Newton-Conover City Schools

Safety is the most important focus in our school system. Student learning is our purpose for existing as a school system but it can only occur in environments that are supportive and safe for students, staff, and visitors. Some of our neighboring districts received unfounded safety threats through social media this past week. It is important for our students in grades 4-12 to know that there is a mechanism for anonymous reporting of any safety concerns related to our schools. All 4th through 12th graders have direct access to the Say Something Anonymous Reporting System, through the App within M.A.P. giving them an anonymous way to report their concerns for safety of themselves or others. Ultimately, relationships and communication are the two greatest tools to help keep our schools and communities safe.

Results News! N-CCS Above State Average!

Dr. Gabriel visited Shuford Elementary School yesterday afternoon to celebrate with the staff for exceeding growth for the 2023-24 school year. Our district had two schools that exceeded growth and Shuford Elementary School was one of them. School Academic Growth represents the academic progress of a student compared to the average progress of students across the state in a given grade and/or subject. When the state has compelling evidence that the students in a school are progressing far above the average, the school is exceeding expected growth. We are proud of the Shuford Elementary School staff, students, and community!

Mrs. Brown and Dr. Gabriel visited South Newton Elementary yesterday afternoon to celebrate the school's academic achievements. We are so proud of their hard work! These are the joyful faces of South Newton Elementary School's faculty & staff (we're missing a few who were driving the bus or coaching after-school sports) after learning their 2024 NC Report Card Score. It has been arduous since entering "low-performing school" status in 2022. But, they moved a 46 Report Card Score to a 49 by the end of 2023. And, yesterday they learned they moved that 49 to a 59. Moving 10 points in one year on the NC Report Card score is an unprecedented feat . . . it does not happen as often as you would think. Their work has been tireless: interventions, remediations, lesson planning / instructional planning / PLC's, "heavy duty" observations, constant walkthroughs, piles of paperwork, and providing hours of emotional and behavioral support for our students. And, let's not forget the data -- they've collected it, analyzed it, and reflected upon it until they can talk about in their sleep. It is not work for the "weak of heart" -- only the strong survive something like this. And here they are! The joy on their faces speaks volumes, and we all know that our students have been awesome champions, accepting this motivation and pushing themselves to give their best effort. South Newton's 2024-25 school theme is "We're on the Right Track -- Stay Driven" and we're going to reach that checkered flag again this year with even more student growth! Thank you to our parents and community members for your ever-present support - we love you for helping us reach our goals!

📢 Exciting News for Our District! 🎉 We are thrilled to announce that the School Performance Grades have just been released by NCDPI, and our district has much to celebrate! 🎓✨ Every single one of our schools has earned a grade of C or above, with NO Ds or Fs! This remarkable achievement is a testament to the hard work, dedication, and passion of our students, teachers, staff, and families. Together, we have shown that when we strive for excellence, we can accomplish great things. Let's continue to support and uplift one another as we work towards even greater success in the future. Congratulations to everyone involved! Let's keep this momentum going! 💪🎉

At the September 3, 2024 board work session, the N-CCS Board of Education recognized the N-CCS Finance department for their exceptional work. The Finance department has recently been recognized with the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting (27th consecutive year) and for its 31st consecutive year of receiving an award of excellence from NCASBO. Our system is good stewards of taxpayer dollars and our Finance team helps us stretch those dollars to get the maximum impact on student safety and learning!!

Newton-Conover City Schools kicked off the 2024-2025 school year in style!! IChurch again were gracious hosts for the event. Special thanks to Pastor Carlos for his words of encouragement and the IChurch staff and serving team who made N-CCS staff feel special. Mennel Milling provided a wonderful breakfast to N-CCS staff. Also, we are grateful for our partnership with Mike Johnson’s Toyota who has provided a car for the N-CCS Teacher of the Year, Greg Hardy. Jeff Allen, owner of Novel Taproom, came and led a trivia battle between our school sites and central office teams (Discovery HS are this year’s champions)!! N-CCS enjoyed a special song provided by Mr. Jason Myers (N-CHS Chorus and Piano teacher) and his daughters, Ella and Avery, from the Broadway Musical, Wicked entitled “For Good” (which is the district theme/charge for the 24-25 school year). Finally, our district was treated by having Molly Grantham back again with us to speak. Molly reminded district staff that effective communication was the best currency and that the beginning of the journey is always the toughest part (a great reminder as we prepare to open a new school year).

