HMES NEWSLETTER

Good Afternoon, Hawks Family,

We’re gliding into Week 14 with purpose, pride, and plenty to celebrate! 💙🦅There is so much information to share. Please take the time to read our school Newsletter.

👏 A huge thank you to Mrs. Corrales and our amazing STEAM Committee for hosting an incredible Family STEAM Night! Your creativity and teamwork brought families together for hands-on learning and fun, a fantastic evening that truly reflected our mission in action. Congratulations to the winning family!

⚽ Hawk Pride is soaring high! Our Soccer Team won all four games yesterday! A big shout-out to Mr. Garcia, Mr. Reid, Mr. Crawford, and all the staff and families who came out to cheer them on. Your support and spirit make all the difference!

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 This month, we’re also celebrating Parent Engagement Week! We would love for our parents to join us for our special events throughout the month on our campus and DCSD events as we continue building strong partnerships between home and school. Your involvement is the heartbeat of our success!

💡 Be sure to scroll through this week’s SMORE for important updates, upcoming events, and helpful resources to support your child’s growth and success. And don’t miss our weekly STEAM video, your child might just be featured in this week’s highlight reel of hands-on learning and innovation!

Let’s keep our momentum strong and continue to make every day count.

Together, we are #MissionPossible!

— Dr. B

Go Hawks! 🦅

On Tuesday November 11th, we will honor and celebrate Veterans Day, a special day to recognize the brave men and women who have served in the United States Armed Forces. Veterans Day reminds us to show gratitude for their courage, sacrifice, and dedication in protecting our freedom.

To show our appreciation and school spirit, all students and staff are invited to wear camouflage or camo colors on this day! 💚🖤

Let’s come together to celebrate and thank all veterans for their service and commitment to our country. Thank you to all veterans!

(Pictured, Justing Weeks, Medical Corpsman, US Navy, Former Henderson Mill Student, and Brody's Uncle!)

What Is a School-Wide Spelling Bee? 🐝

A school-wide spelling bee is a friendly competition where students spell words aloud to showcase their spelling skills. Classroom winners from each grade level compete against one another to become the school champion. This event encourages students to expand their vocabulary, build confidence, and celebrate academic achievement in a fun and supportive way!

Timeline

Friday, November 14 - School Bees 8:00 Grades 1-3 combined (TWO per classroom) 9:15 Grades 4-5 combined (TWO per homeroom). Parents are invited, please be flexible.

Our fall movie night is approaching (Friday, 11/14) and we are in need of volunteers! We have spaces available in food sales, hall monitor, and food donations available! Please review the opportunities here and sign up: https://hendersonmillpto.membershiptoolkit.com/volunteer/161354

Thank you for all you do to support our community! This event is FREE! We can’t wait to see you there for an evening of laughter and relaxation! We will be watching The Super Mario Brothers (2022)!

Parents and families, come out and show your support for our HMES soccer team at their first game of the season! Last week our teams won all 4 games they played. Let’s fill the stands with Henderson Mill pride, wear your HMES spirit wear and cheer loud for our athletes as they kick off an exciting season!

📅 Date: Saturday, November 15, 2025
🕘 Time: 1:00 PM and 2:00PM* (still waiting to confirm this new time)
📍 Place: Adams Stadium- 2415 N Druid Hills Rd, Atlanta, GA 30329

Let’s show our Hawks some love and school spirit as they represent Henderson Mill Elementary! 💙

🎟️ Purchase Tickets: https://gofan.co/app/school/GA3487
📹 Review DCSD Stadium Policies: https://youtu.be/0Ompg6SPArc

#GoHawks #HMESSoccer #HendersonMillPride

📣 You’re Invited! 🍽️💬

Join us for our upcoming Coffee and Conversation on Tuesday, November 18th! Please mark you calendar!
We’re offering two convenient times so you can choose what works best for you:

🕣 9:00 AM
🕧 12:00 PM (This time will also have a hybrid link to join)

Join us in person or virtually online (link below).

Come connect, share, and chat with us about what’s happening at Henderson Mill! We look forward to seeing you there. 💙

📅 Thursday, November 20th | 5:00 PM – 7:30 PM

Join us for an exciting evening of family fun and community connection! Come out, volunteer, or simply enjoy the festivities. The event will feature health care professionals, a car and bike show, and our very own HMES Staff & Family Chili Cook-Off!

