Dear North Smyrna Elementary Families,

Every day, our students enter North Smyrna Elementary with a natural curiosity that we strive to encourage and cultivate. They constantly encounter new material as we support them in their quest to achieve understanding and mastery. The concepts learned link and expand to grow each child's knowledge. Throughout this time, the partnership between home and school are crucial to assist each student in having a positive attitude about school and learning and to encourage them to persevere despite challenges. Below, find a few suggestions on how to foster these mindsets at home:

• Find ways to celebrate your child’s efforts. Sincere praise and listening to your child's joy in explaining his/her successes lets them know that their hard work at school is valued.
• Identify one or two areas for improvement and determine a plan of action. Goals should be manageable and achievable. Write them down, refer to them, and check their progress periodically with your child.
• Reach out to your child's teacher when questions regarding overall progress, interim progress reports, or report cards arise. Arrange a teacher/parent/student meeting if needed. Be sure to support each other. This is a team effort, and we are working towards the same goal: your child's success.
• The work done in school has benefits beyond academic success. It also helps teach students personal responsibility, the value in putting forth effort, good study skills, and positive social skills. These skills reinforce habits for success.
• Avoid comparing a child’s grades/progress with those of siblings or neighbors. Each child deserves to be celebrated for their own accomplishments and strengths.
• Are you looking for ways to support your child's academic growth? Encourage him/her to read at home nightly. Assist him/her in practicing basic math facts (addition, subtraction, and multiplication/division when the time comes). This establishes a solid foundation for your child's learning each day in math and reading.

At NSE, we strive to be partners with our families because that is how strong, long-lasting, and successful support systems for students are developed. Your child's academic, social, and emotional well-being are important to us. Let's work together to make this year the best one yet for your child!

Sincerely,

Dr. Amber Augustus, Principal

Mrs. Amanda Noll, Associate Principal

Dr. Tiyana Mullen, Associate Principal

Please note: Failure to submit this document will exclude your child from being placed in the Spanish Immersion Lottery even in the event school choice paperwork was submitted and approved.

Please see the links attached here to learn more about this program:

Why Spanish Immersion? https://drive.google.com/file/d/1E4VE7PSyyq9uNAf5j5irR-49UiKPvLNL/view?usp=sharing

Spanish Immersion Q & A PPT: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Jj3T4-gP0GDulkWrcoStGKETtcH-613G/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=116428032870279807282&rtpof=true&sd=true

Kindergarten Presentation 2020-21 Slideshow: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Y60M8a5SeXtWao75h0-LTRdT8FUXON882KJt5Es_7Sg/edit

If you have any additional questions, please contact the NSE Main Office at 302-653-8589 or nsesregistration@smyrna.k12.de.us.

• Make sure your child brings a water bottle and a healthy snack each day.
• Check your child's lunch account for funds. While all students receive free breakfast and lunch, money can be deposited into their lunch account for snacks such as ice cream and chips.
• Check your child's book bag regularly for completed work, notes from his/her teacher, and other information.
• If your child absent, be sure that he/she returns with an absent note or medical note to turn into the office. These absences are reviewed and our school must abide by Delaware and Smyrna School District attendance policies.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact the NSE Main Office at 302-653-8589.

As we return to school, we want to take a moment to review NSE's arrival and dismissal procedures. We have over 600 students and 100 staff members entering and exiting our campus every day. With this volume, your cooperation and support are crucial for a safe and efficient drop-off and pick-up. Please review this information below as we all work together to make this happen.

A few reminders for K-3 transportation:

• Beginning of the day car rider arrival: please do not form a double line until notified by staff. We need to ensure the parking lot is still accessible to arriving staff. Once directed, cars will begin to form a double line.
• End of the day car rider line: begin forming a double line upon arrival.
• The bus lane in front of the school is closed to all car traffic from 8:15-8:50am and 3:30-3:50pm every day. Cars may not enter this lane as the buses are pulling in and taking off with a large flow of students in and out of the building.
• Maintain a speed of 5mph while on school property.

All early dismissals and changes to a child's dismissal plan must be made by 3:00pm. Dismissal efforts begin at 3:00pm. At that time, our staff is working hard with all students so that they are grouped, escorted, and dismissed according to each child's dismissal plan.

Please see the attached document for additional information.

Thank you for your help and cooperation as we work to ensure a safe arrival and dismissal for every child.

At NSE, all students receive one free breakfast and lunch daily.

The NSE Cafeteria is also offers students the option to purchase a snack, drink, or a double entree at lunch. If your child is interested in purchasing one of these options, he/she will need additional money in their account. Money can be added to your student's lunch account by sending in cash, a check (made out to the Smyrna School District), or by creating a myschoolbucks.com account to deposit funds electronically. If you have any questions,, please contact our Main Office.

As our students begin the year working with district Chromebooks and district Google accounts, we want to share information on student IDs and passwords needed for logging in:

• For all students, their userid is firstname.lastname. If there are students with the same name in the District, we append a “1”, “2”, etc onto the lastname (john.smith, john.smith1, john.smith2). If this applies to your child, you will be notified.
• For all K-6 grade students, their password will be SSD###### with the “######” being the student’s School Lunch Number, and it will stay the same from year-to-year.

If you have any questions with logging in, please contact your child's teacher.

Parents continue to have access to their student's grades at any time by utilizing the Home Access Center website. If you need your user ID and password to login, please contact the NSE Main Office at 302-653-8589.

As a reminder, Early Childhood students do not receive grades, interim progress reports, or report cards. Updates on student progress are available midyear and at the end of the year as well as by contacting your child's teacher at any point.

NSE Website: Check out our website at: https://www.smyrna.k12.de.us/nes

NSE Twitter Page: Follow us on Twitter at @NSESSD

NSE Facebook Page: Follow us on Facebook at North Smyrna Elementary School PTO

NSE YouTube Page: Check out our YouTube page at:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoEsLnqVcfz-l0Fa8YhxqOw