Hózhó Academy Newsletter
For the Week of August 28th - September 1st, 2023
Weekly Updates
Dear Families,
I hope you all had a great weekend. Remember next Monday the 4th there is no school in observance of Labor Day.
9th Graders - We are having our 9th grade promotion ceremony on September 19 at 8:30 a.m. Students will be bringing home information and emails will go out to parents this week. If you have not heard by the end of the week, contact the office.
Activity Bus - We'd like your help designing our new activity bus! Students and/or classes can drop off design ideas to the front office for the next two weeks. We look forward to seeing all your creative ideas. Stay tuned for a fundraising campaign to wrap or paint the bus!
After-School Activities - We are hoping to start the after-school program the Tuesday after Labor Day. Stay tuned! Currently, we have...
Drama Club: Meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays in Room 206 in the Lower School Building (Mrs. Feddes's 5th Grade Room) from 3:45 to 4:45. Drama is open to grades 1st through 10th grade.
Garden Program Afterschool: Every Tuesday after school from 3:30-5 p.m.
Fitness Club: Meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays
Photography: Meets on Wednesdays
Girl Scouts: Coming soon on Thursdays for all grade levels.
Board Games and Lego Club: Meets on Fridays
Civil Air Patrol: Meeting on Wednesday, August 30th at 5:30. See the flyer below!
Start of the Year Information
Start/End Time: School starts at 8:30, with arrival as early as 7:45, and ends at 3:30.
Planners and Binders: Planners for K-3 and planners and binders for grades 4-10 are available for purchase. Please send the $10 payment to your child's teacher or the office.
Pick-up and Drop-off: Some of the pick-up and drop-off traffic patterns have changed, Staff will be on hand to direct vehicles. Please be patient as we work through new procedures.
After-school Clubs and Fitness: After-school activities will be starting soon!
Uniforms: Junior high and high school (Upper School) students may opt for a black or gray polo shirt. All other uniform options will remain the same. Please make an appointment at Sportsworld (505) 863-8819 to try on sizes. Uniform compliance will be strictly enforced. Students must be in full uniform to attend classes. If you need financial assistance with purchasing uniforms, please come by the front office. If you have a rental uniform from last year that still fits, keep it. If it no longer fits, please return it to the school’s front office. Shoes are part of the uniform. Students must be in athletic closed-toe shoes and ready for PE every day. Sandals and boots, etc. are too dangerous for PE.
Attendance is Critical: We are expecting students to attend every day. For junior high and high school students, we are also strictly enforcing prompt attendance to class. Any tardiness to class will be addressed. Please note that attendance can impact enrollment. If students miss 10 days in a row, they are considered disenrolled.
Detention and Saturday School: If students in 7-10th grade do not complete homework assignments, they may be given lunch detention to complete this work. In some cases, students may be given after-school or Saturday school detention.
Meals: All meals are free to students. Breakfast and lunch will be provided daily.
Transportation: We are the first charter school in New Mexico to be allowed to have our own transportation department! Since this is a first for us, there may be problems and kinks to work out. Please be patient, but also, please communicate your concerns. You may call the transportation department directly at 505-458-4923 or the front office at 505-722-8922. Please note that students in 5th grade and under must have a parent or previously designated adult to meet the students at their bus stop unless a waiver is signed. Students who are in 5th grade or younger will be brought back to the school for parent pick up if no authorized adult is present when students are dropped off.
The elementary parking lot closes each morning at 8:15 a.m. Anyone dropping off a student between 8:15 and 8:30, please drop off your child at the student drop-off spot at the gym. Our students walk through the parking lot to get to morning assembly, and it is too dangerous to have cars entering the elementary parking lot at that time.
Cell Phone Policy: Students may have a cell phone at school, but it must be kept silenced and in a backpack. Students may not have cell phones out at school or on the bus. Cell phones cannot be in students' pockets. We have had incidents of students going to the restroom and taking out phones and taking pictures. This is a violation of the privacy of others. If a cell phone is in a pocket or is taken out during the school day, it may be confiscated. If you have any questions about the policy, please contact Mrs. Hillock at principal@hozhoacademy.org
English Learner Program: Each year, students in English learner programs take the ACCESS for English Learners' (EL) language proficiency test. The test measures academic English language proficiency for students learning English in our school and throughout our state.