Don’t miss this opportunity to celebrate, engage, and make lasting memories with our HMES family!

See flyer below for details.

We’re excited to invite all Pre-K, Kindergarten, 2nd Grade, and 4th Grade families to join us for another wonderful Parent and Family Engagement event at HMES! Thursday, November 20th (lunch times will vary by your child's classroom). Come share a warm meal, celebrate togetherness, and enjoy the spirit of gratitude with our school community.

Please note that, due to space limitations, we’re unable to accommodate all grade levels this year—but we truly appreciate everyone’s understanding.

👉 Use the link below to pay in advance and skip the line! We can’t wait to celebrate this special occasion with you!

Let’s keep the momentum going! Check out the top 3 classrooms on Beanstack.

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.

Together, we can build a powerful culture of reading at HMES, one page at a time! ✨

In this Season of Giving, we invite all families to join us in celebrating the joy of connection and collaboration! Throughout the month, participate in our At-Home Family Activity Calendars, which are filled with daily opportunities for families and students to connect through fun and engaging challenges. You can also join us for unique events happening across the district, as reflected in our District Family Events Calendar, which builds relationships and inspires student success. See calendar ideas below!

Henderson Mill has the BEST events—hands down! From unforgettable family nights to fun fundraisers, spirit wear, staff appreciation, and more… our PTO is behind it all!

But we can’t do it without YOU.

Whether you can volunteer your time, share your ideas, or simply stay connected, your involvement makes a huge difference in our school community. Every parent and guardian is welcome—and every voice matters!

✨ Why join the PTO?
✔️ Help plan amazing events
✔️ Support teachers and students
✔️ Build community
✔️ Stay in the loop

Let’s work together to make this the best year yet at Henderson Mill!

Thanks to Mrs. Edwards, our PTO, and Atlanta Landscape Materials for supplying this beautiful boulder, we now have a fun way to celebrate special occasions! Families can “rent the rock” for $30 per three-day block to honor birthdays, holidays, achievements, or show appreciation for students, teachers, or staff.

Click link below to learn more and rent the HAWK ROCK. For questions, email hendersonmillpto@gmail.com. Thank you for supporting this fun PTO fundraiser, we hope you enjoy celebrating on the HMES Hawk Rock! 🦅

This upcoming week your child will bring home a Book Buddy Lanyard with information about an easy way to help our school raise funds, no selling, no handling money, and no deliveries!

To participate:

1. Go to schoolstore.net/sid.t?0000008355

2. Send the invitation emails to family and friends or put it on your social media page.

3. Return the Book Buddy Lanyard with the prize code so your child can get their fun reward!

Your participation takes just minutes and helps provide important resources for our students and teachers. Thank you for your support!

Thank You for Supporting Our School! 💙

Thank you for registering to support our school through the School Store! Every time you do your regular shopping, our school benefits even if you don’t make any extra purchases. Your participation truly makes a difference!

We understand that you may be receiving extra promotional emails. To reduce them, simply click “Unsubscribe” or “Manage Preferences” at the bottom of those messages to stop or limit future emails.

We appreciate your continued support and partnership in helping our school grow!

See illustration below to support.

It’s quick, easy, and free to help our school earn rewards!

Here’s how:

1. Create a Kroger digital account (if you don’t already have one): https://www.kroger.com/account/communityrewards/

2. Link your Kroger Plus Shopper’s Card.

3. Go to Community Rewards in your account settings.

4. Search for Henderson Mill Elementary and select our school.

Every time you shop and use your Kroger Plus card, a percentage of your spending is donated to Henderson Mill, at no extra cost to you!

💚 Thank you for supporting our students, one grocery trip at a time!

Due to the ongoing government shutdown, SNAP benefits for 42 million families have been suspended as of November 1, 2025.

A group of Henderson Mill parents is raising funds to provide grocery gift cards for families in need. Our school counselors and social worker will distribute the cards confidentially based on family size and need.

Any remaining funds after the crisis will go toward holiday grocery cards for families during Thanksgiving and winter break.

Henderson Mill has always come together to support one another please consider donating to help ensure every child and family in our community has food on the table. Click link below.

