NHA App Communication

 

One of our Core Values is “Make our school the best choice for parents and students.” Every year, our parents express their appreciation for how well we keep them informed through the Voice of the Parent survey results.

To continue to provide effective communication between home and school, we need to be mindful of the number of communications that are sent each week. It’s a best practice to only send your newsletter and possibly one other post (if you forgot something) a week. Parents shouldn’t be receiving 3 or more communications per week because it can be overwhelming, especially if they have more than one student. Thank you for ensuring our communications are clear and concise.

Student Dress Down Days

 

When students earn a dress down or jean day for completing forms, perfect attendance, and other rewards it is for those students only, not staff, because those students did something to earn it! This is similar to when we have staff dress down days in which students aren’t allowed to participate. Staff can participate in schoolwide dress down days that are offered to everyone (spirit day, $1.00 dress down, etc.).

Please feel free to wear one of your dress down or jean passes on student earned dress down days. If you have any questions, please reach out to a leadership team member.

Grading Autonomy

 

As a reminder, the purpose of this grading and autonomy document is to provide clarity and consistency around grading expectations while also supporting teacher autonomy. By establishing shared guidelines, we ensure fairness for students, alignment across grade levels, and transparency for families. At the same time, teachers maintain professional judgment in how they design and implement assessments within these parameters.

Our goal is to create a system that is equitable, consistent, and focused on accurately reflecting student learning and growth.

Refer and Earn

 

The NHA Employee Referral Program, Refer & Earn, is designed to reward employees for referring friends and family to NHA for employment opportunities.

The goal of the program is to incentivize employees to make connections and help NHA find candidates who share the same passion as NHA to impact the lives of the students we serve. Please click here to learn about the guidelines and bonus payout amounts. You can earn up to $3000!

Observations

As you know the leadership team conducts leadership calibration observations. These are observations where all 5 of us observe one classroom together and debrief afterwards. For the next two weeks, our focus is on the Teaching competency. Please take a moment to review the teaching competency in this document, which highlights what we’ll be looking for when we observe you in action.

Remember, this isn’t about “gotchas”—it’s about supporting you, building consistency across classrooms, and ensuring every student benefits from high-quality teaching. If you have any questions or would like to talk through the expectations, don’t hesitate to reach out—we’re in this together!

ABCDE Goal-Attendance

 

Congratulations to Mrs. Baker and Mrs. Jeng’s classrooms for spelling the word, HERE and Ms. Caruso’s homeroom for spelling the word, PRESENT.

Affirmations

 

Stacey Reed for quickly updating my email to reflect the right date. I appreciate you dropping everything to help me fix my mistake.

Sandy and Sally for not only attending a parent meeting with me but also making sure I had the data I needed to have an informed and productive conversation with the family.

Tameka for stepping up as acting principal and handling the day-to-day needs of the building to support staff and students. Thank you for making sure everything continued to run smoothly.

Sandy for going above and beyond to ensure our students continue to receive a high-quality education. You have taken on additional responsibilities, stepped in wherever needed, and consistently puts our students first. Your flexibility and dedication to do whatever it takes to support our students and keep things moving have not gone unnoticed.

Robyn for making sure all our students completed their NWEA testing! Coordinating testing across the building takes a lot of organization, follow-up, and patience. Thank you for making sure we got it done.

Stephanie for jumping in to help with a last-minute request that brought a little extra brightness to someone’s day. Your willingness to drop what you were doing to make it happen does not go unnoticed.

Cindy for stepping in and supporting a colleague to make sure we had all our required paperwork in order. Thank you for always helping keep us on track.

Tameka for always finding ways to help everyone else. Thank you for taking on behavioral students, doing NWEA make-ups, and so much more. You are appreciated.

Stacey Ramirez for working so diligently to ensure we have extra funds to use for our students and staff.

Tracy and Steve for having hard conversations with students to make sure they have a smooth school year.

