Panther Post
March 13th-17th
Panther Post Week 27
Principal's Message
Hello Panther Family,
We are busy at Hilliard with our first full week of March! Our scholars are engaged in their learning and working to do their very best. This week our school celebrated the power in our differences! I loved seeing everyone participating in our theme days to celebrate. We are so grateful for your support and partnership with this work for our students. This Monday and Tuesday are holidays for students. We will see our students on
Wednesday, March 16th. Enjoy the long weekend!
- School Governance Positions- We need YOU- Our School Governance Council is looking for 1 parent representative to join our council beginning in the fall of the 2023-2024 school year. Candidate declarations open for this position February 1st and run through March 24th. If you have any questions, please reach out. Declare your interest here, https://fultonschools.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3TQp89ZbIXwSA0S
- Upcoming Student Holidays- On Monday, March 13th and Tuesday, March 14th our scholars will have a student holiday. Scholars will return to school on Wednesday, March 15th
- Pre-K Lottery- Pre-K registration is now open! If you have a student who will 4 prior to September 1st, please fill out all the information here https://fultonschools.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_00tndP0aTNO6ySa Our lottery will be completed on March 29th!
Of course and as always, please don't hesitate to reach out to me with any questions or concerns at lillym@fultonschools.org..
Your Proud Panther Principal,
Maureen Lilly
Upcoming Dates to Remember
- March 13th- PD Day- No School for Students
- March 14th- Teacher Workday- No School for Students
- March 16th- 5pm- Parent Input Meeting
- March 16th- Food Pantry 4pm-6pm
- March 17th- Pre k Registration Ends
- March 20th- Prek Transition Day 8am
- March 29th- PK Lottery at 12PM
- April 3rd-April 7th- Spring Break
- April 20th- Food Pantry 4pm-6pm
May 3rd- End of Grade Reading Section 1
- May 4th- End of Grade Reading Section 2
- May 5th- End of Grade Reading Section 3
- May 8th- Make Up testing
- May 9th - Endo of Grade Math Section 1
- May 10th - End of Grade Math Section 2
- May 11th- End of Grade Science- 5th grade only
- May 12th- Field Day Grades 4 and 5
- May 15th- Field Day Grades PK, K, 1
- May 16th- Field Day Grades 2 and 3
- May 17th- 1st and 2nd grade Awards Day @9am
- May 18th- Third and Fourth Grade Awards Day @9am
- May 19th- Kindergarten Awards Day @9am
- May 22nd- Pre k Awards Day at 9am
- May 22nd- 5th grade Promotion Ceremony @ Banneker High School Auditorium 6pm
- May 24th- Career Day
- May 25th - Last Day of School
Grading Survey
Dear Parents and Caregivers,
Fulton County Schools has partnered with TNTP, an independent non-profit organization, to learn more about the implementation of the district’s new grading policy. As a part of this project, TNTP is surveying principals, teachers, parents, and caregivers about their experiences with this policy. This survey should take no more than five minutes to complete, and your answers will provide the district with valuable information that can help improve the implementation of the grading policy going forward.
Participation in this survey is voluntary. You can choose not to answer certain questions or stop participating in the survey at any time. Your responses to the survey questions will remain confidential. The data collected through this survey will be included in a written report but you will not be identified by name or school.
Please click here to complete the survey. The survey will be available through March 20, 2023.
If you have any questions, please contact Elizabeth Kelly at TNTP, Manisha Maurya at the Fulton County Schools Department of Program Evaluation, or your school principal. Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts!
Grading Survey
SUPPORTING YOUR SCHOLARS AT HOME
3rd-5th Grade GMAS
Wednesday, May 3- End of Grade Reading Section 1
Thursday, May 4th- End of Grade Reading Section 2
Friday, May 5th- End of Grade Reading Section 3
Monday, May 8th- Make Up testing
Tuesday, May 9th - Endo of Grade Math Section 1
Wednesday, May 10th - End of Grade Math Section 2
Thursday, May 11th- End of Grade Science- 5th grade only
What can I do to help my student with the Georgia Milestones Assessment System (GMAS)?
Students who are prepared, calm, and rested perform better on tests.
Here are some of the many ways to help your student approach Georgia Milestones in a relaxed, positive way:
• Encourage your student to employ good study and test-taking skills. These skills include following directions carefully, avoiding careless errors, and reviewing work.
• Explain the purpose of the tests. The assessments give students an opportunity to show what they have learned in school. They also give teachers information that helps them plan instruction.
• Point out that some items may be more difficult than others.
• Be certain your student gets plenty of sleep and has a healthy breakfast and lunch. Taking tests is hard work for many students and can require a lot of energy.
• Be certain your student is at school on time. Rushing and worrying about being late could affect performance on the tests.
• Remember to ask your student about the testing at the end of each day.
At Home Writing Strategy for GMAS
Writing Constructed Response Practice
Our 3rd through 5th-grade scholars are preparing to take the GMAS Assessment where they will be asked to provide a constructed response. Here is a strategy that even our younger scholars can use to respond to a prompt. A sentence transformation is when students take a question and transform it into a statement or take a statement and transform it into a question. Sentence transformation is a quick and easy activity that your students can do every day at multiple points in the day and it is going to help students with writing constructed responses in a few ways.
When students have to do a sentence transformation, it helps them understand what the question is asking and how they need to answer it. It also will give them confidence in developing a topic sentence for their constructed response.
