North Plains Hawks News
Principal Newsletter
Week 1 - 9/2/2018
The summer has gone by so fast and now it's time for fall and school routines. I'm so excited to see all of the students on Tuesday! This newsletter has some important information for new families, and good reminders for experienced ones:)
First, an enrollment update. Last year we ended school with 353 students and 14 classroom teachers. This year we sit at 383 (at last count) and 13 classroom teachers. What does that mean? Large classes and the hope of being approved for another teacher! The big question is where to put a teacher if we do get one, and that depends on this coming week and who shows up at our door that we don't yet know about. Currently, grades 2 and 3 have our lowest numbers with class sizes at 25 and 26. All others are 30 and aboveš¢ I'll keep you posted!
I am so very sorry I missed meeting you at the "Stop, Drop and Smile" event this past week. I had a family emergency, and thankfully everything turned out very well. I hear there was a great turn out, and hopefully you had an opportunity to sign up for fall conferences which happen in November. If you were not able to attend, or did not have an opportunity to sign up for conferences, please contact our office and sign up for a slot. Thank you again to Joanna Mehaffey and Columbia Bank for supplying pizza, and to our PTO for having water available.
This year we have our new Social Learning Center which is AWESOME, and brings about 8 new staff, more than our staff parking can accommodate. This means some staff will need to park on the parent side where the turnaround is located. Due to the increase in our student body, we may have more parents at the turnaround (pick up being the concern) so please be aware that there may be more cars parked in that area than before. If we need to adjust in some way after the school year starts, I will let you know!
Volunteers, you are NEEDED! Please know that parents are very welcome to help in classrooms in grades k-3, and in other ways for grades 4-6. It is vital that you communicate with the classroom teacher about when and how you would like to volunteer so they can best utilize your services! Also, you have to be cleared with a background check prior to volunteering. There is a "volunteer" tab on the district website where you can sign up and do all the necessary paperwork. The background check is good for two years, so some of you may need to re-apply!
Attendance is SO very important and this includes being to school ON TIME! You may think that nothing happens first thing in the morning, but this is where teachers have an opportunity to make a positive beginning for each and every student. Greeting students as they arrive, and starting with a morning meeting including alerting students to the daily agenda, is critical for many of our students' daily success. We get our students for only 6 hours and 20 minutes per day which includes lunch, recess, and specials. Please help your student by making sure he or she is there every minute of every day!
There is so much more, but enough for you to read right now! Again, I look forward to seeing all of the students on Tuesday! Please know that I am a "hands-on" principal meaning that I truly care and want to hear from you. PLEASE communicate any questions or concerns sooner rather than later so I can help make THIS year the BEST one ever for you and your student!!
Becky Smith
Coming soon....
Glencoe notes
other important weekly information!