News From Nighthawk Nation
Elevating Excellence in Academics, Character & Community
Edition 12 - Week of 11/25/19
Leadership Corner
Mary Baker - K-3 Principal
This week I have had the great pleasure of doing formal observations within our classrooms. It is such joy to see the teaching and learning that is happening each day in our classrooms. Students are engaged, challenged and held to a standard of excellence.
Coffee with the Principal - Coffee with the Principal will be held again on December 5th at 8:00. I look forward to meeting with each of you.
As we gear up for our Thanksgiving, I want to share with you that I am so grateful and thankful for all the amazing students, families, and teachers at NVCS. What a pleasure to serve our school. From all staff at NVCS, we wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving.
Driveline -
Driveline is getting faster! We are now able to be done most days be 3:40. Please make sure you are in line for Driveline by 3:30. Please review the Driveline guidelines attached here. It is very important that we are all following these expectations. If you do not have a staff tag, you will not be able to park in the parking lot during driveline. The reason behind this is that we have many people who are parking in the parking lot and picking up students as a walker, which backs up our Driveline. Also, please make sure you have a physical tag when picking up your child, both in the driveline and at the walking door. We have a mission to ensure every student is safe. We greatly appreciate your cooperation and support.
Marian Hejl - 4-8 Principal
Happy Friday Nighthawks! We had a very full week at the 4-8 Building this week. We hosted Colorado Senator Rob Woodward for a tour of our new facilities and spoke about key issues facing education and charter schools in Colorado. 6th and 7th grade choir students went on a field trip to the Ellie Caulkins Opera House where they enjoyed watching The Barber of Seville. We got many compliments on our students behavior and their enthusiasm for the performance made them stand out amongst the crowd. Thank you to all the parent chaperones who came out to help make this event possible.
We hosted our first home basketball game against Windsor Charter last night and our A team won by a whopping 15 points! The energy and excitement in our gym during home games is something that we have envisioned for years and to see it come to life is an amazing feeling. If you have not yet been to a home sporting event yet this year we encourage you to attend and support our Nighthawks! Thank you to all the fans that came out to support our teams last night.
We are in full swing of the school year, parents please make sure you are keeping an eye on Infinite Campus and communicating with teachers about any questions you have regarding grades. The end of the second quarter (first semester) will be December 20, 2019 and time is flying by, don't let the end of the semester sneak up on you.
Driveline:
Parents, you may have noticed that we have been running only one lane in Driveline. When driveline traffic is light and we do not have build up, we will be running a single lane. This is more time efficient and moves the line faster. When cold weather hits and we have ice and snow please expect to see double lines again.
Parents, AT NO TIME SHOULD STUDENTS EXIT THE DRIVERS SIDE OF YOUR VEHICLE. This is a big safety issue and if we have a car moving in the outer lane it could result in an accident. Please help us keep everyone safe and have your student slide, crawl, or climb over to the passenger side of the vehicle to exit.
If you have any questions or concerns please reach out to Mrs. Hejl at mhejl@nvcs.school
Golden Feather Awards
Golden Feather Awards are awarded to students who go above and beyond the expectations and SOAR to excellence while demonstrating trustworthiness, responsibility, fairness, caring, and being an outstanding citizen. Students that receive a Golden Feather award in a quarter are invited to a special luncheon, receive a certificate, a pencil, a treat, and a shirt. The 4-8 Building will be holding two Golden Feather Lunches, one in the first semester and one in the second semester.
Officer Dee Jalali
mportance of lockdown drills for parents
There has been a lot of talk this week and lockdowns. After my presentation to staff and parents about CRASE (Civilian response to active shooter training), I had many teachers approach me and ask me about tips for explaining lockdowns to students as well as tips for their individual classrooms (If you missed this presentation, don’t worry! We are hoping to reschedule the parent information meeting on this). These questions made me think- there are probably many parents out there who would like more information on these types of situations. This week, we are going to focus on the importance of lockdown drills and hopefully address any concerns you may have regarding them.
What are lockdown drills?
Lockdown drills are put in place to protect anyone in the building from a possible threat should any unwelcome visitors come to to the building.
Who conducts lockdown drills?
Starting the current school year, lockdown drills at NVCS are completely law enforcement led. That means it’s law enforcement checking locked doors inside the building, and law enforcement opening those doors. In the event of a drill, all responding police officers will have keys to get into classrooms and will be paired with members of the admin team for time sake. Please understand in a real active shooter situation, this will be strictly law enforcement.
What happens during a lockdown drill?
Students are asked to get out of sight and stay very quiet during lockdown drills as officers clear the building. Police officers first check all doors in the building to make sure they’re locked and they cannot hear or see any students inside. On the second round, officers physically open all doors and make a quick prescene to students.
What’s the difference between a lockdown drill and a lockout drill?
