Normandy Park School
Principal's Corner
February 11th to February 15th
February 11th is an A Day
This week the Reading Challenge continues (for additional information, see below)
Intermediate Olders (3rd grade) and students new to the Morris School District will be taking the Naglieri Non-Verbal Ability Test
February 14th is Valentine's Day
February 15th- Report Cards and iReady Reports will be sent home
S.T.E.A.M. Night
The Normandy Park School is excited to announce our second annual S.T.E.A.M. Fair which will be held March 7th from 6:30 to 8:00 PM! The acronym S.T.E.A.M. stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics. Students are learning, exploring and expressing interest in many areas, and this is an additional opportunity to showcase their work.
During the fair parents and students will have the opportunity to explore the different aspects of S.T.E.A.M. throughout the building. It will be an amazing opportunity for students to display their talents and interests through multiple facets.
If your child is interested in completing an at home project please email Mr. Russell at robert.russell@msdk12.net. In your email please indicate the project title as well as the amount of space needed to showcase the project. Projects should be brought in the morning of the fair. (Storage is not available prior to the morning of the fair.)
We hope you can join us in celebrating this new adventure.
HSA Sponsored: Mexico Beyond Mariachi
On Monday, Mexico Beyond Mariachi performed for our students.
Mexico Beyond Mariachi is a research based project that integrates a variety of Mexican artwork and expression beyond the popular perception of the mariachi. The company consists of professional musicians, who tour and teach about the rich Mexican culture through the art of the mariachi band. This event was sponsored by the HSA Cultural Arts. At Normandy Park School, we are fortunate to have such a high level of support from our HSA in providing quality cultural arts experiences for all our students!
To learn more about Mexico Beyond Mariachi, please visit their website: http://mexicobeyondmariachi.com/about/
Valentine's Day!
Valentine's Day is Thursday. We enjoy celebrating at Normandy Park School with our creative student made card boxes.
Students can bring in Valentine's cards, but no candy treats. This is also for class celebrations. Healthy snacks only!
Please make sure that if your child is bringing in cards, they are bringing cards in for the whole class.
Project Kind- Update!
The Primary Unit 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.
I would like to thank our Primary students, NPS teachers, and parents, as well as the MEF, for their support with this project. With support of the MEF and fundraising, the Primary Unit was able to collect and donate over 600 dollars worth of items to help homeless individuals in need. In addition, the Primary students wrote kindness letters to go along with their donations! During the assembly, they performed a kindness poem to show what they had learned about being kind.
I'd like to thank Jenny Depaul, Project Kind founder, and Sam. Sam came to share his story on how Project Kind has helped him, and how acts of kindness continue to transform our world in a positive way!
Report Cards and iReady Reports
Report cards and iReady Reports will be sent home on Friday (2/15/19). Please make sure to check your child's backpack.
In the Morris School District, we utilize Standards Based Report Cards. For additional information on our report cards, please see the K-5 Report Parent Guide.
For additional information on iReady reports, please visit their Family Center.
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.
Intermediate Cultural Arts Residency
Thank you to MPAC for providing such a rich and meaningful reader's theater experience. Mrs. Beth Painter provided our students and teachers with such an amazing experience. It was great to celebrate Friday by having parents in to see all the hard work and effort put forth over the last month! Thank you to all who came to join us Friday. I love to report that our classrooms were filled with audiences eager to cheer on our performers! They did an amazing job reading their lines with enthusiasm and expression.
I would like to give a special thanks the HSA Cultural Arts Committee, who continues to support NPS and provide our students with impactful cultural arts experiences.
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! Look at all the fishes (students) participating!
BINGO Night
Thank you to all who attended BINGO Night. It was a blast! As always, it was great to get the NPS community together for a night of family fun. We brought out the old school projector, passed out BINGO cards, and had an hour and a half of BINGO fun!
I would like to thank the HSA for organizing the event!
Looking Ahead
February 18th: School Closed (Mid-Winter Break)
February 19th: School Closed for Staff Professional Development
March 19th to March 23rd: Scholastic Book Fair
April 10th and 11th: Parent Teacher Conferences