PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR OUR FALL SPIRIT WEEK SCHEDULE - NOVEMBER 13-17

The UNES PTA holiday market is coming to the Nyack Center! They are seeking vendors to sell their crafts and volunteers to staff the event.

Email meg33donovan@gmail.com to reserve a table or for any questions.

THE PTA ZOOM LINK CAN BE ACCESSED AT THIS WEBSITE - CLICK HERE

NOVEMBER:

PTA = Monday, November 13 @ 6:30pm

IDEA = Tuesday, November 21 @ 6:00pm

DECEMBER:

PTA = Monday, December 11 @ 6:30pm (This meeting is geared towards class parents)

IDEA = No meeting this month

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 17 IS UNES PICTURE RETAKE DAY.

If your child was absent, or if you want to have your child take a re-take, please notify your child's teacher.

On Wednesday, November 22, UNES will hold its first annual UNES HERITAGE DAY. That Wednesday is a half day before Thanksgiving. Last year, you may remember that we celebrated GRATITUDE DAY.

Our goal this year is to celebrate the diverse and rich heritage of our students on this day. The vision is that we will teach a little bit about what the meaning of the words heritage, diversity, and culture and then we will guide our students through a grade appropriate project that helps the kids to highlight their heritage.

On November 22, we would love to have our students dress in special ways to celebrate their heritage. As they prepare for their projects, families can support this work by sharing with their children a bit of background on what you consider to be your family heritage/culture. Topics to discuss could include: traditions/customs, history, language, food, national flag, sports, holidays/festivals, music, clothing, books, archeological discoveries, and many more. Starting the conversation and sharing, from your perspective, a bit about your family's culture/heritage will empower our kids to share what makes each of us special.

The schedule for dismissal on this HALF DAY before Thanksgiving is as follows:

11:30 am - Kindergarten Students

11:35 am - Walkers & Grades 1 - 5

11:40 am - Car Riders Grades K - 5

11:45 am - Bus Riders K - 5

VERY IMPORTANT!!

If you are not part of the 5TH GRADE COMMITTEE EMAIL DISTRIBUTION, please reach out and share your email or cell so that you can receive important communications:

Valerie Schmidt - vmeleschmidt@gmail.com

Michael Lockett - michael.lockett@gmail.com

5TH GRADE YEARBOOK

The 5th Grade yearbook Committee also needs your help as we start to make something all of our kids can cherish forever. Each 5th-grade yearbook has a section of numbered baby pictures where the kids can try and see if they know their friends.

https://community.lifetouch.com/invite?code=UNES_5THGRADE-24

(you must create a FREE account, but we will ask for other pictures throughout the year, so it’s worth it).

Our lost and found table is quickly piling up with items that have not been claimed. If your child is missing an item, please remind them to check the table in the cafeteria where they are folded and waiting to be reclaimed. If your child is very young, consider reaching out to the teacher, or the main office so that someone can accompany them to help them find their items.

Items will be displayed during Parent Teacher Conferences. On Friday, December 15, all items that have not been claimed will be donated to charity.

We've noticed an increase in parents not following the established pickup and drop off plans at UNES. CLICK HERE FOR THE ENTRY AND DISMISSAL TRAFFIC PLANS FOR UNES.

For example, it's crucially important that parents do not drop off their children on the opposite side of the road (on the Summit School Side) and then have them cross busy Broadway. This ties up traffic, puts your children in an unsafe situation, and if everyone did this, it would lead to traffic tie ups up and down Broadway. All drop off traffic should approach UNES from Birchwood and not from the direction of town.

Also, some parents have been skipping the line for drop off and driving into the bus drop off zone to drop off. This is quite frustrating to all of the parents waiting patiently on the line and creates traffic issues when cars are in the bus zone.

Additionally, there have been too many incidents of cars passing buses with their stop signs out while they are unloading children. This is not only against the law, but extremely dangerous.

Finally, there are some families that are either doing a U-turn across busy Broadway or a three point turn in our driveway. Please do not do this as it ties up traffic and could lead to an accident.

PLEASE CLICK HERE for a letter regarding our upcoming book fair.

The book fair will be held in our Global Learning Commons (library) from December 4-8. Students will be scheduled for a browsing day where they can create a wish list (if desired) and then they will be scheduled to return a day or two later to make purchases. On the Friday, December 8, we anticipate leaving the schedule open for parent visits to the book fair. More information to follow, but please mark your calendars.

PLEASE CLICK HERE for a list of the class parents for your child's class.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE PART OF A GROUP TEXT OR EMAIL DISTRIBUTION, THEN PLEASE CONTACT THE CLASS PARENT(S) TO OPEN THE LINES OF COMMUNICATION.

Also, if you note that there is no class parent for your child's class, please consider joining us.

PLEASE CLICK THE LINKS BELOW FOR THE GRADE LEVEL CURRICULUM UPDATES FOR THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER:

• Kindergarten
• Grade 1
• Grade 2
• Grade 3
• Grade 4

• Grade 5
• SPECIAL AREAS (MUSIC, ART, PE, LIBRARY, STREAM)

(This was shared in my last newsletter, but note that the special areas curriculum update has been added.)

Please consider joining our PTA! PTA Membership isn't required but,

if you sign up for our state-wide PTA Membership,

UNES will receive a portion of your contribution,

and you will gain access to additional

PTA Resources and discounts!

Please click below to register... Our PTA will deeply appreciate it!

MemberHub

Research shows that recess and exercise are incredibly important to children's well being. We will be working hard to give our students a taste of fresh air and exercise every day possible. To that end, we will be going outside for recess whenever the REAL FEEL temperature is above 25 degrees.

As the weather gets colder, please send your child with a warm jacket, winter hat and gloves so that they are prepared for the weather. Also, please discuss your expectations that they are properly dressed for the weather. They are only outside for 20-25 minutes but that short time can be incredibly important for their well being.

• Monday-Thursday, Nov 13-17 - FALL SPIRIT WEEK
• Monday, November 13 @ 6:30pm - PTA MEETING
• Friday, November 17 - Picture Retakes / Grade 4 Learning in the Parks / Virtual Coffee with the Principal
• Tuesday, November 21 - School Related Professionals Day (SRP DAY)
• Tuesday, November 21 - Redhawk Tribal Council Assembly
• Tuesday, November 21 @ 6:30pm - IDEA MEETING
• Wednesday, November 22 - UNES HERITAGE DAY (HALF DAY OF SCHOOL)
• Thursday/Friday, November 23/24 = Thanksgiving Break (No School)
• Wednesday, November 29 - 3rd Grade Day in Clay in Art Class
• Thursday, November 30 - 3rd Grade Field Trip to Liberty Science Center
• Friday, December 1 - Elementary Trimester #1 Ends
• Monday-Friday, December 4-8 = UNES Book Fair in GLC
• Wednesday, December 6 - Elementary Parent Teacher Conferences (EVENING / VIRTUAL ONLY)
• Friday, December 8 - Half Day of School & P/T Conferences in afternoon
• Tuesday, December 12 - UNES Grades 1-3 Winter Concert
• Friday, December 15 - Half Day of School & P/T Conferences in afternoon