Providence Elementary School
Dr. Lynette Alexander, Principal
Welcome Back from Dr. Alexander
My name is Lynette Alexander, and I am excited to serve as your Ship Captain-PRINCIPAL. I am a proud product of Huntsville City School and currently serve as an educator for over 24 years. During my multiple excursions, the compass needle has guided me to dock along the shores of various elementary, middle, and high schools located near the northwest inland. However, the planet’s biggest and strongest magnet has guided me toward the largest International Baccalaureate (IB) elementary school in the city of Huntsville, Providence IB Elementary World School. Providence is full of wonderful treasures, and we are committed to guiding through many more educational discoveries.
Hope you are anticipating an exciting time as we work together to create diverse opportunities for students to learn through exploration, adventure, and fun! Let the adventures begin...
Email: presonia.alexander@hsv-k12.org
Website: https://www.huntsvillecityschools.org/schools/providence-elementary
Location: 10 Northwest Chalkstone Street, Huntsville, AL, USA
Phone: (256)428-7125
Facebook: facebook.com/PESHSVAL
Twitter: @Providence_ELEM
ALL Visitors Check In Through the Front Office
For the protection of students and employees, all schools have a closed campus policy. Parents and visitors are required to come to the office, show their ID, sign-in, and secure a nametag. No person may go directly to a classroom, and no interruptions to our school programs will be made except in cases of emergency, as decided by the school office.
Attendance Is Important
Our State Attendance Goal is a daily average of 95% of our students will attend school each day. As your child’s instructional leader, I would like to stress the importance of your child attending school every day. Let's start this new year stressing how vital your child’s future is to the PES family and how the family expects your child to reach their fullest potential. Please remember instruction begins promptly at 8:00 a.m. and students should be in their classrooms ready to learn on time.
According to the Alabama Legislature, there is an enacted legislation mandating the enforcement of mandatory school attendance laws for all students enrolled in public school.
Alabama Attendance Laws (Section 16-28-13) -
“Every child between the ages of six and 17 years shall be required to attend a public school, private school, church school or be instructed by a competent private tutor for the entire length of the school term in every scholastic year---.”
Section 16-28-12-
Requires that any parent/guardian who enrolls a student in school be responsible for the students’ proper conduct. It also provides that a parent may be fined $100.00 and receive up to ninety days in jail.
Section 12-15-15-
Provides that a parent may be fined $500.00 and receive up to one year of hard labor if convicted of parental neglect; contributing to the delinquency of a minor; or if the child is found to be a child in NEED OF SUPERVISION. They may also be required to pay restitution to the Board of Education.
Absent or Tardy for School?
If your child is tardy, please accompany him/her into the building and sign-in. School starts at 8:00 a.m. and students are considered tardy any time after that. Remember we expect instruction to begin promptly at 8:00 am.
Unexcused Tardies:
- 5 Unexcused Tardies – Parent Call and a letter sent home (First Notice).
- 7 or more Unexcused Tardies - Parent letter sent home (Second Notice). This letter requests that a mandatory conference is held at Columbia High school.
Unexcused Absences:
- 1 Unexcused Absence- Contact the parent via phone, e-mail, and communication log.
- 3 Unexcused Absences- Send Parent letter (First Notice)
- 5 Unexcused Absences- Send Parent Letter (Second Notice/Early Warning).
- Early Warning Meeting will be scheduled and conducted at Columbia High School by Truancy Specialist.
Morning Routine - Instruction Starts at 8:00am
Classroom instruction starts promptly at 8:00 am each day. Students arriving after 8:00 am are tardy and must have a parent or a guardian sign them in at the main office.The building doors open at 7:30 am. Supervision of students is not provided until 7:30 am; therefore, students should not arrive at school before 7:30 am. At 7:30 am, the student will be supervised on their grade level hallways until dismissed into the classroom during the 7:50 pm bell. Breakfast in the Classroom begins at 7:50 pm and instruction begins at 8:00 am.
Kindergarten through fifth-grade students should enter the car rider line if they are car riders and the bus rider entrance if they are bus riders. Walkers will enter the car rider door through the side entrance. Pre-K students and parents should have a NEON YELLOW pass and enter the Pre-K door.
