The Norfeldt News

December 4, 2014

Dear Norfeldt Families, We have entered the holiday season! Time to enjoy family and friends and celebrate with different family traditions. At Norfeldt, it is time to celebrate with another whole school reward for SMART behavior. On Friday, December 12th we will be having Pajama Day! Students (and staff) are invited to wear pajamas, a robe and/or slippers. In addition, our PTO will be serving the students mini muffins and juice. It should be an exciting day and wonderful way to celebrate. Many families enjoyed BINGO night at Norfeldt on November 13th. It was terrific seeing so many families and I enjoyed having a pizza lunch this week with the winners of the “Pizza lunch with the Principal” raffle. The PTO is sponsoring our next family event at Norfeldt on December 11th. It’s a new event called “Family Fitness Fun Night.” They will be setting up various fitness activities and games for families to participate in together. Be sure to wear comfortable clothes and sneakers. It is going to be a great time, we hope to see you there! A friendly reminder, please make sure that your children are appropriately dressed to spend time outdoors during recess. We have already had some cold days and warm clothes, gloves, boots and hats make recess much more enjoyable for all! It’s hard to believe that this is my last letter prior to winter break. There will be a “Coffee with the Principal” on January 8th at 6:30 in my office. I would happy to have you join me for coffee and cookies. Feel free to come and discuss specific topics that may be on your mind or just come so we can get to know each other better.

Enjoy the winter holidays! My best wishes to you and your families. Warm Regards, Jen Derick

DECEMBER CALENDAR OF EVENTS Sunday 12/7 11 am – 9 pm Norfeldt Day at Bertucci’s -Our next Norfeldt dining fundraiser will be at Bertucci’s in Bishop’s Corner. Please bring the attached flyer and coupon to Bertucci’s between 11 am and 9 pm that Sunday, and while Norfeldt receives 15% of the profits from the event, you will receive a free kid’s meal! See you there!! Monday 12/8 Leisure Services Morning Club, (Grades 4 &5), Volleyball, 7:30AM Tuesday 12/9 Grade 5 Orchestra, 7:45AM Grade 3 (Rms. 203 & 204) to Noah Webster House, 9:00AM Wednesday 12/10 Grade 4 & 5 Choir, 7:45AM Winter Concert, 9:30AM & 7:00PM Thursday 12/11 Leisure Services Morning Club, (Grades 4 &5), Volleyball, 7:30AM Grade 3 (Rm. 200) to Noah Webster House, 9:00AM PTO Family Fitness Fun Night, 6:30PM -Kids, grab your parents and plan for a fun evening of physical activity that ranges from scooter hockey and volleyball to jump rope and yoga. Events will be set up throughout the school, and students and their parents are encouraged to play together for an evening that promises to be anything but dull. Due to our limited space, please RSVP to Andrea Dixon at aadixon@aadixonfamily.com by Friday, December 5th, if you are interested in participating in this event. Monday 12/15 Leisure Services Morning Club, (Grades 4 &5), Volleyball, 7:30AM Tuesday 12/16 Submissions due for The Norfeldt News Chanukah (Judaism), begins at sunset, no homework School Picture Retakes Grade 5 to Science Center, 9:00AM BOE Meeting, Town Hall, 7:00PM Wednesday 12/17 Student Council Meeting, 7:45AM Thursday 12/18 The Norfeldt News is published Leisure Services Morning Club, (Grades 4 &5), Volleyball, 7:30AM Monday 12/22 Grade 2 Poetry Tea, 2:00PM (in classrooms)

Helpful Reminders

School Photos Picture retake day is December 16th. Students who would like a retake MUST return their original Portrait Package to the photographer on this day.

Facebook The Norfeldt PTO has its very own Facebook Page. Please refer to it for upcoming event information as well as school happenings. They are posting events, pictures and more! Hit “Like” today!

Holiday Giving Look for emails from your Room Parents

regarding holiday gifts to classroom teachers and paraprofessionals. Don’t forget the front office staff, our fabulous specials teachers, and the other professionals at Norfeldt that make our children’s lives

better. Happy Holidays!

