicholas Allen has plenty of ideas. Who can forget the time he turned his third-grade classroom into a tropical island, or the times he fooled his teacher by chirping like a blackbird? But now Nick's in fifth grade, and it looks like his days as a troublemaker are over.

  Everyone knows that Mrs. Granger, the language arts teacher, has X-ray vision, and nobody gets away with anything in her classroom. To make matters worse, she's also a fanatic about the dictionary, which is hopelessly boring to Nick. But when Nick learns an interesting tidbit about words and where they come from, it inspires his greatest plan yet: to invent a new word. From now on, a pen is no longer a pen — it's a frindle.

• Digital Citizenship: Neptune Navigate

Other important information for student & school safety:

• All visitors must check in through the Ident-a-Kid computer program, print, and wear the identification sticker throughout their time in our building.

• All visitors on school grounds must report to the front office to sign in during school hours.

• Photo Identification is required to sign in to the school and/or check out a student.

• All afternoon transportation changes must be communicated in writing, in the form of a paper note, with a parent signature. Changes cannot be made by email or phone. In some cases, we can accept a transportation change via email, if a photograph of a valid government-issued ID along with a signature can be shared via email. We cannot guarantee that something sent via email will be read during the school day, and thus this form of communication for a transportation change is not optimal or recommended.

• All of our school and transportation procedures are in place to keep children safe.

De-assignment notices come home in student folders. We make every effort to make phone calls to parents when these are coming home. When these come home, parents must write and respond to whether or not their child will continue riding the bus. This de-assignment notice must be returned to the school.

To remain eligible to ride a bus, students and parents/guardians/caregivers must:

• ride the bus at least three (3) times per week
• follow the procedures for 'meeting at the bus stop' for K-2 and special education students
• follow safety procedures when riding the bus

Meals, foods and beverages sold or served at schools meet state and federal requirements which are based on the USDA Dietary Guidelines. NHCS's Child Nutrition Department provides students with access to a variety of affordable and appealing foods that meet the health and nutrition needs of students.

MySchoolBucks: allows parents/guardians to prepay for meals. In addition, you are able to set up low balance alerts to keep your student's account balance in the positive.

MySchoolApps: MySchoolApps is the fast and secure way to apply for free and reduce meals online.

Eaton Elementary Contact Information

Principal: Romi Wheeler

Website: https://eaton.nhcs.net/

Location: DR HUBERT EATON SR ELEMENTARY 6701 Gordon Road Wilmington, NC 28411
Phone: (910) 397-1544