Hembree Highlights

Hello Hembree Springs Families,

What a week it’s been at Hembree Springs! We kicked things off with our first district site visit on Wednesday, September 24. These visits are an opportunity to showcase the incredible work happening in our classrooms and share our progress through data. I’m always proud to highlight the dedication and excellence of our teachers—they truly shine!

We also hosted our Strong4Life Pep Rally, and it was a blast! Students had fun while learning about healthy habits, and yes—the teachers danced! It was a joyful reminder of how we blend learning with laughter here at Hembree.

Big News!

Hembree Springs has been named a National PTA School of Excellence for 2024–2026! This prestigious honor places us among just 330 schools nationwide recognized for building strong family-school partnerships. Huge thanks to Lucy Gilbert and our phenomenal PTA for leading the charge—and to all our families for making Hembree a vibrant, supportive community. You can read the full write-up below.

Today, our Student Council Ambassadors led the kickoff for our Be the Voice campaign. Students pledged to be kind—one of our core Hembree expectations. We also celebrated our September Best of the Nest winners, one of my favorite traditions. It’s always heartwarming to see students recognized and families sharing in their joy.

Mark Your Calendars!
Picture Day is Wednesday, October 8. Flyers from Lifetouch will be coming home in backpacks soon.
Also, yearbooks are now on presale—don’t miss the deadline! Once it passes, orders will no longer be accepted. Details are below.

Clubs Are Coming Soon!
Clubs will begin after October Break. I’ll send out the signup link next week. Please note: signups are first come, first served, and we ask that each student join just one club to ensure broad participation. Some clubs will run by semester, so there will be more opportunities in the spring. A huge thank you to our staff for volunteering their time to make this possible!

On a Personal Note…
I’m a little nervous about the football game this weekend. Our offense is improving, but the defense still needs work—and Alabama always shows up ready to play! My oldest son is tailgating in full force, arriving at 8:00 AM with his new 65-inch TV (yes, really!). He has season tickets, and no, he doesn’t share with his mom! Luckily, his wife is just as committed to the tailgate lifestyle.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend—Go Dawgs!

Warm Regards,
Nancy Lahey

9/28 Jason's Deli Spirit Sunday Funday

9/30 PreK field trip to the Art Barn

10/1 Kindergarten field trip to Scottsdale Farms

10/7 Title I ELL Parent Workshop @7:40-8:40am

10/7 Your Pie Spirit Night 3:00-9:00pm

10/8 Fall Picture Day

10/13-10/17 No School- Fall Break

10/24 PTA Trunk or Treat @ 5:00-7:00pm

10/28 Reflections Reception- Media Center 8:00-8:30AM

11/4 No School- Teacher workday

Dear Hembree Springs families,

We are pleased to announce that Hembree Springs Elementary School was recently named a 2024-2026 National PTA School of Excellence, one of only 330 PTAs and schools nationwide to be recognized with this designation.

National PTA’s School of Excellence program supports and celebrates partnerships between PTAs and schools that strengthen connections with families and work to improve the educational experience and school environment for every child. To celebrate our achievements, National PTA presented us with a certificate and School of Excellence banner to hang in our school.

“To say we are proud is an understatement,” said PTA President Janet Pelletier. “As a Title I school serving 520 students and supported by 90 dedicated teachers, staff and administrators, this honor reflects the strong level of engagement and true partnership we have built with our families. Together, we are creating a school community where every child feels supported, every family feels valued and every voice matters.”

The School of Excellence program is a year-long effort to strengthen the partnership between families and schools. During the year, PTAs and schools listen to feedback from their communities and put plans in place to support every child. At Hembree Springs, families were asked to complete surveys twice during the year asking questions related to communications, welcomeness, volunteering, involvement and barriers to attending events.

The program helps families and schools work together in decision-making and school improvement, building stronger communication and teamwork that lead to lasting, positive results.

It was through this feedback that our school made the decision to implement an inaugural International Night in the 2025-2026 school year celebrating our families’ beautiful diversity, furthering our inclusive environment. Our PTA looks forward to supporting the school event, which will be held Jan. 15.

Hembree Springs Elementary is especially proud to share this honor with Elkins Pointe Middle School, our primary feeder school and next-door neighbor. As the only two schools in Fulton County to earn the School of Excellence designation for 2024–2026, this recognition highlights how vital collaboration between our campuses truly is. Over the past year, HSES and EPMS have partnered to create meaningful connections, with middle school students volunteering at elementary events such as STEM & Star Night. This ongoing partnership builds continuity for families, strengthens community ties and ensures a supportive path for students as they grow from elementary to middle school.

We’d like to personally thank our Hembree Springs families for your commitment to our students and our school and for helping us achieve this noteworthy designation!

