Academic Calendar

• September 2: Labor Day 

• September 20: Progress Reports

• September 24-27: Conference Week 

• October 7-11: Fall Break 

• October 14: All Staff PD No School 

• November 8: End of Trimester 1 

Math Support 

• Develop Positive Language: Avoid phrases like "you just have to get through it" or "math was hard for me too". Instead use phrases like "keep practicing and you'll get it, you always do" or "if we work through this together, we can definitly get it".

• Develop Math Facts: Stutdents needs automted math facts.  Make sure that your students is able to do all of the following: 

  1. • Multiplication Tables (up to 12x12)

     • Basic Addition and Subtraction (single and multi-digit numbers)

     • Basic Division (single and multi-digit numbers)

     • Converting Fractions to Decimals (and vice versa)

     • Finding Percentages (e.g., 10%, 25%, 50%, 75%)

     • Order of Operations (PEMDAS: Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication and Division, Addition and Subtraction)

Handbook Review  →   Parent / Student Handbook 24-25

• Overview: This year, there are a few updates to the student handbook. With the implementation of our new ROCK behavior program, we've outlined clear behavior expectations for each area of the school. Throughout the year, we will recognize students who demonstrate excellence in these areas!

You’re Invited to Parent University: Mental Health Awareness and Suicide Prevention 

• Every year, NCS offers a range of Parent Universities to educate and equip our families. In preparation for "Green Ribbon Week," which focuses on mental health and suicide prevention with students, we are providing resources specifically for parents. Our goal is to help you support your children at home and engage in meaningful conversations about what they learn during Green Ribbon Week.

• As part of this effort, we are hosting a Parent University on Mental Health Awareness and Suicide Prevention. Please RSVP to join us in the Benvenuti Theater at the Blackrock campus.

• Welcome Video            RSVP Here 

• Date: September 5th   Time: 5:30 pm Location: Benvenuti Theater 

Aerosol Devices at School

All student restrooms on the Blackrock campus are outfitted with vape sensors. These sensors are an important tool to help us keep our campus safe, but can be triggered by any aerosol device. To prevent unnecessary alerts and disruptions, please ensure that students do not bring aerosol products to school, including spray deodorant, body spray, hairspray, dry shampoo, etc. Your cooperation helps us maintain a focused learning environment.

Parents, educators, legislators, and researchers are all beginning to realize the negative impacts that personal technology, in the form of cellphones and social media, are having on our children. Assembly bill AB 3216 states, "there is growing evidence that unrestricted use of smartphones by pupils at elementary and secondary schools during the schoolday interferes with the educational mission of the schools, lowers pupil performance, particularly among low-achieving pupils, promotes cyberbullying, and contributes to an increase in teenage anxiety, depression, and suicide" (ab 3216). 

Parents: Parents are already supporting reducing screen time and access to unmanaged devices. Many Leading Edge parents have chosen to delay giving their children smartphones until ages 13 or 14, noting positive impacts on their children’s social and academic growth. Some parents have reported increased cyberbullying and difficulties managing their children's online activity. 

Parents can support this cell phone reduction by staying informed, setting limits on screen time, and encouraging their children to avoid sending or receiving messages during the school day (messages before or after school are fine).

State Legislators: The governor's office has recently supported legislation to restrict cell phones in schools. Click Here: "Governor Newsom urges schools to immediately restrict cell phones in the classroom ahead of the new school year."

Researchers: Extensive research links cellphones and social media to mental health concerns. For more information, check out these resources:

• End the Phone-Based Childhood Now

• Anxious Generation

Educators: Leading Edge has made progress in further liminting cellphone use on campus. Students at NCS are not longer allowed to use phones in the classroom. As our community learns more together that will shape new policies in the 24-25 school year.