Parents & Guardians,

The end of the first quarter is already upon us; it ends Wednesday Oct. 11th. How fast time flies when we love what we  do! No school for students on Oct. 12 and 13. Teachers will send report cards home on October 24. Parents, please sign and return the envelopes. Report cards will also be available in the PowerSchool Parent Portal. To access the portal go to the Northwest website under the “Parents” tab and click on PowerSchool. Here is also a link to guide you. Page 10 provides specific steps for viewing standard based grades: PowerSchool Parent Portal Guide

We had a great response for parent teacher conferences with a nearly 93% turn out. Please remember teachers are always available to answer questions or clarify concerns. They may be reached via emails or phone calls.  Middle School parents Power School is a great tool to follow your child’s grades and receive alerts. 

I would like to take some time to welcome  new staff members and student teachers to our building for the second quarter. Mrs. Amelia Mustion has joined the 1R & St. Libory staff as our Middle School Science teacher. Miss Rebekah Saddler will be a student teacher with our Special Education department. We are super excited to have them join our team.

Mrs. Erickson’s Counselor Corner: Parents, are you unable to get your child to talk about their day? Try asking these questions instead. Questions to Ask

Family Tech Tip from Mrs. Callihan: Many apps now have opportunities for families to collaborate and work together to support well-being and safety.  One example is Instagram: You can supervise your child’s Instagram use in their Family Center. 

Family Center includes an education hub where parents and guardians can access resources from experts and review helpful articles, videos and tips on topics like how to talk to teens about social media. Parents can also watch video tutorials on how to use the new supervision tools available on Instagram. Family Tech Tip

Mrs. McGowan would like to thank everyone for their support of the Scholastic Book Fair. This year she set an all time record by selling $4,800 dollars worth of books. Teachers greatly appreciate all their wish lists getting filled. Mrs. McGowan will be able to purchase and restock our library with all kinds of new books. The greatest intervention is reading and reading with your children. A huge thank you to everyone for supporting students in their passion to read.  PTO had another great  turn out for Breakfast Buddies in conjunction with the Book Fair.

PTO continues to be active and so supportive of our school.  Thank you to all the volunteers who brought food for staff at Parent Teacher Conferences. We are always spoiled!  Last week they had a great turnout at the DQ dining night out. A fundraising event will be coming home soon for the Holiday’s Northern Wreath orders October 9th-20th. Be looking for events and fundraising on PeachJar. There will be a Culver’s dine out night from 4-8pm on Tuesday, October 17th.  On October 19th, from 4:30-7:30pm there is a 1R  family event at Helgoth’s Pumpkin Patch. Cost will be $8 admission for supper & pumpkin or $5 if you do not want a pumpkin. PTO Meetings continue to be on the 1st Monday of each month at 6 PM.

Middle school fall sports are winding down. Congratulations to all athletes and coaches on a great fall season. Winter Sports (GBB & Wrestling) will begin practices on October 23. All home games will be at Cedar Hollow. Wrestlers will be bussed to Northwest for practices. More information will come from coaches as we get closer to the season. 

NWHS home football games reminder during Northwest games we asked that students remain seated or near parents or in the student section during the game. This is for safety reasons as  we have students in the parking lots concession areas and outside the football area unsupervised. This is for everyone’s safety. Please monitor your children and where they are at all times. Thank you for your attention to this matter.   

The weather will be changing soon. Please make sure children are dressed appropriately with coats, hats, mittens and gloves. If there is snow on the playground they must have snow pants and boots to play in it. Otherwise, they have to stay on the concrete. They need to bring a separate pair of boots for outside recess unless they are rubber or water resistant shoes.

We will utilize Power School as our mass communication delivery system this year for weather closings. Please check that your information is updated and current in Power School so you may receive important school and district information. Announcements will also be made on KOLN/KGIN 10/11 (Lincoln), KSNB Local 4, KHGI Channel 13 and KRGI Radio along with Northwest Social Media accounts. 

On behalf of the staff and myself, we thank you for your continued support. If you have questions regarding your child’s education, please do not hesitate to contact the office at 385-6352.

Sincerely,

Mr. Retzlaff, Principal