February 21 Newsletter

Habersham County Schools has developed an app that "provides subscribers with real-time notifications on weather alerts, event updates, school closings, and important emergency notifications". With the app, you will be able to receive push notifications on any breaking news that is related to Habersham County Schools. The attachments have directions for downloading the app (App Store and Google Play) and enabling notifications.

Please see the following message from Director of School Safety, Chief Murray Kogod, and the included attachments:

(HABERSHAM COUNTY, GA) - The Habersham County School System is pleased to announce the Habersham County Schools FIRST ALERT app. Available in both the Apple store and Google Play store, the Habersham County Schools FIRST ALERT app provides subscribers with real-time notifications on weather alerts, event updates, school closings, and important emergency notifications. “We are continually seeking opportunities to enhance our school safety measures here in Habersham County. These efforts include improving communication with our school community. The Habersham Schools First Alert app provides us the perfect platform to do that.” - Murray Kogod, Director of School Safety.

Download the app, set up your account, customize your alerts, and stay informed as to what is happening in your school community.

"See Something, Send Something": Digital Reporting App now Available in Georgia

“See Something, Send Something” provides a platform to capture a photo of suspicious activity or send in information with written text. Information received in the app is sent directly to the Georgia Information Sharing and Analysis Center (GISAC) where the tips can be evaluated and provided to law enforcement across the state as needed. The application is available at no cost for iPhone and Android phone users, as well as iPad users.

The service, provided by My Mobile Witness, Inc., uses privacy protection software to safeguard users’ personal information and the integrity of tips. The system allows citizens to engage with GISAC without tracking locations or storing any personal information. Submitted tips are immediately removed from the mobile device and purged from the My Mobile Witness system following delivery to GISAC.

NOTE: This system is NOT intended for emergency situations. For situations requiring an immediate response, call 911 or your local law enforcement directly.

In an effort to create and maintain exceptional schools, the Georgia Department of Education has created a Georgia Parent Survey that is available for all parents and guardians of HNGA students. Survey responses will be anonymous and submitted directly to the Georgia Department of Education. The Georgia Parent Survey is also available in Spanish. Parents may select the Spanish version within the survey. The Georgia Parent Survey link is posted below or use the QR code.

Georgia Parent Survey: https://survey.gadoe.org/FM?sid=DB45E6F1

Your feedback on the survey is greatly appreciated and will be used to ensure HNGA continues to be a high performing school.

En un esfuerzo por crear y mantener escuelas excepcionales, el Departamento de Educación de Georgia ha creado una Encuesta para padres de Georgia que está disponible para todos los padres y tutores de los estudiantes de HNGA. Las respuestas de la encuesta serán anónimas y se enviarán directamente al Departamento de Educación de Georgia. La Encuesta para padres de Georgia también está disponible en español. Los padres pueden seleccionar la versión en español dentro de la encuesta. El enlace de la Encuesta para padres de Georgia se publica a continuación o haga clic en el código QR a continuación.

Encuesta para padres de Georgia: https://survey.gadoe.org/FM?sid=DB45E6F1

Sus comentarios sobre la encuesta son muy apreciados y se utilizarán para garantizar que HNGA siga siendo una escuela de alto rendimiento.

Dear Parent or Guardian,

We are writing to inform you about a new student survey that will be conducted at your child’s school. The survey, which will be open from December 2024 through March 2025, includes 73 questions. It should take students approximately 25 minutes to complete. The survey asks about the quality of teaching and learning, the school environment, support for students, how commonly students in the school face challenges (such as being bullied), and student risk behaviors (such as self-harm and substance abuse). Names cannot be tied to survey answers in any way, and students can skip any question. The data will help leaders improve the school.

The Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA), 20 U.S.C. § 1232(c)(1)(A) gives you the right to review a copy of the student survey questions. You may review the survey questions at this link. Additionally, you may request that the school provide a copy of the survey questions for your review.

The PPRA also gives you the right to opt your child out of participating in the survey. If you do not wish for your child to participate, please email Principal Leenman at DLeenman@Habershamschools.com.

