10.23.26 Collins Connection

Hello Collins Families,

What a great week at Collins! A HUGE thank-you to our Collins PTO for their tireless efforts in making Husky Hike festivities so special for our students. From Spirit Wear sales and Change Wars to counting envelopes, organizing our $1 Fun Raiser (which included throwing water balloons at Mrs. Price and me! 😂), and putting together the grand finale of our Husky Hike today, our PTO has gone above and beyond!

We are SO lucky to have such dedicated, generous, and fun-loving parents who make our Collins community such a special place. We couldn’t do it without you!

I’m also excited to see if we reach our $30,000 fundraising goal! If we do, I’ll be getting SLIMED! I have a feeling our Huskies are going to make it happen!

I’m looking forward to seeing so many of you at the Husky Hike this afternoon. The weather is looking beautiful, and it’s going to be a GREAT day to celebrate our Collins community. Go Huskies!

Natalie Bice
Principal

Your child will bring home this letter from the district as well as information on the Dibels assessment students took at the beginning of September. We are looking forward to progress monitoring students along the way and administering the assessment again in December to celebrate their growth.

Monday, October 26th

Hearing/Vision Screening Makeups

Tuesday, October 27th

Hearing/Vision Screening Makeups

Wednesday, October 28th

Thursday, October 29th

3rd Grade Whales Tales

Friday, October 30th

Fall Harvest Parties and Costume Parade

As part of our ongoing commitment to safety and security, FHPS is introducing a new visitor management system in all of our schools this November. The system keeps track of who is in our buildings at all times, so we can continue providing a safe and welcoming environment for students, staff, and families.

When you visit any FHPS school during the school day, there are two important things to remember:

1. Always enter through the main entrance and check in with the office staff.

2. If your visit will take you beyond the main office, for example, to volunteer or read to a class, bring a valid government-issued ID, such as a driver’s license or state ID.

If you’ll be going beyond the office, here’s what to expect when you arrive:

• Enter the secure vestibule area inside the main school entrance. Press the security door buzzer, and proceed to the main office. Scan your ID using the designated iPad and follow the directions posted at each iPad kiosk. If you need assistance, an office member can help you.

• Scan your ID at the kiosk each time you visit.

• The system reads your name, photo, and date of birth from your ID. It then runs a brief background check against the sex offender registry and any flags or local alerts entered by school personnel.

• Once you’re cleared, the kiosk prints a visitor sticker. Visitors must wear their sticker where staff can easily see it throughout their visit, so staff knows you’re an approved visitor.

• Before you leave, return your sticker to the front office and quickly scan out.

The entire check-in process typically takes less than 30 seconds.

Not every visit requires scanning in. If you’re stopping by briefly to drop off or pick up a student, or to make a delivery, you won’t need to use the system. FHPS employees also won’t scan in, because all district staff are already required to wear their FHPS ID badge at all times, enter through the main office, and check in with office staff before going further into the building. During larger events, such as classroom parties, the visitor check-in will be more streamlined and will be communicated by each building principal.

Behind the scenes, the new system replaces paper sign-in sheets with a secure digital process. It also replaces the volunteer form and Google sheet that adults complete every year. It keeps a real-time record of everyone on campus, including when each visitor arrives and leaves. It also connects with PowerSchool, our student information system, and can generate reports for building administrators. If a visitor is flagged, the system immediately alerts an administrator so they can respond quickly and discreetly.

Most importantly, remember to bring your government-issued ID every time you plan to go beyond the school office. Our front office staff is always willing to assist. Thank you for your partnership in keeping our schools safe and welcoming for everyone.

We are so excited to start having some of our fourth graders show their leadership by stepping up and helping while breakfast is being served. This week two students have done a great job being the first two to get us started. We would love to have more volunteers. If a fourth grader is able to be at school by 8:35 and normally doesn't eat breakfast please email Mindy Lombardo at mlombardo@fhps.net to sign up.

Students are having a great time exploring our science learning and thinking like engineers!

What We Are Learning

• Junior Kindergarten & Kindergarten: Students have continued their learning of pushes and pulls. We experimented with adding more weight and friction to see how those changes affected the force needed to push and pull. Students are finding examples of pushes and pulls everywhere - sometimes they stop me in the hallway to show me a push or pull in action!

• 1st Grade: 1st graders explored how people used the sun to help determine the time of day before we had clocks. They got to make their own sun tracker to take home and record different shadows! Next we are learning about the patterns of the moon.

• 2nd Grade: We continued our investigation of how the Earth changes over time. Students have been working on their map skills and are now moving into exploring weathering and erosion.

• 3rd Grade: 3rd graders have been studying different kinds of inherited traits. This past week we moved into exploring punnett squares to predict the genetic outcomes of an organism!

• 4th Grade: We are continuing to explore energy and how energy can transfer from one object to another. Students have been using the Vex Go robotics kits to build cars, and are currently learning about wind energy and planning to build a working windmill!

Select the image below to view our Arts In Our Schools newsletter!

Get ready to celebrate 20 years of Disney's High School Musical! Forest Hills Northern's talented students are bringing this fan-favorite musical to life November 19–21 at the Forest Hills Fine Arts Center! Performances are Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7 PM and Saturday at 3 PM and 7 PM. Don't miss this high-energy show filled with music, dancing, and Wildcat spirit!

Tickets are on sale NOW at FHFAC.Ludus.com or at the FAC Box Office, Monday–Friday, 9 AM–4:30 PM.

GO WILDCATS!

• All student after school changes in transportation must be communicated by the parent/guardian. Please email your child’s teacher and coattendance@fhps.net.
• Keep in mind any phone calls or emails made past 2:30pm may not be delivered before the end of school.
• If your student has a fever or vomits, they must be symptom free for 24 hours before returning to school.
• Heather Lane is always a 2-WAY Street.

• Hand2Hand Sign Up Form
• Drop off and pick up map
• Volunteer form (this must be filled out every school year)
• Medical form
• Transportation My Ride K-12
• District Website
• Collins Calendar