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

Dear Henderson Mill Families,

We know some families may be affected by recent SNAP (food stamp) changes, and we want to ensure everyone has access to local support and resources.

If your family—or someone you know—needs assistance or would like to give back, please see the options below:

🌾 Networks Cooperative Food Ministry (Tucker)
Accepts food donations and volunteers. Distributed over 850,000 pounds of food last year.
🔗 www.networkscoop.org

🍎 Embry Hills UMC – Snax Sax for Kids Program
Provides weekend food bags for children in need. Accepting food donations and volunteers.

🚗 Mobile Food Pantry – This Saturday, 12–3 PM
Embry Hills UMC, 3304 Henderson Mill Rd, Atlanta, GA 30341

🔗 Find more local pantries: United Way 211

For additional support, please contact our school counselors, Ms. Washington or Mrs. Cruz.
Thank you for helping us care for one another, HMES family! 💛

We’re a group of Henderson Mill parents raising money to buy grocery cards for families who depend on SNAP.

We are working directly with the Henderson Mill ES counselors and social workers to distribute the grocery cards. The grocery cards will be distributed by the counselors to families that are working with our school social worker. The school social worker will serve as a connection point to ensure needs are met confidentially and appropriately. Funds will be distributed based on family size and need.

If there are funds remaining in the account once the crisis ends, we’ll use them to provide holiday grocery cards for the identified families who will struggle during Thanksgiving break and the two-week winter break—when kids can’t count on free school breakfasts and lunches.

Henderson Mill Elementary School is an incredible community that has shown time and again how much we support each other. Please consider donating to ensure the children and families in our neighborhood can continue to have food in their homes.

Please click link to donate: https://gofund.me/feb6c577f

Please take a moment to check out the flyer for details about our Jr. Beta Club Food Drive!

Our students are collecting items to support families right here in our Henderson Mill community. Every donation helps make a difference! 💙

Thank you for joining us in spreading kindness and support this season.

Cub Scouts is an exciting program for children (both boys and girls) in kindergarten through fifth grade—and their families—that promotes learning, friendship, and most of all, fun!

Each child will join a “den” with other students in the same grade, guided by parent leaders, and receive a handbook of age-appropriate adventures. All dens come together to form the “pack,” also led by parents.

With a focus on outdoor activities, small gatherings, and family events, Cub Scouts provides a wonderful opportunity for kids to socialize, explore new interests, and grow through hands-on experiences.

We encourage you to get your child involved in this enriching program! See flyer for details.

Debby Miller, Olympic gold medal winner for the USA, and a past WNBA player ran this program through Clairmont for the past 20 years until Globe Academy bought out the property and she had to relocate this great basketball program to Rehoboth in our area. The program served out community well for over 20 years and has feed our basketball programs with many of the young men and women that played for our school teams through her Top of The Key basketball program. Please see flyer for details.

We are now registering for our Winter 2025 sports season. For this season, i9 Sports offers flag football (ages 4-13), soccer (ages 3-8), basketball (ages 4-12) and Girls Only Volleyball Instructional Clinic (ages 9-14). We have locations in Brookhaven, Dunwoody, Chamblee, Tucker & More!

All this information is on our digital flyer (attached below) for you to distribute to your school community through your website, social media, eblasts, etc. Please post it now through October and send it out to your school community asap for early registration savings.

We look forward to working with you again this season and providing another opportunity for $10 per registration.

Thank you for your partnership with i9 Sports!

Do you have a 4th- or 5th-grade student who loves to dance? Don’t miss the chance to be part of our Elementary Competitive Dance Team!

📝 Registration is open now through November 18.
💃 Season kicks off December 1.

This is a great opportunity for students to showcase their talent, build teamwork skills, and represent our school with pride.

Key Dates:

• December 1st - First Day of Practice
• January 17th - First Match
• January 24th - Second Match
• January 31st - Area Championship
• February 7th - County Championship

Opportunities include:

• EIM Dance (Various grade levels)

Use the links below to explore all options and sign up today, spots may fill quickly!

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

Fall 2025 Volunteer Training Dates

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

• November 12 – 12:00 PM & 6:00 PM

• December 3 – 12:00 PM

• December 10 – 12:00 PM

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!

