WEEK 19

Greetings Hawthorne Hive families!

🎉Happy New Year from Hawthorne Elementary! 🎉 As we welcome 2026, we want to thank our wonderful families and community partners for your continued support. Your partnership makes a difference in the lives of our scholars every day. Wishing you a joyful, healthy, and successful year ahead—we can’t wait to make it an amazing year together!

Wow—what a very busy and exciting final week before Winter Break! Please be sure to review this week’s newsletter for important updates, upcoming events, and helpful resources.

I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to our Hawthorne PTA for providing our staff with their delicious annual holiday lunch. Your generosity and continued support mean so much to our school community.

Thank you as well for allowing your students to participate in our Spirit Week festivities. Their creativity and excitement added wonderful festive flair and made the week even more special. We also sincerely appreciate the parents who joined us for our Holiday Celebrations. Seeing so many familiar faces in the building and sharing in the joy you brought to our scholars truly made these moments memorable.

Reminder: Students return to school on Tuesday, January 6, and we can’t wait to see our scholars back, refreshed and ready to learn! 🎉

From our recent survey, we know that late arrivals are a concern for many families. Students who arrive after 7:45 a.m. may miss valuable learning time and can disrupt classroom routines. Your support in helping students arrive on time and ready to start the day makes a big difference in their success—and helps our classrooms run smoothly. Please review the arrival guidelines below for all the details.

📅 UPCOMING DATES

-January 6th- Hornets! Welcome Back to the 'HIVE

-January 7th - PBIS Incentive (KONA ICE visits)

-January 7th - ACCESS Testing for English Learners Begin

-January 9th - Attendance Round Up (8:30-9:30 am)

-January 9th - Report Cards issued

-January 13th - HES Spirit Night (Bell Street Tacos) 5 -8 pm

-January 14th - PTA Board Meeting (8 am)

-January 15th - STEM Night - (6 pm)

-January 19th -Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr Day (NO School)

-January 26th - 3rd Grade Data Talks (8:30-9:30 am)

-January 27th - 4th Grade Data Talks (8:30 -9:30 am)

-January 28th - 5th Grade Data Talks (8:30-9:30 am)

-February 3rd - PAC Meeting PAC Meeting Link (5:00 pm)

Go Hornets 🐝
Proud to Serve,
Principal Henley
#OneTeamOneDream #WeAreALLIN
TWITTER

Hawthorne Elementary would like to extend our sincere gratitude to Mrs. Oselette and the amazing community partners for supporting several of our families during the holiday season. Your generosity, thoughtfulness, and dedication brought joy, comfort, and hope to our scholars and their families.

Acts like yours remind us of the power of community and the difference we can make when we come together to uplift one another. Because of your kindness, many of our students experienced a brighter, happier holiday season, and our school community feels stronger and more connected than ever.

Thank you for helping us spread joy and for being such an important part of the Hawthorne Elementary family!

🚗✨ Arrival & Dismissal Reminders ✨🚶‍♀️

As we continue a successful school year, please review and follow our arrival and dismissal expectations to ensure a smooth and safe day for all students. Our late student arrivals are starting to become a huge disruption to our classrooms and are impacting teaching and learning. Please make it a daily priority to have your child arrive to school on time, please see below.:

🌅 Morning Arrival:
🕖 7:00 AM – School doors open and breakfast begins.
🍽️ 7:15 AM –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:

• Dismissal ends at 2:45 PM.

• Any student not picked up by 2:45 PM, upon arrival -parents will need to complete the Late Pick-Up Roster.

• 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!

🌟 Thank you for your participation in our important surveys. So far we have 25 mid-year parent surveys and 95 Georgia Climate Surveys completed. Your feedback matters! (Please see links below to complete these surveys if you have not already.)

🎉 PBIS Incentive Celebration 🎉

To celebrate our students’ continued positive behavior and commitment to PBIS expectations, Kona Ice will be visiting our school on Wednesday, January 7th! Check with your child’s teacher to see how many DOJO points are needed to participate and times. We can’t wait for our students to enjoy this fun treat with your support.

Individual invitations will be sent to parents who need to attend our Attendance Round Up. We appreciate your partnership in supporting regular student attendance. The purpose of this meeting is to review and reconcile unexcused absences and excessive tardies, and to work collaboratively with families before finalizing attendance contracts or making referrals to our social worker for additional supports, including home visits when appropriate.

There will be no school on Monday, January 19th in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. This federal holiday honors Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the chief spokesperson for nonviolent activism in the Civil Rights Movement, who worked tirelessly to protest racial discrimination and promote equality in our nation.

Hawthorne Elementary will host Student-Parent Data Talks, and Georgia Milestones Boot Camp. These events are designed to inform parents about their child’s academic progress on NWEA MAP and provide strategies to support learning at home.

