January Community Update

Wednesday, January 3, 2018

Dear Nature Hill Community,

I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday season and winter break! In a few weeks we will celebrate the halfway point of the school year—can you believe it? Though many of us are quick to make new goals and resolutions this time of year, I would encourage you to take some time to talk with your child and reflect on the goals they set for the year back in August.

While January is a slower month compared to others, this month’s community update will highlight some important topics, including:

• Success at Nature Hill: Coping Skills for Self-Regulation
• Wolf Recognition Spotlight
• Winter Parent-Teacher Conferences
• Join the Pack: Clubs and Activities at Nature Hill
• PTO Reminders and Updates
• Winter MAP Testing Reminder
• 2018-2019 Scheduling Information
• Winter Dance Details

As always, please feel free to reach out if you have any questions!

Wolf Pride!
Jason

Success at Nature Hill: Coping Skills for Self-Regulation

We all deal with stress in different ways and our kids are no exception. The increased academic demands that come with getting older can begin to stress out some students and the constant barrage of videos and photos from peers on social media create a constant desire for approval and acceptance. On top of that, our students all deal with a variety of other struggles that may affect their emotional development. Sometimes these outside barriers can become overwhelming for our students and make school the last thing on their mind. At Nature Hill, we have been discussing ways to help students self-regulate so they can successful in the classroom.

Recently, we have been trying our best to give students the opportunity to self-regulate throughout the day by teaching them ways to cope with the stresses they encounter. You can click here for tools and resources that may help your child when they experience moments of dysregulation in high-stress situations. These include:

• Breathing exercises
• Ways to appropriately use fidgets
•  Calming strategies
•  Mindfulness activities
•  Movement breaks

Wolf Recognition Spotlight: Oconomowoc Transport

This month I would like to recognize all of the bus drivers, maintenance crew and managers at Oconomowoc Transport. They have a pretty thankless job, yet they are vital to the success of our students, and I personally take everything they do for granted. This ranges from transporting our students safely in all different types of weather, monitoring and addressing behaviors on the bus, driving our athletes to all of their competitions, and bringing our students on all of our fun field trips. Ali and I appreciate their partnership and their willingness to accommodate our needs. Not a single day goes by that we are not collaborating with them to ensure your child’s safe transit to and from Nature Hill, so please take a minute to thank the folks at Oconomowoc Transport!

Winter Parent-Teacher Conferences

As I mentioned in the introduction, this is a great time of year to reflect on the goals that our students set back at the beginning of the year. To help facilitate this conversation, we will offer one more round of parent-teacher conferences at the following dates and times:

•  Thursday, February 1 (3:15-7:30pm)
•  Thursday, February 8 (3:15-7:30pm)

Teachers will be reaching out with specific sign-up details in the coming weeks.

Join the Pack!

We had a successful winter club sign-up! From time to time we will find funding and interest for additional clubs. Please continue to check the daily announcements for these opportunities.

It is also important to check the announcements in order to stay up to date on club meeting dates and times. The calendar provides a great overview of all of the different meetings, and it’s the best way to be notified of any schedule changes or cancellations.

PTO News

The PTO will meet on Monday, January 8 at 6:30pm in room 152A at Nature Hill. We would love your help as we make plans for our spring fundraiser and teacher appreciation week.

Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) Testing

Our winter MAP testing will be administered in the coming weeks. These tests are used to help teachers analyze your student’s academic progress this year, identify topics to reteach, and make appropriate class placements for the 2018-2019 school year.

Scheduling for 2018-2019

The course request process for next school year begins on January 22. Please watch your email for details during the week of January 15.

Winter Dance: Friday, February 2

The winter dance will be on Friday, February 2 from 6:30-9:00pm. Tickets will be available online and at the door. This dance is sponsored by the NHI staff, and proceeds from the dance will be used to fund the Karen Small Legacy Scholarship. This $1,000 scholarship is awarded to a former NHI student who is a graduating senior from OHS and seeking a career in the science or healthcare-related fields. So drop your kids off for some sugar and fun and head out with your friends to enjoy a few hours of freedom!

Upcoming Events at Nature Hill

Please mark your calendar for the following upcoming school-wide events occurring between now and early February. Individual classroom or grade-level activities will be shared with you by your child’s teacher.

Date	Time	Event
Monday, January 8	6:30pm	PTO Meeting: NHI Room 152A Please join us! It’s a great way to connect with other families.
Thursday, February 1 & Thursday, February 8	3:15-7:30pm	Winter Parent-Teacher Conferences Teachers will be sending out additional information on their winter conference schedules in the coming weeks.
Friday, February 2	6:30-9:00pm	Winter Dance: NHI Gym and Cafeteria We hope your wolf can join us for our staff-sponsored dance! Tickets are $5 and will be on sale soon.