Greetings Hereford Families,

Before January comes to a close, I would like to share that on the evening of Thursday, January 11, Hereford Elementary was recognized for our ALSDE Report Card. We received the following recognitions:

1. Rocket Award- Improved on letter grade

2. Shooting Star Award- Improved 5 or more points

3. Over the Moon Award- Improved 10 or more points

Additionally, Mrs. Ramsey was recognized as our Teacher of the Year and National Board Certified Teacher.

Ms. Jackson was recognized as our Support Person of the Year.

We ask that you continue to encourage your scholar to remember our ROAR expectations and do their very best in the classroom. We missed raising our Report Card Grade by two letters due to attendance. Parents, please have your scholar at school on time and in attendance daily when well.

Don't forget to join us tomorrow evening for our Math Night beginning at 5:30.

We are truly on a Journey to Success...thank you for your support!

Principal Williams

Best regards,

Principal Williams

• January 29 - Math Night 5:30 p.m. -7:00 p.m.

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The steps for establishing a positive, consistent home environment include:

Defining the behavior routines
Teaching the behavior
Practicing the behavior

Reinforcing success
Interrupting/redirecting unwanted behavior

Responding to behavior

When adults identify, teach, model and reinforce wanted behavior children are more likely to become respectful, responsible and safe. To make the PBiS process successful at home it is important to have the whole family involved. Hold a family meeting to include the children as you work through each step.

Have a great week!

Kelli Eaton

Hello, Hereford Families!

Winter literature provides an avenue for keeping students engaged and entertained during the chilly days. The timeless and enriching activity of reading perfectly complements the season. Beyond the warmth of a cozy blanket and a cup of hot cocoa, books can transport children to magical winter worlds, fostering their imagination and cognitive development.

1. Nurturing Creativity and Imagination:

Winter-themed books provide an excellent opportunity for children to explore their creativity and imagination. Titles like The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats or Owl Moon by Jane Yolen introduce children to the wonders of snowy landscapes and the joy of winter adventures. These stories not only entertain but also stimulate children's minds, encouraging them to envision and dream.

2. Developing Language Skills:

Reading during winter break contributes significantly to a child's language development. Engaging with diverse vocabulary in books like The Mitten by Jan Brett or Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner enhances language skills and enriches their communication abilities. The rhythmic flow of words and engaging narratives play a crucial role in expanding a child's vocabulary.

3. Cultivating a Love for Learning:

Winter can be an ideal season to instill a love for learning. Books like Winter Dance by Marion Dane Bauer or The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg not only entertain but also offer educational elements, teaching children about nature, animals, and the joy of discovery. Such experiences can pave the way for a lifelong love of learning.

4. Fostering Diversity and Inclusion:

Winter-themed books come in a variety of genres and often feature characters from diverse backgrounds. Titles like The Snowy Nap by Jan Brett or The Nutcracker in Harlem by T.E. McMorrow provide opportunities for children to encounter different cultures and perspectives. Reading such stories fosters an appreciation for diversity and promotes inclusivity.

5. Bonding Through Shared Stories:

Reading together creates valuable bonding moments between parents, caregivers, and children. Choose books like The Biggest Snowman Ever by Steven Kroll or Snow Sisters! by Kerri Kokias for delightful, shared experiences. These stories not only entertain but also strengthen the emotional connection between family members.

6. Increasing Knowledge of Our World:

Winter-themed non-fiction books provide students with knowledge of plants, animals, and various habitats. The Story of Snow: The Science of Winter's Wonder by Mark Cassino and Jon Nelson features photos of real snow crystals in their beautiful diversity and explains how snow crystals are formed. Animals in Winter by Henrietta Bancroft and Richard Van Gelder explains animal migration and hibernation as these creatures prepare for winter. In Arctic Lights, Arctic Nights, author Debbie Miller introduces students to the Alaska wilderness, where some of the world's greatest temperature extremes and light variations occur every year.

Winter provides a golden opportunity to inspire a love for reading in children. Through captivating winter-themed books, students can embark on literary adventures, enhance their language skills, and develop a deeper understanding of the world around them. So, snuggle up with a good book this winter, and let the magic of storytelling warm both hearts and minds.

Very respectfully,

Mrs. Tomes

Greetings Hereford Elementary School Families,

This week we will discuss computational skills. So, what are computational skills? Specifically, computational skills are defined as the ability to calculate basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division problems quickly and accurately using mental methods, paper-and-pencil, and other tools, such as a calculator. At school, we focus on using mental math methods and paper-and-pencil. Below are a few activities to do with your children to strengthen their computational skills.

• Count orally by twos, fives, or tens.
• Complete connect-the-dot pictures.
• Have your child make a number book which contains a page for each numeral from one to ten. On each page, have your child glue clippings from newspapers and magazines illustrating that number concept (two dogs, three ducks, or four horses). As your child progresses with number recognition, they can add to the book and add numerical figures used in various ways.
• Count and pair objects found around the house and determine whether there’s an odd or even number of items.
• Review math facts at home, in the car, waiting in line, or during other downtime.
• Provide your child with verbal math problems. “Take the number five; add six; multiply by three; subtract three; divide by five. What’s your answer?” Speak slowly at first until your child gets better at solving these mental problems.
• Help your child identify percentages in signs, newspapers, and magazines.
• Encourage your child to read nutrition labels. Have them calculate the percent of a specific nutrient in each item.

Just another reminder that we will have Family Math Night on January 29th from 5:30pm-7:00pm! Come out and enjoy some math games and activities connected to math skills and strategies with your child! Children must attend with a parent or guardian.

Until next week, remember, math is not a spectator sport. The only way to learn math is to do math!

April M. Draine

Curriculum Specialist

Geometric Thinking

Students have learned about basic concepts of geometry. Here are ways to engage children further with geometric thinking.

