HORIZON NEWSLETTER

Happy Holidays to all our Horizon Families,

Here is wishing you and your family and safe and happy holiday. May you all find time to spend with loved ones during the holiday and enjoy the joy this time of year brings. As the years ends reflect back on all the wonderful things you are grateful for. We at Horizon are grateful for all our students and staff.

As 2024 rapidly approaches we are excited and eager to find what the new year will bring. Your students are nearly halfway through their school year and need to continue to stay focused on their academics. Attendance continues to play a strong part in school success. Please be sure to have them here everyday. It really does matter!

Let's make 2024 the best school year yet! May your New Year be filled with joy, happiness and new beginnings. We look forward to having an even better, more engaging second semester filled with even more learning, wonder and joy!

Yours in Education,

Jill Taylor

Principal

Amber Boone

Assistant Principal

Please remember to send your student in warm clothes:

• Jacket, hat, mittens and proper footwear
• Dressing in layers really helps when the weather fluctuates so much!
• We do go outside to play multiple times a day for recess to exercise our bodies and get fresh air.
• It is good for your student to move and burn off energy throughout the day and being dressed properly makes it far more enjoyable to be outside when it is chilly!
• Please contact us if you are struggling to provide you child with the essentials.

Thank you so much for your help with this.

Please remember to check the lost and found

• If you are missing a jacket, lunch box, eyeglasses or sweatshirt, etc.
• There is quite a large selection out there!
• Be sure to check it out if you are missing something!!!

Jerome School District

125 4th Ave. W.

Jerome, Idaho 83338

Phone: 208-324-2392 Fax: 208-324-7609

Dear Parent or Guardian,

Jerome School District values our families, their cultures and customs, and family time. We know that many of our families find the best time for family vacations and to visit family in other states and countries is during the winter months due to work schedules and holidays.

However, we want to make sure you are making informed decisions when planning these vacations. Student attendance in school is essential for their success. We have a two-week winter break from December 21st-January 3rd. Please do your best to plan your vacations during this window.

If you pull your child from school for an extended period there are consequences to their academic success.

• For younger children this means it is harder for them to learn to read, gain language skills, and develop number sense in math. The rest of the class continues to progress while your child falls behind.
• For secondary students, the consequences are as follows:
  • High school students must meet state guidelines for time in the classroom in order to receive credits. Students need credits to graduate.
  • If your high school student is gone for two to three weeks of the semester, they run a very high risk of not getting any credits for the semester they miss.
  • If your vacation spans both first and second semesters they run the risk of not getting any credits for the school year. Hence not graduating on time with their peers.

Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing more than 18 days during the school year. If you plan your vacation outside of our planned breaks, it does not take much for your child to reach 18 days as this includes sick days as well.

Things to do if your child’s absence from school absolutely cannot be avoided:

• Communicate with the school early to try to get some work to be completed while the student is gone. Set a schedule for your child to do at least 2 hours of schoolwork each day until it is complete.
• If the school is unable to provide work, have your child journal daily about the experiences they are having to provide opportunities to work with writing and language. Have your child turn these in when they return.
• Connect to the google classroom to complete assignments remotely to the best of your ability. If you need to check out a Chromebook, work through the school to get one.
• Using a Chromebook or Smart phone have your child work through online applications for at least an hour a day, probably broken into two 30 minute sittings. These applications can be found through the Clever portal that your child should know how to access.

Please carefully consider your commitment to making sure your child continues to learn while absent on family vacations and make every attempt possible to schedule vacations in conjunction with Jerome School District Calendar vacations- https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FDr1y59WHvavfFibT2Kxh-Nzn9mij_Bv/view.

Sincerely,

Jerome School District Administration

Estimado padre o Guardianes,

El Distrito Escolar Jerome valora a nuestras familias, sus culturas y costumbres, y el tiempo en familia. Sabemos que muchas de nuestras familias encuentran que el mejor momento para vacaciones familiares y para visitar a familiares en otros estados y países es durante los meses de invierno debido a horarios de trabajo y días festivos.

Sin embargo, queremos asegurarnos de que esté tomando decisiones informadas al planificar estas vacaciones. La asistencia de los estudiantes a la escuela es esencial para su éxito. Tenemos unas vacaciones de invierno de dos semanas del 21 de diciembre al 3 de enero. Haga todo lo posible para planificar sus vacaciones durante este período.

