Negley Navigator News
November 5, 2022
Negley Elementary School
Email: melody.crowther@hayscisd.net
Website: https://www.hayscisd.net/Domain/17
Location: 5940 McNaughton, Kyle, TX, United States
Phone: (512) 268-8501
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NegleyElementarySchool/
Twitter: @NESNavigator1
Negley Mission Statement
Ahoy Navigator Parents!
We have a lot of learning that will be taking place over the next two weeks! Our students are working hard on learning the standards of their grade level. Be sure to ask them what they are learning about in math and science; ask them what stories they read this week in reading. If they say, "I don't know, or Nothing" - don't let them get away with it! Keep pushing and asking questions. If they really can't tell you, let them know that from now on, every day, you will be asking them to give you specific examples of what they learned today, or what they did. If they are still unable to do so, please reach out to their teacher because there might be some type of underlying condition that we need to look into. It's super important they reflect on their learning after school or in the evenings! This helps to solidify those skills in their brain.
I now have something equally important to address, as we are seeing a growing problem among our students. We have seen a marked increase in students cursing, and some even saying racial slurs. Some of them are using the curse words appropriately, letting us know they understand when and how to use them, others are just repeating what they've heard. Yes, we are the Navigators, but we are supposed to be the Sailors on the cruise ship, not the Pirates of the Caribbean!
We usually hear this type of language in the upper grades. It's alarming that even some of our kindergarten students are using curse words.
I can assure you cursing/racial slurs are not part of our TEKS curriculum, nor are they part of our philosophy. There are many answers we get when we ask our students where they are learning these words - here are 99% of their answers - TicTok, You Tube, Snap Chat, music videos, older siblings. We definitely address these behaviors, assign consequences, and call the parent when a student is brought to us for any of these types of behaviors. We are doing what we can on our end to address these things. We need your help and support.
My teachers, my admin team and I, are asking you to have conversations with your elementary aged students, to let them know that those types of words are not allowed at school, and they will receive a consequence if they use those words at school (both at school and (hopefully) at home). We cannot control what happens after school hours, but we can work on this while they are at school. In my morning announcements on Friday, I told students that I've been hearing about their cursing and that it needs to stop. My expectation is they use their appropriate words at school and cussing/racial slurs at school are not appropriate, and will not be tolerated. Most of these incidents occur in the restroom or on the playground when they are out of earshot of the teacher - and sometimes not.
Thank you for discussing this with your child - even if you are positive they would NEVER say these types of words. By letting them know your expectations, for them, gives them those boundaries. I always told my girls that when they became adults they could speak however they wanted, but as long as they were under my care, my expectations were no cursing. I'm sure they threw a few curse words when they weren't around me, but they knew if they got caught by a teacher, another parent, or me, there would be a consequence at home.
When addressing racial slurs, most of our students don't even know what those words mean, but they heard them in a rap music song/video or heard an older sibling say it or on Tik Toc/SnapChat. They knew they were part of the “inappropriate” list of words to use. Once we speak with them about what those words mean, they are remorseful because they really didn't know how hurtful those words are.
Truly, students under the age of 13 shouldn't have access to TikToc, Snap Chat without adult supervision, due to the types of content they are exposed to just by clicking on a picture.
We try to make it a learning opportunity- as you've heard me say many times - our students have only been on the planet for 4-10 years when they are in elementary and we want them to “Own it, take care of it, and change their behavior”! We also don't want anyone to feel bad because they were cussed at, called a hurtful name, or even having to hear such language.
At Negley, we teach our students to be kind and respectful to everyone! Cursing, using racial slurs, bullying, and other such things are degrading and hurtful to the soul. That is NOT what we are about. We are ALL wonderfully made, unique in every way. We need to celebrate each other for these qualities. Being respectful of each other is key - even as adults – modeling daily what we want our little sponges to soak up. Whatever we can do to lift each other up will make our school community stand out from all the others - and THAT IS what Negley Elementary is all about.
