January 24, 2024
REMINDER: School begins at 8:40 am. We encourage students to be settled in their classrooms by 8:35. Please plan to arrive a bit earlier if coming by car or walking. Also, please do not park in the handicapped spots. Please note that both front parking lots will be blocked daily during arrival. This is to ensure the safety of all students and staff. We kindly ask that families use our car rider line for dropoff. Please note the doors near the car rider line close promptly at 8:40 am. Families arriving after that time will need to enter the building through the main entrance. For families needing to park to enter the school, please do so on the surrounding streets. Thank you! 😊
🗒️Message from Academic Instructional Coach, Nicole Feld
NCES Families,
It's here! This Friday, Jan 26 at 10:00 is the Dress Like a Word Day Parade. Students are invited to choose a word, "dress" like the word and parade the school in our special word parade. We love to celebrate English words and words from other languages our students know, so your student's word can be a word in your home language. Make it simple, no need to buy anything. ;) Teachers will brainstorm ideas with their class as well. This has been a huge hit in years past, so we’d love to see students enjoy participating again this year! Families are invited to the parade. Aim to arrive at 9:45.
Watch this video for an introduction from Mrs. Feld explaining Dress Like a Word Day!
Dressing like any word is fine, but a pdf is attached with OPTIONAL ideas in case families need more inspiration.
Report cards are coming home today. You will see the report card as well as a MAP Growth Student Progress Report. In addition, you can access Parent Portal for specific details on individual grades and standards-based grades. Please see these documents if you have a question.
📘 2023-2024 Yearbook
Sorry for any confusion. This year all yearbooks will be covered for students and staff.
Any families who have paid already will be refunded.
Basketball 🏀
Join us to cheer on our basketball team for Round 1 of the tournament on Sunday, January 28 at 5:00 PM at MidAmerica Sports Center. Our cheerleaders will be there to lead our fans!
⚽ NCES Coed Soccer Opportunity
NCES students in grades 3-5 have the opportunity to participate on a co-ed indoor soccer team at Mockingbird Valley. For our students to participate, our team will need a volunteer coach. Once we have a volunteer coach, we can move forward in creating the team and registering for the league. Details on the soccer league are below:
Dates: March 16 - May 18
A fee will be required to participate.
Tryouts may be necessary to ensure an appropriate number of team members.
If we have enough students interested in participating, we may be able to have additional teams. Of course, a coach will be needed for each team.
Volunteers interested in coaching the soccer team should contact Mr. Terry at andrew.terry@jefferson.kyschools.us.
Spring Before and After School Club Offerings 🧩
Spring clubs will be held from Feb 12- March 18. The sign-up form will be distributed Wednesday, January 31st and will be open until clubs are filled. Priority will be given to students who did not participate in clubs in the fall. Below are the current club offerings:
K-5th Best Buddies Wednesdays 8:00 AM (maximum 6)
K-1st Stem Challenges Thursdays 3:30 PM (maximum 15)
2nd-5th Post Office Thursdays 8:00 AM (maximum 15)
4th-5th Advanced Paint by Numbers Thursdays 3:30 PM (maximum 15)
1st-2nd LEGO Robotics Wednesdays 8:00 AM (maximum 20)
📌Parent Teacher Conference Date Change
Please be on the lookout for Parent Teacher Conference sign ups sent from your child's teacher.
Parent Teacher Conferences will occur on February 21 from 3:30-6:30 and February 28 3:30-6:30 PM.
🎉 Celebration 🎉
Our 4th and 5th grade Quick Recall team is hard at work competing in matches. They compete after school today at Chenoweth. Join us next Wednesday here at Norton Commons to cheer on our team! The match will begin when the other team is able to arrive and get settled, sometime around 3:45.
🍎 Parent Teacher Association
Teacher Wish List Program: Thanks to our PTA members and supporters, we were able to provide 33 teachers with over $3000 of classroom materials for the second half of the school year!
Someone Special Dance: Please join us for our first NCES School Dance! To purchase tickets and for more information, please view the QR code in the flier below or purchase HERE. Due to capacity restrictions, tickets will be available for purchase as space allows. Tickets are $5/adult and NCES students are FREE. This is NOT a drop-off event. Please note that adults may accompany up to (2) NCES students if within the SAME event space (i.e. K-2 in the cafeteria and 3-5th in the Gymnasium). Example #1: If you have a 5th grader and a Kindergartener, please plan to have (1) adult /child. Example #2: If you have a 2nd Grader and 1st Grader, (1) adult ticket will suffice. In need of financial assistance? Please email Christina Case at Christina.case@jefferson.kyschools.us. If you have any questions, please email: NCES.KNIGHTS.PTA@gmail.com. We hope to see you there!
Someone Special Dance: Volunteers play a crucial role in ensuring the success of our upcoming event. Your support is invaluable! Click HERE to sign up and be a part of creating a memorable and successful experience.
PTA Website: Visit the NEW PTA Website for information and events!
General Membership Meeting: We are pleased to inform you that our General Membership PTA meeting is scheduled for January 31, 2024 at 5:00pm in the NCES Library. Your attendance and participation would be invaluable as we discuss important matters and plan for the upcoming activities.
💻❄️ NCES Short-Term NTI Information
Please click here for NCES NTI information. Thank you for your support!
Recurring Information
Transportation Change Form and Transportation Reminders:
From 8:15-8:40 AM, the parking lot closest to the carpool lane will be closed. If you need to visit the front office during this time, please park in the lot located on the cafeteria/bus drop-off side of the building The map below shows the area marked in green. In short, during these times, the carpool side will be exit-only.
For everyone's safety, please refrain from dropping your student off at the four-way stop on the carpool sidelines that you see marked in red on the map below. Instead, always use the designated carpool line.
To assist with traffic flow and clarity, parts of the carpool map will be color-coded. Areas marked in red will be no-access zones or have blockades to help traffic flow, while those highlighted in green will indicate suitable parking areas if you need to enter the school building during that 8:15 to 8:40 time frame.
There are 3 forms that we need completed, the Educational Benefits Forms (EBF), Residency Form and the FRC Needs Assessment. The first two can be completed on your Parent Portal account. (Go here to log-in/sign-up and complete the forms designated "required"). You can access the Assessment here. If you would prefer to complete a paper copy of these forms, please reach out to me at the email below. Classes who have over 95% of their students complete the forms by Nov 1 will receive a special treat! Please help your student's class earn a prize!
If you are interested in having your student participate in Blessings in a Backpack, please complete this form.
If you need clothes for your student from the Clothing Assistance Program (CAP), please complete this form.
Photo ID is always required when entering the building during the school day.
Parents may join their child for lunch! Lunch schedule linked here. No restaurant food is permitted. Photo ID required.
Follow us on social media! Facebook: Norton Commons Elementary School, Instagram: @NCES_Knights, X (Twitter): @NCES_Knights
If you are not getting text alerts from NCES, make sure to sign up for School Messenger.
Our ECE Department is raising money from Box Tops! Download the app and email rachel.murphy@jefferson.kyschools.us or christina.frederiksen@jefferson.kyschools.us with questions.
