The mission of Harford Hills Elementary School is to prepare all students for the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century within a safe, orderly, and optimum learning environment that promotes academic excellence, encourages active lifelong learning, and produces respectful, responsible citizens that care about others and their changing world.

February

10 (M) 100th Day of School!

13 (TH) PTA Meeting, 6:00 pm Cafeteria

17 (M) - President's Day - Schools and Offices Closed

18 (T) - 21 (F) - Vision and Hearing for students in grades PreK, K, 1st, 4th and all new BCPS students

25 (T) - Class Picture Day

BCPS Calendar

BCPS has used all of its traditional inclement weather closure days for this school year. Moving forward, in the event of any future systemwide school closures due to inclement weather, BCPS will transition to virtual learning, with 4 hours of virtual instruction.

If virtual days are needed, all virtual instruction will begin with a 2-hour delay , starting time 10:35 am. If we need to transition to virtual learning, we will send a follow-up message.

In the meantime, you can find preliminary information on the HHES homepage or directly at the following link: https://harfordhillses.bcps.org/cms/One.aspx?portalId=159119&pageId=72056102

Resources

Google Meet Directions (Google Meet code on your child's homeroom Schoology page)

Harford Hills Virtual Learning Q & A

Harford Hills Virtual Day Schedule

BCPS Virtual Instructional Days

The annual BCPS Stakeholder Climate Survey is now open!

The survey, which is open to all students in Grades 3–12, parents/caregivers, community members, and staff, is a way for BCPS to engage with the school community and receive feedback on issues of school climate and engagement. The survey takes three minutes or less to complete, is anonymous, and is available in multiple languages.

Top Reader, we have a new leader! Congratulations to Huck D. ! In second place, we have Rockwell R., and in third, Alexander S.! Keep turning those pages!

And our Top Fundraiser so far is still Eric P.—way to go! In second place is Lucas M. But moving up to third place is Gwen W. ! Every dollar makes a difference—keep it up!

The Top Reading Classroom right now is Ms. Calabrese's class! But watch out, because Ms. Mills’ class and Ms. Haacke’s class are close behind in second and third place!

Top Fundraising Classroom is Ms. Calabrese's class! In second place, we have Ms. Mills’ class, and in third, Ms. Meritt’s class! Amazing teamwork!

With just 11 days left in the Read-A-Thon, there’s still time to make a big push! Who will finish on top? Keep reading, keep fundraising, and let’s see who takes the lead next time! Happy Reading!📘

BCPS students in Kindergarten through Grade 12 are invited to enter a Black History Month Writing. Contest sponsored by the BCPS Offices of English Language Arts and Social Studies.

The contest prompt is the following quotation from African American poet and writer Nikki Giovanni (1943-2024): “Whatever human beings are, we are storytellers. It is our stories that give a light to the future.” In response to that quotation, each student is asked to describe how they have been inspired by the remarkable life of an African American activist, artist, athlete, author, musician, scientist, or other public figure. Students can submit personal essays, letters, speeches, scripts, or poems, and students in primary grades can also submit visual representations with written descriptions.

The deadline for entries is Tuesday, February 11. Winners will be notified by Friday, February 28. Prizes will be provided by The Education Foundation of BCPS, and winning entries will be posted on the BCPS blog.

Congratulations to the following students for having perfect attendance!

Congratulations to the following students for receiving a positive office referral for demonstrating the virtues of the Harford Hills Promise.

Kindergarten: Ben C (Ms. Turner), Josephine D, Logan (Ms. Haacke)

1st Grade: Greyson W, Ariel S (Ms. Moore)

2nd Grade: Avery R, Huckleberry (Ms. Calabrese) – Easton, Tori F (Ms. Lim) – Sevyn S, Idrissa K. (Ms. Hahn)

4th Grade: Aiden T, Amen G (Ms. Kreiger)

5th Grade: Jordyn (Ms. Aponte) – Gabe S, Kadin N (Mr. Mihalyov)

Special Areas: Josh Y, Jordyn, Charlotte L, Juliana, Matthew, Maya, Cayden C (Ms. Storm) - AJ F. (Mr. K) - Tori F, Asher F (Ms. Green)

Resource Staff: Dante O (Ms. Posner), Aubree B (Ms. Waugh)

Congratulations to the following students for receiving virtue VIP for demonstrating self discipline and commitment. Thank you to all the parents that came out to celebrate! A special thank you to Fenwick Bakery for the pastry donations.

