The HillTop Times Feb./Mar. 2024
"We Believe...Success for ALL!"
From Principal Adams
Wow! I can't believe we are more than halfway into the third grading period. I am excited to celebrate significant achievements and initiatives within our school community.
First, I am thrilled to announce that results of the reading and math STAR assessments indicated that many students showed growth from fall to winter. Students engaged in goal-setting to take ownership of their success. They also participated in reading assessments in which they read stories to gauge their speed and accuracy of words read in addition to details they could comprehend within and beyond the text. I would be remissed if I did not share that performance in our special populations (e.g. special education and multilingual learners) are also increasing. We are excited about the progress our Eagles are making, and this would not be possible without them being accountable for their learning, the efforts of our amazing staff, and your partnership. Please contact your child(ren)'s teacher if you did not receive score reports for these assessments.
Second, graded work folders will be coming home the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month to ensure clarity of what your child(ren) is learning and to make meaning of grades earned. Please contact your child's teacher should you have a question.
Third, I understand many of your frustrations with the car rider line. As I often share with families, traffic is mild between 7:00-7:15a.m. With the influx of traffic that comes after 7:20a.m. it causes delays and increases the risk of your child(ren) being tardy. I encourage earlier arrival to help the car rider line flow efficiently during its operation. Also, both entrances to the school from the car rider loop close promptly at 7:30a.m. to allow staff to transition to their class for instruction. At this time, please monitor your child(ren) if they exit the car, and the entrance is closed so you can drive them to the front of building and enter with you to be signed in. Please note, the car rider entrance is blocked off at a certain time to ensure all cars are served before staff transition to their class. We ask that you do not move any barriers to assist in in no one being in line when doors close.
Lastly, students are in the process of choosing their extra-curricular club in which they will participate on the last Friday of each month. This is a refinement to our current advocacy program. We have club offerings ranging from singing, acting, crocheting, and coding. There is something for everyone, and our staff are excited to facilitate these to keep the climate and culture among our student body strong.
As always, we appreciate your support and partnership. Please contact me if there are questions, concerns, feedback, or ideas to help our Eagles continue soaring.
🦅 #MountUp #WatchUsSoar 🦅
Positive School Behaviors
Please continue to encourage your child(ren) to demonstrate appropriate behaviors while at school. We use the SOAR acronym as a reminder, and it is universal in all grade levels. We have seen an increase in students resorting to negative physical interactions rather than using the correct conflict resolution skills taught and reinforced by you and staff. Your support is greatly appreciated as we continue to remind our Eagles to practice integrity and seek an adult or an administrator if they need support.
S - Practice self-control. Keep hands and feet to yourself. Use kind words.
O - Remain on task in class during instruction and when assigned independent or group activities.
A - Be accountable for your actions.
R - Respect self, others, and school property.
Upcoming Events
- Monday, Feb. 26th - Parent Climate Survey opens in Parent Portal
- Monday, Feb. 26th - Stakeholder Budget Input Session, Southeast MS at 6:00p.m.
- Monday, Feb. 26th - Annual Community Meeting with Commissioner Harris, Garners Ferry Adult Center at 6:30p.m.
- Monday, March 4th - Friday, March 8th - Read Across America Week & Spring Book Fair
- Tuesday, March 5th - Grandparents Game Day, 10:00a.m.
- Friday, March 8th - Spring Book Fair ends
- Tuesday, March 12th - PTO Meeting, HHES Gym at 5:30p.m.
- Wednesday, March 13th - Spring Picture Day
- Thursday, March 14th - End of 3rd grading period
- Friday, March 15th - Teacher Workday (no school for students)
- Tuesday, March 12th-Thursday, March 14th - MasteryView Predictive Assessments (gr. 2)
- Monday, March 18th - Wednesday, March 27th - MasteryView Predictive Assessments (gr. 3-5)
- Monday, March 18th-Wednesday, March 27th - 2nd Grade Swimming field study
- Thursday, March 28th - Early Release/Parent-Teacher Conferences
- Thursday, March 28th - Superintendent's Book Challenge ends
- Friday, March 29th - Friday, April 5th - Spring Break
School Science Fair Winners
A super congratulations to the following classes and students who were science fair winners for their grade level. Although there was not a district science fair this year, they were invited to participate in a STEM showcase.
