Nord News

October 30, 2022

Principal's Message

Dear Nord Families,

The first quarter has ended and our Nord students have a lot to be proud of so far this school year! Thank you all for your support. Report cards will be finalized and posted to Parent Portal on Friday, November 4th.

Beginning this week, all students will be participating in either Intervention or Enrichment during our I/E period on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. As a school, our focus for the next six weeks of I/E will be reading. I/E period is an additional 30 minutes of the school day where students will receive targeted intervention or enrichment based on their needs. I/E is not a graded class and is in addition to the instruction students receive in their core classes.

During the first quarter, our English Language Arts (ELA) teachers and Literacy coaches administered Acadience Reading assessments to all students. These assessments allowed us to determine each student’s development in reading, identify students who need additional help, and guide reading intervention for struggling students. The first assessment is called an Oral Reading Fluency which is a measure of advanced phonics and word attack skills, accurate and fluent reading of connected text, and reading comprehension. Students were also given the Maze assessment to assess their ability to construct meaning from text. Our ELA teachers then grouped students into I/E classes based on their reading needs. This will allow students to receive the level of reading support they need to become proficient in reading.

Our students who are proficient in reading will receive enrichment during the I/E period. Some students may be in a group for gifted reading while others may be in a group for gifted math. Finally, we were able to create a group for students who were excelling in reading but would benefit from additional practice in Math.

During the first day of I/E on Tuesday, November 1st, your child will receive a letter indicating their focus during I/E over the next six weeks. If you have any questions please contact your child’s ELA teacher or myself. My direct phone number is 440-988-1637 and my email is ashley_harigan@amherstk12.org.

Go Comets,

Mrs. Harigan

Parent- Teacher Conferences

Walter G. Nord School's second day of conferences is on Wednesday, November 2nd from 3:35 to 6:35 pm.

To sign up for a conference please click here.

Picture Retake

Picture Retake day is Friday, November 4th!

If you are not satisfied with your photos from the original Picture Day, return the entire package to receive your retake photos.

If your child missed picture day at the beginning of the year and you are ordering pictures for the first time, you can preorder your photographs online. The online password is re2299wgnm.

If you would like to order photographs from the original Picture Day, please contact Ripcho's Customer Service Department at 800-686-7427, ext. 1.

Quarter 1 PBIS Rewards

Students have been eagerly waiting for the opportunity to spend the points they’ve earned during Quarter 1 through our PBIS Rewards and Comet Impact Program at Nord! Each day, students have the opportunity to earn points for meeting our Comet Impact behavior expectations: Be Respectful, Be Responsible, and Be Safe.

On Wednesday 10/26, our PBIS Rewards School Store opened for students to begin spending their points! Students were able to shop in the store through the end of the school day on Friday 10/28. The following experiences, privileges, and bonuses were available for students to purchase:

Bring a Stuffed Animal to School - 1 day pass - 50 points
Wear a Hat to School - 1 day pass - 50 points
Extra Raffle Entry - 1 time pass - 50 points
Pajama Day - 1 day pass - 100 points
Lunch with a Staff Member - 1 time pass - 150 points
Lunch with Mr. Doehr - 1 time pass - 150 points
Lunch with Mrs. Harigan - 1 time pass - 150 points
Pick Your Seat in the Cafeteria - 1 time pass - 175 points
Flip Your Lunch & Recess Period - 1 time pass - 200 points
Take A Ride in the Cruiser with Officer Lamb - 400 points

In homeroom, students will be receiving the passes they purchased on Monday 10/31 and will have until Friday 11/11 to use them.

New for this year, students will be provided an opportunity to spend the points they’ve earned on a quarterly basis. At the end of each quarter, all students will have their points reset to 0 so that all students have a fresh start to begin earning points towards the next school wide reward opportunity!

Should you have any questions regarding our PBIS Rewards and Comet Impact Program at Nord, please contact Mr. Doehr - Dean of Students - at nicholas_doehr@amherstk12.org or by calling the main office.

5th Grade States Parade

School Counselor, Mrs. Kremer's Website

NORD PTO

Next Meeting

The next Nord PTO meeting is Monday, November 14th at 9:00 am at Nord School. The zoom link for the meeting is available by emailing Mrs. Harigan.

Community Food Drive

The Community Food Drive continues through November 11th. The PTO will be collecting canned soup and beef stew this week. During the final week, they will be collecting cereal and peanut butter.

Thank you to all our families who have donated so far. All donations go to Second Harvest Food Bank and help local families in need.