HUSKY HIGHLIGHT

Doors Open: 7:40 AM

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

PM Bell: 2:45 PM

Buses Depart: 2:50 PM

Walkers and Daycare Dismissed: 2:50 PM

Dear HFES Parent/s and/or Guardian/s,

Welcome to SY 24-25!!! We are looking forward to the return of our students and families and meeting our new members of the Hutchison Farm Elementary community!! We have been busy this summer preparing for the start of the school year.

Staff have begun returning to the building with excitement to set up their classrooms and see one another again. We are eager about the weeks ahead as we prepare to welcome our students and families for the new school year!

In the weeks ahead, you will begin to receive more communication from LCPS, HFES, and your classroom teacher. The Husky Highlight is the primary communication tool that is used to share important school information, dates, resources, and other items. It will be sent via Blackboard Connect, once to twice a month (more frequently if needed).

Information items that are still relevant to the current timeframe, may remain in the Husky Highlight until the content needs to expire. We have found this to be helpful when communicating with our families, as sometimes having the information available for a longer period of time will provide families an opportunity to retrieve the information easier.

In preparation for the new school year, we have included the HFES Student/Family Handbook for you to review. This handbook will be a great resource to reference throughout the school year.

There is a great deal of information included in this Husky Highlight about Open House, BTSN, Arrival and Dismissal procedures, ParentVue, Lunch, Visitors, Volunteers, and upcoming dates. I hope that you take some time to read through all of the information as it is helpful in preparing you and your child for a well informed start to the school year.

Thank you for your continued support and partnership in your child's education. I look forward to seeing all of you very soon!

Respectfully,

Heidi E. Smith, Principal

Our HFES Kindergarten Team has created a Welcome to Kindergarten video to provide you with some helpful information about Kindergarten at Hutchison Farm Elementary. The video can be viewed at the link below:

Welcome to Kindergarten Video 2024-2025

We look forward to seeing all of you very soon!!

Back-to-School Night (Parent/s and/or Guardian/s only)

8/20 5:30-6:30 PM (PK-Grade 5)

Please be mindful and understanding that the Back-to-School event is for the parent/s and/or guardian/s only. The opportunity for students to meet and interact with their teacher will be on 8/24 during the Open House. When students attend on 8/23, it inadvertently can take away time and interaction that parent/s and/or guardian/s will be able to have with their child’s teacher. Thank you for being considerate of our Back-to-School format, our request, and others within our school community.

Prior to 8:00 AM on 8/19, all parent/s and/or guardian/s will receive an electronic/virtual BTSN presentation from their child's classroom teacher.

On 8/20 from 5:30 PM-6:30 PM, there will be an OPTIONAL PARENT BTSN: The purpose of this event is for parents to drop in anytime within the hour to meet the teacher, visit the classroom, and ask any questions about the virtual BTSN presentation, or classroom information that had been sent previously from the teacher. This will be a more personalized setting and opportunity, an OPEN HOUSE for PARENTS. This format WILL NOT include a traditional presentation from the teacher standing in front of the classroom giving ALL parents the same presentation. This information would be provided in the presentation that is sent prior to 8:00 AM on 8/19.

The thought is, this venue will provide parents an opportunity to receive the information virtually who do not feel a need to come to the school. It will give parents who have multiple children attending HFES an opportunity to visit different classrooms during the hour and to meet the different teachers personally. Parents will also have an opportunity to visit in-person and ask a specific question/s regarding the information that was provided by the classroom teacher, in a less structured, less formal, and more private setting. This format provides options for our families.

We hope you find this format accommodating to your needs.

Open House (PK-5 Students, Parent/s, and/or Guardian/s)

8/21 9:00-10:00 (Grades PK-5)

On 8/21 from 9:00 AM-10:00 AM, all students in grades PK-5 are invited to visit their assigned classroom and meet their classroom teachers for the upcoming school year.

This is a wonderful opportunity for students to tour the school and meet all their teachers who they interact with throughout the school day! Please take this time with your child to take a tour of the school!

Important Update to LCPS Online Verification Process & First Day of School Information

To better serve you, Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) is asking families to begin the Online Verification process for the 2024-25 school year early on Tuesday, August 6. This means you can fill out and update all required, important information about your student(s) via ParentVUE in advance, before Monday, August 12, when student bus and class schedules go live.

