WEEK 12
Greetings Hawthorne ES Community,
🐝A Night to Remember!
A heartfelt thank you to the Hawthorne Foundation for hosting an unforgettable Casino Night! The evening was filled with fun, connection, and community spirit — all in support of our students and school. We are especially grateful to our phenomenal & dedicated Hawthorne Foundation Board Members, whose dedication and tireless efforts made this incredible event possible. From meticulous planning to seamless execution, their hard work behind the scenes ensured a night that was both memorable and meaningful. Your commitment continues to make a lasting impact on the Hawthorne community — we couldn’t ask for a more devoted and supportive team!
Special thanks to our faculty and staff who came out to support the event. Your energy, and presence helped make the night even more memorable. Together, our community’s support makes Hawthorne such a special place for our students!
Reflections Art Project – “I Belong”
A big thank you to all the families who participated in the “I Belong” Reflections Art Project, and to the parents who joined us last Tuesday to create together. Your creativity and community spirit truly shine! Special thanks to Ms. Breier and Sarah Davis for their leadership and support in bringing this wonderful project to life.
Gifted Testing Update
Parents of students participating in Gifted Testing will receive notifications this week with details about our local school testing schedule for the CoGAT and Iowa Assessments. Please note that the district has cancelled Saturday Gifted Testing for this year.
On October 6, 2025 the Board of Education approved an increase in UBT —from 15 minutes to 30 minutes—for all elementary students.
- At this time, schools have until January 2026 to implement this change.
- We are still waiting For the District's guidance regarding increasing UBT
- Once principals receive the guidelines for schedule updates related to increased UBT, they will:
- Meet with their School Based Team - Guiding Coalition (GC).
- The GC will support in the development of an updated daily schedule using the following data:
- 2024-2025 Milestones and ACCESS scores
- 2025-2026 MAP data
- Attendance records
- Behavior data
- Benchmark assessment data
- This data will help the GC make informed decisions on how to refine the daily schedule.
In HES Soccer News! ⚽
Congratulations to our amazing Hawthorne Hornet Soccer Teams on their victories this weekend!
Our GRAY Team captured an impressive win over Briar Lake with a final score of 12–0, and our RED Team earned a strong victory over Pleasantdale with a final score of 5–2. Way to go, Hornets — you truly swarmed the field with teamwork and determination! 🐝🔥
A huge thank you to our incredible coaches, Mr. Barnes and Ms. McKandes, for your leadership and support. We also appreciate our parents, faculty, and staff who came out to cheer on our student-athletes — your encouragement means so much!
#FeelTheSwarm — Let’s Go Hornets! 🖤🔴
Red Ribbon Week: “Life is a Puzzle, Solve It Drug-Free!”
This week, we’re celebrating healthy choices and positive lifestyles with themed spirit days:
Monday: Wear Red
Tuesday: Wear Neck Ties
Wednesday: Wear Boots & Western Attire
Thursday: Wear Camouflage
Friday: Dress as your Favorite Book Character and wear a Hat
Book Character Parade – October 31
Get ready for a fun, literacy-focused celebration at Hawthorne ES! On Friday, October 31st, students are invited to dress up as characters from their favorite books and participate in a school-wide parade from 8:00–8:15 AM.
Important: Students must bring a book featuring their character to join the parade.
Parents are welcome to dress up and march alongside their children for a fun, memorable morning. We can’t wait to see all the creative costume book characters! 📖
A huge thank you to the families who have already donated sweet treats for our PBIS Buck Celebration (Trolley Treat) taking place on Thursday, October 31st. We are still gratefully accepting donations throughout the week to help make our Trolley Treat a special celebration for students who consistently demonstrate positive behavior.
