Nantucket Elementary School
December 2, 2022 Monthly Newsletter
Nantucket Elementary School Latest News and Calendar Updates
Dear Families,
And just like that we are in December! I do hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. It was a great time for me to slow down and enjoy my extended family in upstate New York. We are all NY Giant football fans, and we were thrilled to have the giants play on Thanksgiving Thursday. We even timed our turkey around it. Unfortunately, they lost miserably and then the Pats lost as well.
Recently at NES, we had our Guest Reader Day. We have this every year on the Tuesday just before we break for Thanksgiving. This is one of my favorite NES traditions. The students love to have stories read to them, they appreciate seeing a new person, and our readers love to be with our classes. We had Firemen, Police and Sheriff, School Committee members, Coast Guard, local authors, former NPS employees, among other community members join to share their favorite book.
Our lockdown practice went extremely well. The students were well prepared by their teachers, and we were so grateful for your support of this necessary safety drill. In my conversations with students, they did not seem anxious or nervous about this drill at all. They had matter of fact questions and they shared knowing what to do made them feel safe. One thing we do as adults at NES is prioritize safety often. This helps children know we care about them, we are here for them, and we want the best for them.
This week we had the opportunity to go downtown to decorate the trees outside of the businesses as the island prepares for the Stroll and the holidays. This is another one of my favorite NES traditions. The students are excited, they have made beautiful craft ornaments, they love to take the bus downtown, they decorate their assigned tree, family members often meet up with us, and they check out the other trees.
This month, we will be sharing report cards. These represent your child's achievement socially and academically for this first trimester of school. They will come home in envelopes in your child's backpack on Friday, December 16. They will also be posted in the parent portal of Aspen on 12/16. Please take the time to review this and discuss it with your child. Celebrate the successes and talk about a new plan for the areas of challenge. We will have parent conferences on 12/14. You will receive a message to set up your conference or you will receive a message with a conference time. We absolutely need your participation in these in person conferences to support your child's school success. Thank you in advance!!
It is my sincere hope you all have a wonderful holiday, enjoy some extended time with family and friends, and everyone comes back to NES rejuvenated for our next semester!
Thank you for all of your efforts to support your child's learning. We need your partnership 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
Here are a few very important reminders that have been previously shared. As we always say, we need you the parents and adult family members to be partners with us in your child's education. An important role that you play is to be a model for our high expectations. Please review these sections and let us know if you have any questions.
Attendance - we are starting to see some students with higher absence numbers. It is very important that you notify your child's teacher or call the front office. You can send a message to your child's teacher through REMIND or call the front office to leave a message regarding your child's absence at (508) 228 - 7290 ext, 3. If your child needs to miss 5 or more consecutive days, you must make an appointment with the principal well in advance of upcoming absence. The NES Parent Handbook has been posted on the NES website (www.npsk.org, click on schools, click on Nantucket Elementary School). Please review the important section on attendance. Retention in the current grade level is a possibility if a child has excessive absences. As we continue to rebound from the Covid Pandemic, children being in school each day is a necessity.
Driving and Parking on the NES/NIS campus
We have had several concerns shared regarding safety of students as they enter and exit the school recently. These concerns have been regarding parent drivers not following safety rules. These are listed below for your reference. We appreciate all of your anticipated efforts and required patience.
- NES will open in the morning at 7:45am. Students who are walking, biking or getting dropped off should be outside the building no earlier than 7:35am and walk to their assigned class meeting place outside.
- If parents wish to escort their child to their assigned class space, they must park their car in the Backus Lane parking lot ONLY.
- The parking lot off of First Way, behind the school is for staff only.
- All of the parking spots are assigned to staff or students at NHS.
- Parents and Guardians should not use that lot for any reason.
- This is a terrible place for students to be dropped off, this is not a drive through, and there is nowhere for any non permitted driver to park.
- Again, please stop driving in this lot. We are asking you to be a model for all children in the morning and the afternoon.
- Drive through drop off in the morning is permitted at the K and NES/NIS side entrances. This means parents stay in their car, and a staff member will open the passenger side door to help your child exit safely. Then, the car continues driving out the exit. This is for all students.
- Drive through pick up in the afternoon is permitted for all students grades 2-5 in the large circle between NES and NIS. This means parents stay in their car, and a staff member will oversee students entering cars. Then, the car continues driving out the exit.
- K and 1 students are met by parents at the back K entrance. Students will be standing in their assigned class lines.
- The circles and driveways on campus ARE NOT PARKING SPACES. An adult driver must stay in the car while waiting for students to exit or enter the car.
