Jag News

Email: HeartlandElementary@bluevalleyk12.org
Website: www.bluevalleyk12.org/HRT
Location: 12775 Goodman Street, Overland Park, KS, United States
Phone: (913) 239-6300
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Heartland-Elementary/1560823470802598
Twitter: @HRTJaguars

5/15: Field Day!

5/16: 5th grade Farewell Celebration, 6:30pm

5/18: 5th grade Stings Concert @ HMS, 7pm

5/19: Library Books are Due

5/22: Heartland Book Swap

5/22: Heartland Talent Showcase

5/23: 5th grade Breakfast with Staff

5/24: Last Day to Order School Supply Kits

5/25: 5th grade Picnic

5/26: Last Day of School, dismiss at 11:45am

6/1: 4th Quarter Report Cards viewable in ParentVue after 4pm

We are excited for Heartland's annual field day on Monday, May 15th! We need volunteers in the morning and afternoon sessions to run each station to make this day a success! Please find below important information regarding volunteer opportunities and other important information.

*Please note: Younger siblings are not allowed with volunteers while running a field day station.

Morning session: (8:30 am-12 pm) Kindergarten-2nd grade.

Volunteers arrive at 8:30 and meet in the gym at HRT for supplies and instructions. Stations will run from 9am-12pm.

Afternoon session: (12:00 pm - 3pm) 3rd - 5th grade.

Volunteers will arrive at 12pm and meet in the gym for supplies and instructions. Stations will run from 12:30-3:00 pm.

If you would like to volunteer, please select the link below:

Parent Sign-Up Link

Please contact Elizabeth Martínez via email with any questions emartinez@bluevalleyk12.org

Heartland has been working with Scraps KC to keep new, used, and broken school supplies out of the landfill. Please consider donating your student’s school supplies to Scraps KC simply by informing your student to leave their school supplies (pencils, crayons, markers, glue, earbuds, notebooks, etc.) at school, as instructed. We will do the rest of the work!

Stop the Slide and click here for many summer reading programs.

The Board of Education voted to discontinue Payrider services for middle and high school students, beginning with the 2023-24 school year. The change was approved at Monday night’s board meeting. Services will continue for students residing 2.5 miles or further from home to school within their attendance area or who have transportation as part of their Individual Education Plan (IEP). The change does not impact Payrider services for elementary students.

The difficult decision was made at the April board meeting after an administrative update on the state of transportation, followed by recommended changes for the board to consider. The shortage of bus drivers negatively impacts families who participate in the Payrider program and students the district is required by state law to transport. The report notes that throughout this spring, Durham School Services, the district’s transportation provider is 12-18 drivers short daily. Hiring hasn't kept pace with driver attrition and absenteeism — an issue that is not unique to Blue Valley.

Impact of the driver shortage includes:

• Buses are late dropping off students for the start of school and late returning students home.
• Delayed arrival of students is a loss of instructional time, which negatively impacts the teaching and learning environment.
• Lack of drivers leads to early dismissal for after-school activities and loss of instructional time.
• Lack of drivers negatively impacts field trips.
• Increased staff workload to adjust, supervise or alternate plans due to late buses.
• Families are inconvenienced by the lack of predictability.

There were exhaustive efforts made this year to avoid further reduction of services to families who pay for transportation. Payrider services for middle and high school students were eliminated for families who lived under 1.5 miles from school. Additionally, school start time schedules were modified to allow more routes to be combined between grade levels.

These efforts, coupled with enhanced recruiting, wage increases and sign-on bonuses, helped temporarily stabilize student transportation. Unfortunately, the changes were not enough to close the gap between the number of requests for services and drivers required to run routes. Our community and surrounding area aren’t providing Durham with enough qualified applicants to cover routes at the current service levels being offered.

Anticipated impact of 2023-24 Student Transportation recommendation:

• Improves services to students who the district is required by state law to transport. The State of Kansas requires that student transportation be provided for students residing 2.5 miles or further from home to school within their attendance area or have transportation as part of their Individual Education Plan (IEP).
• Further closes the labor gap by the elimination of 10 routes. Approximately 764 middle and high school students will no longer be eligible for Payrider services.
• Maintains the elementary Payrider program and balances the number of buses needed at the middle and high school levels to be equal to the elementary schools.

While the news gives many frustrated families hope for more bus service reliability, the district understands that many families will be disappointed they are no longer eligible for bus service. Making the decision today gives families time to plan for safe and reliable transportation next year.

Current middle and high school Payrider program families should expect a notification letter from Durham about service changes.

It's time to sign up for the BIRTHDAY MARQUEE! The sign only has room for 4 names per month. To reserve your child's name on the birthday marquee, please add your name to the Sign Up Genius. Then, visit the link provided in the sign up to pay the $25 fee for your spot. Fees must be paid within 24 hours or the spot will be released for someone else. This is a fundraiser, students names aren't added to the marquee by the front office. There's not enough space on the marquee for all students' names, once spaces are filled (and paid for) the form will be closed. Please note, you must be signed into MTK in order for the form to open. Thank you!

In February, the Facility Planning Board Advisory Committee began meeting to evaluate school boundaries and develop a plan to address elementary school enrollment and building capacity issues. The committee is now seeking feedback from the community.

The proposed boundary adjustments would bring the Villas of Carrington Square Area to Heartland Elementary. These proposed adjustments are being considered for the 2024-25 school year.

Open Houses

To learn more, you are invited to attend any of the Open House events hosted by the district. The committee's work, including documents, maps and a presentation, can be found on the district’s website.

• May 16, 5:30-6:30 PM at Harmony Elementary School
• May 16, 7-8 PM at Valley Park Elementary School
• May 18, 5:30-6:30 PM at Overland Trail Elementary School

Not able to attend an open house? Watch the May 8 Board of Education meeting at 5:30 PM for more information about the proposed boundary adjustments and share your feedback through an online form.

