Ready to order your Yearbook for this school year?? Click on the link below, click on Order your yearbook and put in the access code: 0023390YB
All Yearbooks are $20 again this year with the option to personalize it for an additional $5! Don't miss out on all the memories your starfish has made and will continue to make this school year! If you have any questions feel free to email the PTA at Nantucketelementarypta@gmail.com
The last day to order is 4/11/2025
Seeking Yearbook Picture Submissions...
The Yearbook Committee (Brenda Williams) needs your photos to highlight special events during the school year!
Email them to NantucketElementaryPTA@gmail.com.
Check out this blog: The Importance of Letting Your Child Struggle
Classroom Celebrations will be held tomorrow. Please contact your child's teacher if:
your child is NOT to participate.
you have questions about the celebration.
you want to know how you can contribute to the celebration.
Coming the last week of February!
Watch for more information about School Spirit Days and a Book Character Paper Bag Contest!
As the weather outside becomes "frightful", here are some reminders:
Please make sure students are dressed for the weather at arrival and dismissal. Doors do not open for students in the morning until 7:45 AM and students who arrive early will have to wait outside.
When the temperature gets colder and rainy, we have more car riders than walkers. Please plan accordinly and leave for school earlier. Students should be in school and ready for instruction when the bell rings at 8:00 AM. Students arriving at 8:01 AM or later are marked tardy.
As long as it is not raining and the temperature with windchill is greater than 32 degrees Fahrenheit, students can expect to go outside for recess. Please make sure they have appropriate outdoor clothing - warm coats, pants, hats, scarves, and gloves.
At arrival and dismissal, please be sure to park only in designated parking spaces. Parking spaces are designated by two white lines on either side of the space. Please do not park in reserved spaces, or head in-blocking parking spaces and parked cars. If the first lot is full, there are three parking lots along the side of the school. You may also pick up your child in the car line. Please see the image below for parking opportunities. Thank you for keeping our Starfish safe and following parking and car loop expectations!
#BePresent is a community/school partnership designed to increase and improve community relationships within schools. Mentors and volunteers will assist school-based staff and administration with ensuring a safe and orderly school environment by being present during the school’s daily function. Mentors and volunteers are invited to have a greater presence in schools as a way to enhance relationships and make school operations safer and more efficient.
What will you do in a school? Although each school has unique needs, some possible activities might include:
helping with arrival and dismissal.
assisting staff during lunch and recess.
being present in hallways during class changes.
supporting specific programs/activities.
mentoring a student or small group of students.
reading with a student
Are you interested in learning how you can #BePresent to support Nantucket's Starfish? Please contact our School Counselors Mrs. Dring and Mrs. Brauer for more information!
As we move closer to the winter season, we all need to be prepared for virtual learning due to weather related closures. In the event of inclement weather, the Superintendent of Schools may recommend schools shift to a Virtual Instruction Day. When this happens, students will access instruction online. All students will need access to a device for learning. If your child does not have access to a device, you can apply for a loaner device through AACPS.
AACPS Student Device Loaner Program
Registration for the AACPS Student Device Loaner Program, which provides a device to students that need a device to support learning at home, is now available. If approved for participation in the program, students will be assigned a Chromebook that will need to be transported back and forth between home and school as it will be used by the student throughout the school day. Complete information about the program can be found at www.aacps.org/deviceloanerprogram.
Our instructional hours are 8:00am- 2:25pm. Students may start entering the building at 7:45 am. Please note that there is NO adult supervision prior to 7:45 am. Students must be in the building by 8:00 am in order to not be marked tardy. Any student who arrives after 8:00 AM must enter through the main entrance. Dismissal will begin at 2:25 pm. Please note: Tardies and early dismissals are recorded on a student's PK/K progress report/ Gr. 1-5 report card.
Please review our arrival and dismissal procedures found on our website.
Car Rider Arrival Reminders:
Car Riders must be able to independently be able to enter and exit the vehicle. Drivers should not get out of the car.
When dropping off your student, you should pull up as far as you can go before your student gets out of the car. Do not stop to be close to the door.
Follow the direction of the adults on duty who are guiding you to move your car forward.
Parents always have the option of parking in a parking lot and using the crosswalk to walk their student to the sidewalk instead of being a car rider.
Breakfast is available in the school cafeteria each morning. Breakfast cost is $1.50 full price and is free for students qualifying for the free/reduced priced program.
