September 2023

NO SCHOOL: September 4th (Labor Day)

Communication

ATTENDANCE: All attendance must go through the office.

If your child is going to be gone, tardy, or leaving early, please be sure to notify Mrs. Davis in the Elementary Office. The office will inform the teachers of your child's attendance.

Call: 641.562.2525 | chris.davis@northiowa.org | Text: 641-458-0223

We try to be as responsive as possible to all parties. We use the following image to guide our responses to parents. We ask you to consider the same when needing to communicate with the school. If you would like a response within 24 hours, please email. If you would like a response in four hours, please text (numbers listed under the staff tab on the website). If you need to get a message to the teacher/student, please call the school at 641-562-2525, and the message will be hand-delivered.

I also want to share that if you send me, Tina Henely, an email you will likely get the following auto-response, "I have received your email. I check emails once per day, and not on the weekends. My goal is to respond within 24 hours when appropriate. This system allows me to maximize my time out of my office supporting students and staff, to promote an exceptional educational experience daily. If this happens to be urgent, please contact Mrs. Davis, Elementary Secretary at (641) 562-2525 and she will assist you. Have a wonderful day!

Transportation Text Line

There is a new text feature to communicate transportation changes. Please, text 641-458-0223 to indicate any last-minute changes, before or during school. Include student name(s) and transportation change. For example, John and Jane Doe will not be riding bus #4 tomorrow morning.

Arrival & Dismissal

Walk-Up vs. Drive-Thru

If you have a change in dismissal plans, please be sure to indicate bus, walking, walk-up, or drive-thru.

If you prefer to walk up to get your child(ren), then plan to meet them at the north gate on the playground (indicated with a green X on the map). Parents/Guardians must get out of their parked vehicle to meet them at the gate. Children will not be sent to a parked car.

During the dismissal drive-thru, we will ask that all adults stay in their vehicles. Parking spaces (shown in blue on the map) will be dedicated for parents to pull into and staff will direct students to walk to those spaces when it is safe.

To be clear, our goal is to keep everyone as safe as possible by limiting all people walking around moving vehicles.

Arrival 7:50-8:20 a.m.

Doors unlock at 7:50
School starts at 8:20
May enter doors 2, 3, or 4
Students go to breakfast and/or recess

Dismissal 3:30 p.m.

Bus - walked to busses by staff
Little Bison Daycare
Walk & Pick-up
- Walkers crossed by staff at NE & NW corners
- Drive Thru - drivers stay in their car and in the southbound car line. Staff direct students to you.
- Adults walk up at the north gate only.

These procedures are in place to ensure efficiency and most importantly safety.

Read 20 Min. at Home

Research has proven that reading 20 minutes a night can have a significant impact on students' academic achievement.

Read to your child, read with your child, listen to your child read, and/or have your child read independently

Recess Clothing Reminder

When colder weather approaches, if you need any assistance acquiring warm outerwear (coat, snowpants, boots, hats, and gloves) please reach out to our Ms. Melz, kendall.melz@northiowa.com.

Homecoming

Dress Up Days & Event Information

Monday - Multicolor Monday

Tuesday - Beach Day

Wednesday - Wacky Wednesday

Thursday - Spirit day (Bison/blue apparel)

- Homecoming Pep Rally n the Gym starting at 2:30 p.m.

- Homecoming Parade at 2:45 p.m.

- Homecoming Game at 7:00 p.m.

Friday-PJ Day

Activity Expectations

Our Fall activity season is underway. We encourage all students and families to attend extracurricular activities at our school. These are fun social events that help build school and community pride. We want our children to attend these activities, and we expect them to watch the activity they attend and cheer on our Bison!

This letter is a simple reminder regarding student conduct at football and volleyball games.

Football Games - Students are not allowed to run around or play behind the bleachers, on the practice field, or on the ball diamonds. They should sit in the stands or stand along the fence and watch the game.

Volleyball Games - Students are not allowed to wander the hallways during volleyball games. Fans are expected to stay in the stands while the matches are in progress.

Students who are playing and/or wandering during a game or event will be reminded of the expectation to watch the event. If that does not resolve the issue, children will be instructed to sit with their parents for the remainder of the game. If you do not attend the event with your child/children, student(s) will be limited to the bleachers during the game and asked to leave if they fail to follow rules. We will visit with our students about these expectations, and we ask that you have a conversation with them at home as well.

Thank you for partnering with us to teach our students to follow “The Bison Way” - Be safe, be responsible, and be respectful. Go Bison!

Respectfully,

North Iowa Administration

Gems and Jars

When a student or class demonstrates respectful, responsible, or safe choices they earn gems for their class mason jar. When the jar is full they earn a class reward, such as extra recess or bringing a stuffed animal for a day. Those full jars go toward a count of a school reward. The goal is to fill 25 jars to earn an all-school bingo party.. This is just one of many ways our school focuses on teaching and demonstrating positive behaviors.

Bison Expectations

There are many aspects of Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS). This includes defining, teaching, and reteaching what Respectful, Responsible, and Safe choices look like all throughout the school. We call these our Bison Expectations. We acknowledge following the Bison Expectations through many ways.

Students of Month (recognize each student throughout the year) Each month teachers acknowledge a Bison Spotlight Students of the Month for exceptional demonstration of these expectations. Bison Spotlight Students of the Month will have their picture taken, and receive a certificate.

Tickets

You may have started to see the white copy of our Bison Pride tickets coming home in your child. The staff is acknowledging individuals for demonstrating the Bison Expectations of being Safe, Responsible, and Respectful. The white copy is to share with families and the yellow copy goes into a class jar for Friday drawings.

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