March 2015

This past weekend I had the privilege of observing my own son pushing himself beyond the limits as he was being tested to earn his black belt. Outside of the pride I felt as a mother, it really refocused my attention to our conversations and work with GRIT! Grit is perseverance and passion for long-term goals. In today’s instant gratification and 24/7 societies, we as parents, educators and coaches of the next generation, sometimes fail to let our own struggle enough to develop this grit. Grit is one of the most powerful indicators of success, even more important than intelligence. Grit means things are tough and they get tougher before accomplishments occur.

We worry, I know I do about all the kids in my care, that this will hurt self-esteem, that we need to support and guide more, but sometimes this is at the detriment of all of our children’s long-term success. Struggle is one of the greatest gifts to develop grit. When we let our own struggle with a problem, social situation, or personal interaction, we are empowering them with the attitude that they can solve it, conquer it, and rise above it! There will not be an immediate fix that we did for them.

 I urge you to continue to think about letting your child struggle and work hard, and even be unsure. At school, we will also work to continue to balance support and plan for struggle, putting a focus on affording our kids the opportunities to, not have all the answers, deal with the social situation on their own, with all of our support and guidance, but allow them to achieve themselves. In all work with children, everything we do has vast impact. Our greatest pride as parents and educators come from this, as do our biggest fears. These things matter. The way we ALL work with our children matters and we know it!

March is a busy month at NPE and hopefully one that affords us a more typical schedule than the cold month of February. I hope to see you all at the PTO meeting at 6:30 on March 3rd. I will begin by addressing redistricting and discuss the upcoming assessments, NPE events and some of the educational topics that have been flooding the media.  

Together, we will all continue to grow and reflect and the impact on each and every child at NPE will be a powerful one!

Warm regards,

Dana Ziegler

Principal

March Reminders

3^rd- PTO Meeting 6:30 pm

6^th- ½ Day Parent-Teacher Conferences

13^th- Report Cards go home

19^th- Kindergarten Registration

         PTO Denny’s Fundraiser

20^th- No School- Superintendent Conference Day

31^st- Math Night for Grades 3-6 @ 6 pm

February 1^st, 2015

We spent our morning on Jan 30^th with our 3^rd Mindfully Green School-Wide morning. Aquaman, along with some 4^th grade helpers kicked off the assembly teaching all of us about the importance of conservation, with a focus on conserving water. We continue to be impressed with the student’s determination to be mindful of our Earth! The Chestnut Hill Middle School students from the Courtyard Clean up Project also came to share their learning to a fully captivating audience. It is so nice to see the power of student voice in projects and the leadership skills these students’ possess!

All students went forth and worked on projects that we will show on Open house of how they will respond and conserve our resources.

NPE February Events

Feb 11th- Redistricting Meeting: 6:30 Annex Cafe

Feb 12th- Sweetheart Dinner, Book Fair, Health Fair and Playground Raffle 5-6:30pm

Feb 16th-20th- Winter Break

Warm regards,

Dana Ziegler

Principal

Jan 2015 @ NPE

Dear NPE Families,

The New Year is upon us and with the celebrations and special times with those we value, new promises and opportunities to set goals and work towards achieving new goals fills the air at NPE. We will continue to collaborate as an entire learning community in 2015, to provide the best opportunities and high levels of learning for each child at Nate Perry.

As we return back to school, students will review procedures and classroom communities will reconnect to create a kind and supportive environment. We will have our mid-year assessments and use the data to adjust and respond to each child’s needs.  We will assure Mindfulness instruction to help support the needs and the whole child.

Together, the possibilities are endless and we look forward to the risk-taking, growth, successes and challenges that lie ahead.

Happy New Year, may this year bring to all an opportunity for greatness!

