HMES NEWSLETTER
2025-2026
Good Afternoon Hawk Family and Happy May, the month of health and wellness!
I hope you had a wonderful weekend! As we head into Week 34, there is so much to celebrate across our school community and we are officially gearing up this week to celebrate our incredible teachers and staff!
Last week was filled with highlights, we celebrated another successful week of testing, we celebrated wins from our boys’ and girls’ flag football teams, and we showed appreciation for our amazing cafeteria team and bus drivers. I was also incredibly honored to be celebrated for Principal’s Day. Thank you to our students and staff for making the day so special, I am truly grateful to serve this wonderful community.
A heartfelt thank you to our parents, families, students, and staff who showed up and represented us so beautifully at the Tucker Day Parade.
This week, we are so excited to celebrate the BEST faculty and staff in DCSD. A heartfelt thank you to the parents who have already donated gift cards or volunteered as we prepare for Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week. We have many more celebrations and events, please read SMORE below.
Please also be sure to check the very end of the SMORE for important dates and upcoming celebrations.
Thank you, as always, for your continued love, support, and partnership. You are what makes Henderson Mill such a special place for our students and staff each and every day.
Don’t forget to check out this week’s STEAM Video of the Week and wear GREEN tomorrow!
Have an amazing week, Hawks! 🦅💙💚
— Dr. Blanton
Please share your voice!
At Henderson Mill, we are committed to continuous growth for our students and families. Parents can share feedback anytime through our anonymous suggestion link, which is reviewed by the Administrative Team, Guiding Coalition, and or PAC to inform school planning. Students can also submit ideas through the student suggestion box (right outside of Dr. Blanton's office door), reviewed by the SAC (see some of the pictured) and administration to strengthen our school. Our next SAC meeting is May 13th. Thank you to everyone who has shared feedback so far, if you haven’t yet, we encourage you to participate. Your voice matters.
May PTO Board Meeting 7pm (ZOOM)
Happy Cinco De Mayo! Join Us for Our PTO Meeting Tuesday, May 5th at 7:00 PM!
The PTO is a vital part of our school community, they help support our students, teachers, and staff through fundraising, volunteering, and organizing fun and meaningful events throughout the year. Whether you're able to give a little time or a lot, your involvement makes a huge difference.
Come learn more about what events are coming up, and how you can be a part of this amazing team. We look forward to seeing you online partnering with you!
Don't forget to type your child's name in the PTO chat!
Zoom link below:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86752325208?pwd=QWorbVgwVVpncmFKNDJvZnNMRjI4QT09
Meeting ID: 867 5232 5208
Passcode: 777260
🎉 PBIS DAY Wednesday, May 6th 🍧
PBIS Day is rolling in with a sweet surprise! Tikiz Shaved Ice & Ice Cream will be on campus all day on Wednesday, May 6th to help us celebrate PBIS Day. This special day is all about recognizing and rewarding our students for positive behavior, great choices, and showing respect and responsibility throughout our school community.
🍧 What to Expect:
- Hawaiian shaved ice, ice cream, and hot beverages
- A fun and tasty way to celebrate positive behavior
⭐ DOJO Points: Please check with your child’s teacher for the number of DOJO points needed to participate and assigned times.
✨ Students can look forward to fun activities, celebrations, and positive incentives as we continue to build a positive and supportive school culture.
Let’s keep up the great work positive behavior makes a difference! 👏🎉
Henderson Mill Elementary is a Distinguished PBIS school!
🩺 Henderson Mill Celebrates School Nurse Appreciation Day!
Join us in honoring our school nurse on May 6, 2026.
School Nurse Appreciation Day is celebrated during National Nurses Week to recognize the vital role school nurses play in keeping our students healthy, safe, and ready to learn.
How Families Can Participate:
💌 Student-Created Cards – Share a heartfelt message of thanks.
🩹 Nursing Supplies Donations – Help support our clinic by donating items such as band-aids, ice packs, tooth preservation kits (save-a-tooth containers/necklaces), 4x4 gauze, and other basic first aid supplies.
Henderson Mill Families, your support makes this celebration extra special!
Georgia Milestones End of Grade (EOG) Assessment
As we are now in our testing season, we want to continue to share important information about the Georgia Milestones End of Grade (EOG) Assessment. All assessments will be administered 100% online in a face-to-face testing environment.
The district will use staggered testing schedules for elementary, middle, and high schools so that ELA Section 1 begins on different days at each level to ensure technology systems run smoothly. See below regarding details about Henderson Mill’s specific testing dates. Thank you for your continued support of our students.
HMES PBLs
Hello families! Read below about what each grade level is working on!
PreK- How can we help bees do their important work in our school gardens?
Kindergarten- How can we support the pollinators in our community?
