Harmony School of Excellence Austin
Tiger Talk Issue XXIII. March 11, 2020
A NOTE FOR FAMILIES ABOUT CORONAVIRUS & SPRING BREAK TRAVEL
Spring Break is almost here for our students and staff members across the state. We sincerely hope everyone in our Harmony community has a fun and relaxing break before together we begin the final stretch toward the end of the school year.
We understand that many of you will be traveling this spring break. With concerns about the Coronavirus in the minds of many, we want to share a few tips from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) about staying healthy when traveling, as well as provide more info about a few Harmony policies related to returning to school after visiting certain risk-prone destinations.
Tips for Healthy Travel
In general, the same advice for fighting germs and bacteria applies when traveling as it does when staying home:
- Wash hands frequently and/or use hand sanitizer;
- Do not touch eyes, nose or mouth;
- Cover mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing, use a paper tissue, throw it away and then wash hands;
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick;
- When greeting others, consider an alternative to hugs or handshakes, such as an elbow bump.
Additionally, here are a few additional tips related specifically to those traveling:
- Be aware of your surroundings (including people who are sick) and try to distance yourself as appropriate;
- Avoid areas that you feel might make your more likely to be exposed;
- Know how to get reliable local information about any possible changes to the situation;
- Avoid public transportation, if possible. Confined spaces such as buses, trains, subways, and airplanes may put you at a higher risk of infection;
- When eating animal-based products, make sure they are thoroughly cooked before eating.
Returning to School After Visiting Risk-Prone Areas
Due to CDC travel guidelines, students and families that have traveled to locations that are marked as a Coronavirus risk by the CDC must have a letter of clearance from their medical provider before returning to campus. Failure to provide a clearance letter will result in the student being dismissed home. Students will have 48 hours to provide proof of the doctor’s clearance. Any additional absence will require further documentation from the parents or doctor. For a list of countries with COVID-19 travel advisories, visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/index.html.
Currently, these countries include:
- China
- Hong Kong
- Iran
- Italy
- Japan
- South Korea
Additionally, please be aware that families traveling to China’s Hubei province or mainland China may face a mandatory quarantine and be monitored by public health officials. Any health department guidelines should be followed by any affected families and absences will be waived upon return to school with the provision of proof of quarantine.
At Harmony Public Schools, we take the health and safety of our students and staff members seriously. Harmony is closely tracking all new developments regarding the Coronavirus and will continue to share timely, relevant updates, as needed.
If you have any questions or concerns, please refer to your campus health staff.
We appreciate your help in supporting healthy and happy learning environments for our Harmony community.
EARN PRIZES IN OUR SPRING READING CHALLENGE
This spring, Harmony is challenging our students to participate in a friendly reading competition across classrooms and other campuses.
Beginning March 3, students are challenged to read books and advance through pre-determined advancement levels in order to earn rewards at each stage.
With Spring Break coming up, we urge parents to help encourage their children to take advantage of this time to read books they are excited about.
You can find challenges for each grade level by clicking the link to our Spring Reading Challenge PDF below.
STEM Club
Interested in joining UT college students in the classroom? If you are in middle school, then you can join the STEM Club! We meet every Thursday from 3:30-5:00 PM in Room 108. Students from UT come and teach hands-on science, technology, engineering, and math lessons each week. In May, we will take everything we learned and compete in a Mini Science Olympiad at the UT campus, along with with tour the school, and sit in on a college class! What are you waiting for? Join STEM Club this THURSDAY!
TELPAS
March 2, 2020
Dear parents of ELL students (including parent denials)
English Language Learners (ELLs) in grade K-12, including parent denials are required to be assessed through the Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS). The Texas Education Agency developed TELPAS to meet state and federal testing requirements for assessing the English language proficiency of ELLs in four language domains: listening, speaking, reading and writing. TELPAS assesses the Texas English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS), which are part of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).
The assessment components for grades K–1 and 2–12 differ in the following ways:
• Grades K–1: Holistically rated listening, speaking, reading, and writing assessments based on ongoing classroom observations and student interactions.
• Grades 2–12: Online reading and listening and speaking tests and holistically rated student writing collections
For these assessments, teachers are trained to use proficiency level descriptors to determine the English language proficiency levels of students.
State testing calendar for TELPAS is February 24, 2020 through April 3, 2020. Our school is going to assess students between March 9-12, 2020 and March 23-27, 2020. If a student is absent on the day of testing, a make-up test will be administered during the March 9-12 and March 23-27, 2020.
Additional information about TELPAS can be found at the following website: www.tea.texas.gov/student.assessment/ell/telpas/
Sincerely,
Ashley Gorman
Principal
Harmony School of Excellence-Austin
2 de marzo de 2020
Estimados Padres o Tutores de estudiantes ELL (incluyendo padres que han negado el programa ESL),
Los estudiantes que están aprendiendo inglés como segundo idioma (ELL) en los grados K-12, incluyendo a los estudiantes que sus padres han negado el programa deben ser evaluados a través del sistema de evaluación de competencia del idioma ingles de Texas (TELPAS). La Agencia de Educación de Texas desarrolló TELPAS para cumplir con los requisitos de evaluaciones estatales y federales para evaluar el dominio del idioma Inglés de los estudiantes, en cuatro dominios del lenguaje: escuchar, hablar, leer y escribir. TELPAS evalúa los estándares de competencia del idioma ingles de Texas (ELPS), que forman parte de los conocimientos y habilidades esenciales de Texas (TEKS).
