Hawks Nest
Hancock Elementary School
December 14-17
Important Party information
Hello Hawk families,
We are noticing some confusion about registering for the party on Friday. I hope to clear this up for you so that there is not any stress on Friday. There are about 300 families that have not had their license scanned at this time but have turned in a red form. That means there will be 300 families waiting in line on Friday to attend their child's party. Parties are only 30 minutes in length.
If you are needing to scan your license. Feel free to run to campus with the license to ward off you waiting in line on Friday. We will scan licenses between 8:30-2:00. If you are bringing a guest, their license also has to be scanned and they will have to wait in the line unless you bring them in early to scan.
We have Wednesday & Thursday to get everyone that doesn't want to wait in line. It only takes a few minutes and you will be set. Registered parents will avoid the line in the front of the school and we will have your sticker ready for you by the cafeteria on party day. If we do not have your sticker, unfortunately, you will need to wait in line in the front of the building to get it scanned.
Am I scanned in for the party?
1) You are Registered for the party if you completed the red form. If you have come to the campus and had your license scanned for an event, (for example, 3rd grade tradition day) then your license is scanned into the system.
2) Not Registered for the party. The registration form went home with your child but was not completed. If you need another one, please speak to your child's teacher.
3) Not Registered for the party. I filled out the red form and sent it in. I have not had my license scanned.
3) Not Registered for the Party. If you have come to the campus to pick up your child and have NOT volunteered-your license was scanned but is not in the same system for the party. Picking up your child is a different system that is required.
4)You are not registered for the party. If your license is on your phone or sent through email- this will not fit into the scanner.
5)You are not registered for the party. If you only have a passport. You will need to stand in line.
**If you can't remember, it is better safe than sorry-come to the campus to scan your license. Run up to the campus to be on the safe side or feel free to call.
Our goal is for everyone to enter, celebrate with your child, and of course to make sure all children are safe at the end of the party.
Please remember, our parking is super limited and unfortunately will not be party-friendly on Friday. If you can carpool, or walk to campus, it might be easier.
Christmas Parties
Cafeteria
We will a few seats available for parents to sit. Feel free to bring a sports chair if you would like.
Siblings are not invited to the parties due to space. We will allow siblings under the age of 4. However, they may not participate.
Are you taking your child early on Friday?
If you did not check the box on your red form, please send a note with your child Wednesday-Friday.
We have parties all day and do not have staff to retrieve children throughout the day. If they already have their blue sticker, they will be ready to go home either after their party or in the front office depending on what time you requested.
Teachers know to look for blue stickers. :)
Fun December Days for the kiddos...
Ms. Windham, one of our 5th-grade teachers created the following list for the kiddos that match the teachers.
Feel free to allow your child to join us.
Tomorrow begins with pajamas. Don't forget shoes for recess or PE.
The information below was already shared, but wanted you to have it as a back up.
December 17th-Save the Date
This year, all parties will be held in the cafeteria as a grade level.
Breakfast & Lunches will be "Grab & Go". This means the students will get their lunch and go back to the classroom as a class to eat so that the cafeteria will stay available for the parties.
Each student will receive an informational packet for your review which will include schedules and donation requests. Informational packets were sent home with all children 2 weeks ago on Friday (red paper).
A few things to remember and will help the day to run smoothly for you:
- The key secret is to PRE-REGISTER. This allows you to not wait to have your license scanned but rather to receive a pre-printed sticker for you to enter the party quickly. If you pre-register, you will enter the cafeteria on the bus lane side of the cafeteria.
- If you do not pre-register, you will enter through the front doors and wait in line until your license is scanned. This becomes a long line. Sometimes, parents have waited so long, they only had a short time in the party. Allow us to help you get in quickly so that you can enjoy watching your child have fun with their peers.
- If you have not scanned your license THIS YEAR. Feel free to stop by any day between 8:30-2:00 before the 17th to scan it in the system.
- Parking will still be an issue, plan ahead or feel free to walk to the campus if you live close.
- Limited seating will be in the cafeteria just like the classroom as the entire grade level will be partying at the same time. :)
- School-aged children or siblings will need to attend their own campus or sit in the front office during the party. Younger siblings (below the age of 4) are welcome to attend with the parent but will not participate in the party as it is for Hancock children.
- We do not invite or retrieve school-aged siblings for the parties.
- The informational packet will have further guidance if you plan to sign your children out early.
- If you plan to attend more than one party due to your kiddos in different grades, that is wonderful. We just ask that you leave and come back at the next party time.
Picking up students early
Our Leadership team had the pleasure of working at the front desk while Ms. Sivan was out. We did learn that our procedures are all over the place which is a cause for confusion for you and us. Even if you were able to not follow the below procedures before-it changes now.
Effective Immediately:
- All visitors will show their hard copy of their license to retrieve a child or to enter the building. Phone picture copies will not allow us to dismiss children early or allow adults to enter the building.
Follow these steps to apply for a replacement or duplicate Texas driver's license:
2. Our campus procedures require a note from the parent/guardian if a child is to be picked up early even if it is an emergency contact.
3. If we do not have a note by 2:30 pm, students will be released at the normal dismissal of 3:30 pm. You are welcome to send it with your child in the morning. We will have a blue sticker for your child and they will be sent to the office at the time you requested. Our teachers know to look for the blue stickers.
4. WE DO NOT TAKE EARLY RELEASE REQUESTS OVER THE PHONE. WE REQUIRE A NOTE SIGNED BY THE PARENT OR GUARDIAN.
5. If you come to the school after 2:30 to request an early pick-up without a previous note, we will dismiss your child at normal dismissal. We will not disrupt learning or dismissal procedures to gather children after 2:30.
