Fall Activities

Hello Freshparents:

I hope that you and your freshman made it through the first week of school with flying colors. As you will see with all the information below, we’re on a ride that won’t stop until the end of June.

Spirit Week
Football BBQ and Game
Disco Dance
Back-to-School Night
Student Volunteer Opportunity
Picture Make-Up Day
PTSA Meeting
District School Calendars
Housekeeping

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Spirit Week

The first Spirit Week of the year is September 22 through September 26. Each day has a theme and the students may choose to participate or not, although they might be surprised at how many students do dress up. Here are the themes for next week:

Monday – Mustache Monday (maybe use a washable marker?!)
Tuesday – Rock Star Day (or, Mustache Tuesday if your student used a Sharpie on Monday!)
Wednesday – Safety Day
Thursday – Ugly Sweater Day
Friday – Red and Gold Day (everyone can do this one!)

The Welcome Back/Fall Sports assembly is Friday, September 26.

Spirit Week culminates in ….
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Football BBQ - Class of 2009 Fundraiser

Come tailgate and help the Senior class at the same time before the Newport-Skyline football game on Friday, September 26. The menu includes: burgers (3 kinds), salad, soda, chips, and a cookie all for only $10 per ticket or $30 for 4 tickets. Dinner is served from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm.

The last day to purchase tickets is Tuesday, September 23. You may purchase tickets online at: http://www.nhsgradknight2009.myevent.com/ or at the GradKnight 2009 table during Open House on September 23. Beat Skyline!! The game starts at 7:00 pm.

The Newport-Skyline football game is followed by ….
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Disco Dance

The Disco Dance is on Friday, September 26, from 9:00 pm until midnight following the home football game. Many students will dress according to the disco theme but it is not a requirement for entry. There may be “dates” going to the dance but mostly students will go in groups of friends. In spite of our students’ insistence that “everyone” goes to this dance and stays until midnight, you may be confident that not all parents permit this. You will not be alone if you decline permission to this dance or arrange to pick up your student earlier than midnight. Tickets are on sale next week during lunch until Thursday, September 25. No tickets will be sold on Friday or at the door! Guest passes for non-Newport students are online at: http://schools.bsd405.org/nhs/homepage/activities2/index.htm and must be turned in no later than Wednesday, September 24 at 3:15 pm. No faxes, paper passes only.

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Back-to-School Night

This event, scheduled for Tuesday, September 23, has several components – Grade-Level Meeting, Open House to Meet Teachers, Classroom Bucks Fundraiser, and Shopping!

Grade-Level Meeting

Parents and guardians from each class will meet in four different places around the school. Locations for these meetings will be posted in the Commons when you arrive. This meeting is scheduled for 6:15 pm until 6:55 pm and it will be conducted by one of the freshman counselors. Plan to arrive early and try to carpool with your neighbors to keep the mayhem in the parking lot to a minimum.

Open House

From 7:00 pm until 9:00 pm you will follow your child’s class schedule – 10 minutes per period and a 5-minute passing period. Wear comfortable shoes and expect to climb stairs and cover a lot of ground! I highly recommend that you find the September 2008 issue of the Knightline and turn to page 5. There you will find a schedule outline. Have your student fill it out and use this during the Open House. Volunteers will have class schedules to hand out that evening but there will be very, very long lines that may delay you from getting to the Grade-Level Meeting or your student’s classrooms. Volunteers will also have school maps to distribute. The purpose of the Open House is for parents to meet teachers, hear about course curricula and assessments, learn about classroom expectations and procedures, and receive contact information for the teachers. As you can imagine, 10 minutes is barely enough time to share this information. Open House is not the time to ask questions that relate specifically to your child; please contact the teacher after the event to schedule a meeting.

Classroom Bucks

During 2nd period of Open House, a student volunteer will visit each classroom to collect cash and checks for this PTSA fundraiser. The goal this year is $20,000 and every dollar raised will go directly into Newport classrooms in the form of teacher grants to supplement supplies and equipment to enhance curriculum. Page 7 of the September 2008 Knightline newsletter displays a form that you may return to the PTSA at a later date if necessary.

Shopping

There will be many tables set up throughout the Commons with representatives from the PTSA and various sports and clubs. You may visit these tables before, during, and after the events mentioned above. If you already joined PTSA, pick up your school directory and membership card. If you haven’t joined yet, get a membership form on page 4 of the September 2008 Knightline or at the PTSA table at Back-to-School Night. The other groups will have information to hand out or various booster items to sell – blankets, sweaters, license plate covers, water bottles, etc. – so don’t forget your checkbook!

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Student Volunteer Opportunity - Back-to-School Night

Your student may volunteer to work at Back-to-School Night from 5:45 pm to 8:45pm by signing up in the main office. Student volunteers will earn three hours of community service.

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Picture Make-Up Day

Picture make-up day is scheduled for Wednesday, September 24, beginning at 12:30 pm in the Commons. Your student may pick up an order envelope in the main office. Students who should participate in this: those who missed Check In Day and will have pictures taken for the first time, those who do not yet have a picture ID. ALL students, whether or not they order pictures or participate in ASB must have a picture ID. This is not for picture re-takes. Picture re-takes will be scheduled in October and your student will return their photo packet for a re-take. More information will follow.
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PTSA Meeting

The first PTSA meeting of the year will be held on Monday, September 29 at 7:00 pm in the school library. All parents and PTSA members are welcome to attend.

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District School Calendars

The District school calendars for the current year and the next two years were approved this past Tuesday. You may download these calendars at the following sites:

2008/2009 Calendar:
http://www.bsd405.org/portals/0/aboutBSD/schoolcalendar/200809schoolcalendar.pdf

2009/2010 Calendar:
http://www.bsd405.org/portals/0/aboutBSD/schoolcalendar/200910SchoolCalendar.pdf

2010/2011 Calendar:
http://www.bsd405.org/portals/0/aboutBSD/schoolcalendar/201011SchoolCalendar.pdf

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Housekeeping

Thanks to all the parents who responded to my housekeeping email to help me clean up the mailing list. At any time during the next four years, please do not hesitate to ask me to add or delete an email address. If you know of another freshparent who does not receive my emails, please share my address and let him/her decide whether or not to contact me. Don’t forget that I post all of my emails on the class blog -- http://newport-ptsa-2012.blogspot.com/. You can get there by going to the Newport PTSA website, click on “Resources” on the left hand side and then go to Class of 2012 blog on the right side.

Thanks for reading this far!