Dear NIS Families,

I would like to thank all those families that participated in the school council NIS Family Survey this past month. As a school council we have begun the work of reviewing and analyzing the responses to be able to celebrate strengths of NIS and then to begin creating action steps for areas of noted growth. We will be sharing our findings and next steps in an upcoming newsletter. I would however like to share one result that is extremely positive and also related to this month's message.

The results of the question, "My child feels safe at school" was extremely positive with almost 93% of families responding that they agreed or strongly agreed with that statement. I am so happy to see that result because students feeling and being safe is a huge precursor to having them feel ready to learn.

In an effort to keep our students safe we regularly participate in safety drills at NIS and within the district. Our students have successfully participated in fire drills over the course of the fall and shortly we will be conducting a "Lock Down Drill" with our students as well. Teachers will continue to do the great job they do of preparing students for the upcoming drill and leading calmly during the drill. While I cannot tell you the date that we will practice this important exercise, I can tell you that it will be during the month of February. After the drill I will send home some communication to let you know that we have completed it so that you can process it with your child. We tend to tell students that we practice drills such as a fire drill to learn how to safely leave the building when we need to and we practice the lock down drill to learn how to safely secure ourselves in the building when we need to do that. We will be practicing in a developmentally appropriate way and as always our excellent counselors will be available for any student that may need to process the drill afterwards.

I inform you ahead of time not to scare you, but so that there will not be panic when there are multiple emergency vehicles or workers in the building and to allow you to have conversations with your child ahead of time if you feel that would be helpful.

In all of this I hope to support you and our students in being able to confidently affirm that they do indeed feel safe at NIS.

Sincerely,

Ms. Becky Janda

NIS Principal

Each spring all districts in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts participate in Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System or more commonly known as MCAS testing.

This testing is extremely important for all students to participate and for schools to review the results to ensure that we remain accountable for all students, regardless of level of need or demographic having an opportunity to succeed and grow. Therefore it is essential that all students are present to take the tests. In an effort to help families plan ahead we are sharing the testing dates so that as much as possible students will be present to participate on the same day as their grade level peers.

Please take a look at the dates and note them on your calendars as well.

All visitors must check in at the front office upon arrival at the school.

During school hours, visitors are required to exchange an ID for a visitors badge. You may not enter the school without a valid form of ID.

IDs may be retrieved at the end of the visit when the visitor badges are returned.

Get ready for the April 8, 2024 Total Solar Eclipse!

​​The eclipse may overlap with dismissal for many Massachusetts schools. We recommend preparing students to safely experience the eclipse. Comprehensive information related to the eclipse is available on the Department of Elementary and Secondary Schools new eclipse resource site.

• ​Visit NASA’s website for a comprehensive information about the eclipse.

• ​Free eclipse glasses for families! Solareclipse.us is sponsoring 1 free pair of glasses per household. You will need to order by February 8th, 2024 to allow time to ship. Your local library may also have glasses or other resources.

There have been several unsafe conditions created with cars coming into the Surfside Road parking lot to drop off or pick up children. This is NOT the correct location for drop off or for pick up. Please ONLY use the Backus Lane entrance/exit to reach the drop off/pick up circle.

Nantucket Elementary / Intermediate School

LIP SYNC CONCERT

Friday April 26, 2024 at 6:00 pm

Nantucket High School Auditorium

Gather a group of friends and put on a fun filled show to help raise money for our Student Activity Accounts!

The Student Activity Accounts support students at every grade level.

Funds are used for such things as Literacy Night, financial assistance for field trips,

bringing in guest speakers and performers, and playground equipment.

All monies raised during our annual Lip Sync event will go directly to these accounts!

What is a Lip Sync? A group of students sing (well, pretend to sing) and dance on stage in costumes to a song.

Who can participate? NES/NIS students in groups of 5 or more students.

It is our hope that every student who wants to participate is given the opportunity to do so.

