
Hembree Highlights
August 2, 2024

August 23, 2024
Message from Ms. Lahey
Greetings Hembree Families,
Thank you to all our families for coming out and supporting our Back to School Picnic. It was so great to see everyone and I had so much fun in the snow cone truck. A huge shout out to the PTA for making this event happen and to our volunteers. I am so grateful for your support. Our next big event is Friday September 6th from 7:00-9:00. Please come to support our STEM and Star Night.
Please Help Us
It is important to arrive to school on time. Our bell rings at 7:35 AM and students are tardy at 7:40 AM. What is the impact? Frequent tardiness not only disrupts individual learning, but also affects the academic success of the entire class. When students are late, teachers often have to pause and go over material that they've already covered at the beginning of the lesson, causing delays in lesson progression.
Request
One of the main ways we receive feedback is through surveys. This can sometimes cause "survey fatigue." The information we receive from surveys impacts our school through distinctions, programs, and engagement. PLEASE help us by completing surveys when asked. It is very helpful and appreciated to continuously evaluate our progress and to refine our practices.
iReady
We have completed our beginning of the year iReady diagnostic exams. Please see below on how to access your child's scores.
I hope you all have a fabulous weekend and have an opportunity to enjoy this beautiful weather. Thanks for all you do!
Nancy Lahey
Principal
Important Dates
9/2 Holiday/No School for Staff and Students
9/3 Teacher Workday/No School for Students
9/4 Professional Development Day/No School for Students
9/6 STEAM and STAR Night 7:00-9:00 PM
iReady Diagnostic Score Reports
Title One Family Engagement
Family Engagement Thursdays
Families! YOU are your child’s first and most influential teacher. As such you have so much to offer your student! To encourage family engagement at home, we are offering family engagement Thursdays. Each week there will be (1) activity to do at home to be completed prior to Friday. We’ll list the activities for the month in Hembree Highlights and offer reminders via social media. Your student will have the opportunity to receive a *bonus* Hawk’s ticket for participating (look out for more details from your teacher) We’ll include tips and tricks to get the conversation started and reinforce learning from the school day. Please spend anywhere from 10-20 minutes with your child engaging with them around their day at school and encouraging their social and emotional skills. We’ll also encourage your to practice other skills inclusive of Math and ELA. Please feel free to reach out to me Lucy Gilbert, Title I Parent Liaison (gilbertl2@fultonschools.org) with any questions.
Due August 16th (Social-Emotional)
Families- take a moment to ask your student about their day. Often, we get one-word answers to the questions we ask (How was your day? Fine.). Feel free to use these sample questions below to dig a little deeper. Ask follow-up questions and feel free to ask our own questions specific to your child.
1. Name one word that describes your day.
2. If you could change one thing about the day, what would it be?
3. When were you the happiest today?
4. Did you get to see your friends from last year/ or make any new friends?
5. What are you most excited about learning this year?
Due August 23rd (Language Arts)
For younger students at bedtime, invite your child to pick their favorite book, but before reading, ask them “What do you love about this book?” Ask your child to show you their favorite page in the book as you read.
For older students at bedtime, share a chapter book with your child and alternate reading to each other (every other page or every other chapter). Then have a brief conversation about what you read with prompts to include: Who is your favorite character and why? What do you think is going to happen next? Pick out a detail of what you read and discuss.
Due August 30th (Math)
Math Fluency - One of the best indicators for success in math is the ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide fluently. And this is great news because practicing is easy! For very young children, this can mean counting forward and backward to 10, 20, or even 100. In the primary grades, adding to 10 is a skill that will translate into so many other mental math strategies later on. As students move into grades 3-5, we can build their multiplication/division fluency by teaching them to decompose multi-digit numbers to make computations mentally. If you need more ideas or guidance on helping to improve your child's math fluency, please reach out to our Math Coach, Joey Waller, wallerj@fultonschools.org
Please take our quick 2024-26 Excellence Survey!
HSES PTA is working hard to earn our 2024-26 National PTA School of Excellence designation, putting another feather in our achievement cap. But more importantly, we want to create transformative and long-lasting improvements! We want Hembree Springs Elementary to be the best it can be.
One of the first steps is the PTA School of Excellence Survey filled out by our wonderful parents. We had 36 parents fill it out at the Back to School Picnic -- thank you! We're hoping to get 150.
This survey takes less than 5 minutes to fill out -- I can attest because I timed it. The survey results are anonymous and will be used to determine areas for growth and engagement programs for the year. Please give it to us straight -- BE HONEST when you're ranking each question's answer. It will help us improve!
