Highview Happenings
November 15, 2024
From the Principal's Desk...
Dear Highview Families,
Happy Friday! This week, our students in classes 3MR, 3PD, and BOCES traveled to LEGO Land in Westchester. They were very excited for the trip and found it to be a valuable experience. After all Grade 3 classes attend the trip, I will share pictures in an upcoming newsletter. Many thanks to our parent chaperones who attended the trip for these classes!
I would also like to thank all parents and guardians for a successful Day 1 of Parent-Teacher Conferences yesterday. The partnership that we have built and continue to foster between home and school is beneficial for our students' growth and development. I hope you found the time with your child's teacher(s) to be meaningful as they worked to update you on his/her progress to date. Day 2 of Parent-Teacher Conferences will take place on Tuesday, November 19 with an early dismissal for students at 11:35 a.m. If you have questions about your conference time, please contact your child's classroom teacher directly.
The Nanuet Elementary PTA will host its annual Holiday Boutique at Highview Elementary School on Tuesday, December 3 - Thursday, December 5. The PTA is looking for volunteers for this special event. If you are interested, please reach out to the PTA by emailing nanuetpta@gmail.com. I will be sharing a schedule with information about when each class will shop within the next week.
I hope you and your loved ones have a wonderful weekend. We look forward to welcoming our Highview Knights back to school on Monday, November 18.
Sincerely,
Matthew Lutz
Principal
Charter Shout-Outs for the Week
On a rotating basis, classroom teachers nominate two students from their classes to receive a Charter Shout-Out. The class charter is a RULER tool used in all classrooms to help students develop expectations for success as learners and members of the community. The Charter Shout-Out gives teachers the opportunity to highlight students who are living up to their classroom charters.
This week, students from the following classes received shout-outs and were recognized over morning announcements: Mrs. Merz (3JM), Mr. Nye (4TN), and Mrs. Tarique (3-4GT). Congratulations to Melania (3JM), Carter (3JM), Bayleen (4TN), Suleiman (4TN), Santiago (3-4GT), and Emrick (3-4GT). See their proud picture below!
Principal's Pride
Being the Principal of Highview Elementary School brings me a tremendous amount of joy and pride. I am beyond lucky to be able to work with such incredible students, staff, and families.
This week, I would like to give a shout-out to third-grade teacher Mrs. Merz. She prides herself on supporting students on their path to becoming emotion scientists. Recently, Mrs. Merz took her students on a journey in the classroom to learn more about the Meta-Moment tool and how to use a calming basket in the calming corner of the classroom. The Meta-Moment is a tool for building the space between stimulus and response—from when we experience an emotion to how we respond to that emotion, so that we make better choices when we express and manage our emotions. Thank you, Mrs. Merz, for your dedication to developing the social-emotional wellbeing of our students!
Eat-and-Play Challenge
At the beginning of the year, our School Counselor, Ms. Lipson, and School Social Worker, Mrs. Weiss re-launched a monthly Eat-and-Play Challenge for our students. The goal is for classes to work together to follow the Eat-and-Play rules during the lunch/recess periods. They have the opportunity to add a sticker in a square on an incentive chart. The classes with the most stickers at the end of the month get to shop on our FABULOUS prize cart! There will be at least one winner each month in both grade levels.
For the month of October, Mrs. DeGennaro's class won the third-grade challenge. Ms. O'Riordan's class won the fourth-grade challenge. Congratulations 3PD and 4MO! We look forward to seeing which classes will win for the month of November!
Fall Field Trips
Our third graders will visit LEGO Land Discovery Center Westchester at the Ridge Hill Mall in Yonkers, NY. They will be extending their Science 21 lessons on force and motion. Students will explore push and pull forces and the effects of friction while testing LEGO push cars. Our third graders will make predictions and recognize patterns of the change in speed of an object and how far it will go in push car races led by a S.T.E.A.M. professional at LEGO Land.