Sincerely,

Janet Pelletier

President

Hembree Springs Elementary PTA

HSES PTA board members proudly hold the School of Excellence banner with Title 1 Parent Liaison Lucy Gilbert, Assistant Principal Monique Erskine-Wilson, Principal Nancy Lahey, Hembree Hawk one of our 5th Grade Ambassadors.

It's almost spooky season and our PTA is getting pumped for the annual Trunk or Treat! This year's event will be held Oct. 24 from 5-7 p.m. In addition to trick or treating at the decorated trunks in the carpool lane, there will be a costume parade, and food truck! The food truck is owned by one of our own Hembree families. Purchase dinner at the event and support a local business!

Please find the link below if you would like to host a trunk! You will need to: Bring your own trunk, set-up, and candy. Feel free to partner with other parents or individually. Keep in mind our littlest Hawks and avoid anything too scary. Space is limited, so sign up today! Any questions? Email hembreepta@gmail.com

Here is the link https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C054FADAD2FAAFD0-51325856-trunk

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We are looking for volunteers to help at the event handling some logistics. We appreciate all the support from parents, as this is what makes the event so successful! Here is the link to sign up to help for a portion of the time you're there enjoying the festivities https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C054FADAD2FAAFD0-51378068-trunk

District/School-Family Compact and Parent and Family Engagement Plans

The School-Family Compact will be discussed with you throughout the year at different school-family programs (for all grades) and at parent-teacher conferences, as we work together towards your child’s academic successes this year. You may visit our school’s website Title I - Hembree Springs Elementary School (fultonschools.org) to download copies of the School-Family Compact, the School Parent and Family Engagement Plan information and the District Parent and Family Engagement Plan, or contact a school representative to request a copy of the School-Family Compact.

We're starting a new initiative with the PTA, and we need you!!

We’re handing the carpool lane keys over to the DADS (and all the awesome father figures, uncles, and grandpas too)! 🙌

Let’s show our kiddos that carpool can be fun, fast and full of dad jokes. 🎉

The "Dadpool Takeover" will be held Oct. 3, so guys and gents, check out this Signup Genius!

https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showSignUp/10C054FADAD2FAAFD0-58691459-dadpool

Throw on your best smile (or your best dad hat 🧢) and help us make morning drop-off legendary.

Who’s ready to roll? 🚙✨

Lead PE teacher Ms. Marzetti traveled to Berlin last week to participate in the BMW Berlin-Marathon. We are so proud of her accomplishments!

As we wrap up September’s Attendance Awareness Month, we're excited to celebrate with a fun-filled Spirit Week to recognize the importance of showing up and shining every day! While September highlights attendance, we want to remind families that being present matters all year long. Every day counts toward your child’s success, and we appreciate your continued support in helping them build strong habits that last a lifetime. Let’s keep the momentum going!

Al concluir septiembre el Mes de Concientización sobre la Asistencia Escolar, estamos emocionados de celebrarlo con una divertida Semana de Espíritu Escolar para reconocer la importancia de asistir a clases todos los días. Aunque septiembre destaca la asistencia, queremos recordarles a las familias que estar presente es importante durante todo el año escolar. Cada día cuenta para el éxito de su hijo(a), y agradecemos su apoyo continuo para ayudarles a desarrollar hábitos sólidos que duren toda la vida. ¡Sigamos con el impulse nos vemos en la escuela!

Calling all 3rd-5th graders who love technology and would like to enter the Fulton County Technology Competition:

Please let Ms. Soberanis or Ms. Lee know if you are interested or want more information, and scan the QR code below. You may compete in one of the following categories: 3D modeling, animation, audio production, digital game design, digital photo production, graphic design, multimedia applications, physical computing, programming, robotics, video production, or web/mobile apps.

The deadline to apply is October 31st. Students participating must be available for the 2025-2026 Fulton County Student Technology Competition (FCSTC) that will be held in person on 1/10/2026 (Saturday) at Riverwood High School from 8AM to 4:30PM.

English for Speakers of Other Languages Families! Please join us for our October 7th ESOL workshop @ 7:40am in the media center. You’ll learn about the tools we use at Hembree Springs to help your student improve their English. There will be coffee, and a light breakfast. We are offering FREE winter coats and bilingual books We’ll also have math resources and bilingual flashcards that you can borrow for home use. Check out the enclosed flyer for more details. We look forward to seeing you!

If you have any questions, please contact Ashley Zuniga, ZunigaA@fultonschools.org or Lucy Gilbert, gilbertL2@fultonschools.org

Grab your family and make plans with friends for a Hembree Spirit Night! Your Pie of Roswell is hosting a Hembree night - mention us and we receive 20% of all sales!

