BEST - Back to School Scoop 2022

Welcome to the start of the 2022-2023 school year! Everyone at Northwood is excited for this school year! This first newsletter contains a lot of beginning of the year information that I hope you'll find helpful. Our website is a great place to go for up to date information www.fultonschools.org/northwoodes. You can also follow Northwood on Twitter @FCS_NWES or @NWES_Principal.

Please join us for our Sneak Peek this Thursday, August 4th:

Last Name A-L 8:30-9:30 am

Last Name M-Z 10:00-11:00 am

Class lists, as well as bus lists, will be posted in each hallway and throughout the school. When you come in for Sneak Peek, you can proceed to the appropriate hallway and look for your child's name in an alphabetized list. Staff will be around to assist families as needed.

Riverwalk Hallway : Kindergarten and First Grades

Mountain View Hallway : Second and Third Grades

Seascape Hallway : Fourth and Fifth Grades

Make sure to stop by the gym if you purchased an Edukit (pre-purchased school supply kit), want to purchase a school agenda, or need a carpool tag. You can also get information about how to join our fantastic PTA - they'll have school spirit wear available for purchase as well.

In the cafeteria you can learn about various after school clubs, Northwood's on-site after school program, as well as learn about the cafeteria processes and add money to your child's lunch account. It's important to note that meals are no longer free this year so students will need money on their lunch accounts in order to purchase breakfast and/or lunch. More information about school nutrition is below.

As part of a smooth start of school year, families should make sure they have an up to date Infinite Campus Parent account. Please click this link for directions to create an account. You will need to know your child's student ID, which you may obtain by calling the Northwood front office at 470-254-6390. If you already have an Infinite Campus Parent account, please check to make certain cell phones, email address, and emergency contact information is current and accurate.

School safety will remain a priority. Staff and students will participate in a variety of safety drills starting the first week of school. Visitors are always required to check in at the front office and show your ID. Make sure you have your ID with you before you come inside so you don't have to go back to your car to get it. All visitors will also be given and are required to wear visitor sticker. We appreciate your cooperation as we remain diligent to keeping everyone at Northwood safe.

I am truly looking forward to what I know will be a phenomenal school year! The Northwood staff and families have already made me feel at home. I can't wait to see everyone at Sneak Peek later this week!

With gratitude,
Heather Rucker

Principal

The first day of school is Monday, August 8th. Our school hours are 7:10 am - 2:20 pm. Arrival begins at 7:10 am. Staff members will be outside at 7:10 to greet students from the carpool line and bus drop off. For the first day of school only, we do allow parents/guardians to walk their child to class. Parents/guardians will need to be out of the building when school starts at 7:40 am. We encourage you to start your child's usual school dismissal plan on the first day as the teachers will begin practicing dismissal routines with them so they'll become familiar with the process.

Dismissal of carpool students and bus riders can run a bit slower than normal the first few days as routines are learned. We triple check to make sure the students go home the correct way. It's helpful to have your student learn their bus animal (found here) or carpool number.

As you have most likely heard, there is a nationwide, statewide, and local bus driver shortage. FCS is experiencing this challenge and is making adjustments to bus routes to ensure the instructional day is not impacted for students. With that being said, our buses may run a little earlier this year for the morning routes. There may also be times when the buses will run late for afternoon dismissal due to this shortage. We do anticipate a longer carpool line as a result of the bus schedules. However, please plan your carpool arrival time to make sure car riders are not tardy. Students need to be in the building by 7:40 am.

The district highly encourages families to download and use the app Here Comes the Bus. It is free and enables you to see the location of your child's school bus on your mobile device or computer. For instructions on how to download it please click here. You can also visit the Fulton County Transportation website here.

For ALL Second Grade Families: Families are required to provide the school with 2 proofs of residency before entering second grade. You may drop of copies to the front desk at Northwood during Sneak Peek or email the documents to Ms. Fleming at flemingml@fultonschools.org

Approved Residence Verification Documents

• Current utility bill (electric or water)

AND

• Copy of home mortgage payment
• Lease / Renters Agreement
• Current bank statement
• Copy of Section 8 / HUD housing contract
• Copy of home contract
• Homeowner's / Renter's insurance card
• Current paycheck stub
• State driver's license / ID with current address
• Current HOA Bill / Statement

Please visit the FCS School Nutrition Website here for current menus, payment plan information as well as the application for free and reduced meals. For families wanting to apply for free and reduced meals, it is advised to complete the application as soon as possible.

Our school cafeteria will serve breakfast and lunch for those that wish to participate. Breakfast is served from 7:10-7:40 am. Any student may purchase food at school (payment for meals returns this year). Parents are highly encouraged to prepay for meals online. You may also submit payment in an envelope with your child's full first and last name as well as teacher name on the envelope. The cost for meals will be deducted from the student's lunch account with each purchase. If you choose to allow your child to purchase anything extra (ice cream, etc) permission needs to be given in the Student Profile. Notices will be sent home to parents when the account shows a negative balance. Students who forget their lunch money may request a charge to be placed on their account but the make up payment needs to be sent in the next day. Please contact the school to be directed to the cafeteria manager if you have any questions.

Elementary Meal Prices

Student Breakfast $1.10

Student Lunch $2.45

Extra Milk $0.75

The Georgia Milestones scores from Spring 2022 are being uploaded into the State Longitudinal Data System (SLDS). Student scores should be accessible via your child's Infinite Campus portal on August 6th. More information to come on how to view the scores in Infinite Campus.

Fulton County Schools would like to notify our families, students, and communities about a few of the changes to the 2022-2023 Code of Conduct, especially the new expectations around cell phones and personal communication devices. Please click here for the important overview as well as directions on how to digitally sign off on the CoC receipt/review in Infinite Campus. You may access the Code of Conduct directly from the district website.

Please review the attachments below from FCS Health Services for important information for the 2022-2023 school year.

Additionally, if a family needs to report a positive case of Covid-19 of a student, please continue to submit the information to the parent reporting portal, found here. An FCS Nurse or designee will follow up with the family.