HSISL Principal Welcome Back Letter

Dear HSI SL Parents and Community,

Greetings!

I am Gokay Besli, your new Principal at Harmony School of Innovation-Sugar Land. On behalf of the staff at HSI SL, I am happy to welcome you to the 2020-21 school year! I would like to extend a special welcome to all of the new families joining HSI SL this year and welcome back all of our returning families as well! I am honored to be your NEW principal. Our goal at HSI SL is to work together to provide our students with a rich learning environment.

As announced earlier, our campus will start the academic year on Monday, August 17 in an online-only setting. Classes will continue online-only until at least Tuesday, September 8. The primary purpose of these changes is to provide a safe educational environment for both our students and staff members, as well as to comply with local ordinances in many of our Harmony communities which specifically prohibit in-person schooling until after Labor Day.

The campus schedule is currently in the process of being reworked to optimize online learning. Teachers and students will have a full schedule of synchronous learning daily. You can expect to see your updated schedule in Skyward beginning Monday, August 10th; please note that while the counseling department is updating schedules there may be delays answering emails with questions about individual schedules.

As an impact of COVID-19, students should not be sharing school supplies with other students. Safety supplies such as hand sanitizer and face-covering/masks will be provided while at school, and students will be welcomed to bring their own sanitizer and/or face covering for personal use as well. As to HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS, basic supply needs will be provided to students by our school, and teachers may share additional supply needs during the school year based on subjects. Harmony Public Schools is committed to helping students and their teachers continue learning outside of school. Students with no technology device available for at-home learning may receive a Chromebook for their use at home. The limit for checkout is one device per Harmony family. There will be survey sent it to you, will allow us to determine which students need Chromebook and hotspot device so we can provide our students to support continued learning at home.

Our orientation day is scheduled at 10:00am and 2:00 pm on Aug 13, 2020. All sessions are going to be prepared and recorded in advance and shown during the virtual orientation day. Also, we are looking forward to a productive partnership with you to ensure our children can achieve their highest potential. We recognize that in order to be successful in school, our children need support from both the home and school. We know a strong partnership with you will make a great difference in your child’s education. In order to increase parent involvement, a survey will be shared with you during the virtual orientation day.

My vision, as the principal, is to always for students and safety comes first! My belief is that all students can learn. As educators, we want children to thrive in all ways possible in a collaborative effort. Accelerating your child’s education – even when learning from home – is one important aspect of my mission. That’s why we’ve spent the summer completely revamping our online learning system to create a more interactive learning environment that’s easier to use for families, better connects students to their teachers and classmates, and – most importantly – promotes academic growth even while our campuses are closed.

With our new Schoology learning management system, students attending classes online will experience a robust academic experience with more one-to-one engagement with teachers through live classroom sessions, regular online office hours, as well as academic tutorial sessions, and intervention services for students who need them.

Students also will enjoy options for at-home, online extracurricular activities — including club activities, and both e-sports and academic competitions — that will allow them to stay connected with their classmates online, even if they can’t be together in person.

I hope to have a wonderful school year for 2020-21 and I look forward to working with all of you! Below is the contact information for myself and my administration team. Please feel free to contact us if you have questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Gokay Besli, Principal of Harmony School of Innovation-SL

gbesli@harmonytx.org

Other Administrators:

Sena Qutob, AP Academics

squtob@harmonytx.org

Thomas Duff, Dean of Students

tduff@harmonytx.org

Alper Ciftci, Head of College Counselor

aciftci@harmonytx.org

Ali Kucuk, Engagement Coordinator

ali.kucuk@harmonytx.org