Dear Heritage Families,
Hello, March! As we say goodbye to winter and welcome the first signs of spring, our school is bursting with excitement. This month brings new learning adventures, special events, and maybe even a little extra luck along the way. So grab your rain boots, sharpen those pencils, and get ready for a fantastic month ahead!
Read below for all the fun to come!
Maura Neville, Stefanie Lowery & Gary Vojtush
Ohio State Testing-OST
Heritage is preparing for OST administration. These tests are given to our students annually to measure the progress they make each year in ELA, Math and Science (5th grade). To help your child be successful, we ask that on these dates you make sure your child is at school on time, has a good night's rest, nutritious breakfast and has their device charged. Please see the testing dates below.
3rd Grade
* ELA-April 8th & 9th
* Math-May 1st
4th Grade
* ELA-April 3rd & 4th
* Math-April 30th
5th Grade
* ELA-April 1st & 2nd
* Math-April 29th
* Science-May 6th
Notes From the Office
School Fees are DUE
Your School Fees are due upon receipt. Please take care of any balances as soon as possible. Please note that all school fees need to be paid before any child can participate in a field trip.
Spring Break
Our schools will be closed from Friday, April 18th through Monday, April 27th for Spring Break. We will resume classes on Monday, April 28th. If you are adding additional vacation days to your spring break, please make sure you fill out a vacation request form and turn it into the Heritage office as soon as possible. The form can be found on our Avon Local Schools website.
Preparation for Next School Year
Principals K-5 do not accept requests for specific teachers. However, we take such great pride in placing students in collaboration with the other building principals, the current classroom teacher, and other school staff. It is a very time consuming process and we truly look at each individual child when considering placement for the next grade level. While we do not always get this perfect, we do try our best to place students in the most optimal learning environment with the information we have. We welcome communication about certain factors we should be aware of in regards to your child, but discourage individual requests. We appreciate your trust in our team with this very important process that we value so much.
Early Dismissal
To expedite early dismissals, please remember to call the office with last minute appointments that are made before coming to pick them up. This will ensure your child/children are ready for pick-up.
Sign-Out
To ensure the safety and security of our students at Heritage Elementary we ask that if you are picking your child up early from school, you bring your identification card to the office when signing your child out. Our office staff will ask you to identify yourself and hold your ID card up to the window for verification. This will help us ensure you are a safe adult for one of our children. While we understand this procedure can be frustrating, especially if you have to go back to your car for your identification, we are doing this to keep everyone safe and secure. Thank you in advance for cooperating with this very important procedure.
Notes From the Nurse
Student Illness During the School Day
In the event your child is sick, the office and/or nurse will contact you directly. Teachers are busy instructing our students and are unable to answer any type of communication about sickness during the day. We also ask that students do not email or text their parents during our school day to report illness. All communication must go through the office in order for us to know who we are expecting and when.
Student Council
Heritage Student Council sincerely appreciates your support throughout February! We're proud to partner with Moose's Mission to donate quality items using the funds collected. Next week, Student Council representatives will join Moose in shopping to select these items.
This month, we're fundraising for the American Heart Association through Hoops for Heart! Students can donate $1 (or more!) to attend the Knockout Championship on March 27th. Thank you for your support!
If you and your families are ever looking for something fun and exciting to do on the weekends, the Community Art Center in Cleveland is free and open to the public Fridays-Sundays (https://www.clevelandart.org/cac). They have art displays and hands-on activities. On Sunday, March 2, from 1:00-4:00 PM they are having a Family FUNday with the specialized craft of papermaking! No Reservation is required and it is FREE and for all ages (https://www.clevelandart.org/events/family-funday-papermaking-dia-de-alegria-familiar). On Friday, March 14, from 5:00-7:00 PM they are having a "Women Who Print: Screenprinting Workshop." In this workshop your child would make their very own mixed-media silkscreen collage! This is also FREE but registration is recommended (https://www.clevelandart.org/events/women-who-print-screenprinting-workshop-mujeres-que-imprimen-serigrafia).
If you have a card to the Lorain Public Library, on Monday, March 24, from 6:00-7:30 PM, Sheffield Lake's Domonkas Branch Library is having a "Pom-Pom Mania Animal Craft Workshop." In this workshop your child would learn how to make pom-poms and turn them into animal keychains. This is also free but registration is required (https://www.lorainpubliclibrary.org/programs?action=show&id=43524).
Mrs. Bryant
February was full of musical fun! We played games, explored the parachute, and learned new rhythms and solfege. It was a blast! Excited to continue the joy in March. We will also begin preparing for the spring concerts. See dates below...
4th Grade: Tuesday, May 13th
3rd Grade: Tuesday, May 27th
Mr. Moellman
February was a great month in the North Music Room! The fifth graders had a great time with Terence Simian and the Zydeco Experience last Friday. Thank you, Sharon Neuschaefer, for organizing this trip for all of us! We learned about Creole music traditions from Louisiana. Quite a few students got to join the band playing the washboard, and I had some guest solos on the trombone! March is Music in Our Schools Month. It is really exciting to see how many are continuing in music at the middle school level. If you haven't yet returned a form, please do so! It is the only way the music department knows that you have received the information. We don't want to miss anyone!
