North Star News

Well... that sure was an interesting week of winter weather! While it was certainly not the week we had hoped for... it does look pretty when looking out of the window. Being in a virtual environment brought back some unwanted memories from 2020 and 2021. The chaos of logging my children in, me logging into classrooms, having the dogs barking at every flying bird... and so much more! I want to thank our amazing staff for jumping into action on Thursday to prepare for our Virtual Day. It was certainly a quick turnaround. We have such a dedicated team that works to ensure all students are seen and heard. I would also like to thank all of our parents for their patience as we navigated our first Virtual Day experience in many years. We understand that there were some hiccups along the way and will work together to improve our practice in the event that we have an additional "eLearning" day. We truly are One CommUNITY.

Jan. 14th: Fire Drill

Jan. 16th: Half Day - Dismissal @ 1pm

Jan. 17th: No School

Jan. 20th: No School - MLK Jr. Day

Jan. 23rd: Progress Reports will go live

Jan. 24th: Ross PTO Family Bingo Night at 6:30pm

Jan. 29th: Early Release @ 2pm.

Feb. 5th: State of the District @ 5:30

Feb. 13th: Early Release @ 2pm.

As I have shared... our goal is to have students in school at least 90% of the time. Please note that, per the district, we will continue to send updated attendance letters on a monthly basis to those families that fall below 93% attendance. Again, we completely understand that illnesses do come up and we certainly do not want you to send your child(ren) to school if they are ill. Thank you for your ongoing support in ensuring that our leaders come to school daily.

We will administer social-emotional surveys to students in grades 3-5 and staff as part of our ongoing commitment to supporting student success. These surveys gather valuable student feedback on school safety, sense of belonging, relationships, and more.

Students will take the surveys between January 13 and 24. They take about 15 minutes and are the same as those administered in the fall. They will allow us to identify areas of growth.

For more details, visit the FAQ page.

Ross P.E. is hosting our annual “Ropes for Ross” fundraiser through Booster/Health Moves Minds. During our jump rope unit, students will jump rope in honor of our charity and we will raffle off prizes during their P.E. class. Our goal is to raise at least $2000. Ross Elementary will receive 50% of the total donations. In addition, the Ross P.E. Department will receive an equipment gift card for participating, which will greatly help with rising costs. Please see below for a list of some of the prizes that will be given away.

• PE Teacher for a day

• Soccer balls, basketballs, footballs, etc.

• T-shirts, water bottles, jump ropes, and more!

Thank you, donors! Go North Stars!

All donations will be online this year. Click the link for step-by-step instructions on how to donate.

https://boosterthon.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/12386017132695-How-to-Register-Your-Student

We are excited to bring back Chess to Ross starting January 24th. It is going to look a little different than it has in the past. Please take note of the details below:

1) This is a non-sponsored Parkway event and administration is not guaranteed to be on site during this time.

2) After-school chess will take place on Friday from 4pm - 5 pm in the Library

3) Mr. Dale Lombard and Mr. Krus will be the facilitators

4) There are 32 slots available

5) It is for students in grades 3 - 5 only.

6) If interested, parents need to ensure that they can pick up their child(ren) at 5pm.

Please email Mr. Lombard if you are interested and specify the following...

• dalomba68@yahoo.com
• Student(s) name
• Grade level
• Level of Chess Knowledge
• Parent's First and Last Name AND working phone number
• Is there another family member that plays chess at home

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to Mr. Lombard. You are also welcome to reach out to me as well.