HES Parent & Family Newsletter

Book of the Week Recommendation: Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson

This week, we’re highlighting Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson in our morning announcements. This beautifully written and illustrated book teaches an important lesson about the lasting impact of kindness—and the regret we might feel when we miss opportunities to show it.

As we wrap up February, we’re focusing on the character traits of Kindness and Courage. During announcements, we’ve been encouraging students to:

• Show kindness through small, thoughtful actions, such as speaking kindly, listening with empathy, and including others.
• Demonstrate courage by being brave enough to reach out, stand up for someone, or try something new.

Each Kindness reminds us that even the smallest gestures can create a ripple effect, spreading positivity and respect to those around us. Families, we encourage you to read this book together and talk with your child about how they can look for opportunities to make a difference through kindness and courage in their everyday lives.

Let’s continue to open our hearts to kindness and respect as we close out this month strong! 🌟

Encouraging regular reading at home helps build strong literacy skills and a love for learning! If you're looking for more books to enjoy with your child over the weekend, check out Unite for Literacy. This free website offers a variety of books for young readers, with options to listen to the stories as well. Happy reading!

This Thursday, we reached an exciting milestone—our 100th day of school! Classrooms were filled with joy and excitement as learners participated in 100th Day learning stations, engaging activities, a glow party, and so much more.

As we reflect on these 100 days, we celebrate not just the fun, but the meaningful growth and student achievement that align with Houston Schools' pillars of continuous improvement. Over the past 100 days, our learners have worked hard, grown academically, and reached new heights of success.

We have so much to celebrate after 100 days of dedicated learning, progress, and achievement. Our learners are now 100 days smarter, and the future looks even brighter! #Leading in Learning

Today, our first graders marked a special milestone—the 101st day of school! 🎉 Dressed as adorable "Dalmatians," or just in black and white, our students had a fun and exciting day reflecting on how much they’ve learned and grown since the beginning of the year.

This celebration, along with our 100th-day festivities, is about more than just counting the days—it’s about honoring the incredible progress our students have made. Every letter they’ve read, every math problem they’ve solved, and every friendship they’ve built are all stepping stones on their learning journey.

At our school, we believe in the power of continuous improvement, growth, and student achievement. Learning is a remarkable journey, and celebrating milestones like this helps students see how far they’ve come and motivates them to keep striving for success.

We are so proud of our first graders and can’t wait to see all they will accomplish in the days ahead! 💙🐾 #101DaysSmarter #GrowingEveryDay #CelebratingSuccess

This week our 4th graders took a sweet twist on their science learning, exploring the scientific method in a fun and engaging way! For Valentine’s Day, we tested:

"Which liquid melts candy hearts the fastest?"

Here’s how our young scientists applied the steps of the scientific method:
1️⃣ Ask a Question: Which liquid will melt a candy heart the fastest?
2️⃣ Make a Hypothesis: Students predicted which liquids—like water, vinegar, soda, or oil—would work best.
3️⃣ Conduct an Experiment: They observed and compared the melting speeds of candy hearts in each liquid.
4️⃣ Record Results: Careful observation and data collection were key as they noted their findings.
5️⃣ Draw a Conclusion: Students analyzed their results to see if their predictions were correct and learned how to evaluate outcomes scientifically.

This hands-on experiment not only strengthened their scientific skills but also encouraged critical thinking, problem-solving, and teamwork—key pillars of continuous improvement in learning.

Be sure to ask your child about the experiment—they’ll love telling you which liquid was the fastest and what they learned from the process!

Thank You for Joining Us at Spring Conferences!

We want to extend our heartfelt gratitude to all the parents and families who joined us on Thursday for Spring Parent-Teacher Conferences at Houston Elementary. Your involvement and partnership mean so much to us!

We value your feedback and would love to hear about your experience. Please take a moment to complete the Spring Conference Survey and share your thoughts with us. Your input helps us continue to improve and support our students' success.

On Wednesday afternoon, we held our Kids Heart Challenge Kickoff Rally in the gym, and it was an inspiring and fun event for everyone! Students heard the story of our local Heart Hero, Jayce, and learned about his heart health journey. A big thank you to Allana from the American Heart Association for helping us kick off this meaningful challenge, and to Jayce and his family for sharing their story with us.

Our school has set an exciting goal this year: to raise $1,000 for the American Heart Association! If we meet our goal, Jayce will have the honor of pie-ing some of our staff with a whipped cream pie! 🥧

Families, we’d love for you to join in supporting this important cause. Donations can be made online, and every dollar makes a difference in helping the American Heart Association continue its life-saving work.

Thank you for helping us make this challenge a success and for supporting heart health awareness!

