The Principal's Buzz
What's Going On In The World Of The Hornets
February 4, 2024
Have A Great Week!
Happy Sunday, Team Hartwood! I hope you've had an enjoyable weekend so far! This week we celebrate National School Counseling Week, so be sure to show some love and appreciation to our amazing counselors, Mrs. Mungo and Mrs. Olson!! Also, don't forget the SOUPer Bowl lunch on Friday in the staff lounge (thanks to the organization from our Wellness Team)! Please see all other important information, upcoming dates, and tasks in the newsletter below. Thanks everyone! #TeamHartwood
Positive Notes
Remember, keep promoting the great things we do for each other by recognizing our colleagues with positive notes. You can find the positive notes in the mailroom. Keep spreading the positivity!
"If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else."
- Booker T. Washington
New Items
HES Service & Support Staff Employees of the Year
To be eligible for both of these awards, employees must:
- Be a full-time employee in grades pre-kindergarten through 12th grade
- Minimum of two (2) years’ experience in their position
- One (1) or more years' of experience with Stafford Schools
- Must maintain their position throughout the 2024-2025 school year and plan to return for the following school year.
- If you need help with verifying someone's eligibility, please reach out to our office.
National School Counseling Week
Let's celebrate our wonderful school counselors this week, and thank them for all they do to make HES a better place!
UMW Course Offering
SCPS is partnering with University of Mary Washington to offer Professional Development courses at no cost to Stafford County staff members. The school district is providing tuition payment, so please make sure you have the time to commit since each course is an Undergraduate course (1 Credit) that requires approximately 12 hours of time. Tuition will be waived only by using the discount code: SCPST2024 when you complete registration. Waived tuition is first come first served; depending on participation. Each course is worth 30 points toward your recertification which you will need to submit through Learn.
Behavior Management: Systems, Classrooms, and Individuals in the Elementary Classroom
Feb 14th, Mar 13th, Apr 3rd, Apr 24th from 5:30-7:30 pm Live on Zoom
*This course will require asynchronous work between these dates.
Course Description
This course is designed for elementary general and special educators in the elementary school setting. Over several sessions, participants will discuss evidence-based strategies for setting up the classroom environment and working with individual students. Topics will include developing procedures, rules, and consequences in the classroom and understanding functional analysis and replacement behaviors for individuals. Additional management strategies will be discussed and shared, including relationship building, conflict resolution, and crisis planning. Participants will engage in activities and discussion and complete the session with a resource folder for behavior management.
To register
Para Meeting - Monday
Monday at 8:40 am, in the staff lounge. For our Level 2 classrooms, please send one representative. If anyone has a class coverage during that time, please just ensure you get the information from a colleague. Thanks!
Cafeteria Expectations
Please help us to remind your students of cafeteria expectations, as we've noticed many are forgetting them while in the cafeteria. Heather and I have reviewed them with students in the cafeteria, and we are meeting with the cafeteria hostesses this week to ensure we are all on the same page. Further reminders from the classroom teacher will be helpful as well. Also, please assign table washers for your class so there is no confusion as to who is helping to wash the tables at the end of the lunch block for your class. Thank you!
Here are a few pointers to remind students of:
Ensure students who have the large "Stanley" mugs/cups place them on the lunch table before entering the lunch line. Mrs. Zurita shares that there are numerous spills every day in the line due to students trying to hold those cups and balance their lunch trays. Again, please have them place them on the table before entering the lunch line.
Stay seated while in the cafeteria.
Raise your hand if you need something and a hostess will help you.
Collect trash at your table and on the floor before going to the trash cans
Follow the procedures for throwing trash away/emptying trays.
PTA Teacher/Staff Grant - Spring 2024
Please see the message below from the PTA:
Grant request are due Friday 2/9 (they have only received 1 with maybe 2 more pending at this time)
These requests should be focused on the students. Do teachers need classroom education kits; stem/steam items; items for a classroom space (comfy chair, fidget items, calming items); educational classroom games; etc. Classroom sets are great, but things that can be shared across the grade are even better.
We are not talking about one time use requests (which is what the discretionary fund can be used for)... These are items that can support students throughout the year.
Anything you can do to encourage teachers to really think about their needs would be great. Should they have questions about what might acceptable they can email us at hartwoodptatreasurer@gmail.com and/or hartwoodpta@gmail.com
Here is the information about the grants, and the forms are linked after:
A few changes from the fall grant that is also notated in the paperwork:
* All Teacher/Staff PTA members can apply, even if you did in the fall. However, should the total grant requests exceeds $2750 priority will be given to teacher/staff who did not receive a Fall 2023 Grant
* Any new teacher/staff who joined HES after 10/1/23 can still submit a request, however, they must join the PTA prior to their grant submission.
* We will no longer accept hyperlinks exclusively. Attachments and/or screenshots must be included.
* If requesting reimbursement for shipping and/or tax, it must be included in the total.
Attached below is the Teacher/Staff Grant for Spring 2024.
