Ingomar Inklings
Week of June 8-12, 2020
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Congratulations 5th Grade
This year the 5th graders did an awesome job finishing out the school year. We didn't have the traditional activities that celebrate the end of the 5th grade school year, but students had signs delivered by their homeroom teachers, a nice gift from the PTO, and a virtual tour of the middle school.
We celebrate our 5th graders as they move into Middle School. They have grown academically and socially. They have grown up so much since their baby years. If you want to see how much they have grown, please take a few minutes to view the video.
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Thank You
Congratulations to IES families for coming to the end of a very unpredictable but positive school year. Thank you for supporting your children and the staff throughout remote learning. Communication will continue over the summer as a plan for the start of the school year is put into place. Please continue to check your email.
I am sure the summer may look different for many families. Vacation plans may change, activities and camps might be virtual, and gatherings a bit smaller. However, there is still so much to do and look forward to as summer approaches. I have enjoyed my backyard over the past few weeks as the weather has warmed up. My backyard faces 7 baseball/softball fields. I anxiously await the kids starting to play over this coming weekend! I welcome the neighbors cutting through my yard since parking is at a premium (similar to IES)!
May you all rest and relax as summer begins. I will keep you posted about IES over the summer.
Thanks,
Tracie
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Library Books
In order to prepare for the end of the school year, this short tutorial will demonstrate how to view your child’s library account to see what books have been checked out. Questions may be directed to Mrs. Smokovich at lsmokovich@northallegheny.org.
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Student Pick-Up of Belongings
Wednesday, June 10
Please review the schedule allowing parents and guardians to retrieve students’ belongings from IES.
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A Note to Kindergarten Parents and Guardians
Kindergarten Parents and Guardians,
You have already received your child's items. However, if you have library books or other items to drop-off, please do so on June 10 from 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. There will be a container by the Kindergarten playground. This is located in the small circle in the front of the building.
If library books need returned, please feel free to just place them in the container that will be located by the Kindergarten playground. If there are other items, please place them in a bag with your child's name and teacher on it. They will be given to your child's teacher.
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Summer Reading is Here
Let’s stay connected and celebrate our reading all summer long by posting pictures to Instagram with #iessummershelfies! Please see the flyer for more details.
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#BecomeAFashionDesigner Contest Results and Video
Each year the high school fashion club, led by an advisor and IMS teacher, Diane Senkoski, hosts a charity fashion show that includes designs made by and modeled by club members.
This year, they hosted a #BecomeAFashionDesigner contest that was open to all 4th and 5th graders in the district. IES had three entries from Lily DeGroot, Clare White, and Sidney Rice. Although they couldn't hold the annual fashion show in person on the runway, they were able to put together a virtual show with the winning designs from each school.
The high school designers worked hard with limited sewing equipment and supplies at home and their designs, along with some familiar IES faces are showcased in this video. Congratulations!
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Tiger Strong Live Long Mental and Emotional Well-Being Resources
Since we are unable to see students each day in the school buildings for our usual conversations, information sharing, and check-ins, we have created a “virtual” place where students and their families can visit to gain and utilize resources to support students’ mental and emotional well-being. Students' mental health and happiness are just as important to us as academics during this time of remote learning at home.
This site, “Tiger Strong Live Long”, is a resource guide meant to answer questions, provide information, and give you real-life tips and strategies from familiar voices at school.
Remember: Reach out to someone if you need help. We’re all in this together.
STAY #TigerStrong
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June 10 - Student Belongings Pick-Up
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Thank You from the Superintendent
NASD Parents & Guardians:
This has certainly been a challenging end to the school year. It’s been challenging for our students. They have been asked to learn in new ways, organize their time differently, and do all of this without the daily in-person interactions with other students and staff members that are part of the traditional school experience. It’s also disrupted important milestones for our students, particularly our 12th graders who weren’t able to participate in many of the traditional senior activities. It’s been challenging for our families. They have had to organize dedicated learning spaces in their homes, serve as quasi teachers, and do all of this while maintaining a work-life balance.
It has also been challenging for all of us who work in the District. In a very short period of time, we completely changed our educational model and the ways that we interact with students and one another. We also learned that we can move mountains when there is a call to action. But through every situation, good or bad, you learn something that helps you grow moving forward.
Shortly after we moved into a remote learning environment, we distributed a survey to students, families, and staff members regarding their experiences. The feedback we received contains valuable information regarding how we responded to a remote learning environment and helps set the stage for future efforts. Some of the highlights from this remote learning survey include:
- Students and parents would like to see more real-time, live instruction between students and teachers. They miss these important interactions.
- Blackboard in grades 6-12 helps organize student learning.
- The lack of a consistent learning platform in grades K-5 is very challenging for students and parents.
- Staff members are asking for more professional learning around teaching in a remote environment.
- Students and staff members noted in the survey that there are concerns about their mental health and well-being.
This feedback proved valuable as we thought about the end of the current school year and how we might prepare for the 2020-2021 school year. To address some of our needs, we made the decision to change the last student day of the school year from June 11 to June 5. In doing so, we were able to coordinate opportunities for students to return school materials and pick up their belongings next week and this information was recently communicated with students and families. The change to the last student day also created time during the week of June 8 to begin preparing for the coming school year, using the feedback from the remote learning survey to help guide these efforts and provide staff with the professional learning activities that they have requested.
