Parents and Students: As a special holiday treat, students may wear jeans for free for 3 days Friday, Dec. 18, Monday, Dec. 21 and Tuesday, Dec. 22. Students may wear a Holiday Shirt/Sweater, Santa Hat or Holiday Hat with the jeans. All items must be school appropriate. Students dismiss early on Tuesday, Dec. 22 at 1:00 for the Christmas Holidays. Students return to school on January 4, 2021. Merry Christmas and Happy New year!

Congratulatons to M. E. Norman 2020-21 Teacher of the Year, Ms. Ocean Armond.

Red Ribbon Week at Norman Elementary begins tomorrow.

To celebrate the week, students are allowed to wear the following items with their uniform shorts, pants or skirts.

• Mon, Oct 26: DARE Day - Wear RED shirt and/or Wear CRAZY SOCKS to Sock it to Drugs!
• Tue, Oct 27: CHARACTER COUNTS DAY-Wear a TEAM Shirt to Team up Against Drugs!
• Wed, Oct 28: BULLY-FREE DAY- Wear ORANGE shirt and/or Wear a HAT to Put a lid on drugs!
• Thu, Oct 29: TOBACCO-FREE DAY! Wear a RED RIBBON t-shirt
• Fri, Oct 30: Wear PURPLE or Camouflage shirt to Help with the War on Drugs or students may wear a Halloween shirt with jeans for $1.00.

Be sure to check out the list of activities on PeachJar site of the Norman Page.

Red Ribbon Week Activities

Every home has received an invitation to participate in the 2020 Census. Louisiana’s self-response rate is just under 57 percent, which is below the national average. There are a number of parishes where the rate is in the 30s and 20s. Please consider using your system’s communications channels to encourage employees, families and other stakeholders to complete the 2020 Census.

The 2020 Census count impacts the federal funds that communities receive each year for programs and services that are critical for schools, students and younger children, such as:

·     Special education, Head Start, after-school programs, and classroom technology

·     Food assistance, including free and reduced-price school lunches

·     Maternal and child health programs

·     Planning, preparedness and recovery efforts for national emergencies, including COVID-19

Self-responses, which can be completed online, by phone or by mail until September 30, ensures federal funding to support Louisiana students.

The Department encourages school systems to explore the 2020 Census Toolbox to find general resources and activities specially designed to be engaging and appropriate for each grade level, from counting for kindergarteners to examining career statistics for high schoolers.

M. E. Norman Parents/Guardians,

Listed below are some of the precautions and procedures we are implementing to help maintain the safety of our students and faculty:

1. Students entering the building will go straight to the cafeteria to wash their hands, pick up their breakfast, and then head to their classroom where their temperature will be taken.

2. Students with a temperature of 100.4 or above will be removed from class and placed in a designated area. Parents will be called and must pick up the child.

3. Students’ desks will be 4-6 ft. apart (to the extent possible) based on CDC recommendations.

4. Students in grades PreK-2 are not required to wear a mask but may do so as their choice. (school appropriate)

5. Students in grades 3rd-5th must wear a mask. Students will receive a mask from the school but may wear their own mask (school appropriate). We will have mask breaks throughout the day during P.E., recess, and lunch. Students will be 4-6ft apart during the mask breaks. (to the extent possible).

6. All students will receive a water bottle with their name. We will have a water filling station student may use as needed. Students may also bring a clear, sealed bottle of water to school. (Please label with the student’s name.) Only water is allowed in the bottle. Water fountains have been turned off.

7. Students will wash their hands more often throughout the day with soap and water before breakfast, before/after lunch, after recess, when exiting the restroom, and as needed based upon student activities.

8. Lunch schedules have been spread out to accommodate only a few classes at a time. Classes will be separated by distance and partitions. Some classes will eat in the cafeteria and some will eat in their classrooms.

9. Recess has been changed to accommodate fewer students on the playground. Areas are designated for classes, and they will not be able to play on the playground equipment or mix with any other class.

10. Hallway floor markers are being used to direct the flow of traffic so that students will remain in a straight line staying 4-6 ft apart (to the extent possible). Students will use this movement pattern for all transitions between classes, lunch, recess, dismissal, etc.

11. Students will have P.E. They will have activities that do not allow them to touch each other.

12. Buses will be at half capacity and may have to run two loads when needed. We encourage parents to drop-off students, if possible, to avoid the number of students on the bus.