Lunch may be purchased at school for $2.75. Milk may also be purchased during lunch for $0.55. You may pay for lunch in advance and use them as you like. This is encouraged as it avoids “lost” or “forgotten” monies. Checks/cash (payable to Nantucket Elementary Cafeteria) will be accepted in the school’s cafeteria or Meal Pay Plus offers you a convenient, easy, and secure way to make prepayments using your bank account or your Visa or MasterCard. Visit mealpayplus.com for more information and registration.
Application forms for free or reduced lunches need to be filled out online at the beginning of the school year. Families may qualify according to the federal income eligibility guidelines. All applications are kept confidential and are accepted at any time during the school year.
We understand it can be difficult to know when to keep your sick kid home or when to send them to school, especially after the past few years of ever-changing protocols. Similar to last year, this year there are no specific COVID Protocols that AACPS is following. Students should be kept at home for serious illness, injury, or a condition that can be passed on to other children. Students should promptly return to school when they have symptom improvement, they do not have to be symptom free (other than fever free!).
Preventative measures are helpful! Please teach your kids how to properly wash their hands and ensure they are actively practicing that habit, discourage them from putting their hands in their mouth, practice blowing their nose, enforce healthy water consumption, cover their cough, or opt to mask up when they aren't feeling well. Getting back into the school routine after long breaks and cozy snow days at home with our loved ones is an added challenge. Try your best to differentiate between when a kid does not feel like going to school versus being sick and unable to show up to learn. Get curious, ask questions, and make small plans on how you will reconnect when they get home. In a world where "Attendance Matters" and "Stop the Spread" coexist, decisions are less black and white and require us to balance in the grey areas, because both things are important.
Nantucket Elementary recognizes that birthdays are a special day for our students. In order to maintain a safe environment for all of our students, food items WILL NOT be accepted to distribute to classmates. Parents may send in small non-food treats to be distributed to students at the end of the day. Thank you for your cooperation in keeping all of our students safe at Nantucket Elementary.
Additionally, please note that teachers and staff are unable to participate in distributing communications/invitations or email addresses related to birthday celebrations. All planning for birthdays needs to happen outside of school so that it does not take away from the purpose of instruction.
All students participate in 30 minutes of recess daily. Please make sure your children come dressed appropriately for the weather. If the temperature is 32 degrees or below or if the wind chill makes it feel 32 degrees or below, the students will not go outside for recess. If the weather dictates indoor recess, students will participate in 30 minutes of indoor recess in their classrooms.
During recess, students are not permitted to engage in any form of tag-like game playing or football playing. These games tend to lead to misunderstandings that result in big emotions.
Regular school attendance is very important to your child’s academic progress and success in school. Please try to schedule dental/medical appointments and other commitments for after school hours whenever possible. Please read the Attendance Section in our Family Handbook for more information regarding Attendance.
At our Attendance Committee Meeting in February, the committee discussed all students who have 12 or more cumulative lawful and unlawful absences and 24 or more tardies and/or early dismissals.
Chronic absenteeism includes students who miss 10% or more of enrolled instructional days. AACPS recognizes a direct correlation between attendance and other academic measures, including grades and state test scores, so monitoring, communicating, and supporting families is necessary for improvement. Even if your student has had lawful absences and you have provided doctor's notes, you may be contacted about your child's chronic absenteeism.
Students should be in the building and ready to learn by 8:00 AM.
Students arriving to school starting at 8:01 AM or later are tardy and missing valuable instructional time. Tardiness and early dismissals are a part of a student's office school record and are recorded on a student's progress report (PK/K) or report card (K-5).
Any student who arrives to school late, must be signed into the school office by an adult. Please park your vehicle in a parking space, ring the doorbell and come into the school office to sign in your child(ren).
If you are pulling into the bus or car rider loop and your child will not make it into the front door by 8:01 AM, please do not drop off your student. Park and come in. Parents will be called back to school if their student arrives to the front door without a parent.
2/10-21 PTA sponsored Baby I Love You Baby Supply Drive
2/14 Classroom Valentine's Celebrations for Students
2/17 No School - Presidents Day
2/18 PTA sponsored Ledos Pizza Spirit Night
2/20 & 2/21 4th Grade to Arlington Echo
2/21 CrHS PTA sponspored Harlem Wizard Assembly for Students
2/24-28 Read Across America Spirit Week
2/28 Read Across America Day Observed
Food and Nutrition Services
