October 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,
Welcome to October! As this is the Monthly Newsletter and not the Bulldog Bits, we have a lot of information to share so please read this in its entirety.
Attendance Reminders (Thanks for being on time and through the gates by 8:20!):
1. Please alert the office (vparikh@fusdk12.net) or 510-657-3537 option 7 of your student’s absence. Phone calls can be left at any time of the day. When calling in sick, we do need to know your student’s symptoms.
Teachers sent home progress reports last week if your student was not meeting standards or partially meeting standards. This progress report means we are halfway through the trimester and each student will be receiving their trimester 1 grades in November at conferences. If you have not returned the signed progress report, please do this by Wednesday. Conference appointments will be going out in the next few weeks. We hope to see all our families during this special 1:1 time with your child’s teacher.
WE NEED YOU! We are always looking for additional noon supervisors. Additionally, we need you to vote on our parents who would like to be a part of this year’s School Site Council. Would you please take 1 minute to cast a quick vote so they can participate in how our site spends our special funds? The ballot is at the end of my Principal message.
All of our Multilingual Families are invited to join me in a special Zoom meeting from 3-4 pm next Monday 10/9 at 3 pm. At this Zoom meeting, we will talk about how we can help support your students in school. In addition, you will provide feedback for the best time to meet and if our next meetings will be in person or through Zoom. A special flyer will be sent home this week with this information.
Start planning ahead for participating in International Walk and Roll to School Day this Wednesday, October 4th! Students will be responding on a school poster about how they got to school that morning before they walk through the gates. We highly encourage walking, bicycle riding, or carpooling! I will be waiting for you and your student to join me at the corner of Bay and Chapel for our walking bus! Are you able to volunteer to lead our students in another walking bus from the corner of Carol and Ellen/Thurston? Please email me at carroyo@fusdk12.net if you can help!
As always, thank you for your support!
Ms. Arroyo
Principal
Calendar
October
2 - Kindergarten Family Picnic Day
4 - Walk and Roll to School Day
4 - Early Release Day
5- Grades 1,2,3 Family Picnic Day
6 - Fall Make-up Picture Day
6- Grades 4,5 Family Picnic Day
11 - Early Release Day
13 - No School (Staff Development Day)
15- PTA Reflections Deadline
16-21 - Literati Fall Book Fair
18 - Early Release Day
21- PTA Harvest Festival (11:00am - 1:00pm)
23-27 - Red Ribbon Week
25- Ghost House in the Fremont Hub
31- Book Character Day
25 - Early Release Day
November
1 - Early Release Day
8 - Early Release Day
10- No School (Veterans Day)
13-17 - Early Release Days- Parent Teacher Conferences (Grades 1-5)
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
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.
Celebrate International Walk and Roll to School Day! October 4, 2023
Join Hirsch Elementary for International Walk and Roll to School Day! We will celebrate our school spirit, our health, and the environment with the Alameda County Safe Routes to Schools program. This year, our school will celebrate in-person at the schoolyard. With your family and friends, you can participate by:
· Taking a walk, or riding a bike, skateboard, or scooter
· Biking with your child on their own or with a trail-a-bike
· Taking the bus with your child and walking to and from the bus stop
· Joining a Walking School Bus
Post a fun photo on social media to celebrate the day! Remember to tag @AlamedaCoSR2S on X/Twitter with #WalkandRoll23 and #IWR2SD, and post on Facebook at facebook.com/saferoutestoschool.
We look forward to walking and rolling with you!
Family Picnic Days are Back!
Bring a picnic to school and enjoy a meal with your Bulldog! Each day is a specific grade span.
Monday, 10/2 11-11:45 Kindergarten Picnic Day
Thursday, 10/5 11:35-12:20 Grades 1, 2, & 3 Picnic Day
Friday, 10/6 12:20-1:05 Grades 4 & 5 Picnic Day
Makeup Picture Day, Friday, October 6th
As a reminder, Makeup Picture Day is Friday, October 6th. We will make sure that all students who were absent or new to our site from the last picture day have their picture taken. Please send your student with a note or reach out to your child's teacher if they will be taking make up pictures because you want them to take their picture again as this is the only way we will know. The flyer is not correct as we won't be having every student take their picture again. Refer to your child's proof page to review their previous picture.
**EVERY STUDENT WILL NOT BE PHOTOGRAPHED. ONLY THOSE WHO MISSED THE DAY OR THOSE WHO HAVE INDICATED THEY WOULD LIKE A RETAKE ARE SCHEDULED FOR A PICTURE. ANY RETAKES MUST INFORM THE TEACHER OR OFFICE.**
October 25 At the Ghost House in the Fremont Hub
Have you ever visited the Ghost House in the Fremont Hub? Candle Lighters is a non-profit volunteer organization dedicated to raising funds for non-profit groups and community-based projects in the Tri-City Community (Fremont, Newark & Union City). They consider themselves a service and a social organization. and raise money solely through their annual Ghost House. At least one of our Hirsch staff will be attending this evening event from 6-9 pm! Check out the website for more information.
Book Character Day- October 31st
Students are invited to come to school dressed as their favorite book character on Tuesday, October 31st. Students should bring a copy of the book their character is from if they have it or they can bring another favorite book. Students will have the opportunity to read and share their book during Book Character Day. Remember that PE will still be taking place that day too!
