From the Hawk's Nest

Welcome March- it is sure to fly by! I have big hopes for the month and I know we are all looking forward to warmer weather. Please remember that Helena Public Schools will be on Spring Break from March 27-31.

Spring is just around the corner, and we continue to be so proud of the growth and stride all our Hawks have made this school year. Your student's report card will be sent home in their backpack on March 17th. I've included the link to the OPI so you can reference the standards.

Hawthorne will take home over $10,000 from the Step It Up Fundraiser. Thanks to all who donated to our school and to those who participated. This cost will be split between heart rate monitors and Parent Council. This initial experience was a learning one and we are thankful for feedback as we plan for fundraisers in the future.

Kids College has room for 3 more volunteer presenters. Our first Kid's College Experience at Hawthorne will be fantastic! Again, this will take place on Monday April 17tth from 1:45-2:30. LINK TO SIGN UP

A few reminders that are always pertinent:

1. As always, please be sure to send your child with appropriate cold-weather gear each day. The students go outside if we are above zero, so it is imperative they are comfortable and weather-protected. Students only stay in if the Air Quality is in the "orange or red" or if the real temperature and feel like temperature is below zero. In the mornings where students are inside before school starts, you must walk and sign your children in if they arrive after 8:30. Please do not just send them in without an adult; we will continue to make phone calls to request your signature if this happens. Additionally, we will not be letting students in other doors after 8:30. We appreciate your consideration and efforts to get your students to school on time.
2. If your child is going to be out ill, for parent excused absence, or for an extended period of time, please let the front office know. We appreciate your cooperation with this. I will be sending out attendance letters for students over 10 absences for Trimester 2 and cumulative absences over 20 days since we started school. Please remember how important attendance and on time arrival is for your student(s).
3. As stated in the student handbook, students are not to have cell phones out for any reason during the school day. They may have them for before and after school, but they are to be turned off and not in use during the day. If a phone is seen, we will collect the phone and ask you to pick it up in the main office. If a student needs to get ahold of you, they can use our student phone in the office.
4. We are a pet-free campus during the school day. Please keep your pets behind the fence during drop-off and pick-up.

Hawthorne is always looking to build our substitute pool. If you are interested in being a site-specific substitute, please let us know and we will get you started on the process. Thank you for being such a grand part of our community. We couldn't do the work we do without your partnership and support.

Respectfully,

Justine Alberts

Parent volunteers are welcome to begin volunteering at Hawthorne once they have been background checked by Helena Public School's HR department. Parents/ guardians interested in volunteering please contact Jacque Young @ 324.2010 to schedule an appointment at the Lincoln Center 1325 Poplar Street, 59601. Please reach out to Ms. Mitchell if you have been fingerprinted or have questions (406.324.1600).

Parents are welcome to join their child/ren for lunch once a month. All visitors must check-in at the front office- K-2 Lunch 11:50-12:10, 3-5 Lunch 12:15-12:35.

• Playground Supervision- Supervision begins at 8AM each day and ends at 2:45 on Monday and 3:30 Tuesday-Friday. We understand this may be problematic for some families with work schedules, but ask you do not drop your child off on the playground before that time as we will not have supervision due to contractual hours of staff.
• Monday is early release- Students are released at 2:30 for teacher PLC time.
• Contact Information- Please ensure your contact information is up-to-date. Contact Ms. Carly in the front office if you have a change in address, phone numbers, or emergency contacts throughout the year. Also, give us a call to report your child's absence- cmitchell@helenaschools.org or 324-1370
• Inclement Weather and Air Quality- We continually monitor the air quality for unhealthy conditions and subzero temperatures. When "unhealthy for all groups" or "red" status is reached OR weather below zero, we refrain from spending our recesses outdoors. http://svc.mt.gov/deq/todaysair/AirDataMap.aspx
• Transportation- First Student provides transportation services for the Helena Public Schools. Please register via their link or visit them to discuss transportation needs for the upcoming year. https://helenaschools.org/departments/transportation/parent-portal/
• School begins promptly at 8:30 AM! If you are arriving after 8:30, please walk your child to the front office to sign them in. This is required.
• If a student arrives after 8:30 until 9:00am they will be marked tardy
• Between 9am-noon they will be absent for the morning
• If a student is checked out before 2:45pm they will be marked absent for the afternoon.
• If your child will be absent for a full day or any portion of the day, please call the main office.
• If we cannot verify a child’s absence, then you will receive an automated phone call letting you know your child has an unverified absence.
• Finally, you must sign out your student if they are leaving for any reason and sign them back in if they return during the school day.