As always, thank you for your support and for working with us to create amazing future adults- Adults who will make a positive difference in this world!
Melody
READING PASSAGES AND MATH GAMES FOR THE WEEK!
READING PASSAGES FOR THIS WEEK: New Passages Every Week!
One way you can practice fluency with your child is the adult reads the text first and models fluent reading with appropriate phrasing and expression for the text. Then the student reads the same text to the adult while the adult provides assistance and encouragement. The student continues to reread the text until the reading shows signs of fluency (words are read correctly, reading is fairly smooth, the reader uses punctuation to guide pauses and voice inflections). This usually takes three to four readings.
Math Fluency:
The biggest thing students need to develop fact fluency is consistent, frequent opportunities to practice. The more students practice their facts, the more quickly they transfer from short-term to long-term memory.
MATH GAME FOR the month of November: Learn and Play Factastic online games!
NEW Math Fact Fluency - District Resources
You can print the activities at each grade level, or play some online games! Students will be working with these games in class as well. The videos are very helpful, so be sure to watch those. You will notice that Kinder and 5th are not included. That doesn't mean you can't work on some of the game strategies. Kinder - take a look at some of the skills and introduce them to your child. As for 5th graders - they ALWAYS need practice with addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division - have them work on those electronic games and time them!
HAVE FUN AND CELEBRATE YOUR CHILD GETTING BETTER AND FASTER IN READING AND MATH!
ATTENDANCE CHALLENGE!
House News!
Our Charater Trait for this month is GRATITUDE - the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.
During today's Classroom House Meetings, our students learned about Gratitude, what it means, and made gratitude jars!
Here is the presentation the teachers showed to our students. Please watch so that you can support us in developing gratitude in our children.
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1IRElzdH_HhFOV_i3crK_PQ50V0jjituPiaRk6wp2i8Q/present
Socktober was amazing! Thank you for sending in these much needed items. Here are the points that will be added to each of the houses, based on the number of socks brought in!
Great job INTEGRITAS for bringing in the MOST socks/underwear. We will announce these during morning announcements this week.
Quantum - 205
Praesidio - 295
Integritas - 405
Fidelis - 189
Now on to our NOVEMBER/DECEMBER philanthropy work - Food Drive for Hays Hope to Go
All of November and December we will be collecting food for Hays Hope2Go. We would like to help feed the kids in our community. Each house will bring in a different item. We will be keeping a record to see which house brings in the most! Again, House Points to be given per item.
Please bring in the assigned food, as these are what is being requested from Hays Hope to Go.
Quantum - Ramen Cups
Praesidio - Canned Soups
Integritas - Canned Refried Beans
Fidelis - Canned Chili
Need Christmas gift ideas? How about a new House Shirt!
Has your child lost their House Shirt? Do YOU need a house shirt (it's cool for parents to have a house shirt too!) we can help! Remember, every Friday is House Shirt/Spirit Day. Here is the link to make those purchases if you need to throughout the year.
https://hayscisd.revtrak.net/campuses-and-instruction/es/negley-elementary/#/v/NES-House-Shirt-2072
VETERAN'S DAY CELEBRATION
We will have the Veterans Day Program on Friday, November 11th, 2022 from 8:30-9:00 am in the NES Cafeteria. Students are encouraged to invite local veteran family members and friends to be honored during our program. A Veteran Invitation is attached. 3rd and 4th graders and FLS classes are invited to attend the program in person. It will be recorded for the rest of the campus to view that afternoon! Student(s) will be able to sit with their veterans during the program at 8:30 am if their veteran attends, no matter what grade level. Choir families are invited to attend as well!
Please make sure your Veteran receives this information! Thank you!
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Dear Veteran,
You are invited to be honored at the Negley Elementary Veterans Day Program on Friday, November 11th, 2022 at 8:30 am in the Negley Elementary School Cafeteria. We will be singing patriotic songs and saying thank you to the servicemen/women and veterans in our community. We would be honored if you could attend! Your student(s) will be able to sit with you during the program. Coffee, juice, and donuts will be provided!
