Nantucket Elementary School
February 14, 2023 Monthly Newsletter
Nantucket Elementary School Latest News and Calendar Updates
Dear Families,
Hello and Happy Valentine's Day!
We want to thank you for your recent flexibility and understanding as we navigate this technology situation in our District. Thankfully, at NES, the impact is not felt by students very much. As you are aware, we do not have students on technology daily. At this point however, they are able to access the school devices for their Zearn practice, Imagine Learning, the NES Library website, and other tools they may need. Our greatest challenges are copying and printing. The Tech department for NPS has been working so hard to get us restored.
We are very excited to be celebrating the 100th day of school this week. Our First and Second Graders will have their celebrations on Wednesday 2/15 and our Kindergartners will celebrate this on Thursday, 2/16. We will also be having our first graders perform songs and poetry about the famous Americans they have been studying on Thursday, 2/16.
Don't forget - Wednesday, 2/15/23 is a half day dismissal for all of our students!! Teachers will be working in professional development courses. Our very special and annual tradition of Literacy Night at NES will be happening from 5:30 - 6:30 pm on March 9, 2023. Please see the flyer information below!!
We are very excited to be getting ready for Lip Sync again this coming spring. Next month, we will have our sign up meeting on Wednesday, 3/15/23.
Here is news from our grades and departments:
PreK - In February the students are learning about healthy choices, love and friendship, and even completed an author study! Some authors that were explored in classrooms were Eric Carle, Leo Lionni, and Eric Litwin. Students read many books written by the authors, completed projects on them, and even compared similarities and differences between books! We also had an amazing opportunity to partner with the Nantucket Whaling Museum. They joined us in our classrooms to teach us all about Sailors' Valentine's and each student was able to make their own!
Kindergarten - Kindergarten is celebrating our 100th day this month! Students are making 100 collections at home and are bringing them in to display outside our classrooms in a 100 Museum! We will do tons of activities focused around the number 100 on Thursday, 2/16. We are finishing up learning about the many parts of weather and how to be prepared based on a weather forecast. Connect to home by looking at the forecast for each day to make sure that your child is prepared for recess and outdoor activities. In reading students are working on building letter sound fluency and applying that to the books students are reading. To help at home, work with your child on learning the letter sounds. In math, kindergartners are working on measurement using words like longer than, shorter than, heavier than, lighter than. We will also move to comparing numbers less than 10 using the words less than or more than. We continue to build social skills during independent play times to encourage creativity, sustained attention to a preferred task, and cooperation.
First Grade - First graders have been working hard, learning and growing! We have been researching, reading and writing about famous Americans through books, online resources and songs. We have been rehearsing and learning songs for our upcoming concert this Thursday! During math we have been learning about units of measurement and collecting and interpreting data. We have explored using paper clips, centimeter cubes and toothpicks to measure objects at school. First graders have been noticing glued sounds including ing, ink, ong, just to name a few! Our scientists have been learning about the sun and the moon. Students have been so lucky to partner with our friends at NHA to make Sailor's Valentines.
Second Grade - Second grade has been busy! We have been learning about the seven continents and the five oceans. We know about important landforms and landmarks in each continent. We’ve also been learning how to add and subtract two and three digit numbers vertically using our strategies of making a ten and taking a ten. We’re writing opinion pieces this term. Students are providing reasons and evidence that supports their opinions. We continue to work on reading and the skills that will help all students make progress in this subject! We’ve had a great start to 2023 and are looking forward learning more!
Meri Lepore's Nurse's Corner
“There is no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing.” - Alfred Wainwright
Winter is here and it feels like the weather has been all over the place! Despite some warmer temperatures it is still cold out most days. Please make sure your child has a winter coat, hat and gloves to go out for recess. It is so important for children to spend time outside all year long! The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends at least 60 minutes of outdoor play for children everyday! Recess is 30 minutes per day, so they still need more after school!
Spending time outside improves motor development, lowers obesity rates and myopia (nearsightedness) risk. “Playing outside helps promote curiosity, creativity and critical thinking.”
We want all children to enjoy recess, be comfortable and warm. Please make sure they have more than a sweatshirt on when they head to school in the morning!
Counselor's Corner from Jenny Williams, Heidi Smith and Madeleine Sybert, Social Worker
Dear Families,
We have completed the Second Step Bullying Units in Kindergarten,1st and 2nd grade and will now begin teaching lessons on emotion management. Classroom lessons will focus on helping students learn how to recognize strong emotions and unhelpful thoughts while applying strategies to navigate their emotions and reduce stress.These lessons introduce students to topics such as managing embarrassment, managing anger and recognizing how strong feelings affect their brains and bodies. The goal of this unit is to develop students' ability to manage their own strong feelings before the feelings escalate and result in negative consequences.
