North News

Greetings, North Families!
 

We hope this newsletter finds you and your families healthy and well. The second full week of distance learning went well and we did see an increase in student attendance and participation over last week. Please continue to help ensure your children are online and in class for every each period each of the school day. Attendance calls are now being made when students are absent from one of their class meetings and should serve as reminders to students and families that attendance is expected in every class, every day. For most students this means they are online in a Google Meet at the beginning of every class period. Students who miss these meetings at the beginning of the period will be marked absent. Please see the “Schedule for Distance Learning” below. In general, the four times per day your child should be in a Google Meet are:

Meeting Start Times:

• 9:00am
• 9:20am
• 11:17am (11:47am if the student has 1st lunch)
• 1:42pm

Although North students are currently learning remotely, please continue to report any ​illness symptoms or positive cases of COVID-19 to our school nurse. While North students are not attending school in-person, close contact exposure may include younger siblings​, household members, those participating in extracurricular activities, or others who may be in our district buildings. Thank you for your cooperation with this.

Lastly, with the holiday season just around the corner and local positive case numbers rising, we want to encourage our staff, students, and families to create safe and healthy holiday celebration plans that help protect individuals, families, and our school community from COVID-19. We know that large indoor gatherings, including family holiday gatherings, can spread infection. In addition, travel, whether across town, over state lines, or out of country, increases infection risk. The CDC has published helpful guidelines when considering holiday gatherings and travel. We encourage each family to consider these guidelines as you prepare to safely celebrate this holiday season.

We appreciate the efforts of our staff, students, and families for all of your on-going support in keeping our schools and community healthy and safe. 

Respectfully,

Principal Brian Nutter 

Assistant Principal Bill Sininger

1. Go to www.schoology.com. 
2. Click Sign Up at the top of the page and choose Parent.
3. Enter your Parent Access Code. This is a 12-digit code in xxxx-xxxx-xxxx format that you receive from one of your child's instructors. 
4. Fill out the form with your information.
5. Click Register to complete.

When you use a Parent Access Code to create an account, you are automatically associated with your child. You can add additional children to your account using the Add Child option. 

Cops Corner
 

What is that white light that flashes at intersections for emergency vehicles?!

Ever wonder how Police, EMS, and Fire can change the lights at the traffic intersection? It’s called a Opticom, it’s an ​infrared light from the emergency vehicle which sends a signal to the receiver on the traffic light post. This signal changes the lights giving first responders the green light and right of way. This is important, so first responders get to the location of need safely and quickly. If this happens while you are stopped at a red light, wait for the light to turn green and then use  caution and awareness to proceed through the intersection, THEN pull over. 

Fun fact: When the white opticom light is SOLID the eme​rgency vehicle is in front or behind you. If the white opticom light is flashing, the emergency vehicle will come from the left or right of you at the intersection. 

If you have any questions regarding traffic laws. Feel free to reach out to School Resource Officer Sara Gangle

Parents/Guardians,

Get Ready, which is a federally funded program through the Minnesota Office of Higher Education will be presenting an online workshop on Thursday, November 19, 2020 from 6:30-8:00PM providing families with tools for school year success.

Workshop: Foundations for Middle & High School Success.

This workshop is geared towards parents/guardians of middle school and high school students from Get Ready’s partnered schools.
 

Please join us for a night of learning about:

· Identify parenting styles and parenting practices that help to provide a supportive environment.

· Discussing factors that help students succeed in school.

· Reflect on hopes and dreams for their students.

· The importance of education by aligning values with choices and actions.
 

Register Online: https://forms.gle/Q9ZraigF88UQmBdP6 

Folks will have the opportunity to register up until November 18th. However, to receive a packet by mail must register by November 11, 2020.

**The first 50 parents/guardians who register for this session will get a $25 gift card!

For additional questions, please contact Felipa Cespedes at Felipa.Cespedes@state.mn.us or 651-357-5642

Notes on Attendance

As we enter distance learning students must check into every class’ google meet on time. Students must remain in class as instructed and if given time to work independently return to class when the teacher has indicated. If a student will not be attending their online classes a call must be made to the North Office at 320-370-7000 to report the student absence.

The Minnesota State High School League recently released a plan for winter athletics and our North Middle School activities programs will closely follow their safety guidelines. As we planned for the upcoming winter season, our top priority is keeping our students and staff healthy and safe. Our safety plans will follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) guidelines as well as federal OSHA standards related to COVID-19.

Students in grades 7 and 8 who wish to participate in Boys Swimming , Girls Gymnastics, Girls & Boys Nordic Skiing, Alpine Skiing, Dance Team, Adaptive Floor Hockey, Girls Hockey, or Wrestling must register at Apollo High School.

*A Sports physical is required for all students in grades 7 – 8 participating in athletics. The physical will become part of the student’s records and is good for three years.
 

