Norton Creek Elementary

SCHOOL DAILY SCHEDULES

Kindergarten

AM Session-

8:00am -10:15am

PM-Session -

11:25am-1:40pm

1st thru 5th Grades-

8:00am-1:40pm

Our School Office is open from 7:00am until 3:30pm on school days.

Please call the school attendance line if your student will be absent at 331-228-2700. Please spell your students first and last name when you leave a message. If you are emailing the teacher as well please indicate students first and last name.

FROM THE PRINCIPAL...TONY WHITE

When you are a leader, it is important to walk in your people's shoes. I taught for ten years before going into school leadership. I've been a parent for nearly five years. My wife would tell you I've been a kid for nearly 40 years. And, this week, I had to get a COVID-19 test or alternate diagnosis...like so many of you have this year!

My wife and I woke up Monday morning with a sore throat, congestion, and a little wheeze. I picked up my iPhone X (I'm not giving in and getting a new phone anytime soon, Apple.) and filled out my self-certification. Red flag..."Call your supervisor." I would need a COVID test or an alternate diagnosis....and then wait. I would not be able to return to school until yesterday at noon after our results were in.

It was frustrating for sure, but I also appreciated the fail safes in place to ensure all members of our community are safe. I know some of the things we do related to COVID-19 are inconvenient (And if you have had to do them, you have my full empathy!); however, they are also necessary and I am glad that we have them. If I had the option to come to school and get one person sick, that would have been awful. I'm living proof that the system works: a workaholic can get red flagged with symptoms, stay home until he's negative, and come back when it's safe to do so. Of course, it's easier for me to come back to school than it is for one of our Eagles. We'll always help them ease back into the flow, and also always appreciate your flexibility, understanding, and cooperation with these new guidelines from IDPH. Together, we are keeping our school and community safe, and that is the most important work I do as principal at Norton Creek.

Summer gets one last hurrah this weekend, and then it's anybody's guess. Enjoy the weather and the rest of this week's E-News!

SELF CERTIFICATION FORM

Please certify each child online every morning prior to 7:30am by filling out out the online form. Please know that you do not need to print out the "PASS" it generates. Once certified online sign the luggage tag on the students backpack for that day. Students without online certification are checked and parents called before they can enter the building. Thank you very much for your cooperation and understanding.

K-12 Parent Teacher Conferences

Parent teacher conferences are coming soon. Schedule your students virtual conferences with their teachers starting September 21st. The conferences will be held on October 8th and 9th. Pick A Time will open on Sept 21st and close on October 7th. Please see the below instructions on how to schedule your students conference.

Remote parents will receive their communication for conferences and directions for Pick-A-Time in a separate email. The directions will be different.

Norton Creek Holiday Needs Survey

It is important to us at Norton Creek that we provide a community of care and support to our families, especially when faced with financial hardship. The following survey is to help us identify families, within our community, that are in need during this upcoming holiday season. We are asking that all families complete the following survey by September 29th.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdy_MYz_uMGSmqIJgzk0sO1J408OHR-FFS6D-aSE6UJ60mLdw/viewform?usp=sf_link

IMPORTANT DISMISSAL REMINDER:

On the rare occasion that there will be a change to your student(s)' after school dismissal (i.e. bus), please send an email by 10:00 a.m. on the day of said change to:

nortoncreekdismissal@d303.org

Your student(s)' teacher and your student(s)' bus supervisor

Thank you for your assistance.

Illinois Department of Health Definition of Close Contact

Who is a close contact?

A close contact is anyone (with or without a face covering) who was within 6 feet of a confirmed case of COVID-19 (with or without a face covering), for at least 15 minutes throughout the course of a day. The period of close contact begins 2 calendar days before the onset of symptoms (for a symptomatic person)
or 2 calendar days before the positive sample was obtained (for an asymptomatic person). If the case was symptomatic (e.g., coughing, sneezing), persons with briefer periods of exposure may also be considered contacts. Close contacts to a confirmed case of COVID-19 are required to remain in quarantine at home for 14 calendar days starting from the last day of contact with the confirmed case.

KINDERGARTEN STUDENTS CAN ORDER TAKE HOME MEALS

District 303 is now offering the opportunity for kindergarten students to order a meal that can be taken home after school. Students will choose items from a menu that will be ordered by their classroom teacher. The meals will be brought to the classroom 15 minutes prior to dismissal. Meals that students select are free of charge as part of the Federal Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) that has been extended through December 31, 2020.

Los estudiantes de kindergarten ahora tienen acceso a comidas preparadas para llevar

El Distrito 303 ahora les ofrece a los estudiantes de kindergarten la oportunidad de ordenar una comida que puede llevarse a casa después de la escuela. Los estudiantes pueden elegir de un menú y su maestro(a) tomará la orden. Las comidas se llevarán a los salones 15 minutos antes de la hora de salida de clases. Las comidas que los estudiantes seleccionan son gratuitas como parte del Programa Federal de Servicios Alimenticios del Verano (SFSP por sus siglas en inglés) que se ha extendido hasta el 31 de diciembre del 2020.

PTO'S E-NEWS THIS WEEK!

YEARBOOK ORDERS PLACED BY SEPTEMBER 30th RECEIVE 10% OFF (K-5) ncyearbook.shelly@gmail.com

2020/2021 Yearbooks are available to order! Don't miss out on this special discount offered by TreeRing. Due to limited building access, the yearbook needs your pictures!! We would love to see some kids without masks on at home working on homework, elearning, playing outside, or with backpacks on! See the flyer below.

WELLNESS CLUB IS BACK! (K-5) Laura.halpenny@yahoo.com

The Norton Creek PTO’s virtual Wellness Club is launching next month on Monday, October 12th. Our initiative is about integrating healthy food choices, fitness and happiness. The goal is to educate Norton Creek students, so they make better choices which will also improve academic performance. We will be offering a few culinary classes on Zoom and a new “Running Eagles” virtual program. We will provide the members with (1) fitness tracker so they can track their steps and report totals weekly. We utilize a running application called Active 4 Me Running Club that will be able to allow the kids to enter other activity challenges that will convert to laps/miles too. This application also sends personalized reports so they can keep track of their miles earned. This will make it a lot more fun during the winter when we can assign indoor activity challenges and offer a couple Zoom Yoga classes as well. We will still offer small prizes along the way to keep them motivated as well as the end of the year participation medals/trophies based on total miles for the season. There will be a one-time fee of $50.00. Please look for detailed registration information next week on our Norton Creek PTO Facebook page and PTO website.

EAGLES EAT OUT! elisa.ignash@gmail.com

Don’t forget our very first Eagles Eat Out event is next Thursday, October 1 at Colonial Cafe! See flyer below for more details.

AMAZONSMILE (K-5) nortoncreekptovicepresident@gmail.com

Turn your Amazon purchases into a force for good. With every eligible purchase, AmazonSmile donates 0.5% to our school when you choose Norton Creek Elementary. This includes millions of everyday items at smile.amazon.com. You must use the specified link for NC to receive credit. Ask all of the Amazon shoppers in your family to use AmazonSmile!

NEXT PTO MEETING

Our next PTO meeting will be held via Zoom on Wednesday, October 7th. More details will follow next week!