We will also continue to emphasize the importance of treating others with kindness and compassion. The month of February provides us with opportunities to help our students practice some of the social emotional skills we have been teaching them. Black History month, Valentine’s Day and Random Acts of Kindness Day can prompt conversations with your child about the ways they can cultivate kindness in the classroom, school, home and community. You can support your child’s development of self-awareness and social awareness by talking about what kindness is and what it looks like in your family. Valentine's Day can also be a great time to talk to your child about self-love and the importance of not only expressing love and kindness towards others but also to themselves. We encourage you to click on the link below that can provide you with additional resources and books that can help you have these conversations with your child.
Scholastic | Books for Kids | Learning Resources
If you have any questions about the Second Step program or need additional support please contact the school counselors. Thank you!
Heidi Smith
Elementary School Counselor Intern
Jenny Williams
Elementary School Counselor
Madeleine Sybert
School Social Worker
Thank you for all of your efforts to support your child's learning. We need your partnership with us in this most important journey of supporting your child for success. Know that Mrs. Kimberly Albertson, Assistant Principal, and myself are always available to support you. Feel free to call the school to set up appointments, call to speak with us, email us, or catch us outside in the morning and/or afternoon. We love feedback and want you to feel comfortable reaching out to us as needed!
Best,
Kim Kubisch and Kim Albertson
Here are a few very important reminders that have been previously shared. As we always say, we need you the parents and adult family members to be partners with us in your child's education. An important role that you play is to be a model for our high expectations. Please review these sections and let us know if you have any questions.
Attendance - we are starting to see some students with higher absence numbers. It is very important that you notify your child's teacher or call the front office. You can send a message to your child's teacher through REMIND or call the front office to leave a message regarding your child's absence at (508) 228 - 7290 ext, 3. If your child needs to miss 5 or more consecutive days, you must make an appointment with the principal well in advance of upcoming absence. The NES Parent Handbook has been posted on the NES website (www.npsk.org, click on schools, click on Nantucket Elementary School). Please review the important section on attendance. Retention in the current grade level is a possibility if a child has excessive absences. As we continue to rebound from the Covid Pandemic, children being in school each day is a necessity.
Driving and Parking on the NES/NIS campus
We have had several concerns shared regarding safety of students as they enter and exit the school recently. These concerns have been regarding parent drivers not following safety rules. These are listed below for your reference. We appreciate all of your anticipated efforts and required patience.
- NES will open in the morning at 7:45am. Students who are walking, biking or getting dropped off should be outside the building no earlier than 7:35am and walk to their assigned class meeting place outside.
- If parents wish to escort their child to their assigned class space, they must park their car in the Backus Lane parking lot ONLY.
- The parking lot off of First Way, behind the school is for staff only.
- All of the parking spots are assigned to staff or students at NHS.
- Parents and Guardians should not use that lot for any reason.
- This is a terrible place for students to be dropped off, this is not a drive through, and there is nowhere for any non permitted driver to park.
- Again, please stop driving in this lot. We are asking you to be a model for all children in the morning and the afternoon.
- Drive through drop off in the morning is permitted at the K and NES/NIS side entrances. This means parents stay in their car, and a staff member will open the passenger side door to help your child exit safely. Then, the car continues driving out the exit. This is for all students.
- Drive through pick up in the afternoon is permitted for all students grades 2-5 in the large circle between NES and NIS. This means parents stay in their car, and a staff member will oversee students entering cars. Then, the car continues driving out the exit.
- K and 1 students are met by parents at the back K entrance. Students will be standing in their assigned class lines.
- The circles and driveways on campus ARE NOT PARKING SPACES. An adult driver must stay in the car while waiting for students to exit or enter the car.
- At dismissal, all parents will continue to wait outside in the already designated spots with staff supervision (kindergarten circle for kindergarten and first grade students, outside of the front door for second grade students).
- In the event of inclement weather (severe snow or rain), kindergarten and first grade students will be dismissed out the kindergarten and cafeteria doors to parents outside and second grade students will be dismissed out the gymnasium doors to parents outside.
- Drivers may not pull into the bus loop to pick-up their children EVER.
Upcoming Events
SAVE THE DATES!!
- NPS Half Day Dismissal 12:00 pm 2/15/23 District PD
- NPS SNAC meeting NHS 6-8 pm 2/15/23
- Presidents' Day 2/20/23 No School for all NPS
- NPS School Committee LGI 6:00 pm 2/21/23
- NPS February Break 2/25 - 3/5/23 No School
- NPS Return to School 3/6/23
- NPS School Committee LGI 6:00 pm 3/7/23
- FONPS Meeting NHS 6:00 pm 3/8/23
- NES Literacy Night 5:30 - 6:30 pm 3/9/23
- NPS Half Day Dismissal 12:00 pm 3/15/23 District PD
- NPS Join School Council CPS Cafe 3:00 pm 3/16/23
- NPS School Committee LGI 6:00 pm 3/21/23
Nantucket Elementary School
Website: www.npsk.org
Location: 30 Surfside Road, Nantucket, MA 02554, USA
Phone: 508 228 - 7290