Normandy Park School
Principal's Corner
February 10th to February 14th
- February 10th is F Day
- This week, we will begin Naglieri Testing for 3rd grade students (additional information below)
- This week the Reading Challenge begins. Flyers were home to explaining the challenge and how to participate (for additional information, see below)
- This week, the Senior Cultural Arts Residency with Stop Motion artist, Tracy Fox, begins (additional information below)
- February 14th, Report Cards will be sent home via backpack for all students
- February 14th is Valentine's Day
Report Cards
On February 14th, students will receive report cards for the 1st half of the school year. Report Cards will be sent home via backpack. In the Morris School District, a Standards Based Report Card is used.
To learn more about the Standards Based Report Card, please see our K-5 Report Card Parent Guide Book. In addition, I will be hosting an information session on Standards Based Report Cards for all interested parents on the evening of February 4th.
Family Bingo Night
A special thanks to Beth Wall and Gwen Beslow for organizing Friday's Family Bingo Night. Thank you to all families who attended! It was a fun filled evening of family, bingo, prizes, and pizza!
A few NPS teachers attended and played as well!
STEAM Fair
The Normandy Park School is excited to announce our second annual S.T.E.A.M. Fair which will be held Thursday, March 5th from 6:30 to 8:00 PM. The acronym S.T.E.A.M. stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics. Students are learning, exploring and expressing interest in many areas, and this is an additional opportunity to showcase their work.
During the fair parents and students will have the opportunity to explore the different aspects of S.T.E.A.M. throughout the building. It will be an amazing opportunity for students to display their talents and interests through multiple facets.
Your child also has the opportunity to complete an at home project. This is voluntary. Some of the possible topics include Climate Change, Food Webs, Habitats, Rockets, Science of Sports or Research on an inventor. The possibilities are endless. If your child is interested in completing an at home project please email Mr. Russell at robert.russell@msdk12.net. In your email please indicate the project title as well as the amount of space needed to showcase the project. Projects should be brought in the morning of the fair. Storage is not available prior to the morning of the fair.
Also, if you can volunteer to set up the morning of the fair please email Mr. Russell. The more help we can get setting up the faster the process.
We hope you will join us in celebrating our students’ hard work.
Valentine's Days
Valentine's Day is Friday. We enjoy celebrating at Normandy Park School with our creative student made card boxes.
Students can bring in Valentine's cards, but no candy treats. This is also for class celebrations. Healthy snacks only!
Please make sure that if your child is bringing in cards, they are bringing cards in for the whole class.
Normandy Park School's 3rd Annual Reading Challenge
The Normandy Park School HSA presents the 3rd Annual Reading Challenge: Get Stuck in a Super Book!
We hope all of the students will participate in this fun activity designed to make everyone an enthusiastic reader. Here is how to participate:
READ!! Children’s eligible reading will begin on Monday,
February 10th and end on Monday, March 16th. Your child’s reading should be appropriate for reading ability, grade level and length. Books may be fiction or non- fiction but should be books that your child reads within the program dates and has not read before. Books being read for a class assignment count! Your child may read independently or be read to. Books from home, school or public libraries or any other source are fine for the program.
LOG! Students will receive tally sheets to keep track of their reading. They will need to complete 5 logs to successfully complete the challenge. Return the logs to the library or submit online at https://normandyhsa.membershiptoolkit.com/Open_Forms. Students can pick up new log sheets at the library or at the front office. The number of books to complete a log sheet will vary by Unit.
ENJOY THE JOURNEY! Each participating student will have a “spider” on our big
hallway display near the front office. Students will “get stuck” in the spiderweb. Students
will continue to read through the spiderweb as many times as they can.
EVERYBODY WINS! Any students that successfully complete the challenge will receive
a medal and a brand new book, with the top 3 readers from each unit receiving a trophy
and Scholastic Bucks to spend during our NPS Book Fair!
