Northlake Notes

Hello Northlake,

We made it to May! I hope you are all finding a fun way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo today. We will be having Taco Night at the Kellagher House!

As I said last week, we have a lot going on these last few weeks of school. We ended last week with an amazing Buddy Fun Day! A BIG thank you to Coach Bridges and Coach Manhkong for all their planning and hard work! And, many thanks to all of our parent volunteers, we couldn't have done it without you. Kindergarten had a great time at the Dallas zoo and 5th grade had a fun trip to FC Dallas in Frisco. Hats off to Ms. Cardwell who chaperoned the Kinder field trip as a mom, the 5th grade field trip as a teacher, and played hard at Buddy Fun Day. Whew!

Teacher Appreciation Week is here and PTA has planned a wonderful week, with something special each day for our teachers and staff. We are so lucky with some of the best teachers around, so please be sure to show them a little extra love this week. See the flyer below for some ideas!

Have a great week,

Ms. Kellagher

Here are some ideas on how students can appreciate their teachers this week.

Our teachers work long hours before/after school and on weekends to make sure that our students have engaging activities, field trips, projects, themes, and more to provide the most student growth.

Click the NLE Team Faves button below to find out a few of your teacher's favorite things (use ctrl or cmd F to find them quickly)! And below are some ways to show them your love each day!

Thank you to our amazing PTA for the fantastic activities and treats they have lined for our awesome NLE Team this week (see below). Shout out to Mary Elizabeth Miller and her team who worked hard to get this lineup together. Thank you to all the sponsors that have gone above and beyond. You all are the BEST!

Kindergarten went to the zoo this week, and 5th Grade got to hang out at FC Dallas.

Ms. Baker has been reading Because of Winn Dixie with her class and this past week they a week full of Winn Dixie activities. Students went to the computer lab and created a digital scrapbook about the story, through the eyes of the main character, Opal and the class worked together to make a poster to hang up in their classroom. They made a Winn Dixie dictionary, highlighting vocabulary from the story. Students got to decorate a mistake bottle, just like Gloria Dump's that hung in her tree and they hung theirs from the ceiling in their classroom. Ms. Baker decorated her classroom for the week and on Friday, students worked from a choice board to complete engaging Winn Dixie activities. They wrapped up the week with a party. And, just like in the story they had Winn Dixie's peanut butter sandwiches, Gloria Dump's punch, Gertrude's animal crackers, Otis' pickles, Litmus Lozenges and egg salad sandwhiches (made by Ms. Baker's mom). As they had their party, they watched the movie and bonus...the kids LOVED the egg salad sandwiches!

Even with all the fun activities that punctuate the end of the school year, our teachers are still hard at work ensuring that every school day is still filled with engaging learning and project-based activities. 1st Grade put together a Market Day, our littles applied higher level skills by programming Ozbots, and Kinder continued with their ABC countdown to summer.

PTA and our parent community have been super busy this week too!

Beyond, BFD and field trips, our families culminated Northlake's first Community Book Club with a party in the library. This whole project was a HUGE success - thank you to Mr. Kimo Aleman and everyone that has supported this endeavor. 📚👪

Some of our PTA also hosted and attended the NLE Kentucky Derby which raised over $4000 for Northlake! 👒🎩🏇🐎

Our very own, Mrs. Sara Turner, was honored by our district this weekend at the Richardson Education Foundation Banquet (Prom). One of only eight teachers to receive this honor of STAR teacher in all of RISD this year, Mrs. Turner represented Northlake as part of the prom court at the banquet. She attended with her husband, family, and PTA Board member Alison Zelaya who supported Richardson Education Foundation with planning the banquet.

Thank you to Coach Bridges and Courtney Shade for spearheading Buddy Fun Day this year! Thank you to all our parent volunteers, our Specials Team, our Northlake Team, and our PTA and neighborhood sponsors. Whether students were outside at Buddy Fun Day or indoors preparing/recovering with projects, computer lab time, and karaoke, the rain and mud didn't stop the plans, and a great time was had by all. I'm sure the next 100 or so pictures will give you just a snippet of the fun. 🤩

If you know of any Northlake Alumni that will be graduating seniors this year, please share this invitation with them.