If students can come up with a sentence transformation for a question in their constructed response prompt, then they can use that as their topic sentence and they are much more likely to be on topic and answer the prompt correctly.
Example:
What is the first stage in a chicken’s life cycle?
The first stage in a chicken’s life cycle is the egg.
Building Parent Capacity with Reading and Math Strategies
At Home Literacy Strategy
Writing at Home Activated
Let's engage our scholars in writing at home! Use this choice board of activities to encourage and connect with your scholar through writing! Send your child's teacher a picture of your scholar participating to earn a token for our book vending machine!
Strategies to Increase Math Fluency
Flex and hone mental math skills
Mental math is having the ability to complete math problems so well that we can complete them in our heads! Obviously, by the time we can complete mental math to some degree, we have mastered the concepts and stored the information in our long-term memory. We can consider mental math to be the ultimate indicator of math fluency. That’s why it’s so important to incorporate mental math wherever possible to help your child practice skills in which he or she is already fluent. Thankfully there are many ways to help your child practice mental math.
- Ask math questions and problems aloud, preferably without a visual aid. If your child struggles, encourage him or her to visualize the problem, and allow enough time to let your child process the information and generate an answer.
- Flash cards are great for mental math! Without pencil and paper to work out the problems in a longer, more structured way, children are faced with the necessity to solve it in their heads.
- For kids who have been working on a skill for a while, build speed and fluency with short drill activities that force kids to solve problems as quickly as possible. Be sure not to use this technique in a way that frustrates or upsets struggling kids. Be sure that kids are reasonably comfortable with the skill and provide just enough challenge to work out those mental math skills.
Parents and Teachers as Partners
Parents may need to talk to teachers to address a child’s specific needs or brainstorm solutions to solve problems. These conversations can be tricky, but it’s important to learn how to talk to teachers and navigate these sensitive subjects.
Does this mean you avoid these conversations altogether? Definitely not! Now is the time to have meaningful consultations with teachers to help resolve issues in a timely manner.
Ways to Celebrate Black History with Kids
Ways To Celebrate Black History With Kids
''...Black History Month is used to celebrate the accomplishments and contributions African Americans have made for our society. Teaching our children about Black History Month and about the many important African American influencers and contributors continues to move our society forward. Essentially, we are raising kids who will one day grow up and contribute to our society...''
Click on the link below to access an article about the many ways, parents can help kids learn about Black History Month and its many historical Black figures who have helped shape society.
COMMITTING TO SAFETY AND SECURITY AT AGHES
March Safety Update
Here at AGHES, we focus on safety and security everyday. We practice drills, use sign in procedures, and check visitors coming into our building. However, safety and security is a joint effort with the school and our community. Each month I will share information related to our safety and security procedures.
This month our focus will be Spring Forward into Safety. Below are some safety tips and reminders to consider during the month of March.
Time to Change the Clocks
Daylight Saving Time begins every year on the second Sunday in March. We "lose" an hour when the clocks are set forward, and for many, that means a tired couple of days as our bodies adjust. The consequences of fatigue can be serious, so plan accordingly.
Daylight Saving Time, which in 2022 begins Sunday, March 13, means it's also a good time to review your spring safety checklist.
Smoke Alarms
Three out of every five home fire deaths result from fires in homes with no smoke alarms, according to the National Fire Protection Association. Test your smoke alarms every month and replace the battery at least once a year. If the alarm makes a "chirping" sound, replace the battery immediately.
Smoke alarms should be in every bedroom and in the common areas on each floor of a home. Mount them at least 10 feet from the stove to reduce false alarms, less than 12 inches from the ceiling and away from windows, doors and ducts.
Smoke alarms can be interconnected wirelessly. That means, when one sounds, they all sound. A Consumer Product Safety Commission survey found this is the best way to notify everyone in a home if there is a fire. Be sure to purchase smoke alarms with the label of a reputable testing agency, like Underwriters Laboratories (UL).
Carbon Monoxide Detectors
Anything that burns fuel can potentially become a source of carbon monoxide, an invisible, odorless gas that can kill. CO alarms should be installed in a central location outside each bedroom and on every level of the home. The safety tips for CO detectors mirror those of smoke alarms: change the batteries, test them and interconnect them, if possible. Also, make sure vents for your gas appliances (fireplace, dryer, stove and furnace) are free and clear of snow or debris.
Family Emergency Plan
The National Safety Council recommends every family have an emergency plan in place in the event of a natural disaster or other catastrophic event. Spring is a great time to review that plan with family members. Have a home and car emergency kit. The Federal Emergency Management Agency says an emergency kit should include one gallon of water per day for each person, at least a three-day supply of food, flashlight and batteries, first aid kit, filter mask, plastic sheeting and duct tape, and medicines. Visit the FEMA website for a complete list. The emergency plan also should include:
- A communications plan to outline how your family members will contact one another and where to meet if it's safe to go outside
- A shelter-in-place plan if outside air is contaminated; FEMA recommends sealing windows, doors and air vents with plastic sheeting
- A getaway plan including various routes and destinations in different directions
Also, make sure your first aid kit is updated.
Getting the Urge to Clean?
With the warm weather comes a desire to shine and polish your home. But when warning labels are ignored or chemicals fall into the wrong hands, disaster can occur. Learn what you can do to keep you family safe around poisons in the home.
Window Safety
With warmer temperatures arriving, it's important to practice window safety – especially in homes with young children. Find more information about window safety.