In short, a lockdown drill is implemented to protect people inside a school. We don’t want the threat to know anyone is inside. Lights are shut off, curtains can be drawn, and students hide in their classrooms and are told to quiet.
A lockout drill is implemented to protect people from threats that could be coming to the school or are presently outside of the school. These are commonly referred to as secure the perimeter drills and usually occurs when there are crimes being committed close to the campus. They are especially important when law enforcement is looking for a suspect. During a lockout, all students go inside the building and exterior doors are locked and no one can gain access inside (this includes parents during that time). During lockouts, business is usually normal inside. Lockdown drills have also been implemented at schools because of dangerous animals like bears that are close to the school too.
What should I tell my child about lockdowns?
I have personally spoken to all classes at the 4-8 campus regarding lockdowns. Before I started my conversation, I always asked the students why we had lockdowns to gage their knowledge on the topic. All grades had a very good and honest reasons for why we have lockdowns. I got answers like- there is a threat in the building, there is a dangerous person, there is someone who wants to hurt us, there is someone with a gun… ect. So students are with it enough to know even the most basic facts about it.
I have not spoken to the students at the K-3 campus regarding lockdowns but details are being worked out to possibly get into classrooms soon. If you are addressing your children at home, my recommendation would be to be as honest as you’re comfortable with. My experience has been that younger kiddos respond better when they know the truth.
Here are some suggestions for talking to younger children about lockdowns. You can tell them:
We practice drills for everything- fires, tornados, evacuations, this is just something else we need to practice on in case it ever happens
We have lockdown drills so we can practice hiding and staying quiet in case there is ever someone in the building who wants to harm us
We have lockdown drills in case an intruder ever comes to the school
Staying quiet during these drills is important because if there is someone in the building who wants to harm us, we want them to think the room is empty and we are not there
Listen to adult instructions during drills- even if it’s an adult or teacher from a different classroom
Stress that events are RARE and just because you’re having that discussion doesn’t mean your child is not safe at school
Please kindly note, I am not trying to tell you how to parent your kids. It is completely up to you if you choose to have this kind of discussion with your children and at what age. I am only trying to offer support should you need tips. I know it’s a heavy topic and not easy to talk about. Sometimes we don’t know what to say about those situations.
If you’ve stuck with me this long, thank you! I have so much more to discuss about lockdowns but my blurb is getting a little long. I am VERY passionate about this topic so be sure to look for a part 2 coming soon. Please know I will always welcome any questions or concerns anyone has for me regarding drills and active shooter events. Parents, please reach out to me via email (on the school website) if there is anything I can address for you. Thank you and Happy Thanksgiving.
Spirit Store
https://newvisioncharterspiritwear.itemorder.com/sale
There is a paper form available n the office that offers a more limited selection. The online shop will be open until December 1st and paper orders are due by December 2nd.
If any of your items are meant to be a gift and you do not want it sent home with your child, please email PTO at pto@newvisioncharterschool.org.
K-3 Winter Concert - Correction
Dear NVCS families, faculty, and staff -
I'd like to cordially invite you all to our 2019 Winter Concert! The children have been working very diligently on their songs, and couldn’t be more excited to perform for you! Kindergarten and 2nd Grade will perform on Mon Dec 9 from 6-7 pm. 1st Grade and 3rd Grade will perform on Tues Dec 10 from 6-7 pm. Please have your kiddos to the main lobby and stage, on the 4-8 Campus on 299 Peridot Ave, no later than 5:30 pm on the night of the performance. I would like to request the following for the night of the performance:
· Kindergarten will need mittens (or gloves), boots, a winter hat, and a long scarf for their performance. They can wear whatever dress-up clothing you would like otherwise
Kindergarten - Please dress in your best with mittens, hats, and scarves.
· 1st Grade -Please dress in your best
· 2nd Grade - Please dress in your best
· 3rd Grade -please dress in your best
Feel free to reach out to me with questions. My phone # is 970-593-6827 x2111, my email rdavis@nvcs.school. We look forward to seeing you there!
p.s. I am also looking for volunteers to help me make several large snowflakes for props, and to decorate the stage -Thank-you!
NVCS Giving Tree
November 20th - December 6th
NVCS Giving tree for Nighthawks in Need and House of Neighborly Services
Giving tree will be located in the front Lobby of the K-3 and 4-8 campuses.
Choose an ornament(s) with your parent/guardian
Bring the unwrapped gift to either school’s front office by December 6th
Gifts will be donated December 9th to House of Neighborly services & Nighthawks in Need
Holiday Shop
KidsPak
Have you heard of KidsPak?
