Complimentary Clothing for NES 4th Graders

Northside school counselor, Mrs. Fox, and art teacher, Ms. Keene, recently combined forces on an art project with Northside fourth graders called "Complimentary Clothing".  Students learned about fashion and what influences style and then used cutting and knotting techniques to alter a t-shirt to fit their own personal style.  Students then learned about what makes a good compliment and how the words that we say impact those around us.  Each student had the opportunity to write honest and thoughtful compliments on their classmate's shirts.  During the final class, students decorated their own shirt to emphasize the wonderful compliments they were given.  On Friday, February 13th, 4th graders celebrated their compliments and personal style by showing off their shirts for the whole school!

-Submitted by Virginia Fox

Northside 2014-2015 Yearbook On Sale NOW

The 2014-2015 Northside Yearbook is on sale now. Check out the awesome cover to the yearbook below!

Cost:

• $15 if ordered before 1/16/15
• $18 of ordered after 1/16/15

Two Ways to Order:

Visit www.schoolannual.com. Click "Buy Your Student's Yearbook" at the top of the page. No school code is required.

OR

Order Forms have been sent home in Wednesday folders. Complete the order form and return it to your child's teacher with cash, check, or money order (payable to the NES PTA).

ORDER DEADLINE: March 20, 2015

CLICK HERE for an information flyer.

If you have any questions, contact Tracy at tracylkasten@yahoo.com.

Second Graders Connect with School in Athens Greece for Discovery Education Project

On Tuesday, December 16, the second graders at Northside Elementary School held a Google Hangout with students from the Winners Education School in Athens, Greece. The hangout was part of the collaboration work for the two schools in the DEN Voices Connect project, sponsored by the Discovery Education Network.

During the hangout, students shared information about the location of each of the schools and discussed ideas around the project's theme of being an agent of change in our world. Northside students learned a couple of Greek words,  discussed the time difference between Chapel Hill and also differences in measuring temperature when discussing the weather. We learned that during the hangout the temperature was 8º C.

At the end of the hangout, Northside students sang the Agents of Change song for the students in Greece. Student have been learning this song in their music classes with Ms. Mia Jones.

Hopefully this will be the first of other connections we make with this school during the course of this project. We also look forward to connecting with 4th graders at Clarion Area Elementary School in Clarion, Pennsylvania.

Stay tuned for information about the Agents of Change music video that will be released at the end of the school year and feature the Northside second graders and students from all schools around the world that are participating in this project.

Video of Northside students singing Agents of Change for students in Greece.

Northside Flag Team Recognized for Doing an Outstanding Job

The Northside flag team is responsible for raising, lowering, and caring for the flags that are displayed outside of our school each day.  The team is made up of students from the 5th grade and are lead by Mr. McIlwaine. They are recognized for doing a great job with their duties and being on time everyday. Keep up the great work!

Northside Flag Team Members:

Morgan H., Abigail J., Emerson K. , Tyler H., Olivia W., Stricklon M., Jaden F. , Seth D.                                                   

Northside Participates in the National SpeakUp Survey

Northside Elementary is participating in the National SpeakUp Survey as part of a district initiative to  collect information from teachers, parents, students, and community members about the role of technology in learning. Our district is aiming for 100% participation from all stakeholders.

Parents can access the survey by going to the school's website (nes.chccs.k12.nc.us) and clicking on the speak up banner at the top of the homepage.

Students will complete the survey at school. Computers will be available in the library for parents who wish to take the survey during the school day. Paper copies of the survey are also available in the main office.

If you have any questions, please contact Alan Brown (abrown@chccs.k12.nc.us), Instructional Technology Facilitator at Northside Elementary.

Your Participation in Speak Up is Important!

Together, let's work towards leveraging technology to promote
enhanced learning in our K‐12 schools.
   

About the Speak Up National Research Project

The Speak Up National Research project annually polls K‐12 students, parents and educators about the role of technology for learning in and out of school and represents the largest collection of authentic, unfiltered stakeholder voice on digital learning. Since 2003, over 3.4 million K‐12 students, parents, teachers, librarians, principals, technology leaders and district administrators have shared their views and ideas through Speak Up. Education, business and policy leaders report that they use the data regularly to inform federal, state and local education programs.

