Northpoint Elementary

See translation information below / Consulte la información de traducción a continuación.

Our amazing staff has returned to Northpoint and is busy getting ready for the official start to the 2022-2023 school year. We are excited to meet new students and families and to rekindle existing relationships.

Once again this year, each child will have a learner profile and map to help us personalize their experience at Northpoint. We will focus on their interests, strengths, needs, and learning preferences to help ensure each child meets their fullest potential. A final reminder as we get started, Northpoint is implementing multiage classroom in all of grades 1-2 and 3-4. Please refer to previous newsletters sent this August for more detailed information.

This week, in the newsletter and via email, you will be asked to review our student behavior and attendance expectations. We have high expectations for students, and reviewing our expectations sets the tone for a great start to the year. We’re asking families to acknowledge they have read and reviewed this information together with their student(s). Please take a few minutes to do this before school begins.

Attendance is critical to student growth and success. Thank you, in advance, families, for helping with the most important job – getting your student(s) to school on time each day and ready to learn. We monitor student attendance and will partner with our families to support regular attendance at Northpoint.

Here we are, just a few days away from our first day of school. We can’t wait to see your children walking through the Northpoint doors next Tuesday, September 6 at 9:10 a.m. In the meantime, please reach out with any questions.

Sincerely,

Judi Kahoun

Each year, we ask students and families to review student behavior and attendance expectations. After reviewing together, we ask families to acknowledge they have done so. This process helps set the tone for students as they begin the year and clarifies for students how we all expect them to conduct themselves each day at school.

Please take five minutes to log into Campus Parent Portal and review these expectations with your student.

1. Log in to Campus with your district username and password.
2. Select your student in the upper right corner.
3. On the main menu click on DOCUMENT.
4. Locate the Parent Documents section.
5. Click on the 2022-2023 Behavior and Attendance Agreement.
6. Review the document with your student.
7. Sign and submit.
8. Repeat these steps if you have more than one student in the district.

In the coming days, you can also expect to receive a message directly from Campus reminding you to review and sign this document. Please review at your earliest convenience. If you have any questions about these expectations, reach out to Principal Kahoun.

Did you know missing 10 percent, or just two days of school per month, over the course of the school year, can affect a student’s academic success - and path to graduation? It's true at all ages. By 6th grade, absenteeism is one of three signs a student may drop out of high school. By 9th grade, attendance is a better predictor of graduation rates than 8th grade test scores. Regular attendance in school is essential for learning and student success.

Parents and guardians play the most important role in a student's education by making sure students arrive at school each day on time and ready to learn. As we begin a new school year, we have the opportunity to develop important routines and expectations at school and at home.

Here are some things parents and guardians can do to support school attendance:

• Talk about the importance of going to school every day.
  
• Help your student develop and maintain daily routines such as getting a good night's sleep, preparing any materials the night before, supporting your older student in finishing homework.
  
• Try not to schedule dental, medical or other appointments during the school day.
  
• Take action to stay healthy and if your children must stay home because they are sick, help them connect to the missed learning.
  
• Ask family, friends or school staff for help if you need support.

If your student must be absent, please call the attendance line at 763-600-5709. If a student is absent and we don't hear from a parent or guardian, we will be reaching out to check in.

As we enter a new school year, there are several important things to know about school meals:

• Meals are no longer free. School breakfast and lunches will no longer be free for all students due to the expiration of federal United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) waivers. This means, students will be charged full price for meals, unless their household has been approved for free or reduced meal benefits for the 2022-2023 school year.
  
• Free and Reduced-Price Meals and Education Benefits applications must be completed each year. Complete a Free and Reduced-Price Meals and Education Benefits Application online or via a paper copy from your school. If you qualify, both breakfast and lunch will be free. If you apply by Sept. 2, 2022, you may be eligible for additional funds through the P-EBT program. Applications are accepted throughout the school year.
  
• Add funds to your student's meal account online. You can add funds to a meal account through Campus Parent Portal, or by sending cash or check with your child or directly to your school.
  
• Meal changes are possible due to supply chain issues. Due to nationwide shortages of certain food items, menus may not accurately reflect what will be served that day. When possible, we will replace meals with similar choices and avoid any additional allergens.
  
• Meals policy includes what happens when an account has insufficient funds. See the full policy 534 Meals online. The policy includes payment of meals, charging of meals, negative balances and unpaid balances.
  

Schools will continue to offer nutritious meals to students each day. Learn more about school meals on the Nutrition Services webpage.

