Knight Writer
September 2019 Edition
Principal's Message
Greetings North Shore Families,
Our school year is off to a terrific start! I look forward to seeing everyone at our Back to School Night on September 26th. You will have a chance to learn more about your child’s classroom and begin to set up a time to conference about your Knight. You will also have an opportunity to learn more about the PTA and check out our Fall Book Fair.
Peace Week is this month and so is Start with Hello. North Shore Elementary is a family-oriented community that provides a safe and positive environment to spark a lifelong love of learning and it is important to us to foster a culture of inclusion that values everyone at your school. Look out for more information this month about maintaining Peace and Starting with Hello.
We are eager to partner with you for our Knights’ success, so please be sure to sign up and volunteer. We are looking for volunteers to answer phones in the office, make copies, help in the cafeteria and Media Center, etc. Please see Mrs. Gervais and let her know where you would like to volunteer.
Don’t forget to join our PTA. We are looking for every Knight to have a voice that advocates for then. Please join us as a family today.
We look forward to a peaceful September filled with Hellos.
Until next time, Carpe Diem! Carpe Success.
Commitment to Character
Below are the dilemmas for this month in English and Spanish.
What's Happening in the Castle
September 2019 Dates
2 – Labor Day/No School
3 – Girl Scout Meeting
3 – PTA Board Meeting
4 – SAC Meeting 3:15 PM
4 – Girl Scout Night 6 PM
6 - Reading Logs Due
6 – 5th Grade Challenge Island
10 – Band Meeting 6 PM
12 – Mid-Term Reports Go Home
16 – Peace Week
18 – Volunteer Meeting 6 PM in Cafeteria
19 – Skating Party 3:15 PM
23 – Book Fair
23 – Majestic Monday
23 - Start with Hello
26 – Back to School Night (Open House) 6:30 PM
Castle Apprenticeship Program (CAP)
Dear North Shore Elementary Families;
Our schoolwide enrichment program, CAP, will be starting in October. We are eager to get started and watch our students expand their learning utilizing creative learning clusters.
We need volunteers who would be willing to volunteer for the eight-week program. They would need to commit to 1 ½ hour per week. They would be able to log this as volunteer hours which is both a benefit for the school and our community.
If you or someone you know in the community would like to sponsor a cluster, please reach out to me. I would love to talk with anyone interested. Please email me at leskanict@pcsb.org, in subject line write CAP.
The following are just a few of the clusters we have done in the past:
Helping Shelter Dogs
Photography
Coding
Quilting
French
Florida Gardening
Kindness Club
If you have a passion or know someone who wants to give back to the community, please get them in touch with me.
Sincerely,
Tracy Leskanic
Gifted Program TeacherFrom Your PTA
Thank You North Shore Families for Helping Your PTA Start this School Year off Right.
Do you remember the excitement surrounding the start of the school year? New clothes shopping, picking out the different spiral notebook colors, and sharpening all of the pencils to a perfect point are making room for new traditions to prepare students for the new scholastic year. Your North Shore PTA has been hard at work to ensure all its students start the year off right. I want to tell you all we have accomplished so far, and our plans for this year. I also hope that every North Shore parent and supporter can find an opportunity to participate in PTA in a way that works best for them to have a voice for all our students.
North Shore families got many opportunities to connect or reconnect with their school community starting about two weeks before school started. The administration and kindergarten faculty put on a Squire Session for all incoming Kindergarteners. PTA was there to welcome new families with a small breakfast, the uniform swap shop, and an opportunity to buy spirit gear. PTA Board members also answered questions about joining PTA and participating as a parent. They also helped as veteran parents to calm the natural fears of these new families.
The following weekend, North Shore PTA attended a back-to-school event at the Dwight K Jones Community Center, where they provided uniforms, 7th hour information, and an opportunity to join PTA. This is part of NSE PTA’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee to ensure that our bus riders are aware of the 7th hour transportation and after-school care options available. Additional initiatives of this committee this year include ensuring events, 7th hour programs, and field trips are appropriate for our students on the autism spectrum.
North Shore PTA’s family socials have been a wonderful way to build community between parents, teachers, and students, so for the second year, they hosted Popsicles and Popcorn under the Pavilion at the Meet-the-teacher event the day before school started. Parents had one last opportunity to buy gently used uniforms from the swap shop, purchase spirit gear, and join PTA while kids met new classmates and reconnected with old friends.
All of these events helped bring our community closer while welcoming its newest members, including new teachers. PTA provided breakfast and a swag bag for all of North Shore’s teachers on their first day back. PTA has a mission, vision, and values statement expressing its love and support for the school, its students, and the teachers while supporting strong educational outcomes.
While this may seem like a lot only one week into the school year, there is so much left to come. This year’s PTA initiatives include supporting the 7th hour afterschool program, the garden program, teacher classroom support, teacher supplemental training, literacy initiatives, family socials, and field trips. Additionally, they are looking to build long-lasting relationships within the community to ensure these great programs will be sustained for years to come.
North Shore PTA won statewide awards for its sustainability programs, including the garden, recycling, and composting, and for its 7th hour afterschool programming. The 7th hour program is made possible primarily through community support of the annual Coffee Pot Turkey Trot 5k race. Special thanks to the many community partners for making this race part of your family tradition. To see all race sponsors and sign up before the September 1st price increase, go to https://runsignup.com/coffeepotturkeytrot?fbclid=IwAR00qB9DAmggsz1eR6GKcfq8odIfYYn7elmlhU5V_7tl8Z2ieHUowEJKYX4.
Our goal this year is for every child at North Shore to have a parent advocate as a member of PTA. Our membership forms and contact for all PTA members are on the school website. Stop by to chat with us at back-to-school night on September 26th, and also join us monthly at Pizza & PTA general meetings starting Tuesday, October 4th. To learn more about PTA, and the opportunities to support its initiatives, contact PTA President Heather Leon at NorthShoreKnightsPTA@gmail.com.
North Shore Elementary
Email: dawsonw@pcsb.org
Website: https://www.pcsb.org/northshore-es
Location: 200 35th Avenue Northeast, St. Petersburg, FL, USA
Phone: 727-893-2181
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NSESKnights/
Twitter: @NorthShoreElem