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Dear Handy Families,

Happy March!

We've had a busy and productive February. All 3rd grade students took the GATE identification assessment. Students and teachers have been busy preparing for ELPAC testing for English Learners and SBAC for all 3rd-6th grade students. All 5th grade students are additionally preparing for the Physical Fitness Assessment and a State Science Assessment.

Also in February, we focused on the core value of Kindness. Our school celebrated Kindness Week and participated in the Great Kindness Challenge. As a school, we also learned about influential African Americans by reading a variety of children's books. Handy Ballet Folklorico, Hip Hop and Pep Squad performed at the Orange High School Showcase. We kicked of Read Across America the last week of February to celebrate and promote reading.

This March, we will be focused on the core value of Grit. We will be finishing off second trimester, hosting Open House/Showcase, and enjoying Spring Break at the end of the month.

Follow Handy Elementary school on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for weekly happenings at Handy! Please scroll down to see a complete list of March events.

I encourage every Handy scholar to give their best effort each and every day because: Learning today makes a brighter tomorrow!

With gratitude,

Erika A. Krohn, Principal

Need something to do with your kids on the weekends or Spring Break? Take them to the Orange Public Library! Please click on the below link for the Orange Public Library's upcoming Spring Break programming, Coding and Math programs, and El Modena Library’s special Dia event.

https://www.orangepubliclibrary.org/programs/programs-for-kids

• Absenteeism in the first month of school can predict poor attendance throughout the school year. Half the students who miss 2-4 days in September go on to miss nearly a month of school.

• Chronic absence appears to have doubled by the end of the 2021-22 school year. It now affects nearly one out of three students (or 16 million vs. 8 million students in the 2018-19 school year).

• Absenteeism and its ill effects start early.

• Poor attendance can influence whether children read proficiently by the end of third grade or be held back.

• By 6th grade, chronic absence becomes a leading indicator that a student will drop out of high school.

• Research shows that missing 10 percent of the school, or about 18 days in most school districts, negatively affects a student’s academic performance. That’s just two days a month and that’s known as chronic absence.

• Students who live in communities with high levels of poverty are four times more likely to be chronically absent than others often for reasons beyond their control, such as unstable housing, unreliable transportation and a lack of access to health care.

• When students improve their attendance rates, they improve their academic prospects and chances for graduating.

• February 27-March 3-Read Across America Week
• March 1-iReady Principal Prize Patrol
• March 2-Principal for a Day-George Gutierrez, Campfire After-school Program Director
• March 3-School-wide Talking Circles-Grit
• March 3, Read and Lunch With a Loved One, Primary 11:30, Upper 12:15
• March 7-Last Day of 2nd Trimester, Minimum Day
• March 8-Kindergarten and 6th Grade Promotion Pictures
• March 10-2nd Trimester Awards Assemblies
• March 13-24-ELPAC Testing for English Learners
• March 17-Spirit Assembly, wear green
• March 17-Big Smiles Dental Program on site
• March 20-24-Book Fair
• March 21-Open House/Showcase, 5:00-6:30
• March 23-English Language Advisory Committee (ELAC) Meeting
• March 27-31-Spring Break
• March 30-31-GRIP Soccer Camp

2016 Title I Academic Achievement Award, 2016 Gold Ribbon School

Website: https://www.orangeusd.org/handy-elementary-school
Location: 860 N. Handy St. Orange, California 92867
Phone: (714) 997-6183
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Handyelementary/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel
Twitter: @handyelementary