Students may be dropped off starting at 9 a.m. Due to safety reasons, we are unable to have students dropped off prior to 9 a.m. without adult supervision. Students will wait outside until the bell rings at 9:10 a.m. at which time students will enter the building. Students that are eating breakfast may enter the building at 9 a.m. Northpoint staff will provide supervision outside from 9-9:20 a.m.

We will offer walk-up and drive-up options for arrival and dismissal this year. Please review and choose the one that works best for your family.

Walk-up Option

Walk-up/Arrival

• Families may park in the parking lot and escort their student to the front of the building using the crosswalk starting at 9 a.m.
  

Walk-up/Dismissal

• Families may park in the parking lot and wait in front of the building. Students will be dismissed starting at 3:55 p.m.
  

Please do not drop off or pick up students in the parking lot and have them cross the street alone.

Drive-up Option

Drive-up/Arrival

• Students may be dropped off starting at 9 a.m.

Drive-up/Dismissal

• Students will be dismissed from the gym at 3:55 p.m. under the supervision of school staff to meet their parents in the drive-up line. Northpoint will provide a sign to post in your window during dismissal. Please include your child’s first and last name, and their homeroom teacher. We count on this information to help the process go as efficiently as possible. Parents may begin to line up in front of the building no earlier than 3:35 p.m.

Please practice the following in the drive-up line during arrival and dismissal:

• Stay in your car while dropping off students
• Pull as far forward before dropping off your students
• Students must exit curbside
• Please follow the traffic flow and do not pass other vehicles
• Do not block neighboring business driveways when waiting

Find our Spring Lake Park Schools School Handbook for 2022-2023 at SpringLakeParkSchools.org/schoolhandbook. The handbook is a guide for families and students on the practical aspects of school – start and end times, procedures for absences, transportation, meals, policies and more. Please review the information and refer to it, as needed, throughout the year and contact your school as you have questions.

At the beginning of each year, we provide families with important notifications. Many of these notifications align to our school district policies and practices. Please take a few minutes to review the information and take any actions that align with your family’s preferences.

These notices cover:

• Media permission and directory information
  
• Technology responsible use policy
  
• Data privacy
  
• Supplemental student accident insurance

Review these notifications on the back-to-school hub under the heading Important back-to-school notices.Please direct any questions to the main office of your student's school.

Volunteers are needed to help Northpoint students get to and from their buses to their classrooms successfully the first week of school! Four to six volunteers are needed each school day the week of 9/6, for approximately 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the afternoon. Please visit this sign up! Thank you for your time you give to the Northpoint PTO!

Looking for fun and enriching programs for your child, your family or yourself this fall? Look no further! Browse and register for a variety of programs.

Youth:

• AKASPORT - Soccer (grades 1-4): This is a World Cup year (every 4 years) which means all eyes, and feet, will be on the ball. Our professional coaching staff will teach soccer fundamentals and provide a ton of games and scrimmages for all participants.
  
• Young Rembrandts - Anime Character Creation (grades 5-8): If you have Manga Mania, sign up for this class. Join Young Rembrandts for a five-day drawing workshop; we’ll be drawing and coloring all things ANIME!

Adult:·

• Retirement Planning Today: In this course you will learn how to: manage investment risks, use new tax laws to your advantage, make informed decisions about your company retirement plan and adjust your estate plan to function under the new laws.
  
• Ballroom Dance for Beginners: Practice steps and turns in popular ballroom dances, including swing, waltz, foxtrot, salsa, and more. Enjoy dancing to music frequently played at weddings and most social gatherings.
  

Family:

• Cupcake Decorating with Paige - Paige Goehner, the winner of Food Network’s Kids Baking Championship, wants you to join her as she will be decorating wonderful winter-themed cupcakes!
  

Wednesday, August 31

• Northpoint Meet and Greet
• Last names A-M for visits to the classroom:
• 1-1:30 p.m.; 4-4:30 p.m.; 5:30-6 p.m.
• Last names N-Z for visits to the classroom:
• 1:30-2 p.m.; 4:30-5 p.m.; 6-6:30 p.m.

Tuesday, September 6

• First day of school for grades K-8 and Lighthouse students
• Orientation for grade 9 students and grades 10-12 students new to the high school

Monday, September 12

• NP PTO Meeting - 6:30-7:30 p.m./NP media center
  

Friday, October 7

• NP PTO Sponsored Fun Run
  

• Back to School hub
  
• First Day of School Signs
  
• "Start Your Engines" - Big Trucks, Food Trucks & Automobiles event
  

To translate this information to another language, please click anywhere on the message to open it in a web browser and at the top of the page, select your language from the dropdown menu.

Para traducir la información a otro idioma, por favor presionen en cualquier lugar del mensaje para abrirlo en un navegador web y en la parte superior de la página seleccione su idioma del menú.