Hutchens Highlights May 2024
"Every Student Matters, Every Moment Counts"
Important Upcoming Dates:
May 1st: National Principals Day & National Physical Education & Sports Week
May 2nd & 3rd: 2nd Grade Field Trip to the Zoo
May 3rd: School Lunch Hero Day
May 8th-16th: End of year i-Ready, HMH, and literacy screener administration
May 9th: Class of 2024 Senior Walk @ Hutchens @ 9:00am
May 9th: Last Club day of the school year @ 1:30 (Please refrain from getting early dismissals)
May 10th: 2nd Grade Transition Field Trip to Dawes
May 12th: Happy Mother's Day
May 17th: Sno Cones $3.00
May 18th: Baker Hornet Color Run (See flyer below for details)
May 20th: May Character breakfast @ 8:45 (by invitation only)
May 20th: 2nd Grade Picnic 12:00-1:00 (Parents/Guardians are invited to attend; bring a lunch and blanket)
May 20th: PTA/Kindergarten End of Year Program @ 5:30
May 22nd: End of Year Celebration (students only- see flyer below)
May 23rd: Last day for students
We are thrilled to announce our school has been recognized as Finalists in not just one, but THREE categories for the 2024 Nappie Awards!
Best Overall Academic Program
Best Principal
Best Cafeteria Food
VOTING IS OPEN!! Click the link below to vote DAILY until May 26th!
https://votenappies.com/#/gallery?group=484798Final Call for Yearbooks!
The link is closed to order online, but we are still accepting CASH (Please send exact change). Don't miss out on preserving your precious memories from this unforgettable year!
Message from our School Nurse: Nurse Jessica
As the end of the school year approaches, please remember the following points pertaining to your child’s medication at school.
- All medication/medical supplies must be picked up by 3:00pm on May 23, 2024. This includes pills, injections, drops, ointments, inhalers, liquids, empty bottles, blood glucose monitors, nebulizers, spacers or any other medical related items.
- Any of the above items not picked up at the end of the school day on May 23, 2024, will be disposed of properly. No medication/supplies may remain at the school during the summer.
Medication will not be sent home with the child. A parent or adult designee must pick up medication from the school.
If your student has been selected to attend Literacy Camp in June, please contact Nurse Jessica.
Registration for 24/25 School Year!
**ALL new and returning students must register online for the 24/25 school year.
*Students who are registered by Wednesday, April 10, 2024 will receive an OUT-OF-UNIFORM pass to be used on Thursday, April 11, 2024!
Your MCPSS username is the Enrolling Parent/Guardian's email address. Your password is the oldest active student's birth date.
For example: Username: myemail@gmail.com
Password: mmddyyyy
To register, click here: https://www.mcpss.com/enrollment
Parents are required to complete EZ registration each year. This includes our new PreK parents.
May Leadworthy Character Trait: Integrity
Why focus on Integrity?
- Integrity generates trust. When we are honest and follow through on promises, we gain the confidence of our team; Trust allows us to collaborate and achieve more together.
- Integrity encourages self-assessment. Integrity requires our regular self-assessment to align behaviors with our goals and self-beliefs.
- Integrity is essential in leadership. Great leaders decrease anxiety and build strong teams when they are honest, consistent, and responsible.
April Character Kids: Courage
Our Leadworthy character trait for the month of APRIL was PERSEVERANCE. One student per classroom was selected by their teacher for persevering, trying new things, and believing in themselves and their ability to do difficult or challenging things.
Our leadworthy staff member of the month was Mrs. Bethany Lake! Mrs. Lake was nominated by our faculty and staff for persevering this school year. She never gives up even though there are many challenges that come with her position. She loves big and does whatever necessary for her students.
A very special THANK YOU to our April sponsor, Lindsey Grandquest from Keller Williams for sponsoring this month's Character Breakfast.. Our students enjoyed their doughnuts and juice. We greatly appreciate your support to #OurHut.