KidsPak is a weekend hunger relief program run by Loveland Rotary for children and families in the Thompson School District community. KidsPak currently serves 39 schools, including New Vision. NVCS partners with KidsPak by identifying students and families that would benefit from receiving extra food for the weekends. KidsPak partners with Larimer County Food Bank to create a special menu each week, so the food varies. The food packs are delivered to NVCS on Friday and given to students in a colored drawstring bag to take home for the weekend. All we ask is that the drawstring bag be returned on Monday to use again for the next week.
If your student and family is in need and could benefit from this service please reach out to the school counselor! Those receiving services is kept confidential. The K-3 counselor is Ali Anderson: email, aanderson@nvcs.school or phone 970-593-6827 ex. 2115, and the 4-8 counselor is Erin Jobman: email, ejobman@nvcs.school phone 970-593-6827 ex. 1207 *only one counselor needs to be contacted even if you have students at both buildings.
HIGH SCHOOL REGISTRATION PROCESS, Erin Jobman, School Counselor
8th Grade Parents and Students,
It is almost time to start the high school registration process and I will be there to help you along the way.
Please start researching the different high schools and programs within our school district to start to make the right choice for your family. An important part of this process is to attend the curriculum/informational nights for the school(s) you are considering attending to learn about their curriculum, special programs, and classes that are offered. You will also get to meet the principal and counselors, meet some teachers, go on a tour of the high school, learn about clubs and sports, etc. These meetings all take place at the high school and are for both students and parents. These meetings are highly recommended so you get all the information you need moving forward into high school.
HIGH SCHOOL INFORMATIONAL NIGHTS:
- LCS, November 5, 6:00-7:30pm: at Loveland Classical Schools, Academy Campus.
- LHS, November 6, 6:00-7:30pm: at Loveland High School
- TVHS, November 12, 6:00-7:30pm: at Thompson Valley High School
- BHS, November 13, 6:00-7:30pm: at Berthoud High School
- MVHS, November 14, 6:00-7:30pm: at Mountain View High School
- For those of you looking at schools outside of our district, please contact the school individually for their enrollment process.
OTHER IMPORTANT DATES:
- Dec 2: Open Enrollment window opens. The open enrollment ('school of choice') process and application is on the Thompson School District website, thompsonschools.org/openenrollment. You must fill this out no sooner than Dec. 2. (Fill out this form only if you are planning to attend a school other than your neighborhood school.) Open enrollment decisions will be made and communicated to parents in March--approx Mar 20. If you have questions about this process, you may email: info@thompsonschools.org.
- STEM Program applications due: Please see Berthoud High School website
- Jan 10: Deadline to let your 8th gr counselor know your high school choice. ejobman@nvcs.school
- Jan 10: Last day to turn in open enrollment applications.
Please let me know if you have any further questions.
Sincerely,
Erin Jobman, Counselor, NVCS, 4-8 Building
CAYAC - Child Adolescent, and Young Adult Connection
1302 S. Shields St., A1-3
Fort Collins, CO 80521
970-221-3308
Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
https://www.healthdistrict.org/services/mental-health-services
Connections offers answers, options, and support to individuals and families looking for help with mental health or substance use concerns, such as depression, anxiety, and drug or alcohol use. Services include needs assessment, information and referral, assistance with coordinating and navigating care, brief intervention, connection to reduced-cost counseling, education and training.
CAYAC (Child, Adolescent, and Young Adult Connections) is a service of Connections that helps young people (up to age 24) and their families with the early identification, assessment/testing, and treatment of mental health and substance use concerns. It also works closely with schools through a school liaison.
Clothes Donations
Pets at School
We would like to ask that we do not bring animals into our campus. If there is a special show and tell day, or pet day, then they would be welcomed, otherwise we would kindly ask that pets, are not brought to the campus.
Water Bottles and Beverage Containers at School
Parents, it has been a long standing expectation at NVCS that students bring clear water bottles and beverage containers to school with them. This helps with ensuring we are not cleaning up spills throughout the day, having curdled milk items in lockers, etc. during the school day.
Starting the week of November 18th we are going to request that students only bring clear beverage containers to school with them. If a student has a beverage container we cannot see through students will be asked to empty the container and keep it put away for the reaminder of the day.
Thank you for helping us keep our schools safe and clean. We understand this has not been enforced in either building and want to give families time to find clear beverage containers before we begin enforcing this rule.
Upcoming Events
Monday, November 25
- Boys Basketball @ St. John 4-5:30
Wednesday - Friday, November 27 - 29
- No School - Thanksgiving Break - Enjoy time with your family
Monday - Friday, December 2-6
-Holiday Shop
Monday, December 5
-K-3 Coffee with the Principal - 8:00
About Us
4-8 Campus: 299 Peridot Avenue
Email: info@newvisioncharterschool.org
Website: www.newvisioncharterschool.org
Phone: 970-237-5942
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/newvisioncharterschool/
Twitter: @NVCharter