Principal's News
September 5th, 2018
A Message from Dr. DeWeese
We are making a minor adjustment in our office communication this year. After seeking input from parents, analyzing our parent survey results, and collaborating with other elementary schools in the district we have decided to no longer send out the Soaring Hawk. Each week families will receive email communication from the office via ENews. The first Thursday of the month ENews will have a link to the Principal's Newsletter. It is our hope that this will streamline our communication system and make things more efficient by keeping all the communication in one place for parents. We appreciate all the feedback families have given us around communication.
As always your feedback and input are valuable. If at any time you have any questions about anything please do not hesitate to contact the office. We are happy help!
Curriculum Night Resources
Mastery Connect and Moby Max
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1VoDL_wfmlRhvoXKhQ3qUGS_COIUmNr66bzfkXoP9FKs/edit#slide=id.p
Math Presentation by Dr. Lorton
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1_4Vjj9t47gZuP2yhAXmgZUWD6QrojROrRmoN9OePyVM/edit#slide=id.p4
Moby Max Videos
School Improvement Plan
Below is a link to our School Improvement Plan on our Harvest Ridge website. Each year we analyze student achievement data, attendance data, behavior data, and climate data to set new goals for improvement.
Title Funding Information
Harvest Ridge is a school that receives Title One funding through the Federal Government. Part of the Every Child Succeeds Act states that schools with high numbers or high percentages of children from low-income families will be provided additional funding to help ensure that all children meet challenging state academic standards. The funds are used to ensure that all children have a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a high quality education. Below are a few links to important information and policies in the Francis Howell School District regarding Title One Funding.
Every Child Succeeds Act
https://dese.mo.gov/sites/default/files/qs-fedcomp-Complaint-Procedures-ESSA.pdf
FHSD Family Involvement Policy
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hiF2yDnERCxZcC6B62G1M2agotAJNVOQ/view
FHSD Title 1 Family Involvement Policy
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vBN5DReYf-7pVB5esKHRDEZe_DNL9fAc/view
FHSD Family Involvement Regulation
https://drive.google.com/file/d/12IunFVYZpzwu_iV7xeaGWadrrtTxbDJ6/view
Title One Funds at Harvest Ridge are used to pay for books or other resources for students, some staff positions, staff professional development, and technology.
News from the Learning Commons
Welcome to the LC, Learning Commons, otherwise known as the Library. I am Mrs. Bradley, the LMS, Library Media Specialist, otherwise known as the Librarian. Students visit the LC once a week for checkout and every other week for a lesson. The week they don’t have a lesson with me, students get a lesson in technology with Ms. Edwards. Students in Kindergarten and first grade will check out 1 book each week while grades 2 through 5 check out 2 books each week. We have 2 book fairs throughout the year, one in October and the other in March.
This month I am looking for some volunteers to come into the LC in the morning or evening to touch up some paint. A year ago, I had some awesome volunteers come and paint the room for us. Unfortunately, we still need just a few touch ups. If you are available, please contact me at 851-5144 and we can figure out the best time for you to come paint. Thanks in advance!!
Mrs. Bradley
Lunch Room
Attendance
Students who arrive late or leave early are still missing instructional time. The office does not calculate the number of times a child arrives late or leaves early, however the number of instructional minutes missed does add up. It can often add up to hours and even days absent. Students need to be at school all day every day!
Mrs. Tharp and our Attendance Committee are working hard to monitor student attendance. We have a number of research based attendance interventions that we provide students to support regular attendance at school. Below is the link to our interventions for attendance. This year our counselors are implementing a new attendance club to help build positive relationships with students and teach students skills about how to make sure they stay healthy and regularly attend school.
http://fhsdhre.sharpschool.net/common/pages/DisplayFile.aspx?itemId=27987645
Attendance Celebrations
- 306 students have perfect attendance
- Second Grade has the highest attendance percentage in our primary grades with 97.6%
- Second Grade and Third Grade students get to celebrate having the highest attendance percentage by wearing a hat on Friday, September 7th.
