
Slice of Summer
June 9, 2023

Message from Ms. Smith
Hello Hawks!
I am sure you aren't ready to hear from me, but I couldn't wait any longer to reach out. 😊 I hope that you all are having a great summer. There is a lot of work happening over the summer to prepare for your child to start in August, so I wanted to start sharing updates with you. Please review the Open House flyer below.
Every week this summer we will highlight one or two topics from our Family Handbook. You will receive a copy at Open House, but this might be a less overwhelming way to learn things about Hembree Springs. When everything is being thrown at you in August, it is hard to take it all in. This week we are highlighting Attendance. I would highly encourage you to review this section and check out the FCS Attendance page. There is a link below to easily access the FCS page. It is chalked full of information and will most likely answer any questions you may have. It even explains the parent robo-calls and emails.
Lastly, I hope that you check out the PTA and SGC information. Both organizations are working hard to make a positive impact on our students and school. SGC has made some visible changes to the building to promote safety. Thank you to all of our parent volunteers and staff that worked many hours to make all of this happen!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Sincerely,
AJ Smith
Principal
Hembree Springs ES
470-254-2905 - office
678-525-7704 - cell
Important Dates
8/3/23: Open House Pre-K at 5pm
8/4/23: Open House K-5 throughout the day
*Please see schedule below.
8/7/23: First Day of School
Open House Information
Hembree Springs wants to welcome you to the 2023-2024 school year! Come join us to meet your child's teacher, curriculum and school information, transportation information, and more!
Please arrive 10-15 minutes early.
Class visitation ONLY at scheduled times.
Kindergarten: 8-9am
First Grade: 9-10am
Second Grade: 10-11am
Third Grade: 12-1pm
Fourth Grade: 1-2pm
Fifth Grade: 2-3pm
SGC Update
Hi Families!
Our Hembree Springs School Governance Council has had a wonderfully busy year. We focused on safety, student enrichment, and staff support, and completed several projects within each area. Safety was definitely at the top of our agenda. You may notice a few changes around the building when you return in the fall. Work just began on our new walkway from the upper parking lot to the front entrance. The walkway will now be much wider and smoother and will include a small ramp to be more accessible to the upper lot. New lighting fixtures will also be added to our carpool area as well as to the outside awning connecting our two buildings. A mesh fence wrap will soon be installed around the playground so our students are less visible from the road when playing outside. Also, an additional camera will be added to the playground to increase visibility for Hembree Springs staff.
Student enrichment is always a priority at Hembree Springs. Several of our staff will attend a training during the summer to certify them in Youth Mental Health First Aid. We utilized part of our SGC funds to purchase our Hembree Hawk mascot costume and stock up on our PBIS student reward prizes. We also created a Culture Corner within the Media Center. Three of our Fifth Grade students, Angel Nyambega, Pierre Mendy, and Jakob Cooke, worked together to learn about various cultures within our school community. They created the Culture Corner including maps, books, and a globe so all of our students can share in each other’s culture. Two more Fifth Graders, Skye McKinlay and Taylor Long, created a wonderful piece of art that is displayed in the corner as well. The Culture Corner will be available to everyone starting next fall!
Lastly, the SGC focused heavily on staff support. Grants were given to our Specials Areas teachers (Music, Art, P.E., and Media Center) to fund fun projects for our students. Also, a Task Team was created to give parents the opportunity to assist our staff with various projects. From window cleaning, to Book Fair and stage decorations, to packet prep, our Task Team was a hit! Thank you to all of our wonderful volunteers - the Team will definitely continue to support our staff in the years to come.
This year’s School Governance Council worked hard to fill several needs within our school community. It was an honor to support our students and staff and we are excited to begin work again in the fall!
Jakob, Pierre, and Angel
Taylor and Skye
New Blinds that are fully functional for all classrooms
Fence Wrap to obscure view of students on playground
Fence Wrap
Concrete Walkway connecting parking lot to school
Freshly painted lines in carpool and parking lots
No Parking zone to easily access the sidewalk ramp
Afterschool Clubs for 2023-2024
Parents and Community,
We need you to help get our Hawks engaged in activities outside of school. We are hoping to offer lots of FREE opportunities for our students to engage after school in their interests with their peers, staff, and community.
Here is the ask: If you are available from 2:45-3:45pm for one day a week for at least 8 consecutive weeks AND you would like to host a club for students, please complete the interest form below.
We hope to have at least 5 different clubs each week, but would love to host even more. If you are interested in supporting/hosting a club, please complete the interest form. There would be a staff sponsor assigned to your club to support you.
