Congratulations to Emily Chen (pictured left), the HBCSD District Spelling Bee Champion. She won after 21 rounds of words. Chloe Nguyen (right) came in second for the district bee and Courtney Tonnu (center) was third. Because Courtney Tonnu was the Dwyer Spelling Bee Champion, both she and Emily will represent our district at the Orange County Department of Education Bee later this spring.

Great job to all the Dwyer participants in the District Bee: Benjamin Weil, Emily Chen, Arin Vansomphone, Chloe Nguyen, Courtney Tonnu, and Ryan Ramirez

Four assemblies and a parent evening...Thursday was a busy but fun day! Collin Kartchner spoke to all our students about screen time and its effect on happiness and human connections. He entertained us all by teaching us about balance with technology and making us laugh. His message really helped let students realize that social media and screen time is a part of society and their life and we, as parents and educators, need to help them learn how to navigate it and use it for good.

This assembly went right along with the digital citizenship lessons that students completed this week in PE (rainy days were perfect for this). Please talk to your children about what they learned about their digital footprint and screen time.

That night, parents were treated to a presentation from Collin and his colleague, Katey McPherson. While he brought the realization that we are the first generation to be in this "experiment" of life online and our kids are watching and learning from us, Katey spoke about practical ways to make changes in your family that better the human bond for everyone. I encourage you to watch Collin's TEDtalk and visit the sites that compliment their session - #savethekids and #savetheparents. We will also be making all the slides from the presentation available to families in the next week or so.

January 21 - No School, MLK Day

January 22 - PTSA Community Dinner Night, Pizza Press, all day

January 22 - Jr. Oiler Music Guild Dinner Night, Chipotle

January 22 - Board Meeting, 6 PM, Moffett Gallery

January 23 - ASB Challenge - 5 High Fives

January 23 - School Site Council Meeting, 3 PM

January 23 - Girls Volleyball, 3:30 PM, Ensign

January 24 and 25 - Snapshot: APA Jr. Showcase

January 30 - Twin Day

February 1 - End of quarter 2/semester