Cheetah Chronicles

We welcome letters from parents who wish to inform us of the needs (strengths, characteristics, etc.) of their child for the 2025-2026 school year. As we are unable to meet with each parent, this is a great way to share information about your child. We ask that you not mention a particular teacher’s name, since we will not be able to honor individual teacher requests. All letters should be provided to HSES in a sealed envelope addressed to Dr. McKinnon, Principal and/or emailed to jmckinnon@wcpss.net. Please send teacher characteristic letters by April 17, 2025. NO LETTERS WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER THIS TIME.

Parents and students will meet with their next year's teacher, in the teacher's current classroom regardless of any track or grade level changes. Classrooms will not be set up for the new school year, therefore families are asked not to bring any supplies.

Track 1: Tuesday, May 28, 2025

Track 2,3,4: Tuesday, June 24, 2025

Time: 4:45 - 5:45

Save the date for the Family and Community Engagement Summit on April 26
Join us for the Family and Community Engagement Summit on Saturday, April 26 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at The Summit at Capital Hills. The summit will feature a keynote speaker, breakout sessions, and more. All staff, families, and community members are invited to attend! Registrants for the Summit are invited to attend the Kick Off event at Marbles Kids Museum on April 25 from 6 to 8 p.m!

Single Subject Acceleration

Parents interested in having their child evaluated for SINGLE Subject Acceleration (SSA): Please click HERE for the WCPSS Advanced Learning Services (ALS) 2025 SSA Parent Information presentation (has voiceover). The county also created a "one-pager" of info - LINK. The same SSA info can also be found on our school's website (https://www.wcpss.net/hollyspringses) and http://bit.ly/HSESAIG (access code AIG).

Please review the entire SSA Parent Information presentation to determine if SSA testing is appropriate for your child.

Tracks 2 + 3 + 4 SSA Test REQUEST Window: March 10 - March 28, 2025

Please go to the WCPSS ALS SSA page (LINK), for your track's SSA Test Request Google form. Completed SSA Test Request Google forms will ONLY be accepted during your track's window. No forms will be accepted after 5pm on your track's last test request day.

If you have questions regarding the SSA presentation, please contact Kiersten Bashor (kbashor@wcpss.net), AIG teacher. Also, you may "drop-in" with your questions during a virtual meeting on THU, March 20, 2025 - 9:30-10:30am. Access the Google Meet via this link: https://meet.google.com/saq-rmnb-yhx

Click on the photo above to be taken directly to the Wake County Public School website to enroll.

The 2025 spring HSES Soccer Club season will be held for 6 weeks on the following Thursday’s from 4:15 – 5:15 pm. March 20th, March 27th, April 3rd, April 10th, April 17th, and April 24th. On April 24th, we will have a season celebration by playing a parents vs. students game.

Pictures for Tracks 2 & 4 will take place on March 25, 2025.

The digital envelope pictured below is for reference. Your child will receive an envelope from the school that should be used to complete orders.

Enbridge Gas Construction Lane Shift & Detour

A detour and lane shift will affect drivers and pedestrians on Holly Springs Road between Raleigh Street and Bass Lake Road for an Enbridge Gas project. The company, formerly Dominion Energy, is upsizing its gas main along the road frontage.

For a couple of weeks during the first phase of construction, which could begin in late February at the earliest, drivers traveling from Main Street toward Sunset Lake Road will be detoured onto Raleigh Street, Earp Street, and Bass Lake Road between 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. on weekdays. Drivers on Holly Springs Road traveling toward Main Street will switch lanes to the opposite side of the road during these hours. Access to the school and nearby homes and businesses will remain available throughout construction.

The sidewalk between Raleigh Street and Bass Lake Road will be closed in sections during the project’s entire construction, which is expected to last several months. The sidewalk section between Raleigh Street and Cayman Avenue is expected to close first. Pedestrians should find an alternate route. The crosswalk from Johnson Street into the school entrance is expected to remain open throughout the project.