Warm regards,

Dana Ziegler

Principal

January Events @ Nate Perry

6^th- Playground Committee @ 5:30 pm and PTO Meeting @ 6:30 pm

15^th- Readers from Birth- NPE Library @ 6:00 pm

16^th- PTO Winter Bingo 6:00 pm

19^th- No School- Martin Luther King Jr. Day

30^th- ½ day of School 11:20 dismissal- Professional Development

Important Events @ NPE
December 9th- 4th grade chorus and band concert 7pm
December 10th- NPE participates in an Hour of Code 1:30-2:30
December 12th- 1/2day focused on Mindfully Green- Reuse and SWAP 11:20 dismissal
December 16th- 3rd and 4th grade attend Synergy performance@ Liverpool High School
                           5th and 6th grade Chorus and Orchestra Concert 7pm
December 17th- PAC performance for K-2 Dickens Christmas Carol
December 19th- School-wide Rock around the Clock Assembly

Dear Families,
Together as an entire community, this week we will participate in two big events that we are very excited about. On Wednesday, the entire school will take an hour to partake in The Hour of Code. This will give all students an opportunity to learn, and participate in coding. If you would like to read more about this event, or volunteer feel free to contact me! hourofcode.com
On Friday we will spend our 2nd 1/2 day focused on being Mindfully Green. Reuse will be our focus with our activities, SWAP and marker drive. Volunteers are needed to help run our SWAP tables so if you are able to help out from 9:00-11:00 please contact me.

This time of year is extremely busy, and jam packed with special events and excitement. We use our mindfulness technique more frequently to assure we stop, focus and are in the moment with all we are doing. We look forward to seeing you at the many events in the next few week.

Warm regards,
Dana Ziegler
Principal

November 18th

A big thank you to all of our families for the food donations that will help so many right in the NPE community. We are grateful to Lockheed Martin who also donated many turkeys and other fixings to assure all of our families have a happy and healthy holiday.

Throughout the classrooms at NPE we continue to develop our literacy, math, science and social studies skills but you will also see a great focus on the 21st century skills needed for our kids to be successful in their future. Collaboration, communication, creativity and critical thinking are a focus in addition to the content in all we are working towards. Many new technological tools and skills are being developed within these skills as well.

 

Many Important Dates to Remember:

November 26-30- Thanksgiving Recess
December 2 and 4th- 1/2 Day Parent Teacher Conferences 11:20 Dismissal
December 5th Craft and Game Night
December 9th- Band/Chorus Concert 7pm
December 10th-NPE participates in an Hour of Code 1:30-2:30 Schoolwide coding
December 12th- 1/2 Day focused on Mindfully Green- Reuse 11:20 Dismissal

November 11, 2014

As I sit here on this beautiful fall day, I cannot help but reflect on the many many things we are thankful for each day. Happy Veteran's day to all of our Veteran's and much gratitude to you and your families for all you have scarified for all of us. At NPE, we call that Kinder than Necessary. In the past few days we have had many special events at NPE and many of the members of our community and our families have gone above and beyond for the kids of NPE.

 On Sunday, the 6th grade class hosted a pancake breakfast to raise money for their 6th grade filed trip. This was a huge success and I need to extend a thank you to many local companies who donated items for raffle baskets, the 6th grade parents, the 6th grade teachers and Applebee's for supporting our kids.

Last night, the NPE Playground Committee, held our first fundraiser at Tully's and again, many families, students and the staff at Tully's deserve much thanks. We are a child-centered and kind community and that is an amazing blessing.  Busch Products also donated $2000 to kick off our fundraising efforts. Many blessing and thanksgiving to go around.

But, along with the big events and big donations, kinder than necessary actions are experienced each day at NPE. We work with wonderful children, families and staff that together continue to take risks, support each other through difficult times, reach out to those in need all to better each experience for each child. Our food pantry, backpack program and holiday food drive is just another example of this.

Thank you for continuing on with us on our journey.
Warm regards,
Dana Ziegler
Principal

 
 

 

November is upon us and it is hard to believe. This week we have many events at school!

Tomorrow, November 4th is picture retake day. We also have our 2nd Playground Committee Meeting @ 5:30 in the NPE library and our PTO meeting at 6:30pm. 

 On Thursday, November 6th we invite all of the young readers to our Reader's From Birth Event at 6pm in the Library. Sunday, November 9th, from 8-10am our 6th graders will host an Applebee's Pancake Breakfast as a fundraiser. Bring your whole family for this fun filled morning. 

This is an exciting and busy week at NPE and I hope I have the pleasure of seeing many of you. 

Warm regards,

Dana Ziegler

Principal