Highview Happenings
May 9, 2025
From the Principal's Desk...
Dear Highview Families,
Happy Friday! We had a wonderful week showering our faculty and staff with the appreciation they deserve. I feel so incredibly honored to work alongside such compassionate, dedicated professionals who put students at the center of the important work they do each day. As I mentioned last week, our faculty and staff are the real MVPs!
Throughout the week, our fourth-grade students traveled to Philipsburg Manor in Sleepy Hollow, NY. This trip offered fourth-grade students an immersive experience into New York’s colonial history, particularly its connection to trade, slavery, and daily life in the 18th Century. Students visiting Philipsburg Manor step back in time to 1750, when the site was a thriving milling and trading complex owned by the Philipse family. The estate was operated by a community of enslaved African individuals, whose labor powered the gristmill, dairy, and tenant farm. This experience helps reinforce classroom learning by bringing history to life in an engaging and interactive way.
Next week, our third-grade students will travel to Turtle Back Zoo in New Jersey. This trip offers a look at animal exhibits from a variety of ecosystems. Each exhibit showcases different ways that animals survive in their ecosystem, which will help give students a deeper understanding of what they discovered in science about how animals adapt to their own environment and depend on one another to survive. Lastly, teachers look forward to asking students whether their opinion of zoos changed after our visit, which stems from an opinionated Scholastic article students read that discussed the pros and cons of zoos.
On Wednesday, May 28, we will host Highview's annual H-Games. The event will take place rain or shine. If it happens to rain, we have an indoor rotation that we will follow. We have used this rotation in the past and it worked out very well. Please see below for an informational letter about H-Games.
As we continue through these beautiful months of spring, it is a perfect time to provide our students with reminders about our K-4 Code of Conduct and Behavior Response Plan. We will continue to review this with students at school, and I would be grateful if parents/guardians can review it at home as well. I am very appreciative of your partnership and support!
I hope you and your loved ones enjoy a wonderful weekend! We look forward to welcoming our Highview Knights back to school on Monday, May 12.
Sincerely,
Matthew Lutz
Principal
Charter Shout-Outs for the Week
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. Merz (3JM), Mr. Nye (4TN), and Mrs. Tarique (3-4GT). Congratulations to Ava (3JM), Garrison (3JM), Luna (4TN), Frankie (4TN), Nathaniel (3-4GT), and Zachary (3-4GT). See their proud picture below!
Principal's Pride
This week, I would like to give a huge shout out to the Nanuet Elementary PTA. They certainly spoiled us this week for Staff Appreciation Week. From a delicious luncheon to stocking the lounge with snacks to daily raffles, they really made all of us feel so special. I would like to thank Jennifer Falzon and the entire PTA board and membership for making us all feel so incredibly loved this week.
As a reminder, there is a Nanuet Elementary PTA meeting on Monday, May 12 at 7:30 p.m. at G.W. Miller School. Please attend this meeting because the PTA is seeking new board members for the 2025-2026 school year.
We love the Nanuet Elementary PTA!
Eat-and-Play Challenge
At the beginning of the year, we 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 April, Mrs. DeGennaro's class won the third-grade challenge. Mrs. Collins' class won the fourth-grade challenge. Congratulations classes 3PD and 4HC! We look forward to seeing which classes will win for the month of May!
🔶🔶🔶🔶 REPEATED REMINDERS🔶🔶🔶🔶
Affirmations
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.
Arrival and Dismissal Procedures
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.
Bus Information
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:
- Be a good listener.
- Use a quiet voice.
- 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).
Code of Conduct
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.
Digital Backpack
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.
Electronic Devices and Valuable Items
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.
Parent Square Notification System
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:
Parent-Teacher Association (PTA)
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
- Gillian LaTorre, Delegate
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!
Safety and Security Protcols
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.
Snack and Water Bottles
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.
Strive for 25
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.
Dates to Remember
Monday, May 12 - Friday, May 30
Spring DRA Administration Window
Monday, May 12
Grade 4 Visit to Barr Middle School
Classes 4TN, 4CM, 4AM, 4MO, and BOCES
Tuesday, May 13
Grade 3 Field Trip to Turtle Back Zoo
Classes 3PD, 3MR, 3AK, and 3KB
Wednesday, May 14
Grade 3 Field Trip to Turtle Back Zoo
Classes 3KA, 3KS, 3JM, and 3AM, and BOCES
Thursday, May 15
Grade 4 Visit to Barr Middle School
Classes 4HC, 4LC, 4MB, and 4JL
Thursday, May 15
Incoming Grade 3 Parent Orientation
6:00 p.m. in the Highview Auditorium
Monday, May 19 - Friday, May 23
Spring aimswebPLUS Administration (ELA/Math)
Tuesday, May 20
Board of Education Meeting/Budget Vote
7:30 p.m. at Nanuet Senior High School
Thursday, May 22
Grade 4 Spring Concert
7:00 p.m. in the Nanuet High School Auditorium
Monday, May 26
Memorial Day
All Nanuet Schools Closed
Wednesday, May 28
Highview H-Games
Tuesday, June 3
Board of Education Meeting
7:30 p.m. at Nanuet Senior High School
Friday, June 6
Grade 3 String Recital
Details forthcoming!
Friday, June 6
Spirit Day
Wear black and gold!
Go Nanuet Knights!
Highview Elementary School
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