Dear NIS Families,

December brings many traditions for families, the Nantucket community and our schools. I am really enjoying learning and participating in many of these traditions that are new to Nantucket. However, one tradition that is not exclusive to Nantucket that I have always enjoyed is the December Parent/Teacher Conferences. While these can be tricky to schedule at times, they are always such a great opportunity for those that spend the most time with our kids (families/teachers) to come together in a show of collaboration and cooperation.

We love getting to know your child(ren) each day and spend time learning their interests, their strengths, their areas for growth, their humor and their challenges. And we hope that you enjoy hearing from your child(ren) each day about their school experiences in the classroom, with friends, with unified arts and with the many learning opportunities throughout the day. With parent/teacher conferences the opportunity for these two worlds to combine happens. We can hear about your child(ren) from your perspective, you can hear about them from ours and together we can plan next steps to support their academic and social growth.

I strongly encourage you to take this opportunity to meet with your child(ren)'s teacher to participate in this tradition of collaboration and sharing. If you have not signed up for a conference time on either the upcoming December 6th afternoon, December 13th afternoon or December 13th evening please reach out to the classroom teacher or front office to schedule a time. And if you have time while you are here please feel free to visit the Book Fair, the Unified Arts teachers or Mrs. Johnson, Dr. Eddie and me in the office as well.

In addition I would like to take this opportunity to wish you and your entire family a wonderful month of other December family traditions that you might celebrate and share together.

Sincerely,

Becky Janda

NIS Principal

Each spring all districts in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts participate in Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System or more commonly known as MCAS testing.

This testing is extremely important for all students to participate and for schools to review the results to ensure that we remain accountable for all students, regardless of level of need or demographic having an opportunity to succeed and grow. Therefore it is essential that all students are present to take the tests. In an effort to help families plan ahead we are sharing the testing dates so that as much as possible students will be present to participate on the same day as their grade level peers.

Please take a look at the dates and note them on your calendars as well.

All visitors must check in at the front office upon arrival at the school.

During school hours, visitors are required to exchange an ID for a visitors badge. You may not enter the school without a valid form of ID.

IDs may be retrieved at the end of the visit when the visitor badges are returned.

Our lost and found is overflowing!

We will have table set up in in the front lobby of the school on our December half days on 12/6 and 12/13 during parent teacher conferences.

Please consider looking through the tables to see if you see any of your students items!

Hayward Photography will be at Nantucket Intermediate School on Wednesday, December 6th for picture retakes. If you would like your child’s picture retaken, please return your original package or no buy card to school on the retake day and ask your child to give it to our photographer. Please include a note on the envelope detailing the reason for the retake. If your child forgets their original pictures, they may still have a retake, however, we will not print any new pictures until the originals have been returned to our office.

If your child was absent on the original picture day, they may be photographed as well. If you

did not already prepay, please print a copy of the order form that the school initially shared, fill

out the bottom in its entirety and send with your cash or check payment into school on retake

day. Payments will only be accepted for students who were absent. Please note the online

prepay option is no longer available. If you have any questions, please contact us at

info@haywardphotography.com. Thank you.

There have been several unsafe conditions created with cars coming into the Surfside Road parking lot to drop off or pick up children. This is NOT the correct location for drop off or for pick up. Please ONLY use the Backus Lane entrance/exit to reach the drop off/pick up circle.

December 6

• Early Dismissal at 12:00 PM
• Parent Teacher Conferences
• Picture Retake Day

December 13 - Early Dismissal at 12:00 PM

December 13 - Parent Teacher Conferences

December 15 - NIS Report Cards Posted

December 22 - January 1 - No School - Holiday Break

January 2 - Return from Holiday Break

Dear Families,

December 11-15 is the annual NIS Book Fair!

Families are encouraged to visit the fair with the children after school that week.

FAIR HOURS

Monday, Dec. 11

2:20pm - 4:00pm

Tuesday, Dec. 12

2:20pm - 4:00pm

Wednesday, Dec. 13

12:00pm - 3:00pm and 5:30pm - 6:30pm

Thursday, Dec. 14

2:20pm - 4:00 pm

Friday, Dec. 15

2:20pm - 3:00pm

If you would like a cashless way for your child to shop the fair, you can use eWallet. Please check out this video for families. Introduction to eWallet video.

And we would love parent help at the fair! To sign up as a volunteer, please click here: PARENT VOLUNTEERING.

Thank you in advance for helping make this fair a huge success.

Ms. Braunohler

NIS Library

At NIS students are NOT ALLOWED to bring in food items to celebrate their birthday with their class. This was instituted pre-COVID due to the number of children with food allergies and due to our responsibility with promoting healthy bodies. You wouldn't believe the number of cupcakes that would come into the school each year!

We would like to encourage you to donate a birthday book to your child's classroom library in honor of their birthday. Other acceptable ideas include bringing in a special pencil or decal for everyone in the class if that's preferred.

Thank you for not sending your child to school with food items for the class to celebrate their birthday.

NPS Vision Draft

We commit to provide equitable, inclusive, and challenging learning experiences where every student and adult feels seen, heard, valued, and respected.

NPS Mission Draft

Nantucket Public Schools, in partnership with a caring community, will create a dynamic and equitable learning environment which engages each of us to be inspired learners and responsible citizens, prepared to meet local and global challenges.

NPS Core Values Draft

Nantucket Public Schools values collaboration, communication, and reflection that supports:

• Equitable access to multiple pathways for individual and collective success.

• High expectations and a student-centered educational approach that integrates academic progress, extra-curricular participation, personal responsibility, and community involvement.

• Inclusive and sustained family relationships that respect all cultures and the experiences each child brings to our schools.

• Challenging ourselves to embrace and advocate for the needs of every student, adult, and family within our school community.

30 Surfside Road

Nantucket, MA 02554

Telephone: 508-228-7290

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