NEWS from the NEST

Dear Woodland Families,

So many great things took place this week!

This week we got into our weekly practice of 6 Minutes to Fluency and 5 Minutes for Facts. These occur on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 7:35. This additional school-wide practice builds confidence in our Eagles. Please see below from some of our littlest Eagles in action.

EGGcellent Eagle Tickets for Reading & Math Sheets: Last year, during my first year as principal, I wanted to encourage our Eagles to go above and beyond. I began including weekly grade level passages and math fluency sheets each week for families to help their Eagle. Then, I began giving Eagle tickets for going above and beyond. This is something I do to help encourage our Eagle to build a stronger nest for themselves. Please read below about a small shift in rewarding our Eagles. Last week we had more students than EVER participating. Thank you!

AM Car Riders: I need your help with the movement of traffic. Once people are in the parking lot, it is moving pretty smoothly. We need to make sure we are allowing people in from Woodland Dr. and NOT blocking the main road. There have been several instances where vehicles and trying to get in line, but do not have space to do so. This is blocking the road and no one can go anywhere. Please treat this entrance as a 3 way stop in the morning. Allow all sides of the road to move. Also remember that the buses have the right of way so that they can continue their routes.

PM Car Riders: We are approaching the largest number of Car Riders we have had at Woodland. This presents different challenges, especially when we all want to pick up our Eagle and proceed on to afternoon activities. Please make sure that you are ready with a Car Rider tag or Valid ID to pick up your Eagle. If this is a transportation change, you must have filled out the form prior to 1pm for the change to occur. If your student has loaded the school bus, you will need to meet the bus at their normal stop in order to pick them up. We cannot hold the buses from departing Woodland because that delays all other routes they have to drive.

WALKERS: If your student is listed as a walker, then we are expecting that they walk to home/school or get picked up by an adult and walk home. Please do not park on the side of the road to bypass the Afternoon Pickup line. This is not the intent of students being Walkers in the afternoon. If you do NOT want to wait in a long line in the afternoon, arriving around 2:25/2:30 will decrease your wait time.

HOMEWORK: This Thursday will be the first school-wide Homework turn in day. Please make sure that your Eagle is completing their work and turning it back into their teacher. This instills responsibility and good learning habits from the beginning.

We are looking forward to an AMAZING week. We had our first assembly on Friday. We were visited by the "secret" Eagle mascot and the Spirit Eagle was given out the classroom with the highest attendance so far. Congratulations to Mrs. Hill's class - 99.24%.

Here's to another great week in the NEST!

Please make sure to reach out if you need anything!

We are here to help.

Thank you for your continued support. We can’t wait to see you soon!

Eagles Fly Because They Try!

Mr. Thompson

Principal - Woodland Elementary

brandon.thompson@hardin.kyschools.us

Eagle Families,

As we continue to build a safe, inclusive, and uplifting school environment, we kindly ask for your partnership in reinforcing the importance of positive interactions at school. Please take a moment to speak with your student about the value of respectful communication, kindness, and cooperation with both peers and adults.

Every Eagle belongs—and every Eagle deserves to feel seen, heard, and valued. By encouraging empathy, active listening, and thoughtful behavior, we strengthen our school community and help each child thrive socially and emotionally.

Together, we can ensure that our school remains a place where all students feel safe, supported, and proud to be an Eagle.

Thank you for your continued support and commitment to our shared values.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Aubrey

Assistant Principal - Woodland Elementary

precious.aubrey@hardin.kyschools.us

8/28/25 School-wide homework going home

8/28/25 PTO Meeting @5pm in WES Library (virtual option)

9/01/25 Labor Day (SCHOOL DISMISSED)

9/05/25 Family Night at FREDDY's (5-8pm)

9/09/25 HIGH ATTENDANCE DAY

10/2/25 FALL FESTIVAL (mark your calendars)

10/13/25 Parent/Teacher Conferences

STUDENT PICK UP IN THE AFTERNOON

The Dismissal Car Rider Line works much different than the beginning of the day. There will be multiple adults directing traffic to keep everything organized and moving. When authorized guardians are picking up their children in the afternoon as school dismisses, they are to follow these guidelines:

● Families that choose every day pick up will be assigned a number for the school year and will be given a card to place in their windshield on the inside of their car. Example: 101, 211, 312, etc.

● Staff will bring students out and load students into the car with their corresponding number.

● Please do not get out of your car.

