News to Know

Dear Northern Oaks Lower School Parents,


We have many upcoming events that we want to ensure that you have on your calendar.

Please remember that the first three days of October Break, October 10th, 11th, and 12th are Parent-Teacher Conferences. This should not be a surprise. We have traditionally held conferences on these dates at Northern Oaks and this was communicated clearly in the Summer Headmaster Letter and Beginning of Year Letters. On September 28th, we will release a Signup Genius in which you can schedule time with your child’s teacher.


Parent-teacher conferences will be in person only this year. The purpose of the conference is for you to hear a full report on your child’s first quarter experience from the teacher. You will receive a first quarter grade report, beginning of year MAP (2-6) or mClass (K-2) benchmark scores, and a report on your child’s sense of wonder and depth of inquiry. Please remember that an essential perspective of classical education is to educate the whole child and not have an overemphasis on test scores and grades. Signing up for a conference is essential to receiving this holistic report.


We strive for excellence, not perfection. Our performance and “A” rating are important indicators of our successful approach, but creating great-hearted, intellectually alive, and morally grounded students who have an aesthetic appreciation of the world are more closely aligned with the ends that we seek.

We have many more important, upcoming dates that we ask that your calendar and prepare for:


HomecomingSpirit Day & Junior Mums- September 30

Individual Picture Day- October 5 (to order see below)

Character Dress Up Day and Readathon: October 28th

Lower School Fall Festival: October 29th

Athletic Field Days:

November 2nd (Grades 1-2)

November 3rd (Grades 3-4 – AM & Grade K – PM)

November 4th (Grades 5-6)

Game Night: November 11th @ 4-6 PM

Grandparents Days: November 15th (G2-3), 16th (GK-1) and 17th (G4-6)

Winter Music Concert: December 2nd

Independent Study Week: January 2nd – 6th


Sincerely,

Charles Brogan-Headmaster Lower School


Recent Communications of interest:

Newsletter with Homecoming Spirit Friday and Junior Mums

Winter Bazaar Call for Vendors

Traffic & Safety Update

AAC Recap

On Friday, September 16th the Academy Advisory Council (AAC) had its first meeting for this school year. The AAC members include administrators, teachers, and parents who meet to discuss important matters to provide insight and guidance to help solve issues and promote the mission of our great school. In this meeting, the AAC discussed issues raised by the AAC itself as well as those raised by parents prior to the meeting. Issues that were discussed included Safety and Security updates, Student Mental Health Services, our comprehensive Campus Improvement Plan, and Student/Faculty Parking.


The meeting was very productive as we discussed these critical topics and the administrators left with excellent feedback and showed great commitment to continue to lead our school community with utmost care for students and families while maintaining a strong commitment to our core values. The next AAC meeting is scheduled for November 11th and the AAC would greatly appreciate input from our parent community as we serve each other with relentless goodwill.

GHNO Field Days

Field Days are Coming! 

Each classroom K-4th has a Greek city-state they compete in during our field days. All students should have a shirt that ties to their class. You may order your shirts here! If you are unable to purchase a shirt due to a financial hardship please reach out to Ms. Rossanna Diaz 


5th & 6th grade compete as their houses to order house shirts, please see the PSO box below or order at www.ghnopso.org. House members can also wear a jersey.

Big Give Recap-Thank you! 


·   Great Hearts San Antonio raised a total of $255,430 for all six of our San Antonio schools and $53,241 of that was for GHNO!

 

·   We surpassed our campus goal of $50,000!

 

·   Great Heart Texas came in 1st Place for 'Most Raised' out of 396 participating non-profit organizations!

 

·   GHNO came in 3rd among all our six SA Great Hearts sister schools!


Thank you for your continued support!

Odds & Ends

Individual student picture day is Oct. 5. All students will be photographed. Order picture packages online!

21-22 Yearbooks

A very limited number of last year's yearbooks are available for purchase. Parents may order online through Configio. Books will be delivered to students in their classrooms. Click here to order.

Below are links to previous emails that may be of interest:




Attendance Information

Absences

The school receives state funding for all students who are in their classes at 10:30 a.m. each day. If a scholar will be out for a doctor's appointment during attendance time, please be sure to submit a doctor's note upon return so we may count him or her present for the day.


For full-day absences, please notify the Lower School registrar, Mrs. Rios, via email.

Please remember to provide daily absence notices if your student will not be at school for the day.


Extended absences during the academic year are highly discouraged and do affect student success. Excessive unexcused absences may result in loss of credit or enrollment.


Morning Tardies

As a campus, we are working to build the good habit of promptness in our students. Students may not sign themselves into school. If students are dropped off later than 7:50 a.m., parents must park and sign them in.

Breakfast/Lunch News

To read about the Breakfast and Lunch program at GHNO, please click here!


  • The 2022-2023 Free and Reduced Lunch (FRL) Application is now available. Please apply online HERE.


  • If you apply, please be sure to select the options for sharing your status with other programs if you'd like us to be able to apply benefits to Athletics, after-school programs, or other campus programs.


  • All students, regardless of status, will be charged the full meal price if they order a second serving of a meal.


  • Families can load mealtime lunch accounts online or they may send in cash or check payments to the front desk payable to GHNO. Any of our receptionists will gladly load payments onto student accounts at no charge.


  • If sending in cash or a check with your student for lunch, send it in an envelope, and please ensure their name, teacher, and class is written on the outside.

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For more information, visit the GREAT Hearts Texas Meal Service website.  

Parent Resources
Important Dates
  • Homecoming week-September 26
  • Fall Break-Parent Teacher Conferences October 10-14
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