In the spirit of friendship and cooperation, please accept students into existing groups and discourage students from excluding anyone. Students should only participate in one group. Each group must have one designated parent representative who is responsible for coordinating the group’s routine and practice schedule, attending the dress rehearsal and keeping other parents in the group informed.

How do I sign up? Each group must complete one sign up sheet.

It is the responsibility of the parent representative to return the sheet to the main office, with their group members’ names and grades by Friday March 22, 2024. Members may be added after this date, but new groups may not be formed. The parent representative will be contacted after submission with a list of FAQ’s.

Sign up early! Event is limited to the first 20 acts!

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:

• Wednesday, January 31 - 5:30 pm in the NES Cafe. Mandatory information meeting for any potential parent representatives

• Friday, March 22 - Deadline for submitting the sign up sheet

• Friday, April 5 - Participant ticket orders are due

• Monday, April 8 General Admission tickets go on sale

• Wednesday, April 24 - 4:00-6:00 Dress Rehearsal at NHS auditorium

• Friday, April 26 - 6:00 pm - Lip Sync Concert at NHS auditorium

Ticket sales information coming soon!

NES/NIS Lip Sync Guidelines 2024

Ticket Sales

∙ The parent representative and their group will receive free admission. Each student participating will have the opportunity to purchase up to 4 tickets each prior to general public ticket sales for friends and family.

∙ Participant tickets come with priority seating and must be purchased by April 5, 2024.

∙ The parent representative is responsible for distributing ticket order forms to their group members.

∙ Individual group members are responsible for submitting their ticket order forms to the front office at NES/NIS April 5, 2024.

Song Choice

∙ Songs must be appropriate for elementary school age children. Kidzbop has an extensive library of popular pop songs that are age appropriate. If you are unsure about your song choice, this is a great option!

∙ Groups will be notified if their song choice is not acceptable or of any duplicate song choices.

∙ Due to time constraints, each song will be limited to 3 minutes in length. We will provide you with an edited version of your song. It is important that groups are practicing with the edited version of the song to avoid confusion at the time of the performance.

∙ Please send a mp3 file of the exact version of the song you will be using to: Kara Evans at evansk@npsk.org

February 1 - NIS School Council Meeting

February 6 - School Committee Meeting at 6 PM

February 14

• Early Release at 12:00 PM
• FONPS Meetings at 6 PM

February 19 - No School - Presidents' Day

February 20 - School Committee Meeting at 6 PM

February 21 - ACK-SEPAC Meeting at 6 PM

February 26 - March 1 - No School - Winter Break

March 7-Multi-Cultural Literacy Night 5:30-6:30 pm

At NIS students are NOT ALLOWED to bring in food items to celebrate their birthday with their class. This was instituted pre-COVID due to the number of children with food allergies and due to our responsibility with promoting healthy bodies. You wouldn't believe the number of cupcakes that would come into the school each year!

We would like to encourage you to donate a birthday book to your child's classroom library in honor of their birthday. Other acceptable ideas include bringing in a special pencil or decal for everyone in the class if that's preferred.

Thank you for not sending your child to school with food items for the class to celebrate their birthday.

NPS Vision Draft

We commit to provide equitable, inclusive, and challenging learning experiences where every student and adult feels seen, heard, valued, and respected.

NPS Mission Draft

Nantucket Public Schools, in partnership with a caring community, will create a dynamic and equitable learning environment which engages each of us to be inspired learners and responsible citizens, prepared to meet local and global challenges.

NPS Core Values Draft

Nantucket Public Schools values collaboration, communication, and reflection that supports:

• Equitable access to multiple pathways for individual and collective success.

• High expectations and a student-centered educational approach that integrates academic progress, extra-curricular participation, personal responsibility, and community involvement.

• Inclusive and sustained family relationships that respect all cultures and the experiences each child brings to our schools.

• Challenging ourselves to embrace and advocate for the needs of every student, adult, and family within our school community.

30 Surfside Road

Nantucket, MA 02554

Telephone: 508-228-7290

Follow us on..

Facebook: Nantucket Intermediate School

Instagram: @ack_nis