Plan activities involving shapes, spaces, and locations.

• Have children position their hands, feet, or bodies to make basic shapes. “Can you make a triangle using your hands?” “Can four of you lay on the ground and create a square?”
• Offer containers of various shapes (cubes or pyramids) for sand and water play.
• Encourage children to work together on puzzles and mazes.
• Invite children to draw things they observe indoors and outdoors.
• Let children explore drawing aids such as rulers, protractors, and stencils.
• Provide building blocks, pattern blocks, geoboards, pegboards, straws, buttons, and beads for creating designs and structures. Teach children to weave, braid, and sew. Show them how to fold, cut, and arrange paper and other materials to make mosaics, collages, and other designs.
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Have fun making geometric thinking a part of your children’s daily routine. By engaging in conversations with your children, you can increase their excitement, reinforce math skills, and their love of learning. Children like to participate in activities involving shapes, spaces, and locations.

Vonda Johnson

Math Coach

We had an interesting and unexpected start to the month of January! Whether you took the time to go out and play or whether you chose to stay inside and keep warm, it was a great time to experiment, learn new things, and catch up on things you'd fallen behind on.

Reading is always one of those activities that can easily be fit in. Take a few minutes before bedtime, while waiting on your food at a restaurant, or even during commercials while watching your favorite TV show. Click the link below for a list of some wonderful books for this time of year.

https://www.reluctanthomeschoolmama.com/winter-read-alouds/

Greetings Hereford Family,

I was excited to be back in school after our unexpected break. I felt the positivity in the atmosphere.

I’m Mandisa Thornton and I am also excited to work with you as School Attendance Officer. My mission, and all of our mission, is to make our students as successful as possible. Did you know that attendance is one of the biggest factors in academic success? We are so proud of Sonnie Hereford’s amazing progress as a school and our increase in attendance. We could never have done it without all your efforts as families. We are looking forward to finishing the year strong. Each day and every moment of the day prepares students for their future. Let’s do our best to get kids to school on time every day. Let’s ace attendance and ace life!

Mandisa Thornton

School Attendance Officer

School-Parent Compacts

School-Parent compacts are a written commitment between parents, students, and school to share responsibility for improved student achievement. Every student enrolled in a Title I funded school MUST have a signed school-parent compact on file every school year. We are still missing some School-Parent compacts. Please sign your child’s compact and return it to their teacher. If you need another compact, you can email me (ann.elkins@hsv-k12.org) and I will gladly send another home with your child.

Thank you!

My Upcoming Meetings

Parent Focus Meeting

When – Wednesday, February 14, 2024 – 9:00 A.M. or 12:30 P.M.

Where – Hereford Elementary Library

Parent Advisory Committee Meeting (PAC)

Topic- Ideas and Suggestions for Parent Involvement

When – Tuesday, February 20, 2024 – 1:00 PM

Where - Hereford Elementary Library

Hope to see you there!

Are there any topics you would like to see a Focus Meeting on? Please feel free to give me suggestions/feedback at ann.elkins@hsv-k12.org.

Thank you!

Ann Elkins

Hello Parents,

It’s great having our scholars return to school after all that snow and ice. We hope that you continue to stay warm and safe.

This week during our Guidance Lesson we are going to talk about a very important topic that you will use throughout your whole life and that is Coping Skills. We will be talking about healthy ways you can handle your emotions when experiencing difficult events or difficult feelings. The way you react to hard situations and harsh feelings become habits, and we want those habits to be positive choices. COPING SKILLS HELP US DEAL WITH HOW WE FEEL. They help us calm down and feel better. There are many, many great coping skills that you can use. Coping skills should be things you already enjoy or are good at. They should be healthy activities you do. They will mean the most when you learn a few and practice them until they are habits. Then you will probably react well when in tough situations. I look forward to our time together!

Black History Nugget: President Barack Obama was the first African American president in U.S. history. Obama previously served as a U.S. senator representing the state of Illinois. He was also a state senator and worked as a civil rights lawyer and university lecturer.

Upcoming Event:

Our annual Black History Month Program will be held on Thursday, February 22, 2024, starting at 5:00 PM (Student Arrival Time). Save the date. We look forward to all our scholars participating in this wonderful event.

Have a great week!

J. Jewel Thorne

School Guidance Counselor

• Supervision of students begin at 7:30 each morning; therefore, students should not arrive to school before 7:30 AM.

• Students who are walkers are to follow the sidewalk leading to the crossing guard and to the front door of the school.

• Students who are walkers should not walk across the Pre-K parking lot without being supervised by parent/guardian.

• Parents who enter Pre-K parking lot (yellow arrows) to drop off Kinder-6th grade students must park and escort student(s) to front of school.

• Parents who enter faculty and staff parking lot (blue arrows) to drop off Kinder-6th grade students must park and escort student(s) to crosswalk.

• School starts promptly at 8:00 AM.

• Students arriving after 8:00 AM are tardy and must have a parent or a guardian sign them in at the main office.

Student check-out ends at 1:45-must have valid identification and listed as a contact in

PowerSchool SIS.

• All students will be dismissed at 2:30.

• Students are either a bus rider, car rider or walker.

• Parents are asked not to congregate near the front door of the school or the pick-up area. You

will be asked to clear the dismissal area- please do so.

• Parents of walkers are asked to meet your children at home or at the crosswalk.

• Parents of car riders are asked to remain in your vehicle in the car line during pick-up.

• Pre-K parking lot (yellow arrows) is reserved only for Pre-K families with Parking Permit displayed.

• WALKERS- in the event of rain, parents are asked to provide child/ren with rain gear or send a written/typed note to teacher to change dismissal to car rider for that day by 1:30 pm.