![page background](https://cdn.smore.com/_fr/pumpkin-04.19d0229f.jpg)
November Bulldog Bulletin
Your monthly guide to school news, information, and tips.
O. N. Hirsch Elementary School
Office Hours: 8:00am to 3:30pm
Phone#: (510) 657-3537
Principal—Ms. Christina Arroyo carroyo@fusdk12.net
School Secretary — Ms. Jacqueline Cortez jcortez@fusdk12.net
Attendance Clerk — Mrs. Vaishali Parikh vparikh@fusdk12.net
Principal Arroyo's Message
Dear Hirsch Families,
As we say goodbye to October, we show gratitude when we welcome November. With these weather changes, please continue to monitor your Bulldogs’ health. Do not hesitate to ask for additional COVID tests as we all work to keep each other healthy. As a reminder, please keep your student home if they are sick or have a severe cough. We still want to protect all from this upcoming cold, flu, and COVID season as best we can.
Both students and staff had fun showing Drug Free awareness with our Red Ribbon Week school spirit days at the end of October. I can’t wait to see our families tomorrow morning at our Book Character Day parade!
During November 13-16, our prep teachers, counselor, and classroom teachers will be holding parent/guardian conferences to discuss report cards. We will have early dismissal Monday 11/13 through Friday 11/17 for grades 1-5 at 1:34 p.m. with the kindergarten schedule remaining unchanged and only early dismissal on Wednesday 11/15 at 11:40. Please make sure you have signed up for either the in-person or online option and come to this very special 1:1 time with your student’s teacher to hear about strengths and areas for growth. Our school goal is to have 100% attendance at these conferences. Our Prep Specialists, Computers, Science, and P.E. are available to answer questions and address any concerns too with conferences. The sign-up sheet went out last Friday. Please check your email or Parent Square.
Did you know that if you download the Parent Square app you can change the setting to a language of your preference? By doing this small step, you can keep informed of district and school events if you need this resource. Ask me how if you need help with this.
As a reminder, there will be no school November 20-24th. If you will be traveling, please be safe and ensure your student doesn’t miss important learning time. I am grateful each and every day to come to work at my second home where the students, families, and staff are AMAZING!
Calendar
November
1 - Early Release Day
8 - Early Release Day
10- No School (Veterans Day)
13-17 - Parent Teacher Conferences- Early Release (Grades 1-5)
14 - Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day
15 - Kindergarten Early Release Day
20-24 - No School (Thanksgiving Break)
28- Girls Basketball Tryouts
29- Boys Basketball Tryouts
29 - Early Release Day
30- Makeup Basketball Tryouts
December
1 - Bulldog Jog
6 - Early Release Day
7- Giving Tree
13 - Young Author's Contest Deadline
13 - Early Release Day
20 - Early Release Day
22 - Early Release Day
12/25-1/5 - No School (Winter Break)
Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day! November 14, 2023
Ruby Bridges: Civil Rights Icon & Activist
On November 14, 1960, six-year-old first-grader Ruby Bridges stepped into the history books when she integrated William Frantz Elementary School. She was not looking to make history. She just wanted to go to school and have the opportunity to learn, and to do so safely. But her courageous action and historic steps initiated the desegregation of New Orleans’ public schools.
Now, more than 60 years later, Ruby is looking to make sure school-age kids around our nation have that same experience. Her vision is for them to become the next generation of leaders who create positive change in their communities, one step at a time.
Since 2018, student leaders have organized an annual walk to school day every November. This annual tradition is more than just a walk, it’s about inspiring students to find their passion and strength – one step at a time.
Please reach out to our office staff if you would like to lead a "walking" or "biking" Train on this day from a designated spot. Volunteers are encouraged!
Counselor's Corner
November Counselor's Corner with Ms. Hernandez
Hello Families,
November is National Gratitude Month! Gratitude is taking a moment to recognize and appreciate the good things in your life. Encourage your child to reflect and express their gratitude for the things they’re grateful for. This could be family, friends, food, clean water, or having a place to live. Practicing gratitude regularly increases social connection, improves mental health, and increases resilience.
Ways to Practice Gratitude at Home
Gratitude Jar: Once a day, on a small paper write one thing you are grateful for and place it in a jar. When the jar is full you and your family can read through the notes together.
Gratitude Letter: Write a letter to a person you are particularly grateful to have in your life.
Collage: Take pictures of all the things you are grateful for. This gives you and your child the opportunity to visualize your gratitude.
Gratitude Before Bed: Take five minutes at the end of the day to ask your child what they are thankful for that day.
Gratitude Walks: As you walk look for simple pleasures in the day like the sun or birds.
Thank you,
Ms. Hernandez
Please see the attached flyers for Parent Workshops available to the Hirsch community.
Establishing Positive Online Behaviors Parent Workshop 11/30/23
Join us for an engaging presentation and interactive workshop on the challenges, opportunities, and ways to support our kids and their use of social media. Come learn about:
Latest research on social media's impact on kids
Ways in which social media should be used and monitored
What you can do to support your child with healthy media habits
Thursday, November 30th, 2023
11:00am- 12:15pm
Presentation will be in English, and translated into Spanish and Mandarin
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZApc-yhrj8oHNXxq60EFvQxcL5Uzcw7petF
Mrs. Winmill's Reading Corner
November Reading Corner with Mrs. Winmill
Thank you Hirsch family and community members! We were able to have a successful book fair. I hope all families enjoyed the experience and found some amazing books! Our book fairs are only successful because of the support we receive from our community and volunteers. Thank you again.
