Panther Press
New Prospect Elementary School Newsletter
Nurture~Personalize~Engage~Succeed
NPE Culture
This morning when I was out at carpool, all the buzz was about whether Mr. Groundhog would see his shadow (I was really hoping he did…because I was FREEZING)! At that time, I was reminded of my gratefulness for the amazing culture of our school. Everyone is happy! It is very common for teachers, students and parents to be always smiling and positive at New Prospect Elementary…and that in fact, is rare.
There are many reasons for this culture…recently,
-Our amazing PTA devoting countless hours to our play, Dreamweaver last weekend that brought laughter, joy and pride to our whole community.
-Our PBIS pep rally where students are so proud their house won and showed PRIDE!
-Our AttenDANCE where we celebrated students who had perfect attendance first semester by having an epic dance party.
These things have one thing in common…great relationships with kids. We are so lucky to have the adults in our community care and love all of our NPE kids so much…I’m so grateful every day for that partnership….even if the Groundhog saw his shadow!
Amy Lemons
Principal
Upcoming Events:
February 3-Reading Bowl @Paul D. West Middle School
February 5th-Panther Parent Prep-Setting Limits and Avoiding Power Struggles with Your Child (6:30 p.m. & 7:15 p.m.)
February 8th-Mama's Pizza Spirit Night
February 16th-Make Up Day-We do have school!
February 19th-President's Day-No School
March 9-Digital Learning Day-We don't have School (more info to come)
March 12th-Make Up Day-We do have school!
March 16th-PTA Family Night
Jump Rope For Heart
We officially kicked-off our Jump Rope for Heart event last Friday! Thank you so much for participating in our Jump Rope For Heart program last year! Because you did such a great job raising money to help save lives, I wanted to give you a chance to be the first to join us again. It’s time to register online! Our school is about to be in full monster madness mode for heart health!
Click here to register and earn your scare squad wristband: http://www2.heart.org/goto/newprospect
This year, all of your monsters will come to life! Make sure to take a few seconds to download the FREE Mobile app for iPhone or Android by searching for Jump/Hoops and see your monsters come to life, take selfies with your monsters and fundraise on the go.
Thank you so much for supporting our school and the American Heart Association. You are making a big difference in the fight against heart disease and stroke. You can contact Suzie Portnoy, NPES Jump Rope 4 Heart Coordinator, at portnoy@fultonschools.org, if you have any questions.
Panther Parent Prep Classes
On Monday February 5th at 6:30 p.m. & 7:15 p.m. there will be a Panther Parent Prep on Setting Limits & Avoiding Power Struggles:
Is homework time a daily hassle?
Do your child’s chores become yours?
Looking to improve communication with your child?
Even if these are not current concerns, please join us to learn tools & techniques that you can use daily to help your student succeed!
We are fortunate to have Tracy McConaghie, LCSW, from McConaghie Family Counseling sharing her expertise in this interactive workshop.
Please RSVP below to come to these fantastic events!
Please Click Below for past recorded Panther Parent Preps!
Parent Chat on Setting Limits & Avoiding Power Struggles with your Child
Monday, Feb 5, 2018, 06:30 PM
New Prospect Elementary School, Kimball Bridge Road, Alpharetta, GA, United States
RSVPs are enabled for this event.
Parent Chat on Setting Limits & Avoiding Power Struggles with your Child
Monday, Feb 5, 2018, 07:15 PM
New Prospect Elementary School, Kimball Bridge Road, Alpharetta, GA, United States
RSVPs are enabled for this event.
Math Workshop Panther Parent Prep Recording
House Winners!
Congratulations to our February PBIS winners…The AIR HOUSE! Our winning homeroom classes were Ms. Anderson (Air house), Ms. Lowery (Water house), Ms. Turturro (Earth house) and Ms. Beasley (Fire house.) Awesome job earning class dojo points for demonstrating P.A.W.S. all through the building!
NPE School Governance Council (SGC)
Elections for the parent/guardian and teacher positions on the School Governance Council will be held March 19th-March 23rd. Candidates interested in running for an elected position on the Council must complete a candidate declaration form and submit by February 23rd.