We are excited about this event and are looking forward to watching our children become
super readers! If you have any questions, please contact Hope Dulac at
HopeDulac@gmail.com or Dimitra Drakotou at drakotou@me.com.
FMS Key Information for 5th Grade Parents
Attention 5th grade families, please click here for key information on immunizations, sports, activities, and attendance.
Naglieri Testing
In February, all 3rd grade students will be taking the Naglieri Non-Verbal Ability Test. 4th and 5th grade students who are new to the Morris School District will also be taking the test. Please find below your child’s homeroom testing schedule. This online test is a brief, thirty minute, culture fair measure of a student’s nonverbal reasoning and general problem-solving ability. In broad terms the test measures different aspects of general cognitive ability and its scores can be somewhat but not singularly predictive of academic success. It is an assessment based on a testing method supported by more than a half century of research.
Each student’s test results will be available to their parents in March. Results will be one of several measures used to determine eligibility for the Quest Program and is useful as one extra part of an overall view of our students as learners. If you have any questions regarding the administration of this test, please feel free to call me at school. Thank you for your continued cooperation and support.
Homeroom Teacher and Date of Naglieri Test
Reuther
February 11
Rosso
February 11
Ortiz
February 12
Diana/Parks
February 12
Hong/Cahill
February 13
Smith
February 13
Upcoming Cultural Arts Residency for Senior Classes
From February 10th to February 27th, NPS will host their Senior Cultural Arts Residency with Stop Motion artist, Tracy Fox. Students will create their own Stop Motion art with the guidance of the artist. The projects will be geared around students sharing their own superpowers and expertise. On February 28th, NPS will host a culminating event for Senior parents to come and see the students Stop Motion art projects.
iReady Testing Window
Last month, our school began administering the i-Ready® Diagnostic assessment for Grades K through 5th. This is the first iReady Diagnostic of the school year for Kindergartners, and the second iReady Diagnostic of the school year for 1st through 5th graders.
The i-Ready Diagnostic helps teachers to effectively assess their students and then provide individualized instruction based on each student’s unique needs. i-Ready Diagnostic assesses the following skill areas:
Reading
• Phonological Awareness
• Phonics
• High-Frequency Words
• Vocabulary
• Comprehension
Math
• Number and Operations
• Algebra and Algebraic Thinking
• Measurement and Data
• Geometry
i-Ready Diagnostic begins by giving students an adaptive assessment in reading and math. An adaptive assessment is a test that automatically adjusts the difficulty of the questions according to each student’s performance in order to determine his or her abilities in reading or math. i-Ready is a very different kind of test that presents students with questions that can be both too easy and too hard. It is designed to do this until the assessment finds exactly the level at which the student is performing. Therefore, your child will certainly see some items above his or her level. Your child will be encouraged to independently complete the test to the best of his or her ability, and know that it is okay to get questions wrong.
Each time a student gets an item incorrect, he or she will be presented with a simpler question until the diagnostic finds the grade level at which the student is performing. The assessment efficiently assesses students across multiple grade levels, allowing for identification of root causes of students’ struggles or for identification of areas where a student is ready for further challenge. This information will then provide the teacher with a “road map” to instructional remediation.
Once your child completes the test, he or she will be assigned online instruction to support his or her progress in mastering each skill. i-Ready Diagnostic supports the teachers and administrators at your child’s school. The program provides a series of comprehensive reports designed to make classroom instruction more effective. These reports include data about student performance as well as detailed teaching suggestions. They help educators make informed decisions about the instruction that is right for your child.
Should you have further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me or your child’s teacher.
MSD Preschool Registration
In December, the Morris School District opened registration for free preschool for district families for the 2020-2021 school year. To register, please visit https://www.morrisschooldistrict.org/
Upcoming Events
- February 17th-18th: School Closed for Students
- March 5th: NP STEAM Night (6:30pm to 8:30pm)
- March 23rd to March 28th: Scholastic Book Fair
- March 28th: Family Fun Fair (Book Fair will be open as well!)