From the Hawk's Nest
Monthly Update - April 2022
Greetings
Welcome back! I hope that your Spring Break provided a chance to recharge and that your student(s) are coming back ready to tackle the remaining 48 ish days of the 2021-2022 schoolyear. And again, no update is complete without my "weather will continue to change it's mind" reminder. Again, please ensure your student is coming prepared for any type of dynamic Montana spring brings us. It is sure to be another busy and fast month. Please check out the dates section below for upcoming events and happenings at Hawthorne.
I was able to present to the School Board of Trustees on Tuesday March 22nd about all the great things happening at Hawthorne. If you are able, all meetings are transcribed/recorded. Please check out the great things we are doing and thank you to a few of our community members who showed up to "have our back" and show support. Our community is amazing!
I continue to hold high expectations of students joining us at school each day and on time. We are very soon moving into our season of assessments. Smarter Balanced Assessments for grades 3-5 will begin near the end of the month. Please look to the classroom updates and newsletters for information regarding their dates. In mid-May, all students will complete the Spring assessments of iReady and/or Acadience. This final benchmark measure will give us a great final picture of how much growth our students have seen over the year. I continue to be so proud of our students and our educators. The hard work is evident- thank you for partnering with us in these efforts.
Our Hawks ended their day Friday March 25th with the final addition of pebbles to our PAX Pebble jar! For those who do not know what this is, check out the video I've linked below. Assuming all goes well this first week back, we will celebrate our PAX leaders on Friday April 6th with a full-school egg hunt at the end of the day.
We look forward to starting the Kid's Marathon at Hawthorne on April 26th. I am thrilled with the amount of volunteers who have signed up to come and help. As a reminder, your student needed a completed permission slip signed and turned into the office on Friday March 25th- I did have to submit a number to the coordinators for planning purposes.
Finally, congratulations to Tabitha Lynch! She was recently awarded a Hershey's Grant in the amount of $250 to support her fantastic ideas and for starting a kindness initiative at Hawthorne. I look forward to watching the kindness spread and stick like glitter-- Mr. Mark, our custodian, knows what that means!
Thank you for sharing your child(ren) with us!
Respectfully,
Justine Alberts
NEW INFORMATION
Any new information added to our updates will fall here each week.
HAWTHORNE'S FIRST ?(MAYBE?) WHOLE-SCHOOL PHOTO
Whole-School Granny's Wacky Prize
OUTSIDE REMINDERS
Playground and morning happenings:
- Supervision and breakfast begin at 7:45 AM. We know many of you have to be at work early, so please wait until our staff have arrived and are ready to start their day at that time.
- School pick up is 2:30 on Mondays and 3:15 on Tuesday-Friday. Playground supervision ceases at 3:30.
- Additionally, when students are dropped off on the playground at 7:45 this means students are standing outside for approximately 45 minutes before school begins. Students are welcome and able to come in and have breakfast, but we are not allowing students to wait inside. Many are taking advantage of our free meals (this is absolutely wonderful), but we need to ensure everyone has an opportunity to eat with a limited number of students in the gym at one time.
FALL 2022 KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION IS STILL GOING!
If your child will be five years old on or before September 10, 2022, please register – even if you do not plan to start your child in kindergarten this fall (This will hold your student’s place at your neighborhood school for Fall 2023).
(Student must enroll in the school within their home boundary/established residence area)
PRINT AND COMPLETE YOUR REGISTRATION FORM
(You may also pick up a registration packet at your neighborhood school prior to December 22)
You will need to provide some documentation:
- Proof of age through a certified birth certificate
- Proof of current residence. For example, rental agreement, tax statement and/or utility bill
- Completed registration form
- Proof of immunization records
PAX GOOD BEHAVIOR GAME AT HAWTHORNE
Students are now working on earning PAX Pebbles as a whole-class incentive. As part of the PAX Good Behavior Game, students work on self-monitoring and self-regulation. The positive behavior system focuses on students who are meeting expectations that the school created as part of their "vision"- this vision is created as a class and the "rules" are agreed on and things the students want to see from each other as well as themselves.
DISTRICT INFORMATION
- Monday is early release- Students are released at 2:30 for teacher PLCs.
- Contact Information- please ensure your contact information is up-to-date. Please let Ms. Mitchell know 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
- School begins promptly at 8:30 AM! If you are arriving after 8:30, please walk your child to the front office to check them in. 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; and if they check 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.
Dates of Note
UPCOMING
- 4/6- Paraeducator Appreciation Day
- 4/12-CRA Band and Choir visit Hawthorne 5th Graders
- 4/13- 4th and 5th grade students attend the Symphony at the Civic Center
- 4/17-Easter -- 4/18--NO SCHOOL
- 4/20- 4/5C (in am) and 4R (in pm) attend Water Watchers
- 4/20- Hawthorne 5th graders visit CRA
- 4/26-Kid's Marathon at Hawthorne begins (Tues. & Thurs. through June 2nd)
- 4/27- CRA admin and Counselor visits Hawthorne 5th graders
- 4/27-Administrative Assistant Appreciation Day
- 5/2-5/6-- TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK!
- 5/4- Welcome event for new Hawthorne Families
- 5/6- Vigilante Day-dismiss at 11:00
- 5/13- TENTATIVE Spring Carnival Date-weather dependent
- 5/18-Kindergarten Jump Start at Hawthorne
- 5/25- 4th graders Wildflower Hike
- 5/30-No School
- 6/7- Field Day and BBQ!
- 6/9-Move Up Day in morning and 5th grade parade at dismissal
Parent Council Updates
Parent Council will convene at 12:00 noon on Wednesday April 13th in the Hawthorne Library. Please attend if you are able!
This section will be updated with notes after the meeting.
Counseling Topics for April
VIRTUAL COMMUNITY BOARD
STARBASE NEWSLETTER
BABE RUTH BASEBALL SCHOLARSHIPS
CUES CLUB/TEEN CHAT GROUP
EXPLORATION WORKS COLORING CONTEST
HAWK PHOTOS
Hawthorne Elementary
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'S MISSION AND VISION
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.