Next week will also give us an opportunity to continue our planning for next school year. We know that the coming school year may look different. We need to think creatively about how we can meet the academic, social, and emotional needs of our students as well as ensuring the safety of our students, staff members, and families. Recently, we developed a Return to School committee for the 2020-2021 school year. This committee, composed of stakeholders from across the District, is tasked with answering a variety of questions, including:
- How might we incorporate the CDC guidelines and Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) guidance in our planning efforts for next year?
- How do we support learning for all students in an environment that flexibly moves back and forth between in-person and remote learning environments when needed?
- How might we incorporate more live video if we are in a remote environment in the future?
- What does this look like for students and families who are physically unable to come to school in person?
- What are the parameters we have to work with at North Allegheny?
These questions, and many others, are being addressed by the Return to School committee.
Education is going to look different for all of us. So let’s take what we have learned over the past three months and build a better future for our students, for our families, and for our staff members. I am confident that we have the people in this District to guide this work throughout the summer in preparation for next year. Once these plans take shape, we will communicate them with the entire school community.
Thank you for embracing change. Thank you for being kind, because the world certainly needs more of that right now. And thank you for being the difference and supporting our remote learning efforts over the past three months. As Mr. Rogers once said, “Often when you think you’re at the end of something, you’re at the beginning of something else.”
Sincerely,
Dr. Robert Scherrer
Superintendent
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A Letter from the North Allegheny School Board & Administrators
Over the last week, our country has been torn apart by the tragic events related to the death of George Floyd and other similar incidents of racial inequities. The North Allegheny School District stands in solidarity with our black and brown students, families, and staff members. We are committed to diversity, anti-racism, and positive support for our school community.
While our District has taken steps to educate students and staff members on racial differences, ways to combat hatred, and how to build an inclusive community, it is not enough. We are committed to working together with our students, staff, and families to continue to build a more inclusive environment.
Plans are already underway to expand the work of our District Diversity Committee and help us lead conversations about racism, inequalities, and ways to embrace diversity in the coming school year. Our hope is that the North Allegheny community can be part of a larger movement that is working to promote positive, systemic change in our changing world.
Children may have questions about protests and racism. We wanted to provide some resources so that you are prepared to have a conversation with your child.
Resources
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Technology at Home Over the Summer
Parents/guardians are encouraged to visit the North Allegheny website for
resources and information regarding managing technology at home. These materials can assist in finding information related to digital citizenship and creating a safe virtual environment for students.
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Elementary Report Cards
Report cards will be available in the Tyler portal on June 17, 2020. As a reminder, elementary moved to a pass/fail grading system for academic subjects in grades 2-5 for the fourth quarter of the 2019-2020 school year. Marking indicators will also be modified as follows:
Special Area Classes
Report cards will report 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 First Grade
Report cards will report 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.
- Additionally, some marking indicators such as Skills for Success will not be assessed for the fourth quarter of the 2019-2020 school year.
Second through Fifth Grades
- Report cards will report 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.
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June 12 Virtual Commencement
Our virtual commencement will be streamed live on Friday, June 12 at 7:00 p.m. A link to the ceremony will be shared on the
NA website and via our social media accounts (
Facebook,
Twitter,
Instagram). We encourage you to share the link with family and friends that may want to watch. The link will be live on our website for continued viewing after the June 12 event.
This virtual ceremony was designed by senior students and NA staff. Class of 2020 families were asked to submit photos and each graduate will be featured during the program. This was truly a group effort and we thank all of you for the time you spent to help make it a memorable event. The commencement will include:
- Student Speeches
- Student Performances
- Messages from NASD Administration
- Messages from the Community
- Conferral of Diplomas
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Help Pick a New NA Tiger Logo!
A logo is much more than an image. It’s a symbol of what a school stands for: it’s memorable, timeless, and unique to the District. A consistent logo provides instant visual recognition of a school.
After discovering multiple tiger images in use across the District, a team of North Allegheny staff and students embarked on a project to design a consistent tiger logo. The goal was to create a custom design with unique qualities; friendly enough not to scare our youngest students, but fierce enough for our student-athletes, making it recognizable to the community and the region as the NA Tiger. Key stakeholders met on an ongoing basis to review and discuss various iterations of the design.
Today, we are pleased to share the final two concepts with students, staff, and parents/guardians to help us vote on the final logo. The tiger image will complement our NA letter logo and be available for District clubs, organizations, and sports to use.
Please vote on your favorite NA Tiger Logo by the end of the day on Sunday, June 7. The winning design will be unveiled at the start of the 2020-2021 school year. A special thank you to the staff and students that provided feedback to the design!
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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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North Allegheny Foundation Community Survey
North Allegheny Foundation is asking for insight on our mission to enrich and enhance the educational experiences at NA. Participants who complete the 5 minute survey will be entered in a drawing to direct a $250 grant to the school of their choice. The survey closes on June 8.
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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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