Recess Policy The recess policy dictates that all students will go outside for recess if the temperature is 20 degrees or higher (with wind chill). Students should be appropriately dressed to spend time out-doors during recess. Warm clothes, gloves, hats, and boots are required during winter months. Children well enough to come to school should be well enough to be outside during recess. Exceptions for medical reasons, with a doctor’s note, may be granted on an individual basis. In the event of inclement or severely cold weather, recess will move indoors.

NEWS!

STUDENT COUNCIL NEWS

Congratulations Norfeldt School!

We have reached our goal of collecting 650

food items to donate to the West Hartford

Food Pantry! We have collected 869 items.

Thanks for your participation in this food drive.

We have made a significant difference in our

West Hartford community! Families in our

community are very thankful for our school’s

donations. We all did an awesome job this past

two weeks! :)

Your Student Council Officers,

Maya, Mckenzie, Alex, Jake and Ben

From the Music Room

Our winter concert here at Norfeldt is fast

approaching. On Wednesday, December 10th the

fifth grade orchestra and band, encore strings,

jazz band, and 4th & 5th grade choir will perform

during the day for staff and students, as well an

evening performance at 7:00 for family and

friends. Please do not overlook these important

reminders:

• Concert dress is black bottoms and white

shirt/blouse.

• We strongly encourage students to bring a

card game, a book for silent reading, or a

word or number puzzle for silent play

during “backstage time.” Please do not

allow your child to bring electronic devices

as we cannot be responsible if they are

lost.

We can’t wait to share the results of your child’s

commitment to music, hard work, and your early

morning carpools!

Ms. Lisa Besman & Mr. Tony Rinaudo

Vocal and Instrumental Music Teachers

Dates to Jot Down

December 22, 2014- Classical Café Our first Classical Café guests will be the Hall High School Choraliers. They will treat our students to a special performance during all three lunch waves. A bagged lunch will be served that day. Children are asked to dress their best for this special concert!

January 15, 2015, 6 pm Family Movie Night The Norfeldt PTO presents Family Movie Night! Featuring... “A Bug's Life” from Disney Pixar! This free family event will take place on Thursday, January 15th beginning at 6 pm. Free popcorn will be available in the cafeteria. Other concessions and water will also be sold. Come on out for a fun-filled evening!

January 29, 2016- International Night We are excited to build on the success of our inaugural event last January and are looking forward to increased participation and attendance this year! It’s not too late to volunteer to staff a booth, bake a dish, or simply help out. If you are interested in volunteering for International Night 2015, please contact Deena Shefsky at deenass@me.com. Please email Deena today and become an active part of our International Community.

Norfeldt Library Media Center

Thank you all for such a warm to the Norfeldt

School community. Thanks especially to all of the volunteers who helped with our Fall Book Fair this year. We sold over $8,000 in books, placing books

in the hands of our students and supporting our school.

CUDDLE UP WITH A BOOK

What’s your favorite place or way to read? Follow us @NorfeldtLMC to see watch us enjoying books with our fuzzy library friends and to find out more

news about what’s happening in your school library media center.

Thank You The PTO would like to thank the following

individuals:

Janice Doot and her fabulous Baking

Committee for providing snacks and drinks to

the staff during conference week. Specifically,

Noeet Bachar, Lauren Benthien, Lisa Book,

Sonya Cattelan, Lisa Chirch, Chris DeSanto,

Amy Deslauriers, Tara Deveney, Karen Dinowitz,

Andrea Dixon, Brittany Dworman, Dunia Fink,

Jenny Frombach, Nicole Greenblatt, EJ

Greenspan, Tamara Hochman, Jessica Hynes,

Erin Killelea, Kenya Fontaine, Jackie

Makarewicz, Heather McGann, Shelley

Mendoza, Allison Sharlow, Deena Shefsky, Liz

Siegal, Tricia Taylor, Linda Todd, Lesley Toutain,

Sheri Traverse, Linda Yorgensen, and Nella

Zydanowicz.

Thanksgiving Lunch Co-Chairs, Warren Berey

and Adam Dixon; and their committee

members: Noeet Bachar, Steve Kates, David

Samuels, Morgana Sanchez, Lori Yontef-

Mathog, and Bin Zhu.