● Do NOT use your cell phone while in the Car Rider line. It slows down the flow of traffic and we have witnessed accidents due to being unfocused.

● If you do NOT have a Car Rider tag, you must have an ID to present to the adult on duty. We will not

release your student unless you can verify your identity.

IMPORTANT:

It is very important for students to have a consistent daily transportation plan. Please do not make

unnecessary changes or ask to change after 1:00 PM. When making changes please remember that

we are managing over 500 students each day. Every change made is definitely an added layer on top of our normal transportation schedule.

TRANSPORTATION

To ensure accurate transportation plans for your child, it is important to be as consistent as possible each day. If there must be a change in your child’s daily transportation plan, you must send a note with your child for that day or fill out our Woodland Transportation Change form before 1:00 pm. We must have the transportation change documented. If your student tries to relay information verbally, we will continue your student’s normally planned transportation.

When parents/guardians do not provide ample time for transportation changes through our office, the likelihood of a transportation error occurring in student transportation plans increases. Best practice is to make changes only when absolutely necessary and to let the office know as early as possible.

I, myself, completed this form for my son that attends middle school and it took about 2 minutes to complete. This can help to ensure that all of our students continue to receive a free breakfast and lunch each day at school.

Last year Woodland was the first school in the district to achieve 100% of their families filling out the CEP form. We received an additional amount of funding because of this. We can do this! The link to the form is included right here.

English HIF public link
https://www.myschoolapps.com/Home/DistrictRedirect/HARDINHIF_KY?langid=1

Spanish HIF public link
https://www.myschoolapps.com/Home/DistrictRedirect/HARDINHIF_KY?langid=2

We will be begin transitioning to Rooms by the end of August. At this time, we will disconnect all families from Class Dojo. Rooms corresponds through the HCS app. Rooms will be the way that you can communicate to your child's teacher and school. Teachers will begin using Rooms over the next few weeks. Once Rooms is set up, we will be disconnecting families from ClassDojo. This is to make sure that we are aligned and in compliance with the new Senate bill regarding traceable communication.

Each day a homeroom class has the opportunity to earn a Tardy Tater piece. How do they earn it? It's all tied into Attendance. Students must be present (not tardy) in order for the class to add a piece. After 10 day of only have one student missing from their class, the class receives a Tater Chip Party. We are wanting our Eagles to be at school each and everyday. We miss them when they are not here!

Check out these 1st grade Eagles! Working on Math fluency and using their fingers to count. We encourage them to use their fingers. Fingers are manipulatives and this helps to build foundational numeracy skills.

1st graders in Mrs. Holland's classroom working during 6 Minutes to Fluency. Students are working on tracking their words as they read or listening to the story being read aloud. This helps in students' pacing and fluency as we continue to build this skill.

Students will once again be eligible to earn EGGcellent Eagle Tickets for work they do from the Reading Passages and Math Fluency sheets posted on the Family Newsletter. Students can simply get a note from a family member stating that they read the reading passage for the week. Students can also complete the math problems on a blank sheet of paper and send those in as well. Please do not keep the printing from allowing your student to complete the work.

Students needs their first and last name and their homeroom teacher's name on their paper when turning these in. Can students complete work outside of their grade level? YES!

I will award students for grade level work that is either 1 grade level above or below the grade level that they are currently in.

For every Reading Passage a student reads = 2 EGGcellent Eagle Tickets

For every 10 math problems a student completes = 1 EGGcellent Eagle ticket

EGGcellent Eagle tickets will be drawn on Monday mornings this school year for a snack and prize.

1st Grade Reading Passage (What Does Kim See?)

2nd Grade Reading Passage (Should You Be Afraid of Sharks?)

3rd Grade Reading Passage (Not So Bad)

4th Grade Reading Passage (Climates)

5th Grade Reading Passage (How to Write a Graphic Novel)

6th Grade Reading Passage (A Mysterious Door)

All grades levels have a fluency standard.

The KY Math Standards state that students should be fluent in the following areas:

1st grade students to be fluent within 10 (addition & subtraction)

2nd grade students to be fluent within 20 (addition & subtraction)

3rd grade students to be fluent within 100 (multiplication & division)

4th grade students to be fluent in multi-digit addition & subtraction

5th grade students to be fluent in multiplying multi-digit whole numbers

This week we are starting out with 1st & 2nd grade students working with Addition & Subtraction and 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students working with Multiplication & Division facts.

