Cheetah Chronicles

February 6: School Store K-2

February 7: McTeacher Night Tracks 1 & 2 (5:00-7:30)

February 13: School Store 3-5

February 15: Cheetahs Got Talent Show!

February 22: Spring Individual and Class Pictures-Tracks 1 & 3

February 28: McTeacher Night Tracks 3 & 4 (5:00-7:30)

February 29: PTA General Meeting @ 6:30pm

March 5: No School Teacher Workday

March 7: Literacy Night

March 14th: Spring Individual and Class Pictures-Tracks 2 & 4

During the January 16 meeting and in response to community and staff feedback, Board of Education members approved making March 5, 2024 (Primary Election Day) a ‘Banked Day’ for all 2023-24 instructional calendars. This means there will be no school for students on Tuesday, March 5th, and the day will be designated as a workday for school staff.

Parents/Guardians - The HSES EOG dates have been finalized and can be found here and on the HSES website. It is important that every effort is made for your 3rd, 4th, and/or 5th grade child to be present during EOG testing days. Please plan vacations/trips, doctor appointments, etc. accordingly.

Families of currently enrolled HSES students who prefer a different track assignment, other than the one to which they are currently assigned, should complete this form. Administration would like to grant all requests; however, state class size limits, keeping families together on the same track, and other variables must be considered when assigning students to tracks/classrooms. You will be notified of your final track assignment for the 2024-2025 school year in late spring (end of May). Thank you for your understanding and support. *Deadline to consider any track changes: March 8, 2024*

Track Change Request Form

Windward Pointe residents have noticed that parents with walkers have started parking at the neighborhood pool that are NOT residents of the neighborhood. There is a sign outside of the pool that says parking for “Windward Pointe Residents Only,”. If you are not a resident of Windward Pointe, they are asking that you not park in the Windward Pointe pool parking lot or on Caymen Ave. This is NOT a pick up and drop off zone. Please abide by these residential rules.

February 22nd: Spring Individual and Class Pictures-Tracks 1 & 3

March 14th: Spring Individual and Class Pictures-Tracks 2 & 4

Classroom Group Picture Order Form

Holly Springs Elementary is once again teaming up with the American Heart Association for the Kids Heart Challenge. Students in tracks 1-2 will have their Event Day on February 2. Track 4 students will have their kickoff assembly on February 5, 2024. You can see the schedule and other information for our Kids Heart Challenge HERE.

Even if you were approved as a volunteer last school year you must be approved again this year. Many field trips are coming up and we do not want you to wait or miss out as it takes a while for volunteers to be approved. Follow the steps below carefully:

Register as a WCPSS Volunteer

All WCPSS parent and community volunteers are required to register through the new MyVolunteer system. Please complete your registration on a computer at home or school. It is very difficult to complete using a mobile phone. It can take several weeks for your registration to be approved so don’t wait until field trips to try and register. Register now so you are ready and able to volunteer in the classroom, volunteer for school events, or chaperone at any time this school year!

1. Click the link below to start your volunteer registration: https://myvolunteer.com/wcpss/volunteer/login

2. Click create new account.

3. Complete the online form and select all the schools that you are requesting to volunteer or chaperone for the 2023-2024 school year.

4. It will then say pending.

5. Soon after you will receive an email with a customized link for you to complete next steps for your background check. This link expires 10 days from the day you receive the email. Follow the instructions in that email. You will fill out all items in red boxes and then you will review and digitally sign four documents (Summary of Rights Under the FCRA, Disc & Auth, NC Security Freeze Notice, and WCPSS Volunteer Agreement).

6. If you leave the CRC background site before completing your contact information, you will have to begin the process again.

7. You must include your social security number to register to volunteer. If you do not have a social security number, please contact volunteers@wcpss.net or call 919-694-8233.

8. Great news is that this year you will be notified by the MyVolunteer system if you are approved to volunteer!

Please Note: If you are a WCPSS Employee seeking to volunteer/chaperone in the schools, you do not have to complete a criminal background check. However, employees will still need to register in the MyVolunteer system (https://myvolunteer.com/wcpss/volunteer/login) and complete the Wake County Volunteer Agreement and other required forms. Employees must select the “Current Staff of WCPSS” link on MyVolunteer to complete the volunteer registration process and must use their WCPSS email address to complete the registration.

o DCRI Literacy at Home One Pager (English)

In the event that a bus is not running, Holly Springs Elementary will continue to send text and email messages through School Messenger, and post on Twitter. Text and email messages will not be sent through School Messenger if buses are running behind schedule. This is for both AM and PM routes.