Amanda, Diane, and Hanna for kicking off NJHS and starting another exciting year of leadership and service!

Tracy and Diane for all the time, thought, and planning you’ve put into MOYA to make sure everything is organized and ready to go!

Jen R. and Aimee for finalizing our Anti-Bullying Month activities and events and creating meaningful opportunities for our entire school community to come together and stand up against bullying.

Ja’Rayl for giving your personal time to our students by offering Open Gym. Your commitment to providing them with opportunities to develop and grow is appreciated. Looking forward to a successful season.

This Week

 

Monday, September 28:

     ·      Jorvonna Out of the Building (Bay Mills)-Robyn Acting Principal

Tuesday, September 29:

     ·      Sally’s Birthday

Thursday, October 1:

     ·      Field Trip Location & Date Submitted to Jorvonna

Friday, October 2:

     ·      Progress Reports

     ·      Payday Friday Breakfast-2^nd Grade

Saturday, October 3:

     ·      Emily’s Birthday

Happy Birthday

 

Important Dates

 

October 5: Follow the Yellow Brick Road to Kindness—Students may wear a yellow or gold top with jeans for FREE.

October 6: Breast Cancer Awareness-wear pink shirt w/jeans for $1.00

October 6: SLT Meeting @3:50

October 7: Perfect Attendance Reward

October 7: Count Day

October 8: Aimee’s Birthday

October 8: Purple Club

October 8: Morning Assembly Presentation Due (Indigenous Peoples’ Day)-Patton

October 9: GL Intervention Meeting

October 10: Monique’s Birthday

October 12: Anti-bullying Unity Day—Have the Courage to Roar! Students may wear an orange shirt with jeans FREE

October 13: Staff Meeting

October 13: Staff Meeting Snacks-4^th Grade

October 14: ½ Day Dismissal at 11:20 AM 

October 14: ½ Day PD Snacks-ABSS/EL

October 15: Family Learning Night

October 15: Morning Assembly Presentation Due (Bullying Prevention Month)-Dietz

October 15: Courtney’s Birthday

October 16: Payday Friday Breakfast-1^st Grade

October 19: Glow Like Glenda—Students may wear a sequin, sparkle, or neon top with jeans for $1.00.

October 19-23: Coat Drive

October 21: Robyn P’s Birthday

October 22: Jeans w/School Appropriate Top and Hat $1.00 each

October 22: Morning Assembly Presentation Due (American Indian Heritage Month-What and Why)-Phetteplace

October 23: Trunk or Treat

October 23: MTSS/IAT Meetings

October 25: Kim J’s Birthday

October 26: Somewhere Over the Rainbow—Students may wear their favorite color shirt with jeans for $1.00.

October 26: David’s Birthday

October 27: PLC (Team) Meeting

October 27 & 28: Sunrise Social

October 30: Spirit Day & Popcorn $1.00 each

October 30: Payday Friday Breakfast-Specials

October 30: Social Media Post Due to Jorvonna-1^st Grade

October 26-30: 3-8 ELA & Math Interim 1

October 26-30: Science Interim 1 (3-4 & 6-8)

*If you have an event to add or something has been forgotten, please let me know!  

NHA App Communication

During August PD, we talked about NHA’s commitment to communication that is Quick, Clear, and Kind.

These three communication principles make a big difference in how we serve our families and build a strong school community.

NHA is monitoring our communication practices, and I’m excited to recognize the Top 3 staff members in each category! 

Congratulations to Emily Caruso who is in the top 3 for all categories!

Thank you to everyone for being intentional with your communication practices that serve as a model of our Core Value, “Make our school the best choice for parents and students.”

Peer Observations

 

The leadership team would like to offer peer observations again this year. You will have two opportunities (October/November and February/March) to observe your colleague through this formal process. However, teachers are free to set up additional observation times to take place during open times in their schedule.

To participate in the first round of peer observations, please follow the steps below.

Step 1: Set goals for desired areas of growth with your dean.

