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Important Message from our Superintendent and Chief Academic Officer
Seeking Parent Input on NUSD’s 18 Month Learning Recovery Plan
Good Afternoon,
We know that during this global pandemic, our students have been impacted academically, emotionally and physically. You may have heard that we are working on an 18-month plan to support students who have experienced some sort of learning disruption as we have been in distance learning. We are looking to take 18 months because it would be unrealistic to think that either students, teachers or families want to spend 5-6 days a week addressing learning disruption. Eighteen months paces the work so all involved can meet the students’ needs and have better work-life balance as this pandemic dwindles. Once the pandemic is done, we will have spent enough time on Zooms, behind computer screens, and in our houses. This is a proactive plan, getting ahead of our return to in-person learning. We have identified a district average of 13% of our students that need to have their learning disruption addressed. And, we are here to help them. This plan will initially focus more on virtual settings and smaller group cohorts in the earlier months, and as we are able, will start to expand to more broad in-person activities as allowed.
How have our students been identified? We’ve used a variety of data points to identify students who could benefit from more targeted support. Site leaders have worked with our site staff to get feedback on our students and what supports they need. The plan may include a combination site-based plans and centralized actions. We will be sharing more information on the specifics of the plan in the coming weeks.
Now we need your input. You have spent the last 11 months co-educating your students. Your input is important to us. Please take a few minutes to answer some questions that will help us move forward with our 18-month plan, as well as just check in with you on how things are going.
As always, thank you for taking the time to let us hear from you.
Angela Herrera, Chief Academic Officer
Chris Evans, Superintendent
Survey
In the spirit of service,
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THIS WEEK'S HAPPENINGS AT NMS
- Monday, January 25
- NMS Lunchtime "Kick Back", 11:13-11:53, Zoom
- Tuesday, January 26
- Wednesday, January 27
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- NMS Lunchtime "Kick Back", 11:13-11:53, Zoom
- GSA Club Meeting, 11:13-11:53, Zoom
- Thursday, January 28
- NMS Lunchtime "Kick Back", 11:13-11:53, Zoom
- Gaming Club, 3:35 - 4:15 Contact Mr. Stone
- NMS International Club 3:35 - 4:15 PM Contact Mrs. SantaMaria or Ms. Abutin
- Friday, January 29
- Chess Club. Contact Mrs. Rocha - krocha@natomasunified.org for meeting information
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The Virtual Tutoring and Wellness Center (VTWC) is available to all students in Kindergarten through 12 and their parents, providing a range of targeted supports in academic, social, and behavioral areas. The VTWC is available Mondays-Thursdays from 3-7 p.m., and Fridays from 3-5 p.m. Sessions are limited to no more than three students and are available in 30-minute increments. Parents and students may sign up for more than one session on a given day. Currently, the VTWC offers grade-specific academic support in Reading Intervention, English Language Support, Handwriting Without Tears, Math, General Homework Support, Science, Social Science, and World Languages. The VTWC also offers a range of counseling supports and workshops for parents. New sessions for this month will be added soon and include an Art Group, Parent Support, and several Social-Emotional Learning groups. The VTWC website which includes instructions on how to sign up is linked below. The link to the VTWC website is also available in each school’s digital backpack.
Virtual Tutoring and Wellness Center Website & Sign-Ups
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NUSD is seeking parent participants for our Local Control Accountability Plan Parent Advisory Committee (LCAP PAC)
Natomas Unified School District is inviting parents, guardians, and community members to become a member of the Local Control Accountability Plan Parent Advisory Committee (LCAP PAC). Members will be consulted to assist in the development of the district's Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP). In addition, members will review progress towards meeting the goals outlined in the LCAP. Your voice is important to ensure we are meeting the needs of all students.
The 20-member committee will be formed with an emphasis on members who represent the diversity of the school district, English learners, foster youth, homeless youth, migrant students, students with disabilities, socioeconomically disadvantaged students, and ideally a representative from each of our schools.
Committee meetings will be scheduled on Thursday evenings starting in February 2021, once or twice a month as needed, and are held in the district office board room, unless otherwise noted. During stay-at-home orders, video/audio conferencing meetings will be required.
Please click here to apply.
Applications are due by Monday, January 25, 2021.
If you have any questions, please contact our Constituent and Customer Services department at (916) 561-5253 or customerservice@natomasunified.org.
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NUSD está buscando padres participantes para nuestro Comité Asesor de Padres del Plan de Responsabilidad de Control Local (LCAP PAC)
El Distrito Escolar Unificado de Natomas está invitando a los padres, tutores y miembros de la comunidad a convertirse en miembros del Comité Asesor de Padres del Plan de Responsabilidad de Control Local (LCAP PAC). Se consultará a los miembros para ayudar en el desarrollo del Plan de Responsabilidad de Control Local (LCAP) del distrito. Además, los miembros revisarán el progreso hacia el cumplimiento de las metas descritas en el LCAP. Su voz es importante para garantizar que estamos satisfaciendo las necesidades de todos los estudiantes.
