WEEKLY HAWK

Hello Homestead Families!

We are so excited to welcome you and your child(ren) to a brand new school year! The first week of school is finally here, and we can’t wait to see the hallways filled with smiles and laughter.

Whether you are joining the community for the first time or returning for another great year, we’re thrilled to partner with you on your child’s journey. Our staff has been busy preparing classrooms, planning lessons, and creating spaces where every child feels safe, supported, and inspired.

I truly enjoyed meeting so many families at the Kindergarten Play Date and the Kettle. Those events made me even more excited to be part of the Homestead community. Thank you for the warm welcomes, and a special shout-out to our amazing PTCO for coordinating the food trucks at the Kettle!

We are looking forward to an amazing year. It is an honor to work with your children and I look forward to collaborating with you to help them reach their full potential.

Please read the updates and important information below, as a few things have changed.

Here’s to a fantastic first week and a wonderful year ahead!

Take care,

Katie Lloyd

Every day, doors will open at 7:50am with class beginning at 8:00am. Please note there was an error in my first message to the community. The correct start time is 7:50am.

For the first day, teachers will come outside at 7:50am and walk in with their classes.

Monday, August 11: Grades 3, 4, and 5 ONLY

Tuesday, August 12: Grades 1, 2 ONLY

Wednesday, August 13: All grades PreK-5

This year, all teachers will walk students out their respective doors at 2:45pm (1:45pm on Wednesdays). Staff supervision will stop at 2:55pm and teachers will need to come back into the building to attend to other responsibilities.

There will be a Kindergarten Parents-Only information meeting at 3:45pm in the Homestead Innovation Space on Monday, August 11. Come and hear from our Kindergarten teachers. We hope you can make it!

Construction on Dry Creek Road:

We have been informed that construction on Dry Creek Road will continue the week of August 11-15. Please plan accordingly for traffic and give yourself extra time in the morning or afternoon.

All Visitors to our School:

We are so happy to welcome visitors and volunteers into our building. Whenever you come to Homestead, please bring your driver's license or state issued ID with you for check in.

Playgrounds After School:

Playgrounds are closed after school until 3:00pm. We ask that all families clear campus until 3:00pm so we can make sure all of our kids are safely on their way home.

Cell Phones and Smart Watches:

Per Board Policy, it is the student’s responsibility to ensure that their "electronic communication device" is turned off and out of sight during unauthorized times. Both smart watches and cell phones cause a disruption to our learning environment. Due to this, we respectfully ask that students put their smart watches, cell phones, or similar devices in their backpacks at soft start before the beginning of the instructional day at 8:00. Upon dismissal, students may retrieve them from their backpacks. Staff will provide one warning if they see a phone or smart watch out during the day. Upon a second warning, the smart watch or cell phone will be taken to the office for the day.

If you need to communicate with your student, you are always welcome to call the front office and we will relay these important messages.

Breakfast:

At this time, breakfast remains free for all students. If your student wishes to have breakfast at school, they can come through the front entrance beginning at 7:40am.

Dogs:

Do not bring dogs onto school property. Even on a leash, dogs can still present a risk to kids…some are afraid, some are allergic. Please help us make sure they feel safe here at school by leaving your dog at home.

Bikes and Scooters:

“Walk Your Wheels”… remind kids to walk their bikes and scooters in crosswalks and once they get onto school grounds. This reduces the risk of accidents with pedestrians.

Forgotten Water Bottles, Lunches, Snacks, Coats, etc:

Deliveries of these items and others are distracting to productive learning in class. If your child forgets something at home you may drop it off in the front vestibule with the information sheet. We will do our best to get these items to students in the least distracting way possible by waiting until an appropriate instructional time to deliver them.

Attendance:

If your child will be tardy or absent let us know as soon as possible. Using the Homestead App is the most preferred way to communicate, or you may call 720-554-3795 and leave a message.

• For everyone’s safety, end all cell phone use before entering the parking lot. The traffic in the back lot goes ONE WAY only. Enter from the north side and exit through the south side. DO NOT ENTER AGAINST THE ARROWS!
• There is no left turn out of the back parking lot onto Homestead Parkway. Vehicles must turn right.
• Pull your vehicle all the way up to the crosswalk when possible before dropping off or picking up your child.
• Have your child enter and exit the car from the PASSENGER SIDE ONLY. Drivers may not exit vehicle in the drop off lane for any reason. If you need to assist your child, please find a parking space, or use the front parking lot.
• If you have dropped off your child, you may pull out and pass the cars that are curbside in order to exit the parking lot. Please pull forward slowly and anticipate that the drop off lane merges back into one lane after the crosswalk.
• Only use the designated crosswalk when going to and from the parking lot. It is very important to show students where it is safe to cross, even when they are accompanied by an adult.
• Remember that there are hundreds of students walking next to moving cars – drive slowly and attentively!

Download Today! Search in your app store for Homestead Elementary. Or use these links:

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/app/id1115937231

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sia.homestead

What's on the app?

