Thursday, February 12th, 2026

Principal's Message

Nord Families,

As a reminder, there is no school tomorrow, Friday, February 13th, or Monday, February 16th, in observance of Presidents’ Day. We hope everyone enjoys the long weekend!

Congratulations to our Nord students listed below who were selected by our staff as January Comet Impact Students of the Month. Thank you for demonstrating what it means to be respectful, responsible, and safe each day at Nord!

We would also like to extend a heartfelt thank-you to our amazing Nord families who contributed to the Steele Blood Cancer Fundraiser last week. The Steele team was truly overwhelmed by your generosity and support for this important cause. Thank you as well to all of our families who volunteered their time in our building—supporting the PTO Book Fair, assisting in classrooms, and helping with Valentine’s Day celebrations.

We look forward to an exciting week ahead with our American Heart Association Spirit Week. In addition to spirit activities, students will be learning about heart health during physical education classes, and grade levels will participate in a short presentation on Thursday, February 19th. Additional details are provided below.

As always, feel free to contact me at nicholas_toney@amherstk12.org or the main office at 440-988-4441 with any questions

Take care,

Nick Toney

Principal, Walter G. Nord School

Kids Heart Challenge is Coming to Nord Next Week!

The American Heart Association Kids Heart Challenge is coming to Nord!

Our students and staff are going to have fun learning all about how to keep our hearts and bodies healthy and how we can help other kids with special hearts.

Kids Heart Challenge will kick off with a heart-themed spirit week February 17th-20th. Students will also be participating in an assembly on Thursday, February 19th on heart health. During the challenge, Mr. Johns will be teaching heart health facts in Physical Education classes!

Fourth Grade Field Trip

Permission Forms for the upcoming fourth grade field trip to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History were sent home by homeroom teachers yesterday. Click the button below for a digital copy of the form. Please reach out to your child's homeroom teacher or the Nord main office at 440-988-4441 with any questions. Below is a list of important dates regarding the field trip:

Thursday, February 12th: Permission Form and Payment Due
Tuesday, February 17th: Chaperones Notified
Thursday, March 5th: Backman, DelVecchio, Maria, Watkin, Zajkowski, Costello Teams Trip to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History
Friday, March 6th: Antush, Burman, Hershiser, Mullen, Smith, Stellwagen Teams Trip to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History

Math Mania!

Congratulations to our Nord students who participated in Math Mania last week! Your hard work, dedication, and Comet Pride truly shined. Thank you to Miss Backman and Mrs. Bailey for leading and supporting our students so well!

Fourth Grade Math Mania Representatives: Adeline Baker, Audrey Bendlak, Zachary Coughlin, Logan Folop, Ember Hunter, Kaitlyn Krase, Jordan Sheldon, Shealyn Swartz, Sophia Toth, and Joe Zabrecky

Fifth Grade Math Mania Representatives: Alina Carrion, Aubrey Duffala, Maddie George, Alyssa Harigan, Brooklyn Hollingsworth, Tim Hui, Oskar Kalchert, Brayden King, Nicholas Kucbel, and Kira Velez

Steele Strikes Cancer Nord Fundraiser-Thank you!

Thank you to our amazing Nord families for your generous support of the Steele Strikes Cancer fundraiser. Your kindness and willingness to give truly make a difference, and we are so proud of the way our school community comes together for such an important cause. Because of you, we are able to support meaningful efforts in the fight against cancer while teaching our students the power of compassion, service, and Comet Pride.

Fifth Grade Totem Pole Project

Our fifth grade students learned how Native American totem poles were created in the Northwest Coastal region that consisted of animals and spirits. Student chose character traits that revealed their spirit animal, transformed their styrofoam ball into the animal, and presented their projects in class! Well done, Comets!

Hands-On Learning with Fractions

Our fifth-grade students had a fantastic time baking waffle brownies while putting their fraction skills to work! Measuring, mixing, and calculating ingredients gave them a hands-on way to see math in action—and the delicious results were a sweet bonus. Thank you to our wonderful parent volunteers and our teachers who gave their time to help make this activity such a success!

National School Counselors Week

Last week, February 2nd through February 6th, we celebrated National School Counselors Week! We are so grateful for our Mrs. Kremer, whose guidance, support, and care help every student succeed academically, socially, and emotionally. Thank you, Mrs. Kremer for your dedication to making Nord a safe, welcoming, and encouraging place for all students. Your hard work and Comet Pride truly make a difference every day!

Walter G. Nord PTO

Our Walter G. Nord School PTO is proud to support our students, staff, and families of Nord through fun events, volunteer opportunities, and community connections. We would love to have you join us at our next meeting on Monday, March 9th at 9:30am. If you would like to join virtually, please complete this form. If you have any questions about our Nord PTO, please feel free to contact us at nordpto1@gmail.com.

A huge thank you to all of our Nord families for supporting the PTO Book Fair! Your participation helps make reading fun and accessible for our students while supporting our school programs. We appreciate your generosity and enthusiasm for fostering a love of books and learning—our students couldn’t enjoy this experience without you!

Marcos Pizza Box Night

Please join us Wednesday, February 18th and Wednesday, March 4th for Nord PTO's Marco's Pizza Box Night to order pizza boxes created by our very own Walter G. Nord students!

Walter G. Nord Staff Spotlight

This edition of Nord News features the fourth grade team of Mrs. Watkin and Mr. Zajkowski!

After completing her student teaching at Nord School, Mrs. Watkin has taught Language Arts and Social Studies for 22 years in fourth- and fifth-grade classrooms. Her goal each year is to ensure that every student demonstrates at least one year of academic growth from the beginning of the school year to the end. Students monitor their own progress on a weekly basis, and she finds great joy in watching them grow.

Mrs. Watkin and her husband, Mark, are originally from Vermilion and moved to Amherst 35 years ago to become part of the Amherst School District community. Their three sons—Nick, Jake, and Jeff—are graduates of Amherst Steele. They are also proud grandparents to four grandchildren: Chloe, Leah, Lily, and Jeffrey Quinn.

Outside of the classroom, Mrs. Watkin enjoys spending time with her family in the Carolinas, exploring new places, and enthusiastically supporting the Pittsburgh Steelers.

At the conclusion of this school year, Mr. Zajkowski will have nearly 32 years of teaching experience—30 of those with Amherst and 28 as a fourth-grade teacher. Early in his career, he taught every subject except science. For the past eight years, he has focused exclusively on math and science.

In September, Mr. Zajkowski and his wife, Beth, will celebrate 32 years of marriage. They have two sons: Carter (26), a nurse in Charleston, South Carolina who is currently pursuing his Nurse Practitioner degree, and Cole (18), a freshman at Kent State University studying to become an air traffic controller.

Outside the classroom, Mr. Zajkowski enjoys spending time with family and friends, traveling, golfing, and cheering on all Cleveland sports teams. His number one goal each year is to prepare his students as best as possible for fifth grade—while making sure they have fun along the way.