Normandy Park School
Principal's Corner
January 28th to February 1st
January 28th is a C Day
This week the Reading Challenge begins. Flyers will be sent home to explain the challenge (for additional information, see below)
February 1st at 9:30am, we will host our Winter Information Session for Prospective Kindergarten parents
On the afternoon of February 1st, Cat in the Hat will be visiting our Primary Classrooms
Intermediate Mayo Performing Arts Center (MPAC) Reader's Theater Residency will continue this week, concluding with classroom performances on 2/8/19
2nd Annual Reading Challenge
Message from the HSA:
We are excited to announce our 2nd annual Reading Challenge. We hope all of the students will participate in this fun activity designed to make everyone an enthusiastic reader. Here is how to participate:
- READ!! Children’s eligible reading will begin on Monday, January 28th and end on Monday, March 4th. Your child’s reading should be appropriate for reading ability, grade level and length. Books may be fiction or non-fiction but should be books that your child reads within the program dates and has not read before. Books being read for a class assignment count! Your child may read independently or be read to. Books from home, school or public libraries or any other source are fine for the program.
- LOG! Children will receive tally sheets to keep track of their reading. They will need to complete 5 logs to successfully complete the challenge. Return the tally sheets to the library or you can submit forms online.
- Students can pick up new log sheets at the library or at the front office. The number of books to complete a log sheet will vary by Unit as follows:
Primary (K/1)
# Books per Log: 8
Total # Books: 40
Intermediate (2/3)
# Books per Log:3
Total # Books: 15
Senior (4/5)
# Books per Log: 2
Total # Books: 10
- ENJOY THE JOURNEY! Each participating student will have a “fish” on our big hallway display near the front office. Students will “travel” the ocean. Students will continue to read through the ocean as many times as they can.
- EVERYBODY WINS! Any students that successfully complete the challenge will receive a medal and a brand new book, with the top 3 readers from each unit receiving a trophy and Scholastic Bucks to spend during our NPS Book Fair!
We are excited about this event and are looking forward to watching our children to dive into reading! If you have any questions, please contact Hope Dulac at HopeDulac@gmail.com or Dimitra Drakotou at drakotou@me.com.
Check out the bulletin board for our Reading Challenge! Thank you to Hope Dulac and Dimitra Drakotou for putting it up!
Project Kind
The Primary Unit has teamed up with an organization called Project Kind as part of the Normandy Park school wide theme, It’s Cool to be Kind! The Project Kind organization provides assistance to those who find themselves homeless.
Teacher are talking with the students about needs and wants through our Social Studies curriculum. During this time, students will be brainstorming ideas about what to purchase and donate. The Primary project is supported by the MEF Cool to Be Kind Grant. To fundraise, Primary K/1 classrooms will be hosting pretzel parties, where all students will participate. NPS teachers have been graciously donating to support the project! Any donations will go directly to help support purchases for Project Kind.
Students will present the donations during our Project Kind assembly on Friday, February 8th at 12:30pm. The founder, Jenny Depaul, will be there. In addition to our donations, the Primary teachers and students have prepared a presentation for Project Kind (see picture below), to show them just how much they have learned about keeping kindness in their hearts. They will continue to practice their presentation this week!
To learn more about Project Kind, please visit their website at https://www.projectkind123.org/
Normandy Now
Thank you to all who attended are Normandy Now on Report Cards and iReady! It was a great evening!
For additional information on our report cards, please see the K-5 Report Parent Guide If you have any questions or concerns regarding our Report Cards or iReady, please feel free to reach out directly to me at Christopher.miller@msdk12.net.
MLK Day
In recognition of MLK Day last week, this month classrooms have been learning about Martin Luther King Jr. and his contributions to our country.
I wanted to highlight a few Primary (K/1) bulletin boards celebrating Martin Luther King Jr.
Intermediate Cultural Arts Residency
Last week, we began our Intermediate Cultural Arts Residency program.
Mayo Performing Arts Center (MPAC) is working with our Intermediate Unit on performing Reader's Theater through a 12 lesson curriculum. Students were assigned roles and have begun to practice for their performance!
On February 8th, families will be invited to their child's classroom to see their Reader's Theater performance.
Kindergarten Information Session
On February 1st at 9:30am, parents interested in having their child attend NPS next year will have the opportunity to learn more about our school and programs, as well as take a brief tour. We will have students from the Student Council helping out!
If you know any families that would be interested, please let them know.
Looking Ahead
February 7th: Family Bingo Night/ Dinner Night
February 15th: Report Cards Sent Home
March 19th to March 23rd: Scholastic Book Fair