Si saca a su hijo de la escuela por un período prolongado, esto tendrá consecuencias para su éxito académico.

• Para los niños más pequeños, esto significa que les resulta más difícil aprender a leer, adquirir habilidades lingüísticas y desarrollar el sentido numérico en matemáticas. El resto de la clase continúa progresando mientras su hijo se queda atrás.

• Para los estudiantes de secundaria, las consecuencias son las siguientes:

o Los estudiantes de secundaria deben cumplir con las pautas estatales de tiempo en el aula para poder recibir créditos. Los estudiantes necesitan créditos para graduarse.

o Si su estudiante de secundaria se ausenta durante dos o tres semanas del semestre, corre un riesgo muy alto de no obtener ningún crédito por el semestre que perdió.

o Si sus vacaciones abarcan tanto el primer como el segundo semestre corren el riesgo de no obtener ningún crédito para el año escolar. De ahí que no se gradúen a tiempo con sus compañeros.

El ausentismo crónico se define como faltar más de 18 días durante el año escolar. Si planifica sus vacaciones fuera de nuestros descansos planificados, no le tomará mucho tiempo a su hijo alcanzar los 18 días, ya que esto también incluye los días de enfermedad.

Cosas que hacer si la ausencia de su hijo a la escuela no se puede evitar en absoluto:

• Comuníquese con la escuela temprano para tratar de completar algún trabajo mientras el estudiante no está. Establezca un horario para que su hijo haga al menos 2 horas de tarea escolar cada día hasta que la complete.

• Si la escuela no puede ofrecerle trabajo, haga que su hijo escriba un diario sobre las experiencias que está teniendo para brindarle oportunidades de trabajar con la escritura y el lenguaje. Haga que su hijo los entregue cuando regrese.

• Conéctese Google Classroom para completar tareas de forma remota lo mejor que pueda. Si necesita sacar un Chromebook, trabaje con la escuela para obtener uno.

• Usando un Chromebook o un teléfono inteligente, haga que su hijo trabaje con aplicaciones en línea durante al menos una hora al día, probablemente dividida en dos sesiones de 30 minutos. Estas aplicaciones se pueden encontrar a través del portal Clever al que su hijo debe saber cómo acceder.

Considere cuidadosamente su compromiso de asegurarse de que su hijo continúe aprendiendo mientras está ausente durante las vacaciones familiares y haga todo lo posible para programar las vacaciones junto con las vacaciones del calendario del distrito escolar de Jerome: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FDr1y59WHvavfFibT2Kxh -Nzn9mij_Bv/view.

Atentamente,

Administración del Distrito Escolar Jerome

The following students have been elected as our

new student council members! Way to go!

😀Nolan Gardner 😀😀 Peyton Roberts 😀
😀 Brinlee Leslie 😀😀 Damian Norato 😀
😀 Charlotte Callen😀😀 Emmily Barboza😀

WTG! Kiddos!

Horizon will be hosting some of our "Safekeeper's" from our community.

What is a "Safekeeper you might ask?

A "Safekeeper" is a person that helps to keep our children , families and community member's safe. They hold job's in the community such as Fire Fighters, Police Officer's, EMT's, Paramedics, ER Nurses, and the like. "Safekeepers" can also be upstanding members of a community that our children know are there to help keep them and their community safe.

We will be getting to know some of our

"Safekeeper's" during the following times:

November: (SRO Norris)

December: 2nd Grade (ER Nurse)

January: 1st Grade

February: Kindergarten

December:

MUSIC performance will be shared on Facebook-SCHEDULE above!!

🧦18th Christmas Hat and Socks Dress Up Day

⛄19th Christmas Sweater Dress up Day

🍿19th Attendance MOVIE reward

🎄20th Christmas Pajama Dress up Day

🍿20th Attendance MOVIE reward

End of 2nd Quarter(Semester)-Reports coming soon!

❄️Winter Break begins December 21- January 3rd - NO SCHOOL

January:

❄️4th School Resumes

A.L.I.C.E. Hall Check practice will take place the month of December to gently introduce the student body into the first step of emergency procedures and the language/verbiage used district wide in our emergency procedures. (see below).

In addition to the baseline A.L.I.C.E training that all Horizon staff have had online they will receive additional hands on training by our newly certified A.L.I.C.E Trainers Amber Boone and Stephanie Anderson. We are please to have these two staff members certified in A.L.I.C.E as well as many other JSD staff.

We take take the safety of your children seriously.