NEWS from the NEST

Woodland Families:

We have a very exciting week leading into the final days of October and ending with Halloween on Friday, the 31st. Students may wear a costume or PJs to school on Friday.

• Costumes must be school appropriate (following the school dress code).
• No props or accessories need to be brought to school.
• No face coverings/masks will be allowed to be worn.

Please make sure that your Eagle's costume fits into these parameters so we can ensure that they will be able to wear them.

Water Bottles: We are reaching the point where we will no longer be allowing water bottles to enter the building. I have provided information to families since the beginning of the school year about water bottles, but we have a multitude of students that are not following the school guidelines. Last week we had a student that brought a glass container. The student dropped it and it shattered all over the floor. We are also having 40 over more spills each week and some spills are not being reported but found by staff members or other students. These situations are causing potentially dangerous situations for our students. IF a student is bringing a water bottle from home it must be transparent plastic and ONLY have water inside of it with a lid that is flip top in nature. Large metal containers or those with a screw top lid are not permitted. I'm including pictures below for reference. I'm hopeful that we can remedy this issue or we will no longer permit water bottles in the building. We have water fountains in each classroom and four sets of double fountains in the building. Please help to make sure that your student follows these guidelines.

Screen Time/Technology/Social Media: I understand that this topic is not always an easy one to approach, but families we need your help. First, the discussion of screen time. Please try to limit your Eaglet's screen time in order for them to get plenty of exercise, nutrition and sleep. More than half of our 1st grade students in our building have a cell phone, but the majority of those students not mastered their Red Words. Human interaction cannot be replaced with a screen/device.

By age group here are the recommendations from the AAP:

Under 18 months:

Avoid screen media, except for video chatting with family.

6 and older:

Place consistent limits on the time and types of media. Ensure media use does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or other essential behaviors.

Social Media: The legal/minimum age for children to obtain an account on social media is 13 (NO STUDENT AT WOODLAND MEETS THIS REQUIREMENT). If your student has falsified their age to obtain a social media account or if a family member has falsified their child's age this is fraud. The COPPA (Child Online Protection Privacy Rule) prevents social media from being acquired from children younger than 13, unfortunately it cannot stop all people from falsifying information. Please make sure that you are monitoring your child's device. I cannot tell you how important that this is to ensure their safety and the safety of others.

Family Forward Night on November 12th: Please see the flyer below for a Joint Event taking place at Woodland for our North End Elementary schools to help support our families. There will be lots of events and sessions to help support our families. Contact information and a RSVP form are posted below.

Please make sure to check out ALL of the Student Opportunities posted below.

We are looking forward to safe and exciting week at Woodland.

Eagles Fly Because They Try!

Mr. Thompson

Principal - Woodland Elementary

brandon.thompson@hardin.kyschools.us

Eagle Families,

Please continue to have conversations with your Eagles about Bus Safety and Classroom Safety/Procedures. We strive to make Woodland the best place for our Eagles. Please partner with us to ensure that positive conversations are being had and students are being encouraged to refrain from classroom disruptions and physical aggression such as horseplay.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Precious Aubrey

Assistant Principal

10/28/25 Make-up FALL pictures

10/30/25 PTO Meeting @ 5pm in Library

10/31/25 Halloween (students may wear costumes - school appropriate)

10/31/25 PBIS Clubs for October

11/3/25 SCHOOL DISMISSED

11/11/2025 Veteran's Day Program @ Woodland 9:30am (RSVP Form)

11/12/25 Family Forward Night @ Woodland

11/26-11/28 Thanksgiving Break (SCHOOL DISMISSED)

Please use this form to reserve your spot at our Veterans Day program. Please RSVP by Nov. 7 to allow us to properly plan for each Veteran and a Guest. While we would love to have everyone attend, our capacity will only allow space for our invited veterans, their one guest, our students, and our staff. This will ensure that we are able to fulfill the ceremony’s purpose of respectfully honoring those who have served and continue to serve in our military while safely adhering to the capacity regulations.

Please use RSVP FORM here.

The Competency for the Month will be Effective Communicator. Each teacher will choose a student from their classroom and throughout the month of October, we will recognize those Eagles for exhibiting characteristics of being an Effective Communicator on our LIVE Google Meets Friday mornings. Please look below at what it takes to be an Effective Communicator.

