HAWK HERALD

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• برای فارسی، روی دکمه «ترجمه» در پنل بالای این صفحه کلیک کنید و کل خبرنامه را به اسپانیایی ترجمه کنید.

  baraye farsi, roye dokmeh «tarjmeh» dar panel balaye in safheh kolik konid ve kel khbarnameh ra bah espaniayi tarjmeh konid.

• اردو کے لیے صفحہ کے اوپری حصے میں "ترجمہ" بٹن دبائیں

  
  

  ardo ke liye safh ke operi hissay min "tarjamah" batn dabin

August 31 - All persons picking up children through the car rider line must have their Hemphill car tag. Anyone without a car tag will be directed to the front office at the end of the car rider line for an ID check. This is to ensure the safety of all students.

September:

1 - Raising Highly Capable Kids Program Start, 3:30pm at Hemphill or 6:00pm at Chapa

1 - Last day to ride the bus in the afternoons without an ID badge *please make sure your child has his/her badge. All students were provided with two - one that stays at school and one that attaches to the backpack.

7 - Student/Staff Holiday

11 - Grandparent Day Lunch

15 - Dot Day - wear dots to show off your creative side

15 - Student Leadership Night, 5:30pm-6:30pm

18 - Talk Like a Pirate Day

21 - Student Holiday

25 - Club Day

28 - APEX School Fundraiser begins!

28-29 - Vision and Hearing screening

28-October 2 - Hispanic Heritage Spirit Week

October:

September 28-October 2 - Hispanic Heritage Spirit Week

1 - Culture Night, 5:30-6:30pm

1 - Parent Conferences open for the month

2 - Custodian Appreciation Day

8 - APEX School Fundraiser ends with a FUN RUN!

9 - Student Holiday

12 - Student/Staff Holiday

16 - Fall Individual Pictures

16 - Fall Festival

21 - Unity Day - wear orange

22 - 5th Grade Musical

23 - Club Day

26-29 - Red Ribbon Week

29 - Storybook Festival

29 - Parent conferences close for the month

30 - Student Holiday

Families,

Last year, Hemphill finished the school year with the lowest attendance rate in Hays CISD. We know life happens, and there are times when students genuinely need to be home. However, when students miss school, they miss far more than just a day's worth of lessons.

While Texas is one of the few states that still funds schools based on Average Daily Attendance (ADA), our biggest concern is NOT funding - it's your child's learning. We can't teach students to read, solve math problems, think critically, build friendships, develop responsibility, or prepare for future success if they aren't here and if they aren't here for the entire day.

Attendance isn't just about absences. Tardies and early checkouts also have a significant impact. School begins at 7:30 a.m., which means instruction begins at 7:30 a.m. If your child is walking through the doors at 7:30 or later, they are already missing valuable learning. Arriving just 10 minutes late each day adds up to nearly an hour of lost instruction every week. Likewise, instruction stops at 3:00pm, so early pickups mean students miss important lessons, classroom discussions, and opportunities to learn alongside their peers.

At Hemphill, we truly believe we are the best school in the world. Now we need your help to prove it! Let's work together to make Hemphill the leader in Hays CISD - not just in academics, but in attendance as well.

Every day matters. Every minute counts. Thank you for partnering with us to make sure our Hawks are at school, on time, and ready to learn!

All students are required to wear ID Badges at all times per district safety protocols. They are required for students to ride the bus. If your child does not have a bus ID, s/he will not be permitted to ride the bus in the afternoons and must be picked up by car through the car rider line at 3:00pm. Please call the front office prior to 1:00pm the day of to make transportation changes.

Bus riders have 2 IDs- one stays on the backpack and one stays on the child at school. Badges should not leave school, but please make sure your child returns with the badge if s/he accidentally takes it home.

If a child needs to replace the badge, the cost is $5. (LINK COMING SOON) to pay for your child's replacement badge.

VERY IMPORTANT - Do not punch a hole in the ID. That will deactivate the badge. This is the reason we provide clear plastic sleeves instead.

Important School Hours and Deadlines

Instructional Hours - 7:30am-3:00pm

• Doors open for breakfast - 7:00am
• Tardy warning bell - 7:25am **last chance to get breakfast!**
• Instruction begins - 7:30am (students should be in class, ready to learn)
• Transportation changes deadline - 1:00pm (please call the front office, not the child’s teacher, in order to make transportation changes)

• Early pick-up deadline - 2:00pm (no check-outs allowed after this time)
• Instruction ends - 3:00pm
• Dismissal begins - 3:00pm (students must be picked up from school on time)

*If you need to purchase an additional car tag, the cost is $5 using (LINK COMING SOON).

Please mark your calendar for Grandparents Day on September 11, 2026.

