Norup Principal Weekly Newsletter

Dear Norup parents:

I hope you are all doing well and having some positive time together as families.  I have returned to the office today to begin my 11th year at Norup, my 24th year in the Berkley School District, and my 25th year in Michigan public education.  Usually I am in throughout the summer but this year I definitely retreated and was not around much.  Last May and June were easily the two most challenging months I had ever faced so I decided to take a step away for my own sanity.  I have enjoyed very much living in the Rivertown area in Detroit (I just moved there in April for our new families) and am I am excited to see so many businesses opening up near me (Meijer Rivertown Market, Red Hook Coffee, Detroit Pancake House all opening soon within walking distance).  I also just recently spent 10 days away living on a boat at marinas throughout Lake Erie’s Ohio ports (Cedar Point, Cleveland, Vermilion, Middle Bass Island, Kelley’s Island).

This week we will be open from 8 AM - 3 PM for the next two weeks.  The week of the 23rd the teachers will return and we will have slightly expanded hours.  Our first day of school is August 30 and we will be returning to a normal schedule for both elementary and middle school (8:15 AM - 3:20 PM daily).  As far as opening up and preparing for school, the two most important things you can do are 1) make sure you have completed the online return to school packet in MISTAR and 2) reviewed the back to school plan set forth by the Berkley School District (click here to read).   As Norup is a school in the Berkley School District, we plan to abide by and implement the guidelines as set forth in the plan for Covid-19 protocols just as other BSD schools will do.

As you will see by the details below, we have some prep work to do but are in good shape for the school year to begin.  Our current enrollment is ahead of projections and our staffing is in much better shape than most of the school districts around us (work shortages were already hitting the education industry pre March 2019.  Our custodial crew has been working hard to have the building ready and the distict invested in new bleachers for the gym (they look great - THANK YOU).  

I hope you are all doing well.  As always, thank you for choosing Norup and have a great week everyone.  

Important Dates coming up

• August 16 - Middle School Schedules and Elementary Teacher Placements will be viewable in MISTAR to families who have completed the Return to School Online Packet
• August 20 - Middle School Picture Day and Laptop Checkout
  • 9:30 - 11 AM 8th grade
  • 12 - 1:30 PM 7th grade
  • 1:30 - 3 PM.  6th grade
• August 30 - First Day of School - Full day for 1st - 8th grade, 1/2 day for kindergarten (11:30 dismissal)
• August 31 - Kindergarten 1/2 day 11:30 dismissal
• September 1 - First Kindergarten full day, Elementary Picture Day, Middle School picture makeup day
• September 3 through September 8 - District closed
• September 14 - First PTSA meeting of the year

NEW NEWS

Personnel Update - attention all

Departures:

• Shana Ramin (Middle School ELA teacher) - Ms. Ramin educational tech support at Oakland Schools
• John Robertson (Orchestra Teacher) - retired
• Ruth Sochacki (Assistant Principal) - retired
• Hayley Penn (Middle School Math) - moved to Georgia
• Jen Wilcox (IB coordinator) - Still a BSD employee; now full time at central office
• Dorota Jakuc (elementary art) - Still a BSD employee, now at Burton only.

Please welcome:

• Prima Dailey, Middle School ELA teacher.  Ms. Dailey returns to us after a year away in Ann Arbor.  She is excited to move to middle school.
• Ben Moy, Orchestra.  Mr. Moy comes to us from Ferndale and will be teaching at BHS and Norup.  Mr. Moy is a Norup parent and is excited to be part of the the Berkley School District staff.
• Kaitlin Eickemeyer, Assistant Principal. Ms. Eickemeyer was our interim AP for the last few months of the school year and earned the job after a four round interview process.
• Alyson Carr, Elementary Art Teacher.  Alyson is new to the district and will teach at Pattengill mostly.  She will also teach our 2nd and 4th grade art at Norup.  
• Carolyn Evans, Learning Specialist.  Ms. Evans was at Burton the past few years and has come over to fill the spot vacated by Kristina Scholl.  Ms. Scholl will teach our additional kindergarten class this year.
• Kevin McAlister, Categorical classroom.  Mr. McAlister has run one of our specialized programs at Rogers and this program is moving to Norup this school year.
• Teisha Kyles, Paraprofessional.  Ms. Kyles has been a fantastic parent at Norup for the last two years and we are thrilled to bring her on board to work with some of our students.
• Helena Decamp, Paraprofessional.  Ms. Decamp has done some work with students at Rogers and Pattengill before and has moved over to Norup.

Other personnel information

• To replace Hayley Penn and Jen Wilcox, we have Dr. Throm and Mr. Greer both coming back to full time status.  Mr. Greer will assume the IB coordinator duties.
• We are still looking for a school psychologist to replace Kaitlin Eickemeyer.
• We are in DIRE need of lunch aides.  If you or someone you know might be interested, please have them reach out to me.

Kindergarten tours - attention incoming kindergarten parents

We are offering tours for kindergarten families as they have not yet had a chance to see the building and take a look around due to the virtual roundup format in May.  If you have not signed up yet, please sign up with this Sign Up Genius link.

Laptops - attention all

The school district is moving to a 1:1 tech model.  While we will move to a more normal school year, there will still be tech components in each class and Schoology is not going away.  Middle school students may carry devices class to class and home with them.  If you would like to check out a laptop for the year, this can be done during the picture day times on August 20.  We will get information out next week about checkout times if you cannot make 8/20 work.  Elementary students do not need to check out devices; classrooms will have their own sets.

Additional Times to see the building - attention all

I will release times on Monday next week for students/parents to take a look around.  There will definitely be some hours as well during the evening of Sunday, August 29.