El comité de 20 miembros se formará con el énfasis de los miembros que representan la diversidad del distrito escolar, aprendices de inglés, los jóvenes de crianza temporal, los jóvenes sin hogar, los estudiantes migrantes, los estudiantes con discapacidades, los estudiantes con desventajas socioeconómicas e idealmente un representante de cada una de nuestras escuelas.
Las reuniones del comité se programaran los jueves por la noche a partir de febrero del 2021, una o dos veces al mes según sea necesario, y se llevarán a cabo en la sala de juntas de la oficina del distrito, al menos que se indique lo contrario. Durante los las órdenes de toque de queda, se requerirán reuniones de videoconferencia/audio.
Haga clic aquí para someter su solicitud.
Las solicitudes deben presentarse antes del lunes 25 de enero del 2021.
Si tiene alguna pregunta, comuníquese con nuestro departamento de Constituyente y Servicio al cliente al (916) 561-5253 o customerservice@natomasunified.org.
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AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY CHALLENGE
Students will research and learn about individuals who have been at the forefront of civil rights, justice, and freedom for all. Please encourage your students to participate. For contest instructions, rules, and how to get started, click this link.
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The IC Parent Portal is an important tool that allows parents to monitor student attendance, assignments, and grades through any online device. Parents may be unaware of the Portal or may not know how to access the Portal. Parent University will hold an “Infinite Campus Parent Portal Training” on Tuesday, Jan. 26, via Zoom at 12 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. The workshop will cover how to check student grades, assignments, attendance, CAASPP scores, and update parent/guardian information.
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Bullying Prevention Newsletter (V1, Issue 5)
Bullying Prevention happens all year long. To continue to stimulate dialogue around bullying prevention, another issue of the Bullying Prevention Newsletter (V1, Issue 5) is available to inform students, parents, and staff of bullying prevention resources and information.
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‘Steps to College’ Virtual Bilingual University Fair
"Steps to College" is a bilingual university fair for Northern California families. Representatives from distinguished colleges and universities from California and Mexico and the state of California higher education experts, and nonprofit higher education advocates work together each year to help students navigate the college experience and learn about their finance options for higher education. The fair is designed to help all families and students navigate a successful path to college.
The fair will include interactive workshops in English and Spanish on financial aid and preparing for college.
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Infinite Campus Parent Portal Training
The IC Parent Portal is an important tool that allows parents to monitor student attendance, assignments, and grades through any online device. Parents may be unaware of the Portal or may not know how to access the Portal. Parent University will hold an “Infinite Campus Parent Portal Training” on Tuesday, Jan. 26, via Zoom at 12 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. The workshop will cover how to check student grades, assignments, attendance, CAASPP scores, and update parent/guardian information.
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VIRTUAL OFFICE
Our physical school office is closed due to COVID-19. We have set up a virtual office for those of you in need of support. You can email our office staff at NMSvirtual@natomasunified.org. Someone will respond to you in order to answer your questions. You can also still call the office line at (916) 567-5540, it will be transferred to a staff member.
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Remember parents, Virtual Tutoring and Welleness Services, which includes general tutoring and academic supports, (support is available in multiple languages). In addition, VTWC offers many different parent resources such as student workshops and engagement, parent support, and 1:1 connection and parent workshops. Click the hyperlinked flyer below to find out more about getting 1:1 counseling, and tutoring virtually.
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CLICK ON THE IMAGE ABOVE The Digital Backpack is a place where you can go to access any resource you will need to navigate the school year virtually. There you will find communication from the principal and the district, academic support links, applications for free/reduced lunch, school calendar, technology guides, mental health support, and much more. Check it out! It's a tremendous resource.
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INFINITE CAMPUS
IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY DONE SO, GET SIGNED UP FOR INFINITE CAMPUS TODAY!
The following is the account creation process for parents/guardians:
- Each Monday, NUSD will generate Portal usernames and passwords for new parent/guardians. An activation notice with the URL, username, and password will be sent to the parent/guardian at the email address they have on file in Infinite Campus (comes from donotreply...check your spam).
- These activation notices expire each week, so new activation notices will also be sent each Monday to existing users who have not yet activated their accounts. If you don't get a notice, that means you already have an established account.
- Parents/guardians will be prompted to set a new password and to establish security settings so that they can reset a forgotten password.
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New IC Mobile Apps
I have been told that not everyone is successful in activating the new Infinite Campus application. Everyone not on Infinite Campus should have received an activation email last week. You will receive one weekly as long as you are not on Infinite Campus. Check your spam if you do not see it. That email will contain your activation code.
If you are having trouble you may need to change your password. Here is the link to change your password. If you are still having issues, please contact our IC help desk at: (916)567-5819 or email them at icportal@natomasunified.org.
Download the new app today. Instructions linked here. |
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CDC HAND WASHING VIDEO
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Follow NMS on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ThePantherWay and @natomasmiddleschool on Facebook.
See what is going on at NMS daily; classrooms, events, students...
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