• Tickets will be available for advance purchase through RevTrak and will close at 7:00 p.m. the evening before the event.
• The cafeteria will prepare meals based on the number of tickets purchased in advance.
• Grandparents who do not purchase tickets ahead of time may still go through the line and pay cash only.
• Ticket price will be $5.25.
• A detailed flyer, including the payment link, will be shared closer to the event.

International Dot Day, a global celebration of creativity, courage and collaboration, began when teacher Terry Shay introduced his classroom to Peter H. Reynolds’ book The Dot on September 15, 2009.

The Dot is the story of a caring teacher who dares a doubting student to trust in her own abilities by being brave enough to “make her mark”. What begins with a small dot on a piece of paper becomes a breakthrough in confidence and courage, igniting a journey of self-discovery and sharing, which has gone on to inspire countless children and adults around the globe.

Imagine the power and potential of millions of people around the world connecting, collaborating, creating and celebrating all that creativity inspires and invites. We hope you will join the growing global community of creativity champions using their talents, gifts and energy to move the world to a better place, by wearing dots on Dot Day!

Join us for an Open House led by our students!

“Talk Like a Pirate Day,” is simply a silly day when people across the globe start tossing around “Arr!” and “Shiver me timbers!” into their regular conversations. We love to mix in fun with learning at Hemphill, so join us, me hearties, in keepin' Pirate Day!

Did you know that simply joining the PTA by paying $8 makes a huge difference in what we can do for students and teachers? We encourage you to sign up today at JOINPTA.ORG! Joining does not mean you are required to help with events!

At Hemphill, we are not just preparing children to take tests; we're preparing children for LIFE!

Certainly we want our children to learn how to read, write, and compute math problems, but more importantly, we want our children to know how to succeed in life - academically, socially, and emotionally. We pride ourselves on supporting the whole child. We implement Leader in Me, a framework that nurtures student leadership, fosters a culture of trust, and boosts academic success. We teach our children executive functioning skills and metacognition so that they can learn to be independent thinkers and resilient members of our society. We cannot do any of this unless children attend school.

The Texas compulsory attendance law states that students must be present for at least 90% of school year in order to earn credit.

We look forward to partnering with families to ensure student success!

We kindly ask you to refrain from lunch visits until August 31. We are teaching routines and procedures these first few weeks, and we need all children to practice. Thank you!

A few lunch visit reminders ...

• Visitors must be listed on the child's contact list.
• Visits may only be with the family member(s) and child - no friends or even relatives if the grownup is not listed as a contact.
• School-aged students from other campuses may not be on our campus during school hours.
• When the weather is lovely, we encourage you to sit outside on the picnic tables for a more quiet setting. If you prefer inside, we do have a designated area for family lunches.

LUNCH SCHEDULES:

• Pre-K - 10:15-10:45
• ECSE - 10:30-11:00
• Kinder - 11:50-12:20
• 1st grade - 11:10-11:40
• 2nd grade - 10:50-11:20
• 3rd grade - 12:40-1:10
• 4th grade - 12:10-12:40
• 5th grade - 1:05-1:35

We are excited to announce the availability of the school's Marquee for families to recognize and celebrate students on their birthdays or for academic and extracurricular accomplishments.

Marquee Message cost - $30.

Completed forms and payment must be received 2 weeks prior to the posting date.

Please click (LINK COMING SOON) to set up and pay for your child's birthday announcement!

· 1. Choose the Date you want the Marquee to display your message.

· 2. Choose the side of the Marquee you want your message on - North or South side.

· 3. Enter your daytime contact information.

· 4. Enter the message you want to display. The message should be limited to 3 lines and 21 characters per line (including spaces).

· 5. Click Add to Shopping Cart. (Complete a separate page for each person. On the next page Continue Shopping for another person or another item.)

If you have questions, contact Salena.Maldonado@hayscisd.net, campus secretary.

Principal: Shea Howard - shea.howard@hayscisd.net

Assistant Principal: Roshni Varghese - roshni.varghese@hayscisd.net

School Secretary: Salena Maldonado - salena.maldonado@hayscisd.net

Attendance Clerk: Melissa Gutierrez - melissa.gutierrez@hayscisd.net

District Registration Help - HES.registration@hayscisd.net

Nurse: Traci Ornelas - traci.ornelas@hayscisd.net

Campus Resource Specialist: Jennifer Narvaiz - jennifer.narvaiz@hayscisd.net

Counselor: Vanessa Duran - vanessa.duran@hayscisd.net

School Psychologist: Lauren Sweeney - lauren.sweeney@hayscisd.net

ARD Facilitator: Angelica Faddis - angelica.faddis@hayscisd.net