NHES NEWS

Happy Easter! After you take time to participate in Easter activities, I hope you'll take a few minutes to complete a short, but important, survey. It's time for our Spring 2024 Title I Survey. Your feedback continues to help our school remain a high performing school with some of the best partnerships in the state.

As a parent at a Title I school, most of you attended a Title I meeting when we introduced our faculty and staff at the start of the year. At the time, we reviewed the following:

• We are a school that receives federal funding (Title I dollars) to supplement our existing programs. We use these funds for additional personnel, instructional materials, technology resources, and family engagement events.
• Both our district and school have plans (improvement plans, engagement plans & school-parent compacts) that encourage a strong partnership between school and home. We work closely with our PTO to host a variety of events that allow families to be as involved as possible.

Please complete this Spring 2024 Title I Survey knowing that our status as a Title I school allows us to fund back-to-school supplies, instructional materials, and salaries for interventionists and tutors. It also gives you an opportunity to tell us how you would like to see funds used for next year.

We are so proud of the Junie B. Jones, the Musical Jr. cast. They did a fantastic job peforming for both the school and our community. We also are proud of our sixth grade band students. They had a band performance this past week as well.

For the past several weeks, we've continued to listen to feedback from our families. For PK and Grades 1 through 5, we're going to move away from a whole grade level event in the auditorium this year. Instead, PK and Grades 1 through 5 will celebrate in their classrooms with some kind of party.

Kindergarten and Grade 6 will be more formal and in the auditorium.

• The Sixth Grade Ceremony will take place on Monday, May 20, at 9:00 AM. The ceremony will be followed by a reception in the library. The teachers will be sharing more details in the coming weeks regarding what students should wear and what to expect. The goal is make this event extra special for our sixth graders as they prepare to transition to the middle school.
• The Kindergarten Ceremony will take place on Tuesday, May 21, at 8:00 AM. Kindergarten Cap & Gown pictures will be taken on April 10 (royal blue cap/gown with a red tassel). Pictures will be taken first thing in the morning and the company will not be able to schedule a make-up picture day. Families will also need to pre-pay for these photos. Regarding the ceremony, teachers will be sharing more details in the coming weeks.

All students will enjoy Field Day scheduled for Friday, May 17. The last two days of the school year, May 21 and May 22, are still scheduled as half days for all students.

All breakfast and lunch information can be found by going to this MCSS Menus Link.

This Week

• April 2 - Autism Awareness Day (Wear Blue)
  

Dates for the Remainder of the School Year

• April 8 - E-Learning/Collaboration Day (Students at Home)
  
• April 9-12 - State Testing (Grades 2-3)
• April 10 - Cap & Gown Pictures for Kindergarten (No Make-up Day)
• April 15-19 - State Testing (Grades 4-6)
  
• April 22 - Spring Pictures (Optional)
• April 25 - Yearbook Order Deadline
  
• May 6-10 - Spring Book Fair
• May 17 - Field Day
• May 20 - Sixth Grade Ceremony (9:00 AM)
• May 21 - Kindergarten Ceremony (8:00 AM) & Half Day for All Students
• May 22 - Last Student Day & Half Day for All Students
  
• May 23 - Teacher Work Day

In addition to celebrating Down Syndrome Day on March 21 (students wore yellow & blue), we also want to celebrate Autism Awareness Day on April 2 (students wear blue). Our school is blessed with some amazing children that have a variety of special gifts and needs. Our classes have been invited to participate in a door decoration contest that emphasizes kindness and acceptance. Our students with special needs will help judge by picking one lower grade door and one upper grade door. Each winning class will get to join the students that picked the winning doors for an ice cream party.

State testing for second and third grade is going to be April 9 through 12. The state requires our younger students complete testing no later than April 12. We have the following week, April 15 through the 19, to complete testing for fourth through sixth grade. Although it's important that your child be present and on time every day of the school year, it is even more important for state testing purposes.