13. Students will be dismissed in groups by bus number, car riders, walkers, bike riders, and aftercare. Each group has a designated area that is monitored by faculty.

14. During transition periods teachers will clean student’s desks and chairs.

15. Several times during the day, custodians will clean light switches, door handles, restrooms and any surface that is touched frequently by students and faculty.

16. Parents and visitors are required to wear a mask and use the buzzer system to communicate with office staff. Parents and visitors are only allowed in the front waiting area. Parents and visitors will not be allowed in the main building at this time.

If you have any questions or concerns you may contact the school office 9

The new Pre-K start-up dates are as follows:

• Parents will receive a phone call from PreK teacher Ms. B Wiggins on August 24.
• Virtual Pre-K Parent Orientation Meeting via Microsoft Teams – September 4
• Pre-K begins (1/2 class) – September 14
• Pre-K begins (1/2 class) – September 15
• Pre-K - all students attend – September 16

Thank you,

S Hoffpauir

The first day of school is now scheduled for September 8. We are asking parents to drop off your child/children’s school supplies by Friday, September 4. 

Supplies may be dropped off to the office any day Monday-Friday 7:30-3:00. Supply lists are located on the M. E. Norman webpage.

As part of ongoing preparations to launch a successful start to the school year, St. Mary Parish Schools will be conducting a series of overview sessions for parents who have elected virtual (online) learning for their children. Each session is dedicated to helping prepare students and parents for the daily instruction and routines that will be required at the elementary, middle, and high school levels.

Parents who have elected to enroll their children in the district’s virtual education program should attend overview sessions according to their child’s grade level. Since each overview is different, parents may need to attend more than one session.  All trainings will be delivered online and can be accessed from any device that has internet access, including mobile phones.

Parent overview sessions will be hosted over the course of several days beginning Tuesday, August 11, with two timeslots to accommodate a parent’s schedule.

• Elementary School:  Tuesday, August 11 (1:00-2:00 PM) and (5:30-6:30 PM)
• Middle School: Thursday, August 13 (1:00-2:00 PM.) and (5:30-6:30 PM
• High School:  Wednesday, August 12^tand Monday, August 17 (5:30-6:30 PM)

At the conclusion of these overview sessions, parents will have until August 19 to make adjustments to their selection of online learning. The district will not be able to honor any educational option changes after August 19 as student schedules for both on-campus and virtual schooling will be finalized.

View Press Release

From Ms. Hoffpauir:

In order to ensure our Norman children thrive within virtual learning, they will follow a normal instructional schedule.

Teachers will provide the students with a daily schedule since schedules vary from school to school.

• Students will be expected to log-in to their computers at 8:00 AM.
• Teachers will deliver direct instruction to students throughout the day. However, they will not remain on the computer all day from 8:00 AM- 3:00 PM.

For example, students may be instructed to complete an activity in a workbook or in their Class Notebooks in the Microsoft Teams app.  The teacher will then set a time to meet back in the class to review the work.  This type of cycle can be repeated numerous times throughout the lesson. 

The students will get breaks between classes, have recess time, lunch time, bathroom breaks, and even a 40 – 45 minute break where they can do things around the house or outside to take the place of PE, library or art. 

Teachers and students have a segment of the day for intervention and remediation time. During this time, assignments will be given and time will be provided so the teacher can schedule small group intervention or remediation with students. Students may be asked to read independently or to work on Zearn, if they are not working in a small group with the teacher.  

Additionally, teachers will be available for office hours if parents and student have questions. Parents, you will be given more specific details and will be contacted one day next week with further instructions. We are just wanting to give you an example day for an elementary virtual student, so that you know what to expect. Thank you for your support and understanding! Take Care!

M.E. Norman Parents: 

At the start of school for safety reasons, parents will not be able to enter the school building to walk their child/children to class and help with carrying school supplies as in the past. 

In order to have a smooth beginning to the year, we will have designated school supply drop off dates and times.  Supplies may be dropped off to the office on the following dates: 

• July 27 7:30 – 3:30
• July 28 7:30 – 3:30
• July 29 7:30 – 3:30
• July 30 7:30 – 3:30
• July 31 7:30 – 12:00

Please use the buzzer by the front door.  We will maintain social distancing and mask requirements in order to have a safe drop-off process.  Supply list are located on the Norman website and at Wal-Mart in Bayou Vista.  Thank you for your support and understanding as we begin the new school year!  Take Care!