It is time to start passing the torch to your class as next year 5th graders! If you are interested in leading the 5th Grade Farewell activities, please contact current 5th Grade parent - Katie George @ kgeorge@trex.com

This is an exciting time to be involved and help your class celebrate their final year at Heartland!

End of Quarter Information - Viewing Canvas Courses and Fourth Quarter Grades

At the end of each quarter, courses in Canvas will conclude and will no longer be visible on the Canvas app and website. Courses for this year’s fourth quarter will conclude on May 25th. Report cards will be generated and families will be able to view second quarter grades on ParentVUE at the end of the day on June 1, 2023.

How do I view my child’s report card?

• Log in on ParentVue

• Select your elementary student’s name

• In the left navigation bar, choose REPORT CARD

If you have questions about Standards Based Grading as you view your child’s report card, please review the information found on the Elementary Report Card resource page.

Each new quarter, classroom teachers will publish their next quarter Canvas course. As courses are published, students and families will again be able to see current courses on the Canvas app and Canvas website. For Canvas parent resources, visit www.bluevalleyk12.org/canvas.

Need some new books for summer reading? Heartland’s annual book swap will be held on May 22nd for all grade levels in the library. Students can bring in 1 or more books to school and receive a coupon to pick out a “new” used book. No board books, preschool books, or adult books please. Books will be accepted from Monday, May 8th thru Friday, May 19th.

As the school year winds down, Heartland’s library books must be returned to our library. Please look around the house, car, etc. for any overdue library books and return them to the library with a final due date of Friday, May 19th.

Elementary school registration for the 2023-24 school year is open and online now for current students. Registration is required annually and is the time to update your child’s information and pay fees. Completing registration confirms that your child will attend school in August. Thank you for providing important information as part of the registration process. After logging into ParentVue, click "Online Registration" at the top right. Make sure you select the 2023-24 school year.

Registration is your way of letting us know your child will attend Heartland Elementary for the 2023-24 school year. Without a completed registration, we are unable to “count” your child in our enrollment numbers. Enrollment numbers determine how many sections/teachers we will have for each grade level. The sooner we receive your registration, the better.

If you know your family is moving and your child will not attend Heartland Elementary for the 2023-24 school year, please call 913-239-6300 or email heartlandelementary@bluevallyk12.org and let us know.

Thank you for helping us have accurate enrollment numbers.

Has your child lost a sweatshirt, jacket, coat, hat, lunchbox or water bottle? Well, we found it! Please stop by and check our Lost & Found before the end of the school year. Weather permitting, we will have it outside the front door each day. We have several unclaimed items. Please be sure to label your child's items so we can return them to the owner when they are found. All unclaimed items will be donated after May 26th.

For parents who are not familiar with Y-Club, the YMCA operates within district elementary schools during the school year. The program opens at 7:00 AM daily for early drop-off and stays open until 6:00 PM. Please click here to find out where to learn more or register for the 2023-24 school year.

Don't miss this opportunity! Our PTO is offering the Teacher Tailored supply kit program which offers pre-packaged, school supply kits filled with the supplies requested by your child's teacher. Why fight the hassle of retail when our kits are a cost effective and convenient way of purchasing your back-to-school supplies?

Attached is the information needed to place orders. The kits will be delivered to your children's classroom. Please contact Beth McDow with any questions. mcbeth1216@gmail.com.

Sale Ends 5/24/2023

Click here for a list of local babysitting options. Click here to add to the list.

Click here for a list of Heartland Family Owned Businesses. Click here to add to the list.

Thank you to all families who donated to Heartland Library’s Birthday Book Club. Your donation helps to library to purchase new library books for all students to read and enjoy. Not familiar with our program? Read below for more information.

Students at Heartland have a wonderful way to have their special day recognized for years to come. Our library’s Birthday Book Club is available to students in all grades. By donating $15 to the Library Media Center, your child will be able to choose a special book to be placed in our library collection and be the first student to read the new book.

Here’s how it works. Prior to your child’s birthday, he/she can come to the library and select a Birthday Book from our cart of brand new books in all different genres. A nameplate will be placed in the front of the book and your child’s picture will be taken and displayed with the book in the library. This program is optional but it does provide our library with exciting new titles throughout the school year. The average cost of a library bound book is $17.30!

You can make your donation anytime during the year by paying through this Heartland link: https://bvpo.bluevalleyk12.org or send in a check made payable to Heartland Elementary to the front office.

Daily Snacks: Thank you for your support of our nut-safer snack plan at HRT. As a reminder: we ask that ALL daily snacks (i.e. snack time) for ALL students must come from the nut-safer food list as we have a significant number of students with life-threatening nut allergies. (click below for the link) If a student’s snack is not from this approved list, it will be sent home (and an alternate snack will be provided the first time) so we can help increase the safety for our students as a whole. Our continued focus this year, as an entire school, is to remain consistent on the daily snacks for student snack time in the classrooms—following the nut-safer list.

Please click HERE to access the Nut-Safer food list.

Heartland Elementary’s policy for birthday treats prohibits students and parents from bringing birthdays treats from home—edible or non-edible. This is due to several factors including health, safety, and the preservation of instructional time. Birthdays are a special time for each child and as such, the school will provide recognition throughout the day and throughout the school through announcements, birthday book club from the library, classroom celebration routines, and more. If birthday treats are sent to school during the 2022-23 school year, they will not be distributed and will be sent home. Also, if you send it invitations to birthday parties, please include all students in the class, or they will not be distributed. Thank you for understanding and complying to this policy.

• Call the HRT office at 913-239-6300
• Email HeartlandElementary@bluevalleyk12.org