Fall Book Fair: October 31-November 7

Reading for pleasure inside and outside of school has real and long-lasting benefits.  It unlocks the power of information and imagination and helps children discover who they are.  It will even help them get into college!  Here’s what you can do to help children develop stronger reading skills and a love for reading:

·         Set the example.  Let children see you read.

·        Have a collection of books in the home.  Update this collection routinely to keep pace with changing tastes and reading skills.  Talk about books and what your child is reading.

·         Support our school’s Book Fair.  Allow your children to choose their own books to read.

Our Scholastic Book Fair is a reading event that brings the books kids want to read to our school.  It’s a wonderful selection of engaging and affordable books for every reading level.  Please make plans to visit our Book Fair and be involved in shaping your child’s reading habits.

Book Fair dates/times:          Tuesday, October 31^st ~ 7am – 4pm

                                                Wednesday, November 1^st ~ 7am – 4pm

                                                Thursday, November 2^nd ~ 3pm – 7:30pm

                                                Friday, November 3^rd ~ 7am – 4pm

                                                Monday, November 6^th ~ 7am – 4pm

                                                Tuesday, November 7^th ~ 3pm – 7:30pm

Special activities:                  Please note special hours during Parent/Teacher Conferences

Before you visit the Book Fair, be sure to download the Book Fairs app to help you find the right books for your child.  For more information, visit scholastic.com/apps/bookfairs.

We look forward to seeing you and your family at our Book Fair!  Remember, all purchases benefit our school.

Jason

NHI Drug Prevention Procedures

Friday, October 20, 2017

Dear Nature Hill Families,

As a community, we have the important task of working together to ensure the safety of our students. One of the threats students may face is the exposure to drugs and alcohol. In recent years, Nature Hill, in coordination with our district and community advocacy groups, has taken some steps to ensure we do our part to help educate our students on the dangers of drug and alcohol use and take proactive measures to prevent students from using them.

One such preventative measure is that we have partnered with the Waukesha County Sheriff’s K-9 team. A few times throughout the year, we invite the team to complete a search for illegal drugs around our entire campus and building. This is a tool we use to ensure everyone knows we are serious about Nature Hill being a drug-free community. Today, we conducted an unannounced search of our entire campus. In total, the search lasted about 15 minutes and caused minimal disruption to our school day. In order to allow the search to be as efficient as possible, the building was placed in a non-emergency lockdown, which means that teachers were asked to continue with their lessons and students were asked to stay in their classrooms for the duration of the search. Often times, parents want to know the results of these searches. However, in order to protect the confidentiality of the members of our community, we do not publicly share the results of these searches. 

In addition to these searches, there are other preventative measures we take as a community. Starting last year, we instituted a random drug testing procedure. All 7^th and 8^th graders who participate in a club or athletic team at Nature Hill are eligible to be tested. Again, this policy is simply meant to give students an excuse to say “no” to any pressure they may face when confronted with the opportunity to use an illegal drug.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at CurtisJ@oasd.org.

Thank you for your support,

Jason Curtis

Principal

Dances with Wolves! Dances at NHI...

On Friday, October 27 the PTO will be hosting our annual Halloween Dance. Doors open at 6:30pm and we ask that parents pick their children up at 9pm. Tickets are $5 each and are available through the Web Store or at the door. It is extremely helpful if you order your tickets ahead of time. This helps us plan ahead and makes the check-in process move quickly.

Parents often have lots of questions about our dances. Hopefully most of them are answered below. If not, please feel free to send me an email (CurtisJ@oasd.org) or reply to this post and we will get your questions answered.

What should my child wear?

It’s the Halloween Dance, so this means our annual costume contest will be going on. If they aren’t into costumes then they are welcome to wear whatever casual clothes (school dress code will be in effect).

What should my child bring?

They should bring extra money. Snacks, drinks and other spooky experiences will be available for purchase.

Where do we pick them up at the end of the night?

If you thought traffic was crazy during the school day, just wait until you see it after the dance! Please be patient and watch for pedestrians. Consider picking your child up in the bus lane or park and wait in the staff lot. Regardless of what you decide, make a plan with your child and their friends before they go to the dance.

Do kids actually go to the dances? How many chaperones are there?

Typically we have about 400-500 students attend the dances, so YES, kids come! We try to have about 30 chaperones. This is the PTO-sponsored dance, so Ms. Hedrick and I will be the only two NHI staff members there, however, our PTO has this system down pat. Our goal is to ensure everyone is safe and give you a few hours of freedom!

How can I help?

You are welcome to volunteer (please watch for communication from our PTO). However, the best thing you can do is remind your student that school rules will be in effect at the dance and they should show that Wolf Pride by including others to participate in their dance circles and follow through on our respectful, responsible and safe commitments to the community.

Don’t forget to save the date for the other two dances of the year—the staff-sponsored dance will be on February 2 and the student council-sponsored dance will be on April 20.

Wolf Pride!

Jason

Health and Wellness Opportunity at NHI: Free Y Membership Included

Wednesday, October 4, 2017

Over the last year, we have been working with the YMCA and Aurora Healthcare to design a health and wellness program for our students. As an organization, the Y is committed to helping kids and their families make healthier decisions that will positively impact their well-being, help prevent health risks associated with inactivity and poor nutrition, and empower and educate our community by building character and supporting healthy habits. At Nature Hill, we share these same values and we are excited to introduce a new and innovative program for our students called Habit Heroes.

Habit Heroes is an 8-week program that will meet every Friday from 3:15-4:15pm in the Multi-Purpose Room at Nature Hill starting on October 20 and running through December 15 (with no meeting on November 24). Each session will focus on a mix of topics including honesty, the physical body, caring, importance of water, respect, food preparation and cooking, responsibility, and stress management. During each session, students will spend 30 minutes in group discussion and/or smaller group work based on the week’s focus and 30 minutes exercising.

More importantly, our goal is to encourage them to stick to these new habits beyond the 8-week session. Students will be asked to set and monitor goals around each habit, and will be recognized for making healthy life choices and following through on the program’s goals. These goals include:

• Spending less than 2 hours of screen time daily
• Eating 5 servings of fruits and vegetables every day
• Accumulating at least 1 hour of physical activity every day
• Eating a healthy breakfast every day
• Eliminating soda or sugar-based drinks from their diet

To support their success in the program, your family will be given a free 3-month membership to the YMCA. This is an amazing incentive valued at $279! If you are already a member at the Y, they will simply stop your auto-draft for 3- months.

To sign your child up, please fill out the attached registration information and participant expectations and return them to Nature Hill as soon as possible. Hard copies are also available in the office and at the YMCA. Please note that there are only 25 spots available, so we encourage you to sign up today. We hope you consider enrolling your Wolf in this unique and amazing opportunity!

Click here to access the brochure

Wolf Pride!
Jason

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.