Hicks Hive Hangout

David Hicks Elementary School - Principal Amy Gee.

Hello Hicks Families, it is March is Reading Month! Please read through this newsletter for important reminders, dates and resources pertaining to your child's school and district.

Did you know that March is Reading Month?

As part of our special celebration, we will be working together as a Hicks family to beat a pretty BIG goal, reading 100,000 minutes as a school, but we KNOW we can do it! For every 10 minutes your child reads or is read to at night, color in a piece of their dragon page and submit completed pages to your child's teacher. Each week there will be classroom winners that get fun prizes and at the end of the month, some students will get to PIE MRS. GEE IN THE FACE! Check out the Reading Month letter and calendar for more details. Don't miss out on all of the fun! Let's Get Reading!

Please check out EPIC to find endless books to read to your child. Our school goal is to reach 100,000 minutes. Help us reach our goal!

Click HERE.

Click HERE to see our District Calendar

Coming Up:

March 2nd - Boys Basketball at John Glenn High School

Team A plays at 11:00AM. Team B plays at 10:00AM

March 14th - HALF-DAY dismissal is at 12:20PM - Kindergarten Kickstart at 1:00-4:00PM and 6:00-7:00PM

March 20th-22nd - Mobile Dentist - Make sure your child has their permission slip turned in if you are interested

March 21st - Family Fun Night (aka Reading Night and Giveaway Night) from 5:30-7:00pm at Hicks Elementary School

March 25th - 29th - Spring Break! Classes resume on April 1st

MARK YOUR CALENDARS! Thursday, March 14th at 1pm is Kindergarten Kickstart! Any family with a child turning 5 by December 1st should come to Hicks and see what Kindergarten is all about! Families and their incoming kindergartner will get to meet the teachers, see the classrooms, get FREE prizes, AND do enrollment for the fall! For a list of what documents you need to bring to enroll, go to www.wwcsd.net/kickstart. For anyone that cannot make the daytime session, we will have an evening registration time (enrollment document submission and giveaways only) from 6pm-7pm on Thursday, March 14th too.

Please make sure to spread the word to friends and neighbors to mark their calendars so they come to Kickstart THURSDAY, March 14th at 1pm if their child will be 5 by December 1, 2024! We can't wait to show you how Great Futures Start Right Here!

On Wednesdays, Moose the emotional support dog, will be visiting classrooms brighten our kiddoes day. Moose likes all kids and especially likes seeing them with bright smiles.

Family Fun Night (aka Reading Night and Giveaway Night) will be Thursday, March 21st from 5:30-7! Please mark your calendars now for a fun night with our families! A signup will be out soon with jobs we will need help with. Thank you SO much for considering giving a few minutes of your time to help out!

We must all be the role models and educators to our children's safety. Internet safety is more important than ever. Everyone has a duty to make sure our kids surf the web safely.

Please watch Cyber Fareedah on YouTube about different parental controls on iPhones and devices. She is brilliant in explaining different programs and apps to use to keep your child safe online. Click HERE to learn.

Please watch this video from Mr. Saunders that walks you through how to set up parental controls on an iPhone. CLICK HERE.

• Virtual Community Forum:

• Threat Assessments and Internet Safety- Please join us for a virtual community forum on Wednesday, March 13 from 6-7 p.m. Link to PDF flyer and Zoom link https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87961543561

Boys basketball and the cheerleading squad are shining on the court!

Coach Castellon's team is 3-0

Coach Bellanca's team is 0-3

Coach Newberry and Marr's cheerleading squad will be cheering for Coach Bellanca's Team B.

Come out and support both teams and cheerleaders at John Glenn High School on Saturday, March 2nd, 2024.

Coach Castellon's team plays at 11:00AM in Main Court 1

Coach Bellanca's team plays at 10:00AM in Main Court 2

Please PARK in the back of the high school and enter in the back.

After school Bible Club with Middlebelt Baptist Church meets from 4-5pm after school on TUESDAYS. Please see Ms. Lisa for applications if your child is interested in joining.

