Back-To-School Information
Welcome Back NSE!!
Teacher Placement Assignments
Teacher Placement Letters (with supply lists) were mailed on Friday, August 16th. If you have not received your class placement letter by Wednesday, August, 21st, please contact our Main Office.
Renovation at NSE
As part of the district’s bond projects, NSE has been under construction throughout the summer. Here is a brief summary of the projects and updates that have taken place:
Parking lot update and reconfiguration, including new lighting, crosswalk paths, and signage.
New student lockers that are wider.
New classroom carpeting, transition floor tiling, new classroom sinks, and some countertops.
Updated student bathroom.
Updated Learning Commons, including new carpet and new seating.
New walk-off carpet at door entrances.
New classroom furniture, including student chairs, desks, mobile storage, and some flexible seating options.
ParentSquare
ParentSquare is a messaging service for schools to use to communicate with their families. Messages can be sent to the whole school and individual classroom teachers can also send messages to just the students and families in their class. We can also create groups to message clubs. There is an app for iOS and Android, however, you can still receive the text messages without using the app.
In addition to messaging, ParentSquare allows us to coordinate volunteers and donations and collect RSVP’s to events. Families are able to choose a language preference, so messages can be received in a preferred language. You can also select the timeframe you want to receive messages, either instantly or at an established time that you choose and how you would like to receive the messages, either via text, email, or both.
If you were a ParentSquare user last year, you do not need to do anything. Over the next several days your child will be placed into their grade level/new class. If you are new to ParentSquare, you should be receiving an email invitation or text to sign up, provided you entered this information when enrolling your child. You can also sign up using the ParentSquare app.
ParentSquare is our primary method for mass communication with families, so please make sure to sign up if you haven’t already! If you do not receive an invitation or are having trouble using ParentSquare, please contact our Main Office. Classes should be updated in ParentSquare by August 21st.
Partnership Night
On Friday, August 23rd from 3:30-6:30 p.m. students and parents will be able to visit classrooms and connect with teachers before the first day of school. We are combining our previously named “Meet the Teacher” with our Partnership Night that is typically scheduled in September.
In addition to meeting your child's teacher, the following departments/organizations will be on hand to assist you IN THE MEDIA CENTER with questions/needs:
Transportation (bus routes and bus stops)
Nutrition Services (lunch accounts, free/reduced lunch applications)
PTO (greet our PTO board, find out about some of the events we have planned and how you can help)
Kids' Connection and Kids' Club (before and after-school childcare)
Clubs and Local Organizations (Boys Scouts, Aqua Club, etc.)
The schedule of times below indicates when each grade level will present important information about the upcoming school year:
1st Grade (Burns, Lyons, Herula) Presentation 4:00-4:25 p.m.
2nd Grade (Heilig, Green, Dudek) Presentation 4:30-4:55 p.m.
3rd Grade (Randolph, Larkins, Skorupski) Presentation 5:00-5:25 p.m.
4th Grade (Weir, Johns (previously Hothem), Combs) Presentation 5:30-5:55 p.m.
5th Grade (Phillips, Peterka (previously Reinelt), Mendieta) Presentation 6:00-6:30 p.m.
*Mrs. Lyons and the soon-to-be Mrs. Johns are not able to attend Partnership Night this year. They will be providing information for families to view/pick-up. Mrs. Herula will be available from 3:30-5:00 p.m.
Other than the scheduled presentation time listed above, teachers will be available to “meet and greet” students and families during the event hours from 3:30-6:30 p.m.
Kindergarten will not be providing a formal presentation during this event, but will be there to “meet and greet”. Kindergarten has a scheduled Open House (see information below) on the first day of school that parents should plan to attend with their child. Information about the school year will be covered during the Open House.
Finally, teachers will be getting into the building to set up their classrooms much later than normal. We ask for your understanding if classrooms are not yet finished by the time Partnership Night arrives.
Please Note: Since construction is still happening as we write this, we are planning for Partnership Night to take place as described above. However, if the building is not quite ready, we may need to follow a “Plan B”.
We would likely plan to meet you and your child on the playground, in the gymnasium, or cafeteria. Staff would be available from 3:30-6:30 p.m. In this case, teachers would not deliver formal, scheduled presentations to families. Instead, we would schedule another Partnership Night later in September for those formal presentations.
First Days of School
Monday, August 26th - 1st Day of School! Yay!
Half Day (8:15 a.m. - 11:31 a.m.)
Dismissal at 11:31 a.m.
ONLY 1st - 5th grade students have a ½ day of school
Kindergarten will attend an Open House on this day from 8:15 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. Parents should attend with their child.
Tuesday, August 27th
All Students (including Kindergarten) attend for a full day
Friday, August 30th and Monday, September 2nd
NO SCHOOL - Labor Day
Back-To-School Packet
An informational packet will be sent home with your child on one of the first days of school. Please look for this to come home. It will contain information from the PTO, a school lunch menu, emergency card, school calendar, etc. Again, please look over the information contained in the packet and fill out any paperwork that is applicable to you/your child and return to the school as soon as possible.
