April 2023 Northtowne News
School News, District News & Community Help
PBIS Mission Statement
I am prepared and ready to learn.
I will be respectful, responsible and focused.
I will make choices that focus on teaching and learning.
My hands are for helping, NOT hurting.
And my words are for encouraging.
I will be the best ‘me’ I can be.
April Important Dates
April 4 - CCS Transition Fair; Information specifically addressing the transition from special education services to life after graduation. It's never too early to start planning and gathering information. 6pm-8pm at the Fort Hayes Career Center
April 6 - 30-Minute Early Release; Northtowne students must be picked up at 3:00 PM
April 10-14 - No School; Spring Break
Apr 26 - Pre-K Professional Development Day; Only Pre-K Students No School
You can keep up to date with the District wide school calendar by clicking here or using the button below.
Reminders!
Attendance Email
Morning Drop Off
Please stay with your child prior to 8:30 a.m. and/or when there is no adult supervision. For the safety of your child, please wait until a staff member is outside.
Children should not be dropped off before 8:30.
Dress for the Weather!
If you need any assistance with getting the necessary outerwear for the Ohio weather, reach out to Family Ambassador Sarah Bowman. She will get the details of your needs and connect you with Northtowne Elementary or community based resources to help.
The Lost and Found has a large number of jackets and coats continuing to accumulate. If your student has lost of any of these items at school please contact the classroom teacher or Family Ambassador Sarah Bowman for assistance with attempting to locate items.
Contact the Family Ambassador at: sbowman@columbus.k12.oh.us or you can call or text 614-859-9654
Principal's Corner
Hello Families, Caregivers, and Students,
I hope all of our Northtowne Knights feel the renewal of spring this April! All of our students get the benefit of the renewal of a new grading period. That's right! We officially began the the 4th and final grading period of this school year. Time is flying by so quickly. Soon we will be acknowledging the transitions of our pre-k and kindergarten students within the building and the promotion of our 5th graders into middle school and a whole new adventure!
Before all of those celebrations we do have to get through the spring testing season. We are optimistic that the end of year tests will show additional gap closing. I know our teachers and students have been working hard toward being able to show the outcomes of their best efforts. Ohio State Tests (OST) are starting before Spring Break and will continue after we return to school. iReady Assessments will also begin soon.
It was great to see so many families attend our Family Movie Night at the end of March! Since the acoustics in the cafeteria/gymnasium do amplify all noises, whether from kids being restless or from the movie itself we may look into ways to improve our sound system. We hope that the kids had fun being able to have a special event with school friends and that families felt they got useful information about social-emotional learning.
I wish all of the Northtowne Knights an excellent (or egg-cellent if you like English puns) Spring Break and enjoyable time with family.
Mr. Taylor
Spotlight on 3rd Grade
What came first – the chicken or the egg? Well, according to our third graders, it’s the egg! That’s because our third grade classes are watching chick eggs hatch! The chick eggs arrived in third grade on March 9th. It takes at least 21 days to hatch baby chicks. At the time of writing several eggs have hatched and we can report success with chicks!
Did you know that a chick’s life cycle lasts for approximately 3-5 years, and contains five stages? Our third graders know this fact and many others, as they are learning about Standard 3 in Life Sciences: “Plants and animals have life cycles that are a part of their adaptations to survive.”
The third graders wrote an opinion writing on why Mr. Taylor should allow us to have baby chicks hatch at school. They did a nice job on them. In addition to the huge anticipation of the chicks, we are preparing for the Third Grade ELA state test. We are taking the Reading portion of the test before spring break and the Math portion will be after spring break.
April is Occupational Therapy (OT) Month
At Northtowne, we are lucky to have two occupational therapists! Are you wondering what an occupational therapist is or why a school would have an occupational therapist? This is a little information describing the role of our school-based occupational therapists:
Occupational therapists (OT) in the school system are focused on supporting a child’s overall ability to participate as successfully and fully as possible in the school environment. OT’s focus often includes: fine motor functioning, sensory processing, visual motor and visual perceptual skills, self-care skills/activities of daily living, social skills, cognitive skills and executive functioning, and more!
OT in schools follows a different model than what you may have seen in clinics or hospitals. OTs in schools are part of the special education team that includes: special education teachers, general education teachers, instructional assistants, school psychologists, speech language pathologists, physical therapists, and other professionals as well as students’ parents and caregivers. Occupational therapy’s expertise includes activity and environmental analysis and modification with a goal of reducing the barriers to participation in education.
Here are some examples of how school OTs can help:
- Promote visual motor coordination for tasks like coloring, drawing and legible handwriting
- Facilitate access and efficient use of technology devices needed in the classroom
- Consider sensory supports or other accommodations to promote alertness, attention, or self-regulation
- Encourage independent management of personal materials (backpack, coat, shoes/boots, clothing fasteners)
From the Guidance Counselor
Our kindness tree has really been blossoming since we started this project in March! We are using this this tree to show how students can "Let Your Kindness Bloom." As a reminder, each grade level was given a unique color of Post-It Notes and asked to take a few minutes each day for students identify the kind things they noticed classmates doing that day. These notes are then stuck to the tree branches to be the blossoming of the tree. Ask you student which color of Post-It Notes represent their grade level. You can also ask about the examples of kindness that your student has been noticing.