Wake County Schools Transportation continually updates bus information for the Holly Springs area HERE.

Remember to refresh the page every 15 minutes in order to see the most up to date information.

If HSES is not listed, that means that all of our buses are running without any issue.

Click the letter below to learn more about the Positivity Project and to view the yearly calendar:

P2 Family Information Letter

Tracks 1, 2 & 4

Dear Families,

This week our school community will be focusing on the Other People Mindset of Cheering Others’ Successes. This means when other people succeed, I am happy for them and cheer them on.

Being happy for other people when they succeed isn’t always everyone’s initial reaction. Often, it’s easy to become jealous or envious of others’ victories -- or even to experience schadenfreude, which is deriving pleasure from witnessing (or learning about) another person’s misfortune. People who have these reactions to the success or misfortune of others are colloquially known as “haters.” It’s important to note that these are natural emotions and in small doses can be helpful in allowing us to see what we care about -- and motivate us to pursue those goals.

But making a commitment towards cheering on other people’s successes can be a great way to improve our own health, happiness, and relationships. People can take active steps to be more genuinely happy for the achievements of others. Ways to do this include; telling others about the success of your modest friend; noticing when your reaction to a sibling’s success is envy or jealousy -- and asking yourself why that is; reminding yourself that appreciating the excellence in another is a character strength; asking your successful teammates and classmates what they do to prepare for games or tests.

Being supportive of people who succeed is good for our mental, physical, and emotional well-being and when people cheer each other on it begins a reciprocal process that forges stronger relationships. Those relationships are the foundation for a strong culture in teams, schools, and businesses.

To practice and encourage the character strength of perspective with your child, please visit the Positivity Project’s P2 for Families (password: P2), where together you will watch a video, read a quote, and talk about the answers to three questions.

Have a wonderful week!

This week, we are celebrating National School Counseling Week. We use our counseling standards to develop a plan to support student success. Did you know there are also standards we use to help ALL students learn? These are specific skills they need as they grow and gain maturity. Through exercises we may do in class, in group discussions, or even one-on-one conversations, we want to help them learn coping skills, how to work well with their fellow students, how to make informed decisions and even how to take responsibility for their actions. These are all important skills that help us become good friends, family members and, someday, employees. The essayist and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson, wrote, “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters to what lies within us.” We hope we can help ALL students to cultivate what lies within them.

HSES Cafeteria

FREE dinner (pizza), dessert & drinks!

Movie for the kiddos!

Come share your ideas for the 2024-25 school year & learn how you can get involved with the PTA!

Our Wake Up and Read Book Drive has officially started! Drop off your gently used Children’s Books in the box located in the front lobby. We are collecting books from birth to 5th grade. This is a great way to clear out books you no longer need and know they're going to a great cause.

School Store will be open on February 6th (K-2) and February 13th (3-5)! If you are able to lend a hand from 8:30-9:30am, please sign up HERE! Thank you!

Coach Lee just kicked off our school’s Kids Heart Challenge! Students and staff are excited to get going on helping kids with special hearts and learning how to take care of our own. The classrooms in each grade level with the most students registered online will win the classroom challenge to receive a $25 gift card! Once you’re on the team, be sure to complete Finn’s Mission. That’s where you’ll learn the lifesaving skill of Hands-Only CPR, which when given immediately can double (even triple) a person’s chance of surviving cardiac arrest. Other missions will help you raise funds for kids with special hearts and learn the warning signs of a stroke. As always, our students will have the opportunity to earn thank-you gifts for themselves and funds and equipment for our school.

Click HERE to sign up!

Boosterthon TRACK 1

Boosterthon TRACK 2

Boosterthon TRACK 3

Boosterthon TRACK 4

Cheetah FamilyFest (summer kickoff)

CheetahBlast (formerly O'Holly Night)

Fall Movie Night (Mario Movie)

Fall Walk to School

First Day

Pokemon Go

Salamander's Game

Science Fair/STEAM Night

YES, you read that right! We have a NEW SPIRIT ROCK! Our new rock is directly behind our Carpool rock & sits facing the Bus loop. Now our bus and van riders will have a front row view of even more celebrations! Please pay close attention to CARPOOL or BUS LOOP when making your reservations. Choose either the CARPOOL LOOP or BUS LOOP. We cannot guarantee that your week will be available if you rent the wrong rock.

https://app.memberhub.gives/hsesspiritrock

The HSES Spirit Rock is a great way to send a message for all to see! Congratulate your favorite student on an accomplishment, wish a student a Happy Birthday, celebrate a team win or let everyone know how much you love our school. Reserve the Spirit Rock HERE ($25/week).