Mrs. Ryan
I can’t believe how quickly February blew on by! Between cold days and holidays, it's nice to finally get back into the routine with some 5 day weeks. We have lots ahead in the South art room!
In 3rd grade, we are working on self portraits! We made self portraits earlier in the year with no assistance and now we have gone through step-by-step how to draw our faces accurately and proportionately. We learned how to draw eyes, noses, mouths, ears, hair, necks, and shoulders and where each should go on the page in relation to one another. Each student had a mirror and added personal details to make their self portrait like themselves. We are finishing adding color, paying attention to our skin tones and hair color and picking similar colored pencils. I am blown away by just how beautifully these are turning out! Many students have commented that they have never drawn something so realistic before and they should feel so proud!
In 4th grade, we are finishing up our “4 Styles” artworks where we chose one image and divided it into 4 sections. In each section we showed a different style or technique (neon, realism, drip, and cartoon). Students have really enjoyed using the “Posca” paint markers and these have been turning out so cool! At the end of production, each class is participating in a “peer critique”. We are talking about ways to give feedback that is helpful, specific, and kind. Each student fills out three peer critique papers while exploring other students’ artwork. On these papers, they need to write 3 “glows” (compliments), 1 “grow”(something they could work on), and one next step(what they could add to go above and beyond!). I have been very pleased with their abilities to give one another feedback in a way that is helpful and not hurtful!
I am looking forward to all of the projects in store as we head into SPRING!
Mrs. Lee
Mrs. Lee's 4th grade art classes (ANDERSON, BARRETT, BENDZUCK, JAMES, MASLINSKI, MAUSER, ROGGENBURK, SUTER) finished their endangered animal research/drawings and have now begun the printmaking process! Using a ballpoint pen, they transferred their endangered animal concept drawing to styrofoam, and have now begun using brayers and printing ink to make their prints!
Mrs. Lee's 5th grade art classes took their affirmation artworks and transferred them onto printmaking blocks. They are now in the process of using "V" and "U" shaped gouges to create relief prints. Using the gouges, they have been carving out their affirmation artwork design. The raised area of their printmaking block will then get inked and voila they will have a print!
Mr. Jayne
In Physical Education, we are playing and learning soccer skills, focusing on dribbling, passing, teamwork, and game play. Physical activity not only strengthens the body but also plays a crucial role in mental health by reducing stress, improving mood, and enhancing focus. By making physical activity fun, challenging, and engaging, we hope to empower students to stay active both in and out of school. Here are a couple of links to stay active outside of class. Avon Rec https://www.cityofavon.com/862/Parks-Recreation. Avon French Creek YMCA https://www.clevelandymca.org/locations/french-creek-family-ymca.
Mr. Mauser
For the month of March 4th and 5th Grade P.E. will be finishing up our Basketball unit followed by tumbling skills and cooperative routine.
Our PBIS (Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports) Program is up and running! Our students are earning Eagle Bucks when they are showing appropriate behavior in all areas of the school (classroom, lunch, recess, hallways, specials, on the bus...everywhere!). This year we hope to continue to bridge home and school with our Nightly PBIS Conversations calendar (shown below) that comes home at the beginning of each month. We encourage you to use these prompts to ask your child about their day, get them to reflect on positive choices, and reinforce our SOAR expectations. Sign off and send it back for a chance to win a prize. Thank you for your support!
Eagle Buck Help
Are you interested in helping us cut Eagle Bucks for this school year? If so, please sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050544AFAF2AA6FF2-50924254-eagle#/
Eagle Bucks will be sent home with your child and they can return them to either office. Thanks so much for your help!
Eagle Pride Days
We celebrate our school pride on Eagle Pride Day once a month. On these days, students wear purple and/or gold to show school pride, and are encouraged to bring in $1 to donate to the Heritage Boosters based on a community-service deed they completed to help out around the home/neighborhood to show school pride. We also recognize a student from each homeroom who shows the Eagle Pride Day assets we encourage at Heritage Elementary. Eagle Pride Day will be on Wednesday, March 19th and the asset trait we will be celebrating is Positive Identity.
Eagle Pride Day assets and dates for each month are listed below:
- September 18th-Decision Making
- October 16th-Respect
- November 20th-Responsibility
- December 18th-Caring
- January 15th-Fairness
- February 19th-Trustworthiness
- March 19th-Positive Identity
- April 16th-Citizenship
- May 21st-Empowerment
Boosters will use the Eagle Pride Day dollars for student programming throughout the year. For those who don't have cash on hand - Eagle Pride Day donations can be made here: https://2022-pride-day.cheddarup.com
For Your Calendar
March 5th-4th Grade Field Trip
March 6th-4th Grade In-View Make-Ups
March 7th-3rd, 4th & 5th Grade Spelling Bees
March 11th-Spring Pictures
March 18th-Board of Education Meeting
March 19th-Eagle Pride Day
March 19th-Heritage Literacy Night
March 21st-No School
March 27th-Student Council Knockout Assemblies
March 27th-Boosters Bingo Event
March 28th-End of 3rd Quarter
