Homecroft Elementary School
Start of the Year Welcome Back, Info, and Updates Aug 2022
Hello Homecroft Families~
A sincere welcome to the start of the school year! The summer months go by all too quickly, yet we are excited about our students and families returning to Homecroft. We hope you are getting ready for the start of the school year! Thank you for your patience with us as we know there are still many questions about the start of the year. We are working very hard to make sure everything is in order for the first day of school, which is Tuesday, September 6th.
You are invited to our Open House on Wednesday, August 31st from 4:00 - 5:30 PM.
Teacher Assignments will be posted in Infinite Campus around 3:30pm on Friday, Aug 26.
Due to privacy laws, we are unable to provide the name of your child's teacher over the phone or in an email. So please make sure you are able to log into the Parent Portal of Infinite Campus.
Please review the info in this newsletter. We will keep you as informed as possible! We are really excited to see everyone in the coming weeks. Thank you for choosing Homecroft!
Our office is open and we looking forward to serving our families. Please reach out to us if you have questions. We will be sending out more information readily, please stay tuned and in touch!
Best Regards,
Tom Cawcutt, Principal
Upcoming Dates
Aug 15...Office Staff back
Aug 26... 3:30pm - Teacher assignments posted on Infinite Campus
Aug 29...Teachers back (all day training...same for Aug 31)
Aug 31...School building closed until at least 1 pm (District-wide training)
Aug 31...Open House 4pm-5:30pm (please do not come before 4pm)
Sept 5...School closed (Labor Day)
Sept 6...First Day of school for 1st-5th Grades
Sept 6 & 7...Kindergarten family/teacher meetings
Sept 8...First Day of school for Kindergarten
School calendar can be found on our website or by clicking HERE
What is Open House?
We invite your family to join us from 4:00 - 5:30 PM on Wednesday, August 31st. This is a very fun, lighthearted meet & greet with our staff and a chance to Welcome You back!
- You do NOT need to sign up for a time to visit.
- Please do not come before 4pm. The teachers are just getting back from training and need some time to make sure they are ready to see all of their families.
- Plan on extra time to find a place to park, and possibly walking a couple of blocks. We have A LOT of families coming.
- K-5th grade students may bring their school supplies with them.
- If your child is a busser, be sure to check with the teacher if the bus stop is correct. If not, stop at the bus table.
- There are no COVID restrictions
We hope to see you there!
All School Buildings closed Wednesday morning, Aug 31
There is a district-wide staff training on Wednesday morning, Aug 31. As a result...Homecroft Elementary School will be closed until at least 1pm until I(Stephanie) can get back to the office.
Otherwise...the School Office hours through next week are 7:15am - 3:15pm Monday-Friday, however we may take vacation on Friday afternoons.
Due to the high workload this time of year, emails work better than phone calls. If you do call, please leave a message. Thank you! stephanie.joy@isd709.org - Admin Asst
Grade Level Teachers
Grade 1 - Mrs. Butche(Lochner), Mrs. Willson(Moe), Ms. Wolfe
Grade 2 - Mrs. Krizaj, Mrs. Ruhanen, Mrs. Watters
Grade 3 - Mrs. Antonich, Mr. Blatt, Mr. Forbort
Grade 4 - Mrs. Francisco, Mrs. Jackson, Mr. McNulty
Grade 5 - Mr. Warmanen, Mrs. Munthe
Staffing updates at Homecroft
- Mrs. Tiffany Francisco was added to our fourth grade
- Ms. Mychala Marshall has been added to reading intervention.
- Mr. Logan Kerhkof is our art teacher
- Ms. Kristiina Thums is our music teacher
- Ms. Stacey Nilsson joins our SpEd team
- Ms. Lisa Lochner is now Lisa Butche
- Ms. Rachel Moe is now Rachel Willson
- Mr.Todd McGowan is our Behavior Intervention Specialists
- Mrs. Lori Jackson is returning and teaching Grade 4
- We are still waiting on a SpEd Social Worker as Ms. Maya Vukelich is now at Piedmont full time.
- Mr. Chad Humphreys is now our MTSS/SEL Coordinator
- We anticipate a few new Reading/Math Corps members, too, so stay tuned.
Grade K Conferences
Welcome to Homecroft Elementary and to the beginning of Kindergarten! We are excited to meet the class of 2035! We invite you to partner with us as we begin your child’s journey in education. As parents, you are your child’s first teacher and play an important role in the academic/emotional development of your child. We are really excited about the year ahead and getting to know “our” kids.
Homecroft has set aside two special days, September 6th and 7th for kindergarten family/teacher conferences. Families are invited to come in, meet the teacher, and take a little time to further understand kindergarten. Conferences will be held from 8:00 AM through 3:30 PM.
Please use this link to sign up for conferences: This letter will be sent to you in both digital and hard copy. It is also available on our school website.
Link will be sent in another newsletter.....Please stay tuned.
Our kindergarten teachers are Ms. Linda Hagstrom, Mrs. Sarah Hodgson, and Mrs. Julia Sampson. Teacher assignments are posted within parent portal in our Infinite Campus system. If you do not have a parent portal account, please contact our office for guidance in getting one set up. School office newsletters and a majority of school communication is emailed to you. Teacher assignments will be available on Friday, August 27th after 3:30 PM. If you have any questions, please contact our office, 218-336-8865.
We are hosting an Open House this year for all families as well. That is scheduled for Wednesday, August 31st from 4:00 - 5:30 PM. Please check the next school newsletter for Open House sign ups and further information.
Your child is going to have a wonderful experience at our school. I look forward to meeting you soon.
How do I find out about the bus?