Candidate forms may be submitted electronically or by mail. To find out more information about School Governance Council at New Prospect, please view the “All About SGC” video below:
If you have any questions, please email Ms. McIntire at mcintire@fultonschools.org
Teachers Learning From Students
Magazines Needed
The Art room could use magazine donations. Please send them in and have your child bring them to Mrs. Hopen!
Thank you!
Got Coding?
Learning to program is a very important skill that children these days aren’t getting taught enough. It is predicted that in 10 years, 80% of jobs will include programming, many of which will go unfilled. Krazy Coding is an 8-week programming course designed to teach kids aged 7-13 how to develop apps and games. It’s instructed by three local high school seniors with years of programming experience, using programs such as Scratch and Appinventor to teach the fundamentals. Please visit KrazyCoding.com to learn more about what the course has to offer and to contact us.
From Mrs. Bercher in the Media Center
January was a busy month in the Media Center. Kindergarten through second grades learned about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Third grade practiced citing evidence from non-fiction texts. Fourth and fifth grades practiced their keyboarding skills with Learning.com. Fifth grade also kicked off their research project on Chocolate Milk. We also held numerous teacher trainings and meetings in the Media Center.
Six Flags: Keep on reading! Students have turned in 29 completed reading logs for the Six Flags Read to Succeed program. If your child doesn't have a log, please stop by the Media Center to get one. Let's try to get at least l of 100 students!
Reading Bowl: Our hard work and dedication to reading culminates in our competition tomorrow.
Overdue Books: Please help your child return books on time to the Media Center. When a student has an overdue book, he/she can’t check out any more books until the overdue book is returned. If students are not finished reading a book, the book can be renewed for another two weeks.
Volunteer opportunities: Could you spare an hour or two helping us organize and scan books in our Reading Resource room? I will send out a Google doc sign up in the next newsletter.
In classroom guidance this month, students in grades 4-5 will learn about the “rules for fighting fair”, which will help them practice conflict resolution strategies.
Ask your student what the “fouls” are during a conflict, and which ones you might be guilty of!
In grades 2-3 we will learn concepts of kindness and sticking together to combat bullying behaviors. Duck Tape and Project Love have teamed up to develop a social emotional learning program to encourage a positive school climate where students will stand up for each other and support one another. We look forward to seeing our Panthers complete the Duck Tape pledge and make our school even better!
For more info, visit https://www.viafdn.org/stick-together
Margaret White appointed as Associate Superintendent for Professional Learning and Leadership Development
As a district, we are constantly reevaluating our needs to make sure we fulfill our goal to “prepare all student to graduate ready to pursue and succeed on their chosen paths.”
Our latest move is to realign our FCS organizational structure with our new strategic plan. Professional Learning and Leadership Development will now be reporting to a new position recently approved by the Board: the Associate Superintendent for Professional Learning and Leadership Development. This position will be a part of the Academics Division.
Margaret White, the current Area Superintendent for the Northwest Learning Community, was appointed by the Superintendent for this new role and began this week. Her years dedicated to our school system and her experience in both professional and leadership development made her a perfect candidate to lead this work.
Until a replacement is named, Cliff Jones, current Area Superintendent for the Northeast Learning Community, will be overseeing both the Northeast and Northwest Learning Communities. With the help from both Area Executive Directors, Eric Hollinhead (NWLC) and Angela Parham (NELC), we are confident that we will be able to continue to provide a high level of service to our schools.
Public Comment at SGC Meetings
New Prospect's School Governance Council meets one morning each month in the front office conference room; our next meeting is February 21st @ 7:15 am. We will be discussing the Strategic Plan for 2018 and beyond. We will be asking for staff, parent, and community input on the strategic plan form on the next Panther Press (starting after our January meeting).
Transportation & Absence Notes
No Student is allowed in the school until 7:10 am. There is no supervision until that time.
We have had a lot of students who are tardy to school. Please make sure your children are here before 7:40.