Here's the link bit.ly/3WUHZ9T
En Espanol: https://forms.gle/RAWEuta9rRNbPhqv6
Student Success Skills
Copy Team Volunteers Needed
One way to support our dedicated teachers and staff is by easing their workload, and we have a fantastic opportunity for you to do just that! We're looking for parents who have some time to make copies for our amazing teachers. You just need a few hours one day a week, and you can come any time during that day when it is convenient for you. If you can spare a few hours one day a week and want to be part of this rewarding volunteer opportunity, please get in touch with Julie Burnley at jkburnley@gmail.com to express your interest or ask any questions.
Una forma de apoyar a nuestros dedicados profesores y personal es aliviando su carga de trabajo, ¡y tenemos una oportunidad fantástica para que usted haga precisamente eso! Estamos buscando padres que tengan algo de tiempo para hacer copias para nuestros increíbles maestros. Solo necesita unas horas un día a la semana, y puede venir en cualquier momento durante ese día cuando sea conveniente para usted. Si puedes dedicar unas horas un día a la semana y quieres formar parte de esta gratificante oportunidad de voluntariado, ponte en contacto con Julie Burnley en jkburnley@gmail.com para expresar tu interés o hacer cualquier pregunta.
All Stars Wanted
Each week the PE department will choose 4 All Star Athletes (2 students & 2 staff members). If your student enjoys hiking, swimming, baseball, softball, football, biking, etc. Please email a picture to marzetti@fultonschools.org.
Thanks,
Ms. Marzetti
TAG Department
PTA Reflections Contest Kicks Off Sept. 6
The PTA Reflections Program is kicking off Sept. 6 and this is a great chance for your budding artist/writer/photographer/actor/orator to show off their skills.
This year's theme is "Accepting Imperfection," a great mantra we could all take to heart! The kickoff marks the official start when students can begin to work on their submissions.
Workshops are scheduled in the HSES Cafeteria from 7:10 to 7:40 a.m. Sept. 10, 11, 18 and 19. These are interactive sessions for students and parents. Students can start brainstorming and working on their projects with guidance and support from other volunteers.
Each year, over 300,000 students in Pre-K through grade 12 create original works of art in response to a student-created theme. This 50+ year-old program helps them explore their own thoughts, feelings and ideas, develop artistic literacy, increase confidence and find a love for learning that will help them become more successful in school and in life.
This year's theme of "Accepting Imperfection" came from contest winner Paige Opaska, an 8th-grader from San Antonio, Texas, who said it is a reminder to herself that mistakes are welcome because they are a part of being human.
"Our flaws are as much a part of us as our strengths, so being imperfect should be perfect enough for us.”
The submission deadline is Oct. 9. Students can advance from school level to county, state and national until a final winner is announced. Categories include: Dance Choreography, Film Production, Literature, Music Composition, Photography and Visual Arts. Students submit their original works of art in one or all of the available arts categories and participate in the appropriate division for their grade: Primary (Pre-K - Grade 2), Intermediate (Grades 3-5), Middle School (Grades 6-8), High School (Grades 9-12), Accessible Arts* (All grades welcome).
STEAM and Star Night 9/6
From Title I
Join us on September 10th for our Annual Title I Meeting @ 6:30pm on TEAMS. https://bit.ly/4czMICF
Join the PTA!
We're off to a great start on PTA memberships. This is the best time to join, at the beginning of the school year. Membership is just $10 per year, and proceeds help offset our events. We don't charge admission so that everyone has the chance to participate! They include the Back to School Picnic, Trunk or Treat, Together We Soar Silent Auction and Family Dance and End of the Year Picnic.
Joining the PTA gets you on our email list so you can be in the know about all the happenings and there is NO pressure to volunteer! We understand you lead busy lives.
Join here: https://jointotem.com/ga/roswell/hembree-springs-es-pta.
Spirit Wear On Sale
Swoop in and get these deals before they're gone! School spirit wear is 30% off. This is one of the best sales all school year. It's also a fundraiser for the PTA. See the link below.
Bus Transportation Information
Lunch Visitor Sign Up
We will begin to welcome lunch visitors the week of September 9th. Due to limited capacity, we ask that you sign up using the links below. Please do not sign up for the year to allow the opportunity for many families to visit. Thanks for understanding.
Pre-K
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080548AAAE2BA31-50052915-preklunch
Kindergarten
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080548AAAE2BA31-50053187-kindergarten
1st grade
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080548AAAE2BA31-50053307-1stgrade
2nd grade
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080548AAAE2BA31-50053385-2ndgrade
3rd grade
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080548AAAE2BA31-50053488-3rdgrade
4th grade
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080548AAAE2BA31-50053597-4thgrade
5th grade
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080548AAAE2BA31-50053662-5thgrade
From PTA
Stay connected to HSES
Want to know all the great stuff happening at school? Be a part of the PTA's Facebook page, The Hawk's Nest. We post a few times a week, and it's a closed group that our school families and teachers can participate in.
Previous Newsletters
Hembree Springs Elementary School
Website: https://www.fultonschools.org/hembreespringses
Location: 815 Hembree Road, Roswell, GA, USA
Phone: 470-254-2902