Reminders

• Attendance
• If your child is dropped off after 9:55am they will be marked absent for the morning
• If your child is picked up before 3:15pm they will be marked absent for the afternoon
• Please take our Attendance Survey if you haven't had the chance to yet!
• No early dismissal after 3:30pm on full days
• No early dismissal after 11:50am on half days
• If students are left at school at the end of the day, and we cannot get in contact with you or anyone on your child's emergency contact list, our protocol is to reach out to the Inkster Police Department to safely transport your child home
• Communication
• Our building uses Class Dojo to communicate with families. Please make sure that you connect with your child's teacher to sign up
• A message stating Handle with Care tells your child's teacher that they may need some extra support for the day due to something that is going on outside of the school environment.
• Please review the arrival/dismissal video for information on how to drop off and pick up your child. Click here to see it on Class Dojo!
• We have after school programs available! Click to learn more about Bright Futures and Champions
• Check out our Facebook page HERE
• Access all of our Hicks Resources HERE
• Does your child need tutoring? Click HERE to find resources to support your child!

If your student is going to be absent, please make sure you contact our attendance line at 734-419-2666. This is a different number than our regular office line! Thank you!

Regular attendance is crucial for your child's academic success. Please make every effort to ensure your child attends school on time every day and stays throughout the whole day. Consistent attendance throughout the school day allows your child to engage in learning and maximize their educational opportunities fully.

Illness: If your child is not feeling well and cannot attend school, please notify us immediately. Students who are ill should not attend school to prevent the spread of illness to others.

Excused Absences: We understand that there may be instances when your child needs to be absent due to illness, medical appointments, family emergencies, or other legitimate reasons. Please notify the school in advance whenever possible to classify the absence as excused.

Unexcused Absences: Unexcused absences negatively impact your child's education. Absences without valid reasons will be considered unexcused, and appropriate actions may be taken per district policy.

Timely reporting of absences helps us maintain accurate attendance records and ensures that your child's absence is properly documented. Absences must be reported within 24 hours.

There are two convenient methods for reporting your child's absence to facilitate efficient communication and accurate attendance records.

• You can notify your child's school through the dedicated attendance line. Please leave a detailed message stating your child's name, grade, and reason for absence.

• You can report absences directly through MiStar, our secure online portal for student information. MiStar provides a user-friendly interface that allows you to submit absences.

Thank you for your ongoing support in creating a positive and productive learning environment for all our students.

Meet our new Parking Lot POLICE, Mrs. Root! She is working with Hicks and INKSTER PD to ensure our students and staff are SAFE during arrival and dismissal times! Please follow pick up and drop off rules or you will TICKETED!

Please DO NOT enter the front loop from the exit!

It is unsafe for our Hicks students and their families. Mrs. Gee is working with Inkster Police to start ticketing parents that do these things because student safety is number one priority.

If you need to park, please enter through the driveway closest to Cherry Hill and follow traffic around the loop. Thank you for your continued cooperation in keeping everyone SAFE at Hicks!

2024 Child Tax Credit Information from the Internal Revenue Service: The Internal Revenue Service wants to share the following information with families.

• Child Tax Credit (CTC): The CTC is a credit that may reduce your tax by as much as $2,000 for each child who qualifies you for the credit. To qualify, the child must be a U.S. citizen under age 17, have a Social Security number, be claimed as a dependent on the taxpayer's tax return, and more. Use the IRS Interactive Tax Assistant tool to determine eligibility: Does My Child/Dependent Qualify for the Child Tax Credit or the Credit for Other Dependents? For more information, please see: Child Tax Credit | Internal Revenue Service (irs.gov)

• Other Dependent Credit (ODC): The ODC is a credit that may reduce your tax by as much as $500 for each eligible dependent. The person is claimed as a dependent on your return; the person can’t be used by you to claim the CTC or Additional CTC; the person was a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or U.S. resident alien. Again, use the IRS Interactive Tax Assistant tool to determine eligibility: Does My Child/Dependent Qualify for the Child Tax Credit or the Credit for Other Dependents?

