Fall is firing up at HES and we have several events and activities planned. Please be sure to check all ParentSquare messages from the school and your child's teacher. We will also post notifications about special events on Facebook and our HES website. As always, please contact a member of the Leadership Team for questions or concerns. We're here for you!

We recently celebrated the 50th Day of school and we're moving right along. This month we will be learning from the unit Taking Care! Students will be working together to identify letters Kk, Oo, Ff as well as their sounds. In mathematics, the students will be working to name common shapes, recognize and create patterns, use positional words, identify without counting the number of objects 1-5, rote counting, counting 1-10 objects, and recognizing numbers 0-9. The students will also be working to observe and investigate characteristics of organisms to their environments within Science. We will identify the US and Texas flags and recite the Pledge of Allegiance; and identify similarities/differences in characteristics of families.

We can’t believe it's November! Students in Ms. Leon's class recently celebrated the importance of Dia de los Muertos and recognized special family members. Before we take off for Thanksgiving week our Kindergarteners have so many new things to learn. To kickoff November, Kindergarten will be taking a field trip to Western Belle Farm to expand science knowledge. In reading students will learn the essentials of healthy living, like eating well,exercising and practicing good hygiene. In Math, students are beginning to compare 2 objects based on their lengths, such as “longer, shorter than”. While in

Science we will learn about rocks and how they can be sorted and classified. As well as how soil and water can be used in different ways. We can't wait to get started!

Second grade is working hard at honing our reading skills this month. We will be refining our skills with identifying character traits and learning about nonfiction text features. We will also continue our daily phonics and phonemic awareness practice. In Social Studies, we will continue our unit on Patriotism. Addition and subtraction within 200 and solving word problems within 100 will be our focus in math. Our second grade scientists will discuss Everyday Pushes and Pulls and start a unit on Earth's System and Processes.

Important Reminders:

*Please be sure to check your child's take home folder every day for phonics practice, math practice, and notes from the campus.

*Your child checks out two library books every week. Please be reading with them nightly; at least for ten minutes. They should bring their books to school every day.

Important Reminders:

*Please be sure to check the behavior log in your child's communication folder daily. We use this as a daily form of communication.

*Your child checks out 2 library books a week from the school library. Please have your child read their library book to you every week. This is a great way to continue sharpening their reading skills at home.

*Students can work on their math facts at home to help grow their math skills.

The ability to hear and see adequately is essential to the learning process of students, and we want to make sure our students are not inhibited by a correctable issue with their vision and/or hearing. Per state guidelines, I am required to complete vision and hearing screenings on the students in Pre-K, Kinder, 1 st grade, and 3 rd grade, as well as new 2 nd grade students, and those who didn’t pass in 1 st grade. If a child does not pass their screening the first time, they will be rescreened in a few weeks, especially if they have passed in previous years. If they still do not pass, they will be given a letter and referral form to take home. I also will notify the parents via Parent Square and/or a phone call if this happens. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to ask!

We are continuing to Choose Love at HES! During the month of September and October, we focused on the character value of Courage. Students learned that courage means choosing to work through difficulties and do the right thing, even if you feel afraid. They also practiced finding and using their courage by taking “Brave Breaths” and using their “Brave Poses”. I hope you were able to practice some of these Choose Love skills and concepts at home. Students enjoy sharing their learning with loved ones. Congratulations to the following students who were chosen by their teachers as Choose Love Champions for Courage! Awesome job!!

Pre-K: Isaac Lora Morales, Helena Woodman, Jasmine Mendoza, Bentley Bias, Matthias McAlister, and Corbin James

Kindergarten: Jensen “Dean” Nelson, Dakota Manear, Maria Jimenez, Kaylynn Moore, and Dahlia Mosca

First Grade: Kinsley Pineda, Jaxon Glenn, Leila Melic, Ethan Edson, Penelope Garcia, Kailani Medina, and Joel Cox

Second Grade: Samantha Hernandez, Gabriella Rose, Lillyanna Abrego, Januel Lora, Samantha Gonzalez, Jordan Baze, and Brooklyn Jones

Third Grade: Montserrat Meza Barrera, Adriel Compean Nuuanu, Eric Ball, Tea Ben, Lovely Skinner, Yaritza Ramirez, and Aiden Yzaguirre

These students participated in “Petal it Forward” on October 16th. We partnered with Sage Blooms Designs to distribute flowers to people around downtown Hillsboro. (THANK YOU, Sage Blooms!!) Each student gave a citizen two flowers, one to keep and one to “petal” forward to someone else. We shared flowers and smiles while putting COURAGE in to action, and had lots of FUN!

During the months of November and December, we will focus on the character value of Gratitude in our Choose Love lessons as well as in our daily activities at school. Students will learn that gratitude is mindful thankfulness and the ability to be thankful even when things in life are challenging. When you practice gratitude, you feel thankful and want to share that feeling with others. Below are some optional activities that students and families/ caregivers can use to practice Choose Love skills and concepts at home. The following discussion starters can be used with your children to extend their learning of Gratitude beyond the classroom/ school.

• “To me, gratitude is……”

• “I show gratitude at school by….”

• “I show gratitude at home by…..”

• “I show gratitude in my community by……”

HES Technology Lab - Mrs. Price

During the month of November K-3rd will return to our typing program Typetastic as well as explore some aspects of Google Draw and Google Maps. Pre-k will continue working on Three Cheers for Pre-k (Bridge). We will also explore flower gardens around the world in a virtual field trip.

HES Music Class - Mrs. Abt

First grade students will prepare for their Christmas music program, December 3rd. PreK students will work on the Christmas songs they will sing with their teachers at the Nursing Home and do other seasonal activities/songs. Kindergarten students will learn simple meter and melodic direction. Second and third graders will also study melodic direction, seasonal songs, and solfege.

HES Library Center- Mrs. Wilson

November is full of special days! We will be reading books about Veterans Day, Native American History Month, Thanksgiving, and Hanukkah.

PE @ HES - Coach Franklin

P.E. Is starting to focus on cardiovascular endurance and adding different sports as we approach the holidays!

HES Art - Ms. Oneill

Third graders will be creating watercolor paintings of rainbow corn and papel picado. PK through 2nd will be making Christmas ornaments out of clay, metal tooling foil, embossed aluminum foil, Recycled CDs and paper, all with bright colors! The designs for our ornaments will be taken from the traditions of German glass ornaments from Lauscha and Mexican Tin Ornaments.

HES ESL Support - Mrs. Roberts

2nd and 3rd grade students will begin the first round of Summit K12 tutoring in preparation for TELPAS.

This Month our students will visit Western Belle Farm for a great day of learning about agriculture life and will be sure to have fun doing it! Students will interact with farm animals, learn about what is being grown at the farm, and spend time rotating through the various activities offered. Compared to learning exclusively in the classroom, field trips give our students a chance to practice life skills in authentic settings. They gain real-world experience navigating new environments, communicating with others, and managing the various sensory inputs around them. Field trips also allow our students to apply academic concepts covered in class to concrete situations. Seeing and doing helps reinforce their understanding.