6. Some parents do not arrive at the time they requested and this causes unnecessary stress to the children and missed instruction. If your child is in PK (napping or learning), 5th grade, out at recess, in large group there will be a wait as searching for a student among 150 takes time. This is why a note is very helpful so that we can work to gather your child at the time you requested.
*Friendly reminder, children that are picked up early are losing instruction and seat minutes according to the state requirement. This is similar to tardies and absences.
*We understand emergencies happen. We are here to help you but more importantly to teach your child. With Covid and the gaps in learning we are noticing, it is imperative that we have your children as long as we possibly can to help them get caught up.
More importantly, please save your frustrations as Ms. Sivan is following our campus procedures.
Vestibule
Because we are polite in Texas...
However, it is for one family at a time.
Please help us keep your children and teachers safe.
Good News
Guess what? Your voices were heard...
You will enter on Schroeder and follow to the right all the way to Middlebury inside the fence. You will snake around and still drop off in the front.
We will be able to have walkers as construction and traffic will be gone. Woohoo
We are so excited!!!
Located in the cafe on the stage
Your child is welcome to look at the items during their breakfast or lunch. If you would like to look for yourself, please call the front desk to schedule to come to the campus between 8:30-10:00 am. We will be glad to have a staff member help you search for your child's items.
At the end of each month, items will be donated.
**Helpful Tip: Please label your child's belongings. If we find it, we will make sure it gets delivered to the student.
Lost and Found
If you are not pleased with a grade, please check out our review of the reteach/redo/retest policy located in the parent handbook.
Grades
NINE WEEK GRADING PERIODS
Report cards will be issued every nine weeks for elementary students. Progress reports will be issued for all students (Pre-K-5) after the fourth week of the grading period. Student achievement in the mastery of grade-level Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) will be reported to parents through report cards every nine weeks. The school uses a computerized report card system. When you receive your child’s report card, please examine it closely.
Parents of second through fifth graders are encouraged to use the Home Access Center system to stay current of their child’s grades throughout the marking period.
In an effort to communicate progress to parents, work samples are collected and graded to show a student’s mastery of a specific skill. However, all assignments that come home are not necessarily graded. In addition, some assignments that come home with grades may not be recorded in the teacher’s grade book. A student may occasionally receive a holistic score on a scale of 0 – 4 for projects or writing assignments. Not all grades are averaged equally. Daily grades may count toward a higher percentage of the student’s final average than tests and quizzes. Specific criteria regarding grades will be shared by the teacher.
In grades Pre-K – 1st, teachers assess student work samples and record their achievement. At this end of the nine weeks, each student’s work is applied to a rubric that determines a nine weeks grade.
In grades 2nd – 5th, graded work is recorded by the teacher and averaged each nine weeks to determine your child’s nine weeks grade. Numeric grades may be converted as follows:
A = 90 – 100,
B = 80 – 89,
C = 75 – 79,
C-= 70 – 74,
F = 0 – 69.
Uh oh...What if we do not like the grade on an assignment?
Oops...we understand our grades are not always what we want so we have an opportunity to set your child up for success. See below.
REDO WORK
Students may have three opportunities each nine weeks to redo assignments/major grades for which he/she earned a grade of 69 or below.
The three opportunities will include one major grade and two daily grades. The highest grade a student can earn on the “redo/retest” will be a 70.
***Parents must request the redo opportunity within one week of the grade being posted on the Home Access Center or the assignment coming home in the Take Home folder.
All reteach/ redo opportunities will take place before school at 7:40 a.m. The redo date will not be changed or postponed for students who do not attend the re-teaching date. District Progress Monitoring Assessments (DPM) and district benchmarks are not included in the redo/retest opportunities.
Tutoring
We provide tutoring daily during Hawk Time.
- Teachers will volunteer if they choose to tutor before or after school.
- A teacher's personal schedule may not allow them the time to tutor before or after school so your child may receive help from another educator.
- We will gather all names and create a roster. We will inform you and give you contact information.
- Depending on the number of educators that choose to tutor, we may have a waiting list.
- If the student misses or is late arriving or being picked up, their spot will be released and a student on the waiting list will be selected.
Hi Hawk Families:
Please click the link below and fill in the Google Form.
As events get closer on the calendar, you will be contacted as a reminder.
Thank you!
Birthday Options
Birthdays are celebrated at Hancock during lunch.
We celebrate your child's birthday at Hancock by:
- Wishing them a Happy Birthday over the announcements. You should hear the cheering and clapping around the campus. It is so sweet.
- We allow the birthday student to come to my office to select a birthday book.
- We celebrate weekend and summer birthdays too.
- Teachers may choose a different way to celebrate the birthday student in their class.
- Goody bags-(NOT REQUIRED) that are brought to campus will be passed out to students at the end of the day. We ask that the items be safe for all children. Please check with your child's teacher for an updated class count.
If you would like to purchase the items for your child and their class, please talk to the cafeteria manager: Marisol Rodriguez at 281-897-4523. She will be happy to set you up on the day of your choosing.
Please check often, as the calendar is subject to change.
Important Dates coming up:
December 17:
- Hancock Christmas Parties-See informational above
December 20-January 4:
- Christmas Break
January 4:
All CFISD students and staff return to school
Hancock Elementary
Website: http://hancock.cfisd.net/en/
Location: Hancock Elementary School, Schroeder Road, Houston, TX, United States
Phone: 281-897-4523
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/T.S.HancockElementary
Twitter: @Hancockcfisd