Panther Post
February 13th- February 17th
Panther Post Week 23
Principal's Message
Hello Panther Family,
Happy Friday! What a fantastic week for us at Hilliard! Thank you to everyone who attended our Valentine's Dance. It was wonderful to see so many families celebrating together. If you took any pictures last evening, please send them to me. We would like to make a collage for our yearbook.
Please save the date for our Family Reunion- Black History Program on Thursday, February 23rd at 6PM. We will also announce our Teacher and School Professional Employee of the Year during this event. Our nominees for School Professional Employee are Mr. Todd Smith, Special Education Para Professional and Ms. Veronica Garcia, Professional Assistant. Our Teacher of the Year nominees are Ms. Angela Kennedy, Multi Grade Teacher, Ms. Hilda Calhoun, Multi Grade Teacher, Ms. Brandi Jackson, 5th grade Reading Teacher, and Ms. Courtney Williams, 5th grade Science Teacher. All of our nominees represent our staff well.
This week was National School Counselor's Week. We are so grateful for our AMAZING counselor Ms. Black. She makes a difference each day! If you see her please thank her for all that she does to help our school.
- 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
- Hardship Transfers- Applications for a hardship transfer will open on January 1st and remain open through February 28th. Applications are reviewed annually by the Student Assignment Office. Through this process, parents can seek a transfer for medical reasons, curriculum differences, child care situations or if they are an employee of the school system. Parents may also request the renewal of an existing hardship transfer. The Hardship Transfer Policy as well as the Hardship Transfer Guidelines (see below) will be used to determine student eligibility. https://www.fultonschools.org/cms/lib/GA50000114/Centricity/Domain/335/SABrochure2.pdf
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
Dance Fun
Upcoming Dates to Remember
- February 10th- 4.5 Progress Reports
- February 16th- Atlanta Community Food Pantry- 4-6pm
- February 20th- Schools Closed- Presidents Day
- February 21st- School's Closed for a Student Remote Learning Day
- February 23rd- Black History Program- 6PM
- February 28th- Hardship Window Closes
SUPPORTING YOUR SCHOLARS AT HOME
Building Parent Capacity with Reading and Math Strategies
At Home Literacy Strategy
Create A Print Rich Environment
Simply put, a print rich environment is exactly what it sounds like - an environment that is filled and surrounded with the written word. Not overwhelming, but an underlying presence in the home, visually and underlying.
Having a print rich environment in your home means that your child sees written letters and words wherever he looks, so that the written word becomes familiar and meaningful, even if not quite yet understood. Here are a few tips on creating a print rich environment at home.
- 1. Start with a manageable space, such as a child's bedroom or playroom.
- 2. Hang posters, calendars, and bulletin boards that display words and numbers.
- 3. Label objects and areas of the room.
- 4. Label furniture and doors, sticking labels at the child's eye-level.
Math Strategies to Use at Home
How Will My Child Learn Mathematics?
Children learn mathematics best through activities that encourage them to:
investigate;
- think about what they are investigating
- gather information, organize it, and act on it;
- use information that they have gathered from a variety of sources to solve problems;
- explain how they reached their solutions.
Children learn more easily when they can connect mathematics concepts and procedures with their own experience. By using common household objects (such as measuring cups, bathroom scales, a deck of cards) and observing everyday events (such as weather trends over the course of a week), they can “see” the ideas that are being taught.
An important part of learning mathematics is learning how to understand and solve problems. Children are encouraged to use systematic trial and error and a variety of other strategies to develop their reasoning and to learn how to go about problem solving. They learn that there are many ways to solve problems and there is often more than one solution to any given problem. They also learn to communicate clearly as they explain their solutions. It does not matter what language they use when they are talking about mathematics.
COMMITTING TO SAFETY AND SECURITY AT AGHES
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.
February 6th will kick off Georgia's Severe Weather Preparedness Week that will run through Friday, February 10th. Staying weather aware is important for all of us. Please take time to review the links below to ensure that your family is weather aware at home. We will help lead a severe weather (tornado) "drill" on Wednesday (February 8th) at 9:00 AM EST.