October Community Update

Monday, October 2, 2017

Dear Nature Hill Community,

Thank you to everyone who made Homecoming week an extremely fun time at Nature Hill! Our Leaders of the Pack did a great job assembling our float, and we had so many of our students show off their Wolf Pride by marching with us in the parade! I want to say a very special THANK YOU to Mrs. Kelly Boldt (5^th grade), Mrs. Molly Kielma (physical education), and Mrs. Cassie Schuh (8^th grade) for their help in coordinating this year’s float! They are amazing teachers and advisors, and I am grateful for the hours of extra time they put in to support our students during this annual event!

This month’s update gives you a quick glimpse at everything going on in October and early November. However, if you are interested in receiving more frequent communication from Nature Hill, please follow or check the Notes from Nature Hill Blog, which is updated as needed.

Wolf Pride!

Jason Curtis

Principal

Success at Nature Hill: Feedback on Your Child’s Learning

Every year the Oconomowoc Area School District offers parents the opportunity to complete a satisfaction survey. For the past several years, we have received low scores on how often we provide feedback on your child’s learning. In order to address parent concerns related to feedback, we are asking parents to complete this survey. In the coming months, we will analyze the data and examine our feedback structures and systems to ensure we are meeting your expectations.

At Nature Hill, our teachers are constantly providing feedback to our students. This often happens during everyday moments in the classroom, such as one-on-one conversations between child and their teacher. Here are some ideas that other parents have had in order to stay connected to their child’s learning experience:    

1.  Ask students to share writing projects with you through Google Docs.
2.  Follow, join or ask your child’s teacher(s) to become a member of their Google Classroom, Classroom Dojo, Seesaw account or other virtual tools they may use to help students and families stay connected to the classroom experience.
3.  Feel free to reach out to your child’s teacher in between the formal reporting periods of report cards and parent-teacher conferences.
4.  7^th and 8^th grade families are reminded to check their child’s grades a couple of times a week.

We look forward to examining data from this survey in order to ensure we strengthen our partnership in your child’s education!

Staff Recognition Spotlight: Mrs. Kris Chadwick (Technology Education)

This month I would like to recognize Mrs. Kris Chadwick for all of her efforts to support the teachers and students at Nature Hill. As the technology teacher, Mrs. Chadwick has used her expertise to be extremely helpful in assisting teachers in setting up Google Classroom accounts. Along with her technology partner in crime, Ms. Tracy Garon, she has led summer professional development sessions, worked to create our 7^th and 8^th grade digital citizenship lessons, and advises our student Tech Ninja program. As if that didn’t keep her busy enough, outside of her role as a technology teacher and coach, she co-advises our Robotics team and teaches a reading intervention during our All School Read period. It is safe to say we would be lost without Kris’ expertise and her willingness to support her students and colleagues! Thank you, Mrs. Chadwick!

Wolf Pride: Include Others

At Nature Hill, each homeroom takes time for our class meeting structure known as Circle of Power and Respect (CPR). This time allows for students to get to know their classmates and to celebrate and discuss topics that are important to their community and our school. From time to time, we conduct theme weeks, in which our entire school focuses on a single topic.

During the week of September 18^th, our community focused on our Wolf Pride norm of including others. Thanks to the leadership of Mrs. Allie Tasche, one of our 7^th grade learning strategists, lessons were designed to help our students understand the importance of including others. You can view the lessons and videos used for discussion by clicking here.

In continuing with that theme, we are currently planning to celebrate the close of the first trimester by taking an all-school field trip to see the movie Wonder, which will be coming out in mid-November. Wonder is an extremely popular book and one of the first ones your child read at Nature Hill, and it highlights the importance of including others. Please watch for more details on this celebration!

PTO-Sponsored Halloween Dance: Friday, October 27 (6:30-9:00pm)

One of the biggest events of the year is our PTO-sponsored Halloween Dance. In the coming weeks, tickets will be available for $5 on the Web Store. It is helpful if you order your tickets in advance, but your child can certainly pay at the door. Please have your student save up some money for snacks, drinks, trinkets, and spooky experiences such as the Panic Room!

Join the Pack!

I am excited to share that 53% of our students have participated in at least one club, sport or activity this fall! We will be offering even more exciting opportunities to Join the Pack this winter. Sign-ups will occur after Thanksgiving break.

Save the Date: Fall Parent-Teacher Conferences

Be on the lookout for communication from your child’s teacher(s) regarding details for our fall parent-teacher conferences. The schedule for this fall’s conferences is listed below:

•  Thursday, November 2 from 3:15-7:30pm
•  Tuesday, November 7 from 3:15-7:30pm
•  Friday, November 10 from 12:30-3:15pm (students will be dismissed at 11:55am)

Veterans Day at Nature Hill: Friday, November 10

Our annual Veterans Day Celebration will be on Friday, November 10. Please be watching for an invitation from the National Junior Honor Society to invite your friends and family who have served in the United States military to join us at Nature Hill for a morning of celebration as we express our gratitude for their service.

Important Dates

Please mark your calendars for the following school-wide events that will be occurring within the next month.

Date	Time	Event
Friday, October 6	All day	No School: District Professional Learning Day There will be no school on Friday, October 6. NHI staff will be examining student data collected in September and participating in district curriculum committee meetings.
Monday, October 9	6:30-7:30pm	PTO Meeting: NHI Room 152A Please join us as we make final plans for the Book Fair and Halloween Dance.
Monday, October 9	6:30pm	“Into the Woods” Musical Information Night: Cafeteria Students and families interested in trying out for this year’s musical are invited to meet with Mrs. Jappinen, Mr. Darnell and Ms. Garon to learn more about the expectations and tryout process.
Tuesday, October 18	Morning	Picture Retake Day Picture retakes will happen throughout the morning.
Friday, October 27	6:30-9:00pm	PTO-Sponsored Halloween Dance: NHI Gym We hope to see all of our wolves at the first dance of the year. Join us for a night of spooky fun! Please bring a few extra dollars for tricks and treats.