September 2026

Ranger Families,

What a wonderful first month! Thank you for all you are doing to ensure students are ready and excited for each school day. As we quickly approach the fall season, we are working to assess every student so we have a detailed baseline of information that will help us meet each child's academic needs this year. You may hear your child talk about "STAR tests." These, along with additional follow up screening and progress monitoring, provide teachers with specific information on areas of strength and need in both reading and math. We look forward to sharing this information and your child's progress with you in the coming weeks.

Monthly, we hold safety drills with all our students. This is an important practice to ensure we are always prepared as a building. In August, our students did an amazing job with our first evacuation drill, following the lead of their teachers calmly and quietly. We couldn't be prouder of our littlest Rangers, especially those doing this for the first time. We'll have additional practice drills each month of the year, including our September drill already completed Wednesday.

Finally, we hope that you'll join us next Friday from 5:00-6:30 for our HES Football Tailgate at Walnut Hill United Methodist next to the high school. This free event will be the first of many school sponsored events this year, and we are excited to have our students and families join us. Elementary students get free entry to the game that night too!

Thank you,

Mr. Rush, Mrs. Baehr & Mr. Thompson

We are super excited for a new opportunity at Hamilton Elementary, our HES Heart and Mind Missions! Watch the video to find out more!

It’s a new challenge to have families learn and grow together. Every Friday, your student will bring home a mission sheet packed with seven quick, fun activities. These are specifically designed to boost both academic skills—that’s the mind part—and strong family connections—that’s the heart. Simply complete as many activities as you can with your child throughout the week, color the little boxes when completed, and have your student return it to their teacher the following Friday. We can't wait to work toward our Wildly Important Goal together and earn a fun assembly. A video explaining the mission was shared on the elementary Dojo this week.

Ms. Snyder's kindergarten and first grade students have been working hard to be bucket fillers. Being a bucket filler means doing kind, caring, and respectful things that make others feel good while also filling your own emotional bucket. When a student is caught doing something good, they earn an eraser in their bucket. Students have a goal to earn 10 erasers.

First grade has been hard at work learning trick words. Trick words are those sight words that you can't sound out using regular phonics. To master them, Ms. Neale's first grader grabbed their write boards and markers to complete a scavenger hunt around the room looking for trick words around the room.

Second grade had a rootin’ tootin’ good time celebrating our learning after reading Paul Bunyan! We enjoyed pancakes, wore our flannels, and had a BIG day of fun!

Mrs. Moore's 3rd grade students engaged in collaborative multiplication work that placed them at the center of their own learning. Working in groups allowed them to develop deeper mathematical thinking while solving problems together. This provides valuable insight into how each group approaches challenges and works as a team to find solutions.

Here at HES, we believe everyone can be a leader. We find ways to have students take ownership of their learning, lead classroom routines, and support their peers every day. Whether through school jobs, collaborative projects, or simple acts of kindness, our students are discovering their unique strengths and learning how to make a positive impact on our school community. This week we are highlighting students being leaders on with our bus transportation.

We are using Class Dojo as our main communication with parents this year. Teachers are able to share photos and information about classroom activities, as well as private messages regarding your student's progress. You can also view school wide updates on our School Story. We have already posted some videos of students around the building and important dates to remember. If you haven't joined yet, please reach out to your child's teacher to get a unique classroom invite link.

September 11: Interim grades available on Progress Book

September 18: Elementary Tailgate - info above

September 28: No School - Teacher Professional Meetings

Please make sure we have an updated immunization record for your child. You may send a copy in your child's green folder or email to kbennett@hlsd.org

It sometimes happens that a student forget their lunch at home. If you need to bring a lunch to school for your child, please check their lunch schedule to ensure timely delivery. Please note that food delivery services such as DoorDash or UberEats cannot be used for this purpose. If a lunch does not arrive before your child's scheduled lunch time, a school lunch will be provided to them.

EVERY RANGER. This phrase is meant to include everyone—every student, every staff member, every graduate and every community member. All of us working together.

EVERY REASON. The primary focus of every school system is the academic achievement of all students. Our staff and, by extension, our community take on the challenge of doing even more for our students. We educate the whole child. Whatever the need, whatever the issue, whatever the REASON we are going to work together and do the best we can for each other.

EVERY DAY. Thank you to our HLSD community for making our students a priority every day, and for always pitching in to help one another