Please RSVP to Haley Kibodeaux by Monday, November 7th. Call 512-268-8501 or email haley.kibodeaux@hayscisd.net by November 7th. Thank you!
Thanksgiving Lunch on Monday, November 14
We are rounding the corner and headed straight for the holidays. It is a busy and fun time as our Child Nutrition teams visit all of our beautiful elementary schools to serve Thanksgiving meals.
The Revtrak is live and we HIGHLY ENCOURAGE families to pay in advance. You can preview the Revtrak link here: https://hayscisd.revtrak.net/Catering-Services/#/v/Hays-CISD-Child-Nutrition-Thanksgiving-Lunch--2144
You may purchase tickets on the day of using cash only at the campus.
As visitors present confirmation of their online purchase, a ticket will be given. (Those who pay with cash will also receive a ticket). All visitors must receive a ticket as their proof of purchase to take with them to the cafeteria. For Thanksgiving service, we will have a separate catering line for visitors to enjoy our catering service.
THANKSGIVING LUNCH SCHEDULE FOR MONDAY NOVEMBER 14, 2022
PK/ KINDERGARTEN: 10:15 – 10:45
FIRST GRADE: 10:50 – 11:20
SECOND GRADE: 11:25 – 11:55
THIRD GRADE: 12:00 – 12:30
FOURTH GRADE: 12:35 – 1:05
FIFTH GRADE: 1:10 – 1:40
If you live locally, stop by campus and get your visitor badge early!
If you don’t want to stand in line for a school lunch, feel free to bring a lunch from your child’s favorite fast- food restaurant. In the past, Chick-fil-a has gotten really backed up on these days, so get there early OR get lunch from another establishment or you will miss lunch!
We will have seating in both the cafeteria AND in the gym!
Library News - IT'S BOOK FAIR TIME!!
Family Night. If your student wears their costume to family night, they can earn a free prize at the book fair!
We need lots of volunteers to make the book fair a successful event. Please consider helping us out. Here is the link to sign up. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0D48A8A623A6FE3-fall2 We would LOVE to have your help and it is really SO much fun!
Students can pay for books with cash, check or eWallet. eWallet is a way to preload funds into an online account. We can search your child's name in the register and it will let us know exactly how much money they have to spend. Friends and family can even contribute. Set one up now here. https://www.scholastic.com/bf/negley
Want to know more about eWallet , click here to find out more.
If you want to volunteer for book fair, please register as a Hays VIP volunteer here.
Have a happy reading weekend everyone! See you at Book Fair! -Mrs. Marcionetti
StoryBook Character Dress Up Day - NOVEMBER 10
This year, we are tying our Storybook Character Dress Up Day in with book fair! We are celebrating all the wonderful storybook characters in all the amazing books that will be at the book fair! So, we will have our school wide dress-up day for Storybook Character Day on Thursday, November 10th. This happens to be the same day as our Book Fair Family Night. If students wear their costume to family night, they can earn a free prize at the book fair! We would love for teachers to dress up and have fun on this day too!
Library Birthday Book Club
We have started to leave Birthday Book Club letters in your child's teacher's mailbox. Teachers will currently find birthday book club letters for your students who have birthdays in the months July - October. This is a fundraiser for the library where a student can donate a book to the library in honor of their birthday. They get a special bookplate sticker with their name put inside the book and they are the first to check the book out. We will continue to put letters in teacher's boxes as we work on future months. We typically try to send them out the month before their birthday month.
PTA NEWS!
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES – If you are looking for opportunities to volunteer at Negley, please sign up for the Volunteers in Public Schools program at https://www.hayscisd.net/Page/113 .
JOIN PTA! – if you haven’t had the chance to join, please visit the Texas PTA site at: https://txpta.secure.force.com/JoinPTA/
Nurse's Notes
Hello NES Family,
I’m sure you have noticed that the flu is upon us. We are taking measures here at school to mitigate spread through the continuation of our sanitation processes and illness exclusion policy. Teachers are encouraging hand washing and hand sanitizer use while at school.