- At dismissal, all parents will continue to wait outside in the already designated spots with staff supervision (kindergarten circle for kindergarten and first grade students, outside of the front door for second grade students).
- In the event of inclement weather (severe snow or rain), kindergarten and first grade students will be dismissed out the kindergarten and cafeteria doors to parents outside and second grade students will be dismissed out the gymnasium doors to parents outside.
- Drivers may not pull into the bus loop to pick-up their children EVER.
Meri Lepore's Nurse's Corner
Nurse’s Corner December 2022
We have had cases of RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus), Influenza and COVID in school this year. Please monitor your child if they start showing any signs of illness including fever, cough, sore throat, or nasal congestion . RSV, COVID and Influenza are predicted to be particularly bad this year. We are hoping to keep our students as healthy as possible. You can help with this by keeping your child home when they are not feeling well.
RSV is transmitted through droplets that contain the virus when an infected person breathes, talks, coughs or sneezes. Symptoms usually present 4-6 days after exposure. The virus can survive on the hands or other surfaces for several hours. Good hand hygiene and cleaning surfaces that have been touched or coughed on can help prevent the spread of RSV. Symptoms include runny nose, decrease in appetite, coughing, sneezing, fever and wheezing. Young children and Infants are at highest risk of hospitalization due to complications from RSV.
COVID is still present in our community and there is a higher risk of spread with the upcoming holidays. Symptoms are similar to RSV. The state has provided 4 tests for every student and staff to use prior to returning to school from both Thanksgiving and Christmas break. We encourage all students and staff to test before returning to school. The Covid vaccine can help prevent hospitalizations and severe symptoms of COVID.
Influenza has already started this year, we encourage all students and staff to be vaccinated. Symptoms are similar to RSV and Covid and it is also extremely contagious. Young children and older adults are at highest risk for complications from Influenza. Please consider getting your family vaccinated against influenza.
Counselor's Corner from Jenny Williams and Madeleine Sybert, Social Worker
In December, the counseling team continues to focus on empathy and feelings with students in Kindergarten, 1st grade, and 2nd grade. Through weekly Social Emotional Learning classes, students are learning that feelings can change, people can have different feelings about the same situation, and that it is okay to have different feelings than others. We encourage you to continue to have open discussions with your child regarding different feelings at home. Point out how you are feeling and what made you feel that way. If you are watching a movie, or reading a book, try discussing the different feelings of the characters. Having discussions with your child about feelings can help your child better understand and accept different perspectives.
It is also important to continue to build empathy with your child. Over the holiday break, consider incorporating some of these fun acts of kindness with your child. These can be as simple as giving compliments, or holding the door for someone. Challenge your child to see how many acts of kindness on the Acts of Kindness Bingo Card they complete over the winter break. Also remind them to pay attention to how their act of kindness made the receiver feel. Building kindness into their daily routine helps children develop empathy, self-esteem, and compassion.
The acts of kindness include:
Read to someone
Take turns
Mail someone a letter
Help clean after a meal
Make food for someone
Tell someone they had a good idea today
Take out the trash
Apologize to someone
Make a card for someone
Give a compliment
Say something nice to your parent
Set the table
Pick up litter
Help your teacher
Share your toys
Take care of a pet or plant
Give a hug or a high-5
Say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’
Draw someone a picture
Help someone with a chore
Call a friend or family member
Hold the door for someone
Make a gift for your teacher
Eat lunch with a new friend
See picture for bingo card below!!
Upcoming Events
SAVE THE DATES!!
- NPS School Committee LGI 6:00 pm 12/6/22
- NPS Half Day Dismissal 12:00 pm 12/7/22 District PD
- NES Trimester ends 12/9/22
- NHS December Delight 12/10/22
- NES Bookfair 12/12 - 12/16/22
- NES Half Day Dismissal 12:00 pm 12/14/22 - Parent Conferences
- FONPS Meeting NHS 6:00 pm 12/14/22
- NPS Joint School Council 3:00 pm 12/15/22 CPS Cafe
- NES Report Cards Posted 12/16/22
- NPS School Committee LGI 6:00 pm 12/20/22
- NPS SNAC meeting NHS 6-8 pm 12/21/22
- NPS Holiday Break 12/23 - 1/2/23 No School
- NPS Return to School 1/3/23
Nantucket Elementary School
Website: www.npsk.org
Location: 30 Surfside Road, Nantucket, MA 02554, USA
Phone: 508 228 - 7290