Please use the QR Code in the flyer or click this link to order school supplies for next year. These will be delivered to your child's classroom. Thank you PTA!

https://bit.ly/Supplies24-25

Enrollment for the 2024-25 school year opens online Tuesday, Feb. 27 at 8:00 a.m.

Whether you’re new to RISD or returning for another year of school, parents can take advantage of convenient online enrollment using a PowerSchool registration account. Enrollment for returning students will require a “snapcode” that will be emailed to current parents on February 26.

Starting Feb. 27, enrollment for next school year will open for all current or future students in Pre-K through grade 12. Please click here for more information about the enrollment process and what documents are necessary to complete enrollment.

Contact your current (2023-24) RISD school for questions or assistance with enrollment, including help submitting necessary documents.

If you would like to volunteer at Northlake Elementary, you must complete a volunteer background check EVERY new school year. Volunteering could include helping with class parties, attending field trips with your children, working in the library, helping at Field Day, or many other activities. We will not allow anyone who has not completed and passed the volunteer background check to volunteer.

Please click on this link to complete the background check. You MUST also watch the very short powerpoint at the end to complete the entire background check. Failure to watch the powerpoint will make your application incomplete and you will not be able to volunteer.

The district has implemented a new intercom and a new system for checking in and out as a visitor or volunteer and for checking students in/out of school. Please be patient as we learn this new process together.

• Be sure to bring a valid ID each time you come to school.
• Students that arrive after 8:05 MUST have an adult sign them in. Northlake staff members may NOT do this for you, so please be sure that walkers are getting to school on time.

With the advent of spring, comes a little spring fever. Dads Club & PTA are asking volunteers to join in to provide support in the lunchroom and at recess.

If you are interested in volunteering in the lunchroom or at recess, please use this link to sign up. Be sure you have completed the background check via risd.voly.org.

Thanks, Dads (and Moms) ! We appreciate you. ❤️👨👩

If you would like to hear more about Dads Club, please reach out to Brad McCutcheon at DadsClub@NorthlakePTA.com.

We have a new opportunity to volunteer in the garden. In the weeks leading up to our drip-line install, we are needing some watering help.

This opportunity will be for one week at a time, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. You would be watering the seedlings for a total of around 20 minutes. It can be done at your convenience, but you won't need to check in if you go after 3pm.

To sign up, click the link: Garden Volunteer Link

If you have any questions, please reach out to our Garden Chair, Rachel Bennion at rachelebennion@gmail.com

Reminder that no crocs or "croc-like" shoes are allowed at school. Many croc-related incidents end up in the Nurse's clinic. Please do not make us have to be the "crocs police", as this rule is part of our district Elementary Dress Code. Please be sure your students are dressed appropriately for school each day. Thank you for your help keeping all our students safe! 👟

Due to STAAR/EOY testing, field trips, Buddy Fun Day, Career Day, and a host of other ongoing activities, as we get closer to the end of the school year, there are dates that are blacked out on the lunch calendar due to shifting school schedules and demands on staff.

The spring semester lunch dates are listed below. The bolded are upcoming/available dates.

Be sure to scroll to the end of the newsletter for lunch visitor expectations.

Remaining Spring Semester Lunch Dates:
May 13, 14, 15, 16

Use this link to sign up.

bit.ly/NLESpring24LunchSignUp

Please be sure that children are supervised at all times whether at the Audelia Public Library or the playground next to it. There have been injuries that have happened from students playing without guardian supervision. Please remind your children that if they are walkers, they should be walking straight home from school. The librarians do not supervise students, so please do not allow your children to go to the library without an adult.

The school day is from 7:50-3:10.

• The building opens at 7:30.

• Breakfast is served in the classroom from 7:30-7:50.

• Your child is tardy at 7:51 and will receive a tardy pass to get to class.

• Your child is late for school after 8:05 and a parent will need to sign them in at the office.

• If your child arrives to school after 9:00 AM they are counted absent for the day.

• If you child is absent for any reason, please be sure to send a note to school on the day your child returns, letting us know the reason for the absence. Any excuse notes must be received within 3 days of returning to school in order to receive an excused absence.

If you have any questions regarding attendance, please email lorrie.ford@risd.org.