Students will also participate in a book character parade at 8:35 am in the morning on Tuesday, October 31, 2023. Families are welcome to watch the parade on the 31st but please remain off campus until 8:30am. For safety purposes, all families must remain on the outside of the class circle at all times while the parade is taking place.
Please read the attached flyer for more information.
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.
Mrs. Winmill's Reading Corner
October Reading Corner with Mrs. Winmill
This is my favorite time of the year! The season is beginning to change. We have fun celebrations with Dot Day and Hispanic Heritage Month. We have also had our first author visits with BookBreak. Our K-3rd grade friends were able to draw with Peter Reynolds and our 4th and 5th grade friends were able to listen to Kelly Yang. This next month we will have Dan Santat for K-2nd and Kate DiCamillo for 3rd-5th.
Our Literati Fall Book Fair will be held in the library beginning October 16th and will conclude at our Harvest Festival on October 21st. I am in need of parent volunteers again to help. I will need parents during lunch recess and after school on the 16th, 17th, 19th and 20th. I am attaching a Google Sheets form for interested adult volunteers to sign up in. I am attaching the link to our online book fair that has begun. Please look for an additional informational letter next week in regards to our book fair.
Our fourth and fifth grade library helpers have completed their training and will now be helping out in the library during their assigned time. These helpers will be assisting in shelving books, helping to keep our library tidy, giving book recommendations, and other tasks. I love how excited they are to learn how the library works and their desire to expand their knowledge and love of books.
I am excited to announce that our Hirsch 100 Book Reading Challenge has begun! Students will have the opportunity to select and read 100 books from a list of 125 categories. Students will need to record the title of the book they read, the author, and the date they complete reading the book on the corresponding list in the google file. Students cannot use a book for multiple categories. For example: If my favorite book (category #1) is a book with a pretty cover (category #6) that has also been made into a movie (category #22) and is a Newbery Award Winner (category #114) I cannot use the same book for all four categories. I can only use it for one. Once a student has finished reading the required 100 books, they will need to turn in their completed form (included in the google doc). Their name will be added to our Wall of Fame (under construction) and they will also receive a t-shirt made by me. Like I said, I am super excited for this new program! Here is the link to the Google Doc. Please print it off and keep track.
Take care and keep reading.
Mrs. Winmill
Counselor's Corner
October Counselor's Corner with Ms. Hernandez
October is National Bully Prevention Month. During the month of October, we recognize the devastating effects bullying has on children and their families. To promote kindness, acceptance, and inclusion on our campus we are recognizing Unity Day! On October 18th we ask that all students and staff members wear the color orange to signify safety and visibility.
What is Unity Day?
Unity Day is where educators, youth, parents, and community members across the nation come together to recognize the effects bullying has on individuals. More specifically, we come together to emphasize the message that bullying is not acceptable or tolerated because all students deserve to be safe at school, online, and in their community.
Red Ribbon Week
This month we are also celebrating Red Ribbon Week from October 23rd to October 27th. Red Ribbon Week is a time to celebrate and practice making healthy choices to promote a happy and healthy lifestyle. We will be joining in fun activities such as dress-up days and doing activities in our classes to highlight the importance of living a drug-free life and making healthy choices!
Thank you,
Ms. Hernandez
Engineering Day at UC Berkeley
Engineering Day 2023 is here!
The Society of Women Engineers at UC Berkeley would like to invite you, your students, and families to join us at Engineering Day 2023!
Engineering Day is a free and exciting Halloween themed outreach event where K-3rd graders of all genders (and their parents/guardians) have the opportunity to participate and learn about STEM as we guide them through hands-on science experiments, talk to student engineers, participate in lighting talks with showcase, and have fun with some arts and crafts. We encourage everyone to dress up in costumes as there will be a photo booth!
Engineering Day 2023 will be offered in-person on Saturday, November 4, 2023 from 10am-12pm.
Registration is open until Saturday October 14th at 11:59 PM. .
Event details and registration are HERE!
PTA Corner
Message from PTA
Hello Hirsch Parents!
Get ready for some fun math, Bulldogs! Hirsch PTA runs the Math Olympiad at our school, this is open to our 4th and 5th grade students! Registration is now open, you can sign up here!
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1jMubC4BhAqzAeS5qkBetzgi8H2EwCd5qXaP1a8zO2b8/edit
Reflections info
The National PTA Reflections Art deadline is OCT 15th, we look forward to your entries!
Harvest Festival coming soon! October 21st
For the month of October please mark your dates for Harvest festival OCT 21st 10.30-1pm, if you are able to volunteer for this big day and help PTA out please email- pta.hirsch@gmail.com with subject title “Harvest Help”
Info about robotics -
We are very excited to announce that Hirsch PTA is partnering with Fremont Robotics Academy and bringing to our school a robotics program that is FREE for our students. Our students from Grades 2-5 are eligible to participate. More details in the flyer. Sign up at - bit.ly/hirschFLLrobotics
Questions? Email- pta.hirsch@gmail.com with subject title “robotics”
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, October 10th at 6:30pm
Hirsch PTA Meeting Link : https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8607763340?pwd=VTVmbW00T3AzQmJNNktPRmdOMFFGZz09