Comet Courier
Horizon Elementary Monthly Newsletter April 2021 Edition
A Message from the Principal
Greetings Comet Families:
It is hard to believe that we are nearing the end of the third quarter. As we approach quarter four, we remain thankful for all that our staff and families have done to navigate this school year. As communicated by the Interim Superintendent, LCPS will transition to four days of in-person instruction for students that selected the hybrid model for 2nd semester, beginning April 20, 2021. More information is to come around what this will look like at Horizon. We are also looking forward to continuing to support students and plan end of the year events in a creative way. As always, please feel free to reach out to the school if you have any questions or concerns. We appreciate all that you are doing to guide our students at home and/or school.
Stay safe and healthy and have a wonderful Spring Break,
Mrs. Jasmine Carpenter
Principal
Office Reminders
Now that we are back to distance learning, the office is open every day from 7:30 - 3:30. If you need to pick up materials for your child, please come to the front door and buzz the office. We will bring them outside to you.
Have you joined the PTA?
Is your student going to miss logging in to school?
UPCOMING EVENTS...Mark your calendars
March 29 - April 2 -Spring Break
Friday, April 9 - End of 3rd Quarter
Monday, April 12 - Teacher Work Day, NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS
Friday, April 16- ASYNCHRONOUS DAY FOR ALL STUDENTS; Courtyard Art Projects Due for those Participating
Monday, April 19 - Report cards available in Parent Vue
Tuesday, April 20 - Hybrid Students return 4 days/week
Wednesday, April 21 - LCPS Family Room Workshop
Tuesday, April 27 - PTA Meeting, 3 PM
Student of the Month
Kindergarten
Mrs. Dettmer's Class: Nikhil Thampi
Mrs. Toynbee's Class: Amelia Stover
Mrs. Wright's class: Grant Lormel
Mrs. Yang's Class: Yara Abdelkhalig
First Grade
Mrs. Abney's Class: Michelle Siek
Ms. Kutkuhn's Class: Musa Adeel
Miss Nichols' Class: Logan Lumsden
Miss Rickey's Class: Isabel Portillo
Mrs.Wallace's Class: Arden MacKavanagh
Second Grade
Ms. Fornatora's Class: Abby Espinoza
Mrs. Gruehn's Class: Vasilis Kospanos
Mrs. Perka's Class: Lorelei Loop
Mrs. Rooker's Class: Niomi Jackson
Mrs. Seufert's Class: Gemma Harrison
Third Grade:
Miss Strohl's Class: Kamiyah Valentine Marshall, Ryan Glorioso
Ms. Wasser's Class: Francesca Kritsky
Mrs. Williams's Class: Dyson Chambers
Ms. Zahid's Class: Abigail Goldsmith, Akshara Upputuri
Fourth Grade
Mrs. Drury's Class: Sophia Rizvi, Daniel Martillo
Ms. Griffith's Class: Ayden Tanverdi, Mosley Sroka
Ms. Huff's Class: Caleb Funderburg
Mrs. Jeffers' Class: Muhammad Adeel
Fifth Grade
Miss Bohl's Class: Andrea Pantella, Tommy To
Ms. Harrison's Class: Yousef (Jojo) Almahdawi, Anish Kothuru
Ms. Mueller's Class: Gracie Lopez Jimenez
Ms. Rohrbach's Class: Nathan Cogbill
MUSIC NOTES
April is Jazz Appreciation Month! In music class, we will be learning about some of the greatest Jazz artists from yesterday and today. We will learn some jazz songs to sing, play instruments, and dance along. We will also learn some songs about springtime and introduce world drumming rhythms.
Students in distance learning classes with Mr. Russell will get the chance to present their blues song compositions from the 3rd quarter to their classmates.