Bus Transportation with Apple Bus Company
Bus routes for the 2019 – 2020 school year are now available for viewing on the HCS website at www.HuntsvilleCitySchools.org/transportation. The Safe Stop bus app will be available for use on Thursday, July 25, 2019. The company is enhancing the application, and it will offer users more services this coming year. Check the HCS transportation page for details.
Child Nutrition Program Update- Free & Reduced Lunch Application Is Due
New Prices
Breakfast Lunch
Student $1.50 $2.65
Faculty / staff $2.00 $3.65
Visitors $2.00 $4.25
The Community Eligibility Provision or (CEP) allows schools in high-poverty areas to provide free breakfasts and lunch to all students, using preexisting data to determine the eligibility of kids to receive free nutrition assistance. Huntsville City Schools currently has over two dozen schools that qualify for the CEP program. Only schools in the CEP program will provide free breakfast and lunch to all students. To see if a school site falls under this provision, visit the website at www.HuntsvilleCitySchools.org/cnp and then select the Community Eligibility Program tab.
Students who attend a Non-CEP school will still be eligible for free and or reduced meals if they qualify. Qualification is determined by completing and submitting a free or reduced application. Online applications can be found on the HCS CNP website. Paper applications will also be available through your child’s school. More information is available at www.HuntsvilleCitySchools.org/cnp.
Providence is currently a CEP school; therefore, we receive free Breakfast and Lunch for ALL students. Please complete the Free and Reduced Lunch Application and return ASAP so that our child will continue to benefit from this program.
Character Words for the Year
August - Citizenship
September - Respect
October - Courage
November - Empathy
December - Generosity
January - Perseverance
February - Compassion
March - Self-control
April - Integrity
May - Cooperation
Classroom Observances
Give Medication to Nurse Casey
According to HCS policy, a medication that is not prescribed, including aspirin and cough medicine cannot be administered by the school or brought to school for self-medication. You may visit the office and request to see your child when your child must have medication that is not prescribed. If prescription medication is required, parents must complete a Medication Release Form, available in the clinic, with a new form required each year. The medicine must have prescription labels and be housed and administered in the nurse's office. Students must also have forms on file to have inhalers. Please notify the office or Nurse Casey of any special medical needs so that plans can be developed to assist children.
What are DIBELS? (Grades K-3 ONLY in HCS)
DIBELS are measures that help teachers and schools determine how students are performing on important reading skills. DIBELS stands for Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills. These measures are designed for students in grades K-8.
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What skills are measured by DIBELS, and why are they important?
The critical skills necessary for successful beginning reading include phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. The DIBELS measures assess students on four of these five critical skills, which are often referred to as the “Big Ideas” of reading.
Which tests will be given to my son or daughter?
Each student will complete the tests depending on his or her grade and the time of year. Students will be tested in the following areas: Letter Naming Fluency, First Initial Sound Fluency, Nonsense Word Fluency, and Oral Reading Fluency.
How often are students assessed?
All students in a school building are given the DIBELS test three times each year; usually, this occurs in the fall, winter, and spring. This schoolwide testing is called a benchmark assessment. School personnel may also regularly check on the progress of students who receive extra reading help to make sure their reading skills are improving. These regular checks are called progress monitoring. Students who are progress monitored may complete one or two of the individual DIBELS tests as often as once a week or as little as once every six weeks depending on school resources and the needs of the student.
1st Semester Holidays - School Closed
October 7-11 - Fall Break
November 11 - Veterans' Day
November 25-29 - Thanksgiving Holiday
December 23 - January 3 - Winter Holiday Break
Late Picking Up Students
Student safety is the highest priority of the Huntsville City School District. Therefore, we make every effort to ensure that all students are under appropriate supervision until the end of their school day. The office staff, teachers, and administrators have other duties that prevent them from supervising children after 3:00 pm. Also, children can feel confused and apprehensive when they are not picked up promptly.
If needed, there is an afterschool program located at the school for a nominal fee. Riding the bus is also an available option for ALL parents to ensure students are picked up on time and arrive home safely.
If parents are habitually late picking up students after 3:00 pm, the school will have no other option but to contact the Office of Student Welfare and Social Services, the Department of Human Resources (DHR), and/or the Huntsville Police Department.
If the school can assist you in this matter, please let us know.