Here are club ideas:
Gardening
Art
Lego
Chess
Board Games/Cards
Girls on the Run (Running Club)
Nature
Sports (Teaching Basics)
Book Club
Mechanics
Sewing
Cosmetology
Culture Corner
Walking
Tumbling
Badminton/Yard Games
Dance
Animal Care
Karate
Aerobics
Cooking
Technology
Get creative! We want to connect your interests to our students' interests!
Parent and Family Handbook Corner
Hembree Springs and Fulton County Schools Attendance Policy
https://www.fultonschools.org/domain/8478
Attendance Matters
Good attendance is essential to ensure that your student maximizes his/her opportunities to receive a quality education. Students who are absent from school are deprived of a variety of educational experiences shared with their peers. For students in Fulton County Schools to learn and achieve to their fullest potential, it is critical that they attend school and are engaged in the learning process. Student absences, whether excused or unexcused, impact a child's ability to succeed in school. To increase student attendance in school, students need to feel valued, engaged, and safe at school. Parents/Guardians will be notified based on all absences regardless of whether a student is excused or unexcused.
Parents and Guardians will be notified regularly when students are absent whether the absent is excused or unexcused. Infinite Campus (IC) will send an email when an absence occurs. In addition, an automatic phone call will be made when your child is absent. When students have excessive absences, parents will receive additional text messages and letters about student attendance .When students reach the chronically absent status, they may be contacted by our school social worker.
Late Arrivals
Students must be present in their homeroom classroom no later than 7:40 AM to be marked on time for the day. If your student arrives after 7:40 AM please check them in at the Checkmate Computer Kiosk in the vestibule area. Students should give the printed late arrival slip to their teacher. An excuse note must be submitted for late arrivals to be excused.
Early Check Outs
Early check out is reserved for emergencies or extenuating circumstances and is not designed to be a regular occurrence. We understand that there are times when your student needs to be checked out early for a medical appointment, family emergency, religious holiday, etc. If you need to check your student out early, please do so before 2:00 PM. For school safety, no students will be allowed to check out early after 2:00 PM. An excuse note must be submitted for early check outs to be excused.
Excuse Note Policy for Student Absences, Late Arrivals and Early Checkouts
Absences, late arrivals and early check outs are considered unexcused until we receive an excuse note from parents, guardians or healthcare providers. Parents should submit an excuse note for each day the student is absent. Excuse notes must be submitted within 5 days of the absence.
Excuse notes can be submitted to Hembree Springs in two ways.
1. Email both the Hembree Springs attendance mailbox and homeroom teacher. Parents should email both the homeroom teacher and hsesattendance@fultonschools.org. Emails received by 2:00pm will be processed within 24 hours of receipt.
OR
2. Submit a paper note. Submit the note to the front desk or to the homeroom teacher. Paper notes will be processed within 48 hours of receipt.
⭐Process for Principal Approval of Absence⭐
When your child will be absent from school for travel, family emergency or other non-illness related reason, parents may request one of these principal approved absence options by completing this online form.
Participating Remotely (PR)
Students can substitute up to 5 absences per semester (a max of 10 per year) with a “Participating Remotely” learning day. This will result in the student being counted as present for the day(s) they participate remotely.
Parent must complete the electronic Request Form 24 hours prior to the absence.
Parent must work with your child’s teacher(s) to arrange a plan for completing the work.
Missed work must be submitted within 2 days of returning to school. If work is not submitted by this deadline, the student will be marked with and unexcused absence for the days missed.
Participating Remotely days do not count as an absence.
Students may not use a remote learning day on a test day.
OR
Pre-Approved Absences (PA)
Parents must request for students to be absent due to family events or other pre-approved absences at least 5 days before absence occurs.
Missed work must be completed after the student returns to school. Pre-Approved absences will count as an excused absence.
The student’s complete attendance record including excused, unexcused, disciplinary, or other absence types will be reviewed before the school approves these absences. The school administration will also consider the student’s academic standing before approving these absences.
From PTA
Letter from Stephanie Dersnah
Dear Hembree Springs Families,
We’ve made it through another school year and our Hawks have grown so much!
First and foremost, I want to take this opportunity to thank the PTA Board members, staff, and all the wonderful volunteers who helped make our Ready, Tech, Go! Family TECH Event a successful program for everyone! Our kids had fun with Chemistry Chaos while our parents were able to engage in informative and supportive discussions around technology readiness, a program developed in collaboration with AT&T and National PTA. Hembree Springs, through a National PTA grant application, was chosen as one of three marquee sites out of 35 schools across the country to host this program for our families. My favorite part of the evening was observing Anna King, the National PTA President, speaking to nearly every child in attendance, giving them encouraging words and high fives! Mrs. King was especially excited to personally recognize Mackenzie Gardner for receiving a 2022-2023 Reflections Award of Merit at the National level for her photography entry!