Apply now for Free & Reduced Lunch

Big changes are coming to Helena Public Schools breakfast and lunch program. Pandemic funding for free meals has ended and – beginning on the first day of school – there will be a charge for all student meals unless the student qualifies for Free and Reduced Lunch.

22-23 School Meal Prices

• K-12 Student Breakfast: $2.00
• K-5 Student Lunch: $2.90
• 6-12 Student Lunch: $3.00

If you need assistance paying for your child’s meal costs, now is the time to apply for the Free and Reduced Lunch program. Visit helenaschools.org/departments/food-services/ to get started.

When you apply for meal assistance, you not only help your family; you also help your school receive more funding for important student services like textbooks, and math and literacy programs.

If you’re concerned about paying your child’s meal costs, don’t wait until the first day of school. Apply now at helenaschools.org/departments/food-services/ or call Sharon Jensen at 406-324-2042. By signing up, you feed your family and support your school.

MARCH

• 8th- Parent Council at 12
• 16th-Family Night from 4-5-- BINGO!
• 17th- Tiernan Irish Dancers and Report Cards are sent home
• 27th-31-NO SCHOOL Spring Break

APRIL

• 4th- Library Appreciation Day
• 5th- Paraprofessional Appreciation Day
• 12th- Parent Council at 12
• 12th-CRA Music at Hawthorne
• 16th-5th graders to CRA
• 26th- CRA visits Hawthorne
• 18th-Family Night
• 26th-Administrative Professional’s Day

MAY

• *Day of Awesomeness TBD*
• 1-5th- Teacher Appreciation Week
• 5th-School Lunch Hero Day and Vigilante Day
• 10th- School Nurses’ Day
• 10th-Hawthorne 5th grader family night at CRA
• 18th-SLP Day
• 10th- Parent Council at 12
• 12th-School Carnival
• 15th and 17th-Kinder Jumpstart
• 29th- NO SCHOOL

JUNE

• 2nd- BBQ
• 6th Field Day
• 8th-Last Day of School

Parent Council will meet on Wednesday March 8th in the Library. We will review upcoming activities and the carnival. If you are interested in joining or helping, please consider coming to the meeting or reaching out to Margaret Frohlich to volunteer time.

Also, thank you to the team of Kathryn, Jeanette, and Kristin for spearheading the Yearbook work. We are thankful to them and the volunteer hours they put in to ensure our students have a book of memories to visit!

Games that Help with Developing Executive Functioning Skills

Kids and young adults need extensive practice in strengthening their executive functioning skills. Executive functions are the processes in our brains that help us accomplish all tasks from beginning to end. We use them when we plan our day, organize our materials, begin a chore, focus on important information, use our time wisely, and work through challenges until we accomplish a goal. The specific skills include: planning, organization, time management, task initiation, working memory, self-control, metacognition, attention, flexibility, and perseverance. While all kids could use extra practice with executive functioning skills, the ones who need it the most are often disorganized, struggle to finish assignments, lose items, have difficulty paying attention over periods of time, and give up on tasks that are difficult. These are the kids who could benefit the most from executive functioning skills instruction and practice.

If you’re looking for an executive functioning review game you can download and use right away, check out this Executive Functioning Challenge! It can be played as a board game with partners and small groups, or as a whole-class challenge. The game includes over 200 executive functioning cards so you can play again and again!
Here are ten games for practicing executive functioning skills:

#1 – BLURT
Skills: self-control, metacognition
How to Play: In this game, the teacher reads a definition of a word and kids have to figure out the word itself. For example, a question might be, “What is a partially dried grape?” When the student answers “raisin”, they win that turn. I like to play “around the world” style. All students will sit at desks or chairs around the room. Select two kids to play against each other and have them stand next to one another. Read the card and whoever “blurts” the answer first, wins and gets to move on to the next person. The idea is that only the kids playing can blurt out, and everyone else must have self-control, even if they know the answer. This game can also be played with your own content area questions too, which is great for a review before a test!