Reading Program: Collaborative Classroom
What is Collaborative Classroom? (Grades K-5)
We are excited to announce that this year, our class will be using Collaborative Literacy for our reading and writing instruction. In addition to helping each student become a skilled reader and writer, Collaborative Literacy lessons will help our class become a community of learners where everyone feels welcome and safe. To accomplish this, Collaborative Literacy integrates social development with academic content.
Grades K-2 of Collaborative Literacy is comprised of two programs or modules. Being a Reader and Being a Writer. Each program focuses on a specific aspect of literacy:
- Being a Reader (K-2)helps children in kindergarten through grade 2 learn how to read. In whole-class Shared Reading lessons, students read and re-read books and poems together with the teacher and discuss them with partners and the whole group. In whole-class Handwriting lessons, the students learn to write capital and lowercase letters. During the first few weeks of Being a Reader, students learn to work independently in reading, writing, and word work. Teaching students to work independently allows the teacher time to begin Small-group Reading within a few weeks of starting school. Small-group Reading is targeted early reading instruction with groups of students who are working on similar reading skills. The students in each group get the individual instruction that they need, and they read books that are at their reading level.
• Being a Writer (K-5)helps students build their writing skills. The students hear and discuss examples of good writing and write original pieces in a variety of genres. They learn a process they can use to take a piece of writing from an idea to the first draft to a final published piece. During the first unit of Being a Writer, the students practice the social skills of listening respectfully to the thinking of others, sharing their thinking, and showing appreciation for others’ writing. These skills help the students build a supportive writing community.
Grade 3 through 5 of Collaborative Literacy is comprised of two programs or modules, Making Meaning and Being a Writer. Each program focuses on a specific aspect of literacy:
• Making Meaning (3-5)is designed to help students build their reading comprehension. The students hear books read aloud and discuss them with partners and the class. They learn key comprehension strategies readers use to help them understand what they read, including questioning, using text features, making inferences, and determining important ideas. They also practice reading independently every day during Individualized Daily Reading (IDR). The first unit of Making Meaning focuses on building a reading community. The students talk about what they like to read. They listen to, read, and discuss stories. They also practice the social skill of listening carefully to others.
Open House August 27 @ 6:00pm
Concessions will be served in the cafeteria from 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm. The menu with prices will be sent home in Wednesdays' Parent Communication folder.
Don't forget to join Classroom DOJO, Twitter, and PTA & Providence Webpages. It TAKES a TEAM!
Parent-Teacher Communication
Communication between school and home is essential. Parent Communication Folders will be sent home every Wednesday. Teachers should also send a Weekly Newsletter to keep parents informed. Parents will also be asked to join Classroom DOJO for constant communication. Join social media to receive monthly Principal Newsletters and update. Finally, SchoolCast supported by the information in PowerSchool/I-NOWwill provides urgency or essential updates.
Progress Report - 1st Nine Weeks - Report Card
Progress Reports/Report Cards: 1st-NINE WEEKS (44 days)
Begin: August 5, 2019
Progress reports go home: September 4, 2019
End of grading period: October 4, 2019
Report cards go home: October 18, 2019
1st PTA Meeting - Mark Your Calendars
Snacks In The Classroom
Snack time is not required and is at the discretion of the classroom teacher. However, only healthy snack options will be allowed for consumption in the classrooms. A list of healthy snack options will be provided to all parents and posted on the school website.
TIPS for Safe Car Rider Dismissal
FOR THE SAFETY OF OUR STUDENTS AT FARLEY, ALL PARENTS ARE ENCOURAGED TO:
- Remain in their vehicle in the car line during pick-up (No Walk-up Checkouts)
- Proceed cautiously with the flow of traffic
- Speed limit - 5mph (SAFETY FIRST)
- Load and unload from the right side ONLY
- Pay attention at all times, do not sit and watch your child walk down the sidewalk (Watch in front of you)
- Do Not use cellphones in the car line. The car line is a NO CELL PHONE ZONE!
- Check-out students before 2:00 pm (there will be no check-outs between 2:00–2:30 pm)
- Do not congregate in the common areas during dismissal (front hallway or front sidewalk area); you will be asked kindly to clear the dismissal area
- Follow the directives of the staff and safety patrol on outside duty
- Do not park on the left side of the parking lot (Students should not walk across two lanes of traffic