Hollywood Hill Happenings
February Edition
From the Principal
Having reached the end of our first semester grading period provides us with an opportunity to reflect on both the great strides and accomplishments of our students as well as the challenges that lie ahead. As we head into the second half of the school year, please take a moment to celebrate your student’s hard work and success and encourage them to persist in their efforts.
February Events
Early Release - February 10th - 12:40 pm for selected student conferences
Dance Week-February 13th-17th
School Dance February 17th-School Gym
Mid-Winter Break-February 20th-24th - NO SCHOOL
A Note on Smartwatches:
Below is reproduced our school electronics policy. Since (some) smart watches have telephonic capacity, the same expectations apply to them as do to cell phones. They may not be used during the school day for calling or texting; communications with students must be done through the office. This helps us make sure that (for example) information about pick up arrangements gets to all the students who need it. To use other smartphone features (beyond telling time), students need permission. Since these features often take away from the learning environment such permission is not likely to be forthcoming. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
Electronics Policy. If a student has a cell phone at school, it must be kept in backpacks and turned off at all times. Parents who need to contact their child should do so through the office (425-408-4700). All other electronic devices (iPods, kindles, headphones, etc.) are permitted on campus with teacher and/or principal permission. Due to safety and privacy protection, at no time are students allowed to take photos of other students during the school day. Any disruptive cell phones or other devices will be held in the office for parents to come pick up.
Dr. Gregory E. Cox
Principal
Hollywood Hill Elementary School
(425)408-4700
Pronouns: he, him, his
From the Health Room
NEWS FROM THE NURSE
COVID is still hanging around so this is just a reminder for all families.
Please see the Symptom and Exposure Flowchart for Schools (dated 2/23/2023) attached in this newsletter. The following guidance applies to all students, staff, and volunteers. Please see additional information on the district’s COVID information page.
What if my child has symptoms? Students who have one or more symptoms of COVID-19 (fever, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, muscle or body aches, new loss of taste or smell, cough, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, sore throat, congestion, or runny nose) are required to stay home and test for COVID-19. Home antigen tests are recommended. Individuals with one or more recent symptoms need a negative COVID test AND a significant improvement in symptoms prior to returning to school. You do not need to report negative tests to the school nurse.
If your child wakes up in the morning with a new symptom, do NOT send your child to school to see if your child will feel better at school. Students who come to school with new symptoms or develop symptoms at school are required to be isolated and sent home.
Other Illnesses
To avoid the spread of illness other than COVID, follow these guidelines when deciding whether your child is healthy enough for school. In addition to the COVID guidelines, if your child has any of the symptoms below, please keep him/her at home until the symptoms subside:
- APPEARANCE/BEHAVIOR: unusually tired, difficult to wake, pale, skin rash, lack of appetite; these are often signs of underlying illness.
- FEVER: temperature of 100 degrees or higher in the past 24 hours
- VOMITING/DIARRHEA: within the past 24 hours.
- RASH: Any rash of unknown cause should be considered contagious. Please have your child examined by a health care provider to determine the cause and communicability of the rash before sending him/her to school. The school may require a note from the health care provider stating that the rash is not contagious.
- Other: For other specific diseases or health difficulties it is always a good idea to contact the school nurse. We are happy to share information and resources anytime!
Students must be fever-free without fever reducing medication and no vomiting/diarrhea for 24 hours before returning to school.
Darleene Matheson RN
School Nurse
Care Team Liaison and Emergency Prep Coordinator for Hollywood Hill
Office phone: 425-408-4706
DANCE WEEK
Dance Week is coming the week of February 13th-17th! This is a wonderful week of active movement and fun sponsored by our PTA. They have generously paid for an outside instructor to spend a week teaching our students line dances, square dance, and other fun moves. All specialists’ classes will occur in the gym for this week, and your Library, Music, and PE teachers will be supporting kids with the fun. We wanted to let students know that they will be VERY active and should wear comfortable clothes and PE shoes for the entire week. While dancing may not be some students’ favorite activity, we will expect all students to participate. Some might be surprised how much fun they can have. Growth mindset and positive attitudes are required!
