The Weekly Update #4

Welcome back families! We are so excited to have your children join us for the 2024-2025 school year. We had a fabulous turn out for our open house, and it was so much fun seeing you all with your kids! All teachers and staff have been working diligently on classroom routines and structures through the implementation of Responsive Classroom. Responsive Classroom is a research and evidence based approach to teaching and discipline that focuses on engaging academics, positive community, effective classroom management, and developmental awareness. Throughout the day the students are working to practice the meaning of our school motto, CARES: cooperation, assertion, responsibility, empathy, self-control. All students and teachers will be gearing up for our beginning of the year math and ELA testing. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to your child's teacher or the front office. We are looking forward to working together with you for a wonderful year!

Robin Whitney, PreK -2 Principal

Nicole Barton, 3-5 Principal

Veronica Hytner, Special Education Coordinator

So far this month in preschool our focus has been all about school and apples! We've been learning about the rules at school, how to be good friends, how to take care of ourselves and our school, and using apples for all of our theme projects. Students in preschool learned about making hypothesis (guess) and chemical reactions making a vinegar volcano with an apple!

Kinders are working on cooperation, and responsibility. Here are some Kindergarteners sharing Teddy Bears to finish patterns. Many classrooms are creating classroom rules. Mrs. McLay's students have signed a "contract" saying that they can...follow the rules!

On Fridays, first graders get together for a whole grade level morning meeting. Several students shared how their class used cooperation throughout the week and then everyone showed cooperation by holding hands and passing multiple hula hoops around the circle.

2nd graders spent the first few days of school getting to know each other. They played games and participated in different sharing activities together. The classes are learning the new procedures and routines for the new reading program. They are also working on addition and subtraction strategies in mathematics.

Third grade spent an afternoon building our community through tie dying! We worked together to ensure everyone was successful. A huge thank you to all staff who came out to help and support us. Tie dye afternoon is always a team effort!

Music classes are in full swing with lots of singing, dancing and music making! Students played along to Tritsch Tratsch Polka by Johann Strauss using hand drums, triangles & rhythm sticks. They observed the ABAC form of the music and we discussed how most music follows patterns. In the 3rd grade, forms were sent home for ordering recorders. 4th & 5th grade bands are up and running with 35 musicians. Everyone should practice at home at least a few times a week to make progress. If your student is interested in joining please email me at chaley@hdsd.org The band instruments have arrived! The HDES students are excited to learn to play and come together as a band.

4th grade has spent the first few weeks of school completing team building stem activities to work on collaboration while learning about our CARES expectations. We have built notecard towers and saved “Sam”, our gummy worm who fell out of his boat! We learned how to use 4th grade manipulatives and several new math games. We also discussed and created class behavior contracts on how to follow expectations within our classroom.

Fifth grade is busy settling into our new houses. Each 5th grade class is a Hogwarts' House and the race for the house cup is on! Students earn points for CARES cards and showing CARES in our UA's. The cup is awarded each trimester. The houses are as follows:

Gillet-Gryffindor

Grupp-Slytherin

Neal-Hufflepuff

Savoy-Ravenclaw

This past few weeks 5th grade has started a science unit on plants, explored our new reading series, reviewed our multiplication tables, and participated in many team building activities centered around CARES.

Please open the attachment to view the information shared at the Title I annual meeting. If you have any questions, please reach out!

9/17 - School picture day

10/10 - PTO meeting - 6:30 PM - school library

10/11 - Early release - dismissal at 1PM

10/14 - NO school

11/5 - No School - Parent Teacher Conferences

11/11 - No School - Veteran's Day

11/27-11/29 - No school - Thanksgiving