Hickory Ridge Elementary School

Back to School Newsletter - August 2020

Welcome Back to School

Hello Cowboy Families,

As we begin the 2020 – 2021 school year, I want to welcome you to our school. We are glad you are a part of the Hickory Ridge family. It goes without saying that the 2020- 2021 school year will be like none other, but rest assured our school community is committed to ensuring the success of your child in the upcoming school year. Maximizing student achievement while supporting the social emotional development of our students is our overarching goal.

We look forward to partnering with your family in this upcoming school year. Thank you in advance for your patience and grace as we continue to navigate these unprecedented times. Please feel free to contact us with any questions you might have about the upcoming school year.

Congratulations on completing the first week of school for the 2020 - 2021 school year. The teachers at Hickory Ridge Elementary have been working very hard to prepare their online classrooms for your students. It is their goal to ensure that your child has a wonderful experience at Hickory Ridge. Remember, all classes will be taught remotely and Canvas will be used as the learning management system. We are very excited to utilize our online live synchronous learning sessions. Remember Remote Lessons begin at 8:30 each morning.

Happy First Week Back to School Cowboys

~Mrs. Parry, Principal

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Important Information

Remote Learning - Planning ahead for Plan B

Happy First Week of School Parents and Students!

We hope that you and your child(ren) have had a wonderful Back to School experience at Hickory Ridge. We are very glad you are a part of the Hickory Ridge family. All the staff at Hickory Ridge have worked really hard to ensure that this is an amazing year at our school. As we begin the school year, I wanted to share some information with you that will prove important as we continue to navigate these unprecedented times.

Currently, the Cabarrus County Schools’ Board of Education has elected to begin the school year in PLAN C as described in the Cabarrus County Schools Re-Entry Plan which is located on the Cabarrus County Schools’ website for ease of access. Please know that it is our ultimate goal to return students to the classroom with face to face instruction with their teachers, however at this time it has been determined that schools will open under PLAN C. It is our hope that Cabarrus County Schools will transition soon to PLAN B. The CCS School Board will continue to monitor health information and more information will be given when/if we transition plans.

Yesterday you should have received an email indicating the day of the week your child is designated to come to school under Plan B. We assigned all students at Hickory Ridge Elementary a day for Plan B, in order to appropriately plan and ensure there were no mistakes in the assignments. We know that many families have opted for the 100% virtual option, to stay at Hickory Ridge Elementary all year, even if we come back to school under Plan B. The letter you received yesterday does not change your original request for 100% remote, if you selected that at the beginning of the year.

More information will be shared regarding specific information if/when the decision is made to move to Plan B. We are just trying to keep you all informed so that you can begin to plan in the event we move to plan B.

Back to School Forms

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Please visit this link for details on how to complete all of your beginning of the year forms online.

The following forms must be submitted online for all students:

Health Information Form
CCS Parent/Student Code of Conduct
NC General Statute Military Reporting
Equipment Acceptable Use Policy
COVID-19 Screening and Attestation

Click here to access the forms

How to create an account in Scribbles

How to complete the online forms

Instructional/Technology Fee

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The Cabarrus County Board of Education has authorized a $20 Instructional/Technology fee for all students in CCS. Please visit the K-12 Payment Center to pay the fee online. Thank you for your support with this.

CCS: One Strong Start

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Cabarrus County Schools is committed to ONE Strong Start for the 2020-2021 school year. Visit our back-to-school website and check out our guide for families today.

The back-to-school site includes access to information you need for the start of the new school year including, enrollment, academic calendars, parent/student handbook and school nutrition to name a few.

The One Strong Start Guide is a comprehensive document that provides information about our remote learning plan (Plan C).

WIFI Connectivity

Click Here for Internet Information Spectrum Assist

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Wi-Fi Connectivity

CCS will soon provide buses equipped with Wi-Fi hotspots throughout our community to offer internet access to students without access at home. CCS buses supplied with a Wi-Fi hotspot will be deployed 6:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. weekdays at each location.

Locations were selected based on internet accessibility and students’ needs. We have collaborated with community partners to provide access at 13 locations and plan to expand those offerings in the coming weeks.

The Wi-Fi coverage for each hotspot is approximately 300’ circumference around the bus. CCS bus drivers will be on site to monitor. Students must be accompanied by a parent/guardian while at a Wi-Fi location site. Students also will be able to access Wi-Fi coverage in many of our school parking lots.

The buses and Wi-Fi locations are up and running and CCS will continue to update the map and locations

HRES Library Checkout

Click here to check out books from our library!

Remote Learning Tidbits

Beginning of Year Assessments

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Your child(ren) will be participating in some online beginning of year assessments in the coming weeks. The students will take 2 diagnostic assessments - iReady Math and iStation Reading (ISIP). These assessments will help give us more information on current skill levels for our students. Teachers will monitor the students online while they are taking the assessments through Microsoft Teams. The assessments are designed for students to take independently. These assessments will help build the individual pathway for the adaptive program (iReady and iStation) to meet the needs of each student. Once these assessments are completed, students will be able to access the programs to practice skills at their level in both reading and math.

Watch this video to help your child prepare and take the iReady Diagnostic from home.