Check out Jayce's story.

A Hero Story

• Monday, February 24th
• Lunch today is Grilled cheese sandwiches
• Alternative this week is a Ham sub sandwich
• Tuesday, February 25th
• Lunch today is Beef Taco Salad
• Alternative this week is a Ham sub sandwich
• Wednesday, February 26th
• Lunch today is Crispy chicken sandwich
• Alternative this week is Ham sub sandwich
• Thursday, February 27th
• Lunch today is Scrambled eggs & cinnamon roll
• Alternative this week is a Ham sub sandwich
• Friday, February 28th
• We will have a practice HOLD drill today
• HOLD drill just means everyone shuts their classroom door, student are no passing in the hallway, and class continues as usual.
• HOLD drills are used for behavior, medical, there is no threat to safety just used to keep hallways clear.
• Lunch today is Orange chicken with brown rice
• Alternative this week is Ham sub Sandwich
• Hurricane FORCE positive referral of the week 4th grade

📢 Kindness in Action! 💙

Our Student Leadership Committee has been on a mission this month to "catch" students showing kindness, and today, we celebrated some amazing acts of compassion! 🌟

Congratulations to our Kindness Award recipients:

🌈 Kindergarten: Ruby
🌈 First Grade: Arlo
🌈 Second Grade: Henry
🌈 Third Grade: Riley
🌈 Fourth Grade: Amelia
🌈 Fifth Grade: Kenley
🌈 Sixth Grade: Carter

Thank you to all our students for spreading kindness—keep lifting each other up! 💕 Who will be caught being kind next? #KindnessCounts #CaughtBeingKind #StudentLeaders

In an effort to reduce milk waste and manage costs more effectively, we are making some changes to our milk distribution at snack time for students in grades 1-6. Moving forward, we ask that families who wish to purchase milk for their children at snack time complete the attached form. This will allow us to distribute milk more accurately and ensure that funds are collected appropriately.

Please take a moment to fill out the form and indicate which of your students you would like to receive milk during snack time It's important to note that students receive a free carton of milk each day during school breakfast and lunch. However, milk is only free at lunch if the student takes the school meal. Otherwise, students in grades K-6 will be charged $0.60 at lunchtime for their milk.

Milk distribution at snack will begin September 9th, 2024. We will add students to the list and milk will be delivered to students during their scheduled snack times.

Cost per milk $0.60:

• Quarter 3- 1/21/25-3/21/25 (42 school days)= $25.20
• Quarter 4- 3/31/25-5/28/25 (40 school days) = $24.00

Thank you for your cooperation and support as we work to make this process more efficient.

Snack Break Milk Request

Kind regards,
Angela McQuinn
Assistant Principal, Houston Elementary School

🌟 Mrs. Fingerson – Mrs. Fingerson was nominated this week by the Hurricane FORCE Student Leadership Committee for the kindness, helpfulness, and respect she shows to students, as well as the amazing math strategies she teaches. Her dedication to creating an engaging and positive learning environment does not go unnoticed. Thank you, Mrs. Fingerson, for the incredible impact you make each day!

As part of this recognition, Mrs. Fingerson will receive:

✨ A handwritten award from the Student Leadership Committee
🎁 A small gift
🚗 A special parking spot for the week

Congratulations, Mrs. Fingerson! Thank you for all you do to make Houston Elementary a welcoming and supportive place for all! 🎉

Hurricane F.O.R.C.E. Positive Office Referrals of the Week

This week, we are celebrating two outstanding 3rd-grade students who have demonstrated the values of our Hurricane F.O.R.C.E.!

Ayla & Bella were nominated by their classroom teachers, Mrs. Lambrecht & Mrs. Thompson, for their positive energy, responsibility with working hard, and bringing kindness to their classrooms and our school community. What great leaders!

Thank you both for being outstanding role models and for strengthening our Hurricane F.O.R.C.E.! Keep up the great work!

• Sunday, March 9th: Daylight Savings Time Begins, Remember to set your clocks ahead 1 hour!
• Friday, March 14th- 3rd & 4th Grade students and their families will celebrate Pi Day at the Hub
• Friday, March 21st- PTA Event Fundraiser- Breakfast with Buddies starts at 7:30 am in the elementary gym
• March 21st: Kindergarten Open House, Current kindergarten students will not have school this day (due to the Open House) Hurricane Watch will not be available as the elementary school will remain in session for grades 1-6, HW will be open before and after school only.
• March 24th & 25th: Teacher InService, NO School for Students, Hurricane Watch available.
• March 26th, 27th, 28th: NO School for Students, Hurricane Watch available.

Please check the school website calendar for more information as well as other events/opportunities.