
Dolphin Dispatch
Volume 17 - Monday December 13th
Important Dates
December 1 - January 31 - "Read Around the World" Reading Challenge
December 6 - Open Transfer and Choice School Lottery Application Period Opens
December 14 - Special Meeting of the Board of Directors - Executive Session (5:00)
December 16-24 - Las Posadas
December 16 - Green Team Meeting (7:35) *Meet at the outside door to the music room.
December 16 - Regular School Board Meeting (4:30)
December 20 - January 3 - Winter Break
December 21 - Winter Solstice
December 25 - Christmas
December 26 - January 1 - Kwanzaa
January 6 - Regular School Board Meeting (4:30)
Please Sign Up to Staff the Vaccine Clinic - We're still short 4 volunteers!!
Read Around the World Challenge December 1st through January 31st
Read Around the World
For each region, you are welcome to choose any reading that you’d like - Poems, picture books, chapter books, audio books, fiction, non-fiction...it all counts. You can read yourself or have someone else read the books to you. Books can be set in the region, about characters from the region or written/illustrated by people from the region.
Completed reading logs should be turned in to president@nhe-pta.org and any student who turns in at least one log will be entered into a drawing for a prize. (reading log does not need to be filled completely to qualify)
There will be two prizes given, one to the K-2 grade range and one to the 3-5 grade range.
Stop # 1 (Africa)
First stop is Africa...the world's second largest continent that takes up about 20% of our planet's landmass. Africa includes over 50 countries and is home to over 1.3 billion people!
Share your favorites with the hashtag:
#ReadAroundTheWorldAfrica
Stop # 2 (Asia)
Second stop is Asia...the world's largest and most populous continent. Asia consists of 48 different countries and at almost 4.7 billion, the Asian population is almost 60% of the total world population.
Share your favorites with the hashtag:
#ReadAroundTheWorldAsia
Reusable Bags Needed for Food Bank
Gift Card Drive - Benefits Newport Heights Families
Volunteer Opportunities
Yearbook Committee
Staff Thank You Committee
Green Team Parent Helpers Needed
Check Out the Downtown Bellevue Ice Rink & Earn $3 Per Ticket for the PTA
Membership Goal Status - 33%
Goal: Every NHE student is represented in PTA by at least
one important adult in their lives.Status: Currently 33% of our students are represented. We are 1/4 of the way there!
There is NO obligation or expectation to volunteer or attend meetings. (But we do LOVE to meet members and find fun opportunities for those that want to help!)
Membership assistance is available. We do not want funds to stand in the way of those that want to join. Please email president@nhe-pta.org to request a confidential scholarship.
Fundraiser Goal Status - 37%
Status: We are 37% of the way to our goal.
And remember to ask your employers about their Corporate Match Plan. Many local employers will match the donation you make up to 100%!
Every dollar contributed to our Pass the Hat fundraiser goes directly to support the programs offered by the PTA. A donation of $100 covers our spending per student, but any amount is appreciated. Every dollar counts!
We are a 501(3)(c) non-profit organization. All donations are 100% tax deductible. Our Tax ID number is 91-1208399.
Counselor's Corner
Going into this holiday season will not be the same for every family. Different situations, feelings and experiences will determine a lot of what we expect or hope for our holiday season. Big emotions are common during this time of year.
It can be tempting as parents to shield our children from less positive emotions, but sometimes it can be more helpful in that moment to just validate your child’s feelings. It’s okay to say, “You’re right, this is a hard situation, and you have every reason to feel sad and disappointed.” Give them the space to just share their feelings.
Simply validating their emotions conveys that your child’s feelings are normal and okay – this is just as important and powerful as “finding the silver lining.”
If we focus only on positive emotions and positive aspects of life and ignore the difficult, this can lead to more stress on the body and increased difficulty in avoiding upsetting emotions. It can also lead to a sense of isolation for your child.
One of the tools we use to identify and express emotions with students at NHE is the Mood Meter. This is a great tool to also use at home because this will be familiar to most of our students and is a visual way to distinguish between a range of emotions.
Outside, Inside by LeUyen Pham
A street full of adults, children, dog walkers, and grandparents empties in the turn of a page: “Everybody who was outside...went inside.”
“So why did we all go inside?” Pham asks. “Mostly,” she explains, “because everyone knew it was the right thing to do.” The word virus is not mentioned: it’s not a story that presents the science behind the pandemic. Instead, the Caldecott Honoree offers a record of a period of difficulty, a testimony both to loss experienced and moments of unexpected good. A moving author’s note is included. Ages 3–6
COVID-19 TESTING CONSENT
Testing may only occur with parent consent. To participate you must opt-in for the COVID-19 testing by completing this COVID Testing Consent form.
Notes from the Backpack podcast
Our Culture is More than a Holiday - A great discussion on the value of books with diverse characters living their regular life - not just wearing traditional dress and celebrating cultural holidays.
Newport Heights PTA
Newport Heights PTA is a volunteer-powered association of NHE families, staff, and community supporters, who act collectively on behalf of our children.
Our mission is to make every NHE student's potential a reality by promoting partnerships between home, school and community, engaging and empowering families and supporters to advocate for all children.
Email: communications@nhe-pta.org
Website: https://nhe-pta.org
Location: 5225 119th Avenue Southeast, Bellevue, WA, USA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NewportHeightsPTA/