1st grade- How can we design a space in our community that helps plants and animals thrive in the right conditions?
2nd grade- How can we help bring the nature trail behind our school back to life so that people, plants and animals can enjoy it?
3rd Grade- How can we, as environmental engineers, design and create a safe solution for the erosion that occurs along the path to the PE building?
4th Grade- How can we, as hydrologists, use our knowledge of water to ensure our aquaponics system is a home for healthy plants and fish?
5th Grade- How can we use sustainable composting to turn food and yard waste into nutrient rich soil to help our garden grow and flourish?
If you or anyone you know may be able to support us in any of these PBLs, please click the following link: 👉https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScoGQzXIPN_gUs1V1-pAcVw-HpyI04oY9vmBc7RaPl9IoOA4A/viewform?usp=dialog
🚗✨ Arrival & Dismissal Reminders ✨🚶♀️
As we continue a successful school year, please review and follow our arrival and dismissal expectations to ensure a smooth and safe day for all students. Thanks to our survey, it has come to my attention that our late arrival students are a huge parent concern as well. This is a distruption to our classrooms and teaching/learning. Please try your hardest to have your child to arrive to school on time, please see below.:
🌅 Morning Arrival:
🕖 7:00 AM – School doors open and breakfast begins. Please be sure your child has parent supervision if they arrive on campus before 7am.
🍽️ 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. Students should be in their classrooms.
📘 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!
2025-2026 school yearbook
"There’s Still Time to Order Your Yearbook!
Order here: https://www.treering.com/purchase?PassCode=10146721719077
Online orders placed by Friday April 24 will qualify for FREE shipping to the school.
After April 24, you can still order, but books will be shipped to your home and include a shipping fee.
We will have a limited number of softcover copies available for $20 cash purchase when books arrive."
🎉 Show Your School Spirit! 🎉
Most Fridays are Spirit Wear Days for our staff, and we would love for our students to join in too! This is a fun way to celebrate our school pride and highlight our amazing school community. 💚
Want to get your student ready for Spirit Wear Fridays? Click the link below to purchase official school spirit wear from our PTO. Let’s make Fridays a sea of blue and green and school pride we can’t wait to see everyone showing their Hawk Pride! 🦅
HMES Hawk Rock is Here! 🎉
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! 🦅
📚 Support Our School Through SchoolStore!
Thanks to your efforts, some of our teachers have already earned gift cards worth up to $500 through the School Store program, we are truly grateful!
To participate:
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Send the invitation emails to family and friends or put it on your social media page.
Your participation takes just minutes and helps provide important resources for our students and teachers. Thank you for your support! Click link to watch video to learn more: https://videos.schoolstore.com/kick-off-video
Support Henderson Mill While You Shop at Kroger! 🛒
It’s quick, easy, and free to help our school earn rewards!
Here’s how:
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Create a Kroger digital account (if you don’t already have one): https://www.kroger.com/account/communityrewards/
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Link your Kroger Plus Shopper’s Card.
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Go to Community Rewards in your account settings.
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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!
⚾ Calling All Future Vikings! ⚾
Join the Lakeside High School Baseball Coaches and Players for their Annual Baseball Camp! This is a great opportunity for young athletes to build their baseball skills, learn from experienced players and coaches, and have fun on the field.
📲 Scan the QR code or click the link to register today!
👕 Register by Friday, May 8th to be guaranteed a camp t-shirt.
Come out, sharpen your skills, and be part of the Lakeside baseball tradition! ⚾
FREE MEALS FOR DEKALB FAMILIES
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
PARENT CORNER
We are happy to share that we will have a small pantry located in our Parent Corner, generously sponsored by our PTO. The pantry will include some food and very basic toiletry items for families who may need a little extra support. If your family could benefit from these resources, please contact Ms. Illinets (Parent Liaison) for assistance. All requests will be handled with care and confidentiality. We are always here to support our Henderson Mill families.
School Parent Volunteers
We are desperately seeking parent volunteers to help support our school during key parts of the day. Your time, presence, and energy make a huge difference in keeping our students safe, happy, and thriving and honestly, we can’t do it without you!
Here’s where we could really use your help:
- Lunch Duty (10:20 AM – 12:20 PM)- Help us monitor students, keep things running smoothly, and encourage positive behavior during lunch.
- Recess Duty (10:45 AM – 12:45 PM)- Play referee, cheerleader, and safety monitor all in one! Your presence ensures our kids can enjoy recess safely.
- Morning Duty (7:00 AM – 7:45 AM)-Assist with arrival by helping students get out of their transportation safely and start the day on the right foot.
- After School Duty (2:15 PM – 2:45 PM)-Help supervise dismissal and ensure students leave safely, whether walking, riding, or being picked up.