It’s time! Nominations for next year's PTO Board are now open. ALL positions listed will be accepting nominations for the upcoming school year. To nominate an individual for a position, please use the form here ——> PTO Officer Nomination Form.

If you are nominated, you will be notified by April 13. We are looking so forward to seeing what the next board does in the upcoming year!

I am so excited to be joining The Enrichment Center by playing in the 2nd Annual Charity Classic Softball Game at Toyota Field on April 6th! This event will work to spread awareness and support for youth mental health services. Thanks to support from the community and partnerships with local schools, The Enrichment Center is able to provide mental health therapy sessions at no cost to students or their families! If you want to cheer me on and support youth mental health, buy your tickets today and consider donating to me, as a player - links below!

Link to purchase tickets: https://theenrichmentcenter.kindful.com/e/charityclassic24

Link to support me as a player (just enter my name): https://theenrichmentcenter.kindful.com/campaigns/1285789?cause_id=19601

Along with class pictures, feel free to order this year's New Hope Elementary School Yearbook. We work hard to gather pictures throughout the year that capture the many great things that happen at our school.

Email for Transportation Notes

If you need to make the school aware of a transportation change, in addition to turning in a note to the teacher, please email our front office at NHESoffice@madison.k12.al.us. This new email will help us track and monitor transportation changes more effectively.

New Hope Spirit Wear

Consider checking out our New Hope Spirit Wear Store. This is your one shop stop for school-related spirit wear. Great gifts for students, staff, and family members that are proud of our school and community.

Updated Code of Conduct & Discipline

Our district has created a Back to School Dashboard with a number of useful links. Along with the MCSS Calendar, you'll also find a Parent & Student Handbook as well as a Student Code of Conduct.

Bus Information

Each bus has an animal magnet to help our younger students remember which bus they ride.

• 14-80 Mike Carpenter - LION
• 24-125 Johnna Mann - BIRD
• 22-09 Julia Stapler - BEAR
• 18-09 Bobby Cheyne - PUPPY
• 21-09 Misty Quick - COW
• 11-67 Donnie Meeks - TIGER
• 19-15 Edwin Childers - CHICKEN
• 24-134 Vicki Tolliver - HORSE
• 20-12 Lorrell Vann - BUTTERFLY (no PM route)

In addition to the buses identified above, several OCR bus drivers help transport our fifth and sixth grade students that live in the Owens Cross Roads community. Mr. Carr has been experiencing difficulty with sixth grade students misusing phones on the OCR transfer bus. Students have been asked to keep phones put up and off on the bus just as we ask them to do at school. Bus drivers are permitted to make this request when phones become an issue and prevent safe transportation due to safety concerns.

As always, we want thank to families that continue to help us keep our bus exit area clear by accessing the car-rider line via Oak Grove Road. In the mornings, our buses use the exit area on the map below from 7:05 to 7:30. In the afternoons, the buses usually exit between 2:35 and 2:40.

New Hope Community Learning Center is a grant funded program that allows our students to sign up and participate in after school activities. Dawn Lasater, our director, was recently recognized as Extended Day Director of the Year for the State of Alabama!

New Hope PTO continues to do great things for our students and school. Please join the PTO and consider serving as a PTO Officer Next Year.

New Hope Recreation Center continues to be one of our closest community partners. Please check their Facebook page often for the latest news.

New Hope Children's Clinic is located on our school campus across from the Rock Gym. To make an appointment call 256-723-4673.

The CARE Center is one of the reasons our school is so special. Families can apply for their child or children to receive Bags of Blessings (weekend food support) and/or participate in our 21st Century Learning Center Clubs Program. For information on one or both of these programs:

• Visit www.thecare-center.org
• Call the Business Office at 256.723.2273
• Contact Molly Mullinax (molly.mullinax@thecare-center.org)

Email: jburton@mcssk12.org
Website: https://www.mcssk12.org/newhopeelementaryschool
Location: 5300 Main Drive, New Hope, AL, USA
Phone: 256-851-3260
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/newhopeelementaryschool
Twitter: @NHESPK6