We are thrilled to welcome our amazing new hires and Beginning Teachers (BTs) to the Newton-Conover City Schools family! Welcome aboard, new hires and BTs! Together, we will continue to inspire, educate, and make a difference in the lives of our students.

As our students prepare to head back to school for the 2024-2025 school year, NCCS is proud to announce that it will continue to offer CEP (Community Eligibility Provision) at five schools in the district. Utilizing CEP, all students at the five eligible school sites will be able to access nutritious meals at no cost. This is important as school meal programs play a crucial role in ensuring kids have the nutrition they need to thrive in and out of the classroom. The five schools approved are Conover School, Shuford Elementary, North Newton Elementary, Sout Newton Elementary, and new for this year - NC Middle School. For schools not currently approved - a review of eligibility criteria is conducted each year to assess if other schools can be added. CEP is a federally funded program that enables qualifying schools to serve meals at no cost to students based on the percentage of Identified Students at the qualifying sites that currently receive services through the county. It is important that families take advantage and utilize this program while it is available, as it is not guaranteed every year and can help ease some of our family's financial burdens. As always, support for and participation in our School Nutrition program is essentail for us to continue providing low-cost, well-balanced meals for our students each and every day.

New student registration at Newton-Conover High School will be this week, Tuesday 8/6 thru Thursday 8/8 at Newton-Conover High School 8:30 a.m. till 11 :15 a.m. and 1 p.m. till 3 p.m. Students must be accompanied by a legal parent or guardian. They will need: Birth Certificate Immunization records We will need report card or Transcript from their last school Proof of address: Power bill, water bill or gas bill or lease agreement Parent I.D. Any legal custody papers that may be necessary

Do you have a four-year degree and a strong desire to work with kids and engage in rewarding work? Newton-Conover City Schools might have a place for you, and no education experience necessary. There are alternative teaching licensure paths available for those with a bachelors degree. Apply for any of our existing positions on our website. https://newtonconover.ted.peopleadmin.com/hire/index.aspx or contact us for more details.

Attention Returning N-CCS students! PowerSchool Enrollment is now open and an email notification has been sent to you. Please use the email, which contains hyperlinks, to complete your registration. If you have changed your email address or no longer use the email account you used last year, please inform your child's school. You can contact the school between 7:30 am and 4:30 pm and speak with the data manager. Please note that this message only applies to returning students. New kindergarten students have already completed their registration. New students in Grades K-12 who have never attended N-CCS before should register through the website www.newton-conover.org. Thank you for your attention to this important matter!!

The recent Microsoft outage has affected our PowerSchool Returning Students registration program. As a result, the PowerSchool Returning student registration has been temporarily closed until the issue is fixed. We will send out a notification once we receive confirmation from PowerSchool Enrollment that the problem has been resolved. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience and understanding.

Our N-CCS Board of Education recently recognized our own Finance Department for winning for the 32nd Time, the Association of School Business Officials Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for the Fiscal Year ending June 30, 2023. They have also won the Government Finance Officers Association Award in 22-23 for the 27th Time.

Here's to all our Red Blazer Award Winners who attended this year's 2024 Annual Red Blazer Awards.

Retired Assistant Superintendent Janie Sigmon was awarded a Red Blazer Award for her contributions to the Newton-Conover City Schools at the Annual Red Blazer Awards 2024. She was nominated by Melanie Elrod.

At the 2024 N-CCS Red Blazer Awards, Larry Harris, retired teacher and director of personnel, was presented with a Red Blazer for his contributions to the district.

At the 2024 Annual N-CCS Retiree and Red Blazer Awards, Retired Teacher Yvonne Barnhardt was awarded the Red Blazer Award for her contributions to the district. She was nominated by her daughter Stephanie Calderon.

Retired EC Teacher Assistant Jennifer Gosnel recognized by EC Director Jessica Sherrill.

Conover School's Paula Sigmon recognized Retired Teacher Assistant Nicola Hershberger and Retired Transportation Coordinator Kim Beal.