HUSKY HIGHLIGHT

June

6/13 8:30 AM 5th Grade Promotion Ceremony

6/14 Last Day of School

6/24 Report Cards Available to View

July

7/9 Supply Kit orders due

August

8/20 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM Back to School Night Grades PK-5 (Parents/Guardians only)

8/21 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM Open House Grades PK-5 (Parents/Guardians and students)

8/22 First Day of School

As this school year comes to an end, I would like to thank you for sharing your children with us at Hutchison Farm Elementary School each day. We are truly fortunate to be working with such amazing scholars and supportive families. My hope for you over the summer is that you will be able to find time to vacation with your family whether it is at home, close by or out of the country. Taking a break from the daily work life is something that is so important for us all.

For those families who will not be returning next school year, we wish you all the best and hope that your transition will be successful. For those who are returning, we look forward to seeing you back in August. The time will fly by and we will be back in school before you know it!!

Have a wonderful summer!

Thank you to all of the parent volunteers who participated in our Field Days. We were so fortunate that our rescheduled date turned out to be so beautiful. Thank you for your support with this change!! The students enjoyed participating in all of the activities and worked so nicely with one another. A huge thank you to Ms. Barthelemy and Mr. Owens for organizing the event for our students!

Promotion Ceremony

Our 5th Grade students will be participating in their 5th Grade Promotion ceremony on Thursday, June 13th at 8:30 AM. Our ceremony is always crowded and we would like for everyone who attends the ceremony to have an enjoyable experience and be able to find seating. In preparation for the event, we do have some requests:

• Please arrive early (between 8:00 and 8:20) as there will be lines entering the building and signing in for the event in the front lobby of the school.
• We ask that siblings (HFES students) not be signed out to attend the ceremony for a few reasons: 1) Seating will be limited. 2) This process can be disruptive to the instruction taking place in the classroom. 3) Staff/volunteers will be signing visitors in, if the requests are made to retrieve students from classrooms, this will require numerous staff to retrieve and escort students to the front lobby as students are not permitted to walk alone throughout the school building and as a result, this will delay the check in process for visitors and guests.
• If you would like for your child (HFES student/sibling) to attend the ceremony, it is recommended and would be helpful if your child arrives to the school with you (while in your supervision) so that they do not need to be officially signed out. Then, once the ceremony is completed, you can sign in your child for the school day.

Thank you very much for considering these recommendations as they will be extremely helpful to ensuring that we have a successful event!!

5th Grade "Clap Out"

On the last day of school at dismissal, our 5th graders participate in a school "clap out" which includes our 5th Graders taking one last walk throughout the halls of HFES while students sit in the hall outside of their classroom and clap for them. We continue the event with our buses circling the bus loop two times while students come out with their teachers and wave good-bye. This has been a tradition at our school and does take planning among staff as it occurs at dismissal and there is still a priority placed on supervision and dismissal plans.

As you can imagine, this event can be rather hectic for HFES teachers and office staff due to the timing at dismissal on the last day of school. We do ask that if you are a parent of a 5th Grade students and want to be a part of this activity, it would be best that you join at the front of the school at dismissal time. We will not be permitting visitors/guests in the building at dismissal time for the purpose of viewing the "clap out." During this time, we need "all hands on deck" to focus on the event and dismissal.

Thank you in advance for your understanding with this request.

Should you have any questions regarding any of the requests or recommendations above, please do not hesitate to reach out to me.

We would like to thank all of our staff who will be leaving at the end of the school year for their dedication to the Hutchison Farm community! Each of them will be missed but we are excited for each of them as they embark on the next chapter in their lives. We wish them all the best!!

Staff members who will be retiring: Marsha Murphy (Grade 2 Teacher), Amy Thacker (Grade 2 Teacher), and Judith Lim (Cafeteria Manager)

Staff members who are being reassigned by LCPS: Claudia Santi (General Education Teacher Assistant), Courtney Kurtz (Special Education Dean), and Nazia Hameed (Health Clinic Specialist)

Staff members who are moving out of the area: Julie Witkowski (Speech Language Pathologist), Marivic Lorenzo (ECSE/STEP Teacher Assistant), Morgan Allis (ECSE Teacher)

Staff members receiving promotions: Kristen Dalhoff (PALS Tutor to Special Education Teacher), Easren Hani (Special Education Teacher Assistant to Special Education Teacher)

Staff members exploring other opportunities: Elizabeth Higgins (Special Education Assistant), Megan Mercer (ECSE Teacher)

We have already begun staffing for our new school year and welcome the following staff members to HFES for SY 24-25!!

