Nantucket Elementary School
October 10, 2022 Monthly Newsletter
Nantucket Elementary School Latest News and Calendar Updates
Welcome to month two of school!!
Dear Families,
We hope you are feeling the same joy we have been experiencing at Nantucket Elementary School! Staff and students have been establishing classroom communities and practicing routines for all things in school. The children look so happy to be in school and they are trying to do their very best everyday!!
Last month, we had our open house, which was attended by 65% of our families. Please be sure you have verified your information in Aspen so that you can be receiving Remind messages from your child's teacher. This means they must have correct emails and phone numbers. If you need assistance with registering in Aspen, feel free to contact Jane (508-228-7290 ext. 2104) or Patricia (508-228-7290 ext. 2105) in our front office.
We also had our first whole school morning meeting. It was so wonderful to have everyone back in our gym together to do this monthly gathering. Kim Albertson, our Assistant Principal runs this each month. Our students and staff all participate in greetings, shares, activities, and presentations. We typically have these at the end of the month. Do ask your child about these wonderful NES community meetings!!
It is very important for your child to let their teacher know if they are interested in having a school lunch each day. These are free again this year, but these must be ordered by the day. In addition, please be sure your child knows their dismissal plan for everyday. These plans should not be changed without your contacting the teacher or the front office to let us know of any change. We have some students who like to change their plan because they want you to pick them up or they do not want to go to the club. We will follow the daily dismissal routines if we do not hear from you.
We know the buses have been challenging this year. We are so grateful for your patience and flexibility. Hopefully, very soon - the end of this month - we will be adding another driver to the fleet.
Our 2022-2023 NES Parent Handbook will be added to the NES website very soon. Please review this. We will be working with you this year to support student attendance in school. There is a section about this in the handbook. As we continue to rebound from the Covid Pandemic, children being in school each day is a necessity.
We have been busy trying to hire teaching assistants already. We love our new staff!! We are still looking to hire a few more Teaching Assistants for this school year. The hours have been modified to start at 7:35 each day and end at 2:35. Please see the flyer attached. We welcome any and all questions, and we would love to have you join our staff. Please share this far and wide so we can get the necessary supports for our students. It is very rewarding!!
Thank you for all of your efforts to support your child's learning. It is important for you to ask them about their school day, please do make sure the homework gets done nightly and gets returned to school, and please read books they bring home each day and make sure the book bags come back to school daily. We want you to be partners 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
Meri Lepore's Nurse's Corner
The fall is a great time to prepare your family for a healthy winter and Nantucket has so many parks and trails to explore!
Flu shots are available and a great way to help keep your family healthy this winter, please consider signing your family up for a flu shot this year.
Spending time outdoors as much as possible is especially helpful in preventing illness, improved motor development, lower obesity rates and decreasing risk of nearsightedness. Students are spending more and more time looking at screens which significantly increases their risk of developing vision problems at younger ages.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends kids ages 3-5 need at least 3 hours of physical activity per day or about 15 minutes every hour they are awake. Kids 6 years old and older need 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per day. At school all students have a 30 minute recess so spending time outside after school is very important!
Nantucket has a lot of wonderful places to take kids including the playgrounds as well as tons of conservation land to explore. Also the Maria Mitchell Association has some really great programs for elementary aged children!
Outdoor play has shown to make children physically healthier, more engaged in learning, more positive behavior and mentally healthier!
We are fortunate to have not seen as much Lyme Disease this year although children are more likely to show later Lyme Disease. The Lyme Disease vaccine trial is still ongoing if you are interested in signing up.
When spending time outdoors make sure to do a tick check afterwards!
Below is the link to sign up for the Lyme Vaccine trial if interested.
Below is a link about the benefits of playing outside
Here is a link to The Maria Mitchell Association. They have great activities for kids! (Some dates are still available)
Here is a link to the Conservation Foundation list of trails on Island.