-Mr. Grivetti and Mr. Russell
FROM THE LIBRARY
During the month of March, we will be doing many of our synchronous lessons on Nearpod, a new interactive way to engage students in lessons. Grades 3-5 will be beginning Dragons in a Bag, one of the novels for this year's Virginia Readers' Choice. On asynchronous days, they will continue exploring literary genres and earning badges by completing book report assessments in Schoology. Grades K-2 will be finishing up their Virginia Reader's choice selections as well, so they can vote for their favorite in April.
-Mrs. Christiansen
A NOTE FROM PE...
Our goal in Physical Education is for ALL students to be physically active, engaged, and safe during classes. A kind reminder to please make sure your student is wearing appropriate clothing both in person and at home in order to move freely. Rubber soled shoes are a must for safety in the gymnasium. If your child needs to sit out for more than three PE classes, we will need a doctor’s note for clarification. Lastly, April will be the perfect month to start our bowling unit! Here, we will practice the skill of underhand rolling. Students will demonstrate proper safety, accuracy, and execute the relaxed pendulum swing. We will also work on basic scorekeeping and bowling etiquette. Bowling is always a fun unit for students, and many students will be begging you to take them bowling soon! Enjoy! -Mrs. Vazquez and Mr. Kalka
FROM THE ART ROOM
A Note from the Ms. Yoon's Art Room!
In April, Kindergarten and 2nd-grade students will be introduced to the artist, Wayne Thiebaud, to create a drawing where the students will be applying color theory (primary colors, secondary colors, and complementary colors).
Our first-graders will work on a fishbowl drawing inspired by the artist Henri Matisse. The students will be incorporating a collage technique within this project.
Third-graders will begin a unit on Greek and Roman art where the students will explore different clay vessels created by the Greeks. The students will also generate architecture drawings inspired by the Greek and Roman architectural elements.
Fourth-grade will be introduced to the artist, Romero Britto, to create a portrait inspired by his artistic styles.
Our fifth-graders will be introduced to the one-point perspective drawing, where the students will create a cityscape drawing with a vanishing point.
Please note that most of our art projects take more than one synchronous lesson to complete. We encourage our students to keep their art projects in their art kit (a zipper pouch) the whole time. Please remind our comets to have their art projects and art kits ready for the synchronous art lessons. We are also noticing tardiness during the synchronous classes. Please remind students to be on time for the lessons.
- Horizon Art Gallery Padlet
https://padlet.com/clara_yoon/n855219i94lmfgcf
- Horizon Art Room Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/hrz_artroom/
Thank you!
Clara Yoon, Horizon ES Art specialist
A Note from the Mrs. Walker's Art Room!
During April students will learn about different fine arts careers. Students will create artwork based on the featured career in each class.
Brandy Walker
Art Specialist
FROM OUR READING SPECIALISTS
When was the last time you read a great picture book? Picture books are not just for little kids anymore. They are chock full of complex and interesting vocabulary. They nudge us to form ideas about complex characters and plot. They challenge us with engaging themes. And to add to their charm...they have amazing artwork, too.
As the literacy team at Horizon Elementary School, we encourage everyone to take a break from the chapter books and nonfiction reading of the winter, and pick up a few picture books for some “light” spring reading. Please visit this link for some great titles that you can find at the local library.
Donna White
Eileen Snyder
Literacy Specialists at Horizon Elementary School
Backpack Coalition Food Program
We know that this year has been unusually difficult for many of our families. Here at Horizon, we strive to make sure that every student has the necessary resources to help them achieve their best. We participate in a Backpack Coalition program which provides a weekly bag with various food items that your child/children can eat when at home. The food will be sent home as often as food donations and support allow. Occasionally other items and information about free community resources may be included with the food in the bag. Additional information about Horizon’s backpack coalition food program is in these google forms. Please read and reply if you have a food need. Questions? Contact Amy Sandridge at amy.sandridge@lcps.org or 540-579-2279.