GIRLS BASKETBALL Grades 6 - 8

Upon return to the Hybrid learning model (TBD), participants in Girls Basketball will only participate on days of in-person school, either on “A” day or “B” day. Students will not practice on days they are not in school. No basketball practice on Fridays. Students from North enrolled in the Distance Learning Academy may participate in Girls Basketball and practice on days according to last name:

A Day (Monday/Wednesday) – Last name A – K

B Day (Tuesday/Thursday) – Last name L – Z

Students who wish to participate in Girls Basketball can obtain registration forms in the main office. Forms can also be found on North’s Webpage under “Activities”. ALL registration forms must be complete, signed by a parent/guardian, and returned to the office prior to the beginning of the season.

Season: TBD – December 17

Fee: $40.00 & $10.00 for students on Free/Reduced Lunches

Practice Times: 4:00 – 5:30pm

Location: North Middle School Gymnasium
 

BOYS BASKETBALL Grades 6 - 8

Participants in Boys Basketball will only participate on days of in-person school, either on “A” day or “B” day. Students will not practice on days they are not in school. No basketball practice on Fridays. Students from North enrolled in the Distance Learning Academy may participate in Boys Basketball and practice on days according to last name:

A Day (Monday/Wednesday) – Last name A – K

B Day (Tuesday/Thursday) – Last name L – Z

Students who wish to participate in Boys Basketball can obtain registration forms in the main office. Forms can also be found on North’s Webpage under “Activities”. ALL registration forms must be complete, signed by a parent/guardian, and returned to the office prior Tuesday, December 22.

Season: January 4 – February 25

Fee: $40.00 & $10.00 for students on Free/Reduced Lunches

Practice Times: 4:00 – 5:30pm

Location: North Middle School Gymnasium

Questions can be directed to Charlie Eisenreich, Director of Middle School Activities at charles.eisenreich@isd742.org or 320-370-8209.

Feeding Area Children Together (FACT), a non-profit founded by four ISD 742 parents, will be offering our FACT Packs program again this year. FACT Packs are provided free of charge to K-8 students who are in need of food on weekends and over school breaks.  All menus are peanut-safe and do not contain pork products. This is NOT a government program; all food and supplies are paid for by donations from individuals, foundations, and businesses. All information is confidential. 

Signing up for the FACT Pack program means your child will receive a child-friendly, non-perishable breakfast, lunch, and snack each day school is not in session during the 2020-2021 school year. Students can pick up their bags on Wednesdays and Thursdays at North Junior High School after they are signed up for the program. 

Here is the link to the main website for the FACT pack program: https://stcloudfact.org 

Technology help during Distance Learning

As we all know, technology does not always work how it is intended. Before reaching out for device support, be sure you have explored the following common suggestions:

· Restart your device (power it down and power it back up) This is the first thing that should be tried before seeking help from anyone else. Most issues are solved with turning it off and on again.

· Ensure you are connected to the internet

· Reached out to a friend for help

· Search the internet for common solutions?

· Check out Schoology’s Status Website (https://status.schoology.com/) up-to-date information.

Students and families can find resources for Distance Learning 2.0 on the district website (http://isd742.org/) under “742 Back to School” or by clicking here: Distance Learning 2.0 (https://www.isd742.org/Page/9602)

One of the best resources for commonly asked technology questions is the Student Remote Learning Cheat Sheet.

Students also have access to a form that will get the information to the best person to help in their situation: Distance Learning 2.0 Technology Support (https://forms.gle/LQBErxBbTcVkWkkK9).

There also are hotline numbers in English (320-370-8000) Soomaali (320-370-8118) and Espanol (320-370-8117)

Books -- online and in your hands

Students have a variety of options for reading books this year -- both online and print.  

Here’s a selection of options.  If you or your student have questions about accessing books, please contact Ms. Shaddrick (mary.shaddrick@isd742.org) in the media center.

Mackinvia -- www.mackinvia.com Students use their Google apps login information to access their personal “backpack.” Both ebooks and audiobooks are available with ebooks in several languages.

Open ebooks -- catalog.openebooks.us  Students can get their Access code and PIN from their language arts teacher or Ms. Shaddrick. There also is an app on the Chromebooks. 

Ebooks Minnesota -- ebooksmn.org   No login or password needed. Great site with free ebooks for anyone in Minnesota.  The juvenile fiction section has tons of titles. 

North’s Destiny catalog -- Students use their lunch number and Google apps password to log into Destiny and place print books on hold.  Books will be delivered to Advisory teachers. Until it’s safe to allow students to browse the physical shelves, this is a great way to get 1-5 print books in your hands or to get on the waitlist for the most popular titles.  

Great River Regional Library -- We are lucky to have such a large, vibrant regional library system in the area.  The branches are open for quick “grab and go” book checkout and with a public library card everyone has access to tons of online resources including the new hoopla service with movies, books, audiobooks, music and more for free.  

If you have trouble with any of the above options, please contact Ms. Shaddrick in the media center. Happy reading.