Our New Leaders of Learning
Please join me in welcoming:
Haley Burns, 1st Grade
Mallory Combs, 4th Grade
Kelley Johnson, Art
Kelly Perrin, Music
Emily Green, School Psychologist
Bus Riders
If your child will be riding the bus to/from school, please have him/her ride the bus the first day of school so the transportation department can establish accurate schedules and procedures.
For Kindergarteners:
Since the first day of school is an Open House, please plan to have him/her begin riding the bus on the second day of school (August 27th).
If you have transportation questions, please call 623-8040.
Important Contacts
Jennifer Johnson, Principal jejohnson@clarkston.k12.mi.us
Dianne Stephan, Secretary dgstephan@clarkston.k12.mi.us
Kayle Parker, Social Worker keparker@clarkston.k12.mi.us
Kristina Hoover, Social Emotional Coach kbhoover@clarkston.k12.mi.us
Main Office: (248) 623-4100
Please don’t hesitate to contact us if we can be of assistance with your child’s start to the school year!
NSE Webpage
Please take a moment to check out our school webpage: https://nse.clarkston.k12.mi.us/ You can find lots of useful/important information. Webpages for classrooms and school info are being updated regularly through the month of August. Please check back often.
NSE Student Arrival and Dismissal
*Our New Parking Lot Design means we have a New Traffic Flow Pattern*
ARRIVAL
Doors open at 8:10a.m. School begins at 8:15 a.m. All students enter either through the gymnasium (bus riders) or cafeteria (parent drop off) and proceed to their classroom line, as follows:
K-2nd Grade line up in the Cafe
3rd-5th Grade line up in the Gymnasium
The tardy bell will ring at 8:25 a.m. If your child is tardy, please walk with him/her to the Main Office in order to sign-in your child.
Students Dropped Off by Parent
In order to maintain a safe and orderly student drop-off loop in our parking lot and minimize the amount of time spent in traffic waiting to drop off your child(ren), we need your help with the following:
DO:
★ Enter on Pine Knob Lane during all Arrival / Dismissal times.
★ Constantly watch for children! Please be aware of the cross traffic that could be flowing in the middle of the lot and the families/children walking to and from their cars.
★ Follow the traffic loop through the student drop-off/pick-up zone; do not divert from the established path.
★ Pull as far forward as possible once you are in the drop-off/pick-up zone. Do Not Stop in front of the cafe doors, if you can pull forward. Stopping in the loop and not pulling as far forward as you can, dramatically slows down the traffic. It is more efficient to have multiple cars able to unload at the same time. This can be accomplished if you pull as far forward as possible and if your children are ready to exit the car once you stop.
★ If you would like to walk your child into school, park in designated lot and then walk with
your child to the sidewalk through the crossing zone area.
★ Have understanding and patience; it will go a long way :)
DO NOT:
★ Drop off students in the bus unloading loop.
★ Allow your child to walk by him/herself to the sidewalk. If you have chosen to park in the
lot, you must exit your vehicle and walk your child to the sidewalk/crossing zone.
Students Riding the Bus
→ All bus stop information is located in the ParentVue under Student Information (Last Tab).
Parent Vue is accessible under the Clarkston Schools Webpage at www.clarkston.k12.mi.us
→ Students riding the bus, will exit the bus in our bus loop and will be directed to enter the Gym.
If you have transportation questions, please call 248-623-8040.
DISMISSAL
School dismisses at 3:30 p.m.
➣ On half days, school dismissal is 11:31 a.m.
Students Picked Up by Parent
➣ Kindergarten Students: Parents must pick their child up in the cafeteria.
➣ 1st-5th Grade Students will exit the cafe doors between 3:25-3:30 p.m.
➣ On full days, ALL students should be exited from the cafe by 3:35 p.m.
➣ Any students still waiting for pick-up at 3:35 p.m. will return to the Main Office, so parents can be contacted.
Should this become a regularly occurring practice, students will need to enroll in the after-school Kid’s Connection program.
Students Riding the Bus
➣ Students riding the bus are dismissed at 3:30 p.m. to ride the bus.
If you have transportation questions, please call 248-623-8040.
*Please Note: You can expect that bus times will vary during the first couple of weeks of school as we are establishing routines and procedures and also during inclement weather.
NSE Parking Lot/Traffic Pattern Map
We hope that everyone has had a safe and enjoyable summer. We are looking forward to seeing you soon!!
NSE Main Office
Jennifer Johnson
Social Worker
Kayle Parker
Student Support Coach
Kristina Hoover
Secretary
Dianne Stephan
Website: https://nse.clarkston.k12.mi.us/
Location: 5290 Maybee Road, Clarkston, MI, United States
Phone: 2486234100
Twitter: @nse_wildcats