We are also highly encouraging everyone to get a flu vaccine. Please see the fliers provided by Hays CISD in this newsletter for information on where you and your family can get a flu shot. Also, if your child not feeling well, please keep them home and either email or call me so that we can have a conversation about exclusion from school for them until they feel better or have been cleared to return to campus through our district COVID policy. Thank you for helping keep NES safe and healthy this flu season!
~ Nurse Jill
Counsleor's Corner
Ms. Cervantes will be using the Kiwi Cloud 9 Curriculum this year with Pre-K thru 2nd grade. The next emotion she will be covering is JOY.
Below is free access to our Hays CISD Social & Emotional Learning (SEL) program, Cloud9World. It includes articles, videos, books, coloring pages, and games to reinforce social- emotional skill development.
The parent log in includes instructional parent videos and provides practical advice for proactive parenting that results in preparation for stronger student success.
Student/Parent Log in (case sensitive)
Username: labn-parent www.cloud9world.com
My account
Enter the information below:
User ID Password
Student Account labnk-student c9wStudent
Parent Account labnk-parent c9wParent
Mrs. Taylor has been completing lessons in the library for 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders about conflict resolution. We have played listening games and discussed how important it is to listen to others as well as share with others how we feel. They are practicing problem solving with peers by using our Peace Paths (demonstrated here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GU8rQbnZVPI). Vinyl Peace Paths will be available in each grade level hallway, so students can use them as needed.
Important Upcoming Dates to Remember
Please check the calendar often as it will be updated on a weekly basis.
November:
Fall Scholastic Book Fair
Book Fair Sales - November 7 - 11
8: Election Day
8: PICTURE RE-TAKES for students who were absent. If you want your child's picture re-taken, send back the package purchased to receive a new picture and get a new package without being charged again.
10: STORYBOOK CHARACTER DRESS UP DAY!
11: Veteran's Day -Program 8:30 am Cafeteria
14: Thanksgiving Lunch - please see alternate lunch schedule above
15: PTA general meeting - 6:00 pm in Negley Library
21-25: Thanksgiving Break
28-Dec. 2: PTA Sponsored Holiday Shoppe
December:
2: PTA Spirit Sticks Sale during lunch - cafeteria
9: Winter Dance 6-8 pm - Cafeteria
16: Winter Holiday Parties - Classrooms
19 - Jan. 4: Winter Break
January:
5: Students return for Spring Semester
Negley Specials Team: Updates
Welcome to the Specials Team Sign Up Genius Volunteer Page. Please review the available slots below and click on the button to sign up. Please feel free to become a regular helper and sign up for multiple days and times. We will add more times and volunteer opportunities as the year continues in several Specials and for House events. :) Thank you! The Specials Teachers
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E4AA5A72EA4F8C25-negley
SPANISH WEBSITE:
Covid Protocol for the 2022-2023 School Year
· District COVID Protocol
· If your student is staying home ill, please call or email the school nurse so that she can have a conversation regarding your child’s health and clearance to return to campus.
· If your student is sent home sick, they will need to follow the COVID protocol below to be cleared for school.
Option 1: Student will stay home for 5 days isolation and symptoms must improve and student must be fever free for 24 hours. Student may return on day 6 and its encouraged but not required that they wear a mask for an additional 5 days.
Option 2: Student will see their doctor to receive an alternate diagnosis and symptoms must improve and be fever free for 24 hours (their doctor may or may not COVID test).
Option 3: Student will have a negative PCR test and symptoms must improve and be fever free for 24 hours.
**RAPID COVID TESTS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED FOR RETURN TO CAMPUS**
· *District Quarantine Policy* If your student is identified as a close contact here at school: while we highly encourage COVID close contact students to quarantine for the 7-10 day period, students are not required to quarantine. If you choose not to quarantine, please monitor your child for symptoms and notify the nurse of any changes in their health.