This year has been filled with amazing events like this one and we have so enjoyed gathering with all our Hawks and their families throughout the year! From our “Trike or Treat” event, to our Read-a-Thon, to STEM & STAR nights with a variety of guest activities, to meeting at Tres Hermenos for grocery store math night, to book clubs, the Family Night student led conferences, and the Silent Auction, this year - together we have truly soared! We also continue to bring you informative programming in partnership with Title 1 meetings on important topics like school safety, internet safety, transitions to middle school, PTA Healthy Minds discussions and more. If you missed any of these discussions, we’ve also posted details to our website and provided more resources via our Advocacy Newsletters.
I would like to thank all my 2022-2023 PTA Board Members for their support in putting on these programs: Sara Fuchs, Cathy Sparks, Jess Fadden, Lauren LaFleur, Jennifer Mauney, Amanda Gardner, and Shanna Whitbeck. I want to give a couple of special shout outs to Hembree’s Title 1 Parent Liaison, Lucy Gilbert, and our School Governance Council Chair and Room Parent liaison Ashley Russ who both work endlessly behind the scenes to support these events and make sure they run smoothly! And of course, I want to thank each and every one of you who volunteered or participated in any of these events! It has been an honor to serve on the PTA board with these amazing women and with each of you!!
Hembree Springs PTA was recognized for all the hard work and collaboration with Hembree Springs administration by North Fulton Council PTA who honored us with the Model PTA Award and Connect with Council Award for the 2022-2023 school year. Our very own Jean Bagwell received the Outstanding School Nurse award for her warm, welcoming environment and caring support of Hembree students, staff and parents. “Not a day goes by where she has not warmed the halls with her smile. The kids (and adults) at Hembree know that they can reach out to her for anything they may need, even if it is just a hug.” Additionally, we celebrated the hard work of Jennifer Mauney, who received the Visionary Award, as she went above and beyond in her PTA role of teacher and staff support, the “epitome of an outstanding school and community leader, always putting the needs of others before her own… She is constantly pursuing new and innovative ways for our PTA to be involved that are inclusive, diverse and culturally rich.”
These awards are only possible through your support where our families, schools, and communities work together to support student success! We are so proud of all our school leaders, teachers, staff, PTA volunteers, and families who worked so very hard to overcome the challenges the past two years and it shows! All our awards are on display at the Hembree Springs lobby.
On a personal note, the Dersnah family’s journey at Hembree has come to a close. In August 2013, Aaron and I sent our son to school on the bus and met him as he arrived where he was in tears not knowing what to expect on his first day of kindergarten. After that first day, he quickly recovered and even more importantly thrived in this Hembree community and beyond bringing with him everything he learned as a Hembree HAWK. On Thursday, Aaron and I met our daughter at carpool where she broke down in tears knowing she won’t be walking the Hembree hallways again for quite some time. While our daughter may not feel ready for middle school just yet, we know that she has been so well prepared academically, physically, and mentally and that she will be able to rise to any future challenges with the foundation built here at Hembree Springs. Though our family’s time at Hembree both started and ended in tears, we know that every teacher, staff member, Dr. McAtee, Mrs. Tew, and Mrs. Smith have accomplished their mission to prepare, inspire, and encourage excellence in our Hawks and their future endeavors. As Mrs. Tooley said at 5th grade graduation, and I’m paraphrasing, “there are many roads ahead of you today that go in all different directions…just remember that there will always be a road that leads back to Hembree”. I want to thank Mrs. Tooley for those words which provide our family with great comfort as we continue our journey onward!
For my part as PTA President, I hope I have served this community well. I personally hope that everyone at Hembree has felt as welcome as I have during my time here. My family and I will miss everyone here, and I know each member of our family is “always a hawk”! I am leaving you in good hands with your 2023-2024 school board and I’m excited to see to what heights the Hembree Springs PTA will soar next year!
The PTA will continue to share news and events with you over the summer via Member Hub communications. And don’t forget to check out the School Supplies and Spirit Wear sites for next year. School Supply kit orders are due July 1st! Next year will be here before you know it!
Thank you for helping our hawks soar and making every Hembree Hawk feel welcome this year!!
Stephanie Dersnah
Hembree Springs PTA President
Email: president@hembreespringspta.org
Cell: 404 210 6333
"Under The Lights" Girls Flag Football Summer Camp
Open to all rising 4th - 8th grade girls
Monday, June 26th - Thursday, June 29th
6pm-8pm
$125 per camper
All registered campers will receive a MHS flag football t-shirt
Payments can be made via Venmo to @MiltonFlagFootball
Questions? Email MHSflagfootball@gmail.com
Hembree Springs Elementary School
Website: https://www.fultonschools.org/hembreespringses
Location: 815 Hembree Road, Roswell, GA, USA
Phone: 470-254-2902