Help Wanted! Each year the Norfeldt PTO creates Holiday Food Baskets for local families in need to be hand delivered to them in time for the Holidays! We need your help to fill these baskets with food items, baked goods and holiday treats! We're using VolunteerSpot to organize the sign-ups for Holiday Food Baskets this year. Here's how it works: 1) Click this link to see our Sign-Up on VolunteerSpot: http://vols.pt/S1dMAU 2) Review the options listed and choose the spot(s) you like. 3) Sign up! It's easy - no account numbers or passwords to remember. For more information, please contact Shelley Mendoza at shelleyodo@comcast.net.

DISTRICT HAPPENINGS

Applications for the 2015-2016

Charter Oak and Smith Prekindergarten Programs

Applications for the 2015-2016 PreKindergarten

programs will be available in the Residency Office in the

Town Hall, in all elementary school offices and on the

West Hartford Public Schools website (www.whps.org)

beginning October 24th

. Applicants must be four years

old on or before January 1, 2016 and reside in West

Hartford. Please note that you may apply to only one

PreKindergarten program. Please plan to attend one of

the following open house informational meetings at:

• Smith School- Thursday, December 4, 6:30 p.m.

• Charter Oak International Academy- Thursday,

December 11, at 6:30 p.m.

Enrollment will be granted based on a lottery system.

Tuition will be assessed on a sliding scale based on gross

yearly income. Proof of West Hartford residency will be

required in order to apply. For more information about

the Smith open house please call the Smith main office

at (860) 236-3315; for more information about the

Charter Oak open house, please call the Charter Oak

main office at (860) 233-8506.

ELC Lottery Applications The Early Learning Center at Whiting Lane School and

Aiken Elementary School is now accepting applications

for the 2015-2016 school year. The program is family

centered and has half day sessions that meet four days a

week. A lottery will be conducted in January.

To be considered for the program, children must be

three years old by September 1, 2015, toilet-trained by

the start of the school year and exhibit age-appropriate

language, social and play skills. All applicants must

participate in a play-based screening prior to being

considered for the lottery selection. If you are interested,

please contact Pam Macca at (860) 233-1455. The

application process will close on November 28, 2014.

Special Notice to 5th

Grade Parents

Bristow Middle School Enrollment Process Bristow Middle School will be holding its enrollment for the incoming 6th graders in January. Bristow Middle School is a school of choice, drawing its diverse population from all neighborhoods in West Hartford. In the 2015-2016 school year, Bristow will enroll 420 students in grades 6 through 8. All 5th graders who reside in West Hartford and are attending West Hartford Public Schools are automatically included in this process. Other 5th graders who reside in West Hartford and attend a private, parochial or inter district magnet school like The University of Hartford Magnet School are also eligible, although they need to apply to be included in the process and verify they reside in West Hartford with our Residency office. Each 5th grader will receive a number randomly, which will establish the choice order. This number will be mailed home to parents on January 22, 2015. In order to help parents make an informed choice, two informational meetings will be held at Bristow Middle School on Monday, March 2, 2015 and Thursday, March 5, 2015 at 6:30 pm. Parents can choose to attend either of these meetings as they are both the same. Students are invited to attend these meetings with their parents. We

recommend you attend one regardless of the number your child receives so you are prepared in case we get to your child’s number. For information about Bristow and full details about how this enrollment process works, please visit the Bristow website at http://bristow.whps.org/. You can also call or email the principal, Steven Cook, at 860-231-2100/ or Steven_Cook@whps.org.

WEST HARTFORD

SPECIAL EDUCATION PTO

Friday, December 5, 2014 Coffee and Conversation

9:30 - 10:30 AM at Panera Bread- Bishop's Corner

Come meet with other parents whose children receive services through the West Hartford Public Schools. Look for the SEPTA sign on the table, usually in the

back of the restaurant. Contact Kris Atkins at kwherry@comcast for more information or if you have

any questions regarding Coffee and Conversation.

Family Fitness Fun Night

Thursday, December 11th

6:30 – 8 pm

Families and Friends

Having Fun & Being Fit

Together!

Join us for fun fitness challenges,

games, and related activities for

kids and parents. Norfeldt teachers

will serve as activity leaders.

Please contact Andrea Dixon at

aadixon@aadixonfamily.com if

you have any questions.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Please return this portion to the Norfeldt Main Office no later than

Friday, December 5, 2014.

Student: _________________________ Teacher: _______________________

Number Attending (including student): ______

Parent Signature: ______________________ Telephone: __________________