Dates for Upcoming Grade 3 Trips:
- Wednesday, November 20 - 3AK, 3KB, and 3KA
- Thursday, November 21 - 3JM, 3KS, and 3AM
Our fourth graders will visit Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, NJ on Wednesday, December 4. Students will find many exhibits that offer hands-on experiences aligned with classroom learning. These experiences foster critical thinking, problem-solving, and real-world application of science concepts. For example, students can explore ecosystems, physics, and engineering through interactive exhibits that mirror the standards' emphasis on inquiry-based learning and cross-cutting concepts like energy, forces, and environmental systems.
Highview's Fourth Annual TURKEY TROT
Highview students and staff will come together for our annual Highview Turkey Trot on Wednesday, November 27, 2024. Students and staff will complete a fitness course around the Highview school grounds. Please send your child to school wearing sneakers and clothing appropriate for the weather. We encourage students to wear the colors black and gold to celebrate our School Spirit. Please note that this event is for Highview students and staff only. Below you will find a flyer for the event.
RULER/SEL Spotlight
In November, Ms. Lipson, School Counselor, and Mrs. Weiss, School Social Worker, held a social-emotional learning (SEL) assembly for all students. The focus for the assemblies was Social Awareness, which helps children recognize and understand others' emotions and perspectives. As students build friendships, they learn to interpret body language, facial expressions, and the feelings behind social interactions. The ability to discuss friend dynamics and resolve conflicts often reveals how aware someone is of others' feelings.
Additionally, Ms. Lipson and Mrs. Weiss explored empathy with students, teaching them to recognize and respond to emotions in appropriate ways. Using the Mood Meter, students practiced identifying feelings through role-play, focusing on body language, tone of voice, and different situations.
How can I support my child at home?
You can encourage your child's social awareness by asking the following questions:
How do you think your friend felt when that happened?
What would you feel if you were in their shoes?
Modeling empathy in your own interactions is a powerful way to reinforce these lessons and help your child build strong social skills.
Strive for 25
Our students at Highview Elementary School participate in a reading incentive known as Strive for 25. The goal is for every student to read 25 books by the end of the school year. Classroom teachers keep track of books read in their individual classrooms for this incentive. This year, we are adding some benchmarks along the way so that students have more opportunities for recognition. Please see the benchmarks below.
- Students who read 10 books will be recognized and given a small prize.
- Students who read 20 books will be recognized and given a small prize.
- Students who read 25+ books will be recognized and will receive a certificate and book.
Our first trimester Strive for 25 assembly will take place in December on a date TBD.
🔶🔶🔶🔶 REPEATED REMINDERS🔶🔶🔶🔶
Affirmations
Take a look at our daily Morning Affirmations that we recite together as a school community. The purpose of this practice is to encourage our students to use positive self-talk to get themselves excited and ready to conquer the day. We want our students to feel empowered and productive at Highview. You are more than welcome to use these at home as well.
Arrival and Dismissal Procedures
During arrival and dismissal, the safety of our students is our top priority. Please review this document, which outlines our arrival and dismissal procedures for the 2024-2025 school year. We must all work together to ensure the safety of both students and staff during these important blocks of time. We thank you in advance for your cooperation and partnership in following these procedures each day.
Bus Information
As always, the safety of our students and staff is our top priority. When riding the bus, students are expected to follow three bus rules:
- Be a good listener.
- Use a quiet voice.
- Stay in your seat at all times.
Please note that beginning in 2024-2025, no student in Grades K-4 will be released from the bus without an adult present at the bus stop. This is to ensure the safety of all students.
We appreciate your partnership in reiterating these expectations for a safe bus ride. Please note that unsafe behavior on the bus will result in a loss of bus riding privileges at the discretion of Principal Lutz, Assistant Principal Mehu, or their designee(s).
Code of Conduct
The Board of Education is committed to providing a safe and orderly school environment where students may receive and district personnel may deliver quality educational experiences without disruption or interference. We ask that you read and review the Code of Conduct for Grades K-4 with your child. Our goal is to ensure students are engaged in learning while making positive contributions to our school community.
Digital Backpack
Each week, documents will be loaded to our Digital Backpack, which is linked to the bottom of the Highview homepage. We encourage you to check the Digital Backpack, which is updated every Friday, to ensure you have updated information on important dates, events, and opportunities being offered to students and families.