Dine at Jason’s Deli Sunday Sept. 28th and support Hembree Springs! Come in anytime from 11AM – 9PM and mention our school for 20% earned on purchase. Also valid for curbside, or takeout!

Keep those Reflections entries coming!

Thanks to all the parents who have been submitting their students' entry forms for the PTA Reflections Art Contest!! We can't wait to see what everyone has created! If you haven't turned in an entry form, we ask that you wait to send it in with your child's creation. We have put a bright orange bin in the front entrance of the school. And if you can please make sure to put your students' full name and grade on the back of their piece or label it in whatever way you think suits it best. That way we can ensure we have all the information to submit it. PTA sent home a paper copy of the form in Friday Folders recently, but there is a digital version you can print out too here https://georgiapta.org/media/attachments/2025/09/03/fillable-student-entry-form_reflections.pdf

Student Success Skills (A Sense of Belonging)

One of the Student Success Skills students will be developing this year is a sense of belonging.

What does this mean? It means understanding that they can be part of a group. When students feel a sense of belonging at school, they feel included, accepted, valued, and encouraged by others. It also means they can help others feel like they belong too - by including, accepting, valuing, and encouraging them.

Students will also learn about friendships, relationships, how to use support systems, and how to make positive social contributions.

Examples: Students may feel like they belong with their families because their families love them. They may feel like they belong with their friends because friends enjoy doing similar things together. Students can also help others feel like they belong by inviting them to play or simply spending time with them.

How You Can Support at Home: Families can encourage a sense of belonging by spending time together, celebrating each child’s strengths, and showing appreciation for one another. You can also help your child practice including others by inviting a classmate to join in a game, asking about new friends, or modeling kindness in your own relationships.

Families! YOU are your child’s first and most influential teacher. As such you have so much to offer your student! To encourage family engagement at home, we are offering family engagement Thursdays. Each week there will be (1) activity to do at home to be completed prior to Friday. We’ll list the activities for the month in Hembree Highlights and offer reminders via social media. Your student will have the opportunity to receive a *bonus* Hawk’s ticket for participating (look out for more details from your teacher) We’ll include tips and tricks to get the conversation started and reinforce learning from the school day. Please spend anywhere from 10-20 minutes with your child engaging with them around their day at school and encouraging their social and emotional skills. We’ll also encourage you to practice other skills inclusive of Math and ELA. Please feel free to reach out to me Lucy Gilbert, Title I Parent Liaison (gilbertl2@fultonschools.org) with any questions.

Del Título I

Jueves de Participación Familiar

¡Familias! USTED es el primer y más influyente maestro de su hijo. Como tal, ¡tiene mucho que ofrecer a su estudiante! Para fomentar la participación familiar en casa, estamos ofreciendo participación familiar los jueves. Cada semana habrá (1) actividad para hacer en casa que se completará antes del viernes. Haremos una lista de las actividades del mes en Hembree Highlights y ofreceremos recordatorios a través de las redes sociales. Su estudiante tendrá la oportunidad de recibir un boleto * extra* de Hawk's por participar (esté atento a más detalles de su profesor). Incluiremos consejos y trucos para iniciar la conversación y reforzar el aprendizaje de la jornada escolar. Pase entre 10 y 20 minutos con su hijo, involucrarse con ellos durante su día en la escuela y fomentando sus habilidades sociales y emocionales. También te animaremos a que practiques otras habilidades, como las matemáticas y Arte del Lenguaje en Ingles. Por favor, siéntase libre de comunicarse conmigo Lucy Gilbert, Enlace de Padres del Título I (gilbertl2@fultonschools.org) con cualquier pregunta.

Have you heard your child mention anything about an app called Beanstack? It was introduced in the Media Center. Beanstack is a digital reading log that students can use to log the number of minutes they are reading. They can earn badges and rewards along the way. If your child is reading at school, home, daycare, etc. they can log their minutes and help us get closer to our goal. The following is a video explaining how to use Beanstack from home. You can always find your child's lunch number/student number in infinite campus or email Mrs. Soberanis: soberanis@fultonschools.org. Happy Reading!

How To Video: https://go.screenpal.com/watch/cZQTbzVSAkv

Each week the PE department will choose 4 All Star Athletes (2 students & 2 staff members). If your student enjoys hiking, swimming, baseball, softball, football, biking, etc. Please email a picture to marzetti@fultonschools.org.

Thanks,

Ms. Marzetti

We welcome lunch visitors, Monday-Thursday only. Please check in at the front desk before proceeding to the cafeteria.

Website: https://www.fultonschools.org/hembreespringses
Location: 815 Hembree Road, Roswell, GA, USA
Phone: 470-254-2902