Thursday, November 30, 2017
Dear Nature Hill Community,
December is a busy time of year at Nature Hill as we
transition into the second trimester and work to fit everything into the weeks
leading up to Winter Break. Please take a minute to review our monthly update
so we are all on the same page as we head into 2018!
This month’s update provides information about the following
items:
- Communicating Feedback: Addressing results from
the recent parent survey
- Wolf Recognition Spotlight: Mr. Jeff Charles
- Information on daily announcements and winter clubs
- News from the PTO
- A reminder about holiday treats
- A summary of the NHI attendance guidelines
- A note from the yearbook club
- The monthly outlook for school-wide events at NHI
between now and early January
As always, never hesitate to reach out if I can help you or
your child in any way. I hope to see you at one of the many events this month!
Wolf Pride!
Jason
Success at Nature Hill: Communicating
Feedback
I want to thank everyone who took time this fall to fill out the
district-issued survey on how we communicate your child’s academic progress. In
order to guarantee the success of our students, it is vital that we maintain a
strong partnership by ensuring an open line of communication between your
child, their teachers, our school, and all of you. We are using the results of
the survey to set action steps around how to better communicate and ensure we
are giving you adequate feedback on your child’s learning.
The results of our survey showed that parents, teachers, and students
all define feedback in a variety of ways. This mostly includes reviewing grade
and rubrics. While these are great ways to learn how your child is progressing
academically, there are plenty of other more frequent ways you can gain
information about their progress.
- While we publish report cards three times a year
(look for your child’s report card to be published on Family Access on December
8), sending a quick note to your child’s teacher asking for a brief synopsis on
their progress is encouraged between grade-reporting periods.
- Asking students to share their Google-based
assignments with you and reviewing rubrics to monitor and coach them throughout
the assignment instead of waiting until the teacher grades it.
- Recognizing that feedback comes in the simple
one-on-one conversations between your student and their teachers. While these
simple messages may not make their way home, they are the most effective way in
ensuring feedback. That being said, hopefully you hear your child talking about
a “growth mindset”. This is evidence of our teachers coaching and mentoring our
students on tasks that push them into a new level of understanding and thinking.
Wolf Recognition Spotlight: Mr.
Jeff Charles
This month I would like to recognize Mr. Jeff Charles. Mr. Charles has
been a paraprofessional at NHI since the building opened in 2008, and recently accepted a new
assignment in our library. In his new role, Mr. Charles will be opening the
library at 7:15am, working with our students on troubleshooting issues with Chromebooks,
and supporting staff in their technology needs. I am very excited to have him
in this new role! Technical skills aside, Mr. Charles is a very caring, patient,
and helpful presence at NHI. He invests time in getting to know our students
and builds meaningful connections with them. This skill set will serve him well
as he works to manage library operations and support our kids in finding books
that inspire them to keep reading! Congratulations on your new role, Mr.
Charles!
Join the Pack! Daily Announcements
& Winter Club Sign-Up
Sign-ups for our winter clubs are available through Tuesday. Please have
your child swing by the library to make a commitment to join one of our winter
clubs!
Please also remember to make a habit of checking our daily announcements,
which hosts our club calendar. The announcements are available on the right
side of the blog or by
clicking
here. This is the fastest way to see if a club’s schedule has changed or if
there is an additional club being offered at the last minute.
PTO News and Notes
Our next meeting is on Monday, January 8, 2017 at 6:30pm in Room 152A
at Nature Hill. Please join us as we reconnect after all of our fall events and
start to make plans for our Fun Run and Teacher Appreciation Week.
Holiday Treat Reminders
As you share holiday treats with your child’s class, team, or club,
please remember to keep all items peanut-free and provide any recipes to the
teacher for anything homemade. Thanks for helping to keep our Wolves safe!
Attendance Reminders
It is cold and flu season, so this is a good time to remind everyone of
our attendance policy. First, if your child is going to be absent, please call
the attendance line at 262-569-4942. Please leave a message with your child’s
name and the reason for their absence, if possible. While consistent attendance
is important, we ask that you keep your child home for at least 24 hours after
they have stopped experiencing any flu-like symptoms. A comprehensive review of
our sick guidelines is available by
clicking here.
We know the holiday and winter season can pull many of you away from
school for vacations. Please make sure you have filled out the Contemplated Absence
Form in the office. This allows for your child’s teacher to communicate any
work that may be missed and for Ali or I to sign off on your child’s absence.
A Message from the Yearbook Club
Please see the message below from Mrs. Rupnow about how you can share
your photos from concerts, games, and other events with the yearbook team.
We need your help!
Do you take pictures at school events? Jostens,' our
yearbook company, has an easy to use app for uploading
pictures straight from smartphones and computers. When you upload your
pictures, you'll help us reach our goal of including each student at
least 3 times in the yearbook! We appreciate a variety of pictures to
choose from for this year's book.
Thank you for considering!
-The Yearbook Club
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Upcoming Events at Nature Hill
Please mark your calendar for the following upcoming school-wide events
occurring between now and early January. Individual classroom or grade level
activities will be shared with you by your child’s teacher.
Date
|
Time
|
Event
|
Tuesday, December 5 or
Wednesday, December 6
|
Morning
|
Vision & Hearing
Testing
5th and 8th
graders will be provided free vision and hearing tests courtesy of the Lions
Club.
|
Friday, December 8
|
By 3:15pm
|
Trimester 1 Report Cards
Posted
Report cards will be posted on
Family Access prior to the end of the day on December 8.
|
Tuesday, December 12
|
6:00 & 7:15pm
|
5th & 6th
Grade Orchestra and Choir Concerts
Join us for a fun night of
celebrating as our 5th and 6th grade musicians show off
their hard work from the first trimester. The 5th grade concerts
begin at 6:00pm and the 6th grade concerts begin at 7:15pm.
|
Wednesday, December 13
|
6:00pm & 6:30pm
|
7th & 8th
Grade Jazz and Encore Holiday Concerts
Stop by NHI for an evening of
fun holiday music! This always proves to be one of the best concerts of the
year. The jazz band will perform at 6:00pm, followed by our Encore band and
choirs at 6:30pm.
|
Thursday, December 14
|
6:00-8:30pm
|
Family Night Out for STEM
There are only a few spots left
for this event. Please send an email to CurtisJ@oasd.org if you would like to attend.
As a reminder, registration
begins at 5:30pm and the event starts at 6:00pm.
|
Tuesday, December 19
|
7:00pm
|
7th & 8th
Grade Orchestra Concert: The OAC
Our orchestra will perform
their holiday concert at the OAC prior to the OHS orchestra concert.
|
Monday, December 25-
Monday, January 1
|
All Day
|
No School: Winter Break
Nature Hill and the front
office will be closed through Monday, January 1. We hope you enjoy the
vacation time with your friends and family!
|
Tuesday, January 2
|
7:30am
|
Classes Resume
Classes resume from Winter
Break on Tuesday, January 2 at 7:30am. We wish you all a very happy and
prosperous 2018!
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