UPDATE...after 3:30pm today (Friday 8/26), you will be able to see bus information in the Parent Portal. If you don't see a morning or afternoon bus stop and there should be one, please email stephanie.joy@isd709.org
How do I change my child's bus stop?
Email stephanie.joy@isd709.org Do not call the Transportation Dept. They will just tell you to contact me.
There will be a Transportation table at the open house. However teachers will have a list and will likely verify that they have the correct after school information.
HOWEVER...I highly recommend you check the bus stop information prior to the open house, and actually ASAP. Our Transportation Dept is inundated with transportation form changes next week, and therefore the bus changes can take much longer than normal. I have seen changes take 4- 5 business days once the open houses happen across the district.
Parent Portal within Infinite Campus
The Parent Portal is how you access your child's school information on Infinite Campus. Some items you will find are: Bus Assignment, Lunch Balance, report cards, and Teacher Assignment.
* New Parents/Guardians were sent an email around 5pm this past Monday. This email has instructions on how to sign up for the Parent Portal.
* Parents can update phone and email contact information via the Parent Portal.
* If you forgot your password or username, click HERE and see the light blue options to have it emailed to you.
* If your account no longer works or you did not receive an activation key, email stephanie.joy@isd709.org and I will email our district Technology department to send you a new one.
* After one year of nonuse, the parent portal access is discontinued, so be sure to log in a couple of times during the year. You will use it even more as your child/children move on into middle and high school.
22-23 Duluth Public Schools Blended Learning Form - Required
A new blended learning agreement is required each year to ensure access for your student to all of the licensed materials and their device.
Get it done for each of your students now so you don’t have to worry about it in the fall!
Click on this link:
22-23 Duluth Public Schools Blended Learning Form
OR
Scan the code in the upper right.
Application for Educational Benefits
We encourage families to fill out this form to help support important school funding.
Families qualifying for free/reduced school meals via this form may also qualify for reduced school activity fees, benefits and other discounts.
Approved applications generate state funding that provides important services and programs for Duluth students.
A decline in approved applications now can result in loss of millions of dollars in school funding and less programs and services for students in the next school year.
Fill out the form anywhere, anytime - the process is secure, confidential, convenient and available 24/7.
Unity In Our Community Event - Monday, August 29th 4 - 7 PM - Bayfront Festival Park
As you may have already heard, we are hosting a back-to-school kickoff this year on Monday, Aug. 29 from 4-7 p.m. at Bayfront Festival Park. The event is called Unity In Our Community.
We are inviting all of our families, students and staff to join us for an amazing event to kickoff the 2022-2023 school year with a fun event.
There will be bounce houses, a dunk tank, kid runs sponsored by Grandma’s Marathon, free haircuts and braids, employment opportunities, free food, food trucks to buy food from, entertainment, backpack giveaway, games and so much more!
St. Louis County Public Health is hosting a vaccine clinic at Bayfront as well. They will be providing COVID-19 vaccines for ages 6 months and older and boosters for all of those who are eligible.
There is free parking at Bayfront and free transportation provided by district buses. Those under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult to ride the bus.
So please bring a chair or blankets and enjoy a free fun event for all ages! We hope to see you there!
Homecroft School Forest Information
Thanks for being interested in supporting outdoor learning opportunities at our school! The School Forest at the south end of the big field is a sweet place for classes to safely be outside, experiencing our local ecosystem. But it needs some tender loving care before the school year starts!
Come help us freshen up the space with
+trail & outdoor classroom maintenance (weed-whipping & spreading mulch)
+bat house installation
+self-guided tour & adopt-a-tree inventory
+dreaming & playing as we work!
Sunday, August 28th, 3pm-5pm
Bring your own-- KIDS with energy! :), work gloves, shovels, pitchforks, rakes, wheelbarrows, sleds, weed-whips, water bottles
We'll provide some snacks & extra water.
Invite a friend if you'd like!
And cross your fingers for easy weather! :)
Looking forward to this party & partnership in the School Forest!
Cheers,
Rebekah Johnson
ps, Big thanks to Rick's Tree Service for donating mulch for our trails!!!
Parent information about our Security Doors
- On School Days, the interior vestibule doors are locked from 7:45am-2:15pm.
- All other exterior doors are locked during the school day, and most are locked 24/7.
- The Office door is only unlocked from 7:15am-8am.
- There is a blue lit doorbell to the right of the office door that you push to speak to the office staff. However, when we are present, just come to the slider window and Stephanie will help you.
- For the next week, the interior vestibule doors and office doors are locked 24/7.
Parents sign themselves into the guest registry in the vestibule if they are coming into the building. Our office manager will sign in/sign out students when parents are dropping them off late and/or leaving early.
More information on picking up your child early or dropping off your child late will be covered in future newsletters, as well as all other attendance questions. In addition, we will be sending more information about parent drop off/pick up.
City of Duluth – Parks & Recreation
The City of Duluth Parks and Recreation Division is excited to share our fall program brochure. The brochure is full of recreation activities for all ages, located in parks, community centers, and trails throughout the City.
These program offerings range from activities for youth to 55+ programs, community events, mobile recreation, introductory outdoor experiences, and more! Fall programs take place September – December; you can find the digital program brochure here: https://duluthmn.gov/media/13942/web-version_final-parks-brochure-fall-2022.pdf
Frequently Asked Questions
What do I need to do if we moved over the summer?
Email stephanie.joy@isd709.org
How do I change my phone #?
Parents can change their phone #s and emails in the Parent Portal.
Who should I let know about a Health Concern?
The teacher and also our nurse, anne.leino@isd709.org
About Us
Email: thomas.cawcutt@isd709.org
Website: https://www.isd709.org/homecroft-elementary
Location: 4784 Howard Gnesen Road, Duluth, MN, USA
Phone: (218) 336-8865