Nantucket Elementary School

September 3, 2024 Monthly Newsletter

Nantucket Elementary School Latest News and Calendar Updates

Welcome Back to School!!

Dear Families,

Welcome to Nantucket Elementary School! We will be sharing this newsletter with you each month!!

We are so excited to start this new school year! It was so great to see so many familiar faces at our Meet and Greets last week for First and Second Grade. We loved welcoming the students in these two grades into school this morning as well.

As you are aware, we will welcome our First and Second Grade students back today, Tuesday, 9/3/24. Our kindergarten students will come for individually scheduled meetings with their classroom teachers today and tomorrow (9/3 and 9/4) throughout the day. The kindergarten students begin full days on Thursday, 9/5/24. Our preschool students will have their individually scheduled meetings with their classroom teachers on Thursday and Friday (9/5 & 9/6) throughout the day. Preschool begins officially on Monday, September 9, 2024.

Here are some important things to note for the start of school:

Kindergarten, First and Second Grade students can enter school through the door across from the Backus Lane parking Lot. This door is called the Kindergarten door in the K circle. Or, they can enter through the door across from NIS. This is our Front door.
PreK students will meet their teachers in their assigned lines by our front door.
Please note, parents/guardians do not enter the school with them. We will allow this for Kindergarten and PreK students on their first two days, but after this, we will not allow parents in the building. We have adults who can escort and direct students to their spots.
All bus riders will enter the school through our front door.
Students should come to school ready to make a choice for their waiting time (7:35-7:50). They can choose from:

Walking and Talking in the Gymnasium
Coloring in the Cafe (and/or eating breakfast)
Playing on the K playground
Sitting in their grade level cluster to read or finish any homework

Students are free to arrive at school by 7:35 am. We will have staff coverage to supervise students as of this time. Unfortunately, we do not have any staff available to supervise students prior to 7:35 am.
Dismissal will look very similar. Any students who will be a parent pick up, will be going in parent vehicles, will be walking home, or meeting adults outside, will find their students at both circles as mentioned above (First and Kindergarten at the K circle and Second at the front circle) at 2:30 pm (Monday - Thursday) and 2:20 pm on Fridays.
Adults may be invited into our school for very specific events throughout the year. But these events will be scheduled and preplanned. Adults must bring in their ID to exchange for a Visitor's Badge that must be worn at all times in the building.
There will be no charge for lunches or breakfast again this year. However, all families should complete the free and reduced lunch forms. Typically, you can find menus and food service information on the District Website - www.npsk.org. Go to Departments, click on Food Services.

Here's the Opening first week of school menu
Tuesday: Grilled Cheese Sandwich or Sunbutter & Jelly Sandwich
Wednesday: Cheese Pizza or Ham & Cheese Sandwich
Thursday: Baked Pasta, green beans & dinner roll
Friday: Chicken tenders, rice, corn & dinner roll
All meals came with assorted veggies, assorted fruit, assorted milk.

There is limited parking in the Backus Lot. There is absolutely NO parking in the First Way Lot. Both of these parking lots have parking for staff members.
If you have things to bring to school for your child, please be sure to label the items with your child's name and bring them to the front office. We currently have two bags of supplies with no names in the front office.

It is very important that each of you has completed the necessary updates in Aspen for your child/children. We must have correct email addresses, correct phone numbers, and correct mailing addresses. We try to do as much email sharing of information as possible. There are permissions that need to be regranted yearly. There is a bus permission form that must be completed in order for your child to take the bus. Please note that the bus is only available for students who live 1.5 miles from the school.

From the Special Education and English Language Learners Departments

Welcome Back to what we hope is a wonderful year for your child(ren)! On Thursday, September 5, 2024 from 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm at Nantucket High School, the Special Services Department is hosting a family information night where we will discuss the new Individualized Education Plan form, the new IEP management system, and provide families with the opportunity to complete the required information verification process for students in Aspen. There will be Spanish speaking staff present to assist families as needed. Childcare will also be provided for those who need it. If you plan on attending and require childcare, please contact the Special Services office at 508-228-7285 ext. 2182 to make your request.

We are looking forward to seeing all of our amazing learners. Thank you in advance for all of your efforts to help prepare your students for school. We want you to be partners with us in this most important journey of supporting your child for success. To that end, please be sure to be on the lookout for information overload initially!! Your child's teacher will be asking you to join their messaging system - REMIND. This is a great tool we use for you to send and receive messages from your child's teacher.

Finally, we are in need of two parent volunteers to join our NES School Council. These are volunteer positions. We typically meet on the first Thursday of every month, at 3:00 pm, in our NES Library. Three times per year, we will meet as a District Joint Council with the other school councils. Our dates for Council are as follows for this year:

9/12 Joint Council in the CPS Cafe 3:00 pm
10/3 NES Library 3:00 pm
11/7 NES Library 3:00 pm
12/12 Joint Council in the CPS Cafe 3:00 pm
1/9 NES Library 3:00 pm
2/6 NES Library 3:00 pm
3/13 Joint Council in the CPS Cafe 3:00 pm
4/3 NES Library 3:00 pm
5/8 NES Library 3:00 pm

The primary responsibilities for School Council Members are to help craft our NES School Improvement Plan, review and revise the NES Parent Handbook, orchestrate the Staff Appreciation Luncheon, help run the Lip Sync event, and most importantly be the voice for our families of the hopes and dreams for NES. School Membership must be made up of equal members of staff and community and parent members. Each term lasts two years. Our current membership includes: Libby Harvey-Kindergarten Teacher, Tina Steadman-PreK Teacher, and Rocky Fox-Community Member. They are all serving their last year of their two year term. Our two parent members completed their terms this past year. If you are interested in joining us, please reach out to me directly to set up a time to meet. Thank you in advance for seriously considering this opportunity.

Know that Mrs. Kimberly Albertson, Assistant Principal, and myself are always available to support you. Feel free to call the school to set up appointments, call to speak with us, email us, or catch us outside in the morning and/or afternoon. We love feedback and want you to feel comfortable reaching out to us as needed! The staff is so ready for your children! The classrooms are all set up! Our floors and spaces are all shined up and welcoming. This is the most wonderful time of year!!

WELCOME AND WELCOME BACK!!

Best,

Kim Kubisch and Kim Albertson

Upcoming Events

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