Counselor's Corner from Jenny Williams and Lisa Hood
Mrs. Hood and Mrs. Williams, our School Counselors, have been busy teaching Social Emotional Learning (SEL) every week in all K-2 classrooms using the Second Step curriculum. "Skills for Learning", the first unit, will assist your child in gaining skills to help themselves learn, including how to focus their attention, listen carefully, use self-talk to stay on task, and be assertive when they may need help with their schoolwork. Throughout the year, your child will be bringing home Home Links, simple and fun activities for you and your child to complete together. They are a great way for your child to show you what he or she is learning! When you see a Home Link, we encourage you to complete it with your child and have them return it to their classroom teacher.
Message from the Art Room, Sue Grant - Art Teacher
Hello parents! We have had a wonderful beginning to our school year! I am still using Artsonia to make a digital Portfolio for all students. Artsonia gives me the ability to share growth with parents and students. You do not need to purchase anything. Many families use Artsonia as a way to share student artwork with family that lives off island. Here is a little information about Artsonia from the website: Artsonia is the world's largest collection of student art, published by teachers and students from around the world. Parents and family can view the art online, leave comments and order keepsakes featuring the artwork. Artsonia is COPPA compliant and fully supports schools' FERPA compliance. We are regularly reviewed and approved for compliance with iKeepSafe's COPPA and FERPA Safe Harbor programs. In addition, Artsonia has been reviewed and selected as a top pick for learning by Common Sense Education. Artsonia received the HIGHEST privacy evaluation rating (96%) from Common Sense Media for apps in the Ed Tech category. We were also a 2020 top pick for websites for curation and student portfolios. You can use this link to access the school page to sign up for Artsonia: https://www.artsonia.com/connect/2F9NDCKF You can also sign up using this QR code: Please feel free to email me with any questions at grants@npsk.org. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to make art with your children! Sue Grant Art Teacher/NES
Upcoming Events
SAVE THE DATES!!
- NES School Pictures 10/11/22
- FONPS Meeting NIS 6:00 pm 10/12/22
- NES ELL Family Night NES 5:30 - 6:30 pm 10/13/22
- NPS School Committee LGI 6:00 pm 10/18/22
- Half Day Dismissal 11:55 am 10/19/22
- NPS SNAC meeting NHS 6-8 pm 10/19/22
- Homecoming Weekend NPS Campus 10/21 - 10/23
- Book Fair previously scheduled for the week of 10/24 has been moved to December
- NES Math Night NES 5:30 pm 10/27/22
- NPS School Committee LGI 6:00 pm 11/1/22
- NES School Council Meeting NES Library 3:00 pm 11/3/22
- No school for students - Election Day 11/8/22
- FONPS Meeting NIS 6:00 pm 11/9/22
- No school - Veterans' Day 11/11/22
- NPS School Committee LGI 6:00 pm 11/15/22
- NPS SNAC meeting NHS 6-8 pm 11/16/22
Previously shared information -
We have all had challenging times with the COVID Pandemic. Our hope is we can put this in our rearview mirror. We are not wearing masks at this time in our schools, although anyone should feel free to do so. In addition, please be mindful of the following:
- Students are free to arrive at school by 7:35 am. We will have staff coverage to supervise students outside until doors open at 7:45. Unfortunately, we do not have any staff available to supervise students prior to 7:35 am.
- Students will be lining up outside for arrival. In the front of our building, we have the PreK and second grade students line up on their classroom spots. The kindergarten and first grade students line up in the back by our cafe, facing Backus Lane, and closer to the ice rink on their spots. These spots are lines for each class with the teacher's last name.
- Dismissal will look very similar. Any students who will be a parent pick up, will be going in parent vehicles, will be walking home, or meeting adults outside, will find their students on the classroom spots at 2:20 pm.
- Adults may be invited into our school for very specific events throughout the year. But, these events will be scheduled and preplanned.
- There will be no charge for lunches again this year. However, all families should complete the free and reduced lunch forms that were sent home with teacher assignment letters.
Nantucket Elementary School
Website: www.npsk.org
Location: 30 Surfside Road, Nantucket, MA 02554, USA
Phone: 508 228 - 7290