WEEK 26

Greetings Hawthorne Hive Families! 🐝

Welcome to March, Happy Woman's History Month

The Hawthorne Hive is buzzing with excitement and gratitude as we reflect on an incredible week filled with celebration, learning, and school spirit! We extend our sincere appreciation to everyone who helped make our Black History Program, “Let History Speak: Press the Button,” meaningful, inspiring, and memorable for our students. A special thank you to Mr. Thomas and Mrs. S. Jones for your outstanding support in bringing this powerful program to life, and to Ms. Massey for supporting our dance team members as they prepared for their outstanding performance. We are also grateful to our families who attended the program and took time to view our beautifully decorated Black History doors, which showcased student creativity, pride, and learning.

📅 THIS WEEK

-March 1st-7th - School Social Worker's Week

-March 2nd- Read Across America Day - Wear a GREEN💚 w/ WORDS

-March 4th - PBIS/KONA ICE DAY- Send in $5.00 dollars or prepay ONLINE By Tuesday, March 3rd

PREPAY FOR KONA ICE

📅 Upcoming Events in MARCH

-March 9th-13th - Math & Wellness Week

-March 13th- Independent Learner Day- Staff Professional Learning Day (No-In Person School)

-March 16th-27th- Spring MAP Testing

-March 19th - Hawthorne Arts Night/Talent Show & General PTA Mtg.

-March 20th - Spring Individuals, Classroom Groups/ Sports Teams/ Clubs picture day

-March 20th - Georgia STEM Day

-March 23-27- Spring Teacher Conferences- (more details coming soon)

Go Hornets 🐝
Proud to Serve,
Principal Henley
#OneTeamOneDream #WeAreALLIN
TWITTER

Celebrating National School Social Work Week
This week, we are excited to honor National School Social Work Week and recognize the incredible contributions of our school social worker, Ms. Lanisa Brown.

School social workers are essential in supporting students’ academic, social, and emotional growth.

They guide students through challenges, connect families to valuable resources, and ensure that every child has the support they need to succeed both in and out of the classroom.

We are deeply grateful for Ms. Brown’s expertise, compassion, and unwavering dedication to our scholars and families. Her commitment makes a meaningful difference in the lives of our Hawthorne community every day.

Our March STEAM Challenge is on the way! Be sure to ask your child reflection questions about the challenge to extend their learning at home. Through this hands-on experience, students will explore the history and traditions of St. Patrick's Day while engaging in creative problem-solving and critical thinking.

Don’t forget to check out the February STEAM Challenge photos featured in our STEAM Video of the Week to see the incredible learning in action.

We are grateful for the enthusiasm our students bring to STEAM learning. A special thank you to our STEAM Committee for their continued dedication to keeping STEAM alive and thriving at Hawthorne Elementary.

📢 Purchase Your 2025-2026 Yearbook Today!

Yearbooks are available for $27.25 plus tax. The deadline to purchase is April 25, 2026.

To order your yearbook:
• Scan the QR code on the flyer above or visit: www.TREERING.com
• Enter the school passcode: 1014588341651501
• You may also use this direct link: https://www.treering.com/purchase?PassCode=1014588341651501

Steps to complete your order:
• Create an account or log in to www.TREERING.com
• Add your student to their teacher’s class roster
• Purchase your yearbook
• Customize your student’s free personal pages included with each purchase
• Upload photos to the shared school file
• Send and request signatures from friends

Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions — we’re excited to create a great yearbook for our students!

Here’s what you should know:

• No decisions have been made; scenarios are a starting point for feedback.

• Feedback will continue through May and inform updated scenarios.

• Being impacted in this first round doesn’t guarantee the same in later rounds.

• Final recommendations are expected late 2026; no changes will occur in 2026–27.

• Any approved changes would be phased in over 6–8 years.

Every school may be impacted, so your voice is important. Please review information and FAQs on the SAP website, attend community meetings, and share your feedback via the SAP Scenario Survey.

District Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BS6LK2R
SAP Resource Hub: https://mailchi.mp/dekalbschoolsga/dcsds-newsletter-weekly-digest-9611923

Student Assignment Project (SAP): https://www.dekalbschoolsga.org/divisions/access-and-opportunity/student-assignment/sap

Thank you for engaging in this important work for our students and our future.

The Hawthorne Elementary School Foundation is looking for engaged parents and caregivers to help lead and support our work during the 2026–2028 school years. We have several two-year term positions open and hope to fill them by April.

