Northwood School Laker

October 8, 2021

Masking Update

We will continue to require masks indoors next week while we wait for numbers to stabilize. The school's Covid Response Team will review the data again on Friday, October 15.

Social Media Influence and Impact

Social media has the ability to streamline all sorts of information in a blink of an eye, whether positive or concerning. It can be challenging to separate what is factual information from elaborate schemes or ideas. A popular social media platform in the news is TikTok. TikTok allows users to post small videos of whatever they record. A lot of the videos posted are animals, food, or new dance routines, but a more recent trend has a concerning theme to it. There is a TikTok school challenge 2021-2022 list outlining acts for students to perform in their school each month. Unfortunately this list has many inappropriate suggestions. Most recently, September’s challenge was called “Devious Licks,” which involved students destroying school bathrooms. In a couple of instances students stole a water fountain in a school and another school had a student take video of a friend stealing a whole toilet! In an age where social media popularity has a lot of social importance as well perceived credibility, what is lost among this are the significant consequences from these actions. As an educational institution, it is our responsibility to educate our students on making the best decision for themselves both academically and emotionally. With the support of Northwood Police Department, Corporal Dan Gilon will be speaking with 5th-8th grade students on the pitfalls of social media and TikTok School Challenges on October 14th . Additionally, I am sharing a video clip from a school district in Massachusetts and the list of upcoming TikTok School Challenges.

Video Clip: Haverhill High School Issues Warning About October TikTok ‘Challenge’

List of upcoming TikTok School Challenges:

September: Vandalize School Bathrooms
October: Smack a staff member
November: Kiss your friend’s girlfriend at school
December: “Deck the halls and show your b***” (show your private parts)
January: Jab a breast
February: Mess up school signs
March: Make a mess in the courtyard or cafeteria
April: “Grab some eggz” (another stealing challenge)
May: Ditch day
June: Flip off in the front office
July: Spray a neighbor’s fence

~ Mr. Alford

Ready Bodies, Learning Minds

in 1st and 2nd Grade

This week first and second graders started the Ready Bodies, Learning Mind curriculum with Mrs. Crowley and Ms. MacDonald. The aim of these activities is to provide an additional opportunity to develop student’s motor, tactile, proprioceptive, vestibular, visual and auditory systems. Some examples of motor lab stations include activities that focus on core strengthening, crossing midline, handwriting (fine motor strength), and ball skills. This was our first week, and we started working on core strengthening. Below students are demonstrating Superman, Popcorn, and Giraffe. The first and second graders did an amazing job!

Kindergarten News

It’s Safety Month in Kindergarten! This week we had a special visit from the Fire Department! Thank you Firefighter Adam for showing us the ambulance, and for our very cool firefighter hats!

This week we learned what to do if our clothes catch on fire…”Stop, drop, and roll,” and we talked to our families about having a meeting place at home. We now all know Sparky’s fire safety ABCs!

News from the Art Room

Middle schoolers finished up their Clay Unit creating amazing sculptures!

Elementary classes finished up their Line and Shape Unit focusing on different ways Line and Shape can be used in Art.

Computer Items for Sale to the Public from School Inventory.

Per School Board policy #DN, after computer items have been replaced in the school, we offer the old items to the community. Check out our ridiculously low prices today. We promise to beat any other school used equipment dealer or your money back: Northwood School used computer inventory page