The Hardy Herald Week 23
February 21
Dates to Remember
- 2/21- President's Day- All Schools/ Offices Closed
- 3/2- Lifetouch Spring Picture Day
- 3/14- Professional Development Day- Student Holiday- No School
- 4/1- SAVE THE DATE- School Dance- More Information to Come Soon
Valentine's Day at Hardy Elementary
Our Teachers are the Balm
Beautiful Flowers from our PTA
Chocolate Treats for our "Sweet" Teachers from the Hospitality Committee
Fun Times in Mrs. Haislip's Class
IWCS will Transition to Mask-Optional for Students & Staff Feb 22 (Please Read)
On Wednesday, February 16, Governor Glenn Youngkin signed Senate Bill 739 into law. It removes all school mask requirements in Virginia no later than March 1, 2022. The division announced a transition to making masks optional beginning February 28 in order to give staff additional time to address the impact on quarantines and isolations. Since that announcement, we have resolved many of these matters and have established guidance for families and employees.
Beginning Tuesday, February 22, Isle of Wight County Schools will transition to a MASK-OPTIONAL learning environment for all students and staff in our buildings. We continue to strongly encourage mask wearing as a key strategy in our efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in our schools and community.
It is important to note that students will need to continue wearing masks on school buses.
As we transition to a mask-optional environment, several other procedures will be modified in response to the new practice.
Contact Tracing
On Tuesday, Jan. 25, the Virginia Department of Health announced a change in the approach to contact tracing. VDH is no longer conducting contact tracing in most circumstances, stating that “Omicron is now the most common COVID-19 variant and is spreading so quickly, it is not possible or fruitful to track every case.” VDH is now focusing efforts on the follow-up of outbreaks and cases in high risk settings, as well as promoting disease prevention and mitigation strategies.
Based on this change, and in collaboration with the Western Tidewater Health District, Isle of Wight County Public Schools will no longer conduct contact tracing for individual cases in our schools.
Isolation
Students and staff who test positive for COVID-19 must isolate at home for five days from the date of the positive test or onset of symptoms, whichever occurs first. They may return to school on day 6 if they have been fever-free for 24 hours without fever-reducing medication and symptoms are improving. Those who return to school on day six must wear a well fitting mask for five days. If parents do not want their child to wear a mask on days 6-10, they can choose to keep their child home for 10 days.
Quarantine
Students who are currently at home as a result of being identified as a close contact may return to school on Tuesday if they are asymptomatic and fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication. Parents may also choose for their child to fulfill the entire quarantine period if they desire and communicate this with the school.
If a student learns they are a close contact to someone with COVID-19, no quarantine is required as long as they have no symptoms and are fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication.
Note: If your child is identified as being exposed to an outbreak, school staff will reach out with further guidance, which could include quarantine. The number of students exposed to an outbreak is typically small.
As a school division, we will continue to review and update our mitigation strategies to keep our staff and students safe and our schools open for the remainder of the school year. As always, thank you for your flexibility, support, and understanding as we navigate the many challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lynn B. Briggs
Director of Community and Media Relations
Isle of Wight County Schools
2-2-22 TWOSDAY AT HARDY ELEMENTARY
Read Across America
IWCS Accepting PreSchool Applications for the 2022-2023 School Year
Isle of Wight County Schools is accepting applications for preschool for the 2022-2023 school year. Applications are available on the Early Childhood webpage . The site has also been updated with slides and a video for families to assist with the application process.
In addition, parents/guardians can contact Haley Cooprider, Coordinator of Instruction, at 757-357-0758 or hcooprider@iwcs.k12.va.us for additional information.
The Children's Museum in Portsmouth
YMCA Summer Program
Miss IS County Fair Pageant
Lifetouch Picture Day
Little Sprouts Pre-K at Windsor Elementary
February Menus
School Store Fundraiser
The Hardy PTA is hosting a fundraiser with SchoolStore.com now through the end of this school year. SchoolStore.com offers a range of items for purchase to the friends and family you share it with. They offer items from home decor to magazines. They even offer gift cards to purchase for your child's teacher to redeem at Caring for Classrooms. A gift card purchase allows the teacher to shop for items, supplies or tools they may need that helps benefit your child's learning.
Your child's teacher will be sending home a fundraiser packet from SchoolStore.com in the next few days. Participation is Optional. All fundraisers we (PTA) offer are optional for you to participate in. We are aware that some parents may not want to include the information that is required to participate and we understand. You are welcome to discard the packet.