✨ Open Leadership Positions

• Foundation Executive Board: Vice President, Secretary

• Committee Chairs: Communications, Care, Grants

The Hawthorne Elementary School Foundation is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose mission is to support a superior academic experience for every Hawthorne student through short- and long-term initiatives that directly benefit our school community.

💛 Recent Foundation Wins Include:

• Raising critical donations to support school priorities

• Partnering with school leadership to launch the Alliance Theatre Artist-in-Residence program, bringing professional teaching artists into classrooms through theatre-based learning

• Helping deliver the new outdoor classroom

• Supporting the Hawthorne mural, STEM garden, and campus-wide beautification and planting projects

If you’re interested in giving back, building community, and helping shape the future of Hawthorne, we’d love to have you involved!

👉 Learn more about the open positions and committee roles here:
Hawthorne Foundation - Committees

Questions? Curious but not sure where you fit? Reach out — we’re happy to talk!

Deanna Murphy and Elisha Smith, Co-Presidents: president@dcsd-hawthornefoundation.org

Sally Cargo, Treasurer: treasurer@dcsd-hawthornefoundation.org

📣 Second Semester Attendance Challenge: Your Presence Is Power! 💪

From January through April, Hawthorne ES is participating in a districtwide attendance challenge that encourages students to show up, stay engaged, and finish the school year strong. Led by our very own Attendance Avenger, students will enjoy grade-level activities, school spirit events, and friendly competitions that celebrate the importance of being present every day.

We are especially excited because Hawthorne ES won the district attendance contest last year—and this year, we’re aiming to do it again! Our district is closing in on its strategic goal of 95% attendance, and your continued partnership plays a vital role in helping us reach and maintain that goal.

🌳 February Attendance Celebration
Throughout the month of February, we will celebrate daily student attendance by adding leaves to our Attendance Tree each day students are present—watch it grow as our commitment to showing up grows too!

🚗✨ Arrival & Dismissal Reminders ✨🚶‍♀️

As we continue a successful school year, please review and follow our arrival and dismissal expectations to ensure a smooth and safe day for all students. Our late student arrivals are starting to become a huge disruption to our classrooms and are impacting teaching and learning. Please make it a daily priority to have your child arrive to school on time, please see below.:

🌅 Morning Arrival:
🕖 7:00 AM – School doors open and breakfast begins.
🍽️ 7:15 AM –Intervention & Enrichment starts. This is a critical time for academic support and acceleration—please ensure your child arrives on time.

⏰ 7:40 AM – Breakfast service ends.
📣 7:40 AM – Morning announcements begin.
📘 7:45 AM – Instruction begins promptly.
🏁 Afternoon Dismissal:
🕝 2:15 PM – Dismissal begins & typically follows this order:
➡️bus riders
➡️ van riders
➡️ car riders

➡️ walkers
➡️ aftercare
Please remember that our buses must be in line first.
🕝 2:35 PM-2:40 PM – All students should be fully dismissed from classrooms.
🕒 2:45 PM – Students not picked up by this time will be sent to aftercare, and a drop-in fee will apply. Communication is key!

Late Pick-Up Procedures

In order to ensure the safety and supervision of all students, Hawthorne Elementary has established the following late pick-up procedures:

• Dismissal ends at 2:45 PM.

• Any student not picked up by 2:45 PM, upon arrival -parents will need to complete the Late Pick-Up Roster.

• Three (3) late pick-ups may result in a referral to the school’s social worker for additional support and follow-up.

Your partnership helps us create a safe and focused environment for all hornets. Thank you for your attention and cooperation!

🌟 Parents, we need your feedback! So far, 165 GA Climate Surveys have been completed, but our performance level is still low. Please take a few minutes to complete the survey and help us boost parent engagement. ✅ Your feedback matters and directly supports our school’s growth!

Our school values your voice and partnership. The FY27 Title I Stakeholder Input Survey will be open from February 13, 2026, through March 7, 2026. We encourage all families to complete this important survey.

Your feedback helps our school make decisions about academic priorities, student support, and family engagement. The information collected is used to help develop our School Parent Compact, Parent & Family Engagement Policy, and our school improvement goals.

Please take a few minutes to complete the survey using the link below.

Thank you for your continued support and for helping us strengthen our school community. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.