Electronic Devices and Valuable Items
Students in grades K-4 should not bring electronic devices, large amounts of money, or valuable items to school. This includes cell phones/smart phones, iPods, iPads/tablets, smart watches, personal computers/laptops, electronic games, expensive jewelry, card collections, and large amounts of money. Even if the student who brings in the item is not at fault, there are no funds to pay for its repair or replacement. The school carries no insurance that is applicable to these matters and there is no money budgeted for this purpose. Principal Lutz, Assistant Principal Mehu, and/or their designee(s) reserve the right to determine whether an item is an electronic device and/or valuable.
Parent Square Notification System
Over the next few months, the district and buildings are moving to a new communication system to send alerts out to parents, guardians and the community. Please check your email for an invitation from Parent Square or register on the website. Follow the video linked below to set notification and language settings in the app or website. The Parent Square app can be downloaded from your app store.
Registration Website:
https://www.parentsquare.com/signin
Video for how to change notification or language settings:
Parent-Teacher Association (PTA)
We are fortunate to have a wonderful Parent-Teacher Association (PTA). We encourage our parents to get involved with the PTA. If you have questions, you can always reach out to our PTA via email at nanuetpta@gmail.com.
Here are the 2024-2025 Board Members for the Elementary PTA:
- Jennifer Falzon, President
- Debbie Harris, Vice President for G.W. Miller School
- Linda Metress, Vice President for Highview School
- Kelly Ann Trombley, Secretary
- Stephanie Gannon, Treasurer
Additionally, please check out the PTA's website for more information on how to join this amazing group! Thank you to our fabulous PTA for all you do to support the students, staff, and families in the Nanuet School District!
Safety and Security Protcols
As you know, the safety of our students and staff is our top priority in the Nanuet Union Free School District. The Safety/Security Protocols for 2024-2025 are outlined in the document below. We thank you in advance for your cooperation with and prompt attention to these protocols.
Snack and Water Bottles
Students do have a snack time daily and at the discretion of the classroom teacher. Your child's teacher will communicate this to you when they share their specific schedules. We encourage you to send a healthy snack to school with your child. If your child's classroom is designated as Nut Aware, you will receive a letter as well as a notification from the classroom teacher. Please do not send any products containing nuts.
Every student can have a water bottle in class. Water bottles must be capped (no straws or glass) and should be a personal size (16 oz. or less). There are opportunities to refill water bottles during the school day. Please be sure your child’s water bottle can fit in their backpack for transport purposes. Please label your child’s water bottle with their name and class code. Students cannot bring open containers, energy drinks, or coffee-related drinks to school.
Dates to Remember
Monday, November 18
Elementary PTA Meeting
7:30 p.m. at G.W. Miller in Library
Tuesday, November 19
11:35 a.m. Early Dismissal for Students
Day Parent-Teacher Conferences until 3:45 p.m.
Tuesday, November 19
Board of Education Meeting
7:30 p.m. at Nanuet Senior High School
Wednesday, November 20
Grade 3 LEGO Land Field Trip
Classes 3AK, 3KB, and 3KA
Thursday, November 21
Grade 3 LEGO Land Field Trip
Classes 3JM, 3KS, and 3AM
Wednesday, November 27
Highview's Turkey Trot
For Staff & Students Only
Wednesday, November 27
Early Dismissal - 12:00 p.m.
Walkers dismissed at 11:50 a.m.
Bus riders dismissed at 12:00 p.m.
Thursday, November 28
Thanksgiving Recess
All Nanuet Schools Closed
Friday, November 29
Thanksgiving Recess
All Nanuet Schools Closed
Monday, December 2
School Resumes
Highview Elementary School
Email: mlutz@nanuetsd.org
Website: highview.nanuetsd.org
Location: 24 Highview Avenue, Nanuet, NY 10954
Phone: (845) 627-3460
Facebook: www.facebook.com/NanuetPublicSchools
Instagram: @nanuetschools