Once bus schedules and class schedules go live, we are asking families to access their information in ParentVue following these staggered intervals to help avoid system overload.

• 9 a.m. – High School
• Noon – Middle School
• 2 p.m. – Elementary School

Please note: To view schedules, you must complete the Online Verification process on or before Monday, August 12.

If you do not have a ParentVUE account, please contact the main office to request an Activation Letter.

For resources and FAQs to help families with the Online Verification Process and start of the new school year, go to: www.lcps.org/FirstDay.

Because Transportation continues to make updates to student transportation, parents are asked to check transportation information the evening before the start of school and periodically throughout the year for any changes. Parents are also notified via email when changes are made to their student’s transportation.

For safety concerns, it is extremely important that we have up to date arrival and dismissal plans. Your child’s classroom teacher will be sending you a google survey to complete with transportation Arrival/Dismissal information as well as Early Dismissal Plans.

We are requesting that this information be returned as soon as possible. If you are waiting on LCPS Transportation information in ParentVue, we understand that you may not be able to return this information until the rosters are updated by Transportation. We are requesting that this information be returned NO LATER THAN 8/20 so that our staff can confirm all student dismissal plans PRIOR to their first day of school.

IMPORTANT: Please expect a delayed dismissal the first two days of school as we will be dismissing students using a staggered approach. This will require some practice and additional time for our students to become familiar with the daily dismissal routines.

If a HFES Dismissal Plan Form and Early Dismissal Form is not received for your child prior to 8/20, a phone call will be made to each home from the classroom teacher to solidify dismissal plans for the first day of school and the remainder of the school year.

It is imperative that we know how every student will be going home on the first day of school and every day thereafter. All bus routes may be found within ParentVue. By completing the transportation form promptly, you will be assisting us to ensure that our children arrive home safely on the first day of school and each day after.

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.

VISITORS IN THE BUILDING MUST HAVE A PURPOSE FOR THIER VISIT.

Thank you in advance for adhering to these requirements.

Your partnership in your child’s education is key to your child’s success. We want to encourage you to be engaged in your child’s learning. Volunteering in your child’s classroom is a great way to become engaged. This opportunity can provide you with experiences to work with students, assist the teacher with clerical work, read to students, plan classroom celebrations, and much more.

We want you to feel welcome and comfortable at HFES. We understand that not everyone will have an opportunity to volunteer in their child’s classroom due to busy schedules or other commitments, but there are other opportunities through PTA events, picture day, field days, 5th grade promotion day activities, etc.

Prior to volunteering at HFES in a classroom and working with students, we ask that you complete a Volunteer Confidentiality Form and return it to your child's teacher.

We look forward to having you volunteer at HFES this school year!!

Meal Prices and Payment Options (LINQ Connect)

LINQ Connect Family Portal is Loudoun County Public School’s meal payment system which allows families/students to put money on an account to purchase school meals or other food items in our school cafeterias.

As a reminder, to register, please follow the directions below.

1. Register: Register at https://linqconnect.com by clicking on “Sign up today!”
2. Confirm Email: Confirm your email address by clicking on the email verification link sent to your email address.
3. Sign In: Now you can sign in at https://linqconnect.com using your email and password.

Lunch Visitors

If you plan to eat lunch with your child, please be sure to send a note in with your child to inform the teacher and front office staff so that your arrival can be anticipated. If you plan to order a lunch, please indicate in your communication with the school what you would like to eat so that an order can be placed for you. Also, please arrive early so that you can allow for delays when checking in through our front entrance and verification of identification is conducted.

HFES PTA Back to School Kona Ice Social

Date: Friday, August 23rd

Time: 4:00 pm -6:00 pm

Location: Hutchison Farm Elementary Blacktop behind the school

Note: all children must be accompanied by an adult - no drop offs.

Support the PTA

Please consider joining the PTA and/or making a donation. The PTA helps to support and sustain programs for our entire school community.

PTA Meetings will be held once a month at the school with a virtual option from 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm.

