As a school leader and as a parent, the start of this week was difficult, tragic, and heartbreaking. At Northwood we remain vigilant with our safety procedures and protocols and will continue to refine where needed. These are unimaginable times; times in which we are laser focused on keeping our Explorers safe while continuing to learn, grow, and thrive.

Fulton County has a message to share as well : “We at Fulton County Schools are painfully aware of the tragedy in Nashville and join the community in mourning their loss. As we follow each of these tragic events, we continue to learn from others’ experience and monitor our own processes.

FCS has continually made investments in the safety and security efforts for our district. The extensive listing of security measures, certifications, trainings, and emergency protocols already in place are readily available for the public. Detailed explanations of these efforts are included in our Safety Plans and Drills and Investments in Safety documents, which can be found on the Culture of Safety page of our website.

Parents know their children best and whether they may need additional support during this time. We have these resources available to help parents and teachers talk with children and teens about violence. We encourage parents to reach out to our school counselors, social workers, psychologists and administrators if they or their student need help.”

~

A week ago, you would have found me racing around the Boosterthon track in an inflatable unicorn suit with Mrs. Levine and Mrs. Weeks taking turns in a koala suit. Hashtag Hannah from Boosterthon was the tRex. We all had a fun time celebrating that the students exceeded their fundraising goal. I’m thankful to the Northwood Foundation for leading in the work to raise funds to support our campus needs in many areas.

I wish everyone a fun, relaxing, and safe Spring Break week. I look forward to welcoming our Explorers back on Monday, April 10th.

With gratitude,

Heather Rucker

Principal

First grade had the best time at our Boosterthon Fun Run last week! We have been so busy the past few weeks learning about Economics, addition strategies, and phonograms. We even got to play the game of Life to learn even more about buying and saving money. Now we are ready for a restful Spring Break!

Fourth grade classrooms have a new and exciting reward happening! Students are working hard on target goal behaviors aligned with our PBIS expectations. By exhibiting these expectations, they can earn blue tickets that are entered into a raffle where one lucky student is chosen each day to sit at the “VIP” desk. Students are eager to earn this super special reward!

Thank you for your support in making this year's Boosterthon Fun Run a huge success! Your Explorers had an awesome time running and it was such a beautiful day to celebrate all of their hard work. This year Explorers raised more than $49,000! We are excited that registrations and donations remained at a high level. It's always wonderful to have so many students involved. This year we received donations from 46 states and nine countries!

A special thank you to all our volunteers and to our Northwood Foundation Members - Andrea Vandervort, Loren Akin, Torrey Linder, Sue Ellen Brown, Faisal Siddiqui, Jeremey Thomas, and Principal Rucker. We appreciate all of your hard work!

We are having a Literati Spring Book Fair April 24th-28th. This is a wonderful opportunity to purchase books for summer reading while supporting teachers and the media center! Please save the date and take a moment to sign up as a volunteer. All volunteers will receive 20% off your purchase. 2022-2023: Northwood Media Center's Literati Spring Book Fair (signupgenius.com)

Book Fair Volunteers: Greet visitors, run the register, remind customers about Literati Kids Book Clubs, help students and visitors find books, restock products and displays, and assist with the setup and takedown of the book fair itself.

Media Center Volunteer: Greet visitors and assist students checking out books. Please only sign up if you have been trained.

Please click the following link to RSVP for the Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon:

Volunteer Luncheon RSVP

What can I do to help my child prepare?

• Be certain your child gets plenty of sleep and has a healthy breakfast.

• Be certain your student is at school on time, so they are not worried about being late.

• Remind students that cell phones and smart watches will be collected and stored in the secure testing room during test administration times. It’s best for students to leave them at home if possible.

• Please have students bring their fully charged device every day.

• Get information and practice using this link: Georgia Milestones Resources (gadoe.org)

• Experience the online testing session using this link: http://www.gaexperienceonline.com/

What happens if my child is absent?

• There will be rolling make-ups throughout the testing window. Please do not send your child in if they are sick.

Can visitors be in the building?

• During GMAS testing, we will not be allowing visitors in the building before 11:30 am, and there will also be no lunch visitors these days.

Please click the following link to RSVP for Blooming Mornings:

Blooming Mornings RSVP

Have you bought a yearbook yet? The cost is $43. Click here to order: tinyurl.com/2y4vw5xw

If you have any questions, please email Yearbook@northwoodpta.com