Howbert Happenings

The entire Howbert staff and I are elated to begin another year of learning where we can build relationships and support students growth and achievement! We are especially looking forward to building more and more opportunities for students to learn outside the four walls of Howbert.

As you all have probably noticed, there have been many improvements to the Howbert campus that happened all summer and will continue to be completed as school begins. We have a new roof, full air conditioning and a new heating system (geothermal), as well as landscaping that includes a school sensory garden that will be a unique school feature that will only be found at Howbert Elementary.

I assure you that all continued work will occur after the school day or on the weekend.

The staff are grateful to the school board and superintendent Gaal for their support in making these improvements at Howbert. They know the value of Howbert and see the fantastic learning that goes on inside and outside the school.

Thank you all and I will see you soon!

• Flora Ayers - SPED teacher
• Melissa Cavender - SPED speech pathologist
• Shay Kuehn - 1st grade teacher
• Beth Spargo - Social worker
• Stella Hamilton - Health tech
• John Mina - DST
• Debbie Downing - Kitchen manager

Because of an increase in enrollment, we have had to re-align grade classrooms to best serve the needs of students.

The following are the grade classrooms that we will have for this school year:

• Two kindergarten classrooms
• Two 1st grade classrooms
• A 2nd grade classroom
• A combination 2nd/3rd grade classroom
• A 3rd grade classroom
• A 4th grade classroom that will be split for the morning with two core instruction teachers
• Two 5th grade classrooms

Jump Start at Howbert Kindergarten and Helpful Hints

• Monday, August 12th : 8:00 – 11:00 a.m. Last Names A –L. 12:00 – 3:00 p.m. Last Names M – Z.

• TUESDAY,AUGUST13th:NOSCHOOLforKindergartenstudents.

• Wed., August 14th: First Full Day of School for Kindergarten!

• School begins at 7:50 a.m. to 2:50 p.m. Please stay with your child until the classroom door opens at 7:40 a.m. If you arrive after 7:55 a.m., please bring your child in through the front office.

• Dismissal will be through the classroom door at 2:50 p.m.

• Bring 2 HEALTHY snacks every day for outdoor snack time, a.m and p.m.

• Bring a water bottle with a spill-proof top, labeled with your child’s name that your

  child can open independently.

• Label lunchboxes, backpacks and all coats with your child’s name.

• Sign up on the Dismissal sheet so teachers know how your child will be going home

  (bus,parentpickup,daycarevan,etc.) ***SignUpwillbeavailableFriday,Aug.9th.

• Sign up for Weekly Kindergarten Classroom News emails from your child’s teacher, with your email address (both parents are welcome to give email) and your child’s

name. ***Sign Up will be available at Meet the Teachers on Friday, August 9th.

• Have your child wear sturdy shoes or sneakers every day for outdoor fun and learning.

• Please leave ALL toys at home every school day, to reduce distractions to learning.

• Plan for a quick hug and good-bye each day to help your child transition to school each

  morning.
  

If you have any questions, please contact the front office at 719-328-4200.

We know each one of our students is going to have a great year this 2024-2025 school year! Here are a few ways you can help make your child's day-to-day life at school even more awesome:

• Label their lunch boxes, backpacks, coats, sweatshirts, etc with permanent marker. A huge amount of items are donated each semester because items aren't claimed from the Lost & Found!
• Pack a simple, healthy snack for your student each day. If you experience food insecurities, please reach out to our counselor, Lindsay Smith (lindsay.smith@d11.org). We have many resources that can help!
• Try not to be late! Lessons start right at 7:50am and being late even just a couple of times a week can result in your student missing valuable learning time!

KISS & GO

• The "Kiss & Go" lane will be clearly blocked out with orange cones. It is located in the second set of parking spots in the front of the building. Our alternate "Kiss & Go" lane will be accessed via the south entrance to the staff parking lot. The alternate drop off point will be near the trash dumpsters.
• Please utilize the kiss & go lane if you feel your child can quickly unbuckle and exit your vehicle. We have found that many times kindergarteners have trouble with this. Try to have your student on the right hand side of your vehicle.
• Please pull as far forward as possible in the kiss & go lane before allowing child to exit the vehicle.
• Please do not park on the other side of the cones in the street. If you miss the kiss & go lane, please proceed forward and circle back around or park up in front of the big school busses.
• There will be an adult at the kiss & go to help your child safely exit the vehicle.
• If you don't feel your child will be able to exit your vehicle quickly, please find a parking spot to drop-off child.

Lunches will be provided for all students this year. You are still encouraged to apply for free/reduced lunch becuase it helps with other school fees and helps schools with their funding. You can do that at this link https://d11.rocketscanapps.com.

There has been a change in the information regarding school breakfast. Howbert will not be serving school breakfast this year.

If you have questions about bus transportation contact D11 department of transportation at 719-520-2940 or you can visit their website at https://www.d11.org/transportation. You may have received information through your email if your child is on our transportation list. If you did not receive this, and want to know if your child is within the Howbert Elementary transportation boundary please contact the transportation department.

Howbert is seeking volunteers to help with a variety of activities in our school. Each week, we will list volunteer opportunities here. There will either be a link to sign up or you can always give the school a call and we'll be happy to help.

UPCOMING VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

• Contact the office.

Please make sure to fill out the volunteer form to signing up (linked below). You only need to fill this out once. Once completed, call the Howbert office at 719-328-4200 and we will get you all set up!

❤The gift of your time is priceless to our students❤

For information about our PTO please visit their website at https://howbertpto.wixsite.com/info and make sure to follow them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/HowbertPTO/