Items Going Away Soon
Mural in Front Lobby
In case you haven't noticed, Mr. Pons has begun work on a mural for our school in the front lobby. Through an application process, our school was selected to receive a grant for this project from the Stafford Museum and Cultural Center and the Stafford Education Foundation. The mural will capture some of the historical parts of our community, it's landmarks/buildings, topographical features, and more, all under a beautiful sunset. Mr. Pons should begin the painting process this upcoming week. Watch as the process unfolds, it should be a phenomenal project!
Updates From the Coaches
Bard
I used Bard to help me write some suggestion for prompts when using AI and this is some of what Bard shared:
When crafting prompts, it's important to be as specific as possible to get the results you desire. The more details you provide, the better the AI will be able to understand your intent and generate creative and relevant outputs.
Start with a clear goal. What do you want the AI to do?
Use concise and descriptive language (i.e. brief, visuals, simple). Avoid jargon and technical terms.
Provide context and background information. The more the AI knows, the better it can perform.
Be creative and have fun! Experiment with different types of prompts to see what works best.
Here are some sample prompts:
Creative Writing "Write a poem about a robot who falls in love with a human."
Art generation "Create a watercolor painting of a mystical forest with hidden creatures."
Problem-solving "Given a set of constraints, how can we design a more efficient transportation system for a growing city?"
Research "Analyze the historical trends in global climate data to predict future changes."
This is an evolving technology. Every few weeks there are updates and improvements. You can follow these updates at https://bard.google.com/updates. Let Bard help you plan your next road trip or explain that Algebra problem your kid is stumped on.
Parent Notification Process
Please note the directions for the Winter Parent Notification process here. Becca and Amy have placed cover letters and academic reports in your mailbox on Tuesday, January 30th. Please send everything home in Tuesday folders on February 6th.
February 16th PD - Licensed Staff
PD will take place at Gari Melcher's Home and Studio.
PLCs This Week
The upcoming PLC meetings will be focused on the following:
3 & 5 - Grade Level Specific Goals in Reading
2 & 4 - Grade Level Specific Goals in Math
K & 1st - Extended Planning
The week of 2/12 PLC meetings will be focused on the following:
1st - Grade Level Specific Goals in Math
2, 3, 4, and 5 - Extended Planning
Weekly PLC Meeting Schedule
News From the Front Office
Communication to Front Office
Please be sure to forward any emails you receive from parents regarding absences or transportation to all three of us (Vicky, Brenda and Laura) as early as possible! Sometimes one of us might be out for the day or accidentally miss your email when it's busy in the office! Having all of us receive the email lessens the chance for any mistakes. Also, if you have any questions about your students' transportation for the day please try to reach us before 2:30pm so we can find out before the mad dash! Thank you!
Blue Tardy Slips
If you have already submitted your attendance and a student you marked absent comes into your room late, please check to see if they have a blue tardy slip. If they do have one then they have checked in at the office and we know to change them to tardy. If they DO NOT have the blue slip then they may have come in on a later bus and lollygagged to class so we do not know they are here. Please let us know if this happens as soon as possible so we can change it before the cut off when parents receive the phone call! Thanks so much!
News from the nurse
None for this week!
Reminders
- Staff Absence Form (complete this along with entering your leave into ESS)
- Sign-In Daily (kiosks at Front Office, Staff Lounge, Outside Office 6 at the "T" intersection)
- Sub Plans - Directions & Guideline
- School Lunch Choices - Updated weekly
- All Schedules (Master, Lunch, Recess, Specials, Extended, Duties)
Upcoming Dates (2 weeks)
2/2 - Sea Perch 7:20 am - 8:20 am (Room 23)
2/2 - PTA Paint Night 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm (Cafeteria)
2/6 - HES Chorus 7:30 am (Music Room)
2/6 - Word of the Month Recognition 8:40 am (Cafeteria)
2/6 - After-School Karate 3:15 pm (Gym)
2/6 - HES Committee Meetings 3:30 pm (Various Locations)
2/7 - Honors Chorus 7:30 am (Music Room)
2/8 - Good News Club 3:00 pm - 4:15 pm (library)
2/8 - After-School Karate 3:15 pm (Gym)
2/9 - Sea Perch 7:20 am - 8:20 am (Room 23)
2/9 - HES STEAM Night 5:00 pm - 6:30 pm
2/12 - PTA Meeting 5:00 pm (Library)
2/13 - HES Chorus 7:30 am (Music Room)
2/13 - After-School Karate 3:15 pm (Gym)
2/13 - TLAH PD 3:30 pm
2/14 - Honors Chorus 7:30 am (Music Room)
2/15 - Best Buds 9:00 am - 10:00 am (Cafeteria)
2/15 - Good News Club 3:00 pm - 4:15 pm (library)
2/15 - After-School Karate 3:15 pm (Gym)
2/16 - PD for Teachers @ Gari Melcher's Home & Studio; Paras work in the building
Birthdays This Month
2/6 - Brenda Young
2/9 - Emma McElwain
2/11 - Joanne Murray
2/17 - Sandra Zurita
2/19 - Dave Lausten
2/19 - Brian Raska
2/23 - Katie Vukmanic
Please remember to wish these staff members a Happy Birthday on their special day!!
Remember to "Tell Our Story" on Social Media
TEAM HARTWOOD
“Cheers to a new month and another chance for us to get it right.”
- Oprah Winfrey