Georgia Milestones Boot Camp and Student-Parent Data Talks

No need to sign up—just join us at one of the times below with your child:

• January 26th @ 8:30 - 9:30 AM - 3rd Grade Session w/ students and parents

• January 27th @ 8:30 - 9:30 AM- 4th Grade Session w/ students and parents

• January 28th @ 8:30 - 9:30 AM -5th Grade Session w/ students and parents

This is a valuable opportunity to gain insight into your child’s learning, celebrate progress, and work together to support their success on the Georgia Milestones.

To learn more about Georgia Milestones, please see the Parent Resources section below.

We look forward to seeing you there

Afterschool Clubs that still have spots available for second semester!!!

Opportunities include:

• EIM Dance (Various grade levels)

Use the links below to explore all options and sign up today, spots may fill quickly!

Pre-K3 & Pre-K4 Virtual Application Support Session designed to help families understand the process and prepare required materials ahead of time.

Date: January 21, 2026
Time: 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Location: Virtual
Register: https://bit.ly/prek34infonight

The FY27 Budget Survey is now open, and we invite you to share your input as we begin planning for the upcoming fiscal year. Your feedback will directly contribute to enhancing the school experience for students and families.

Please take a moment to complete the survey by February 13, 2026. The survey is available in 16 languages to support all members of our community. Survey Link: https://survey.sogolytics.com/r/NJ7MYV

Thank you for your participation and continued partnership as we work together to support student learning

Please see the flyers below for more opportunities to engage with your child and support family learning at home. These resources are designed to provide additional support, activities, and tips for parents to help students succeed both in and out of the classroom. We encourage you to explore these opportunities and get involved your participation makes a meaningful difference!

🌅 Join us in January for #ForwardTogether Forums with Interim Superintendent Dr. Sauce. Hear themes from his entry survey and share your voice as we shape the path ahead for DCSD.

Clarkston 1/8 • Columbia 1/13 • Cross Keys 1/21 • MLK Jr. 1/27 🕕 6–7:30 PM

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. Click on link below, this document was created by the District and is designed to assist you in registering to be a volunteer with the DeKalb County School District. Please complete the following steps to become a DCSD Volunteer. The process for volunteering takes about 30 minutes total and includes about 20 minutes of online mandatory child abuse reporting training required by the State of Georgia for all volunteers.

Steps to Complete the Volunteer Process:

1. Complete the Volunteer Application and Release Form:

• English Application
• Spanish Application

2. Review and Complete the DCSD Volunteer Code of Conduct:

• English Code of Conduct
• Spanish Code of Conduct

3. 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

2026 Volunteer Training Dates (COMING SOON)

Please select the Zoom session that works best for you from the options below:

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!

Families in DeKalb County can access free meals at eight convenient distribution centers across the district. Meals are available to anyone in the community, and each site offers pick-up on scheduled dates each month. See below for the full list of locations, dates, and times.- Click for details:https://www.dekalbschoolsga.org/divisions/wrap-around-services/food-distribution

We know that parents and family members play an essential role in students’ educational success. When schools and families work in partnership, children will succeed at new levels.

The link below, parents and family members of students in Georgia’s K-12 public schools can explore the wealth of resources and services offered through GaDOE. Discover important information on Georgia’s K-12 standards, programming to support your student, ways to get involved, and more.

Let’s keep the momentum going! Just 5 minutes a day of logging your child’s reading on Beanstack can help us climb even higher on the county-wide leaderboard!

📚 Here’s how you can help as a parent:

• Encourage your child to read daily and log their minutes in Beanstack, every minute counts!
• Parents can track progress and celebrate milestones together with their children.

Together, we can build a powerful culture of reading at HES, one page at a time! ✨

The ACCESS for ELLs test is an annual assessment for students learning English in grades K–12. It measures progress in listening, speaking, reading, and writing to help teachers support students’ language growth. Testing will take place in January, and results help determine students’ English proficiency and placement for the next school year. Please check out overview video below. You can learn more about the ACCESS test here: https://wida.wisc.edu

In April, students in grades 3, 4, and 5 are required to take the Georgia Milestones Assessment. This test will include Reading, Writing, Mathematics, and Science (5th grade only). A practice test is available online, with questions set up and structured just like the actual assessment.

Please log on to see what will be expected of your child in April. See video below for more support. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to your child's teacher. We look forward to partnering with you.

https://www.gaexperienceonline.com/

1. Click "Test Practice, Guides, Samples"
2. Click "Online Testing Tools"
3. Click "End of Grade EOG"
4. Click "Test Practice"
5. Click "Online Standard Tools"
6. Click"3rd, 4th, or 5th Grade"
7. Click "Continue"
8. Click "Test Practice for 3rd, 4th, or 5th"

9. Click "Play Audio"
10. If your sound is working, click "Sound is Working"
11. Read the directions. Use the blue arrows to navigate through the directions.
12. Click "Begin Test"
(There is a tool bar at the top to assist while testing).

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:

• Late Arrival: Students arriving after 7:45 AM must be checked in by a parent/guardian inside the school office.

• 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

**** DATES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE ****

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