Thank you for entrusting us with the education and well-being of your child. May this year be filled with joy, success, and personal growth for each and every one of us.

As we begin the 2nd semester, continue to make your student's attendance a priority. Attendance has a direct effect on academic success.

2nd Quarter report cards will be available on Monday, January 13th. Mark your calendar to remember the important dates provided below. There are also many at-home resources provided for you to work with your child at home.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please call the school office (251)221-1420 or email me at bowen@mcpss.com

Sincerely,

Mrs. Owen

Principal

We are thrilled to announce Mrs. Emilie Quint as our 2024-2025 Teacher of the Year!

Mrs. Quint has shown incredible dedication, creativity, and passion for nurturing our students' love for learning. She consistently goes above and beyond, creating an engaging and supportive learning environment for all students.

January is School Board Appreciation Month. Thank you, Johnny Hatcher, for your dedication and service to #OurHut! We appreciate you and all that you do!

Each month, you are provided a newsletter that helps connect what we are doing at Hutchens with Capturing Kids' Hearts and ways for you to incorporate our monthly character trait into your home. The January "Respect" Newsletter is available below in English and Spanish.

What is Respect?

Respect is the willingness and ability to act professionally and thoughtfully with ourselves and others. Leaders can deal respectfully with opposition and provide space for both dignity and differences to coexist.

Why focus on Respect?

• Respect contributes to a positive culture. People feel safe, supported, and engaged in the context of thoughtful social, emotional, civic, and intellectual interactions.
• Respect decreases conflict. Respect helps us, and others, to be able to express ourselves without fear of being judged, humiliated, or discriminated against.
• Respect encourages empathy. Respect helps us to understand each other and put ourselves in someone else shoes.

Respect in Action:

• Teach students words have power. How we talk to others, and ourselves, can motivate or discourage, connect or destroy, hurt or heal. We should choose our words with care.
• Create opportunities for group decision-making. Open dialogue engages students in a process where compromise is crucial to making decisions.
• Vary protocols for classroom sharing. Frequently use open-ended questions, partner sharing, and small group activities to connect and promote understanding between students.

December's theme was "Do Your Part." Throughout the month of December, we focused on RESPONSIBILITY!

At the end of the month, classroom teachers selected one student who best represented the character trait Responsibility. Staff members also nominated two employees who exemplify responsibility. A character breakfast was held to recognize and celebrate these students. A very special THANK YOU to Jeff Jones with Keller Williams for sponsoring our character breakfast and for joining us and delivering an inspiring message about responsibility to our students. We greatly appreciate your support and for encouraging our students to embrace responsibility in their daily lives.

January 4 - Michelle Revillosa (Intervention Teacher)

January 12 - Sheri McClaughlin (1st Grade Teacher)

January 17 - Emily Milam (Pre-K Teacher)

January 19 - Alison Cash (Cafeteria)

January 20 - Helena Tawzer (1st Grade Teacher)

January 21 - Reagan St. Germain (2nd Grade Teacher)

We are excited to welcome Coach David Law as our interim PE teacher while Mrs. Wehner is out on maternity leave, and Mrs. Katherine Caddick as our itinerant art teacher.

Looking for some fun and engaging ways to keep your student on track with their reading over the winter break? This newsletter linked below is packed with great ideas and activities to keep your students learning!

"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!

As safety is our top priority, we are asking that students refrain from hanging out of the car windows while in car line. We are so thrilled to see them in the mornings and love their enthusiasm for coming to school. We just want them to do so safely. Thank you so much for complying with all road rules in car line.

Our students are doing a great job learning their car tag # and listening for their # to be called.

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..

All faculty and staff members have designated areas inside and outside of our campus to assist students with their morning arrival routine.