📅 Dates to Remember: (A Peek at the Week)
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Red Ribbon Week: October 23 – October 31 | See flyer below for details
SPIRIT DAY/NIGHT - Bubble Cream - October 29 | 11am - 9 pm - Address: 3983 La Vista Rd. Decatur, GA 30034
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Principal Advisory Council (PAC) Meeting: October 29 | 5:30–6:30 PM (Join the meeting now)
Fall Individual Retakes | October 30
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Book Character Parade: October 31 | 8:00 AM
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PBIS Trolley Treat: October 31
HES SOCCER GAME: November 1st | GAME TIMES: RED Team - 10 am & GRAY Team - 11 am - Adams Stadium: 2415 N Druid Hills Rd, Atlanta, GA 30329
FALL FAMILY PLANTING DAY | Sunday, November 2nd
📅 UPCOMING DATES
-Independent Learner DAY for STUDENTS-Tuesday, November 4th
-PBIS/KONA ICE DAY | November 5th
-National STEM Day-Friday, November 7th
-Movie Night- Friday, November 7th (5:30 pm) - SEE FLYER BELOW
-Thanksgiving Luncheon (K-5)-Thursday, November 20th (times will vary per class - a schedule is forthcoming
-HES Literacy Night Thursday, November 20th - 6:00 pm
-Thanksgiving Break (No School)-November 24th – 28th
Go Hornets 🐝
Proud to Serve,
Principal Henley
#OneTeamOneDream #WeAreALLIN
TWITTER
You’re invited to a spooktacular community event at Northlake Mall on Friday, October 31, 2025, from 4–6 PM! 👻
Bring your family for an afternoon of safe and festive Halloween fun featuring:
🎧 Live DJ spinning your favorite spooky tunes
📸 Photo Booth & Selfie Wall with a fun Halloween backdrop
🍬 Candy and Treats for all (while supplies last!)
Costumes aren’t required, but we’d love to see your most creative looks as we celebrate together! This event is free, family-friendly, and open to kids of all ages.
Let’s make some great Halloween memories as a community! 🧡
For more details, visit Northlake Mall’s website or social media pages for event updates.
📚 Let’s Grow Our Reading Together!
As part of our literacy push for the month of October, we’re excited to RE-introduce to some Beanstack, a fun and engaging way for students to track their reading and participate in school-wide challenges!
Students will soon begin weekly reading challenges, and we need your support to help make this initiative a success. Parents can use Beanstack to encourage daily reading habits and celebrate milestones right alongside their children.
📖 Check out our library checkouts just from last week! Our students are already showing amazing excitement for reading, let’s keep the momentum going!
🎥 Learn more about Beanstack here:
Watch the video
Together, we can build a strong culture of reading at HES, one page at a time! ✨
Parents and families, come out and show your support for our HES soccer team at their first game of the season! Let’s fill the stands with Hawthorne Swarm, wear your HES spirit wear and cheer loud for our athletes as they kick off an exciting season!
📅 Date: Saturday, November 1st
🕘 GAME Time: RED Team - 10 am & GRAY Team - 11 am
📍 Place: Adams Stadium
2415 N Druid Hills Rd, Atlanta, GA 30329
Let’s show our Hornets some love and school spirit as they represent Hawthorne ES!
🎟️ Purchase Tickets: https://gofan.co/app/school/GA3487
📹 Review DCSD Stadium Policies: https://youtu.be/0Ompg6SPArc
#GoHornets #HESSoccer #FeartheSwarm
Registration is open for the 2025-2026 Elementary Basketball season!
All 4th and 5th-graders can join this FREE program, designed to keep students active and engaged while having fun with their classmates.
Season: January 26 – April 18, 2026
Requirements: Sports Physical
Registration is open now through October 30, 2025. Don’t miss out!
Do you have a 4th- or 5th-grade student who loves to dance? Don’t miss the chance to be part of our Elementary Competitive Dance Team!
📝 Registration is open now through November 18.
💃 Season kicks off December 1.
This is a great opportunity for students to showcase their talent, build teamwork skills, and represent our school with pride.
Key Dates:
- December 1st - First Day of Practice
- January 17th - First Match
- January 24th - Second Match
- January 31st - Area Championship
- February 7th - County Championship
i9 Sports
We are now registering for our Winter 2025 sports season. For this season, i9 Sports offers flag football (ages 4-13), soccer (ages 3-8), basketball (ages 4-12) and Girls Only Volleyball Instructional Clinic (ages 9-14). We have locations in Brookhaven, Dunwoody, Chamblee, Tucker & More!
All this information is on our digital flyer (attached below) for you to distribute to your school community through your website, social media, eblasts, etc. Please post it now through October and send it out to your school community asap for early registration savings.
We look forward to working with you again this season and providing another opportunity for $10 per registration.
Thank you for your partnership with i9 Sports!
Action Required: Complete Student Information Form
If you have not yet completed this form in the link below, please do so as soon as possible. Having this information on file is essential for your child’s safety and participation it ensures we are prepared for field trips, medical needs, and other important school activities.