Books have the power to transport us to different worlds, spark imagination, and cultivate a lifelong love of learning. Read Across America Day is celebrated annually on March 2nd. This special day honors the magic of reading and inspires children and adults alike to pick up a book and explore the wonders within its pages. On March 2nd, we invite staff and students to wear a GREEN shirt with words, because words are everywhere and remind us of the power of reading, language, and expression.

Please make sure ALL students know their LEXILE levels. Some classes even have them displayed on computers to help guide independent reading.

To kick off the celebration of literacy and the joy of reading, please share the designated read-aloud below with your child every day during Read Across America Week.

Thank you for helping us foster a love of reading and making this week a fun, engaging, and meaningful celebration for our whole school. Please help make Read Across America Week unforgettable!

We’re excited to celebrate our students with a special PBIS Reward Day featuring Kona Ice! on Wednesday. March 4th...🎉

Students who have demonstrated positive behavior, responsibility, and respect will have the opportunity to enjoy a refreshing treat as part of our schoolwide PBIS celebration. We are proud of the hard work our students show each day in making positive choices and contributing to a strong school community.

Please check with your child’s teacher to determine their status for earning this incentive. Parents, thank you for your continued partnership and support in reinforcing our PBIS expectations at home!

We are excited to announce our upcoming Math & Wellness Week taking place March 9–March 13! This special week is designed to help our scholars see the powerful connection between strong minds and healthy bodies. Throughout the week, students will engage in fun, hands-on math activities while also learning the importance of physical wellness, positive habits, and overall well-being.

Math is everywhere from counting steps and measuring heart rates to tracking goals and solving real-world problems. When students feel well, they think well!

To extend the learning beyond the classroom, we will be sending home simple, engaging math and wellness activities for you to complete together as a family. These activities are designed to be fun, interactive, and easy to incorporate into your daily routines.

We encourage you to:
• Participate in the take-home activities
• Talk with your child about how math shows up in everyday life
• Encourage healthy habits at home
• Celebrate your child’s effort and learning

Thank you for partnering with us to support both the academic growth and overall wellness of our scholars.

We look forward to a week full of learning, movement, and family engagement!

As we prepare for the spring testing season, we want to share important information about the Georgia Milestones End of Grade (EOG) Assessment. All assessments will be administered 100% online in a face-to-face testing environment.

The district will use staggered testing schedules for elementary, middle, and high schools so that ELA Section 1 begins on different days at each level to ensure technology systems run smoothly.

To prepare for testing, students will participate in technology stress tests on March 31, 2026, and April 16, 2026 to ensure devices and systems are ready.

More details about Hawthorne ES specific testing dates will be shared soon. Thank you for your continued support of our students.

The HES basketball team is ready to take the championship this year, and the excitement tips off soon! 💪🔥

📅Saturday, March 7th (See flyers below for game details)

🏫 Location: Henderson Middle School

We need everyone to come out, show school spirit, and cheer on our team as they start their championship run! 📣. Let’s pack the gym and support our HES Basketball teams!

The Atlanta Science Festival will take place March 7–21, 2026 across Metro Atlanta! This two-week celebration features over 150 interactive STEM events for families.

The highlight is the FREE Exploration Expo on March 21 (10 AM–4 PM) at Piedmont Park, featuring 100+ hands-on science booths. Many events require registration, so be sure to check the festival website below for details. It’s a great way to explore science as a family!

Are you interested in playing middle school softball next year? Here’s an exciting opportunity just for our rising 6th graders!

The Junior Lady Vikings Middle School Softball Team, based out of Lakeside High School, is beginning to gather interest for the Fall 2026 season. The program works closely with the Lakeside Varsity and JV Softball teams and is led by Program Director and Head Coach Heather Kuiper (a proud Henderson Mill mom!).

🥎 About the Team

The Junior Lady Vikings compete in the Gwinnett Middle School Fastpitch Softball League.

To be eligible, players must:

• Be zoned for Lakeside

• Attend a DeKalb County public school

📅 Important Information

• Tryouts: May 2026

• Spring workouts and updates: Information will be shared through the team mailing list

📌 Interested?

Families should complete the interest form here:

👉 https://forms.gle/EdstYdujW34jMmpu8

You can also learn more about the league here:
👉 https://www.gwinnettsoftball.com/

If you love softball and are ready to take your skills to the next level, this is a wonderful opportunity to be part of a strong middle school program. We would love to see our Henderson Mill girls represent! 💙🥎

Your child is invited to participate in PDK’s Aviation Day a FREE, hands-on, family-friendly aviation experience! Designed for middle and high school students (with activities available for younger siblings in Kindergarten and up), families will explore Georgia’s second-busiest airport, tour an active control tower, step inside real aircraft, and engage in exciting STEAM activities like flight simulators and aircraft builds. Students will also receive a Flight Path of Careers manual outlining aviation and aerospace career opportunities and next steps for future success. Don’t miss this exciting opportunity to explore the world of aviation together!