At the end of Dance Week on Friday, February 17th, the PTA is hosting a GLOW DANCE from 6-8pm in the school gym. This event is free to attend and open to all HH families, including staff and their families. Wear neon clothes and glow under the lights! Stop by the Glow Booth and accessorize! Get your face painted with (body-safe) neon paint! This exciting community-building event is one you don't want to miss! Get out your dancing shoes and get ready to GLOW!
From the School Counselor
As we enter the second half of the school year, now is a great time to help your student reflect on what went well during the first half and what could be better. What are their strengths? Which parts were challenging? Once they have determined what area they would like to improve, below are some ways to support them in achieving their goals.
Help them set a SMART goal.
SMART goals are:
S- Specific. Help your student set goals that are clear and well-defined about what they wish to achieve (rather than, “I would like to wake up earlier,” a more specific goal would be, “I will wake up at 7:00 am every morning Monday-Friday.”)
M- Measurable. How will your student know when they’ve achieved their goal? Students should be able to track their progress.
A- Achievable. Students should state what specific actions they will take to achieve their goals. They should also consider any resources they will need to achieve their goal and whether or not it is achievable, given their set of resources.
R- Relevant. Help your student think about why this goal is important to them. What are the benefits? Why is it meaningful?
T- Time-bound. When do they want to achieve their goal?
Help your student consider what obstacles may get in the way of their goals. Have them write down any internal difficulties (ex. low-motivation, self-doubt, anger, anxiety) and external difficulties (ex. lack of time, lack of skill, personal conflicts) they may encounter and how they will deal with those when they arise.
Help your student think about the tools and resources that can help them achieve their goal. Who are the people that can help your student stay on track? What tools and resources might they need, and where can they find them?
Break the goal into small, obtainable steps. Help your student draw or write out a list of actionable steps with a timeline of when they will achieve each item. Add these checkpoints to your house calendar. Tip: Offering small rewards when each item is achieved can help motivate some students.
Track their progress. Your student can plot their progress through a graph, chart, journal, or app.
Source: ACT Mindfully
For more resources around SMART goal setting, you can have your child check out the informational videos I made for students in my Schoology course responsibility and learning skills folder. I hope we all have an incredible 2023 ahead of us, and as always, I appreciate your partnership!
With care,
Hayley Azadmanesh
Hollywood Hill Counselor
From the Music Room
HHE Families, please mark the following dates on your calendar. More details to come!
April 4th @6:30pm, HHE Gym: K & 1st Grade Musical
May 16th @6:30pm, HHE Gym: 2nd Grade Musical
June 6th @6:30pm, HHE Gym: 3rd-5th Grade General Music Class Concert
From the PTA
From the President
As a community we have truly gone beyond this winter for our Stars, but I can feel the anticipation of a fun, busy spring already.
As you organize your calendars for the rest of the school year, we would love for you to schedule time to volunteer when you can, especially if you haven't been able to yet. Whether it's in your student's classroom, participating in or leading an event or in the Game Room or on the playground during lunch recess, all volunteers are making differences daily and we want everyone to be a part of it.
Tonight at our Membership Meeting we will vote in members of the Nominating Committee so they can begin finding people to fill PTA Board positions for next year. We don't want all of the hard work to keep our PTA afloat these last few years to be lost, so, we also hope you'll start to consider taking a leadership role in the future to continue this important work.
But for now, we hope to see you at tonight's meeting and at the Glow Dance in a few weeks!
Nicolette
TONIGHT! 2/7: PTA HYBRID MEMBERSHIP MEETING
Please join us for the 2nd PTA Membership Meeting of the school year tonight, either in person in the school's library or via Zoom from 6:30-8pm. Click for Agenda.
For 20 minutes prior to the meeting (6:10-6:30pm), Amity Butler, Ed.D., the NSD Director of Accelerated Models and Programs & Assistant Superintendent, South Region, will be present for any questions you might have about the EAP/HiCap program (Elementary Advanced Program/Highly Capable) at HHE.
