I hope everyone had a wonderful summer! I was lucky enough to spend some time with my family and relax at home for a few weeks, which was such a treat. But, I'm always ready to get back to school and am excited to start another school year! Our team has been busy for the past couple weeks, learning together and getting ready for the kids to return on Monday. We have a handful of new staff members that are a great addition to our team. Our theme this year is Next Level Excellence. We will continue our focus on student growth and helping students get to the next level in all they do. This theme is also aligned with our Board North Star Goal, "Every student, teacher and leader will meet or exceed their academic growth goals".

I was so happy to see many of you at Back to School Night. A big thank you to our PTA and Dad's Club who helped organize the school supply sale and grilled all the hot dogs! Please be sure to read through this newsletter for some back to school reminders.

The district has updated the Elementary Dress Code. Please be sure your students are dressed appropriately for school each day. Please let me know if you have any questions.

• We will not have outdoor recess or outdoor P.E. during this heat wave. Teachers have planned some indoor recess activities for students. We will continue to monitor the weather and take guidance from the District regarding outdoor activities.
• There will be no breakfast served on the first day of school. Breakfast will continue to be seved in the classroom starting Tuesday, August 15th. Please be sure your child has breakfast at home on Monday morning.
• If you plan on walking your child to their porch on the first day of school, please park at the library and walk to NLE as parking is limited on campus.
• Parents will not be permitted to walk students to class on the first day of school.
• No lunch visitors for the first two weeks of school. Teachers will be eating lunch with their students the first week of school to help establish cafeteria procedures. Students will have an opportunity to practice and continue to get support during week two.

I hope you were able to read through Ms. Wall's message regarding Arrival and Dismissal Procedures. I am attaching the link below, please be sure you familiarize yourself with these so we can ensure a safe and smooth arrival and dismissal. Again, parking is limited on campus. If you plan on parking and walking to the building, please park at the library and walk to school. Please be sure to cross with the crossing guards.

The school day is from 7:50-3:10

• The building opens at 7:30.

• Breakfast is served in the classroom from 7:30-7:50.

• Your child is tardy at 7:51 and will receive a tardy pass to get to class.

• Your child is late for school after 8:05 and a parent will need to sign them in at the office.

• If your child arrives to school after 9:00 AM they are counted absent for the day.

• If you child is absent for any reason, please be sure to send a note to school on the day your child returns, letting us know the reason for the absence. Any excuse notes must be received within 3 days of returning to school in order to receive an excused absence.

If you have any questions regarding attendance, please email our Student Data Specialist, Ms. Martinez at melinda.martinez@risd.org.

If you would like to volunteer at Northlake Elementary, you must complete a volunteer background check EVERY new school year. Volunteering could include helping with class parties, attending field trips with your children, working in the library, helping at Field Day, or many other activities. We will not allow anyone who has not completed and passed the volunteer background check to volunteer. Please click on the link below to complete the background check. You MUST also watch the very short powerpoint at the end to complete the entire background check. Failure to watch the powerpoint will make your application incomplete and you will not be able to volunteer.

We are so fortunate to have a wonderful PTA. We have an amazing PTA Board and are gearing up for a great year ahead. 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 . Thanks in advance for supporting our school!

We will be selling student spirit shirts for $2 this year. We will send home an order form next week. Once we receive your order and money, we will send a spirit shirt home with your child. This discounted price is available for NLE students only and is possible thanks to the generosity of one of our community members who made a donation to offset the expense for our families. Our goal is for every student to have a spirit shirt to wear each Friday. We also wear them on field trips, etc. PTA will be selling spirit shirts for parents at Meet the Teacher Night in September, these will most likely cost about $10.

Parents must apply for their child/children to receive free or reduced breakfast and lunch. Last year everyone received free school breakfast but this year families must apply to receive free or reduced breakfast. The application must be completed as soon as possible to ensure that there is no interruption to their meal service. This application needs to be filled out every year. Please click on the picture or link below to get to the lunch application.

Students are welcome to pack a nutritious lunch from home or a lunch may be purchased in the school cafeteria. If your child happens to forget their lunch from home, please drop it off in the front office by 10:30 AM. This will ensure that the lunch will reach your child by their lunch time. Please refer to the RISD Child Nutrition website for menus, pricing and payment options.

In the interest of safety & security, every visitor to a Richardson ISD campus must present a valid form of identification and be processed through the Raptor background check system each visit, regardless of previous checks. Please be sure that you have your valid identification with you every time you visit Northlake Elementary. Thank you for your patience and understanding as RISD works to ensure the safety of students and employees. Volunteer questions may be directed to the office of Strategy & Engagement.

Additionally, the front office staff will use the intercom system to ask visitors to identify themselves and the purpose of their visit before granting access to the office. This is part of our heightened security measures. Please be cooperative and patient as we all get used to these new measures. As you enter the building, please do not allow others to enter with you or to follow you through the doors as you enter or leave. Everyone who enters should ring the buzzer and speak to someone in the office before entering the school building.

RISD Safety Week

Schools across RISD will be conducting Safety Week (August 21-25) to ensure that our staff and students are aware of procedures to follow in emergency situations. Each morning this week teachers will practice one drill.

The schedule is as follows:

Monday - Hold Drill

Tuesday - Secure Drill

Wednesday - Lockdown Drill

Thursday - Evacuate Drill

Friday - Shelter Drill

Please talk with your children each day to review the drills practiced and if you have any questions, please let your child's teacher know. You can also reach out to Ms. Wall at kylee.wall@risd.org.

August 14 - First Day of School

September 4 - Labor Day - No School

September 7 - PTA Board Meeting - 6:00

September 14 - PTA General Meeting and Meet the Teacher - 5:30-7:00

September 18 - Paw Prints