PreK Character Kids
Jayce Williams
Lana Kareen
Amelia Stokley
Kindergarten Character Kids
Ethan Nash
Harper Wheeler
Gracie Thompson
Henry Nguyen
MaKenzie Bright
Amber Nall
Dominic Cervantes
Valentino Nguyen
1st Grade Character Kids
Bryce Murphy
Elliott Graham-O'Brien
Colton Milan
Jayce Robinson
Jackson John
Brantley Bryant
Paisley Tomes
Emory Huggins
Leslie Harris
2nd Grade Character Kids
Sawyer Killam
Sean Peak
Z'yiah McAlpine
Bodhi Currier
Cullan Williams
Avery James
Jayonna Sewell
Dixi Malonado Carranza
Rebecca Cervantes
Zoe Vasquez
Employee Character Award
Bethany Lake
SPED Teacher
Keller Williams - Lindsey Grandquest
Snacks & Ice Cream
- Snacks (chips and crackers) and juice/water are sold daily for $1.00 each.
- Students are allowed to bring their own snack and encouraged to bring their own water bottle from home.
- Ice Cream is sold each Tuesday for $2.00.
- Please send correct change!
Sno Cones
- Sno Cones are sold on the first Thursday of the month.
- Money is due before 8:25am.
- If your child is purchasing a sno cone or hot chocolate, please be sure to send the money in their folder.
- Please send correct change!
2nd Semester Club Days
Upcoming Club Days:
Thursay, May 9th
WINNERS of the Mobile County Earth Day Art Contest
Mrs. King and winners, will attend the upcoming Mobile County Commission Meeting where they will be awarded a classroom grant to be used to enhance environmental learning.
We are so proud to recognize these student’s outstanding artistic talents and commitment to raising awareness about environmental issues. Keep up the great work!
#1 Kids' Heart Challenge
Thanks to the incredible efforts and enthusiasm of our students, parents, and faculty, we are thrilled to announce that our school has clinched the #1 spot in the American Heart Association's Kids Heart Challenge!
May Staff Birthdays!
May 1st: Kendra Carpenter (Paraprofessional)
May 11th: Robin English (Bookkeeper)
May 11th: Raina Livingston (1st Grade Teacher)
May 11th: Shari Tanner (Pre-K Teacher)
May 13th: Jessica Weekley (Kindergarten Teacher)
May 17th: Missy Carlton (Cafeteria)
May 19th: Danielle Lisenba (2nd Grade Teacher)
May 27th: Ragan Percherke (Kindergarten Teacher)
May 27th: Maryum Jackson (Paraprofessional)
ARI Updated Resources
Great news! The ARI Parent and Community Outreach team has been busy updating resources.
The update and redesign will allow the team to provide multiple resources attached to each QR code representing shared folders for the following literacy categories: phonological awareness, phonics, comprehension, fluency, oral language, etc. The revised resource flier will link to the replacements for outdated resources. Please replace any previously posted resource fliers with the new and improved version.
Click this link for a printable version of this resource and many others provided by ARI and the ALSDE. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1aNeZUPfLPkSuGCZkvqCBRFB9ssGMvCagated resources.
Phonemic Awareness
Phonemic awareness is “the conscious awareness of the individual speech sounds (consonants and vowels) in spoken syllables and the ability to consciously manipulate those sounds” (LETRS Vol. 1 pg. 87). Students’ phonemic awareness skills continue to develop through about the fourth grade where they are practicing more advanced skills including the ability to substitute and reverse sounds. Kilpatrick (2015) emphasized that “mental phonemic manipulations must be fast and automatic to support consolidated, automatic word recognition”. Check out this video created by ARI that highlights evidence-based phonemic awareness instructional practices.
Writing
Want a fun and engaging way to practice handwriting and sight words?
Shaving cream writing is an inexpensive and easy way to work on letter formation and spelling. Place a dollop of shaving cream in the center of a plastic plate or tray, spread the shaving cream out to create a writing surface and get started! Using their finger like a pencil, your child can work on letter formation and practice spelling sight words, too! Writing can be easily erased by smearing the shaving cream. For a tasty twist on this activity, substitute whipped cream and use a candy cane as the pencil!
This multisensory activity will help develop fine motor skills, build connections in the brain and it's fun, too!
Braining Camp - Virtual Math Manipulative
Students at Hutchens Elementary have access to all of these virtual manipulatives through Brainingcamp. This can be accessed through their Clever single sign on. Check out the video link below for a quick overview of the manipulatives Brainingcamp has to offer.