Pre-Kindergarten
Scott-Goode & Dyer’s Pre-K Class
"Growing a Rainbow on Paper Towel"
Kindergarten
Dumlao-Cretella & Dees Kindergarten Class
"Sanitizer or Hand Soap"
Grade 1
Mrs. K.A. Myers First Grade Class
"Growing Gummy Bears"
Grade 2
Mrs. Abalo’s Second Grade Class
"Changes in Matter"
Grade 3
Stanley Dove, Kingston Lance, Steven McCoy
"Paper Plane Flight"
Grade 4
Milo Thomas
"Water Quality Test"
Grade 5
Macario Thomas, Jr.
"Practice Makes Perfect!"
District Honor Choir
A super congratulations to the following students who represented HHES in this year's District Honor Choir in which their concert was held at A. C. Flora High School. A big thank you to Ms. Osborne for your leadership!
Hallee Groves
Jazari Livingston
Mila Thomas
Emilee Richbow
Emily Simmons
Happenings at "The Hill"
24-25 Classified Employee of the Year
Congratulations Mr. Mark Davis for being selected by staff as our 2024-2025 Classified Employee of the Year. Mr. Davis serves as our school's Therapeutic Assistant and is an all-around staff member ready to assist anyone. He also serves as our school's CRP (afterschool remediation) assistant lead teacher. We are super thankful for Mr. Davis' vision, as a world renowned drummer, to have our first HHES Drum Line consisting of students in grades 3-5. Thank you, Mr. Davis, for helping our Eagles and school community soar!
Parent Climate Survey
The South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) is utilizing a climate survey for accountability/report cards this year as in previous years. The delivery model for the survey will be the same as last year, with students in grades 3-12 taking the survey in the PowerSchool Student Portal and parents completing the survey in the PowerSchool Parent Portal.
Students will create a Student Portal account (if they don’t already have one) to access the survey when it becomes available. We will ensure that they still have access if they already have an account. Schools will assist students in grades 3-12 (especially third-graders) in creating and/or accessing their accounts.
Parent climate surveys are in the PowerSchool Parent Portal. If you do not have a Parent Portal account, please contact the database specialist at your child’s school and the database specialist will help you set up an account.
The climate survey will be available beginning at 8 a.m. on Monday, February 26, 2024, and the survey will close at 5 p.m. on Friday, April 12, 2024. Click here for instructions on how to access the Parent Portal and take the survey. If you, as a parent/guardian, cannot gain access to the survey in the Parent Portal (when the survey opens on February 26), please click on this link and complete the form.
Superintendent's Book Club Challenge
The Superintendent's Book Club Challenge has officially started. Students use Beanstack in ClassLink to track the number of minutes read. They will collect travel themed badges as they reach different levels throughout the challenge.
Hickory Top Farm
Please check out the newsletter from Hickory Top Farm highlighting our partnership to promote social-emotional learning (SEL) among our Eagles. HHES was the first school to partner with them.
South Carolina Family Friendly Standards
The SC Family-Friendly Guides to the Academic Standards have been updated to include the new Science standards. These tools are available online at ExpectMoreSC. The family-friendly standards by grade and subject include websites, books, and activities to keep students engaged and having fun while they are learning. Resources are available in both English and Spanish. Please update link for the Family Friendly standards on our website. Thanks!
Attendance
Traversa My Ride
Traversa Ride 360 is a secure app provided by the South Carolina Department of Education. The app allows a parent or guardian to have instant access to their child’s school bus transportation information through a real-time GPS tracker. You will be sent an alert of the estimated time of arrival (ETA) of your child’s bus. The district can also send important and timely push notifications through the app, such as notifying parents of a late bus, the use of a substitute bus or a bus accident. Parents must stay logged in to the app to receive push notifications from Student Transportation Services in real time.You can access the app by searching for “Traversa Ride 360” in the App Store (Apple iOS) or Google Play for Android. Visit https://www.richlandone.org/Page/15446 for more information.
HOW TO REGISTER STUDENTS IN APP
Parents/guardians must use their child’s student ID number and date of birth (YYYY-MM-DD) to add their child in the app. This is necessary to log in to the app each time. Parents/guardians will follow the same steps for additional students in the family. Also, parents will control with whom they want to share their child’s information, such as another family member that may be assisting with child care, for example. The school sites are not responsible for keeping up with this information.
Lost and Found
Please remind your child to check the Lost and Found on the cafeteria stage if they are missing an item. It will be helpful to label their name inside garments so it can be returned to the rightful owner if the opportunity presents itself. Parents are encouraged to look through Lost and Found when coming to school for lunch or events.
Miscellaneous Files and Forms
Stay Connected!
Email: shannon.adams@richlandone.org
Website: https://www.richlandone.org/Domain/20
Location: 517 Horrell Hill Road, Hopkins, SC, USA
Phone: (803) 783-5545
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hhes517
Twitter: @HHESEagles