9/5, 10/10, 11/7, 12/5, 1/9, 2/6, 3/6, 4/3, 5/8

Stay Connected

Follow us on Facebook for regular updates and reminders

The McKinney-Vento program supports students experiencing homelessness by providing educational stability. If your student lacks a fixed, adequate, or regular nighttime residence, they may qualify for McKinney-Vento services. To apply for this program, complete the online application for the 2024/25 school year.

The 2024/25 school year application window opened on May 20, 2024, and will remain open during the entire 2024/25 school year. Applications must be completed online and are available in your preferred language via computer or smartphone. Please remember that applications for McKinney-Vento services must be submitted every school year, even if there is no change to your housing.

To learn more about how a student may qualify for McKinney-Vento or to understand your child’s rights under the McKinney-Vento Act, please visit the LCPS McKinney-Vento webpage.

If you need assistance with your application, please contact the LCPS McKinney-Vento office at McKinneyTeam@lcps.org or 571-252-6523.

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

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

• When walking to school and crossing on Center Street, students and parents should cross where the crossing cross is located. Crossing in front of the school at any other location is extremely dangerous during arrival and dismissal time.
• Center Street in front of the school is not a Drop Off area for students. This is extremely dangerous for multiple reasons: it requires students to walk through cars, grassy areas and cross in areas that are not designated crossing areas. Cars pulling in and out of this area as a drop off area has caused concern. I appreciate your support with no longer using this area for such purposes.
• We will continue to ask families to not change transportation to schedule student “play dates.” Changes in transportation do occur for multiple purposes that are required daily (emergency situations, multiple dwellings, daycare changes).

• Need Assistance with your Chromebook: The Department of Digital Innovation has assigned an on-site Digital Experience Specialist to each school. 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

HFES Weekly Spirit Days: Wear your HFES Spirit Wear or school colors (green and gold)!!!

August

8/19 Prior to 8:00 AM, BTSN Presentations will be sent to all HFES Families

8/20 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM Back to School Night PK-Grade 5 (Parents Only)

8/21 9:00 AM-10:00 AM Open House Grades K-5

8/22 First Day of School

8/23 4:00 PM-6:00 PM HFES PTA Back to School Kona Ice Social

8/30 Student Holiday

September

9/2 Holiday - No School

9/5 6:30 PM PTA Meeting

October

10/3 Holiday - No School

10/4 Student Holiday

10/10 6:30 PM PTA Meeting

10/14 Holiday - No School

10/18 5:30-8:00 Fall PTA Bingo

10/23 Fall Picture Day

10/30 Student Holiday

10/31 Student Holiday

November

11/1 Holiday - No School

11/4 Student Holiday

11/5 Student Holiday

11/6 6:30 PM Cluster Chorus Concert

11/7 6:30 PM PTA Meeting

11/11 8:45 AM Veteran's Day Program

11/20-22 Hearing and Vision Screenings

11/27-29 Holiday - No School

11/22 Kindergarten Community Helper Parade

December

12/3 Picture Retakes

12/5 6:30 PM PTA Meeting

12/16 JML Music Selection Demonstration for 5th Graders

12/20 8:30 AM Winter Sing Along/Chorus Concert

12/23-1/3 Student Holiday

January

1/9 6:30 PM PTA Meeting

1/20 Holiday - No School

1/27-28 Student Holiday

1/29 Holiday - No School

February

2/6 6:30 PM PTA Meeting

2/10-11 Grade 3 Informances

2/12 Spring Portrait Day

2/17 Holiday - No School

March

3/6 6:30 PM PTA Meeting

3/14 5:30 PM-8:00 PM Spring PTA Bingo

3/19-20 Grade 1 Informances

3/27 6th Grade Red Carpet at JML (5th Grade)

3/31 Holiday - No School

April

4/3 6:30 PM PTA Meeting

4/4 Student Holiday

4/7 Student Holiday

4/14-18 Student Holiday

4/21-25 Book Fair Preview

4/22 10:00 AM 5th Grade Panoramic

4/28-5/2 Book Fair Sales

4/30 4:30 PM-6:30 PM Family Book Fair Night

May

5/8 6:30 PM PTA Meeting

5/22 Kindergarten Showcase

5/26 Holiday - No School

June

6/12 8:30 AM Promotion Ceremony

6/13 Last Day of School

Use @hutlcps to search for Twitter posts about our school!

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