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We are now back in the groove of school! Beginning of the year assessments are completed and students are back in the groove with expectations and procedures in the building. It is so nice to see all of the instruction and engagement taking place in classrooms and students learning at high levels.

As a reminder, there is no school on Monday for Labor Day or Tuesday for Professional Learning for teachers. We will see the kiddos back on Wednesday, September 4th.

Have a wonderful holiday weekend,

Principal Tenbrink

SEPTEMBER

2nd- Labor Day - No School

3rd- Professional Learning for Teachers No School

4th-

• Caring for Kids 4pm
• PTA Meeting Library 6:30

10th- Chess Club 3:15-4:30

12th- Student Council 3:15-4:15

17th- Chess Club 3:15-4:30

20th- BrickHouse Bound Homecoming Game @SMN

24th- Chess Club 3:15-4:30

26th-

• Student Council 3:15-4:15
• Fall Fest Family Engagement Night 4:30-6pm (see details below!)

Help us stock the teacher's lounge! Each grade will have a different month to help stock the lounge. 6th grade is first up for September! Please bring the goodies to the front desk as soon as possible. Our teachers are amazing and we would love to be able to refuel their energy throughout the day! Thank you!

6th Grade Families- Sign Up Here!

Stock the Lounge Schedule

September- 6th Grade

October- 5th Grade

November- 4th Grade

December-

January- 3rd Grade

February- 2nd Grade

March- 1st Grade

April- Kindergarten/PreK

May-

As a school and district we have established what is wildly important for us to focus on and set goals with this year to ensure we are helping reach our mission of ensuring all students learn at high levels.

• Academics: By the end of the 24-25 school year we will go from 55% to 60% of students at or above benchmark on their Acadience Reading Composite score.
• Last year we ended the year with 55% of K-6 students scoring At or Above Benchmark on their Acadience Reading Composite Score. As a school we are working to get to 60% by the end of this school year and 70% by the end of the 25-26 school year.
• You can help! Attend our September 26th Family Engagement Night. During this time we will be going over different "Home Help" items we have created that families can work on at home to help your child be successful. We have developed items in an attempt to remove barriers to allow all students access. We hope you will join us 4:30-6pm - more details coming soon!
• Social Emotional: Decrease reactive Recovery Room visits from 61% to 50%.
• Data is important to us! We track visits to the Recovery Room to determine different areas we can grow as a building, as well as how we can help support students.
• How you can help! Below I have included our combined GRIT Matrix. Having conversations with students on school expectations and what those look like is such a great conversation! Also, practice different regulation strategies at home. Included below are different deep breathing techniques you can use with your child- we know that regular practice while not regulated helps everyone be able to utilize that regulation technique when they become regulated!

Thank you for a great first week of school! All the students I have seen in the Health Room have been kind, welcoming and respectful. Parents be proud of your kids!!

A few helpful reminders as we get started with Health Room procedures:

• Students are not allowed to carry any over the counter medication, including Tums and cough drops. If needed during the school day those will be dispensed from the Health Room.
• For emergency/lifesaving medications such as Albuterol and Epinephrine, the Student is allowed to carry with them if an authorization-to-self-administer-medication form is completed, signed by the medical provider and on file with the building nurse. If you need this form, please email Nurse Miller at kellymiller@smsd.org
• If you would like your child to receive Over-The-Counter Medications given by the school nurse or delegate, the online verification for the Medication Permission Form for school year 2024-25 must be completed. This is an annual requirement.

We are excited to announce Girls on the Run registration starts August 24th.

Student safety is of the upmost importance to us. Please know that frequent changes in dismissal routines causes safety concerns. We ask that you have a regular dismissal routine and communicate this with the classroom teacher at Sneak-a-Peek or through email prior to the first day of school.

If a change has to occur the safest way to ensure the change is communicated is to email the classroom teacher BEFORE school starts and then ALSO call the office BEFORE 2pm. Teachers have different plan times and lunches, and they are not regularly able to read email. Any dismissal change received after 2pm is NOT GUARANTEED. We will do our best, but the end of the day is a very hectic time in a school. We appreciate your cooperation in ensuring the safety of your child.

Students have 10 excused absences a year that do not require documentation. If your child will be out due to a doctor's appointment, surgery, funeral, etc. please be proactive and provide the doctor's note or appropriate documentation for the absence and not wait until day 10. With appropriate documentation we are able to excuse more absences. Once your child's 10 "free" days are used all absences afterwards where documentation is not provided is considered unexcused.

