Ingomar Inklings
Week of May 18-22, 2020
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Congratulations
Two additional IES teachers would like to announce their retirements at the end of this school year. Ms. Lee Knapp has been a teacher at North Allegheny for 30 years. She is looking forward to relaxing with her children and new grandbaby (on the way!). Students have thrived in her art classes. Ms. Knapp has always provided a creative outlet to students allowing them to appreciate art and love class!
Ms. Barb Tarhi will also retire after 30 years at North Allegheny. Teaching is a passion, and any student in Ms. Tarhi’s class has experienced her dedication to teaching academics balanced with her overall love of her students. I am sure this will not stop as she begins her retirement.
As you can imagine, planning a huge retirement send-off for Mrs. Agie, Ms. Knapp, and Ms. Tarhi is a bit of a challenge. However, we have a few things up our sleeves to make sure they know how appreciated they have been over the years. Please feel free to email them!
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Welcome Back to IES
We are excited to learn that students at the elementary level will not be redistricted this school year. Due to this announcement, we are working through the number of sections each grade level will have, and I will share this when everything is confirmed. I am hopeful we can also confirm kindergarten placement with parents early next week.
The teachers are starting to gather items for students. Students will receive their artwork, contents from their desks, personal items, and hopefully yearbooks. We are still waiting for the yearbooks to arrive. We are determining a timeline for pick-up. Stay tuned!
This has been such a difficult time for all of you, the staff, but especially the students. The best part of our jobs is the daily interaction with students. Technology has allowed us to interact with students which has been wonderful! However, we know it is not the same as being together each day. Thank you for the constant praise of the teachers and staff. We acknowledge that this is not perfect, and we are learning too. Your patience and kindness are appreciated.
We know that as some families are called back to work, the balance of remote learning and working in or outside of the home may present challenges. Please reach out to the teachers or me for modifications. There have been many families that have needed a few adjustments to make remote learning work for their families. We want to continue to help everyone have a stress free remote learning experience.
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Deep Breathing Helps Relieve Stress
Everyone is doing a great job adjusting to our new way of learning and we are very proud of you for that! We may have discovered new coping skills to get through and complete our school work. Using coping skills helps us stay calm so that we can problem solve and deal with difficult situations. Here are a few pointers and coping skills to help us through difficult/ frustrating times.
- Talk about situations that may require your child to use coping skills
- Model using coping skills for your child
- Praise your child for times when you see them coping with things that make them upset
- Encourage them to think about what they did to handle it so that they can continue to use effective strategies in the future
Activities for Deep Breathing:
- Blowing bubbles encourages taking a big breath in and blow gently through an ‘O’-shaped mouth. Repeat three to four blows, as their technique improves, encourage your child to breathe out for longer. Continue to have fun!
- Ping-pong balls - You can use blocks, make paper tunnels, and straws linked by putty or play-doh to create a maze. The object of the activity is to blow a ping pong ball through the maze with a straw. You can also keep it simple by putting a cup on the other side of the room to blow the ping-pong ball into. Encourage them to take a deep breath in and take a controlled breath out to get the ping-pong ball across the floor.
David Houseman
IES Substitute School Counselor
dhouseman@northallegheny.org
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TAG Challenge
Since we are unable to do TAG presentations this Spring, we have decided to issue a TAG challenge for May. The challenge is to recreate a TAG painting with any household items. Please see the remake example of Vermeer's Milkmaid painting. The J. Paul Getty Museum in LA has issued a similar challenge and we thought this would be a fun opportunity for all of the creative, artistic students at IES. Please see the attachment below with all the images from our TAG collection. Pick your favorite TAG painting and then remake it at home with your family. The idea is to make your modern image resemble the original painting as closely as possible. Please use your creativity and submit your entry by May 20 to vmnotaro@comcast.net. The four TAG coordinators will announce a winner by May 26 with a prize of a $35 gift card to your favorite store. There will be a second-place prize of $15. Have fun with this TAG challenge and let Malinda Notaro (vmnotaro@comcast.net) or Melissa Simon (mstebbie@hotmail.com) know if you have any questions!
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Take a Break Week #3
Our IES community is united and strong! To remind you of just how much you are cared for in our IES community, some of your 5th-Grade schoolmates created activities in Mrs. Clark’s class to keep you busy, active, and learning when you need a break from Remote Learning! This is the final week, so please enjoy it!
This week:
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Special Area Teachers
Please remember to visit the Special Area Teachers’ websites for assignments. Their websites can be found on the IES website under Building Staff. They are also linked on the homeroom teachers webpages for easy access. Students really enjoy the assignments!
See below:
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Coronavirus (COVID-19) Information
Coronavirus (COVID-19) updates are archived on the North Allegheny website. This designated webpage will be updated as new information is provided.
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Remote Learning Guidelines
The District will continue with the remote learning plan for the duration of the closure of our buildings. Details on remote learning for elementary and secondary students can be found on the NA website.
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Pause Days
North Allegheny School District students will participate in “Pause Days” on the dates below. “Pause Days” are intended to give students opportunities to catch up on assigned work, and no new instruction or assignments will be assigned for the specific grade levels. Teachers will be participating in activities outside of their normal instructional duties, and may not be available via email on these days. Secondary teachers will not be holding “office hours” on these days.
