Maker Faire Fun

Northside hosted its first Maker Faire on November 10. Community members, staff members, and parents shared students different hands-on experiences. Students were able to explore art, pottery, 3D technology, music, crafts, and design.

-Submitted by Diana Lisle

Fifth Graders "Mix It Up" at Lunch

On Tuesday, October 27, 2015, the 5th graders at Northside celebrated national "Mix It Up at Lunch Day." This national campaign was launched by Teaching Tolerance over a decade ago and encourages students to identify, question, and cross social boundaries.

Rather than sitting with their class in the cafeteria, NES fifth graders sat with students who share their same birth month.  Conversation starters were available on each table to give the students a springboard for some great dialogue.  A lot of fun was had by all and we hope to "Mix It Up" a few more times this school year.

CLICK HERE to learn more about Mix It Up at Lunch Day.

-Submitted by Virginia Fox, School Counselor

Digital Citizenship Week Celebrated at Northside

During the week of October 18-24, Northside students and staff celebrated Digital Citizenship Week. This celebration was part of an on-going emphasis and discussion in NES classrooms around what it means to be a safe, respectful, and responsible digital citizen.

Each day of the celebration included a focus on different topics including: using your Netsmartz, telling a trusted adult, respecting the property of others, practicing good netiquette, and protecting personal information. Students watched an animated video from the NetSmartz Workshop that was connected with the focus for the day.

Students also had the opportunity to participate in an essay contest by answering the questions, "What does it mean to be a safe, respectful, and responsible digital citizen?" Winners will be announced soon.

Throughout the school year, teachers will be using the Common Sense Media Digital Literacy and Citizenship Curriculum to address topics to help students survive and thrive in the digital world.

Continue the digital citizenship discussion at home by using the "It's Time to Have the Talk" Tip Sheet to visit the Parent Section of the Common Sense Media website. As students were reminded last week, "Being a good digital citizen should be something we do every hour of every day!"

November 3rd Spirit Night at Carrboro Pizza Oven

Northside Elementary School will have a spirit night at the Carrboro Pizza Oven on November 3, 2015 from 5:00 - 8:00 PM. The PTA will receive 15% of all sales during this three hour period. Come out and have some great pizza and visit with other Navigator families all while supporting the NES PTA!

2015 Walk for Education Splash of Color Spirit Week

Navigators, are you ready? During the week leading to the Walk for Education, wear clothing of the following colors:

Monday (10/5)- Black & White Day

Tuesday (10/6)- Grade Level Color Day

• Pre-K & K- Orange
• 1st & 2nd- Blue
• 3rd- Green
• 4th- Red
• 5th- Yellow

Wednesday (10/7)- Tacky Twin Day

• Dress like someone else in your class or grade level. Wear as many colors as you can!

Thursday (10/8)- Crayola Day

• Dress like crayons, one color from head to toe.

Friday (10/9)- Go Green

• Wear your green Walk for Education t-shirt or other green clothing.

Saturday (10/10)- Wear you Northside Navigator T-Shirt

• Show our school pride at Walk for Education!

NES Spirit Night at Al's Burger Shack September 28

The NES PTA will be holding a Spirit Night at Al’s Burger Shack on Monday, September 28 from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM.  Patrons need to mention they are with Northside Elementary when ordering and we earn 15% of those sales for our PTA.

2015-2016 NES Spirit Wear Available for Pre-Order

Greetings Navigators!  We are excited to present you with a preview of the 2015-2016 spirit wear.  CLICK HERE to download the form to pre-order your shirts.  You can mail the completed form and your payment to Northside PTA to the school (address is on the form).  Please put spirit wear on the envelope.  Order now to pick up your shirt on Meet the Teacher Night!

Show your Navigator spirit and help support the PTA!

**Due to use of hand dyed shirts, color may slightly vary.

2015-2016 School Supply List Posted

The school supply list for the 2015-2016 school year has been posted online. The document is available in English, Spanish, Karen, and Burmese.

CLICK HERE to access a digital copy. A link can also be found under the Quick Link section on the school's home page.

Printed copies are available in main office at the school.

Enjoy the rest of the summer!

