Dear NHS Community,

Parent-Teacher Conferences 

We have set aside a window of Oct. 14-Nov.1 for parent-teacher conferences this fall. Your child’s teacher will contact you to set up a time to meet. We value the opportunity for parents and teachers to meet to discuss student progress and goals both academically and socially. Written Report Cards will be sent home in late November.

First and Second Trimester Dates:

Nov. 15: End of first trimester

Nov. 22: Written Report Cards sent home

March 13: End of second trimester

March 20: Written Report Cards sent home

 

Attendance Policy at NHS

We are glad to see your children every day and value the time we have with them for academic instruction and the social connections they make with one another. In order to make the most of the time we have for teaching and learning, it is important that students arrive to school on time each day. School begins at 8:25 AM each morning. Similarly, frequent absences can interrupt the progression of learning for students. The North Hampton School Board has a policy on attendance that can be viewed on the SAU 21 website (Section J, Code JH). The policy identifies excused absence reasons as: 1) illness, 2) recovery from an accident, 3) required court attendance, 4) medical and dental appointments, 5) death in the immediate family, 6) observation or celebration of a religious holiday, and 6) such other good cause as may be acceptable to the Principal or permitted by law. Any absence that has not been excused for any of these reasons will be considered an unexcused absence. Generally speaking, we prefer that families make medical appointments outside of school hours when possible. We understand that children do get sick, so please let Nurse Mara know of any illness that could be contagious. We appreciate your support.

Growth Mindset

We already know developing a growth mindset empowers kids. It also changes their reaction to failure.Stanford professor, Carol Dweck, coined the phrase growth mindset after years of research.  She found that after making a mistake, children with growth mindsets show a larger brain response than those with fixed mindsets. They were also more likely to improve their performance as a result. Failure is inevitable, but by focusing their attention on what went wrong and how they could fix it, kids with growth mindsets were able to turn failures into positive learning experiences.

At North Hampton School, our teachers use the notion of growth mindset to promote learning and a sense of safety. We hope our students feel comfortable making mistakes and understand that, in fact, deeper learning takes place as a result of making mistakes. Our middle school classes began the school year talking about the “Week of Inspirational Math.” These activities and videos focused on open ended math problems and the notion that everyone can be a ‘math’ person. Effort is valued and mistakes are considered opportunities for deeper learning.

I have attached a fun handout that highlights things that were invented “by mistake.” Have a look!

Invented by Mistakes - Big Life Journal.pdf 

 

Athletics

We hosted a great Cross Country meet yesterday. Many thanks to all the volunteers!

Please see the weekly schedule below. 

Geo Challenge Opportunity for Grades 4-8

Look in this Friday’s folder for an announcement from Ms. Carlson about a National Geographic GeoChallenge titled “Tackling Plastic.” This is an opportunity for interested students in grades 4-8 to participate in this timely enrichment opportunity.

Dates to remember

Oct. 14: Columbus Day--No school

Oct. 17: PAL meeting 6-7 PM

Oct. 25: Halloween Howl sponsored by PAL (5-8 PM)

Oct. 29: Picture Re-take Day

Oct. 29: Talent Show Rehearsal 3-5 PM

Oct. 31: Halloween Parade-Grades K-3

Nov. 8: Veteran’s Day Assembly at 8:45 AM

Nov. 8: North Hampton Talent Show at Winnacunnet HS auditorium @ 5:30 PM

Nov. 11: Veteran’s Day--No school

Nov. 20: No school--Teacher Professional Day