Hello Families, Caregivers, and Students,
Fall and a season of thankfulness have officially begun and the first quarter of the school year has ended. Grades have been posted and finalized! Caregivers can review their student's grades by logging into their Parent Portal Portal accounts, clicking to open the menu at the left side of the window, and clicking "Grades." You will also need to switch the grade card view to "Q1" to see the first quarter grades. If you have any difficulty with this or with logging into your Parent Portal account please contact our Family Ambassador, Sarah Bowman (her contact information is at the bottom of this newsletter).
I would also like to take a moment to thank our families for your patience as Northtowne and Columbus City Schools (CCS) work to navigate the new state law for student data protection that was created by Ohio Senate Bill 29. As you have likely noticed, one of the significant impacts is that we must continue to temporarily pause our use of Class Dojo for school and classroom communications. CCS is actively working with the Class Dojo company to secure a legal agreement that will allow us to again use this communication platform. We will keep you updated as we learn more.
I am excited about several upcoming Northtowne events. Caregiver-teacher conferences will take place mid-month. I hope our families will take advantage of the opportunity meet and discuss student academic progress. We will also have our Fall Music Concert to showcase the efforts of our students in vocal and instrumental music. Looking ahead a little bit further, I am pleased to announce the 3rd annual Family Gingerbread House Night coming in December! It is always great to see our families supporting their students and our school, so I look forward to seeing many of you in the coming weeks!
With Gratitude,
Mr. Taylor
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.
If you drive your student to school, please enter the parking lot area and drive beside the sidewalk. Pull forward, as much as possible, until just past the open cafeteria doors.
Breakfast is served starting at 8:30 and is free for any child who chooses to eat.
November is National Native American Heritage Month
Each year since 1990 the president has proclaimed November the designated National Native American Heritage Month. Congress chose the month of November because this is generally the end of the traditional harvest season and a time of thanksgiving and celebration for Native Americans.
National Native American Heritage Month celebrates the cultures, traditions and contributions of Native people across American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian and American Samoan communities. This month raises awareness about the vibrant cultures and heritage of Native communities, uplifting the unique traditions and voices of tribes across the nation.
There are over 500 federally recognized Native tribes in the United States, each with its own unique culture and history. A great way to focus your learning experience is to discover the Tribal territory you reside in by entering your zip code in the Native Lands interactive map online. From there, you can learn more about their unique culture and traditions — from traditional Indigenous food that was grown in your region to how they lived.
(Taken from Boys and Girls Clubs of America and nativeamericanheritagemonth.gov)
Nurse Cassie would like all of our families to know about the following great opportunity from the Remote Area Medical Volunteer Corps. A group of OSU students organize the sponsorship for this FREE medical event to help anyone who is in need of dental, vision, or medical care. All exams are at no cost. Appointments are first come, first served each day of the event. No ID is required.
When:
November 16-17, 2024
The parking lot will open as early as 11:59 pm on November 15 to accept early arrivals. The clinic doors open at 6:00 am
Where:
East High School
1500 E Broad St
Columbus OH 43205
The Black House of Altruismo is kicking off our 1st House Challenge with a Food Drive! Since Altruismo is the house of GIVERS we thought it would be fun to challenge each house to give to those in need. The challenge is underway now and goes through November 18th. All food will be donated to a local food pantry. In the main hallway by the front office there are four food collection boxes, one for each house. When students bring in donations, we ask that they drop them into the correct house box, the boxes are color coded. If families drop off donations during the school day we ask that you mark the donation with the name of your student's teacher so that the correct house will get credit. We will take a count at the end of each day and put the points up on the board. The House with the most items will earn a dance party!
Do you have concerns about how your student is managing school expectations (academic, behavior, social, etc.)? Click the link below to fill out a form that will let the school know about your concerns. Your communication with us helps us to be sure that no one in need is missed.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeWUlEYRyPMJkDPvLB5DLRO-6aYS6JJErlVyZokHqc4rV1s1A/viewform
In recognition of National Principals' month in October, Mr Taylor was selected to be highlighted on the CCS website and social media pages. Check out the article written about Mr Taylor and his passion for positively impacting students by clicking here!
Did you delete a Northtowne News email and then realize there was a resource you still wanted to check out? Do you remember seeing a newsletter announcement about a community resource but now you can't remember the name of the organization and you can't find the email from the newsletter? Don't worry! The information you need is not lost! All prior Newsletters and mid-month updates are available on the Northtowne Elementary web site. The button below will take you directly to the newsletter archive.