If you and your child would like to participate, please follow the instructions on the front of the envelope to register your student and acquire a code. Then write the code confirming your participation on the envelope for your child to bring with them to school the next day to redeem for a prize.
The Hardy PTA Executive Board thanks YOU for all your support!
Schoolhouse Museum
The Schoolhouse Museum will be hosting a special program in February for Black History Month.
The program, It’s a Family Affair: Contributions of Black Isle of Wight Families to the Community and Black Historical Legacies, will be held Saturday, February 26th, at 1:00 PM at the Williams Mission Center, Main Street Baptist Church, 517 Main St., Smithfield.
Several families will be recognized, including the Blount, Pretlow, and Thompson families, with more to be added. Each family will have a representative that will share information and visuals about their family. The program will also include presenters in cultural areas, such as, Arts /Literature, Dance/ Comedy, and Music. The second half of the program will begin with local talent performing along with several exhibits for guests to view.
Windsor Athletic Association
HOW DO I KNOW WHEN TO KEEP MY CHILD HOME FROM SCHOOL?
Attendance Reminder
Hardy Elementary New Construction Updates
Please Sign-up for Remind
Remind Notification App
Bayport Savings Day is Back
PTA Information
IMPORTANT: Arrival and Dismissal Updates
- Students cannot be dropped off prior to 8:35 am.
- Please display your blue car tag in on your dashboard. Once you have your child, please remove the car tag from the dashboard. This will inform us that you have received your child.
- When in the drop-off lane for dismissal, please turn your engines off when your number is called. A staff member will direct you to turn off your engine. This is for the safety of ALL students.
- Parents MUST remain in the car at all times! Staff members are available to assist students exiting and entering the car on the Passenger side.
- PLEASE DO NOT PASS IN THE CAR DROP-OFF LANE UNLESS DIRECTED BY A STAFF MEMBER. We will give a signal to dismiss cars once students are safely loaded.
- Please ensure your child’s teacher is aware of ANY dismissal changes PRIOR to 12:00 pm. A preferred method of communication is Remind or email.
- If you cannot find or lost your blue car tag, please email your teacher and we will send another tag home with the child.
Arrival and Dismissal Procedures
- Parents may drop students off starting at 8:35 in the front of the school.
- Parents will not be allowed to enter or leave the parking lot between 8:35 and 8:55.
Parent Drop Off:
- Starting at 8:35 am, parents/guardians will drop students off in the morning in the front of the school.
- Staff members will assist with unloading students from the car. There is no need for parents/guardians to get out of the car.
- Students must exit the car from the passenger side and enter the school through the designated front doors.
- Parents were assigned a unique number on a large car tag and given 2 car tags during open house. If you have more than one child, you will need more than one pass - one pass per child/student being picked-up.
- One pass will be used to hang on the student’s book bag (clip provided) and the other passes are to be used at the parent’s discretion to share with family and carpool friends.
- Parents must have the large car tag clearly displayed on the dashboard during arrival. The assigned staff member will verify the number on the student’s book bag, with the car tag on the dashboard for accuracy.
- If both numbers match, students will be released to go to class. Students being dropped off after 8:55 am must be signed in by a parent/guardian in the front office.
- ALL students will be assigned a car tag number regardless of their transportation status. This will assist with future student dismissals.
Bus Dismissal:
- Students are not permitted to ride a bus other than the bus they were assigned to according to their home address by transportation.
- Students attending the YMCA program at school will report to the cafeteria.
Parent Pick-up:
- Parents will park one after another in the front of the school starting at 3:45 pm.
- Students who are designated as parent pick-up are dismissed from the through the assigned door.
- Once students are dismissed, the assigned staff member will verify the car tag on the dashboard with the number on the student’s backpack.
- If the number on the dashboard matches the number on the child’s backpack, the student will be released to the parent/guardian.
- Once in the parent-pick up line, the parent/guardian must stay in the line as it is extremely dangerous to pass a car waiting in line.
- All parents will be released to leave once the staff member gives the signal.
- If there is a change in your child's dismissal plan, please contact the office BEFORE 3:00 PM.
Car Riders Safety Instructions:
In an effort to maintain the safest possible environment for our students and families, please read and follow the expectations below for drop-off and pick-up of students in the car line:
- All vehicles must be turned off while waiting for their child to report to the car.
- Please help us keep the parent pick-up/drop-off line moving by displaying your car tag on the dashboard each afternoon for our staff to clearly see. For student safety, cars not displaying this sign and/or cars with parents/guardians that are unfamiliar to our staff will be asked to park and go to the main office to sign a child out.