About Speak Up 2014

• Online surveys available October 6, 2014 –December 19, 2014.
• Surveys are available this year for: K‐12 students, teachers, librarians, principals, district administrators, technology leaders, parents, business partners and community members.  The parent survey is also available in Spanish!  
• Every K‐12 school and district is eligible to participate in Speak Up. Survey access is available to participating schools and districts free of charge.  All information is 100% confidential and there is no limit to the number of surveys you can submit.    
• Every participating school and district receives free online access to your own participant data in February 2015 including the national and state data for comparison.  Why do your own survey?  Speak Up provides you with national data for benchmarking!  
• Project Tomorrow annually shares the nationally aggregated data with Congress, the US Department of Education, research organizations and many state governments.  
• Survey question topics include:  learning and teaching with technology, 21st century skills, games, STEM career exploration, online and blended learning, flipped classrooms, mobile devices, digital and online textbooks, writing with technology, professional development, school‐to‐home communications, digital citizenship, and common core assessments.   
• Use Speak Up data to:  conduct a needs assessment in your school or district, create a vision for 21st century learning, develop your technology plan and budget or measure the success of your technology investments. Be part of the national Speak Up momentum!

Speak Up is an initiative of Project Tomorrow, the nation's leading education nonprofit organization focused on empowering students to have a greater voice in their education. To learn more about Speak Up, please visit www.tomorrow.org/speakup.

Bring a Guest to Lunch Day- September 16th

It is that time of year again...

BRING A GUEST TO LUNCH DAY

At all Elementary Schools...

Tuesday September 16th

Bring a Guest to Lunch Day is going to be held in our school cafeteria on Tuesday, September 16th.  Why not ask your mom, uncle, aunt, friend, dad, grandma or just that special person to come eat lunch with you.  Enjoy a great BBQ Chicken lunch that day.

This a perfect opportunity to invite your families to experience all of the great things going on in your school cafe.  The lunch menu was planned by Karen Essig who is the district Culinary Trainer and  Chef.  We promise that no one will be disappointed. 

CLICK HERE for more information.

Northside Elementary Wins Major Award- North Carolina’s First LEED Platinum Elementary School

Chapel Hill, NC — Northside Elementary School in Chapel Hill, NC has earned Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEEDTM) Platinum certification with the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI). The three-story, 100,000-square-foot school opened in fall of 2013 and represents the first LEED Platinum elementary school in North Carolina.

Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools partnered with Moseley Architects to design a new school to support 585 students. Located in the heart of the Northside neighborhood, the site was originally home to the all African-American Orange County Training School. Since 1924 this site has functioned as a site of education, and the school’s design embraces the rich history of the community and the alumni. A display along the lower level corridor shows a timeline for the students to appreciate the history of the site, as well as a large display case that houses the school’s original cornerstone.

“We are thrilled to learn of Northside Elementary’s LEED Platinum designation,” said Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Superintendent Tom Forcella. “Moseley Architects, and the entire planning team, worked extremely hard to create such an amazing learning facility. It will benefit our students and our community for decades to come.”

The design integrates many sustainable features, and embodies a truly sustainable approach to a small site. The district’s Policy 9040 for high performance design criteria set the stage for the school to pursue LEED Gold. However, through a collaborative effort between the design team and the school district, that goal was surpassed, while still remaining on schedule and within budget.

The design incorporates a garden roof area connected to the adjacent science classroom, a comprehensive stormwater management plan that includes an underground rainwater cistern that supplies water to the toilet fixtures and cooling tower, pervious pavers, porous playground surfaces, carefully designed windows, tubular skylights, and light shelves to both maximize daylight in classrooms and reduce the energy spent for lighting.

The building also places a special emphasis on functioning as a teaching tool for the students, staff and community. Early in the design process, the idea of using the school building to actively support the curriculum was discussed with key staff members. Through continued staff input and a healthy collaboration, this idea was not only realized but expanded. Discreetly placed interior and exterior signage provides brief descriptions of several sustainable design features utilized at Northside. Each sign directs the reader to the school’s Building Dashboard for more information concerning the building’s sustainable features, which provides media center book suggestions and internet websites where the subject can be explored further. The school’s teachers also collaborate with one another on integrating these features into customized lesson plans and project-based learning efforts.

Jim Copeland, managing principal for the project with Moseley Architects is proud of what Chapel Hill- Carrboro City Schools achieved.

“I am particularly pleased that our team was able to achieve their vision,” said Copeland. “Northside Elementary is one of only 20 LEED Platinum public schools in the entire country, and one of only four elementary schools.”

-Press Release by Jeff Nash, Executive Director of Community Relations

Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools