Principal's Post-its
News from Mrs. Parker for the Week of February 1-5
What's going on this week at DHE?
February
1-5 Counselor Appreciation Week
1 Heart Health presentations in the Discovery Den @ 11:50-2:50 p.m.
2 Delta Dental Land of Smiles performance for K-3rd graders @ 9:20 a.m.
2 DHE Night @ Texas Roadhouse 4:00-9:00 p.m.
4 4th grade performance tonight @ 7:00 p.m.
5 Civility Assembly @ 7:40 a.m.
Top Dog of the Week-Mrs. Samples
For the past seven years I’ve had the privilege of serving the students and families of David Harrison as their guidance counselor. My journey in the education field has been somewhat untraditional to say the least. Following in the footsteps of my family, and over the course of a decade, I worked on my degree in elementary education. Upon graduating from MSU, my first teaching assignment was a first/second grade split at Fairbanks Elementary. The next year I taught a multi-age classroom of 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders. The class had 40 students with two teachers; we had an amazing year together. (Sound familiar?)
In the years that followed, I earned a master’s degree in Guidance Counseling from Missouri State University. I began my career as a counselor at Bowerman Elementary. After five years as a counselor with SPS, I left to work with my husband in our home building business. As fate would have it, I decided to return to counseling the same year David Harrison opened and I count my blessings every day to be part of this wonderful group of educators and students.
To close I’ll share just a bit about my personal life. I am a lifelong resident of Springfield. I attended Williams Elementary, Reed Jr. High, and Hillcrest High school. I am married to my amazing husband, David. David is a homebuilder and I love helping him with his projects every time I get the opportunity. Together we have 10 beautiful children ranging from eleven years old to forty-one. We still have three children at home who attend Ozark Public Schools. I also have six precious grandchildren. Oops, I forgot to mention Ruffles, our blue heeler that thinks she’s a lap dog. I treasure my family and love being a wife, mom, and grandmother. I don’t have a lot of extra time for hobbies, but I love to sing, design floral arrangements, cook, garden and hang out with family and friends.
Want to recognize a DHE staff member?
Recognize an outstanding SPS employee
Do you know someone who goes above and beyond at David Harrison? Help us identify those outstanding individuals who are dedicated to ensuring we provide engaging, relevant and personal learning experiences to every child, every day. Nominate an outstanding SPS employee for special recognition.
Each time a parent submits a form we recognize that teacher/staff member at the next Celebration Assembly.
New Summer School Program is EXPLORE
Make your mark at Explore!
This summer, Explore will offer students eight weeks of exciting opportunities to pursue their unique interests and passions. From May 26 through July 29, each day will be packed with engaging, relevant and personal learning opportunities, enriched by integrated technology, exciting field experiences and hands-on activities.
New this year, Artworks will be offered free at two locations, plus students can choose to stay all day to enrich their experience. With more than 20 elementary schools to choose from, free transportation for eligible students and breakfast and lunch served at every school, Explore offers a great experience for everyone.
Elementary students will attend classes Monday through Friday from 8:50 a.m. to 3:20 p.m. (except Hickory Hills, 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.). There will be no classes July 1 or July 4.
Enrollment for elementary students begins Feb. 11 at www.springfieldpublicschoolsmo.org.
Teacher of the Year Nominations
100th Day of School 2016
February News from Mr. Rowell-COMPUTER LAB
The kindergarteners are going to continue working on Dreambox and improving their computer skills. First grade will be making videos with their Chromebooks about their animal’s adaptions relating to the animal they researched last month. Third and Fourth grade will continue working on their Genius Hour projects.
February News from Mrs. Brummel-PE
The month of February is going to be jam packed with fun and healthy activities. We will be concluding our basketball and rhythms unit. We have introduced several fun fitness apps that students can enjoy in school and at home. These apps include: Fitness Blender, Sworkit, 7 Min workout, and several dance applications. Beginning in February, my student teacher, Erica Inman will begin taking over and teaching the physical education classes. I am very excited for our students to discover several new and fun activities with her.
Towards the end of the month we will be researching and exploring “Heart Health.” Students will discover how to keep a Heart healthy, prevention of heart disease, and how living a healthy lifestyle will keep our hearts pumping. We will be participating in “Jump Rope for Heart” again this year and I will have more details about this program and how to help children in the near future. The American Heart Association will be visiting us for a special presentation on February 12th at 1:20 p.m. at the Celebration Assembly. They will be recognizing our fundraisers from last year and celebrating Harrison for being the TOP SCHOOL IN SPRINGFIELD to raise money for the American Heart Association.
Be on the lookout for a parent letter coming home along with a collection packet! By clicking here, ( link is currently under construction I will send the new is coming soon ) you will go to our online team page. Registering online is quick and easy! Any student who can raise more online donations than me will be invited to a special lunch with me at the end of our Jump Rope for Heart!
There are several other really neat rewards for participation in this year’s Jump Rope for Heart. We have some very special badges of honor for our student participants this year!
The student who saves the most lives this year will get to give MRS. BRUMMEL a PIE IN THE FACE! The top fundraising classroom will get an EXTRA day of P.E. that week.
February News from Mr. Zimmerman-ART
This may be the shortest month of the year, but we certainly won’t be short on art activities! Let’s take a look at what our artists will be making this month. Fourth grade has just finished their still life unit. From this study, we transition right into one point perspective where the students will continue to draw forms, yet forms that recede into the distance as they appear to be farther from the viewer’s location. Third grade will begin Chinese brush stroke. This is a subtle art that pushes the students to create a small landscape using many strokes of the brush so that the work appears to be made of lots of various painted lines that form hills and a forest. In second grade, we are starting one of my personal favorites: Japanese Paper Dolls. We will look at Japanese culture and students will learn the origami technique of paper doll making. First grade will have some fun with an underwater project. We look at illustrations by Kevin Sherry, who stains his backgrounds using two colors to give them a tie-dye look with various color values. Students will use dyed tissue paper and water to stain their own underwater scene. Finally, kindergarten will be studying the art element of line. Week one, we study line and I have students paint various types of lines. Week two, we cut out shapes from the line paintings and create roosters from the story Bob, a book about a rooster searching for someone that can teach him how to crow.
February News from Mrs. Fetzer-MUSIC
Our kindergarten, second, and third graders will begin their Composer Units during February. Kindergarteners will learn about Johann Strauss, Jr., or Mr. Strauss—as we will call him in class. Our second graders’ composer will be George Frideric Handel, and third graders will learn about Johann Sebastian Bach. They will all work to learn things about their composer’s life and his music. Fourth grade classes will have their performance, “Heartland Hoedown,” next week and then will wrap up their Performance Unit by completing a grading rubric for themselves and an evaluation of the performance. After classroom cast parties the following week, they will kick off their composer study about Gioacchino Rossini. First grade classes are beginning to work on their program, “Stone Soup!” They are learning the story of the musical so they can give me feedback on what special parts they are interested in. After those parts are assigned, based upon the students’ interest, the script will be reworked and then individual scripts will be sent home along with a schedule of the special part practices to be held before and after school. I hope you have April 7 already written on your family calendars for their performance. This month we also will have auditions for the 19th Annual SPS Elementary Honor Choir. 4th Graders can audition for this exciting opportunity. Don’t worry Hitmakers; we’ll begin our Spring session of Hitmakers in March!
DHE Night @ Texas Roadhouse
Our next DHE Night @ Texas Road House is Tuesday, February 2nd from 4:00-9:00 p.m. Join other DHE families for a night of face painting, crafts and a free sundae bar for the kids! Enjoy a yummy dinner while supporting your school at the same time.
Kindergarten Registration
Kindergarten screenings help teachers coordinate the student classroom setup and assist in the creation of classroom instruction at the beginning of the year.
Kindergarten registration helps the district determine how many Kindergarten teachers to hire for the upcoming school year.
Students currently enrolled in an SPS preschool program (Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE), ECSE Integrated Classroom, Missouri Preschool Program (MPP), and Wonder Years) do not need to register for Kindergarten or provide the supporting documentation.
Students that have submitted an Online Enrollment Application for Kindergarten will need to contact their school to make arrangements to provide the listed supporting documentation.
Students must be enrolled in Kindergarten (or SPS preschool program) before they are able to register for summer school. A student ID number is required for summer school enrollment.
Kindergarten preview days and orientations are offered at most schools. Please check with your school for event information.
School transfers will not be granted until the first week of the school year. You must register at your home school location.
If you have any questions about Kindergarten readiness, screenings, or registration, please contact The Office of School Readiness 523-1300.
Mrs. Parker's Contact Information
Email: cparker@spsmail.org
Website: http://harrison.spsk12.org/pages/HarrisonES
Location: 3055 West Kildee Lane, Springfield, MO, United States
Phone: 417-523-5810
Twitter: @chrismendel7