- Third Grade has the highest attendance percentage in our intermediate grades with 96.7%.
K-2 Perfect Attendance Drawing Winners
- Connor Antone
- Sreenik Daripally
- Elias Dyer
- Syndey Party Winchester
- London Graves
- Scarlett Neals
- Evan Prentice
- Aaron Gardner
- Eleanor Voth
3-5 Perfect Attendance Drawing Winners
- William Cohan
- Molly Cowick
- Colin Fartashpour
- Jaylan Harris
- Isaiah Hester
- Blake Hunt
- Isaac Lecea
- Amelia Pierce
- Cayden Schultz
- Ayden Wilson
Great By 8
Donors Choose Project
- Osmo Coding Awbie Game
- WowWee COJI The Coding Robot Toy
- Osmo Ipad Base
- Think Fun Circuit Maze Electric Current Logic Game
- Mindware
- Popoids
- Snap Circuits
- Building Construction Blocks
Special thanks to any of our families that made donations to help fulfill the project.
Dyslexia Screening
For years we have used a universal screening tool to ensure students are on track for meeting reading expectations. We have used Aims Web to screen all students three times a year in reading. This year we will be using a new screening tool called Fastbridge. All students at Harvest Ridge will use this tool three times a year as a screening tool to identify strengths and weaknesses in reading skills. Please see the message below that is being shared with parents across the district as it relates to dyslexia screening. The new assessment tool we are using this year meets requirements set by the state to screen for characteristics of dyslexia.
Dyslexia Screening
Elementary
All of our elementary schools universally screen students in reading, which helps identify areas where students are meeting the grade level target and where they might benefit from additional instruction. This includes students who need a little extra practice/intervention, students displaying characteristics of dyslexia, or students displaying other reading difficulties. State mandated screenings occur three times per school year. Students who may be exempt from screening include those that have an existing diagnosis of dyslexia, students with a visual or auditory sensory impairment, students with severe intellectual disabilities, and students learning English.
Screenings typically last only 1-3 minutes. If an area of concern is found, families will be notified about the results and what action will be taken.
Track Update
Teacher and Staff Shout Outs
If you ever have something positive to share about your child's teacher about the impact the teacher is having on your child I would love to know about it and be able to share it with staff. You can just email me at natalie.deweese@fhsdschools.org anytime with your positive thoughts about your child's teacher or any other staff member. I love to celebrate the amazing staff at The Ridge and it is fun to share what you have to say about them too!
Curriculum Corner
See the links below for information on what your child will be learning in the coming weeks.
First Grade
Second Grade
Third Grade
Fourth Grade
Fifth Grade
PTO Updates and Upcoming Meetings
Our first PTO meeting of the year will be on Tuesday, September 11th at 6:30. New faces are always welcome to join our meetings even if you don't have a desire to be on the PTO. We hope to see you there and childcare is provided.
Wellness
Kona Ice Days
Safety Updates
Please note that our police departments have made a change this year to one procedure. If the fire alarm is every sounded and it is not a pre-planned drill the police will also come. When we use the alarm during a drill we contact the company ahead of time to make them aware that we are conducting a drill. As an added precaution should a school drill sound and they have not received a call ahead of time the police will also arrive.
On September 21st our staff will be participating in 4E Training. The training will be conducted by the St. Charles County SWAT. Staff will spend the first two hours learning about the 4Es, which stand for educate, escape, evade, and engage. After the training staff will be put through a number of scenarios to mock an intruder and will have the opportunity to use their new learning. The purpose of the training is to help staff practice how they might actually react and perform should there ever be an intruder situation at school.
If you ever have any questions regarding our safety procedures please contact the office. We work hard each year to refine our procedures and make sure that students and staff are safe at all times.
Dr. Natalie DeWeese
Email: natalie.deweese@fhsdschools.org
Website: https://harvestridge.fhsdschools.org/
Location: 1220 Harvest Ridge Drive, Saint Charles, MO, USA
Phone: 636-851-5156
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harvestridge1220/
Twitter: @_HarvestRidge