Step 2: Request a peer observation by filling out this required form before Friday, September 25. The first round of observations will take place during the months of October and November.

Step 3: The leadership team will set up a 30-45 minute observation based on teacher request and send calendar invites.

Step 4: Teacher will complete this Professional Development Peer Observation form and return to your dean the day after the observation takes place.

Step 5: Debrief with your dean during the following O3 and discuss next steps. 

By doing peer observations, it provides valuable opportunities for reflection, gives insight into teaching practices, mutual professional development, and quality improvement in teaching and learning. Peer observations are not required but provided as an additional way to support teacher growth and development. 

Out of the Office

 

Sally, Robyn, and I will be out of the building on Wednesday attending CPI training at Arbor Prep High School. Tameka will be the acting principal for the day.

Stacey will be in the building, but she will be supporting our Special Education Open House throughout the day. With only one active member from the leadership team available, please support Tameka by handling situations at the classroom level whenever possible.

ABCDE Goals-Attendance

 

Congratulations to Mr. Higgins’ and Mrs. Roberts’ classes for spelling the word, HERE. We are making great strides toward our attendance goal! We have already decreased chronic absenteeism by 11% YTD, and it’s early in the school year. That is HUGE!

Thank you for everything you do each day to make this progress possible.

Affirmations

 

Robyn and Tameka for setting up all the cones outside to help keep our students safe and ensure GoTime runs efficiently.

Stacey Reed for facilitating our family event and making sure our new families feel welcomed and connected to the Keystone community.

Sally for going above and beyond to support your team during a time of transition. You have taken on newsletters, lesson plans, test administration, and so much more while continuing to carry the responsibilities of being a dean. Your flexibility, dedication, and willingness to step in have made a tremendous difference. Thank you for being the kind of leader who sees a need and fills a need.

Stacey Ramirez and Stephanie for taking the time to listen to and address a parent concern, allowing me to focus on other priorities while knowing the family was being heard and supported.

Theresa and Sandy for stepping up to lead instruction in the classroom when the dean needed to step away to handle her other responsibilities. Thank you for your flexibility and willingness to jump in and support the team.

Andria and Cindy for helping create a safe and secure environment for our students, and Stacey Reed for always being ready to step in as backup when needed.

Teri for stepping in to support our morning assembly by taking pictures of our Moral Focus students when you noticed no one else was doing it. You saw a need and took the initiative to fill in without being asked.

Tracy for not hesitating to share the field this spring with a new club initiative. Your flexibility and willingness to collaborate show what it means to put our students first. Thank you for being so supportive and helping create more opportunities for our Keystone students.

This Week

 

Sunday, September 20:

     ·      Tammy’s Birthday

Monday, September 21:

     ·      Fall Picture Day

Tuesday, September 22:

     ·      Education Benefits & Parent-Student Compact Jeans w/Appropriate Top Day

     ·      PLC Meetings 

Wednesday, September 23:

     ·      SpEd Open House

     ·      Jorvonna, Robyn, and Sally Out of the Building (CPI Training)-Tameka Acting Principal

Thursday, September 24:

     ·      Morning Assembly Presentation Due (Global Diversity Awareness Month)-Robinson

     ·      Jacquelyn’s Birthday

Friday, September 25:

     ·      Spirit Day $1.00 and Popcorn $1.00

     ·      Dolly Parton Spirit Day for Staff

     ·      Y5/Kinder Social Media Post Due to Jorvonna

Happy Birthday

There is a special gift in the mailboxes of all the people who celebrate their birthdays in October.

Important Dates

September 28: Jorvonna Out of the Building (Bay Mills)-Robyn Acting Principal

September 29: Sally’s Birthday

October 1: Field Trip Location & Date Submitted to Jorvonna

October 2: Progress Report

October 2: Payday Friday Breakfast-2^nd Grade

October 3: Emily’s Birthday

October 5: Follow the Yellow Brick Road to Kindness—Students may wear a yellow or gold top with jeans for FREE.