++ Bonus! Light refreshments in the library & a member drawing at the end of the meeting. Dr. Cox & Mrs. O'Rourke will also be in attendance. See you tonight, Stars!
2/13 - 2/17: DANCE WEEK & THE GLOW DANCE ARE ALMOST HERE!
Starting Monday 2/13, students in all grades will have the opportunity to learn some cool dance moves during their regular specialty hours. These fun and engaging lessons are designed to boost students' confidence in preparation for the Glow Dance on Friday 2/17 from 6-8pm. The dance is free admission, open to all HHE students and families, and will feature not just one, but two dance floors. In addition to the main floor (that's sure to get a little wild and crazy), there will also be a smaller dance floor where students can keep it low-key. The low-key floor will also have fidget items available for students who like to keep their hands busy while they get their groove on.
The Glow Dance will also feature (free of charge):
- Face painting
- Glow accessories (bracelets and necklaces)
- Light refreshments
A few things to keep in mind:
- It's bound to get hot in the gym so light clothing is recommended and water bottles are encouraged (water only in the gym)!
- If your student wants to glow under the black lights, they should wear neon or white.
- Refreshments at this time are limited to popcorn and water, but be sure to check our webpage later in the week for an update!
As always, we could not make these events happen without the generosity and support of our members & community. CLICK HERE if you're interested in volunteering for this event.
If you have any questions, please contact Sarah Nelson at Events@hhillpta.org.
AUCTION ITEMS & SPONSORSHIPS
Calling All Stars!
The PTA is hard at work creating a magical evening for the upcoming Hollywood Hill Elementary Gala on April 21st, 2023 and we need your help!
We are currently looking for donations big and small for the auction so if you or someone you know has a connection to a fabulous vacation home, a wonderful restaurant experience, a unique service or anything you think our community of Stars would love to bid on, please send them our way. Would your business or place of work like to contribute while getting exposure? We have sponsorships available too! We can be reached at auction@hhillpta.org and we can help with the rest.
Event tickets will be available soon for purchase. We can’t wait to see you all on April 21st for an Enchanted Evening under the Stars!
RECESS & GAME ROOM VOLUNTEERS & ITEMS NEEDED
The school would love to have more parent/guardian volunteers during lunch recess, either on the playground or in the game room. Take a look & sign up HERE!
ITEM DONATIONS NEEDED: The very popular Game Room (available to students with a pass from their teacher on Wednesdays) is in need of a few things. If you have this stuff lying around your home that you are willing to donate please bring into the office to Mrs. O'Rourke. Thank you!
- 1 Foosball Table (email torourke@nsd.org before bringing in)
- Beads
- Playing Cards
- Crayons
- Plain Craft Paper
- Origami Paper
REFLECTIONS ART CONTEST UPDATE
EXCITING NEWS! 2 HHE students submitted artwork for the Reflections art contest that qualified for judging at the Washington State PTA level!!
Big congrats to Ananya V. and Adhira V. on this achievement! Their artwork was selected among 215 entries from 27 schools within the Northshore School District. Only 57 entries moved on to the next level of the contest.
You can check out their artwork and all of the beautiful HHE Reflections entries at our school Art Walk taking place this spring. Best of luck to Ananya and Adhira on the next round of judging!
VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION: THANK YOU...
- .to those who were able to help the Missoula Children's Theatre production of Aladdin come to life last month!
- ...Nancy Norwood, Mr. Bach & Ms. Lin for coordinating winter before & after-school enrichment classes!
- ...Jon Larson for being the PTA Treasurer for the last 1.5 years!
- ...Lindsay Saeed & Sara Wiley for running the Hats, Gloves & Mittens drive this winter, and to those who were able to donate!
- ...Room Parents & Art Docents for helping in classrooms all year long, and for upcoming Valentine's Day celebrations!
- ...Laura Lee for bringing the National PTA Reflections art contest to HHE!
COMING IN MARCH & APRIL
- 3/13-3/17: Book Fair & Camp Read-a-Lot (3/16)
- 4/5: Multicultural Night
- 4/21: An Enchanted Evening: Dinner & Auction @ the Archer Hotel to benefit HHE