Join us for the last Parent Tech Café for the 1st semester! Parent Tech Cafe' is a virtual series designed to empower parents, guardians, and stakeholders with insights into the digital tools supporting teaching and learning across DeKalb County School District. See flyer to learn when sessions takes place. This is a great opportunity for families to explore the resources that enhance student success. Please help us spread the word to your school communities. Click here for more information: https://its.dekalb.k12.ga.us/TechCafe_202581813581964.aspx

Please see the flyers for more opportunities to engage with your child and support family learning at home. This resource is designed to provide additional support, activities, and tips for parents to help students succeed both in and out of the classroom. We encourage you to explore this opportunity and get involved your participation makes a meaningful difference!

By signing on as a volunteer, you become a member of our team of professionals that proudly provides educational services to more than 93,000 students in our DeKalb County School District. Click on link below, this document was created by the District and is designed to assist you in registering to be a volunteer with the DeKalb County School District. Please complete the following steps to become a DCSD Volunteer. The process for volunteering takes about 30 minutes total and includes about 20 minutes of online mandatory child abuse reporting training required by the State of Georgia for all volunteers.

Steps to Complete the Volunteer Process:

1. Complete the Volunteer Application and Release Form:

• English Application
• Spanish Application

2. Review and Complete the DCSD Volunteer Code of Conduct:

• English Code of Conduct
• Spanish Code of Conduct

3. Complete the Mandated Reporter Training:

• Watch the Mandated Reporter Video and complete the quiz before attending a training session.
• Steps to complete the training:
• Create a free account
• Select State: GA
• Click on Child Abuse and Neglect Course: Mandated Reporter
• Start the course and complete the quiz
• Save or print your certificate and email a copy to DCSDvolunteer@dekalbschoolsga.org
• Training link: Mandated Reporter Course

Upcoming DCSD Volunteer Training (via Zoom):

Join a Zoom Session That Fits Your Schedule

2026 Volunteer Training Dates (COMING SOON)

Please select the Zoom session that works best for you from the options below:

Join the DCSD Volunteer Training Zoom Meeting:

🔗 Join Zoom Meeting
📌 Meeting ID: 857 5784 5773
🔑 Passcode: 598219

Thank you for your dedication to supporting our schools! We look forward to your participation!

Thanks to your efforts, through the School Store program, we are truly grateful!

Your participation takes just minutes and helps provide important resources for our students and teachers. Thank you for your support! Click link to watch video to learn more:

SchoolStore Kick-Off Video

Families in DeKalb County can access free meals at eight convenient distribution centers across the district. Meals are available to anyone in the community, and each site offers pick-up on scheduled dates each month. See below for the full list of locations, dates, and times.- Click for details:https://www.dekalbschoolsga.org/divisions/wrap-around-services/food-distribution

We know that parents and family members play an essential role in students’ educational success. When schools and families work in partnership, children will succeed at new levels.

The link below, parents and family members of students in Georgia’s K-12 public schools can explore the wealth of resources and services offered through GaDOE. Discover important information on Georgia’s K-12 standards, programming to support your student, ways to get involved, and more.

We are celebrating Read Across America all month with our Beanstack March Reading Challenge! Please encourage your students to log their reading minutes throughout the month.

Each month, the top three homerooms with the most reading minutes earn a classroom trophy. To keep the excitement going in March, we will also draw one student’s name daily from those logging minutes in Beanstack.

Possible prizes include:

• A trip to the Book Vending Machine

• Read Across America pencils, bookmarks reading trinkets

• And more!

Please remind students to log their reading regularly. If students cannot access the app at home, they may use a paper reading log and return it to the Media Center.

If you have questions, please contact Ms. Lewis or Mrs. Jackson.

Happy reading! 📚

Let’s keep the momentum going! Just 5 minutes a day of logging your child’s reading on Beanstack can help us climb even higher on the county-wide leaderboard!

📚 Here’s how you can help as a parent:

• Encourage your child to read daily and log their minutes in Beanstack, every minute counts!
• Parents can track progress and celebrate milestones together with their children.

