NHES NEWS

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Hopefully everyone had a fun and peaceful Spring Break. As school resumes, we begin the final stretch for this school year.

This week, report cards go home on Thursday, the same day that students are invited to wear yellow and blue for Down Syndrome Awareness Day. Also this week, our PTO is hosting a special "Donuts with Grown-Ups" event on Friday. If you plan to attend, please use the QR code below to RSVP. Due to space constraints, our PTO has asked that each child have no more than one guest for this event. Guests must check in at the front office at 7:45.

This Week

• March 21 - Report Cards Go Home & Down Syndrome Awareness Day (wear yellow & blue)
  
• March 22 - Donuts with Grown-Ups (RSVP required)
• March 23 - Opening Day at the New Hope Rec Center (Kindergarten Enrollment Booth)

Dates for the Remainder of the School Year

• April 2 - Autism Awareness Day (wear blue)
• April 8 - E-Learning/Collaboration Day (Students at Home)
  
• April 9-12 - State Testing (Grades 2-3)
• April 15-19 - State Testing (Grades 4-6)
• April 25 - Yearbook Order Deadline
  
• May 6-10 - Spring Book Fair
• May 21-22 - Graduation Ceremonies
• May 22 - Last Student Day
• May 23 - Teacher Work Day

Staffing for kindergarten hinges on parents registering early. To make things more convenient for parents, we will have a Kindergarten Enrollment Booth set up for registration purposes at the New Hope Rec Center this upcoming Saturday from 9:30 to 11:30. Come for Opening Day AND knock out registration for your incoming kindergarten student. Spread the word!

The final nine weeks is always a busy time with state testing as well as end-of-year celebrations and ceremonies.

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.

In addition to celebrating Down Syndrome Day on March 21 (students wear 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.

We are still discussing options for end-of-year ceremonies. Some families have asked if we might consider doing something more special for our kindergarten and sixth grade students. We are open to the idea but might need to scale back what we do with our other grade levels (first through fifth), perhaps something handled in the classroom toward the end of the school year. Nothing has been finalized. If you have strong feelings one way or another regarding an end-of-year ceremony, email with your child's homeroom teacher. We may also send home a survey for parent feedback.

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 PTO continues to do great things for our students and school. Please join the PTO and sign up for their newsletter if you haven't already done so.

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