· If your child tests Positive for COVID: They do not need to retest, only to stay home the minimum 5 days from onset of symptoms and can return on day 6.
· Also please email NES.Attendance@hayscisd.net explaining your child’s absence so that it can be coded correctly and they can be excused.
Please contact the nurse for any questions or concerns.
Nurse Jill
jill.wenzel@hayscisd.net
512.268.8501
Remember to bring your picture ID - always!
This does not apply to evening activities - just the school day.
IMPORTANT REMINDERS
*****NEW THIS YEAR!*****
· School starts at 7:30 am.
· Attendance notes must be received within 5 school days.
· HaysCISD schools will not accept meal delivery services.
· Transportation Changes will only be accepted as a last resort for unforeseen circumstances. All students must have a set dismissal schedule on file with their teacher.
Bell Schedule:
- Doors open at 7:00 am.
- Breakfast is served until 7:25.
- School starts and the tardy bell rings at 7:30. The car rider line doors will close at 7:30 - You will need to drop your child off at the front of the school if you arrive after that.
- All hallways will be open for family drop-off from 7:00 - 7:25. Visitors may only enter through the front doors. You must stop at the front office with proper ID and receive your name badge first.
- After checking in, from 7:00 – 7:15 parents may drop their students off at the Shipyard (gym) doors, or cafeteria for breakfast and say goodbye; from 7:15-7:25 parents may drop their students off at their classroom door and say goodbye.
Attendance:
- If your student stays home due to illness, please contact Nurse Jill before returning to school. 512-268-8501 or jill.wenzel@hayscisd.net
- If your student is absent, please email excuses and dr’s notes to our Attendance Clerk, Deborah, at nes.attendance@hayscisd.net within 5 school days. The student’s first and last name, date, and reason must be included for each absence. Attendance is taken at 10:00 am – if your student is not in the building at that time, they will be counted absent.
Lunch:
- Visitors can have lunch with students in the cafeteria. You must stop at the front office with proper ID and receive your name badge first. Report to the cafeteria to meet your child, only your child may sit with you, check out with the front office when lunch has concluded. Classroom hallways are NOT OPEN to visitors during instructional time 7:30 – 2:55.
- The front office does not deliver. Your student will be called down from class to get any lunches, water bottles or forgotten items. Please LABEL all items with student’s name and teacher.
- We will NOT accept food from meal delivery services! Visitors may still bring restaurant food for their students.
Dismissal:
· School gets out at 2:55 pm.
· Every family must choose ONE form of dismissal: Walker, Independent Walker, Car Rider, or After-School Care. If there are any variations to your student’s dismissal, these need to be on a SET SCHEDULE for the teacher to follow.
- Transportation changes are a LAST RESORT and will only be accepted for family emergencies/unforeseen circumstances. These are to be requested through Kaci in the front office by 2:00. 512-268-8501 or nes.attendance@hayscisd.net. Teacher’s name must be included.
- The LATEST a student can be picked up early before dismissal is 2:15. PLEASE PLAN DOCTOR APPOINTMENTS ACCORDINGLY. It is your responsibility to know the student’s teacher when picking them up.
- The Front Office closes at 3:30.
Birthdays:
- Please contact your student’s teacher prior to bringing treats – they will give you classroom allergy info and class count.
- Birthday treats will only be handed out to students during the last 15 minutes of the day. Hays CISD recommends individually wrapped items (ex. Little Debbie treats). Homemade items will not be accepted. Please do not bring drinks! Balloons may NOT be taken into the school beyond the reception area.
- Parents are not allowed to bring food for other children for lunch - no birthday pizza, etc. for the class. This is strictly prohibited due to federal guidelines.
NEGLEY AFTER-SCHOOL OPTIONS
YMCA/Extend-a-Care – On site: 512-236-9622, eacy@austinymca.org
Rocking Horse Academy: 512-405-3700
Stepping Stone Kyle: 512-268-0123
Stepping Stone Plum Creek: 512-262-7409
Kyle Bright Beginnings: 512-312-4341