Reminder: As we kick off a successful school year, please review and follow our arrival and dismissal expectations to ensure a smooth and safe day for all students:

🌅 Morning Arrival:
🕖 7:00 AM – School doors open and breakfast begins.
🍽️ After breakfast – Intervention & Enrichment starts (FREE TUTORING FOR YOUR CHILD). 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 in this order:
➡️bus riders
➡️ van riders
➡️ walkers
➡️ car riders
➡️ aftercare.
Please remember that our buses must be in line first.
🕝 2:30 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!
Your partnership helps us create a safe and focused environment for all learners. Thank you for your attention and cooperation!

The Student Assignment Project (SAP) is inviting all parents & community members to take part in a series of community engagement events this Fall. Your voice matters as we work together to reimagine DCSD as it relates to programs, boundaries, and buildings in our district! SAP Chats and SAP Town Halls are interactive opportunities to learn more, ask questions, and share your thoughts. Registration opens 24 hours before each event and is required to attend. Don’t miss your chance to join the discussion and make your voice heard!

SAP Chats
Join us for SAP Chats, our virtual follow-up to the SAP meetings—bringing you fresh, next-day updates and key insights while they’re still hot off the press. It’s your chance to catch up on what’s new, hear what’s next, and share your thoughts to help shape the process.

• Thursday, November 20 @ 6:30pm
• Thursday, December 4 @ 6:30pm

SAP Town Halls
Join us for a SAP Town Hall, as we provide the latest updates on the SAP process, including progress made, upcoming plans, and how program and school placement discussions are evolving. This is also your opportunity to share thoughts and help shape future recommendations.

• Saturday, December 13 @ 1:00pm
• Tuesday, December 16 @ 6:30pm

Dear DCSD Title I Families,

We are thrilled to invite you to our 6th Annual Curriculum & Cuisine event! This wonderful gathering will showcase the incredible talents of our Culinary Arts students from our school district, along with informative presentations on Social Studies and Math strategies to enhance your child's academic success.

Event Details

Date: November 11, 2025
Time: 6:00 PM Location: Henderson Middle School 2830 Henderson Mill Rd, Atlanta, GA 30341

Come and indulge in a variety of delicious dishes prepared by our talented Culinary Arts students. This event is a perfect blend of culinary and academic excellence. We encourage you to bring the whole family to share in this exciting experience!

To assist us in planning, please RSVP at https://forms.office.com/r/i7sjmTtjZi. For additional details on the event, please view the attached flyer FY26 Curriculum and Cuisine Flyer & sign-in.pdf

*Spanish_FY26 Curriculum and Cuisine Flyer & sign-in.pdf

Thank you for your continued support. We look forward to seeing you there!

Warm regards,

Cleveland Dollison
Title I Parent Center Cleveland_Dollison@dekalbschoolsga.org

On November 12, 2025, the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) will release the College and Career Ready Performance Index (CCRPI) scores for all schools across the state of Georgia.

These scores provide valuable information about how schools are performing in key areas such as academic achievement, progress, and readiness for the next level of learning. Shortly after the release, detailed data files will also begin to populate on the GaDOE website.

You can view the results through the public CCRPI portal here:
🔗 https://ccrpireportspublic.gadoe.org/ccrpireportspublicweb/Views/Shared/_Layout.html

We encourage families and staff to review the data as part of our shared commitment to continuous growth and excellence in education.

The winter MAP test shows how much your child has grown academically over the school year. Teachers use the results to:

• Measure progress from fall to winter

• Plan lessons and support for next year

• See how students compare to national goals

Parents can help by making sure their child gets plenty of rest and encouraging them to do their best, the test helps guide learning, not assign grades!

The ACCESS for ELLs test is an annual assessment for students learning English in grades K–12. It measures progress in listening, speaking, reading, and writing to help teachers support students’ language growth. Testing will take place in January, and results help determine students’ English proficiency and placement for the next school year. Please check out overview video below. You can learn more about the ACCESS test here: https://wida.wisc.edu

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).

Email: regina_smiley-blanton@dekalbschoolsga.org
Website: https://www.hendersonmilles.dekalb.k12.ga.us/
Location: 2408 Henderson Mill Road, Atlanta, GA, USA
Phone: 678-874-3102
Twitter: @henderson_mill