Pause Days for Elementary Buildings: Tuesdays in May (5/19, and 5/26)
Pause Days for Middle and High School Buildings: Wednesdays in May (5/20, and 5/27)
On each “Pause Day”, students are still required to check-in for daily attendance by logging into TigerID and clicking on the Remote Learning Check-In App. Click here for directions:
https://nasd.school/StudentRemoteCheckIn.
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Volunteer Clearances
School volunteers need to update volunteer clearances every five years. This program began five years ago this coming fall, and many volunteers have clearances expiring in the coming months. Please
reference the North Allegheny School District website for further information about the types of clearances needed and how to update those clearances.
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Update on North Allegheny Summer Programs
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, typical North Allegheny summer programs will be modified or canceled for 2020.
Summer Academy - This elementary program is usually held in June and July of each summer but will not be offered during the summer of 2020 due to COVID-19 and social distancing requirements.
Extended School Year Programs - Through the NASD Special Education program, Extended School Year [ESY] programs are typically held in the summer following the current school year. Due to COVID-19 and social distancing requirements, ESY programs will be held via remote learning opportunities. Parents/guardians of students with IEP’s who qualify for ESY will be contacted by their child’s special education teacher/caseworker regarding their child’s specific ESY remote learning program.
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Elementary Remote Learning Grading Update
Similar to the changes for grades 2-5 where report card grades were changed to pass/fail rather a letter grade, marking indicators will also be modified for the fourth quarter of the 2019-2020 school year as follows:
Special Area Classes
Report cards will use the following grades for marking indicators.
- Appropriate Progress
- Needs Improvement
- The “Strength” marking indicators will not be utilized during the fourth quarter of the 2019-2020 school year
Kindergarten and 1st Grade
Report cards will use the following grades for marking indicators for academic subject areas.
- Appropriate Progress
- Needs Improvement
- The “Strength” marking indicators will not be utilized during the fourth quarter of the 2019-2020 school year.
- Some marking indicators such as “Skills for Success” will not be assessed for the fourth quarter of the 2019-2020 school year.
2nd-5th Grade
Report cards will use grades for academic classes as either “Pass” or “Fail.” The marking indicators under each academic area will not be assessed for the 2019-2020 school year.
This information will also be communicated when fourth-quarter report cards are posted in the Tyler Student 360 portal to remind parents/guardians of these changes.
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Kindergarten Spring Conferences
Around this time every school year, kindergarten teachers typically offer optional spring conferences to parents/guardians to review end of the year assessments and discuss any social, emotional, and/or academic concerns that they may have as the student moves on to first grade. Due to the current pandemic, kindergarten teachers are unable to conduct end of the year assessments as in prior years.
Kindergarten students are largely social, hands-on learners, are less independent, and remote learning has presented some unique challenges. The goal of the kindergarten team during these past few months has been to provide a mix of familiar routines that students are used to doing in the classroom along with new instructional activities presented electronically. However, kindergarten teachers realize that parents/guardians have been integrally involved in the instruction of their children. We hope that you have felt supported throughout this remote learning process, and the District assures you that teachers will continue to communicate any concerns they may have regarding the academic needs of your child.
In place of formal conference scheduling, please know that teachers are readily available to discuss any questions or concerns that you may have regarding the academic preparedness and/or the emotional/social health of your child. If you have any questions or would like to discuss any concerns, please contact your child’s kindergarten teacher.
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Elementary Remote Learning Updates to Special Areas Classes and Pause Days
The District hopes to provide clarification in regards to completing assignments for Elementary Special Area classes related to the “Pause Days” on Tuesdays in May (5/19 and 5/26).
Special Area class assignments are posted each Monday and students have the full week (and into the weekend) to complete the weekly assignments. For the rest of May, each Tuesday has been scheduled as a “Pause Day”, as elementary teachers are not available due to other obligations within the District. Special Area teachers are available throughout the rest of the week to support students on their weekly Library, Music, Health & Physical Education, and Art assignments. Students are encouraged to continue to participate in all four Special Area instructional activities throughout the week.
Since Special Area assignments are provided on Monday for each week, students have the option to complete the assignment on their normally scheduled day when they would have attended class, or can complete the assignment any day Monday through Sunday. If parents/guardians have questions, they are welcome to reach out to their child’s Special Area teacher.
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Elementary Math Acceleration Process for the 2020-2021 School Year
Traditionally during May, elementary teachers begin the process to determine qualification for math acceleration for fourth and fifth-grade students. However, due to the COVID-19 school closure, this process will be delayed until at least mid to late July since it includes in-person testing for students who meet the initial screening criteria. Parents/guardians will receive more information about this process in July for determinations related to possible math acceleration for the 2020-2021 school year.
We appreciate your patience and understanding as the District awaits further information about social distancing and other needed precautions during this COVID-19 school closure.
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Missed a Newsletter?
All building newsletters are archived weekly on the North Allegheny website. This designated webpage will be updated with links to the previous week’s newsletters at the beginning of each school week by 11:30 a.m. A link to the archive is accessible on the District’s homepage and on each building’s homepage.
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The North Allegheny School District often receives requests for the distribution of athletics and approved non-profit community organization digital flyers. All requests for community flyers to be included in this newsletter must be submitted via email only at
flyers@northallegheny.org. Flyers will only be posted and removed from the District website on Friday.
Visit our website for details on how to submit flyers.
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Main Office - 412-366-9665
Nurse's Office - 412-366-9665
Counseling Office - 412-366-9665
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