Estimado padre o tutor:

Le escribimos para informarle sobre una nueva encuesta para estudiantes que se realizará en la escuela de su hijo. La encuesta, que estará abierta desde diciembre de 2024 hasta marzo de 2025, incluye 73 preguntas. Los estudiantes deberían tardar aproximadamente 25 minutos en completarla. La encuesta pregunta sobre la calidad de la enseñanza y el aprendizaje, el entorno escolar, el apoyo a los estudiantes, la frecuencia con la que los estudiantes de la escuela enfrentan desafíos (como el acoso escolar) y las conductas de riesgo de los estudiantes (como la autolesión y el abuso de sustancias). Los nombres no se pueden vincular de ninguna manera a las respuestas de la encuesta y los estudiantes pueden omitir cualquier pregunta. Los datos ayudarán a los líderes a mejorar la escuela.

La Enmienda de Protección de los Derechos de los Alumnos (PPRA), 20 U.S.C. § 1232(c)(1)(A) le otorga el derecho a revisar una copia de las preguntas de la encuesta para estudiantes. Puede revisar las preguntas de la encuesta en este enlace. Además, puede solicitar que la escuela le proporcione una copia de las preguntas de la encuesta para su revisión.

La PPRA también le otorga el derecho de optar por que su hijo no participe en la encuesta. Si no desea que su hijo participe, envíe un correo electrónico al director Leenman a DLeenman@Habershamschools.com.

What is GaTutor?

GaTutor is groundbreaking program powered by Georgia Virtual Learning. Georgia-certified teachers with solid content area expertise provide one-on-one tutoring sessions tailored for each individual student.

Best of all, it's entirely free! GaTutor offers flexibility for students, with tutoring sessions available outside of regular school hours. Students select the dates and times that workbest for them, making academic success more accessible than ever

This year marks the 20th Anniversary of the Academic Excellence Program! We hope you will celebrate this milestone through joining the Academic Booster Club! Membership dues along with corporate sponsorships enable us to highlight and support academic achievement in the Habersham County School system.

Please consider joining the ABC for the current school year using the attached form. If you have any questions, please contact Sylvia Hotard, Academic Booster Club President, at sylviahotard@gmail.com or Jessica Huff, Dual Enrollment Coordinator, at jehuff@habershamschools.com.

Our first meeting will be held on August 26th at 6p.m. in the HCHS Staff Development room.

Students are to have their electronic communication devices and other electronic media turned off and put away upon entering the school, throughout the school day, and until they leave the school each day. A student using a cell phone outside of instructional purposes (including, but not limited to use in commons’ areas, cafeteria, restrooms, locker rooms, and hallways) will result in the following consequences:

• First Offense: Cell phone will be confiscated and returned to the student at the end of the school day.

• Second Offense: Cell phone will be confiscated and returned to a parent at the end of the school day.

• Third or additional Offenses: Cell phone will be confiscated and returned to a parent at the end of the school day. The student will also serve one day in In School Suspension (ISS).

Students who repeatedly violate the cell phone policy may be required to leave their cell phone in the office at the beginning of each school day.

Students are not permitted to video, take pictures of, or audio record other students violating any section of the Code of Conduct.

If you have had an opportunity to visit our building you may have seen the very large #RaiderReg signs posted throughout our hallways. These are school-wide behaviors and/or skills that we teach and reinforce with our students each day. At HNGA we believe it is important to take an active role in teaching essential skills that are not only important for them to be successful students but also soft skills that employers look for in their employees. Some of these include putting forth 100% effort in every class, completing homework without complaining, looking adults in the eye, punctuality, saying "please" and "thank you", etc.

If you have an opportunity, please reinforce these skills at home. Learning these soft skills will help your student stand out to future employers and/or colleges.

Habersham Ninth Grade Academy will provide a positive, safe learning community, equipping and empowering students with skills necessary for graduation and post-secondary pursuits.

Email: Dleenman@habershamschools.com
Website: https://hnga.habershamschools.com/
Location: 171 Raider Circle, Mount Airy, GA, USA
Phone: 706-778-0830
Facebook: facebook.com/HabershamNinthGradeAcademy