- NEW! We need your support with our Motivational Doors!!! Please contact your child's teacher on details to come and decorate their classroom door.
If you can spare even a little time, you do not have to stay the entire time, please come by the school, sign in, and ask for our Parent Liaison, Ms. Vicky. She’ll show you the ropes and make it super easy to jump in.
We truly cannot overstate how much your involvement matters. Our students benefit immensely from your support, and we would be so grateful for your time, big or small.
Thank you for being an essential part of our Hawks family!
Become a certified DCSD Volunteer
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. We are currently in need of parents to volunteer as chaperones for our upcoming field trips, helping ensure a safe, fun, and meaningful experience for our students.
See document for details. This document was created by the District to assist you in registering as a volunteer with the DeKalb County School District. Please complete the following steps to become a DCSD Volunteer. The process takes about 30 minutes total, including approximately 20 minutes of online mandatory child abuse reporting training required by the State of Georgia for all volunteers.
Steps to Complete the Volunteer Process:
Complete the Volunteer Application and Release Form:
Review and Complete the DCSD Volunteer Code of Conduct:
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. 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!
The DCSD Weekly Digest
Hello, DCSD Community! Click the link below for The DCSD Weekly Digest – May 4, 2026 Newsletter. Stay Connected and Stay Informed: https://bit.ly/4c74V7X.
- 2026 Commencement Ceremonies
- Chamblee High’s Owen Tang Awarded Merit Scholarship
- Tucker Middle School Sole Georgia Finalist in Presidential AI Challenge
- 2026-2027 School Year Registration
- Student Scholarship Club
- Virtual Exceptional Education Parent Session
- Virtual International Parent Engagement Series
- Safe Kids Day
- Literacy Plan Input Survey
- Career Fair
- Photos & Videos of the Week
- Weekly and Monthly Recognitions
Let's continue moving forward together because the strength of our community lies in unity and continuous communication.
Parent Tech Café
Join us for the last Parent Tech Café for the 1st semester! Parent Tech Cafe' is a virtual series designed to empower parents, guardians, and stakeholders with insights into the digital tools supporting teaching and learning across DeKalb County School District. See flyer to learn when sessions takes place. This is a great opportunity for families to explore the resources that enhance student success. Please help us spread the word to your school communities. Click here for more information: https://its.dekalb.k12.ga.us/TechCafe_202581813581964.aspx
MAY SEL FOCUS
As we wrap up the school year, we want to share a brief update on the Social Emotional Learning (SEL) experiences your children have participated in throughout the year.
Our school counselors have provided students with age-appropriate SEL lessons focused on building important life skills that support both learning and well-being. These lessons included developing positive mindsets, setting goals, understanding and managing emotions, and showing empathy toward others. Students also learned strategies for problem-solving, building healthy friendships, and contributing to a safe and supportive school environment.
In addition, students explored personal safety topics, including understanding boundaries and knowing how to seek help from trusted adults. A strong emphasis was placed on helping students build confidence, recognize their strengths, and develop a positive sense of self. These lessons are designed to support the whole child and help students make thoughtful, responsible decisions both in and out of the classroom. It has been a wonderful year of growth, and our students are looking forward to a well-deserved break.
Thank you for your continued support as we work together to promote emotional well-being and success for every child.
Georgia’s K-12 standards
We know that parents and family members play an essential role in students’ educational success. When schools and families work in partnership, children will succeed at new levels.
The link below, parents and family members of students in Georgia’s K-12 public schools can explore the wealth of resources and services offered through GaDOE. Discover important information on Georgia’s K-12 standards, programming to support your student, ways to get involved, and more.
WHAT IS BEANSTACK? HOW DOES IT HELP MY CHILD?
Let’s keep the momentum going!
Congratulations to our Trophy winners! 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.
See video from our DCSD Board Chair Mrs. Allyson Gevertz below, together, we can build a powerful culture of reading at HMES, one page at a time! ✨
Georgia Milestones Assessment
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).
Parent ProTech is here!
Parent ProTech is an on-demand library of resources to help you with everything from social media to gaming, artificial intelligence to streaming, to preventing violence in schools with anti-bullying educational awareness. Their resources cover trends and what you need to know to inform and protect students online. They end every series with conversation starters to help you know how to begin conversations with your students around their favorite tech. Their full library is now available so you can stay up to date on the platforms our students are using.
Signing up is easy and FREE! Visit this link https://bit.ly/DCSDParentProtech and create your Parent ProTech account that will equip you with the knowledge and tools needed to support your students online. Note: Please use your district email to create your account.
Please take a few minutes to view the introduction and walkthrough videos to learn more about this amazing resource.
Henderson Mill Elementary
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