3/14/2022- School Board Meeting 5:30pm (Haines Center)

3/15/2022- Learning and Teaching Committee Meeting 5:30-7pm (Haines Center)

3/16/2022- DPTO Meeting 9:30am

3/24/2022- Business Services Meeting 5:30-6:30pm (Haines Center)

3/28/2022-4/1/2022 Spring Break (No Students In Attendance)

4/4/2022- School Resumes

We are in need of gently used pants and/or shirts in the office. Students occasionally need a change of clothing during the school day, and we use these clothes for that purpose.

We can use boys and girls pants ( sweat pants, leggings etc.)

If you are able to donate some gently used clothing, please send them to the office.

My old philosophy on discipline was that I would do whatever it took to make a positive behavior change. It's how I handled matters at Wredling and my first several years here at The Creek. It's not like I was heavy-handed, but I was certainly relying on detentions, any "pearls of wisdom" I'd drop in our conversation in my office, and a phone call home soliciting support to fix everything. While I do still use conversations with students and families (and quite a bit less detention after I realized they weren't quite the deterrent I had thought they'd be), I never sat the students down together to repair the harm, restore the relationship, and make things right moving forward. I do it now (when everyone agrees to the norms for that conversation and to sit together for a positive, productive conversation), and it makes for a world of difference.

When students have the opportunity to sit down for a facilitated conversation with a trusted adult trained in the art and science of Restorative Practices, it gives them an opportunity not only to repair harm but also to generalize that skill to other situations in their lives. Repairing the harm is the most necessary step in finding closure and moving forward. Participants don't have to move forward as friends, but they cannot move forward as enemies. When students (and adults for that matter!) don't have this sense of closure, sometimes the incident can hang over their heads like a cloud.

Getting two parties together in which one was harmed and the other did the harming used to be something I said I would never do. It sounded risky to me. Now, I think the greater risk is to not have students sit down and talk it out. Again, it's not always the right move - particularly if one side doesn't feel remorseful or is too angry to have a conversation that would restore both parties. But, in over 90% of situations, it is precisely where things need to go. There is very little that cannot be resolved over a conversation.

Next week, we already head into the middle of March! As the month zips along, I hope you take some time this weekend making memories with your favorite people!

As part of the district’s equity audit, parent 1 hour focus groups will be held across the district via Zoom during the month of April to give families an opportunity to share their thoughts on our district’s strengths, areas of need, and long-term opportunities for providing the best educational experience for all students. Focus groups will be constructed and led by our partners in the equity audit process- the Consortium for Educational Change (CEC). There will be morning and evening focus groups available for parents. Every school’s goal is to have 15 families agree to participate in a focus group. During the week of March 21st, a member of our school staff will begin calling parents from a document with families’ names listed in random order to invite prospective participants to be part of a focus group. All parents are welcome to email your own written responses to the focus group questions to CEC should you not be selected to participate in a focus group but desire to share your opinions (A list of the focus group questions and a place for submitting your answers to them will be posted on the district website beginning April 4th). We thank you for your commitment to equity in education, and we are excited about this next step in gathering the voices of our district so that we can create a comprehensive plan to move forward. If you have any questions regarding the focus group process, please contact our Director of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion, Dr. Tracy Taylor, at tracy.taylor@d303.org

The Illinois Department of Public Health will no longer consider a positive at home test result as a valid positive result. The health department now advises individuals who test positive on an at home test to go validate the test result at a COVID testing site. Individuals who test negative with an at home test are to validate with a rapid test at a testing site.

Kindergarten thru 5th Grades-

8:00am-3:00pm

Students can be dropped off at 7:45am for the school day. It you arrive before that time please keep your child with you until 7:45 as there is no supervision outside until then.

Our school office is open from 7:30am until 4:00pm on school days.

Please email any arrival/dismissal changes as well as any information for the school nurse or office staff to nor-office@d303.org

Please call the school attendance line if your student will be absent/tardy/leaving early from Remote Learning at 331-228-2700. Please spell your students first and last name or their student ID number when you leave a message. If you are emailing the teacher please also email nor-office@d303.org indicate students first and last name.

Students must apply for the privilege of using prearranged absence days through the principal’s office.

This completed form must be turned in at least (2) school days prior to the requested absence.

The building principal or designee has the authority to grant up to (5) days of excused absence per year

for the following types of absences:

 Participation in regional and/or national contests or awards

 Family vacation—qualified by the phrase “accompanied by parent”

 Special religious events

If your child is arriving after 8:00am please walk them into the school and sign them in.

Our next early release day will be on March 23rd. Dismissal is at 2:10pm.

The following dates below are early release Wednesdays. Please plan accordingly for your children.

Students will be released at 2:10pm on the followings dates this year-

• March 23
• April 27

If there is a occasional change to your child dismissal please email nor-office@d303.org and your child's teacher or call the office directly at 331-228-2701. If it is after 2pm please call the office directly so that we can ensure your child gets the notification of changes.

LUNCH SCHEDULES:

5th Grade: 10:50-11:10

2nd Grade:11:15-11:35

Kindergarten: 11:40-12:00

1st Grade: 12:05-12:25

3rd Grade: 12:30-12:50

4th Grade: 12:55-1:15

If your student forgets their lunch please email the classroom teacher and drop off at the main office. Please label with the students full name.

VIRTUAL VARIETY SHOW (K-5) nortoncreekvarietyshow@gmail.com

Norton Creek PTO are excited to host our 2nd annual Virtual Variety Show open to all grades. To enter your child or your child’s group act, please click here. There only needs to be one entry per act, where you will enter all participants within that group. See flyer below, created by a few of our very own 5th grade Eagles!

We can’t wait to see your child on our virtual stage! Registration closes March 18th.

FREE T-SHIRT!!

The PTO is excited to announce that we will be gifting all Eagles and staff a Norton Creek t-shirt! This means, all parents MUST go into MTK and update their child’s t-shirt size so we can ensure everyone gets the right size shirt!!

BASKET RAFFLE mjrhinerson@gmail.com

The basket raffle planning is moving right along! It’s going to be a good one, we promise! If anyone would like to help fundraise and reach out to local businesses for basket donations, please email anyone from the board or our amazing parent volunteer, Marla Rhinerson!! This is our BIGGEST fundraising event of the year and we can’t do it without your help!

AMAZONSMILE (K-5) nortoncreekptovicepresident@gmail.com

Calling all shoppers! If you are shopping on Amazon, please consider using AmazonSmile. With every eligible purchase, AmazonSmile donates 0.5% to our school when you choose Norton Creek Elementary as your charity. This includes millions of everyday items at smile.amazon.com. You must use the specified link for Norton Creek to receive credit. Ask all of the Amazon shoppers in your family to use AmazonSmile!