What's Buzzing at the Heights

Week 3: August 14 - 19, 2023

Message from the Principal

Dear Hornet Families,

Awesome work during Week 2! We saw more families arriving before 7:00 AM and avoiding traffic. More scholars were independent and got out of the cars on their own during arrival and dismissal.

My favorite part of Week 2 was seeing so many scholars "hooked on reading!" I love when we see children reading a book and staying focused! We are participating in DEAR time: Drop Everything and Read. I hope you will encourage your children to read at home for at least 20 minutes daily. If they are not readers, read with them and share a special bonding time! At the Heights, Readers become LEADERS!

As we begin Week 3, be reminded that our scholars need to stay healthy. Take all precautions so they are not missing school. This week, our scholars will be taking 3 Week Assessments in all content areas. Please ensure they sleep well at night and arrive to school ready to learn!

Also on Saturday, we will host our 1st Saturday Learning Camp for scholars in 1st through 5th grade. A few Kinder classes are participating, as well. Teachers will send out permissions slips. Scholars will be in attendance from 8:00 AM till 11:00 AM. The goal is to get them caught up with any skills in math and reading from the first 3 weeks of school. Please be sure to pick up scholars on time.

This month, we ask for your suport to help our scholars with the following:

read daily for 20 minutes (anything of interest to child);
practice addition & subtraction facts (these bring confidence);
practice multiplication & division facts (upper grades need for problem solving);
go to bed realy enough to be ready to learn the next day; &
continue to communicate with classroom teachers

Arrival & Dismissal.

Arrival and Dismissal will be our greatest challenges. Please be patient and kind. We will have all staff on duty to assist and create a system that is safe and efficient.

For Dismissal, we do ask families to ensure their SIGN with child's name in posted in the front windshield so that we can read & call out the name.

Attendance.

If your child is absent, we must have a doctor's note or a personal note explaining why they were absent upon their arrival. For doctor's appointments, take your child to appointment, but bring them back with a doctor's note the same day and it will be counted as present.

NEW: This year, district policy indicates parents/guardians have 72 hours to submit excuse notes justifying child's absence.

Attendance in vital to our scholars success. Every day gone from school, they lose 7 hours of skills, strategies and support for learning. Help us by keeping your children healthy.

We track attendance daily and will communicate with families when children have 5 absences & tardies to establish a Loss of Credit Contract. Our goal is for your child to be healthy and at school without losing credit.

COVID & Absences.

If a student tests positive with COVID, child must see a doctor to get a test and be diagnosed with COVID. If parents submit a home COVID test, it will NOT qualify for the Q code of Quarantined. Therefore, these absences will count towards Loss of Credit. Ensure your child is seen by a doctor and diagnosis is sent as an excuse for absences to qualify for Q code.

Reporting Absences.

If you need to report an absence, our PEIMS Clerk will be able to assist you. Our team will be receiving the email to help assist you. I will forward all of your messages to the classroom teachers so they are aware of the absence.

Email: attendancehorizonheights@sisd.net

Please include as much detail as possible:

Child's name
Grade
Teacher
Student ID
Reason for the absence

All notes will be collected via this email as well. Be sure to include details in the note as the child returns to class.

Tardies.

Children will be counted TARDY whey they enter the building at 7:45 AM. Please ensure you are allowing enough time for your child to arrive to school on time. After 3 tardies, children will be given lunch detention. The traffic is hectic. We begin to receive children at 6:45 AM. Help your child to arrive on time and start their day ready to learn.

Breakfast in the Classroom.

Our district will continue to provide breakfast in the classroom for ALL scholars. Breakfast in the Classroom, BIC, will be served daily from 7:30 AM to 7:45 AM. Please be on time to take advantage of the most important meal of the day.

Community Eligibility Provision (CEP).

This year, we have qualified for a Community Eligibility Provision which means ALL CHILDREN will receive FREE LUNCH. This is great news for our learning community. Yes, all children will receive BOTH, FREE breakfast & lunch all year.

Birthday Snacks.

We ask parents to please refrain from bringing in cupcake trays. If you would like for your child to share a treat, it must be a treat individually packaged by the manufacturer. Candy bags, individually wrapped snacks are allowed. Call or email Ms. Hansen and we can help to clarify. We appreciate you!

Water Bottles.

Please continue to send your children with water bottles. This will help them stay safe & hydrated. They can refill them in from the water fountains.

Safety.

The building will be cleaned throughout the day in high traffic areas to ensure safety. We will have hand sanitizing stations at all classrooms, restrooms, cafeteria and playground. If you wish for your child to wear a mask, please send them with a mask that fits them comfortably.

Traffic in the Bus/Daycare Area.

The area where the busses & daycare drop off/pick up is "private property". The land owner has granted us permission to use the land. There should NOT be any parents parking in that area. Yes, we are limited in parking and therefore ask for your support to use the curbside service.

Change of Clothes.

Please send a change of clothing for scholars in PK, Kinder and 1st graders. In a Ziplock bag, place a shirt, short, undergarment and socks. We will use these when the children have an accident. You will be notified. Please check your child's backpack daily.

Thank you for your continued support! We are blessed with an amazing learning community! Together, we are better!

Respectfully,

Jenifer Hansen

Proud Principal of Horizon Heights ES

Office Number: 915-937-7402

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Campus Mission Statement:

Horizon Heights Elementary is committed to helping each child reach their maximum potential.

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Campus Vision Statement:

Tomorrow's LEADERS Learning TODAY

Arrival & Dismissal Times

TeamSISD has modified the start and end time for our scholars. PLEASE be aware of these times.