SCHOOL BUS EXPECTATIONS

The Hardin County School System provides bus transportation for students to and from school. Bus transportation is a privilege for students, not a right. While riding the bus, the driver does have authority over your child. All children are expected to follow rules of bus conduct and obey the driver.

There are multiple video cameras on the school bus that both record visual and sound. Please remind your student that their actions and words can lead to a consequence.

You can expect your child’s bus to operate on a regular schedule. The driver will not wait at a stop for your child to get ready, please have your child ready and waiting at the bus stop each morning. Your driver will not vary from their schedule more than a few minutes each day unless there is mechanical trouble or on occasion the schedule may vary due to a substitute driver. At the beginning of school it takes a week or so for bus route pick-up times to become established.

SCHOOL BUS RULES

According to HCAR 06.34, bus rules are made for the SAFETY of all students. Drivers are in charge of their buses, and their first responsibility shall be to the safe transportation of their passengers. Students will be responsible for following regulations for pupils riding school buses as set by the Hardin County Schools.

Annually, parents are provided with the HCS Rules and Regulations for Riding School Buses pamphlet and asked to discuss its contents with their child. In addition, parents and guardians are asked to complete the Student/Parent Transportation Agreement to verify that their child is familiar with the bus safety expectations.

No student will be allowed to ride a bus or get off at an area other than assigned without written permission of a parent AND a bus pass signed by the principal or the designee.

Only school personnel will have access to the bus loading area. No child will be retrieved from the buses at the close of the day.

A student who usually rides a certain bus will be placed on that bus UNLESS we have a written request. If your child is to be picked up or has a transportation change, a note should be sent with the child. Students are to give notes to their teachers when they arrive at school in the morning. In a TRUE emergency, not a daily or weekly event, it may be necessary to call the school; we MUST be able to verify it is you by calling you on a number you have already listed with the school. If it is necessary to call the school to change your child’s transportation we must have documentation of the transportation change before 1:00 pm. Please utilize the Woodland Transportation Change Form. You may also utilize woodland@hardin.kyschoools.us to send an email to notify us of a change.

BUS SUSPENSION

The following is a copy of a Hardin County Schools Bus Incident Report. A bus driver will complete this form if and when a student does not follow the bus rules. Additional rules are found in the Hardin County Schools Code of Conduct. Depending on the reason for the bus suspension, it is possible that a student may not be able to ride a bus on a field trip. Please refer to the disciplinary options chart on the School Bus Incident report.

Every Tuesday morning ALL students at Woodland participate in 6 minutes to FLUENCY. This is a partner activity where students read for 1 minute to a partner, then their partner gives them positive feedback for 1 minute, then they switch places. The entire process takes only 6 minutes. This is just ONE way we are building stronger readers each day at Woodland.

Each day a homeroom class has the opportunity to earn a Tardy Tater piece. How do they earn it? It's all tied into Attendance. Students must be present (not tardy) in order for the class to add a piece. After 10 day of only have one student missing from their class, the class receives a Tater Chip Party. We are wanting our Eagles to be at school each and everyday. We miss them when they are not here!

Students will once again be eligible to earn EGGcellent Eagle Tickets for work they do from the Reading Passages and Math Fluency sheets posted on the Family Newsletter. Students can simply get a note from a family member stating that they read the reading passage for the week. Students can also complete the math problems (show your work) on a blank sheet of paper and send those in as well. Please do not keep the printing from allowing your student to complete the work.

Students needs their first and last name and their homeroom teacher's name on their paper when turning these in. Can students complete work outside of their grade level? YES!

I will award students for grade level work that is either 1 grade level above or below the grade level that they are currently in.

For every Reading Passage a student reads = 2 EGGcellent Eagle Tickets

For every 10 math problems a student completes = 1 EGGcellent Eagle ticket

EGGcellent Eagle tickets will be drawn on Monday mornings this school year for a snack and prize.

1st Grade Reading Passage (Clean Up!)

2nd Grade Reading Passage (Tim At School)

3rd Grade Reading Passage (Watching the Weather)

4th Grade Reading Passage (Owl Prowl)

5th Grade Reading Passage (Why Is Dirt So Important?)

6th Grade Reading Passage (Weather Technology)

All grades levels have a fluency standard.

