Hollifield Herald
Week of 9/21/20
Dear HSES Families,
As we begin week 3 of our virtual learning, we want to thank all of our staff members, particularly our teachers for the amount of time and energy they are putting in to create the best virtual learning environment possible. We know many of our staff are often putting in long work days to plan, create and organize in a virtual classroom. We cannot thank them enough. We would also like to thank our parents/ guardians for their support at home, while also trying to accomplish your work and other tasks. This is not an easy time, but we are so proud of the amazing instruction we are observing in each of the classrooms we have visited, and we are grateful for your collaboration. Our partnership will ensure the success of our students!
We had our 2nd round of community conversations last week, and we thoroughly enjoyed engaging with our families. Your feedback and questions have allowed us to change some of our practices in support of you!
The main concern that was brought forth was the ability to access assignments more easily. We hear you, and we understand the difficulty in finding everything for your child. As a school, we are working on streamlining what comes to you in an announcement each week (email). You will soon see (if you haven't already) a calendar with links in each Monday announcement. In addition, our staff are working on how lessons and assignments are labeled in the Canvas Courses in order to make them more user friendly. This week you should start to see some changes as we work together to help our students and families.
We will share a video explaining what we have done once we have worked through the process of getting all of this information to you in a concise and well labeled manner. We appreciate your feedback and your patience more than you know.
Finally, we look forward to seeing our parents/guardians at our Back to School Nights this week for Grades 1st-5th, and an information session from our gifted and talented teachers. Please see information below and communication from our teachers regarding codes. Remember, parents must sign in with their child’s HCPSS credentials to attend these sessions, and families log on 5 minutes before the start time.
Yours in partnership,
Amanda Wadsworth, Principal
Aaron Tark, Assistant Principal
&
Erin Coleman, Administrative Intern
Important Dates:
Sept 23 Back to School Night - 5:30 - 6:00 p.m. G/T Orientation for K-5 parents
Sept 23 Back to School Night - 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. 3rd -5th Grade
Sept 28 Schools and Offices Closed for Yom Kippur
Grade Level Codes for BTSN: Please login in with student's credentials and use ELA codes (main code students access). Teachers will also communicate codes as a reminder.
GT Orientation: Please join us on September 23rd from 5:00 - 5:30 pm to learn about the Howard County Public Schools Gifted and Talented Program. Meet your Hollifield Station G/T Resource teachers Mr. Bayne, Mrs. Ricketts, and Ms. Speelman. Learn about Curriculum Extension Units, Instructional Seminars, fourth and fifth grade G/T Math, and the Primary Talent Development Program.
Google Meet Code: HSES-GT-Info
Are you an adult who fluently speaks English as well as another language? If so, we need you!
Dear HSES parents, guardians, and community members,
In collaboration with the PTA, we are forming a group of volunteers to serve as an additional
support in our HSES community. We are blessed to have parents who speak multiple languages in our community. The goal of this program is to provide parents who speak languages other than English with a community contact in order to provide an additional avenue for them to share their questions, concerns, and ideas about HSES.
While we continue to utilize valuable county-provided interpretation services for parent-teacher conferences and other meetings and activities, the current virtual environment has cultivated the need for a broader range of information-sharing to assist non-English speaking families. The school provides various resources through our website, newsletters, emails and staff communication. We need you to help expand our resources even further!
How It Works:
● HSES will match volunteer liaisons with anywhere from 1- 3 parents who also wish to participate in this program
● HSES will establish contact between the liaison and 1-3 parent(s) with an introductory message
● Parents will be invited to reach out to their volunteer liaison when they wish to receive clarification about school-related communications or share other questions/concerns/ideas with their child's teacher(s).
● The liaisons will communicate any questions/concerns/ ideas that HSES needs to address.
Primary languages needed are:
Spanish
Portuguese
Korean
Urdu
Arabic
And others!
If you are interested in volunteering for this unique opportunity to support other HSES parents,
please complete this brief survey. A HSES representative will contact you within the next week
or two with next steps.
New Student Resources
We have compiled some resources that we believe our new families (and existing) may find beneficial. Please feel free to request anything additional or reach out for assistance. We will add this link to our website.
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1GqgJWvgkT24gKX4oQFyUOjw1XvE-mlVe?usp=sharing
Frequently Asked Questions
In order to respond efficiently and effectively, please share with us your question(s) that you would like to see posted on a FAQ. It is a one question survey. Thank you in advance!
MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) Testing 10/7 & 10/14
On Wednesday October 7 and Wednesday, October 14th, students in grades 2-8 will take the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) assessment. The data from the MAP assessment will help schools and teachers measure where your child is starting the year academically. The HCPSS intends to also give the assessment in winter and spring to measure how your child’s learning is progressing throughout the year. The MAP test does not affect grades and the difficulty adjusts depending on how your child responds. It is normal for students to only answer about half the questions correctly. To learn more about the MAP assessment, please visit: https://www.nwea.org/the-map-suite/common-questions-families/
The Reading test will be offered on Wednesday, October 7 at 9 am and 1 pm. The Math test will be offered on Wednesday, October 14 at 9am and 1pm. Students may choose to attend either the morning or afternoon session. If your child is unable to attend, makeup testing will be offered during asynchronous learning times. Teachers will share Google Meet information and your student’s testing group as we get closer to the Oct 7th date.
Another Visual of Schedules
Virtual Instruction Tip
Virtual Instruction Tip Sheet:
Parents and caregivers can download this quick reference tool, which includes instructions for logging in to online learning platforms and spaces to fill in their child’s class times, meeting codes and other information.
Information from our PTA
Why should you join PTA?
Check out one reason! The PTA lift up our staff. See a message from the PTA to our staff below:
To you and all of our HSES teachers, admins, and staff, we wish you a successful 2020-2021 school year, and we hope you enjoy this small token of what you all mean to your students and our community: https://youtu.be/n5YFLE6Rr2g
PTA Membership
Welcome to the 2020-2021 School Year!
The Hollifield Station Elementary School (HSES) PTA partners with school administrators and educators to support our school community. We invite you to join the HSES PTA today.
This year, we are excited to launch the use of MemberHub to streamline communications and PTA membership sign-up. The MemberHub site will eliminate the need for paper membership cards, FaceBook alerts, etc. We, as the HSESPTA, will be able to directly communicate with all of our members once you are signed up.
Through this site we will keep you informed & engaged with what is happening at HSES! Within our MemberHub site, you will find important information such as spirit wear, fundraisers, sign-up sheets, shared calendar events, and much more in one place. Plus, you can upload photos to be used in our school yearbook.
Since we will not be hosting our main fundraiser from past years, the Boosterthon, this year we are depending on PTA memberships and donations as our biggest fundraiser. Please consider joining the PTA. And, please consider an additional donation.
As always, your donation directly benefits our teachers, staff, and students. Hollifield Station Elementary School PTA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (EIN 23-7077082). All donations are 100% tax deductible. Your store receipt will be your donation receipt.
Your information is stored securely & privately. Once you've joined, you will have access to various hubs that are specific to you and your family. You will be able to manage your profile and communication preferences, & download the MemberHub iPhone or Android app.
We would love to have you as a member of the PTA. Please visit our e-store to join:
https://hollifieldstationpta.new.memberhub.store/
Thank you!
-The Hollifield Elementary School PTA
PTA - Spirit Wear
Calling all Huskies!
The weather is cooling down, and we are excited to share our new fall spiritwear with you! There are lots of cozy options including sweatshirts, flannel pants, masks and more! The store will be open through October 5th. Show your Husky spirit, virtually!
Previously Shared Information
School Meals - For ALL students at HSES
The food services program during the first semester of the 2020-2021 school year will consist of Grab-and-Go breakfasts and lunches served Monday through Friday from 8–9 a.m. and 10:45 a.m.–12:45 p.m., beginning Tuesday, September 8.
Breakfast and lunch can be picked up at either meal time. Meals will be provided free of charge for all students, subject to USDA funding availability. Hollifield Station Elementary School is a food site and students may access Grab-and-Go meals at HSES.
Additional information regarding food services can be found on the HCPSS website - click here.
Emergency Card Procedures on Family File
HCPSS utilizes Family File for parents/guardians to complete emergency information. Regardless of virtual or in-person learning, parents/guardians must verify and/or update information for each child. Parents/guardians can complete Family File by logging in to HCPSS Connect, selecting the More Options tab on the left, and then selecting Family File in the center column. Family File guides are available online.
Covid-19 Community Testing Sites
Howard County General Hospital is bringing testing for COVID-19 to neighborhoods around Howard County. Advanced registration is strongly encouraged. To learn more or register, visit www.bit.ly/j2bh-testing. For additional assistance call 410-740-7601.
- Saturday, September 26 | 8 – 11 a.m. at Oakland Mills Interfaith Center, 5885 Robert Oliver Place, Columbia
- Saturday, October 3 | 8 – 11 a.m. at First Baptist Church of Guilford, 7504 Oakland Mills Road, Columbia
- Saturday, October 10 | 8 – 11 a.m. at Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 4100 St. John’s Lane, Ellicott City
- Sunday, October 25 | 8 – 11 a.m. at Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 4100 St. John’s Lane, Ellicott City
- Saturday, October 31 | 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. at Celebration Church, 7101 Riverwood Drive, Columbia