Please be familiar with our daily schedule outlined below:

6:30am Before School Care Begins

7:40am Before School Care Ends - Teachers on Duty (First Bell Rings)

7:40am Students enter building and report to cafeteria for breakfast

7:55am (Second Bell Rings) Students report to classroom and begin morning routines

8:05am Breakfast ends (students who enter the building after 8:05 will report directly to class)

8:15am Tardy Bell rings

3:10pm Staggered dismissal begins (Teachers on Duty)

3:25pm Teachers off duty

After School Care begins

6:00pm After School Care ends

All drivers are asked to follow the directions of teachers on duty and be respectful to those assisting and directing traffic. When pulling into the carlines, please remember to observe all safety regulations. Parents are asked to remain in their cars during drop-off/pick-up. Staff will assist your child in getting in and out of their car. No person is allowed to walk between vehicles. Please utilize the crosswalk at all times.

Arrival and Breakfast:

Students are not to unload from their vehicles until 7:40 a.m when teachers are on duty and have given the unload signal. Supervision is not available until 7:40 a.m., and doors will be locked.

Car riders, bus riders, and van riders will enter through the main lobby and report directly to the cafeteria for breakfast. At 7:55 a.m, all students are dismissed from the cafeteria/gym to their classroom.

Breakfast is served from 7:40am-8:05am. We encourage all students to be at school by 8:05am as this allows students to eat breakfast and complete all morning classroom routines before the tardy bell rings at 8:15am.

Late arrival/Tardies: Research has proven a direct correlation between school attendance and student achievement. Please make every effort to have your child at school by 8:15am. Students arriving at school after 8:15am are considered tardy. If a student is tardy, a parent or guardian must walk the student into the building and sign them in at the front office. Please strive to have your student at school, on time, every day for maximum learning. Classroom instruction and routines are disrupted when students are tardy,

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. It is highly encouraged to make all medical and dental appointments after school hours for students to receive maximum daily instructional time. Students will be allowed no more than 3 early dismissals or tardies to be considered for Perfect Attendance. Excessive absences, tardiness, and early dismissals are also reported to MCPSS Division of Student Services and the District Attorney’s Office.

Change in Transportation: ALL changes in a dismissal routine must be made in writing and sent to your child’s teacher the morning of or day before the necessary change. Changes in dismissal are not taken over the phone, text, or email. We cannot guarantee that a text/email will be checked prior to dismissal. We understand emergency situations arise, but we will not allow constant day to day changes through the office. Please help us with this policy and plan accordingly.

Student Safety is our top priority. A visitor is anyone who is not employed at Hutchens Elementary School. All visitors should ring the bell at the front entrance, report to the main office, show identification, and state the purpose of the visit. All visitors must be listed on the student’s contact information, secure a visitor’s pass, and comply with school policies and procedures while on campus. Volunteers coming to assist at the school are also required to sign in and wear an identification tag. Visitors/volunteers who fail to maintain behavior that enriches the educational environment are subject to restriction from all school facilities, activities, and events. All school facilities are smoke/vape free. Use of profanity is also prohibited (verbal, written, or gestures).

The following procedures are expected to be followed to ensure a safe and positive lunch experience for all students in the school.

• 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.

*Please do not attend lunch with your student if you know it will cause your student undue stress when you leave campus.

Personal property (i.e., money, clothing, jewelry, etc.) is the responsibility of each student. These articles should always be kept in the student’s possession. Students should not bring large sums of money or valuable personal property to school. Please label all outerwear, lunchboxes, and water bottles with first and last name.

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.

Please remind your child about good behaviors on the bus.

1. Always listen to and obey the bus driver.
2. Stay seated the entire time.
3. Never extend your hands, arms, head, or any object out of the window.
4. Keep the aisles clear.
5. Do not jump seat to seat.
6. Always keep hands and feet to yourself.
7. Speak in quiet voice. No yelling!
8. Bottom to bottom, Back-to-Back, Bookbag on lap.

Electronic devices are not allowed during the school day. Students should avoid disrupting classroom activities by not displaying, using, or activating wireless communication devices during the school day. Cell phone usage by students during the school day causes a major disruption to the learning environment. Cell phones have become a distraction to student learning and are the cause of many disciplinary infractions, ranging from bullying to cheating. Should a student bring a cell phone to school, the phone will be securely locked away in a collection box and returned to the student at the end of the school day.

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