Excessive unexcused absences will lead to Truancy being filed with the District Attorney. Please know that we are required by the state to do this and the information provided here and any information sent out from our office is not meant to be seen as a threat; we are simply trying to communicate regularly so there are no surprises. We will send excessive tardy emails, 7 day attendance warning letters, 10 day attendance warning letters and truancy letters all via email. Please ensure you have a valid email on Skyward and that you check it regularly.

We worked EXTREMELY hard last year to decrease our chronic absenteeism numbers at Nieman and we were very successful! Chronic absenteeism is defined as a student missing 10% of their educational time. We went from 24% of students being chronically absent during the 22-23 school year to 13.8% being chronically absent during the 23-24 school year. We will continue to prioritize lowering this percentage for our families and are so thankful for your help in this!

We will be having our first family engagement night on Thursday, September 26th from 4:30-6pm. See the flier below for details!

We are so excited to start the 24-25 school year! Please join PTA using the links below. PTA can be as big or small of a commitment as you would like. All proceeds made go back to supporting Nieman students and staff!

https://niemanpta.givebacks.com/

We would also love for you to follow us on Facebook for the most up to date information, including spirit wear information, dine outs, and yearbook information!https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61564652443542

📢 🏈 Calling all Bison Fans! 🏈 📢

Get ready to kick off the season in style! ONE WEEK from today, on Friday, August 30th, SMN Brickhouse is hosting a thrilling season opener Jamboree for our Bison Football Teams!

🔥 Face-off against Fierce Rivals: Witness epic matchups as we take on Bishop Miege, Blue Valley North West, and Olathe West!

🍔 Tailgate Feast: The Football Booster Club has your pre-game cravings covered with a delicious tailgating dinner featuring walking taco kits, refreshing drinks, and delectable Nothing Bundt Cakes!

🍪 Sweet Treats Galore: Indulge in a selection of homemade goodies baked with love by one of our talented Senior moms!

🛍️ Bison Swag Station: Gear up for the games with a fantastic array of Bison merchandise, including cowbells, bows, shirts, calendars, jewelry, blankets, rally towels, and even Bison tattoos! Show your team spirit loud and proud!

🗓️ Mark Your Calendars: Friday, August 30th

⏰ Time: Gates open at 5:00 PM

📍 Location: SMN Brickhouse

📣 Let's Go Bison! Bring your family, friends, and Bison pride to cheer on our teams as they kick off an unforgettable season!

September is Suicide Prevention Month and a time raise awareness and discuss this highly stigmatized topic. In addition to shifting public perception and stigma, this month is also used to spread hope to people affected by suicide. Our goal as a district is to ensure students, staff, and families have access to the resources they need to discuss suicide prevention and to seek help.

• If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, call or text 988 immediately.
• If you are uncomfortable talking on the phone, you can chat the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988lifeline.org.
• You can also text NAMI to 741-741 to be connected to a free, trained crisis counselor on the Crisis Text Line.

Other links for Suicide Prevention Month:

• https://samhsa.gov/newsroom/observances/suicide-prevention-month
• https://988lifeline.org/promote-national-suicide-prevention-month/
• https://afsp.org/national-suicide-prevention-week
• https://jasonfoundation.com/get-involved/suicide-prevention-month/

Join us on Monday, September 16, 2024 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Shawnee Mission West High School for the Shawnee Mission School District’s Multilingual Community Event. Expanding on our annual Bilingual Back to School Night, this event aims to highlight the diversity of the district while connecting families from all backgrounds with resources, support, and camaraderie.

The evening is FREE and open to ALL SMSD families.

Dear Parents and Guardians,

As part of ongoing support for families, your child’s school is offering a series of classes for parents and guardians through a partnership with the Behavior Intervention Support Team (BIST). These training sessions are designed to provide ways you can support your child’s developing academic and behavior skills, as well as increase consistency between home and school.

BIST Virtual Parenting Series

• 5:45 PM - 6:00 PM Enter Zoom Waiting Room
• 6:00 PM – 6:45 PM Informational Session
• 6:45 PM – 7:00 PM Questions and Answers

• September 19th: “The Impact of Common Ground Parenting: Presenting a United Front”
• September 26th: “The Art of Not Saying ‘No’”
• October 3rd: “Moving from Resistance to Resilience”

These classes are designed to:

• · Create consistency between school and home
• · Provide language for adults to use when redirecting children
• · Share ways to problem solve to increase your child’s success
• · Increase generosity and kindness in your children
• · Bring a sense of calm to your home

Please join us for any or all three sessions!