👉 Your timely response helps us take the best care of your child. Thank you for your cooperation!
Please complete Meal Application Information 2024-2025. Only 1 Application Needed per Family:
Please ALL complete this application process even if you plan to bring lunch for your child daily or believe that you will not qualify. This is very important, this impacts funding for Title 1.
Please click link for English/Spanish application.
https://www.dekalbschoolsga.org/featured-news/free-reduced-meal-applications-sy-2024-2025/
The drop-off times in front of the school are below:
7:00 am
MORNING INTERVENTIONS & EXTENTIONS TIME DAILY - 7:15 am
Tardy bell - 7:45 am
Morning announcements begin at 7:45 am
Car riders:: When picking students up, parents should have the Hawthorne ES Car Rider Tag visible in their car. If the Car Rider Tag is not visible, parents are required to park, come into the building and provide Identification. Thank you for your patience as we simply want to keep your students' safe.
The pick-up times for dismissal are below:
Bus riders-2:25:pm; Car riders 2:35 pm (front of building after buses) & walkers (Side door)
Walker Dismissal Protocol Update
The dismissal process for the Walker group is being slightly adjusted to ensure a smoother and more secure experience. Students will continue to dismiss from the side door; however, we will now be implementing a numbered tag system.
Each walker will be assigned a unique number. Parents or guardians must walk to the designated walker door and visibly display their child’s assigned number. This number will correspond to the student’s walker tag, which will be attached to their backpack.
For safety and accountability, students will only be released once the matching number is presented at the door.
Attendance & Dismissal Procedures Update
To ensure accurate attendance records and to maintain a safe and orderly school environment, we are updating our arrival and dismissal procedures:
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Late Arrival: Students arriving after 7:45 AM must be checked in by a parent/guardian inside the school office.
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Early Check-Out: If a student needs to leave school early, parents/guardians must come into the building to sign the student out prior to the start of dismissal.
These updates are in place to support accurate attendance documentation. We appreciate your cooperation and commitment to helping us ensure that your students are safe during arrival and dismissal from school. 😊Thank you!
BUS ROUTES
DCSD bus routes can be found on the district website: https://www.dekalbschoolsga.org/bus-routes/. Hawthorne ES morning bus routes are below along with the district
🚗✨ Arrival & Dismissal Reminders ✨🚶♀️
Reminder: As we kick off a successful school year, please review and follow our arrival and dismissal expectations to ensure a smooth and safe day for all students:
🌅 Morning Arrival:
🕖 7:00 AM – School doors open and breakfast begins.
🍽️ After breakfast – Intervention & Enrichment starts. 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.
📘 7:45 AM – Instruction begins promptly.
🏁 Afternoon Dismissal:
🕝 2:15 PM – Dismissal begins & typically follows this order:
➡️bus riders
➡️ van riders
➡️ car riders
➡️ walkers
➡️ aftercare
Please remember that our buses must be in line first.
🕝 2:35 PM-2:40 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!
Late Pick-Up Procedures
In order to ensure the safety and supervision of all students, Hawthorne Elementary has established the following late pick-up procedures:
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Dismissal ends at 2:45 PM.
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Any student not picked up by 2:45 PM, upon arrival -parents will need to complete the Late Pick-Up Roster.
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Three (3) late pick-ups may result in a referral to the school’s social worker for additional support and follow-up.
Your partnership helps us create a safe and focused environment for all hornets. Thank you for your attention and cooperation!
After School Activities Are Back! 🎉
Afterschool Clubs that still have spots available!!!
Opportunities include:
EIM Dance (Various grade levels)
Use the link below to explore and sign up today, spots may fill quickly!
Thank you for your interest in becoming a volunteer for the DeKalb County School District! 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.
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
Fall 2025 Volunteer Training Dates
Please select the Zoom session that works best for you from the options below:
October 22 – 12:00 PM
October 29 – 12:00 PM
November 5 – 12:00 PM
November 12 – 12:00 PM & 6:00 PM
December 3 – 12:00 PM
December 10 – 12:00 PM
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!
Email: kia_henley@dekalbschoolsag.org
Website: https://www.hawthornees.dekalb.k12.ga.us/
Location: 2535 Caladium Drive NE Atlanta, GA 30345
Phone: 678-874-2802