School Rap- 2015 Remix Released

A remix of the Northside School Rap debuted at a post-EOG pep rally help for third, fourth, and fifth grade students on Wednesday, June 4, 2015. Check out the music video below.

Lyrics

By Jeremy McIlwaine

Chorus

We are the teachers at Northside, Northside.

We are the teachers at Northside, Northside.

We're thinking, learning, growing with persistence and pride.

Verse 1 (Ms. Kelly)

Sitting in my classroom thinking, learning, growing

Students use manipulatives, making sure their work is showing.

Got their name on their paper and they wrote the date.

Man I love Northside because...

Verse 2 (Ms. Powell)

Chilling in my classroom on my work I'm checkin'. 

Best grade level in the school, I'm reppin 2nd

Lifecycles, weather, and the 3 states of matter.

Thinking, learning, growing up the elementary ladder.

Verse 3 (Ms. T Jones)

Second year on the scene, still working with my team.

Navigators On the Move still navigating seas.

Stop! Shhhs... compass cards in the hallway.

With my navigator crew, orange and blue that's how we do.

Verse 4 (Ms. D Jones)

Representing third grade, yeah you know we in the house.

Teaching reading and math skills, D. Jones, I hold it down.

Students on the iPad, use Reflex Math.

If knowledge is the goal, then we on that learning path.

Verse 5 (Ms. Symons)

I'm Symons, yeah, I gotta mindset that grows.

Effort is success, and everybody knows.

Three years in the game, yes teaching is my thing.

Now put your hands up and do that Northside thing.

Verse 6 (Ms. Walker)

We're the first not the last, pre-k head of class.

ABCs, 123s, science, math we're working please.

It's all in fun in the sun, pre-k is what we run.

Knock, knock, shell shocked, kindergarten here they come.

Verse 7 (Ms. Cole)

Technology and books go hand in hand.

Checking out and checking in, and we do it all again.

We got books, we got magazines, something fun and new.

When you finish with your book, please return or renew.

Verse 8 (Ms. Quick)

It's Quick's 4th grade, walking through the door.

This is my job and yeah, it's not a chore.

Planning, working hard, getting them ready for the EOG.

Ain't no worries, they're not stressing. Yeah, Yeah, they got me.

Verse 9 (Ms. Murrill)

Teaching all the students while they get their education.

Meeting after meeting got the teachers going crazy.

Scores going up at Northside.

Thinking, learning growing with persistence and pride.

(Now do the whip and represent that Northside.)

Navigators on the Move Hosts Community Festival

On Thursday, May 7, 2015 Navigators on the Move sponsored the second annual Community Festival designed to bring the school and the community together. Navigators on the Move is an after school club that prides itself on enriching students' lives through education and community involvement. The group's advisors are Northside staff members Jeremy McIlwaine, Chavis McManus, Crystal Bowe and Tameka Jones.

-Submitted by Jeremy McIlwaine

STEAM Day 2015

STEAM Day 2015 was a huge success at Northside! Parents, community members, and volunteers joined us to fill this day with meaningful and engaging experiences for students relating to Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math. Each class saw four different demonstrations facilitated by NASA employees, geologists, chemists, Moseley architects, Fifth Season, NES staff, and more! They also participated in a time of self-selected exploration involving designing roller coasters, exploring surface tension, building bridges, etc. Students left with plans to be chemists and an excitement to explore more about the world surrounding them.

-Submitted by Diana Lisle

CLICK HERE to check out another slide show of the events of the day.

Northside Elementary Wins Gold Stewardship Development Award

In the fifth annual awards cycle for the Greater Triangle Stewardship Development Awards Program (GTSDA), three local land development projects received awards.  An awards ceremony was held at the Power Plant at the American Tobacco Campus on April 29.

Developer Roger Perry of East-West Partners provided by brief keynote address, followed by presentation of awards to recipients by local Meteorologist Chris Hohmann of WTVD ABC11.  

Northside Elementary School in Chapel Hill was one of three innovative winning projects (the others were Park West Village in Cary and the Saxapahaw Rivermill Project). This redevelopment project was awarded a Gold Stewardship Development Award, the program’s highest-level award. Northside Elementary School was originally home to the African-American Orange County Training School, built in 1924, most of which had been abandoned. By redeveloping this site, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, with Timmons Group and Mosely Architects, realized a great opportunity to revitalize the Northside neighborhood while avoiding the ecological impacts that come from building on a new site. Careful deconstruction of the existing buildings permitted high rates of material reuse and recycling. The project enhanced a local greenway, a resource conservation area, and a community garden.