If you have questions, please reach out to our front office at (505) 722-8922.
Important Dates
September 4th - Labor Day (No School)
September 19th - 9th Grade Promotion Ceremony
October 6th - End of First Quarter
Important Links
Join Civil Air Patrol
Girl Scout Drive
Hózhó Sports
Games this Week
Wed 8/30 - 8th Grade Football 5 PM
Wed 8/30 - 7th Grade Girl's Volleyball 5 PM
Wed 8/30 - 8th Grade Girl's Volleyball 6 PM
Thurs 8/31 - JV Girls Volleyball 4 PM
Thurs 8/31 - Varsity Girls Volleyball 5 PM
Sat 9/2 - Varsity Football 1 PM
Sat 9/2 - 8th Grade Girl's Volleyball 1 PM
Sat 9/2 - Varsity Girls Volleyball 2 PM
Click Here for the Full Schedule and Locations
Literacy Corner by Elise Farrell
Most, if not all teachers at Hozho Academy require reading time as homework. It is such a critical part to our curriculum that a reading log is included in student planners. So why this emphasis on reading at home?
It can feel defeating, asking your teacher what you can do at home to help your student and the response you receive is "reading." We want that traditional spelling list that we can help our students memorize, we want worksheets and workbooks, we want tutors. All of those things can be wonderful resources, but they will not help in the long run if students are not taught basic common sense, critical thinking, and background knowledge. Reading, backed by a lot of research, provides just that.
Reading opens your child's mind to a world of knowledge. Students gain a vast background understanding of people, places and events simply through a book. Children's brains are literal sponges, they have the ability to soak up new information, even more than an adult.
It exercises the brain. Just like the rest of our body, our brains needs exercise in order to stay strong and healthy. Research has shown that reading stimulates the circuits and nerves within the brain.
It improves focus! Do you often hear from your teacher that your child is not focused in class, cannot stay on task...etc? Reading improves that naturally. It teaches our brains to concentrate and focus for periods of time, making them do the work of imagining and inferencing that overstimulating technology usually does for us.
It improves syntax (grammar structure of a sentence) and vocabulary. Through good, quality literature, children learn how to put their thoughts into concrete, well formed sentences using more intricate vocabulary.
Students learn to empathize. Reading allows children to see the point of view of multiple character or people in history. They learn to think from other peoples' perspective and as a result, it translates to real life.
Lastly, good readers are good writers. Books (usually) go through copious amounts of editing before publication. A child who reads develops the ear for a sentence that does not make sense, or a paragraph that feels out of place.
Those things being said, quality, classical literature also plays a key role. This is not to say your child can never read a graphic novel, a book with pictures, or anything 'modern'. They can be wonderful, engaging stories that encourage your child to read. However, they should be used as stepping stones to a higher level of reading. Children need to be appropriately challenged in order to truly learn. Classical literature is literature that has withstood the test of time, its values are always applicable, teaching true virtue. It allows us to look behind at continuous themes and patterns and look ahead to where we are going, if we see any of those similar patterns. Themes of inner strength, perseverance and forgiveness are constantly circled throughout these beautiful stories.
Below is a link to books recommended by Barney Charter Schools. There are abridged versions of nearly every classical book as well, so if your child is interested in one of these stories but need something closer to their reading level, that is always an option.
Now, what if we are really busy or our children do not like reading? Next newsletter, we will discuss how to encourage your child to read and how you can accommodate reading in a busy household.
I love discussing literature, so if you ever need suggestions or have more questions, do not hesitate to contact me.
Next week, we will discuss ways to encourage your child to read!
Barney Charter School Literature List (1).pdf
Additional Quality Literature (1).pdf
Book of the Week:
Stone Fox
John Reynolds Gardiner
2nd Grade
This is a story of perseverance in the midst of adversity! Little Willy and his trusted sidekick Stone Fox, enter a sled dog race with the hopes of winning the grand prize and his grandfather's farm.
Hózhó Academy 2023-2024 School Calendar
Hózhó Academy Charter School
Email: office@hozhoacademy.org
Website: https://hozhoacademy.org/
Location: 515 Park Ave, Gallup, NM, USA
Phone: (505) 722-8922
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hozhoacademy
Twitter: @HozhoA