The KY Math Standards state that students should be fluent in the following areas:

1st Grade Math Fluency Sheet

2nd Grade Math Fluency Sheet

3rd Grade Math Fluency Sheet

4th Grade Math Fluency Sheet

5th Grade Math Fluency Sheet

Please look above at the APP that you will need to download in order to stay in contact with Woodland via Rooms. Rooms is inside the HCS app. The only people that will be automatically entered into Rooms will be a student's guardian(s) that are listed in Parent Portal. All family members can still download the app and see all things Woodland. If you find yourself having trouble with Rooms and need assistance, please reach out to us so we can help you. Please also make sure that your correct phone number is listed in Parent Portal so you receive the text messages that the district and Woodland sends out.

Follow the directions in the link to obtain a Parent Portal. All families are encouraged to make sure that they have access to their student's Parent Portal. This is where all attendance and grades are housed for your student.

https://www.hardin.kyschools.us/parents/parent-portal-account-how-do-i-get-one

All educators in the state of KY in the public school systems must use the Kentucky Academic Standards. All of the programs that we use at Woodland align to these standards. If you are ever wondering why your student is learning a specific skill or concept in their grade level, you can look to these for guidance.

Do you want to help, but you don't want to go out and buy and drop it off at the school? Click here to help send supplies directly to the school. Thanks in advance!

https://a.co/6QhXhhx

Woodland does have a Wellness policy that is a SBDM (Site Base Decision Making) policy about no outside food coming in for birthday celebrations. We do celebrate every student in a monthly celebration on the last Thursday of the month. Students are given a treat provided by the cafeteria, we sing Happy Birthday, and each child gets a Happy Birthday pencil. If you would like to do something additional, please reach out to your student's homeroom teacher. You are always welcome to send in a trinket/prize/pencil for the students in the class. You can also contact the school and come and eat lunch with your student if you are able to do that. With the ever growing number of students with known and unknown allergies, we do not allow large batches of food (cupcakes, brownies, etc.).

Some suggestions in lieu of food:

• Stickers
• Glow bracelets
• temporary tattoos
• Bubbles
• Play-doh
• Side walk chalk

Thank you for your understanding and support.

If there is a change in your student's transportation, please fill our the form linked here. We must have transportation changes in writing for documentation purposes.

The link is https://forms.gle/39qw9qqqjnXccMtR9

Here is the important information regarding how parents can view and pay for field trips and complete permission slips for their students.

To get started, parents need to complete a two-step sign-up process:

1. Create a free SchoolCash Online account.

   • Visit https://hardin.schoolcashonline.com and click on "Register."
   • Fill in your first name, last name, email address, and create a password.
   • Choose a security question.
   • Select "Yes" to receive email notifications (no promotional emails will be sent).
   • Check your email for a confirmation message (remember to look in the Spam folder if it doesn’t appear).
   • Use your email and password to log in.

2. Add your student(s) to your account profile and make a payment.

• Sign in at https://hardin.schoolcashonline.com.
• Navigate to "My Account" at the top of the page.
• From the dropdown menu, select "My Students."
• Click to add a child:
  • Type your school board name and choose your school from the list.
  • Enter your child's details (up to 8 students can be added).
  • Click "Confirm."
• Select the item you wish to purchase and click "Add to Cart."
• Once finished adding items, click "Continue" to make a payment.

Are you looking for child care after school? The district provides child care, at a low cost, to families. Please visit the link to check it out and fill out the application or you can call 270-769-8800 and ask to speak to Amy Wood. If you are interested please act quickly. Spots do fill up. Thank you!

https://www.hardin.kyschools.us/school-aged-child-care-sacc-1

If you are interested in being a volunteer, this video explains how volunteers can complete a background check (which they need per law and policy).

https://youtu.be/jd8mltg9bmM

Some points of note:

• HCS will send a request for a background check to the Administrative Office of the Courts EVERY FIVE YEARS. The AOC charges the district a $10 fee for each check administered. We ask the volunteer to pay for that background check processing fee.
• We will only ask for a processing fee every five years instead of every year. We ask for the background check form to be completed each year in order to maintain a clear record of the current school year's volunteers.
• The background check will not be processed until the Superintendent’s office has received $10 for the background check and a copy of the receipt issued by the school. For instance, if an adult who has never volunteered becomes a volunteer in 2024, they will not have to pay for another background check until 2029.