Week of September 9th
September 9th is an E Day.
I am extremely proud of our NPS community, as we begin Week 2 of the 2024-25 school year. Our returning students did an excellent job of welcoming our Kindergarteners and new students into the building! Across all classrooms, students engaged in community building activities to get to know their teachers and classmates more. In addition, classes set the foundations and routines for learning. Returning olders did a great job of helping acclimate youngers to the classroom community!
As a school, we will continue to build on our successes, and improve upon our areas of growth. Thank you all for your continued partnership and support!
Back to School Night will be here before you know it. NPS will host Back to School Night on the evening of September 19th (beginning at 6:30pm). For additional information, please click here.
Please know that I am here to help and support in any way that I can. Feel free to reach out to me directly at christopher.miller@msdk12.net.
Sincerely,
Christopher Miller
Principal of Normandy Park School
Security Drills
Each month there will be 1 Fire Drill.
In addition, all schools in New Jersey are mandated to conduct monthly security drills. Assembly Bill 5727 requires that parents/guardians and staff be notified at the conclusion of scheduled school security drills. After each security drill, parents will be notified via text.
Please note that all drills are conducted at a developmentally appropriate level, in which our teachers and staff ensure that our students feel safe and supported.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me directly at christopher.miller@msdk12.net.
iReady Diagnostic
This week, our school will begin administering the i-Ready® Diagnostic assessment for Grades 1st through 5th. Kindergarteners will begin iReady in October. The i-Ready Diagnostic helps teachers to effectively assess their students and then provide individualized instruction based on each student’s unique needs.
Please read below for additional information about our diagnostic assessment process:
What is a “diagnostic assessment”
A diagnostic assessment is a form of pre-assessment where teachers can evaluate students' strengths, weaknesses, knowledge and skills before their instruction. Teachers utilize the results of the diagnostic assessment to plan instruction for the whole class and for small groups and individual students. In MSD, we give the diagnostic assessment three times during the school year.
iReady Diagnostic
The i-Ready Diagnostic is an adaptive assessment that adjusts its questions to suit your student’s needs. Each item a student sees is individualized based on their answer to the previous question. For example, a series of correct answers will result in slightly harder questions, while a series of incorrect answers will yield slightly easier questions. The purpose of this is not to give your student a score or grade, but instead to determine how best to support your student’s learning. Diagnostic reports are shared with parents at the completion of the administration window.
i-Ready Personalized Instruction
The personalized, online iReady lessons that all MSD students have access to are not the same as the diagnostic. These lessons are connected to the results of your child’s diagnostic assessment but are meant to provide students with skill and content practice based on their individual level and needs. These lessons are fun and interactive to keep your student engaged as they learn and allow for self-paced learning and practice to complement face-to-face instruction provided by your child’s teacher.
By using the diagnostic assessment to inform high-quality face-to-face teacher instruction and the individual student practice, we provide a multifaceted approach to accelerating student learning. Our teacher teams along with administrators carefully review results and data after each diagnostic assessment window to ensure that the needs of students who are showing strong progress and students who are showing slower progress are being met.
Please note, that iReady is one measure that teachers use along with multiple measures, such as oral reading assessments, day to day observations, exit tickets, and comprehension check-ins. All measures are used to help inform and drive instruction!
Please reach out to your child’s teacher or myself (christopher.miller@msdk12.net) if you have any questions or would like additional information.
Bus Information
REMINDERS:
Morning Pickups: Please be at your bus stop location ten minutes prior to your scheduled pick-up time.
Afternoon Drop-offs: Guardians of preschool through second graders should be at the bus stop ten minutes prior to your scheduled drop-off time to meet students in the afternoon.
NOTE: During the first two weeks of school, afternoon drop off times are often later as school staff ensures each student is on the correct bus and students acclimate to the dismissal procedures of the school. This could delay the departure time from the school.
Arrival and Dismissal Procedures
Arrival Procedures: Students are permitted into the building at 8:40 a.m. Students bused to school will be dropped off and picked up in the front of the building. For students in the drop-off line, please have them seated on the passenger side (if possible).
Arrival: 8:40 to 8:55
Dismissal: 3:05 to 3:20
Drop Offs: Students being dropped off in the morning may enter through the back doors. Please use the drop-off/pick-up line in the back of the building. There is no supervision before 8:40, and children who arrive before that time, will not be permitted to enter the building. A staff member will be at the door between 8:40 and 8:55 a.m. to welcome students. Any student arriving after 8:55 must enter the front of the building and report to the nurse’s office with a parent or guardian to obtain a late pass.
Pick Ups: At dismissal, students being picked up will be dismissed from the back of the building. When picking up your child, please use the pick-up line. Stay in your vehicle. Teachers will accompany your child to your car.
Pick-Up During the Day (before Dismissal time): If a situation arises that requires you to pick your child up during the school day, a note must be sent to the office specifying the pick-up time. Students being picked up early are asked to be picked up before 2:30 p.m. Before leaving, you must sign your child out in the notebook provided by the main entrance doors. Unless an emergency arises, please refrain from calling the office after 1:30 to make changes to your child’s dismissal.
Dismissal Changes
Please use the digital blue note form for any dismissal changes. The main office will notify the homeroom teachers of the dismissal change. For absences, continue to contact the school nurse.
Cafeteria
For lunch, all students will be eating in the cafeteria during their assigned lunch period.
Peanuts and Tree Nuts:
To help support our students with peanut and tree nut allergies, we have designated tables
and sections for children eating peanuts and tree nuts at lunch. They can bring a buddy to eat
with them at the Peanut/Tree Nut table. All lunches are supervised.
NPS HSA Book Fair
The Normandy Park HSA is looking for book-loving parents interested in taking a larger role in volunteering at our Scholastic book fairs, which will be held September 18-27, 2024 and in March 2025.
Normandy Park gets 50% of every dollar spent at the fair back in the form of Scholastic Bucks, which we use for the birthday books every student receives and the rewards for our Reading Challenge winners in the spring.
HSA is looking for people willing to take longer volunteer shifts to make sure every class is equitably staffed, learn the register software, and assist with set up and breakdown.
If you are interested and/or able to volunteer, please complete the following Google Form:
https://forms.gle/Xi5xswdwgynMrobM6
