Newell Family Sunday Message 09/29
September 29th, 2024
Newell Families,
As a school we are reviewing the importance of following instructions the first time, every time. We are teaching that when an adult gives an instruction: The child/student says okay or nods their head and follows the instruction right away. Simple and easy for parents to use at home as well.
- Mr. Balcom
Photo of the Week
Our Fourth Graders are comparing and ordering 6-digit numbers!
Announcements
Weekly Spirit Days!
We have several days each week where students and staff are encouraged to dress in a specific way. This is a great way for our students and staff to have fun and bond together!
- MONDAYS: Every Monday is a Newell Spirit Day! Students are encouraged to wear a Newell shirt and/or the colors BLACK and GOLD. If you need a Newell shirt the PTA Apparel store is open now! Click the link here to order: https://stores.inksoft.com/newell_elementary_apparel
- FRIDAYS: Every Friday is an Islander Pride Spirit Day! Students are encouraged to wear a Grand Island shirt and/or the colors PURPLE and GOLD.
- We also celebrate Husker Spirit Days for both Husker Volleyball matches and Football games. Students are encouraged to wear Husker gear or red these days.
All of these theme days are on our Newell Activities Calendar which you can find here: http://bit.ly/newellcal
Fire Prevention Day
The morning of Thursday October 3rd the Grand Island Fire Department will be presenting to every classroom! We thank them for their partnership to help keep our students safe!
Picture Re-Take Day
Lifetouch will be back at school on Wednesday October 2nd for picture re-takes and to take pictures of any students who were gone on picture day.
Pulling Back the Shield: A Peek into Our Learning Adventures
Each week we'll let you behind the scenes on what students are learning at Newell.
This week we are look at Trend Walks! Last week your child may have said, “Mom there were two adults with clipboards in my classroom today! They were watching us learn” What's that all about?!
Each month Mr. Balcom and Mrs. Eickhoff, (and sometimes other staff members from Newell or the district) visit every classroom in the school for a quick 10 minute observation. During this time we are taking notes on our school improvement plan goals and how that plan is coming alive in the classroom. We are also looking for effective educational strategies on display in the classrooms such as opportunities for each student to respond, using academic vocabulary and others.
Our teachers receive feedback on these observations and our leadership team reviews the data (looking for trends) to make decisions on what to celebrate and how to improve instruction for all students.
Coming Soon: Parent Teacher Conferences!
Parents, please note Parent Teacher Conferences are coming soon.
👥 Newell PTA Corner 👥
This section includes updates and important information from our amazing Newell PTA! More information is always available on our Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/NewellElementaryPTA
👥 Next PTA Meeting
Our next PTA Meeting will be Monday, October 14th from 6:30 – 7:30pm! We will meet in the commons area at Newell. We will plan fall and winter events, as well as apparel designs.
👥 PTA on Facebook
Make sure to like our Newell PTA Facebook Page so you don't miss out on any information!
👥 Box Top for Education School
Did you know our school is a Box Top for education school? It’s super easy to help our school raise extra funds!
- Download the Box Top for Education app!
- Choose our school— A B Newell Elementary School
- Go grocery shopping!
- Scan every receipt just to make sure you’re not missing anything!
- Repeat steps 3&4 as often as you need to!
📆 Important Dates Coming Up 📆
Monday September 30th
- First Grade Field Trip (Stuhr Museum)
Tuesday October 1st
- Kindergarten Field Trip (Pumpkin Patch)
Wednesday October 2nd
- Picture Re-Take Day!
Monday October 7th
- Dismissal at 2pm.
- Parent Teacher Conferences and Book Fair 3:40pm to 7:20pm
Tuesday October 8th
- Dismissal at 2pm.
- Parent Teacher Conferences and Book Fair 3:30pm to 7:10pm
Wednesday October 9th
- Dismissal at 2pm.
Thursday October 10th
- No School For Students
- Parent Teacher Conferences and Book Fair 8am to 11:00am
Friday October 11th
- No School
Monday October 14th
- Newell PTA Meeting at 6:30pm
Tuesday October 15th
- Newell PTA Dine to Donate at Dairy Queen (Capital Ave) 5pm to 8pm.
Keep up with our FULL Calendar of EVERYTHING going on here: http://bit.ly/newellcal
Photo Gallery
This is the Way!
Enjoy these recent photos!
Click to zoom in.
♻️ REPEATED MESSAGES ♻️
Messages that are important all year long!
♻️ Handle With Care Information
Your child’s education and well-being is important to us. If your family or child is experiencing difficulties at home, we would love to be able to provide additional support at school. We understand that you are not always able to share details and that’s okay. If your child is coming to school after a difficult night, morning, or weekend, send a message or note with the words, “Handle with Care.” Nothing else will be said or asked. This will let us know that your child may need extra space, time, patience, and help during the day.
♻️ Students Who are Sick
Parents, there is a lot of illness going around. Please monitor your child for symptoms.
Description of Fever:
- A fever is a temporary increase in body temperature, usually caused by an illness.
- In most mild, two to five day, childhood illnesses, fever is lowest in the morning, rises in the afternoon, and will be the highest in evening and night. As the child begins to recover, morning temperatures will be normal with fever still present later in the day.
Management:
- Students with a temperature of 100 F or more may be sent home from school.
- Students may return to school when their temperature has remained below 100.0 for 24 hours without fever reducing medication.
♻️ Weather Updates and School Cancellations
Social media posts as well as a phone call, email or text message will inform you of urgent announcements and weather emergencies. Please be sure our office has your most current telephone and email information.
♻️ School Times:
A regular school day begins at 8:00am and dismisses at 3:05pm, Monday through Friday. Students may be dropped after 7:30am. Students must be picked up by 3:15pm.
Please make your child aware of his/her after school plan. If transportation or daycare plans change, please call the office so we can let your child’s teacher know. Thank you.
♻️ Breakfast
We start our school day right at 8:00am. It is VERY important that your child is in class ready to learn at 8:00. Breakfast is served from 7:30am to 7:50am. We are unable to serve students breakfast after 7:50am. If your child needs to eat breakfast at Newell, plan to have them on campus with enough time to get to our breakfast line by 7:50. Students arriving after 7:50 should go to their class lines. Breakfast is FREE for ALL students!
♻️ Visitors:
ALL visitors need to check in at the office and wear given identification while in the school. All visitors must ring the buzzer at door #1. Our staff is busily working with students during the school day. If visiting Newell to speak with a staff member, you may be asked to make an appointment at a later time.
♻️ Birthday Treats:
Birthdays may be celebrated in each child’s classroom. Families are NOT required or expected to provide treats or gifts. However, if you want to offer treats, please provide healthy snacks that are individually packaged. Cupcakes, cookies, donuts, etc. will not be allowed.
♻️ Student Cell Phones:
As cited on page 34 of the GIPS Student Handbook:
"Students in grades Pre-K-5 are discouraged from bringing ECDs (Electronic Communication Devices) to school."
If you need to send an Electronic Communication Device with your student, the handbook states:
"Phones should be kept either turned off, or on silent following the rules specified by the classroom teacher."
At Newell students either keep their phones off or silent in their backpacks or they bring their phones to our secretaries in the office at the beginning of the day to keep them safe, also off or on silent. Note: your child will not be able to send or read messages or calls during the school day.
If you have questions please reach out to Mr. Balcom.
The full handbook is online here: https://www.gips.org/Page/105
Have a wonderful first week!
Nate Balcom- Principal
Heather Glause - Secretary
Kathy Schulte - Attendance Secretary
Jami White - Social Worker
Tiffanie Oswald - Nurse
Yolanda Seiler - Spanish Interpreter