Northlake Notes

Happy Summer, Northlake Fam!

I hope everyone is okay and made it through the storms. There are a few limbs broken and a tree is down on the playground; but otherwise, Northlake made it through unscathed. The building is okay, and our new fence stayed the course through the 80 mile per hour winds. And of course, our Northlake traffic cones didn't even flinch.

I just wanted to share one last Northlake Notes before we go any deeper into the summer. (I hope you don't mind that it's a bit later than normal - I really did sleep a LOT this weekend - and then there was the storm.)

There were so many celebrations this last week of school that needed to be shared before we really got into summer: field trips, parties, prize patrols, self-managers, graduations, and more. This was a full year, at times a hard year, but certainly a year of growth. I am so proud of our Northlake students, staff and community for the resilience we've shown, the camaraderie we've developed, and the barriers we've pushed through. Change is hard and growth is uncomfortable, but through it all, we've learned and become better together, finding our way hand in hand to the next level of excellence.

Look for information to come from our Northlake PTA regarding the Exchange Club's July 4th parade. Hope to see you there and/or in the fall of the 2024-25 school year.

Until then, I've retired the traffic wands for the summer and put them in the safekeeping of Brad McCutcheon. 😂 Thank you to ALL the dads that came to help with traffic this 23-24 school year. 🦺

Cheers!

Kylee Wall

Congratulations to ALL of our students being promoted to the next grade. We will especially miss our 5th and 6th graders who will start at the brand new Lake Highlands Middle School next school year. We know they are ready and can't wait to celebrate their future success.

Thank you to Todd Bowen and the Exchange Club of Lake Highlands for awarding citizenship awards at both our 5th and 6th grade promotion ceremonies. Thank you to our PTA for decorating the lawn, cafeteria and hallway for our ceremonies. Many thanks to our 5th and 6th Grade Teams who planned the promotion ceremonies, with special thanks to Ms. Brooke Baumgartner for spearheading 6th Grade's planning and supporting 5th Grade in their first promotion ceremony. Finally, thank you to our Kinder Parents and Kinder Team for the beautiful balloon arch and personalized popsicle holders at the Kinder end of year celebration.

Congratulations to all of our Wildcats, way to get to your Next Level of Excellence!

Rachel Bennion and Beau Wagener were back to showcase the Northlake Nest and share with students the fruits of everyone's labor. Wildcats were able to create a delicious dip from the produce in the garden and try different types of veggies, such as radishes! When you grow it, you'll want to eat it, and that was true for even the pickiest of eaters. Thank you to Rachel and Beau for cultivating the Northlake Nest and expanding our students' eating repertoire.

6th Grade went to Shenaniganz & also Biztown during their last week of school.

5th graders that met Ms. Cardwell's annual challenge of reading 40 chapter books in a school year were once again rewarded with their choice of a pie to the face of any Northlake Team member. This year, the surprise recipient was Officer Missael Covarrubias who was ushered into the tradition with flourish and extra whipped cream! 5th Grade Team also passed out "plate awards" to each of their students.

Even though it was the last week of school, our teachers never slowed down and made sure to use every last minute of that precious school day to help our students learn and grow. Whether it was "in tents" reading going on in 1st grade, mystery readers and water colors in Kindergarten, playing instruments in 6th grade, team building in 5th grade, and thematic units of learning throughout the building, our students kept up the pace our teachers set.

Ms. Kellagher and I ran around and got ring pops into the hot little hands of our Principal's 100 winners. These students were featured on the cafeteria bulletin board with a polaroid picture, shouted out on the announcements, enjoyed a positive phone call home from a principal, and received a principal ring pop - the royalty of lollipops. Congratulations again to all of our P100 winners this year.

Ms. Sorensen hosted a doughnut and juice extravaganza for our self-managers last week. Self-managers are students at Northlake that apply for the privilege and must have referenced from at least three other staff in the building in order to be nominated as a self-manager. As the name implies, they are students that own their actions and take care of their own business. They embody the characteristics of the Wildcat ROAR - Respect, Ownership, Acceptance & Responsibility. They are the students that do what is right even when no one is looking because it's just the right thing to do. Congratulations Northlake Self-Managers - you are amazing!

PBIS (Positive Behavior Incentives & Supports) are not just for students! Teachers love the Wheel of Northlake that rolls out at each staff meeting where 3 lucky names are drawn to take a spin. Amanda Hinders - the unofficial/official Taco Queen of Northlake delivered tacos to our last winners of the year.

PTA - thank you for supporting all of our PBIS endeavors - for students and staff alike! Winners of Tacos for the Team were Coach Marlise Bridges & Riley Shipley for 2nd Grade. Look closely - Ms. Shipley's class was in the garden, so we FaceTimed her in to let her know about winning!

The family that plays together, stays together - that much is true at Northlake for sure. Our team works hard and plays hard as well.

Thank you to PTA who underwrote the trivia, the room rental, and the delivery fee for the catering at the staff EOY party. Thank you also to Drip Drop who made a contribution to the food. And giant shout out to the EOY party coordinators - Karla Cady, Kimo Aleman & Sara Turner. Karla & Sara - thanks for not running for the hills with all those amazing prizes you sourced for us. Kimo, great job with the emceeing.

Thank you to our entire Sunshine Team, led by Sara Turner, for ALL the positive morale you've built throughout the school year. From birthday buddies to Secret Santa to wellness week, you all have made sure that we find time to support and celebrate one another.

Northlake's Sunshine Team:

Sara Turner, Anita Sorensen, Angele Bohling, Sally Schneider, Autumn Glover, Sheridan Baker, Sarah Fisher, Stephanie Rey, Brooke Baumgartner, Kimo Aleman, Karla Cady, Cori Robarge, Helen Chaney, Allison Horner, Molly Fawkes, Edith Fernandez & Sandra Gainey

Thanks to ALL the Northlake Associated Press - all of you staff, parents, and students that are always sending in pictures to make Northlake Notes a fun place to be.

The Ladybugs Girls U9 Soccer team won the Division Championship in their soccer league this spring. This is the Ladybugs tenth season together. Five of the Ladybugs are Northlake Second Grade Students and two of the coaches are Northlake Dads.

Kickadilly Circus, coached by Rick Mathies, won their soccer season championship for GirlsU8. 6 out of the 8 girls go to Northlake! 2 second graders, 4 first graders, and 1 Northlake dad.

Great job representing in the community, Wildcats!

DATE: Thursday, July 4th, 2024

Every summer on or around July 4th, the Exchange Club of Lake Highlands salutes the community by hosting a patriotic parade and carnival. The parade includes children with decorated bikes and trikes, local neighborhoods, organizations, and businesses with floats, Dallas Fire Rescue trucks, and the whole shebang is lead by the Grand Marshall. The carnival is immediately afterwards in the circle drive next to the Lake Highlands Aquatic Center with food, fun, and music for the entire community.

Northlake has traditionally participated in the event for more than a decade now. More information will come for those Northlake families that would like to participate.

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

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 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/

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 25-Aug 12 - Summer Vacation 🌞

August 13 - First Day of School 2024-25