Raider Nation Newsletter

Week of August 29, 2022

School Starts TOMORROW!

Dear Atholton Families,

I hope this newsletter finds you well and enjoying the weekend with family and friends. Moreover, I hope you enjoyed your summer, and it was full of reading, resting, staying active, and just having fun! On behalf of the Atholton Staff, I would like to welcome you to the 2022 – 2023 school year. For the newest members of Raider Nation, we are pleased to welcome you to our family. Our school community truly feels like a family, and you are going to love it here! I enjoyed meeting many new students and their parents this past week at our New Student Orientation.

The staff has been working hard to get ready for the new school year. The past week was filled with collaboration and co-planning, curriculum meetings, and of course, getting their classrooms just right! We are so excited to welcome students tomorrow!

As we begin a new school year, please familiarize yourself with our school expectations by reviewing the HCPSS Student Code of Conduct. Feel free to contact your child’s administrator with any questions.

Our Back to School Night will be September 1, 2022, at 6:30 pm. Please join us and take advantage of the opportunity to meet your child's teachers IN PERSON!! We will have the same format as we did with our New Student Orientation -- a brief presentation in the auditorium followed by classroom visits. A detailed schedule will be sent out this Wednesday.

Lastly, a few logistical items as we start tomorrow:

We have resumed charging for breakfast and lunch. Student lunches are $3.30. As in the past, parents can load money into student accounts. You may find all the necessary information here.

Please be sure to complete the Free and Reduced Meals application (information below) to avoid having to pay for breakfast and lunch.

Double-run busses. A separate email went out last week to those families impacted by double-run buses. Starting Monday, 29 August 2022, and until further notice, buses 113 and 162 will experience double runs. Please see the information below if your child rides either of these two buses.

Have a terrific week!

Warmest regards,

Robert A. Motley

Principal

Parent Checklist

Please be sure you complete the following:

Family File -- we need your current emergency contact information. See directions below.
Breakfast / Lunch -- load student account to purchase breakfast and/or lunch.
Complete FARMS application. See below.
Join PTSA!! https://atholtonptsa.memberhub.com/
Verify bus schedule. Visit our website and scroll down to Bus Locator and enter your address to make sure your student is aware of the time of pick up and the bus number.

Important Information

Free and Reduced Meals Program: Many HCPSS families have been impacted financially by the pandemic and may be eligible now to receive benefits through the Free and Reduced Price Meals (FARMs) program. Qualifying families can take advantage of a wide range of additional resources and discounts, including testing fees, tuition, internet and more. Click here to learn more here is the link for HCPSS Connector to apply.

Family File now available for the 2022-23 school year: Parents can now access and complete the Family File for the 2022-23 school year. Parents must complete the Family File annually to ensure HCPSS has the most current information for each child. Once logged in, parents/guardians will be asked to verify or update the following information: Student Information, Parent/Guardian Contact, Emergency Contact, Medical Information, Arrival/Dismissal Procedures (for when in-person classes resume), Photo Approval, Data Confidentiality, PTA/PTSA Directory. Here is the link for HCPSS Connect.

Technology accounts for new students: Families with students new to HCPSS and whose registration has been finalized will receive an email from noreply@hcpss.org with the subject “Technology account information for new HCPSS student.” The email will be sent to the email address used during the student registration process. The email contains personalized and important information regarding new students’ technology accounts. If you have a child new to HCPSS and do not receive the email and/or cannot locate the email in the junk/spam folder of the email account you used during registration, you can use the Forgot Password or Username button on the hcpss.me student landing page to retrieve both your child’s username and password. Directions for Account Self Service directions are posted online.

The Canvas Student Orientation video is an excellent resource. Please view this video to familiarize yourself with our Canvas instructional platform. There are two parts to the video. Part 1 reviews the global navigation settings, and Part 2 reviews the course structure.

Schedule Changes

Below you will find information about our schedule change process for the upcoming 22/23 school year. Please note that we cannot guarantee we will be able to fulfill schedule change requests after the start of the school year. Summer is the best time to request a schedule change. Please contact your counselor to request a schedule change as soon as possible if you have changed your mind about a course you’ve requested.

Starting on the first day of school, the following timeline will be used to prioritize access to courses for graduation requirements, balanced class sizes, and instructional needs. Schedule Change Process on or after the first day of school:

Phase I – August 29 through September 2 :

• Hole in schedule

• Wrong course was scheduled

• Aiding and release time

Phase II – September 6 through September 16

• All phase I reasons

• Elective changes

• Students may only have one round of electives changes (1 form)

• Level changes

• Aiding and release time

Phase III – September 19 through September 23

• All phase I reasons