Attendance form

Contact info for staff

Parent calendar

School Supply Lists

Weekly Hawk Newsletters

Other resources

Welcome Back Homestead! Please see attached picture for the IA schedule for the year.

Intramural sign-ups are live! To ensure your child can participate safely, I kindly ask you to print and sign the attached waiver. I will also send a copy home with your child next week for your convenience, and I would appreciate it if you could return it to me before the start date of intramurals on Tuesday, August 26th for 3rd grade, and Thursday, August 28th for 4th grade. Unfortunately, your child will not be able to participate without this waiver submitted by that date.

For families with multiple children registered, including twins, please note that I will need a separate waiver for each participating child. Additionally, please remind your child that we will meet promptly at 2:45 PM in the gym for intramurals, and I kindly ask for your consideration in picking them up at 3:45 PM in front of the school. I will take care of transitioning children involved in Hawks Nest to their next activity.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to me directly hbrownell@cherrycreekschools.org. I am excited to work with your child and support them in becoming more physically active! Go Hawks!

3rd Grade Registration:

https://forms.gle/ZomJyT2hmWCquZrB9

4th Grade Registration:

https://forms.gle/YsrESinyDuEd32F5A

We are excited to unveil a comprehensive branding kit at Homestead Elementary! Over the summer, a group of Homestead staff members participated in a branding project to bring a new Hawk and banner to Homestead! We hope you love the new designs as much as we do.

We need volunteer coaches to keep our Girls on the Run program going this fall! No running experience required — just a desire to inspire and support 3rd–5th grade girls. Training, materials, and support are provided.

Season runs: Week of September 8 – mid-November, ending with the Denver Metro 5K on November 9.

Practices: Mondays 2:45-4:15pm & Wednesdays 1:45-3:15pm

Time commitment: 3–4 hours per week.

If you can help or know someone who might be interested, please contact Jenny Blackburn at 303-868-6493 or jenniferannblackburn@gmail.com, or sign up here:

All meals (breakfast and lunch) remain free for all students due to the Free Meals For All legislation that passed in November of 2022. We encourage families to complete a meal application to take advantage of other benefits offered to them and to support Title I funding in CCSD.

Meal Application: www.myschoolapps.com

Online Payments for Meal Accounts: www.MySchoolBucks.com (there is no fee for this service).

For questions or assistance with making payments please call 1-855-832-5226.

To view Menus: www.MealViewer.com

English:

Please contact (name of liaison) at (email) for support with this resource in your language.

Amharic:

እነዝህን መረጃዎችን በተመለከተ በቋንቋዎ ዕገዛን ለማግኘት ከፈለጉ እባክዎን ተሊሌን በዝህ እሜይል ያግኙዋት thirpa@cherrycreekschools.org

Arabic:

يرجى الاتصال ب )جميعة صباحي أو جاودة العلمي( على ) jsebbahi@cherrycreekschools.org أو

jdajanialami@cherrycreekschools.org للحصول على الدعم مع هذا المورد باللغة العربية .

Chinese:

如有需要，请经由ctaylor9@cherrycreekschools.org 与凯瑟琳•泰勒联系，以您的语言获得此资源的支持。

Dari:

لطفا برای کمک در مورد اين منابع به زبان خودتان با قزافی مهرزاد با اييمل qmehrzad@cherrycreekschools.org تماس بگيريد .

Hindi:

अपनी भाषा में इस संसाधन के समर्थन के लिए कृपया जेम्स रसाइथिी को jrasaily@cherrycreekschools.org पर संपकथ करें।

Korean:

귀하의 언어로 이 자원에 대한 지원을 원하시면 (리아 리) 에게 (llee6@cherrycreekschools.org) 로 문의하십시오.

Nepali:

कृपया जेम्स रसाइथिीिाइथ jrasaily@cherrycreekschools.org मा तपाइथको भाषामा यो संसाधनको सहयोगको िागी सम्पकथ गननथहोिा।

Russian:

Пожалуйста, обращайтесь к Ларисе Бака по адресу: lbaca3@cherrycreekschools.org для получения поддержки с помощью этого ресурса на своём языке.

Somali:

Fadlan la xiriir Omar Nur cinwaanka emaylka onur2@cherrycreekschools.org si aad u hesho macluumaad ku qoran luqadaada.

Spanish:

Si necesita ayuda con este recurso en su idioma, póngase en contacto con Ilse Chavez Maldonado en ichavezmaldonado@cherrycreekschools.org, Rosa Han en rhan4@cherrycreekschools.org, Carmen Vargas-Ball en cvargasball@cherrycreekschools.org o Monica Pantoja en mpantoja@cherrycreekschools.org.

Ukrainian:

Будь ласка, зв'яжіться з Зоряною Герман по електронній пошті zherman@cherrycreekschools.org, щоб отримати підтримку з цього ресурсу на українській мові.

Vietnamese:

Vui lòng liên hệ với Thuý Ngọc tại Lchung2@cherrycreekschools.org để được hỗ trợ về tài nguyên này bằng tiếng Việt.

Location: 7451 South Homestead Parkway, Centennial, CO, USA
Phone: (720) 554-3700