- Stay in one line and pull your car up as far as you can along the bus ramp at the direction of the staff member. Even if there is not a car directly behind you, chances are one will be soon. It is courteous, efficient, and safe to pull up as far as you can to allow the maximum number of cars to line up along the bus ramp.
- Allow your child to exit and enter from the PASSENGER SIDE of the car, directly onto the bus ramp. A staff member will directly assist your child as they exit and enter cars onto the bus ramp. It is very dangerous to exit and enter on the driver’s side and walk through traffic.
- Never pull around a car that is unloading. Cars passing other cars actually create situations that slow traffic down. Oftentimes the few seconds that may be saved, lead to stops in traffic that actually lose time and create dangerous situations. This arrival/dismissal process is new and we are all learning together. We will work to expedite the unloading and loading process as quickly as possible.
- Never park your car or leave your car unattended on the bus ramp to come inside the school for any reason.
- Above all, please model cooperation, patience and teamwork for your child/children at all times in the parking lot and car line.
Child Nutrition Services for the 2021-2022 School Year
A Message from IWCS Food Service Department:
We are thrilled to be back serving your child for the 2021-2022 school year! After adapting our service last year, we are extremely excited to be back serving all students and grade levels in the cafeteria. To kick off the new year, we wanted to share a few things you and your child can look forward to when it comes to mealtime and get an inside look at the new recipes, concepts, and programs we’ll be
introducing this fall.
Breakfast and Lunch are FREE for ALL Students in the 2021-2022 School Year!
Thanks to flexibilities provided by the USDA’s National School Lunch Program, students will have the opportunity to enjoy a breakfast and a lunch at no cost throughout the academic year. It is important to note that even though applications are not required to receive free meals this year, Isle of Wight County Schools/Chartwells K12 would encourage all of our parents/guardians to complete the free/reduced lunch application by following https://www.lunchapplication.com/. During a non-pandemic year, the USDA requires that we have current applications on file since the old application expires at the beginning of the new year.
As your Food Service Director I am extremely proud to announce that your Food Service Managers along with their team members have worked very hard to customize their own menus for their returning students. I could not think of anyone better to care for the food being served to the children. We strive to treat each and every child in Isle of Wight County Schools as if they were a part of our extended family and to bring even more variety to our menus featuring new recipes with child-approved foods.
Menus, Nutrition, Menu Changes
Through Nutrislice, an innovative app, students, parents and faculty have access to school menus, including nutrition information, allergens and photos. Nutrislice can be downloaded for free from the App store (iOS) or Google Play (Android) and is available on desktop and mobile devices. Menus are also available at https://iwcs.nutrislice.com/.
We are also excited to announce that we will be offering A la Carte items for purchase in cafeteria lines. As to limit points of contact we highly encourage the use of the K12 Payment Center located at https://www.k12paymentcenter.com/ however checks and cash will be accepted. Please note our cafeterias will not be making change and all payment in excess of the A la Carte purchase price will be applied to the individual lunch account
Instructional Tips for Device Applications
Mustang Behavior Expectations
Hardy Elementary is implementing a new systematic school-wide behavior program this school year. We are continuing our behavior expectations of Growth, Respect, Empathy, Accountability and Trustworthiness; however, we are specifically defining how these characteristics look in each location within the building (such as hallways, restrooms, offices, cafeteria, playground/school grounds, bus etc.).
- The G.R.E.A.T expectations document is based on a proactive behavior model approach which teaches the behaviors, reinforces and recognizes students who are able to model these behaviors and has systems in place to support students who have a difficult time or may present with more challenging behaviors.
- Behavioral expectations are clearly defined- GREAT- Growth, Respect, Empathy, Accountability and Trustworthiness- for various settings and taught to all students in the school.
- Once appropriate behaviors have been defined and taught, they are acknowledged in various ways on a regular basis. Specifically, the stable to purchase items or house points.
- Every person who works in the school is aware of the behavioral expectations and works to ensure students are consistently getting the same message, regardless of the setting they are in or the adult they come in contact with.
- Individual support is provided for students not responding to the school- wide system. Our school has a system for developing plans for individual students who may have a difficult time and need more support in a school setting. Parents will be notified if their child is in need of the above support(s)
Active support by all stakeholders is imperative. The entire school community is needed in order to make this system successful. Our new behavior system is a building-wide behavior program for establishing a positive school culture.
Hardy Elementary School
Website: http://hes.iwcs.k12.va.us/
Location: 9311 Hardy Circle, Smithfield, VA, United States
Phone: 757-357-3204
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IsleofWighCountySchools/
Twitter: @HardyElementary