Amy Jo Bollinger - coming from Pinebrook ES

Sara Ghanbari - returning to HFES - moving back from Florida

Amanda Bartletski - coming from Pinebrook ES

Joyce Eurika Sta Ana - coming from the Phillipines

Special Education Dean - Lisa Taylor - previously worked at Liberty ES and Little Rives ES will be working with HFES and Little River ES this upcoming school year

We are currently in the process of hiring for the following positions:

Kindergarten and Grade 3 General Education Teacher

Two ECSE Teachers

School Nurse

Cafeteria Manager

PE Teacher Itinerant

Speech Pathologist - hired by LCPS Admin (offsite)

Hutchison Farm Elementary has been recognized by the Virginia Department of Education for a Continuous Improvement Award.

For the 2023-2024 school year, 27 schools in the state are being recognized for the Continuous Improvement Award, as listed in the Exemplar Performance Awards Program. To receive this recognition the school can be Accredited or Accredited with Condition and must meet at least one of the following criteria:

The school demonstrates and increase--

• in the combined rate for math, reading, and science for each of the past three years (for 2023-2024 only, the three years are 2018-2019, 2021-2022, and 2022-2023) with a total increase across the three years of ten points or more;
• in the combined rate for two or more student groups in reading and math for each of the past three years (for 2023-2024 only, the three years are 2018-2019, 2021-2022, and 2022-2023), with a total increase across the three years of ten points or more; or
  
• in the Graduation and Completion Index (GCI) for each of the past three years (for 2023-2024 only, the three years are 2018-2019, 2021-2022, and 2022-2023), with a total increase across the three years of four percent or more; and the school demonstrates a decrease in the dropout rate for each of the past three years (for 2023-2024 only, the three years are 2018-2019, 2021-2022, and 2022-2023), with the total reduction across three years of 15 percent or more of the first year's dropout rate.

Hutchison Farm Elementary met the criteria for two or more student groups. This is an extraordinary honor and one that every HFES staff member and student should be extremely proud. This recognition is the result of a tremendous amount of hard work on everyone's part.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE ENTIRE HFES COMMUNITY!!!

Each year, SEAC recognizes exceptional educators, programs, parents and students who go above and beyond what is typical and expected to positively impact and set a standard of excellence for the success of students with disabilities.

We are honored to have ECSE Teacher, Taylor Newland who was selected as an Outstanding Inclusive Educator. Ms. Newland's high standards have set the bar for excellence as she serves as a role model for others to emulate her work with the special education community throughout the school division.

All student members of our HFES Student Inclusion Team were recognized for their collaborative work together as students and serving as student role models for others. Congratulations to Abhishek, Aubrey, Declan, Sloane, and Zahnye!!

We have scheduled our Back to School Night and Open House for SY 24-25

August

8/20 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM Back to School Night Grades PK-5 (Parents/Guardians only)

8/21 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM Open House Grades PK-5 (Parents/Guardians and students)

8/22 First Day of School

Our crossing guard at Freedom and Crossfield Drive will be resigning at the end of the school year. We would love for a local community member to consider the role. We find that most of our crossing guards come from families in the school or surrounding neighborhood. We hope to find a new crossing guard as soon as possible.

$17.90-$29.55/hr

More information: call 703-771-5735

www.joinLCSO.com

If your family is planning to move over the summer, please contact our school registrar Denise Shaver @ denise.shaver@lcps.org so that she can provide you with next steps in the process so that you have a smooth transition when changing schools.

Attendance was a focus for us at HFES this school year. I am happy to say that when viewing out data, you will see that we have made improvements with our student attendance. We appreciate the support that you have provided in making attendance a priority at school and understanding the importance of being present at school daily. Your support with this focus has truly made a difference and has resulted with success!

November

SY 22-23 90.18%

SY 23-24 91.84%

December

SY 22-23 91.13%

SY 23-24 93.28%

January

SY 22-23 92.72%

SY 23-24 94.36%

February

SY 22-23 93.95%

SY 23-24 95.05%

March

SY 22-23 92.53%

SY 23-24 92.80%

April

SY 22-23 93.68%

SY 23-24 93.63%

May

SY 22-23 93.92%

SY 23-24 94.64 %

This year, we are pleased to offer school supply kits for sale online through Sprout School Supplies for the 24-25 school year. With a few easy clicks, your student(s) will be all set for back-to-school this fall, while saving you time and money!

Sprout makes back-to-school easy for parents, students, and teachers by offering customized prepackaged school supply kits. Please note, that kits for 1st-5th grade do not include headphones and those will need to be sent in separately.

Order your Sprout Supply Kit online now at https://sproutsupplies.com/order using the code HFES001. The deadline to order is July 9th, 2024.

Follow Us!

Please follow us on our Facebook page or Instagram at @hfes_pta_southriding for the most up-to-date PTA information.

https://www.facebook.com/HutchisonFarmElementaryPta

Lost & Found: Please ask your child to look for their missing belongings in the lost & found. Guardians can visit during the school hours to look for any missing items of their child. Any unclaimed items will be donated at the end of the school year.