Contact our Math Coach, Mrs. Alison Townsend at atownsend@mcpss.com if you need any assistance with this or have any questions.
Addition and Subtraction Strategies
The graphics below provide information on some of the addition and subtraction strategies students may use. These strategies allow students to approach problems in a way that makes sense for them and that they can explain to others. These allow students to have a better understanding of base ten number concepts and encourage flexibility in the use of a variety of strategies. As a result, this creates confident and capable mathematicians!
April Early Numeracy Calendar
The April Early Numeracy Calendar has been uploaded to the AMSTI Mathematics @ Home Wakelet! English and Spanish versions are both available at https://bitly.amsti.org/calendars.
What is the Alabama Literacy Act?
"The Alabama Literacy Act was passed in 2019 to help improve reading in Alabama public schools to ensure students are reading on grade level by the end of the third grade. Reading is the gateway to lifelong achievement and the students of Alabama deserve a strong start on their path to success."
"By third grade, students must be proficient in foundational reading skills in order to comprehend texts. If they are unsuccessful, they will have difficulty understanding grade-level reading material. Students also need strong reading skills in order to learn other school subjects such as science, social studies, writing, and even math." (ARI/The Alabama Reading Initiative)
Watch this three-minute video to learn more!
Open Court Parent Guide Page 1
Open Court Parent Guide Page 2
Early Dismissals
An early dismissal prior to 11:45am is considered an absence. If a student arrives to school after 11:45am he/she is marked absent for the entire day. There will be no early dismissals granted after 2:30pm. Early dismissals will be granted prior to 2:30pm only to a parent/guardian or a designated person listed as an emergency contact. Parents and emergency contacts must always present identification to the office.
Change in Transportation:
Any change in transportation must always be in writing. Transportation changes will not be granted over the phone. Please refrain from sending messages to teachers during their instructional time. In the event of an emergency, call the front office.
Lunch Visitors
- Lunch guests are required to report to the main office to sign-in and show identification.
- Adults visiting for lunch must be listed as a contact to visit the student at school.
- The student’s teacher must be notified BEFORE arriving on campus.
- Visitors must wear a badge/sticker provided by the office staff during check in and it must be visible at all times while in the building.
- Adults may purchase the school lunch ($4.75) or bring one from home. Outside food must be packed inside of a lunch box. No restaurant food bags are allowed.
- Visitors must return to the office after the student’s lunch period has ended to sign out.
- Cafeteria visitors may not visit other areas of the campus without prior approval from the principal.
- Any questions or concerns must be directed to an administrator.
Student Birthdays
We LOVE to celebrate our students; however, classroom birthday parties are not allowed. District policy allows two parties per year: Christmas and End of Year.
Students will receive a birthday shout-out during our live morning announcements and also a birthday treat from the office.
With the classroom teachers prior approval, parents/guardians may send a treat/special snack for the child's class. Be sure to check with the classroom teacher for any specific allergies as well as provide a snack for each child in the classroom. If you wish to distribute birthday party invitations, please send an invitation for each student.
Arrival and Dismissal
Please continue working with your child on how to buckle/unbuckle independently. Until then, please pull over to a designated parking area to provide assistance to your child. We ask that you do not get out of your car as this creates a safety concern and causes a disruption to our dismissal procedures.
We are in contact with county officials to expand our car line waiting area. This expansion will allow more vehicles to pull into our waiting area rather than pulling onto the shoulder on West Lake Road. Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding.
Bus Safety
Please remind your child about good behaviors on the bus.
- Always listen to and obey the bus driver.
- Stay seated the entire time.
- Never extend your hands, arms, head, or any object out of the window.
- Keep the aisles clear.
- Do not jump seat to seat.
- Always keep hands and feet to yourself.
- Speak in quiet voice. No yelling!
- Bottom to bottom, Back-to-Back, Bookbag on lap.
23/24 School Calendar
Hutchens Uniform Policy
Connect with Us!
Contact us:
Email: bowen@mcpss.com
Website: hutchenselementary.org
Location: 10005 West Lake Rd. Mobile, AL 36695
Phone: 251-221-1420
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HutchensElem
Twitter: @HutchensElem