Here is the google form in English:
https://forms.gle/7sMcKuMDF32EkCNd7
Here is the google form en español:
From the Technology Department
Now is a great time for you to check your child’s device to ensure it is updated and functioning well. If there is any damage to the Chromebook, please report it now (hybrid report to the teacher, DL submit it to the repair center). While a student may be able to continue using a device, the damage could be unsafe (i.e. cracked screen), create a disruption during testing, and if left unreported until later, may not be covered by Lenovo under our warranty (i.e. damage must be reported as it occurs.)
In addition to reporting damage, you want to ensure that the device has been updated to the latest version of Chrome OS in order to best run the instructional software applications, including those used for SOL Testing. While updates should occur automatically, here are directions on how to check the version, and manually update the software if necessary. Clearing cache and shutting the device down at the end of each week is also a good routine to establish to keep it running smoothly.
ParentVue Update
A new feature has been added to ParentVUE allowing you to record how to pronounce your child’s name correctly. Directions on how to do this as well as other ParentVUE resources are available on this website.
Additional information from the Technology Department
For how-to or instructional technology questions, we recommend starting with the child's teacher. The Department of Digital Innovation has assigned an on-site Digital Experience Specialist (DES) to each school to assist with technical challenges encountered by staff and students. Horizon's DES is Cheryl Brechbill
- All Staff and Hybrid students receive tech support from the on-site DES (typically by notifying their teacher who will submit a Support Center incident requesting assistance.)
- Remote students (either 100% DL or remote hybrid) can call the Technology Support Center (TSC) at (571) 252-2112 or email supportcenter@lcps.org. For hardware related issues, remote students will be referred to their respective school or one of 5 Hardware repair centers located throughout the district. Dominion HS is the closest location to Horizon ES.
Horizon School Counseling News
Horizon School Counseling News
What’s important? Ms. Anderson and Ms. Demory are the School Counselors at Horizon Elementary School. Every week, the School Counseling Newsletter is updated with new and important information for students/families. We encourage all students to attend their school counseling classroom lessons, every other week! View the School Counseling Newsletter to get updated information for students in hybrid and distance learning! Please click here to view the School Counseling Newsletter!
Important Updates for hybrid students: School Counseling Lessons are virtual though Google Meet for hybrid students until April 20th. Please don’t forget to have your students log into the google meet on their scheduled day! When hybrid students begin in-person learning 4 days a week, they will receive their counseling lesson in-person!
Prior to April 20th, hybrid students in K-4 will have their counseling lesson on one of their asynchronous learning days. Hybrid students in 5th grade will have their counseling lesson on one of their synchronous learning days. You can view the updated lesson schedule by clicking on the School Counseling Newsletter, listed above!
What’s next? We will continue talking about career exploration! These lessons are very important for all students to attend, as the school counselors will be collecting an “artifact” for each student. An artifact is a career exploration activity that all students are recommended to complete and submit to their school counselor. Please make sure your student attends his/her school counseling lesson so they can complete the career exploration lessons and artifact!
See below for a detailed description of Career Exploration!
- Beginning in the elementary school years, students are to explore the different occupations associated with career clusters and select an area or areas of interest. Students will begin the development of an Academic and Career Plan Portfolio (ACPP) in elementary grades to include information about interests, values such as dependability and responsibility, and skills supporting decisions about their future interests and goals.
How to contact your school counselor? All contact information is provided in the School Counseling Newsletter.
Horizon Elementary School
46665 Broadmore Drive * Sterling, VA * 20165 * Telephone 571.434.3260 * Fax 703.444.7418
Absentee Line 571.434.3261
Absentee Email hrzabsentee@lcps.org
website: www.lcps.org/Horizon
Principal: Mrs. Jasmine Carpenter jasmine.carpenter@lcps.org
Assistant Principal: Mr. Max Merick maxwell.merick@lcps.org
Financial Technician: Mrs. Holly Buehler Laura.Buehler@lcps.org
Registrar: Mrs. Katie Wright katherine.wright@lcps.org
Follow us on Twitter: @HorizonElem or Facebook: www.facebook.com/HRZSterling