The Weekly Update #4

How is it possible that today is September 1st?! Time simply moves way too fast!

It was wonderful to see so many of you at our Back to School Social and our Early Childhood Meet & Greet Conferences! Getting ready for the school year to start is always so exciting! We are looking forward to welcoming all of our Herons back to Holly Hall on Tuesday, September 3!

There is so much information that comes home with students on the first week of school. Please take the time to go through all of the materials and reach out if you have any questions.

Spirit Days are coming!

Be sure to order your back to school spirit wear now! New this year... sweat pants and HOUSE shirts!!! The online store will close on September 8th to ensure delivery the week of September 23!

Holly Hall Elementary School’s overall attendance rate for the 2023-2024 school year was 91.7% falling below the goal of 96% attendance rate.

Students attending school on a regular basis will be more important than ever due to updated regulations. The State of Maryland defines chronic absenteeism as missing 10% or more of school days regardless of the reason. Missing 10%, or two days a month, over the course of the school year can affect a student’s academic success. Studies show that students who are not chronically absent perform better in all subjects (especially in mathematics) and are more likely to graduate than their peers who are chronically absent.

Cecil County Public Schools provides the following standards for regular attendance:

“A student shall not be absent from school in excess of 16 days during the school year regardless of the reason.”

If students do not meet this standard for regular attendance, the following will occur:

1. Elementary school students who are absent from school in excess of 16 days may fail the grade. If advanced to the next grade, such students will be placed rather than promoted.

2. Parents will be notified in writing when a student has accumulated 4, 8, 12, and 16 absences in a school year.

3. If a student is not on track to meet the attendance expectations, a meeting between the school and the parents/guardians will be held.

4. A student who arrives after the official start of the school day (9:00 a.m.) shall be considered tardy.

5. The parents or guardians of each student must provide the necessary certification for absences on the day that the student returns to school following an absence.

The PowerSchool Parent Portal and App will re-open on the first day of school, September 3. Parents are required to change their account password when first logging in for the school year. To do so, parents must visit the PowerSchool Parent Portal login page (https://cecilcountysis.powerschool.com/public/) and log in using their current account credentials. If the user is unsure of those credentials, a Forgot Username and Forgot Password link is available to complete the initial login process. Upon logging in, they will be sent to the password reset page to complete the password change process. Passwords must be at least 12 characters in length and must contain at least 1 uppercase letter, 1 lowercase letter, 1 special character, and 1 numeric character.

App users must complete the process using the online portal and after successfully changing their password, users can log into the app to resume using this tool.