Register your kindergartener now for 2024-25 school year. Registration Open!
or
Registration for NEW LCPS Students Now Open

Do you have a child who will enter kindergarten next year? Or do you know someone who is new to LCPS? The online pre-registration portal for kindergartners and all new students is open! Once pre-registration has been submitted, the school will contact parents/guardians to schedule a registration appointment. Parents/guardians may also contact their zoned school directly.

Registration appointments will occur starting March 1. Pre-registration is only for:

• Students, grades kindergarten to 12, who are new to LCPS
• Current LCPS pre-kindergarten students entering kindergarten
• Students who were formerly enrolled and may be returning to LCPS

Information:

The Online Pre-Registration portal for kindergartners and new LCPS students is open! This new student registration portal for the 2024-2025 school year opened on Feb. 1, 2024. The LCPS student registration process involves two steps: online pre-registration and in-person registration appointments.

During the online pre-registration, parents/guardians create ParentVue accounts, upload the required documents and provide information about their child. Parents/guardians are advised to determine their zoned school and to contact that school with any questions. Once pre-registration has been submitted, the school registrars will contact the parents/guardians within five days to schedule a registration appointment. Parents/guardians may also contact the zoned school directly. Registration appointments will occur starting March 1.

Should you or your staff need any support during this process, please contact Registration Services at 571-252-2490.

https://www.lcps.org/domain/35442 is the SHINE website; scroll down to the end. You may consider an Administrative Assistant/Secretary, Teacher, Assistant Principal, Specialist, Bus Driver, Custodian, Counselor, Cafeteria Attendant...anyone who has supported your child.

Many of our HFES staff have already been recognized and it is a great way to let a staff member know just how much you appreciate them!!

The safety and security of everyone on our campus is a priority. When visiting the school, there are many important details to remember:

Visitors to the building MUST have a pre-arranged appointment before permitted entry into the building. This would include the visitor arranging a time to meet for a conference with a staff member, a prearranged time for volunteering in the school, and/or scheduled appointment with a member of the staff.

There will be special circumstances when entry will be permitted for visitors when prearranged appointments have not been made, however, we would like to promote this practice to place safety and security at the highest level of importance for our students and staff.

Visitors to the building will follow the procedures below:

1. All individuals should have a pre-arranged appointment with an LCPS employee prior to given entry into the building.

2. All individuals must have a photo identification.

3. After provided with entry, the visitor will be asked to report to the front office to be logged into our Raptor system.

4. ALL visitors that leave the front office and visit any part of our school will need to wear a visitor badge and it must be visible for all staff members to see.

5. ALL visitors must enter and exit the building using the front entrance near the flagpole.

Thank you in advance for adhering to these requirements.

To access the mental health website created by the Department of Student Services, please visit: www.lcps.org/MentalHealthServices

This website offers comprehensive mental health services, support and resources provided by LCPS Unified Mental Health Teams (counselors, psychologists, social workers, school nurses, and student assistance specialists) who can assist and direct families to the right level of services or interventions.

Available information includes:

• How to contact your school’s United Mental Health Team
• Resources for parents
• Suicide prevention resources
• LCPS mental and behavioral health services
• Resources for families of LGBTQ+ students and families
• Community resources

• School Office Hours 7:00 AM - 3:45 PM
• Nivedita Dey, our HFES Family Liaison will be working at HFES on Mondays and Thursdays. Nivedita can be reached at nivedita.dey@lcps.org

• Need Assistance with your Chromebook: The Department of Digital Innovation has assigned an on-site Digital Experience Specialist to each school. Carmen Frachiolla is the assigned DES to HFES. She can be reached at carmen.frachiolla@lcps.org This resource is on-site to assist with technical challenges encountered by staff or students.

• Students withdrawing from LCPS: Students withdrawing from the district should return their assigned computer to their school. You will receive a hand receipt confirming the return of your assigned computer and charger. LCPS will generate an invoice for the replacement cost of any unreturned equipment. We also ask that you remove stickers or personalizations to the computer before returning it.

• Unified Mental Health Team: School counselors and other school members are an available resource if students need someone to talk to or to help them process their feelings about recent events. HutchisonFarmMentalHealth@lcpsorg.onmicrosoft.com

• Mental Health, Wellness, and Community Resources Webpage https://www.lcps.org/domain/31226

Doors Open: 7:40 AM

AM Tardy Bell: 8:00 AM (Students must be in the classroom prior to the tardy bell)

PM Bell/Bus Riders Dismiss: 2:45 PM

Buses Depart: 2:50 PM

Walkers and Daycare Dismissed: 2:50 PM

2023 All Rights Reserved - Loudoun County Public Schools

Email: heidi.smith@lcps.org
Website: lcps.org/hutchison
Location: 42819 Center Street, South Riding, VA, USA
Phone: 703-9574350
Twitter: @hutlcps