See video from our DCSD Board Chair Mrs. Allyson Gevertz below, together, we can build a powerful culture of reading at HMES, one page at a time! ✨

Thank you to all of our 3rd, 4th, & 5th grade parents/guardians who attended the GA Milestones Presentation and Student Data Talks Sessions. We truly appreciate your time, partnership, and commitment to supporting your child’s learning and academic growth.

For your convenience, the presentation used during the sessions is attached ⬆️. The final 3 slides include grade-level resources to support learning at home. Please locate your child’s grade level to access the appropriate GA Milestones practice materials and resources.

If you have any questions or need additional information, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher. Thank you again for your continued partnership and support.

In April, students in grades 3, 4, and 5 are required to take the Georgia Milestones Assessment. This test will include Reading, Writing, Mathematics, and Science (5th grade only). A practice test is available online, with questions set up and structured just like the actual assessment.

Please log on to see what will be expected of your child in April. See video below for more support. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to your child's teacher. We look forward to partnering with you.

https://www.gaexperienceonline.com/

1. Click "Test Practice, Guides, Samples"
2. Click "Online Testing Tools"
3. Click "End of Grade EOG"
4. Click "Test Practice"
5. Click "Online Standard Tools"
6. Click"3rd, 4th, or 5th Grade"
7. Click "Continue"
8. Click "Test Practice for 3rd, 4th, or 5th"

9. Click "Play Audio"
10. If your sound is working, click "Sound is Working"
11. Read the directions. Use the blue arrows to navigate through the directions.
12. Click "Begin Test"
(There is a tool bar at the top to assist while testing).

Experience Online Testing Georgia

GA Milestones Resources

Additional Milestones Practice

Parent ProTech is an on-demand library of resources to help you with everything from social media to gaming, artificial intelligence to streaming, to preventing violence in schools with anti-bullying educational awareness. Their resources cover trends and what you need to know to inform and protect students online. They end every series with conversation starters to help you know how to begin conversations with your students around their favorite tech. Their full library is now available so you can stay up to date on the platforms our students are using.

Signing up is easy and FREE! Visit this link https://bit.ly/DCSDParentProtech and create your Parent ProTech account that will equip you with the knowledge and tools needed to support your students online. Note: Please use your district email to create your account.

Please take a few minutes to view the introduction and walkthrough videos to learn more about this amazing resource.

• Introduction Video: Equipping Educators and Families with Parent ProTech

• Account Creation and Platform Walkthrough Video

The drop-off times in front of the school are below:

7:00 am

MORNING INTERVENTIONS & EXTENTIONS TIME DAILY - 7:15 am

Tardy bell - 7:45 am

Morning announcements begin at 7:45 am

Car riders:: When picking students up, parents should have the Hawthorne ES Car Rider Tag visible in their car. If the Car Rider Tag is not visible, parents are required to park, come into the building and provide Identification. Thank you for your patience as we simply want to keep your students' safe.

The pick-up times for dismissal are below:

Bus riders-2:25:pm; Car riders 2:35 pm (front of building after buses) & walkers (Side door)

Walker Dismissal Protocol Update
The dismissal process for the Walker group is being slightly adjusted to ensure a smoother and more secure experience. Students will continue to dismiss from the side door; however, we will now be implementing a numbered tag system.
Each walker will be assigned a unique number. Parents or guardians must walk to the designated walker door and visibly display their child’s assigned number. This number will correspond to the student’s walker tag, which will be attached to their backpack.
For safety and accountability, students will only be released once the matching number is presented at the door.

Attendance & Dismissal Procedures Update

To ensure accurate attendance records and to maintain a safe and orderly school environment, we are updating our arrival and dismissal procedures:

• Late Arrival: Students arriving after 7:45 AM must be checked in by a parent/guardian inside the school office.

• Early Check-Out: If a student needs to leave school early, parents/guardians must come into the building to sign the student out prior to the start of dismissal.

These updates are in place to support accurate attendance documentation. We appreciate your cooperation and commitment to helping us ensure that your students are safe during arrival and dismissal from school. 😊Thank you!

BUS ROUTES

DCSD bus routes can be found on the district website: https://www.dekalbschoolsga.org/bus-routes/. Hawthorne ES morning bus routes are below along with the district

**** DATES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE ****

Email: kia_henley@dekalbschoolsag.org
Website: https://www.hawthornees.dekalb.k12.ga.us/

Location: 2535 Caladium Drive NE Atlanta, GA 30345
Phone: 678-874-2802