The Eagle's Call 🦅

Families,

We are coming up on the final week of 2nd quarter, 1st semester, and of 2023! There will be one more Eagle's Call in 2023 which will be sent on our last day of school before the holiday break, Thursday December 21st.

I am proud to share some student accomplishments that are sure to put a smile on your face. This past week, a large number of Ms. Hoover and Ms. Bloodworth's 4th grade Track 4 students, led by Ella Grace McCaskill, Jordyn Ward, Raelyn Straughn, and Reece Copeland, have taken it upon themselves to clean up the areas near our playgrounds. Students noticed trash accumulating and decided to take action. Pictured below are students who have been contributing to the cleanup efforts this week during their recess time. Ms. Hoover, Ms. Bloodworth, and I are so proud of and thrilled to recognize these Eagles who are helping to keep their school beautiful!

REMINDER: We have continued to experience a large number of student absences due to illness. Please remember to send a message/note (electronic or paper) to your child's teacher upon their return to school to ensure that their absences are excused. A doctor's note is not required; a note/message from the parent/guardian stating that the child was sick is adequate.

Today and always, thank you for your continued support of your children and our school. Together, we will help our children SOAR to reach their greatest potential!

Email: thuber@wcpss.net
Website: https://www.wcpss.net/harriscreekes
Location: Harris Creek Elementary School, Forestville Road, Raleigh, NC, USA
Phone: 919.217.5100
Facebook: facebook.com/HarrisCreekPta

Are you thinking of sending in a gift for your child's teacher this holiday season? Gifts to teachers and staff members are never expected, much appreciated, and a fantastic way to express gratitude for their hard work whether at the holidays or anytime. Please use the button link below to view information about what each staff member likes!

After a a school-wide vote, our eagle mascot now has a name. Look for Stryker The Eagle at future school events!

Welcome these new staff members:

• India Blango: Cafeteria Manager
• Jasmine Avellaneda: 1st Grade Track 4 Teacher
• Ryan Shelton: 5th Grade Track 1 Teacher (starts 1/2/24)

Although opportunities to attend meetings and to volunteer are available and will be offered, it is not a requirement for PTA membership. Please consider joining the PTA and supporting our school in whatever capacity you are able.

• PTA Spirit Night @Panera Bread 12/16 4-8pm
• [UPDATED AMAZON WISH LIST] Help Stock The Teacher's Lounge! 😋
• December PTA Newsletter
• Join the PTA
• Upcoming PTA Meeting Dates:
• Teacher Breakfasts/Lunches: 1/24/24, 4/18/24, 5/13/24, 6/27/24
• PTA Angel Fund: Please consider a donation to fund field trips for other Eagles! Click the link to donate: all donations go towards funding individual students for future field trips
• Check out the School Spirit Wear Online Store!
• Follow the Harris Creek Elementary PTA Facebook page

On Wednesday 12/6 Music Teacher Ms. Brown and the Voices of the Creek Choir hosted their annual holiday concert. The 4th and 5th grade students in the choir serenaded a packed house with beautiful holiday songs and a fun story of students stuck at school! Congratulations to all the members of the choir and thank you to all the family members for your concert attendance and commitment to bringing your children to school for practice each week!

The fall is a busy time for field trips at Harris Creek! It is likely that your child has either already had a trip or has one coming soon. Here are some important steps for making the field trip process easy for your child(ren), yourself and for Harris Creek staff:

• Complete and return the field permission form and student health form as soon as possible - these must be reviewed by our school nurse prior to the trip
• Pay online using Online School Payments - it's quick, easy, and convenient! Just find the location of the trip and your child's teacher name on the list
• Planning to chaperone? Complete a volunteer application today. The background check process can take several weeks before approval is granted

Each year our students have several field trip opportunities. Some field trips are costly and so we always are appreciative of families willing to give extra to sponsor other children being able to attend field trips. If you are interested in sponsoring another child or other children, please do so online or contact your child's teacher.

Please be reminded that the new security system kiosks at all WCPSS schools REQUIRE all family members who are signing in a student or checking out a student to scan their Drivers License or ID card. Please be sure you have yours with you when entering our school. Thank you!

If your family needs more than 2 carpool tags or you have lost one, please use the link below to submit payment for additional tags. Tags may be picked up in the front office after payment has been processed.

If you are a first time carpool user, you can stop by the front office to get 2 carpool tags for free.

DID YOU KNOW? Harris Creek families are directly involved in ensuring accurate reporting for Title 1 school identification. Each year on March 1st, the number of students eligible for free or reduced lunch cost is reported to the federal government. All elementary schools above 45% of students eligible receive additional funding allocation for the following school year. Even if you don't think you are eligible or your child will not be eating school lunch, please be sure to complete an application for meal benefits as soon as possible. Thank you!

• Apply NOW for Free and Reduced Price Meals 🍕🍴🍌

• Click this link for full details: Free/Reduced Meals All families must complete an application for the 2023-2024 school year starting July 1 in order to receive benefits. Please allow 10 business days for processing. For every student that turns in the free and reduced meals application and qualifies, the school also receives federal funds that benefit the students and teachers at the school. We need you to complete a 2023-2024 meal benefits application so our school can be eligible for extra funding next year. If you have not completed a free or reduced-price meal application and think your child may be eligible, pick up an application at your child’s school or apply online.

• Cafeteria Menus: Menus are available on the interactive website, MealViewer.

• School Cafeteria Angel Fund: Our school cafeteria maintains a special account for when students forget to bring money for school meals on a day here and there. If you would like to contribute to this fund, please send cash or check in with your child or drop it off at the school with Cafeteria Manager Rachel Shepard. Thank you for your generosity!

