Hawks
October is National Bullying Prevention Month
Dear Heatherwood Families,
Each October, schools and communities across the United States recognize National Bullying Prevention Month—a time to raise awareness, foster empathy, and promote safe, inclusive learning environments for all students. This year, World Day of Bullying Prevention falls on October 6, 2025, and Unity Day will be observed on October 22, 2025. These special days provide opportunities to come together in support of kindness, acceptance, and inclusion.
While bullying can happen in many forms—including in-person or online (cyberbullying)—it often stems from differences in appearance, race, gender, ability, religion, or identity. The unfortunate reality is that 1 in 5 students report experiencing bullying. This makes our shared commitment to building a respectful community more important than ever.
As parents and caregivers, you play a vital role in teaching your student(s) how to treat others with kindness and dignity. Our students learn not only from what we say—but more importantly—from what we do. Modeling inclusive, respectful behavior at home helps our students understand what it looks like, feels like, and sounds like to value every individual, no matter the differences.
At our school, we take pride in creating a safe and welcoming environment where every student feels seen, heard, and valued. But this work starts with each of us. Let’s show our students that kindness starts with us—at home, at school, and in our community.
Thank you for being our partners in building a culture of respect and compassion. Let’s make everyday a day of kindness and respect.
Warmly,
Dr. Laura Wellington, Principal and Chris Doll Assistant Principal
October 3 – LIF Day 1:35pm release
October 6 – 7th Grade Hearing Re-Screening
October 7 – 7th Grade Vision Screening
October 10 – No school – Teacher Workday
October 15 – Picture Retakes
October 17 – LIF Day 1:35pm release
October 24 – LIF Day 1:35pm release
October 31 – LIF Day 1:35pm release
Does your student need additional academic support? Have them attend our Success Time Club – Monday through Thursday
Success Time is an after-school club that welcomes any student who needs additional support with their academics. Success Time is an open classroom (Room 307 - Third Floor) where students can meet with a teacher and receive clarity, support, and assistance with any subject or content area. Success Time is held from 3:00 - 4:00 Monday through Thursday.
World Language Assesment
Students can earn high school world language credits in grades 7-12 if they can fluently write, read, speak, and listen in a language other than English! Registration closes Friday, Oct. 24.
Students can register in the main office. The testing fee is $10 and is due at the time of registration. Testing will take place at Heatherwood on December 3, 2025, during the school day.
Operation School Bell: provides free clothing and essential items to students whose families qualify for free or reduced lunch. Students may receive: new school clothing, shoes, hygiene kits, winter coats and accessories.
Families who qualify can fill out a short request form and return it to the counseling office. Once the request is processed:
- School staff will pick up the clothing items from Operation School Bell.
- Items will be brought back to the school.
- Families will be contacted when the items are ready for pickup at the school.
Please reach out to your grade level counselor for the required paperwork.
Operation School Bell runs through late winter of 2026, so families can submit forms anytime during the upcoming months.
However, to help us be efficient with our pickups, we kindly ask families to submit their forms by Friday, October 10th if possible. This allows us to send in a larger batch of requests and make one coordinated pickup trip for the first round of clothing.
Clothes for Kids: families are able to make an appointment so their youth can get a personalized wardrobe.Clothing has been gently used, cleaned, tagged, and organized within this store (very much like a retail store). There are also new clothing pieces offered at Clothes for Kids. To determine eligibility, families need to qualify for at least one of the following: EBT card, TANF form, Free or reduced lunch qualification form, Apple Health Care, DSHS documentation, or hardship form.