Note: The credit amount for family’s CTC or ODC may be reduced if their modified adjusted gross income (AGI) is more than $400,000 for married filing jointly filing status or $200,000 for all other filing statuses.

• Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC): One refundable tax credit for moderate- and low-income families is the Earned Income Tax Credit. The IRS estimates there are millions of workers who qualify but don't claim the EITC - missing out on thousands of dollars every year. The EITC is as much as $3,995 when claiming one child, $6,604 when claiming two children, and $7,430 when claiming three or more children. Use the EITC Assistant to learn if you're eligible for the tax credit. For more detailed information, see Publication 596, Earned Income Credit.

Note: Adjusted gross income limits are used to qualify families for EITC.

Child and Dependent Care Credit: Taxpayers who paid someone to care for their child, spouse, or dependent so they can work, be a full-time student, or look for work may be able to reduce their tax by claiming the Child and Dependent Care Credit. The total expenses that you may use to calculate the credit may not be more than $3,000 (for one qualifying individual) or $6,000 (for two or more qualifying individuals). Use the IRS Interactive Tax Assistant tool: Am I Eligible to Claim the Child and Dependent Care Credit? For more information, please see: Publication 503, Child and Dependent Care Expenses or Topic no. 602, Child and dependent care credit | Internal Revenue Service (irs.gov).

Wayne-Westland Community Schools has partnered with Here Comes the Bus to offer families an app that will help avoid students and parents from waiting too long for the bus. Here Comes the Bus allows parents to see where their child’s bus is along the route and when it will be at their bus stop.

Wondering where the bus is? Now you’ll know.

• See real-time map locations for your student’s buses
• Get push notifications when the bus gets close by
• Get everyone to the stop at the right time, every time

Sign up for Here Comes the Bus™

1. Visit herecomesthebus.com
2. Click the “Sign Up” button
3. Enter school code 87839 and click “Next” followed by “Confirm”
4. Complete the “User Profile” box
5. Under “My Students,” click “Add.” Enter your child’s last name and student ID number
6. Once you confirm your information, you’re ready to begin using Here Comes the Bus!

Download the App

Download via: iPhone Android

Here Comes the Bus video: https://youtu.be/5JOukHCmbhk

Click HERE to access our iCHAT form. This must be filled out and approved prior to volunteering!

Click HERE to read out volunteer and visitor guidelines

Wayne-Westland Community Schools has a Family Resource Center (FRC), which provides services to any student/family enrolled in our District, free of cost. Some of the services they provide are: basic need assistance, access to over 700 local resources, Laundry Assistance Program and material items for those unable to afford them (emergency toiletries, socks/underwear, hats/gloves/scarves, etc.) They are also able to supply school supplies and backpacks year round for any WWCS student. Please contact our Family Resource Center at: 734-419-2709 or FRC@wwcsd.net. Our FRC also has a Digital Request for Services Form, which can be used to request assistance by filling out a simple form. Please contact the Family Resource Center directly with any additional questions regarding their services.

Just a reminder to ALL Hicks families that our washer and dryer are open and available for you to use 9:10 am-4:00 pm! We will supply the laundry soap for you to use. All you need to do is call to make sure it isn't being used at the time you plan on coming up to Hicks!

There's an app for that! Wayne-Westland Community Schools has a new mobile app that enables subscribers to quickly access information from our district website. You can view lunch menus, access parent and student connect, save events to your phone from our school calendars and much more. There are also quick links to our district Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube channels.

On your device, connect to the Android Play store or the iOS App Store and search for Wayne-Westland Schools, then upload the app.

Hicks Elementary School 🐝

100 Helen Street

Inkster, MI 48141

Main Office: 734-419-2660

Fax: 734-419-2658

Attendance Line: 734-419-2666

Student Hours

Full Day: 9:10 am - 4:00 pm

AM Half Day: 9:10 am - 12:20 pm