• MySchoolBucks App: With a MySchool Bucks account paying for school meals is easy. Go to www.MySchoolBucks.com or call (855) 832-5226 to enroll. You'll need your child's Student ID number, available in your registration materials or at your school. Once your account is established you may:
  

• Securely deposit funds to your child's account
• Check balances
• Set spending limits

• Questions about applying for free and reduced meals:

  (919) 856-2920 (English)

  (919) 588-3535 (English and Spanish)

  cnsmealbenefits@wcpss.net

New for this school year: You can complete the application from home and on any device!

Click the button below to access the application form. Thank you in advance for registering to be a volunteer!

District policy regarding volunteers can be accessed here.

HCES Carpool Expectations

Please read the linked document in it's entirety.

ID Checks Take Place in The Front Office

Family members who do not have a carpool tag will be required to park (disabled spots) and come into the front office to have their ID checked to verify they are a student contact. This is a return to pre-pandemic procedures and to address staffing shortage. In addition, cars without carpool tags will remain in the carpool line rather than advance past the cones. If you need a new carpool tag, please come to the front office anytime during school hours. Thank you!

Students May Not Be Dropped Off Until 8:45am

Please be reminded of the expectation that students may not be dropped off until 8:45am. Students may not line up at the front door.

Carpool Efficiency Reminders

Please remember to pull forward as far as possible in both AM and PM carpool, have your student(s) open their own door, and put on your hazard lights if assistance is needed (AM). If needing to help your child get in the seat, please pull forward and into a parking space so that the line can keep moving. Thank you!

Please Display Carpool Number Tags Every Afternoon

In order to ensure an efficient carpool process, please remember to hang carpool number tags to display clearly from your vehicle's rearview mirror. Please reference the image below for proper placement. This is a critical step to ensure students leave their classrooms and come outside to the correct location on the sidewalk to be picked up. Thank you!

Bus Tracking App

Please use the Here Comes the Bus app (App Store or Google Play Store) to monitor the location of your student’s bus and when it is approaching his/her stop. To sign up: https://herecomesthebus.com/parents/get-started/ . The WCPSS school code for school bus tracking is 67500. You will need to use your child's student ID number as well.

You can also follow @HCESBuses on Twitter to confirm when your child's bus leaves campus each afternoon.

REPLACEMENT CHARGER POLICY

Each student is issued a charger with their Chromebook. If that charger breaks, or goes missing, we will replace it at no cost to you ONE time. After that, Media and Technology Committee along with HCES Administration, has determined it is necessary to pass along replacement costs to the students.

At this time, if your student loses or breaks their second charger, they will need to see the tech office. They will be advised to have you pay a $20 replacement fee on our payment portal (Online School Payment) to receive a new charger. Use the button below to order

For safety reasons, it is not advised to order your own replacement as standards must be met for wattage, manufacturing guidelines etc. Once paid for, we will handle securing a charger for your student.

Please note: we have a running record of all replacements that have been made to date that will be used to determine eligibility for a replacement charger.

WCPSS Technology Webpage: Acces information regarding:

• Smartphone/Device Safety
• Consent For Technology And Digital Resource Use
• Technology Related Policies
• Student Device Program
• Online Safety at School
• Online Safety at Home
• Digital Wellness

Reminder: Students should restart their WCPSS devices once per week.

Restarting also can resolve many other common issues impacting student devices. Always restart a WCPSS device before contacting the Help Desk. Thank you!

Parents Helping Parents (PHP) prevention philosophy is grounded in a self-help model based on the belief that parents are capable of developing their own solutions when given the space, encouragement, and community resources that they need. Thus, it is the parents themselves who decide the direction a conversation will take during a Parent Support Group meeting or Parent Stress Line.

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Through a combination of trust, mutual support, honesty, and collective wisdom, involvement with PHP can become the foundation for a parent's own personal growth and change.

Families: please use the below linked Google Site to access math curriculum information and resources for all grade levels K-5th. Information and resources are grouped by unit and lesson. To find out which unit and lesson your child is currently learning and/or which unit/lesson they need more practice with, please contact your child's teacher.

General health guidance can be viewed here: https://www.wcpss.net/Page/168

We recognize that you may be receiving a large volume of communication and we want to make sure you always see the information you need the most!

Set your SchoolMessenger message preferences by creating a SchoolMessenger Parent account. With this account you can select what information you receive and how you would like to receive it. You can create your account by downloading the SchoolMessenger app on your mobile device or go to https://go.schoolmessenger.com/.

Notes:

• Use the email address entered for your student in PowerSchool to sign up.
• Most messages from Mr. Huber and WCPSS are sent as email and text using the General School Info broadcast.
• To receive text messages, text YES to 67587.
• For more information and instructions on how to create an account, visit: https://www.wcpss.net/schoolmessenger.

• Dec 16: PTA Spirit Night @Panera Bread 4-8pm
• Dec 18-21: Holiday Spirit Week
• Dec 21: Last Day of Quarter 2: Tracks 2,3,4
• Dec 21: Track 4 Last Day Before Track Out
• Dec 22-Jan 2 - Winter Break No School For Students - school building closed
• Jan 2 - Teacher Workday - no school for students
• Jan 3: Track 1 returns
• Jan 15: Martin Luther King Jr. Day - No School for All Students

As Harris Creek Eagles, we SOAR!

Website: https://www.wcpss.net/harriscreekes
Location: Harris Creek Elementary School, Forestville Road, Raleigh, NC, USA
Phone: 919-217-5100
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HarrisCreekPta
Twitter: @harriscreeekelem