Los componentes de la evaluación para los grados K-1 y 2–12 difieren de las siguientes maneras:
• Grados K-1: Evaluación holística de escuchar, hablar, leer y escribir. Estas evaluaciones son basadas en observaciones continuas en el salón de clase y las interacciones del estudiante.
• Grados 2-12: Evaluación en línea de lectura, comprensión auditiva, expresión oral y colecciones de escritura son holísticamente calificadas.
Para estas evaluaciones los maestros están entrenados para usar los descriptores de nivel de competencia para determinar los niveles de competencia en el idioma Inglés de los estudiantes.
El calendario de exámenes estatales para TELPAS es del 24 de febrero del 2020 hasta el 03 de abril del 2020. Nuestra escuela evaluara a los estudiantes entre 9-12 de marzo de 2020 y 23-27 de marzo de 2020 Si un estudiante está ausente en el día de la prueba, se administrará una prueba de recuperación 9 -12 de marzo de 2020 y 23 -27 de marzo de 2020
Puede encontrar información adicional sobre TELPAS en el siguiente sitio web: www.tea.texas.gov/student.assessment/ell/telpas/
Atentamente,
Ashley Gorman
Director de Escuela
Harmony School of Excellence-Austin
ATTENDANCE RECOVERY
The student who has under 90% attendance must make up for attendance recovery by law based on the time which was missed. The student must attend Saturday or after school programs.
The risks of not making up this time, the students who failed to attend the recovery sessions will not receive the course credits and may not be graduated on time.
Saturday School Attendance Recovery
Dates: February 29, March 7, March 28, April 4, April 18, April 25
Time: 08:30 am-12:00 pm
Location: 121 Computer Lab
We appreciate the opportunity to work with you and your child on this important matter.
If you have received mail, e-mail, phone call or a message regarding the attendance recovery, please contact college counselors or admins for any questions or concerns.
Best Regards,
El estudiante que tiene menos del 90% de asistencia debe compensar la recuperación de asistencia por ley en función del tiempo perdido. El estudiante debe asistir a los programas de los sábados o después de la escuela. Los estudiantes que no asistieron a las sesiones de recuperación no recibirán los créditos del curso.
Sábados de recuperación de asistencia escolar
Fechas: 29 de febrero, 7 de marzo, 28 de marzo, 4 de abril, 18 de abril, 25 de abril
Hora: 08:30 am-12: 00 pm
Ubicación: 121 Computer Lab
Avíseme si tiene alguna pregunta o inquietud. Apreciamos la oportunidad de trabajar con usted y su hijo en este importante asunto.
Si ha recibido correo, correo electrónico, llamada telefónica o mensaje, comuníquese con los consejeros universitarios para cualquier pregunta o inquietud.
Atentamente,
HSE College Counseling Team
SATURDAY SCHOOL (This Weekend!)
HSE offers free tutorials on Saturdays from 8:30 am- 12:00 pm. These sessions provide support to students who did not demonstrate content mastery on last year's STAAR exams. If your child receives a Saturday School Tutorial Notice in the mail, he/she did not pass last year's STAAR exam(s), and he/she is strongly encouraged to attend these sessions. If your child receives a notice and there is a weekend when he/she cannot attend, please provide a written excuse to Ms. Rosenberg by the following Monday.
Upcoming Saturday School dates are March 7th, March 28th, April 4th, April 18th, April 25th, and May 2nd.
Thank you for your investment in your child's education. Please contact Jenny Rosenberg at jrosenberg@harmonytx.org for Middle School students
Apply Now!
Dyslexia Meet and Greet Parent Informational
Coaching HSE Softball Team
Thank you!
After School Tutorials
Thank you for support and help!
TSI Resources & Administration at HSE
We will have a TSI administration every Tuesdays & Thursdays after school from 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm. The students can sign up at the college counseling office. Here are some useful resources that I would like to share with you about TSI and preparation:
TSI Information resources:
https://www.mypathplan.com/
https://www.mometrix.com/academy/tsi-test/
https://account.collegeboard.org/login/login?DURL=https%3A%2F%2Faccuplacer.collegeboard.org%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Faccuplacer-tsi-assessment-student-brochure.pdf
http://sites.austincc.edu/tsiprep/
https://www.brookhavencollege.edu/apply-reg/testing/pages/information-tsi-pre-assessment.aspx
http://econnect.dcccd.edu/PreAssessmentVideo/index.jsp
https://www.collin.edu/studentresources/testing/availabletesting/tsi.html
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TSI Practice resources:
https://www.tsipracticetest.com/
https://www.tsipracticetest.com/tsi-reading-practice-test/
https://www.tsipracticetest.com/tsi-writing-practice-test/
https://www.tsipracticetest.com/tsi-essay-guide/
https://www.tsipracticetest.com/tsi-math-practice-test/
Please let me know if you have any questions.
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Quick Links:
Harmony School of Excellence Austin
Email: ameyer@harmonytx.org
Website: https://hseaustin.harmonytx.org/
Location: 2100 E St Elmo Rd, Austin, TX, USA
Phone: (512)-693-0000
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hseaustin/
Twitter: @hseaustin