Parents are welcome to bring a small birthday treat to celebrate their child's birthday. Here are a few reminders:

• Treats must be store bought or baked (cupcakes and cookies are best). We ask for store bought so teachers can see the ingredients listed in order to be mindful of any allergies students may have.
• We do not pass out drinks, party bags or balloons.
• Parents may drop treats labeled with child's name, grade and homeroom teacher, off in the main office, and we will get them to the classroom.
• We will not call students out of class to come to the office for pictures with their treats.
• Teachers will pass treats out at the end of the day.

To have your child's name added to the marquee for their birthday for just $10, please use this link to the PTA website. www.northlakepta.com/birthday-marquee

The district policy is that grades are not printed and sent home; however, you may view your child's grades on the Parent Portal in Focus. If you have not signed up for a Parent Portal Account, please see the information below.

Please be sure to sign up for your Parent Focus Account. This will give you access to all kinds of important student information. Most importantly, you will have access to your child's grade.

web.risd.org/focus/

In the interest of safety & security, every visitor to a Richardson ISD campus must present a valid form of identification and be processed through the Raptor background check system each visit, regardless of previous checks. Please be sure that you have your valid identification with you every time you visit Northlake Elementary. Thank you for your patience and understanding as RISD works to ensure the safety of students and employees. Volunteer questions may be directed to the office of Strategy & Engagement.

Additionally, the front office staff will use the intercom system to ask visitors to identify themselves and the purpose of their visit before granting access to the office. This is part of our heightened security measures. Please be cooperative. As you enter the building, do not allow others to enter with you or to follow you through the doors as you enter or leave. Everyone who enters should ring the buzzer and speak to someone in the office before entering the school building. Thank you!

Parents are welcome to come visit during lunch to eat with their students. We ask that you sign up for a day and time using the sign-up genius. In order to keep students safe and to accommodate everyone, please review these expectations for lunch visitors:

• Sign up for your visit using the Sign Up Genius.
• No siblings, due to limited space on the stage.
• You may eat lunch with your child only.
• Please do not take pictures of your child while at lunch.
• When you are finished with lunch, please check out through the office. Parents may not go back to class with their children to visit.

bit.ly/NLESpring24LunchSignUp

Remaining Spring Semester Lunch Dates:

May 13, 14, 15, 16

Parents must apply for their child/children to receive free or reduced breakfast and lunch. Last year everyone received free school breakfast but this year families must apply to receive free or reduced breakfast. The application must be completed as soon as possible to ensure that there is no interruption to their meal service. This application needs to be filled out every year. Please click on the picture or link below to get to the lunch application.

Students are welcome to pack a nutritious lunch from home or a lunch may be purchased in the school cafeteria. If your child happens to forget their lunch from home, please drop it off in the front office by 10:30 AM. This will ensure that the lunch will reach your child by their lunch time. Please refer to the RISD Child Nutrition website for menus, pricing and payment options.

We are so fortunate to have a wonderful PTA. They have been working so hard all year.

If you are interested in volunteering in the lunchroom or at recess, please use this link to sign up. Be sure you have completed the background check via risd.voly.org.

Please be sure to check out their website for different ways you can help out. You can also reach out to Amanda Hinders at President@NorthlakePTA.com for more information about PTA, or if you would like to hear more about Dads Club, please reach out to Brad McCutcheon at DadsClub@NorthlakePTA.com.

We need your help! We are working hard to grow our PTA membership. It costs $8 to join PTA and there is no time commitment needed. We always need volunteers at PTA school events such as Carnival, Multi-Cultural Night and Buddy Fun Day. But, we are flexible and you can work as much or as little as your schedule allows.

You can find more information out about our PTA on their website. Thanks in advance for supporting our school! https://www.northlakepta.com/

May: Mental Health Awareness Month & Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage American Month

May 6-10 Teacher Appreciation Week

May 7 - 1st Grade Field Trip

May 8 - National Nurse Day

May 10 - Career Day

May 13 - Book Fair starts & AVID Site Team Meeting

May 15 - Senior Breakfast & Walk

May 16 - 7 Up Parties & 5th Grade Field Trip

May 17 - 4th Nine Weeks Assembly

May 20 - 40 Book Pie-face Celebration & PBIS Team Meeting

May 21 - 6th Grade Field Trip

May 22 - 5th & 6th Graduation Rehearsal

May 23 - 5th Grade Graduation & 6th Grade Field Trip

May 24 - 6th Grade Graduation, 5th & 6th Grade Clap Out, & Early Release Day/Last Day of School