October 6: Breast Cancer Awareness-wear pink shirt w/jeans for $1.00

October 6: SLT Meeting @3:50

October 7: Perfect Attendance Reward

October 7: Count Day

October 8: Aimee’s Birthday

October 8: Purple Club

October 8: Morning Assembly Presentation Due (Indigenous Peoples’ Day)-Patton

October 9: GL Intervention Meeting

October 10: Monique’s Birthday

October 12: Anti-bullying Unity Day—Have the Courage to Roar! Students may wear an orange shirt with jeans FREE

October 13: Staff Meeting

October 13: Staff Meeting Snacks-4^th Grade

October 14: ½ Day Dismissal at 11:20 AM 

October 14: ½ Day PD Snacks-ABSS/EL

October 15: Family Learning Night

October 15: Morning Assembly Presentation Due (Bullying Prevention Month)-Dietz

October 15: Courtney’s Birthday

October 16: Payday Friday Breakfast-1^st Grade

October 19: Glow Like Glenda—Students may wear a sequin, sparkle, or neon top with jeans for $1.00.

October 19-23: Coat Drive

October 21: Robyn P’s Birthday

October 22: Jeans w/School Appropriate Top and Hat $1.00 each

October 22: Morning Assembly Presentation Due (American Indian Heritage Month-What and Why)-Phetteplace

October 23: Trunk or Treat

October 23: MTSS/IAT Meetings

October 25: Kim J’s Birthday

October 26: Somewhere Over the Rainbow—Students may wear their favorite color shirt with jeans for $1.00.

October 26: David’s Birthday

October 27: PLC (Team) Meeting

October 27 & 28: Sunrise Social

October 30: Spirit Day & Popcorn $1.00 each

October 30: Payday Friday Breakfast-Specials

October 30: Social Media Post Due to Jorvonna-1^st Grade

October 26-30: 3-8 ELA & Math Interim 1

October 26-30: Science Interim 1 (3-4 & 6-8)

*If you have an event to add or something has been forgotten, please let me know!   

School Goal-Positive Behavior Rewards

One of our school goals is to decrease our total number of student behavior counts by 3% (52 total) from the 2025-26 SY to 2026-27 SY. During our staff meeting, we discussed ways to encourage and celebrate positive individual student behaviors. All the examples provided came from each of you—which means these are strategies that actually work.

The best part? This reward system doesn’t cost you anything!

As a reminder, you are not required to use this specific system. Choose what works best for your classroom and students—the key is to be intentional about recognizing and reinforcing individual positive behaviors.

While this system is for individual students, please continue to implement whole classroom rewards too! You can use whole classroom rewards such as tech time, extra recess, movie time, etc. Speak with your team lead or dean if you need additional ideas for whole classroom rewards.

Click here to review our no-cost positive behavior reward system for individual students.

Tech Time

 

Tech Time has been a long-standing whole class reward option at Keystone, and we want to continue using it as a meaningful way to celebrate positive behavior and class success.

Moving forward, we are putting a parent acknowledgment process in place to ensure that families are aware of the expectations and understand the guidelines for participating.

To make this a simple and easy process for you, the leadership team has created a Tech Time Parent Agreement template in the NHA App that will allow us to maintain consistent messaging and expectations across the school.

Before students can participate in Tech Time, a parent/guardian must acknowledge the Tech Time expectations and agreement.

Please follow these steps:

1.    Create a post in the NHA App

2.    Use the Tech Time Parent Agreement template by following these instructions

3.    Do not allow students to participate in Tech Time until a parent/guardian has acknowledged the agreement.

Our goal is to ensure that students, staff, and families are all on the same page regarding device use, appropriate content, safety, and expectations. You can read the parent acknowledgement HERE to be informed on what you are sending to your families.

Thank you for helping us ensure consistency and clarity across all classrooms!