How to Register for Free Training

These virtual classes are provided free of charge, however, we do ask that you please register through our website on or before Friday, September 13th, 2024. Instructions for registration are on the page below.

We are excited to offer this opportunity to you!

Sincerely,

Marty Huitt, Director

Behavior Intervention Support Team/Cornerstones of Care

8150 Wornall Rd

Kansas City, MO 64114

@MartyHuitt

Johnson County Mental Health Center recently launched a new, free resource I thought would be great to include in your parent newsletter. It's called Behavior Checker and it's a digital tool of "parenting prescriptions." You can use the tool to search through behaviors your child(ren) may be exhibiting and it will give suggestions about what to do and what not to do. Here's the link: https://jcmhc.behaviorchecker.org/.

The Knight School is returning this fall to Nieman Elementary! The Knight School Chess Team will be your school's official chess team and chess party.

This revolutionary, party-based approach to chess has had amazing success—winning multiple state championships—because our unique and unprecedented educational philosophy, “the chess party,” is the perfect way to transform a complete beginner into a devastating chess machine.

Our unique model has swept America because it has never been seen before: we simply invite every beginner in your school to join our school chess team and we use only super-fun teaching methods such as super-fast chess clock-slapping chess games, zany chess videos, a strict bully-free environment, silicone wristbands for tactics mastery, chess puzzlers for candy, driving music, hilarious tactics-lesson videos, Mardi-Gras bead chess tournaments each day we meet and National Online tournaments every weekend!

In this kid-centered classroom environment, we teach our kids every cool trick, strategy, opening, and tactic in chessdom and our kids soon learn to love and master chess and to masterfully control their classrooms, sports fields, and home lives as well! Laughter, fast clocks, and compelling teaching approaches make this class the week's highlight for the current 4500 Chess Party members who make up the awesome network of The Knight School's 300+ school chess teams.

Join The Knight School chess party and give your child the gift of amazing chess friends, undeniable academic confidence, self-identity as a smart kid, and a weekly dose of childhood joy that is the highlight of their week! Sign up today! Learn more and sign up for our school chess team at www.theknightschool.com or email Coach Brian Harris: brian@theknightschool.com (785) 341-6590.

We look forward to continuing our partnership we created last fall with our feeder elementary schools to encourage community engagement and support of our athletic and activity programs. Our goal is to continue fostering our relationship through events and activities this school year. Our mission orpurpose remains intact to build connections and relationships between high school athletes and our feeder school elementary students and families.

This year we are hosting ALL feeder elementary schools at our first home football game; this happens to be Homecoming Week as well (we have several community events planned)!!!

Elementary students are allowed in free and admittance for parentsis $7.00 each. The great news is we have NEW Brick House Bound white and ash gray t-shirts to provide as well as Bison stickers.

Yes, we plan on continuing our tradition of forming a tunnel so our Little Bison can HIGH FIVE our football players as they enter the field. Our PEP Club, Dance Team, and Cheer Squad will assist our students during team introductions.

The SMAC clothing exchange information in the fliers below.

Digital Learning Website: This webpage will provide information on our SMSD District-Wide Digital Platforms, Curriculum Apps, Approved Apps, Information for Families, and Digital Citizenship.

Breakfast starts at 7:40am- only breakfast students may enter at this time.

7:50am doors open for all other students to enter into the gym.

8:00am front doors open and students can go straight to their rooms.

8:10am front doors closed all students arriving after this time are tardy.

Students are released at 3:10pm

Our Shawnee Mission Student Handbook provides information on our philosophy of education, code of conduct and a of variety policies and procedures. Students and parents can read this handbook to better understand the behavior expectations of Nieman Elementary and also the Shawnee Mission School District.

Click Link to learn more!

Email: kileytenbrink@smsd.org
Website: https://nieman.smsd.org/
Location: Nieman Elementary School, West 67th Street, Shawnee, KS, USA
Phone: 913-993-4000
Twitter: @Tenbrink512

Email: MelisaTVick@smsd.org
Phone: 913-993-4009

Email: annekwon@smsd.org
Phone: 913-993-4031