Charlotte B., Jobran A., Arabella A., Antwan F., Roland E., Alaiyah W., Brienne B., Camille B.,

Robel A., Daylin V., Cayden C., Kree D., Sarim M., Jacob H., Amen G., Samir M., Naomi B., Emnet M.

Sean M., Peniel G., Dante O., Ben C., Noah V., Oliver P., Charlie J., Ilyana A.

Weapons, Look-Alike Weapons, and Toy Guns

Students are prohibited from bringing real, look-alike, and toys guns (e.g., paintball guns, water guns, BB guns) onto school property. This includes before or after school and on non-school days. Doing so may result in a response from the Baltimore County Police Department and disciplinary consequences from school administrators.

• Board of Education Policy 5550—Student Behavior Code

• BCPS Student Handbook (p.26)

Recording or Streaming an Incident

While students are permitted to use their electronic devices at certain times during the school day, students are never permitted to use their personal electronic devices to stream or record an incident; nor should they use a device to playback, store, or share an electronic recording of an incident.

• Board of Education Policy 5552—Responsibility for Use of Personal Electronic Communication Devices

• BCPS Student Handbook (p.5)

Making a Threat of Mass Violence

Among the many rights that BCPS students have is the right to learn in a safe and secure environment. Threatening to detonate an explosive or shoot the occupants of a school building deprives all students of their rights and causes an extreme disruption.

• Board of Education Policy 5550—Student Behavior Code

• BCPS Student Handbook (p.17, 18)

Fighting/Physical Attacks

BCPS provides students with resources for resolving conflicts with peers. Support personnel, such as school counselors, social workers, psychologists, SEL teachers, student safety assistance, and others are available to assist and guide students towards non-violent resolutions. Students should take advantage of these resources and refrain from engaging in

violence.

• Board of Education Policy 5550—Student Behavior Code

• BCPS Student Handbook (p.16, 17)

Raising children isn’t easy! Adults can help children thrive in the digital world by ensuring that they provide balanced use of technology, in the right environment, in a safe way, and at the right times.

One way to help your children be safe, healthy and ready to learn is to manage their access to the Internet and use of devices. If your child brings a cell phone or smart watch to school, be sure to set up parental controls to reinforce that the device is off and away during learning time. You can also use parental controls to limit the length of time, time of day and sites they visit on the Internet.

For more information on using parental controls, Android phone users can visit Family Link; iPhone users can visit Family Controls; and Apple-Watch users can visit Setting up Schooltime on Apple Watch and Setting Up Apple Watch for Your Kids.

Additional assistants are temporary employees who provide support to individual students with moderate to severe disabilities to meet requirements necessary for participation in the school environment. They work under the direct supervision of the special educator who is the case manager for students with Individual Education Programs.This position pays hourly and does not provide benefits. Additional adult assistant follow the same hour and schedule as students. If interested, please call the school at (443) 809-5236 or email Tammi Coit, AP at tcoit@bcps.org

Every other Wednesday, we honor lucky students who demonstrate admirable conduct in the cafeteria with a VIP lunch. We are looking for volunteers to assist with this. Please sign up here https://www.signupgenius.com/go/904054EA8AC22A7FE3-52380349-viplunch for a slot (or two or three!) 🙂 We appreciate you!

If you haven't already completed the brief BCPS volunteer application, please do so here: https://www.bcps.org/cos/communications/FACE/b_c_p_s_volunteers

• BCPS Academic Resources for Families
• BCPS Parent Portal
• BCPS Parent University
• BCPS Serve Tech Support
• BCPS Transportation Status
• BCPS Volunteer Application
• Creating a Parent Account in FOCUS
• Community Resources
• Mental Health Resources
• Multilingual Family Resources

Parent University is offered through the BCPS Office of Family and Community Engagement, which we affectionately call FACE! We provide tools and resources to BPCS families to support learning at home. In the past, before social-distancing, one of the ways we offered these resources was through in-person workshops hosted by community members and schools. We also have a large collection of online resources that are available as we navigate through this incredibly unique time in our lives. We hope you enjoy what we have to share. Click the E-Newsletter image to access the latest version.

Additional Resources

• Homeless Resource Guide
• Food Pantry Resource
• Local Behavioral health

• Lisa Balmages, Principal - lbalmages@bcps.org
  
• Tammi Coit, Assistant Principal - tcoit@bcps.org

School Hours: 8:35 (arrival) - 3:35 (dismissal)

• Kim Cincotta, Administrative Secretary - kcincotta@bcps.org
• Kori James, Office Secretary - kjames8@bcps.org

Location: 8902 Old Harford Rd, Baltimore, MD 21234
Phone:(443) 809-5236