1st Grade Math Fluency Sheet

2nd Grade Math Fluency Sheet

3rd Grade Math Fluency Sheet

4th Grade Math Fluency Sheet

5th Grade Math Fluency Sheet

Follow the directions in the link to obtain a Parent Portal. All families are encouraged to make sure that they have access to their student's Parent Portal. This is where all attendance and grades are housed for your student.

https://www.hardin.kyschools.us/parents/parent-portal-account-how-do-i-get-one

All educators in the state of KY in the public school systems must use the Kentucky Academic Standards. All of the programs that we use at Woodland align to these standards. If you are ever wondering why your student is learning a specific skill or concept in their grade level, you can look to these for guidance.

In order to increase our daily attendance, last year we started Tardy Taters at Woodland. Each day that a homeroom class only has 1 student late/absent from school then the classroom gets to add a piece onto the Tater. Once the class has received 10 days of only missing one student or achieving 100% attendance, then the class will be rewarded with a certificate and a Tater chip party. Classrooms proudly display their certificates out in the hallway. At the end of the school year, the class with the most complete Tardy Taters will receive a class Pizza Party! Last year we filled 153 Tardy Taters. Let's see if we can beat that number in the 25-26 school year.

Do you want to help, but you don't want to go out and buy and drop it off at the school? Click here to help send supplies directly to the school. Thanks in advance!

https://a.co/6QhXhhx

Woodland does have a Wellness policy that is a SBDM (Site Base Decision Making) policy about no outside food coming in for birthday celebrations. We do celebrate every student in a monthly celebration on the last Thursday of the month. Students are given a treat provided by the cafeteria, we sing Happy Birthday, and each child gets a Happy Birthday pencil. If you would like to do something additional, please reach out to your student's homeroom teacher. You are always welcome to send in a trinket/prize/pencil for the students in the class. You can also contact the school and come and eat lunch with your student if you are able to do that. With the ever growing number of students with known and unknown allergies, we do not allow large batches of food (cupcakes, brownies, etc.).

Some suggestions in lieu of food:

• Stickers
• Glow bracelets
• temporary tattoos
• Bubbles
• Play-doh
• Side walk chalk

Thank you for your understanding and support.

If there is a change in your student's transportation, please fill our the form linked here. We must have transportation changes in writing for documentation purposes.

The link is https://forms.gle/39qw9qqqjnXccMtR9

Here is the important information regarding how parents can view and pay for field trips and complete permission slips for their students.

To get started, parents need to complete a two-step sign-up process:

1. Create a free SchoolCash Online account.

   • Visit https://hardin.schoolcashonline.com and click on "Register."
   • Fill in your first name, last name, email address, and create a password.
   • Choose a security question.
   • Select "Yes" to receive email notifications (no promotional emails will be sent).
   • Check your email for a confirmation message (remember to look in the Spam folder if it doesn’t appear).
   • Use your email and password to log in.

2. Add your student(s) to your account profile and make a payment.

• Sign in at https://hardin.schoolcashonline.com.
• Navigate to "My Account" at the top of the page.
• From the dropdown menu, select "My Students."
• Click to add a child:
  • Type your school board name and choose your school from the list.
  • Enter your child's details (up to 8 students can be added).
  • Click "Confirm."
• Select the item you wish to purchase and click "Add to Cart."
• Once finished adding items, click "Continue" to make a payment.

Are you looking for child care after school? The district provides child care, at a low cost, to families. Please visit the link to check it out and fill out the application or you can call 270-769-8800 and ask to speak to Amy Wood. If you are interested please act quickly. Spots do fill up. Thank you!

https://www.hardin.kyschools.us/school-aged-child-care-sacc-1

If you are interested in being a volunteer, this video explains how volunteers can complete a background check (which they need per law and policy).

https://youtu.be/jd8mltg9bmM

Some points of note:

• HCS will send a request for a background check to the Administrative Office of the Courts EVERY FIVE YEARS. The AOC charges the district a $10 fee for each check administered. We ask the volunteer to pay for that background check processing fee.
• We will only ask for a processing fee every five years instead of every year. We ask for the background check form to be completed each year in order to maintain a clear record of the current school year's volunteers.
• The background check will not be processed until the Superintendent’s office has received $10 for the background check and a copy of the receipt issued by the school. For instance, if an adult who has never volunteered becomes a volunteer in 2024, they will not have to pay for another background check until 2029.