Northrop Newsletter

Hello, Northrop families!

The holiday season is upon us and there's lots of excitement in the building! We have fun spirit

days planned that all students have the option to participate in if you choose! See graphic below

for the schedule.

We will have our Northrop Giving Tree set up for PTO's Ornaments with Santa event on December 5th. If you'd like to help a Northrop family with a gift this season, please feel free to take a tag that night. Gifts are due back to Northrop, WRAPPED AND WITH THE TAG TAPED TO IT on Friday, December 13th. Thank you for considering!

We will continue to get some fresh air and utilize the playground as long as temperatures are 20 degrees or above. Please send your student to school with appropriate outdoor clothing, labeled with their name. If you are in need of a coat, hat, gloves, etc., please email me at dodeza@medinabees.org.

We will also have classroom parties prior to winter break. Your student's classroom teacher will

reach out with more information and only pre-approved volunteers will be permitted into the

classroom for the parties.

Classroom parties should be fun but simple. We're suggesting a small snack (all snacks MUST be store bought), a simple craft, and a game or other activity. For a list of allergen-friendly snacks, please visit the snack safely website by clicking here.

Thank you so much for your help and support in making our building a GREAT place for all!

Mrs. Dodez

Thank you to everyone who voted on November 5th! Although it was a narrow margin of victory, the passage of our emergency operating levy allows us to maintain all of the things we currently love about Northrop and Medina City Schools! There is still much work to do to fix public school funding on a larger scale, but we can do this work while still operating in the same great way. THANK YOU ALL!

PTO will once again host cookies & ornaments with Santa on Thursday, December 5th from 6-8pm

here at Northrop. See the attached flyer for more information, and if you need financial assistance

for an ornament, please be sure to reach out to Mrs. Dodez at dodeza@medinabees.org; we want

everyone at Northrop to come and enjoy Cookies with Santa!

12/4 - Safety Patrol meeting - commons

12/5 - PTO Ornaments and Cookies with Santa - 6-8

12/12 PTO meeting - 6:30 - commons or virtual (see below)

12/17 - PTO Dine to Donate at Chick-Fil-A - 5:00-8:00

12/17 - Northrop Choir Concert - 7pm

12/19 - Early Release

12/20-1/3 - NO SCHOOL - WINTER BREAK

1/6 - School resumes

Our next Early Release of this school year will be on Thursday, December 19th.

Arrival and tardy times are as normal. Dismissal is 1 hour earlier and begins at 2:20pm.

In addition to our early release this month, we have early release days on March 5 and May 29.

Do you have broken or used holiday lights and extension cords? Donate them to help protect lions and cheetahs in Tanzania. Bring your broken, non-working or used strings of lights and extension cords to Northrop for recycling December 1, 2024 through February 8, 2025. Our third grade teachers will transport them to the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo.

Please do not include any packaging. Proceeds from recycling support the Zoo’s lion and cheetah conservation program partner Lion Landscapes.

In partnership with Lion Landscapes, Cleveland Metroparks Zoo is working to mitigate human-carnivore conflicts and develop effective, long-term conservation strategies for large carnivores in Tanzania. This organization helps reduce the negative impacts of carnivore presence by providing important conservation-related benefits to local communities.

When: December 1, 2024 through February 8, 2025

Do kids have to stay home if someone in the family has COVID?

In general kids can come to school as long as they are feeling well unless they have tested positive for COVID.

If a student tests positive for COVID, they have to stay home for at least 24 hours or until their symptoms are getting better overall AND they have been fever-free for 24 hours without fever-reducing medication.

Are masks required after testing positive?

No, they are recommended and encouraged. More information can be found here.

As part of our work to support students with their social and emotional development, we teach lessons daily that cover a variety of skills. These lessons give students words to describe their feelings and strategies to use when they're feeling upset. Not only does it help the individual students when needed, but it also builds the classroom community and helps everyone understand how to handle things when they don't go as expected.

During the month of November, students learned about hidden rules (unspoken social norms), expected and unexpected behaviors, and flexible and stuck thinking. Ask your student about these concepts!

Stacey Wielgus, M.A., LPSC

Eliza Northrop Elementary & Ralph E. Waite Elementary

wielguss@medinabees.org (330) 636-4607

I am at Northrop on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays each week.

As an elementary school counselor, I am committed to supporting the social and emotional needs of our students and the families of the students we serve. In addition, I am also committed to supporting our staff here at school to ensure that we are meeting the individual needs of each student during the school day. By addressing social and emotional needs as well as academics, we work together to increase learning and academic growth for each student here at Eliza Northrop and Garfield Elementary Schools. As a school counselor, my typical services include small groups and/or individual meetings with students, as well as in the whole group, which is often in a classroom setting. I teach students new skills that can assist them with positive and appropriate emotional expression as well as in learning coping skills and the use of coping tools.

We have an amazing PTO here at Northrop Elementary! You can connect with them via email , or on their Facebook page. You can get involved in SO MANY WAYS. Join us at the next PTO meeting on Thursday, December 12th at 6:30pm here in the Northrop commons or join virtually at this link.

Meeting ID: 971 6959 4350

Passcode: 009718

Office Hours: 8:00-4:00

Student Hours: 8:45-3:30

Tardy Bell: 8:55

Visit us on the web at https://www.medinabees.org/Domain/11

Principal - Amanda Dodez, dodeza@medinabees.org

School Psychologist - Kelsey Klatka, klatkak@medinabees.org

School Counselor - Stacey Wielgus, wielguss@medinabees.org

Northrop Attendance Line/Clinic - (330)636-4604

Northrop Office - (330)636-4600

• Amy Brewer - brewera@medinabees.org
• Mary Jarstfer - jarstfem@medinabees.org