Traffic Plan of Action

For MORNING traffic patterns: (view map below)

Lane 1 will continue to be for CURBSIDE Drop-Off for all students.
Lane 2 will OPEN for the traffic flow from Ryderwood Drive turning LEFT onto school grounds.
Lane 2 will allow an additional 10-12 cars onto campus.
Lane 2 will have to merge with Lane 1 as we enter the school grounds under the direction of an SISD Police Officer.
Lane 2 will support traffic from Ashford Street moving FORWARD onto school grounds.
Lane 1 and Lane 2 will have to turn RIGHT as we leave the school grounds.

For AFTERNOON traffic patterns:

For the afternoon dismissal, NO CARS should enter school grounds until 2:10 PM.

We have to allow our PK and Kinder families the opportunity to get to the front of the line and pick up their children dismissed at 2:30 PM. We will use Lane 1 for the afternoon dismissal.

The goal is that all students are dropped off curbside using Lane 1 (the outermost lane). By using Lane 1, our Coaches, Officer Joe, monitors and administrators are able to unload and support the scholars at ARRIVAL & DISMISSAL.

We will continue to ask that ONLY those parents that must conduct business on campus, should be parking in the parking lot CLOSEST to the school. Do not move the barrels. You must drive forward to the area with the cones, to ENTER the parking lot.

The BEST plan of action to keep our scholars safe is to USE the CURBSIDE SERVICE.

For the 1st-5th grade dismissal, we ask that you USE the CURBSIDE SERVICE. We must collaborate and NOT PARK. We will all be on duty to dismiss safely and move the traffic quickly.

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PLEASE, DO NOT PARK at Ensor MS parking lot. They have well over 1,000 scholars and must use their parking lot to keep their families safe.

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Picking Up Scholars Early

Parents,

We are asking for your assistance when picking up children early from school. We need your support to be able to process your request in a timely manner.

For Doctor's Appointments:

If possible, pick you your children before 1:00 PM.

For PK & Kinder:

Children must be picked no later than 2:00 PM.

For 1st-5th Grade:

Children must be picked up no later than 2:30 PM.

Thank you for your support!

Inclement Weather Days

As you all know, we have had a HOT summer in El Paso. We are working to ensure that our children are always safe as they participate in PE and recess. We will be following the PE Guidelines for INCLEMENT WEATHER.

For inclement weather days, the children will eat lunch in the cafeteria and return to their classrooms to watch a movie. Staff will be in all hallways to monitor. For PE, coaches will keep the children in the gym and participate in activities indoors.

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School Uniforms

For the 2023-2024 school year, we will wear uniforms on a daily basis. Be sure to check the weekly newsletter for special occasion attire.

Pre-Kinder students:

Red polo tops only
Khaki or blue pants/shorts/skirts

Kinder -5th Grade Students:

Hunter green, navy blue or white polos
Khaki or blue pants/shorts/skirts

The school uniform does NOT have to have the school name or logo.

Monday-Wednesday: School uniform: uniform shirt & uniform slacks/shorts/skirts

Thursday: College Day (attire from your favorite college) with jeans/slacks

Friday: Spirit Day Shirts and jeans (with no holes, no tears/ripped)

Friday Spirit Shirt SALES

This week, we will be selling our Friday Spirit Shirts on Wednesday afternoon.

Date: Wednesday, August 16, 2023

Time: 2:30 PM to 4:00 PM

Price: $10 cash

If you are unable to come to purchase a shirt, send your child with the money and shirt size and we will help them.

We are currently out of many shirts. We do still have youth LARGE and up. For PK shirts, we still have XS, S & M.

As soon as our new 40th anniversary shirts are in, we will inform you.

Attendance, Week 2

Our goal as a school is to reach 98% attendance each week. We know that staying healthy is as important as learning each day.

This week's attendance percentages as as follows:

PreKinder: 99.10% to 95.06%
Kinder: 99.39% to 95.33%
1st Grade: 98.95% to 94.59%
2nd Grade: 99.43% to 98.09% (Way to Go, 2nd Grade!)
3rd Grade: 99.61% to 97.20%
4th Grade: 99.12% to 98.10% (Super Work, 4th Grade!)
5th Grade: 99.65% to 97.68%

Week 2: 96.84%; YTD: 98.10%, Excellent start to the year!

Stay healthy and make it count! Be at school daily! We will have a great year Hornets!

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Classes with Perfect Attendance

Way to go Hornets!

The following classes have FREE DRESS on Wednesday:

2nd Grade:

Ms. G. Arciniaga, 100%

3rd Grade:

Ms. E. Herrera, 100%

4th Grade:

Ms. Ramirez, 100%

5th Grade:

Ms. Pena, 100%

We will ask that our PK still wear their RED shirt as this is a safety protocol to know that an adult must be with them. Thank you!

Stay healthy! We can do this Hornets!

Team Members Ready to Assist

Here is a list of phone numbers, emails and the team members that will assist you with any questions you may have:

Horizon Heights Office 937-7400

Any questions or concerns

Mrs. Hansen, Principal, email: jhanse@sisd.net, 915-937-7402

Mrs. Carrillo, Assistant Principal, email: ecarri@sisd.net, 915-937-7403

Ms. Luna, Assistant Principal, eluna01@sisd.net, 915-937-7427

Ms. DeBretto, Principal Fellow, mdebre@sisd.net, 915-937-7402

Mrs. Salazar, Counselor, email: asalaz12@sisd.net, 915-937-7421

Mrs. Valdez, Counselor, email: bvalde@sisd.net, 915-937-7420

Ms. Ortega, Librarian, email: sorteg@sisd.net, 915-937-7414

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School Nurse

Our school Nurse, Diana Barrera, will continue to serve our learning community. She has been with us for one year and loves our scholars and working with our parents.

Time: 7:15 AM to 3:15 PM

Phone: 915-937-7407

Email: dbarre02@sisd.net