#2 – SCRABBLE
Skills: planning, organization
How to Play: In scrabble, kids use random letters to build words and keep score as they go. You can have students play in small groups and even partner kids together who may need extra support with spelling or language. Planning and organization is required because kids need to build off of each others’ words as the game progresses. As an extension, have kids look up definitions to the words they create or use the word in a sentence before points are scored.

#3 – PICTIONARY
Skills: flexibility, time management
How to Play: This game has students drawing phrases on paper or a whiteboard that others must guess correctly. Kids need to use time management to best draw their phrase before the time is up. This is such a fun game! I even love taking pictures of some of the drawings that are both hilarious and amazing.

#4 – DISTRACTION
Skills: working memory, attention
How to Play: In this card game, kids work on remembering numbers given to them while encountering distractions, including questions they have to answer. It is a great activity to teach about distractions that can throw us off!

#5 – 5 SECOND RULE
Skills: time management, task initiation
How to Play: Kids must name 3 things that fit a given topic. For example, kids might need to name 3 professional basketball teams or 3 pieces of jewelry. The categories differ greatly so kids have to be on their toes. As an accommodation, I sometimes play as a “10 second rule” to give kids enough time to process the question.

#6 – FREEZE
Skills: self-control, attention
How to Play: Freeze is a game where you play music and allow kids to be silly and dance. Then, at any moment, say “Freeze!” and kids need to stand completely still. It takes a lot of self-control to stop dancing to a song you’re into! This can be fun to let kids take the role to freeze the class, too.

#7 – JENGA
Skills: self-control, flexibility, planning
How to Play: In this game, kids pull blocks from a tower carefully. They must plan and be careful so they are not the one who causes the tower to fall over. This is a fun game because everyone likes to see towers get knocked down sometimes!

#8 – BRAINTEASERS
Skills: perseverance, flexibility
How to Play: Brainteasers are drawings and words that have a special meaning that kids must figure out. For example, when “man” is written on top of “board”, it means “man overboard”. These type of brainteasers are a great feat in perseverance and flexibility to figure out. They are great for a morning meeting or “do now” when kids walk in the door to start their brains off strong.

#9 – CHESS
Skills: planning, flexibility, working memory
How to Play: Chess requires kids to learn specific rules for different pieces and then use those skills to take out their opponent. This game requires a tremendous amount of planning, flexibility, and working memory to think through your moves ahead of time. It is also a great option when you need a quiet game.

#10 – SODUKU
Skills: perseverance, working memory
How to Play: Sodoku is a math puzzle game that allows kids to use critical thinking skills. Each grid has the numbers 1-9. Each row and column must add up to 9 separately, so the numbers need to be arranged correctly. Incorporate this activity for kids to work on in small groups or just for a fun challenge.

Consider following our Facebook page for photos of our Hawks in action.

https://www.facebook.com/hawthorneelementaryparentcouncil

Email: jalberts@helenaschools.org
Website: https://hawthorne.helenaschools.org/
Location: 430 Madison Avenue, Helena, MT, USA
Phone: 406-324-1370
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hawthorneelementaryparentcouncil

Hawthorne Elementary- Home of the Strong Minds and Gentle Hearts

Mission Statement -- Our Purpose

Hawthorne Elementary collaborates with students, staff, and the external community to provide a vibrant and robust education for all students by working to educate the whole child through infusion of culturally responsive teaching and learning. In addition to providing a safe and inclusive environment for students to grow, Hawthorne highlights each student’s abilities as a unique learner and individual person with the ultimate goal of instilling a love of learning and a sense of belonging that will follow students in future educational endeavors.

Vision and Guiding Principles

• Hawthorne honors the needs of students and provides opportunities for children to be children- to play, work through social encounters with support, and keep active learning a part of the academic day.
• Hawthorne staff and students collaborate with all stakeholders to build a sense of community, so students connect learning to real-world experiences.
• Hawthorne staff, students and community members work together to support our neighborhood school in building active and productive citizens of the future.
• Hawthorne students are engaged in high-level thinking and supported in accessing rigorous content to help students reach proficiency in all content areas and standards.
• Hawthorne supports student’s social-emotional learning and growth, providing them with many tools to support their independent sense of belonging, self-awareness, and ability to self-regulate.