Additional lane shifts and detours are expected during the several-months-long project. Watch for signage along the road, which will announce lane closures and detours closer to the construction date.

For questions about the gas company’s project, contact Enbridge at (919) 819-1325.

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.

A reminder that when parents visit the classroom, students CANNOT leave with their parents until the parents have signed the student out in the office.

Likewise, parents need to wait until after an event to sign their child/children out. All parents must sign their child/children out in the front office.

WCPSS K-12 Math Parent Resource

https://sites.google.com/wcpss.net/k-12mathematics/home

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 2024-2025 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.

Parents are welcome to join their child for lunch at school. To ensure a smooth experience, please note the following guidelines:

Pre-arrangement: Lunch visits must be scheduled in advance with your child’s teacher.

Location: Due to limited space in the cafeteria, parents and their child will need to enjoy lunch at the picnic tables in the courtyard or in the reading garden.

No Friends: Lunch visits are just for you and your child, so friends won't be able to join.

Procedure: Parents will meet their child at the front office and return them to the front office after lunch. Don't forget to check out at the office before leaving.

If you have any questions or need more information, please feel free to reach out to the school administration.

Check out school menus in Mealviewer

Menus will now be available on our interactive website, MealViewer. Monthly school meal menu PDFs will no longer be posted on the district website.

The purpose of this section is to provide updated information to families about the use of personal devices which aligns with district policy - smartwatches, cell phones, etc. on school grounds. Board Policy 3225 Technology Responsible Use states:

Students are expected to comply with the Code of Conduct and the applicable “Rules for Use of Technology Resources” set forth in this policy when students use a personal device on school property, at school-sponsored events, on school-based transportation, or anytime a personal device is connected to school system technology resources. As an example, students using a personal device on school property, at school-sponsored events, on school-based transportation, or when the device is connected to school system technology resources, shall not engage in creating, intentionally viewing, accessing, downloading, storing, printing or transmitting images, graphics (including still or moving pictures), sound files, text files, documents, messages or other material that is obscene, defamatory, profane, pornographic, harassing, or abusive.

Recently, more and more students are wearing Smartwatches or similar items to school. Smartwatches are allowed only if put on Airplane mode in order to disable text messages and phone calls from being received by the watch/device. The watch is considered a cell phone UNLESS airplane mode is activated. Cell Phones should also be in Airplane mode and in student backpacks. If a student's cell-phone is out after the teacher has asked for it to be put away, the cell phone will be placed in the school office for a parent to pick up. The school system assumes no responsibility for personal technology devices brought to school.

o DCRI Literacy at Home One Pager (English)

We would love for you to come and volunteer this school year at HSES and/or as part of PTA!

Register to volunteer HERE

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

P2 Family Information Letter

Track 2 - Spiral Review

Track 3 - Fairness

Track 4 - Humor

How Can You Help Your Child with Impulse Control?

• establish clear expectations and rules

• teach your children to label their feelings

• use positive reinforcement

• play games that require waiting, taking turns & not always winning

• encourage emotional regulation techniques (I.e. deep breathing, visualization, grounding)

• practice delayed gratification

• be consistent with consequences

Do you have a different home language other than English? Are you willing to volunteer at the school? If you answered “yes” to these questions please continue reading. We are looking for HSES parents who are willing to help translate for some of our English Learning parents during school events such as curriculum night, Literacy night, etc. Currently we have a need for the following languages. Spanish, Amharic.

If you are interested or want more information please contact the ESL teacher, Sarah Rodgers (at srodgers3@wcpss.net.

Click on image above to sign up to help.

Click on the photo above to access the PTA Board Nomination Application

Proceeds from sign sales help to fund the 5th Grade Celebrations!

Click on the signs below to order!

BECOME A PTA MEMBER!

Ever wonder what treats to get the wonderful staff of HSES? Well wonder no more!

Click on Teacher Favorites to see, well, the teachers' favorites!

School Store SignUp Genius