The project did an outstanding job of protecting water quality through use of porous pavers, porous playgrounds, green roofs, and an underground stormwater detention basin. A 60,000-gallon underground cistern supplies provides water for toilet fixtures and a cooling tower. A second 5,000-gallon cistern irrigates the school garden. The redevelopment project preserved trees and removed invasive species. The project recently became the first LEED Platinum elementary school in North Carolina, and is one of only four LEED Platinum elementary schools in the entire country.

An interdisciplinary expert panel of judges evaluated the projects for achievement in multiple areas of sustainability:

1. Natural Resource Assessment
2. Water Quality Protection
3. Wildlife Habitat Protection
4. Vegetation Protection and Enhancement
5. Green Building
6. Integration with the Community
7. Long-Term Management and Maintenance
8. Community Outreach and Education

Modeled after a sister program in the Coastal NC area, the Greater Triangle Stewardship Development Awards Program is a partnership established in 2010 among local businesses, academia, state agencies and local governments. The program incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in 2014. Applications for recognition in the 2016 cycle will be solicited in fall 2015.

-Submitted by the CHCCS Office of Community Relations

Northside Named Cool School

Northside Elementary School has been named this week's Cool School by WNCN.

WNCN Meteorologist Alyssa Corfont will broadcast live from the school on WNCN Today Friday (5/8)  morning at 11 AM as she speaks with the 2nd grade students who are currently studying weather.

CLICK HERE to learn more.

WNCN: News, Weather, Raleigh, Durham, Fayetteville

International Navigator Night 2015

There was an incredible turn out at the second annual International Navigator Night held on Wednesday, April 22, 2015.  It was great to see so many Northside families, students, and staff out to celebrate their cultures through song, dance, exhibits, and food.  The sights and smells from all of the world brought us all a little bit closer.  We hope you had a great time getting your passport stamped at exhibits, watching the amazing performances, and eating the delicious food.  We're looking forward to next year already!

-Submitted by Nan Lujan, ESL Teacher

Ms. Sharpless Named District Assistant Principal of the Year

Northside Assistant Principal, Coretta Sharpless, has been named the CHCCS Assistant Principal of the year. Assistant Superintendents Dr. Magda Parvey and Dr. Todd LoFrese attended the after school staff meeting on April 15, 2015 to make the announcement.

Congratulations to Ms. Sharpless for being an outstanding leader at Northside and throughout the district!

NES School Improvement Team (SIT) Nominations Open

The NES SIT is seeking nominations of parents to fill three (3) parent representatives positions for the 2015-17 term (beginning fall 2015).  The nomination process is by self-nomination. Nomination forms were sent home in student's Wednesday folders on March 25. You may also CLICK HERE to access an electronic copy of the nomination form. Additional copies are also available in the school's main office.

Completed nomination forms should returned to school with your child or sent via email to Tiki Gwynne at gwynne@email.unc.edu.

Nomination forms are due by Friday, April 10, 2015.

Voting ballots to select the parent SIT representatives will be sent home with 3rd quarter report cards.

The SIT is a focused, advisory, support team charged with providing input and guidance to the NES school administration for the purpose of continuous school improvement. Parent representatives on the SIT are elected by secret ballot vote and serve for two consecutive years. The SIT parent nominees consist of parents of NES students and the NES PTA facilitates the election each year. The time commitment will be once a month meetings and other functions/programs as a representative of NES.  Please consider nominating yourself for this important role!

Digital Learning Day 2015 Celebrated at Northside

On Friday, March 13, Northside Elementary School participated in Digital Learning Day by holding and Open House from 8 AM - 10 AM. During the open house parents, school district staff, and community members visited in classrooms across the school to experience how digital tools are used on a daily basis for teaching and learning at Northside.

Digital Learning Day is an annual nationwide celebration of innovative teachers and common-sense, effective applications of digital learning in America’s schools that support teachers, improve learning, and provide options for students to achieve at their highest potential.