We have had a few successful weeks with our library helpers in the library. They are starting to understand how to shelf books and are making fabulous book recommendations for their fellow students. I have seen quite a few copies of our 100 Book Reading Challenge being worked on as well. It is so wonderful to see our students helping each other and expanding their reading horizons! Reading is a lifelong habit that can bring much joy.
November will be a busy month in the library as we will be celebrating Dia de los Muertos, Diwali, and Thanksgiving. We will have some lunchtime activities to tie in with these different holidays. Have your students stop by to see what they can work on.
I am attaching our library’s wishlist at the bottom of the library portion of the newsletter. This is constantly being updated and changed. If you would like to help out the library to add these wonderful books into our circulation, you can either purchase a selection from the list and bring it into the school or you could drop off an Amazon gift card. Anything helps out!
Take care and keep reading!
Mrs. Winmill
Young Authors Contest
The Young Authors Contest has begun! This is an optional activity for your student to participate in. If your student expressed an interest, they received a packet from their classroom teacher on Friday. It's not too late for them to still get a packet!
Original books written by our Bulldogs are due on or before December 13th. All rules and criteria for judging are in the student packet. Below is the link if you would like to print one for your convenience.
Happy Writing!
Basketball Tryouts for Grades 4 & 5
Basketball tryouts are coming!
- November 28th - for our Girls Team
- November 29th - for our Boys Team
- November 30th - for any who cannot make their date mentioned above.
- Tryouts will take place at Horner's MUR from 3-4:30 pm.
As a reminder, students will not be able to try out if they don't have their physical forms complete and up to date.
Additional information will come out at the beginning of November. We wanted to make sure students complete their physical so they don't miss this opportunity as no exceptions will be granted. This is a district policy. If making physical appointments, please try to avoid having a student miss school time.
Lunch Drop Off
As a reminder, the cut off for dropping off school lunches at the cart in the front office is 11:00 AM. There are no exceptions. Please label all school lunches with student name and Room #.
Attendance and Tardy Policy
As a reminder, Kindergarten students should be in line at 8:15 as they start school at 8:20 am.
For Grades 1-5 the bell rings at 8:20 am. Please help your student be on time every day by being in line before their bell. Our gate closes promptly at 8:20 am and students trying to enter the school after the bell are considered to be tardy. Thank you for supporting positive attendance habits.
PTA Corner
What an exciting month October has been for all of us! As we head well into fall, there are so many fun activities coming up. We are always happy to see you at the PTA Run events and hope that the community can come together to do something wonderful for our children. If you haven’t joined the PTA yet, please do. It helps us run these programs and creates a bond within our community. We strive for a common goal of engaging and empowering our families to advocate for all children.
Link to join the Hirsch PTA : https://ohes.futurefund.com/registration
Reflections Update
Thank you to all our students who are participating and have turned in their entries. Our judges are doing their part now and we will keep you updated. We hope you enjoyed the opportunity to create some beautiful art! We are happy to announce that we received 38 entries this year!
Harvest Festival Update
Thanks again to all the families who participated in the Harvest Festival! It was a lot of fun to see everyone play games and make arts and crafts. Thank you to all the volunteers for making it possible! It is a massive undertaking every year and we cannot possibly make this a success without your help. This year our children enjoyed a live music concert, yummy food, games, origami and musical performances by our very own Music for Minors II students. Here are some videos for you to watch and relive those fun moments!
Our students enjoying the Music concert by Barry and Don-
https://youtu.be/3i7lIZqMZc0?si=y_C-SfUL_2agaht3
Grade 4 Room 5 Music performance -
https://youtu.be/oD7suL9_Zq0?si=m_1j_C9CeOP7UMd4
Grade 4 Room 5 Dance Performance-
https://youtu.be/UVO3GSLolfE?si=0ilGzjNeb_LnqphU
Grade 1 music performance-
Hirsch PTA Sponsored School Band:
We are proud to be bringing back and offering our students Band this year too! The PTA sponsored school band registrations begin soon, more info on the flyer.
Upcoming events:
BULLDOG JOG: Friday 12/1
The next big PTA event is the Bulldog Jog. We are working with a company called Booster to help us get the kids excited for the event. This is a fun event held at the school on December 1st and the kids run laps to raise money for their school.
We also want to be able to afford fun field trips and assemblies for the students and if we raise enough at the Bulldog Jog the school and teachers will have access to those opportunities for our students. The fundraising campaign starts soon, so keep a lookout. We'll also need volunteers on campus that week to help mark laps and keep things organized. Please sign up here if you’d be willing to volunteer for this event-
https://forms.gle/GroXXDm2dz4AZdVr6
Mark your calendars with these key dates!
● REGISTRATION OPENS - 11/2
● Fundraiser Kick Off - 11/16
● Event Day - 12/1
THE GIVING TREE WINTER CONCERT (12/7)
Our winter music program is where the students will all perform songs for their parents/guardians, and it is always a lovely evening. The event is called Giving Tree and we take this time to donate canned and non-perishable foods. There will be a drop off location in the school office and then during the musical event there will be another drop off to collect the donations. We will need volunteers for this event as well.
If you haven’t had a chance to help out by volunteering at an event for the school yet, please consider doing so, if every parent can help out with just one task during the year it will be great! Many hands make light work.
If you have any questions related to the PTA, please reach out at pta.hirsch@gmail.com.
All parents/guardians are invited to join us at our next Virtual PTA Meeting on Tuesday, November 14th at 6:30pm
Hirsch PTA Meeting Link : https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8607763340?pwd=VTVmbW00T3AzQmJNNktPRmdOMFFGZz09
Hirsch PTA