As the school counselor it was very exciting to have Inside Out be the movie selected for the Family Movie Night. Inside Out is a great Disney movie all about emotions. It highlights the fact that we all have emotions or feelings. Sometimes time those emotions feel good and sometimes they don't. It is important recognize that everyone has feelings, and that's ok. A big question is, how does each person respond to their feelings and make decisions about how they will act? The flyer passed out at Family Movie Night is attached below. The QR code on the flyer links to more information from Nationwide Children's Hospital. The web site is also linked through the button below the flyer.
Notes from Nurse Brandi
Immunization referral letters were sent home to students who are due for vaccinations or who are new to the school and we have not yet received records. Please get these completed and sent in to school as soon as possible. If you need any assistance obtaining these required immunizations, please reach out.
As we head into the ups and downs of spring weather, it may be a good time for kids to start taking their daily allergy medicine or have a check-up with the doctor if allergies are a concern.
Although we are not requiring isolation for symptoms, testing, or quarantining for exposure to Covid-19, we are still seeing some positive cases. Please remember to encourage students to wash their hands often, cover their coughs, drink lots of water and get plenty of rest. Parents, if your child is not feeling well, including fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, diarrhea or vomiting please keep them home until they are fever or symptom free for 24 hours.
Happy spring and thank you for helping to keep everyone at Northtowne Elementary safe and healthy!
Contact Nurse Brandi at:
Phone: 380.997.2099
Email: blzeiter@columbus.k12.oh.us
Grateful for Family Involvement
Thank you so much for your support and involvement with your child’s learning. Whether it’s conferences, attending the family meetings, or a quick chat throughout the day, we appreciate your involvement and efforts to build the lines of communication between home and school.
Lots of school communication and information is in the Parent Portal. If you need help accessing the Parent Portal please contact our Family Ambassador, Sarah Bowman. She can even link families to interpreters (Bilingual Engagement Liaisons or BEL) to help with understanding the Parent Portal set up process. Email: sbowman@columbus.k12.oh.us or you can call or text: 614-859-9654Transition Fair for Special Education
District Engagement Sessions
Upcoming Virtual Family Engagement Sessions:
Virtual Family Engagement Sessions are typically scheduled for every Tuesday and Thursday starting at 6:oo p.m. Sessions rotate through various topics.
- No Virtual Sessions on April 4, April 6, April 11, and April 13 (Spring Break)
- Check the Engagement Sessions RSVP page after Spring Break for new sessions scheduled for last April and the month of May.
Our sessions are recorded and posted on our Virtual Family Engagement Session Library in case you are unable to attend.
CCS Summer Experience 2023
The 2023 Summer Experience kicks off on June 20, and it’s FREE to all PreK through 12 Columbus City Schools students. We’re excited to provide CCS students and families with a summer of exciting school and community-based learning experiences.
This year’s Summer Experience includes similar project-based learning students and families have been able to enjoy through our Pathway Express focuses: Entrepreneurship, Family & Consumer Sciences, Fine Arts, STEM, and World Languages & Cultures.
Registration, through your Parent Portal account, opens March 15th!
Questions? Contact the Office of Extended Learning: 614-365-5010 or ExtendedLearning@columbus.k12.oh.us.
Kids Bowl Free!! 🎳
🎳 Registered kids receive 2 free games of bowling each day of the kids bowl free program all summer long! 🎳
Participating Centers in Columbus:
Click on any of the links above for participating bowling centers or click the button below to sign up.
Egg Hunt, Vendor Fair, and Free Food
Food and Clothing Give-A-Way
You and the whole community are invited to a:
Free food and clothing give-a-way
Saturday April 15, 2023 starting at 9am
Faith Ministries
2747 Agler Rd
Columbus, OH 43224
(the church across from KIPP)
Stay in your car and drive through for to receive fresh fruits, vegetables, other produce and more. Plus, a free distribution of gently used clothes.
Summer Camps Throughout Central Ohio
Check out the link below to go to a Smore dedicated to information about Summer Camps and Opportunities. This Smore will continue to be updated as the Department of Communications and Engagement gets more information on programs being offered in Central Ohio. The Smore linked is updated as new information becomes available.
Northtowne's Resource Center
If there is information that you need, but don't see available, please reach out to our Family Ambassador, Sarah Bowman. She will be happy to help you locate services to meet your needs. mailto:sbowman@columbus.k12.oh.us or 614-859-9654
Thank you for reading this month’s newsletter.
Send a note to let us know what you thought, make suggestions or ask a question. We would love to hear from you. Please send a note to your child’s teacher or send a message.
Contributors:
Austin Taylor, Principal
Phone: 614-365-5488
Fax: 614-365-5487
Email: ataylor4@columbus.k12.oh.us
Sarah Bowman, Family Ambassador
614-859-9654
Email: sbowman@columbus.k12.oh.us
Susan Bryant, Building Coach
614-365-5488
Email: sbryant9569@columbus.k12.oh.us
Frank Beickelman, Grant Provider
614-365-5488