ASFL Elementary Principal Notes

International Festival - December 2, 2023 - 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

Last Day before Winter Break - Friday, December 15, 2023 - 1/2 Day - dismissal at 12:00 Noon

Winter Break - December 18 - January 3, 2024

Parent Meetings to discuss the Alabama Literacy Act and the Alabama Numeracy Act

Tuesday, November 29, 2023 at 11:00 a.m.

Tuesday, December 5, 2023 at 11:00 a.m.

These meetings will be held in person in our library. If you need a Zoom link to join, please contact April Hodges by email at april.hodges@hsv-k12.org.

Please use the link below to sign up to donate to your child's grade level silent auction basket.

1) Click this link to see our SignUp on SignUp: https://signup.com/go/PUJXpgk
2) Review the options listed and choose the spot(s) you like.
3) Sign up! It's Easy - you will NOT need to register an account or keep a password on SignUp.

According to the projections, ASFL Elementary earned an A - 91 points on our Report Card that will officially be released in December. Last school year our grade on the Report Card was B - 86 points, so we grew 5 points last school year! I will be sharing more information about how the score was calculated in the coming weeks.

We wanted all of our families to know about our new M in STEM program. It was created to expand our students' knowledge, enjoyment, and understanding of mathematics. Last year the PTA through the work of Latoya Adams was fortunate to obtain a grant to establish this program. Students, parents, and teachers are able to check out math manipulative tools from the school library. We hope this will encourage fun memories, collaboration with families and a zest for learning.

We are so excited for the new school year here at ASFL Elementary, and we are hoping you are too!

We are looking for parent volunteers to help with our teachers and we would love to have you!

Interested in Volunteering? Sign up using this link or emailing our parent coordinator at april.hodges@hsv-k12.org.

See you soon!

https://forms.gle/mmBecbYo8nzpiu9L8

Parent Volunteer Sign Up

This form is for parents and guardians to sign up to volunteer at ASFL Elementary. Once you sign up our Parent Coordinator will be in touch. Thank you!

PTA Membership - http://asflrockets.memberhub.store

Students in grades 1 - 5 will bring home a red Fluency Folder on Mondays . Please return the folder on Friday.

Our goal is for our students to have extra practice on basic skills so that they will be able to meet grade level goals in reading and math. We thank you for assisting us with this important task!

Fluency Folder Contents:

• Fluency Folder log for Math (all students) and Reading (some students)
• Parent Passage for reading (same as student passage but has the number of words beside each line of text)
• Student Passage for reading

Fluency Folder Instructions for Reading Passages:

• Please have your child read the passage each night and record the number of words he or she reads correctly on the Fluency Folder log.
• Students may read the passage multiple times and you can record the reading with the highest number of words read correctly.
• Turn the folder back in on Friday morning, so that the passages can be changed for the next week.

Fluency Folder Instructions for Math Sheets:
Please have students practice the fact families on the math sheets:

• 1st and 2nd grades - addition
• 3rd grade - addition and subtraction
• 4th and 5th grades - multiplication

Please practice with your child so that they can exit your car independently.

• Parents should remain in their vehicle and students should exit on the passenger side.
• Students should have belongings (backpack, lunchbox, etc.) ready to exit the car.
• Please pull forward as far as possible.
• Do not allow students to exit if you are not in the carline lane.

If your child needs extensive assistance to exit your car, please park in the parking lot, help them exit, and walk them to the front awning.

Students should not be dropped off before 7:30 a.m. There is no supervision for your child before 7:30 a.m.

These procedures need to be followed so that carline is safe for all students and adults.

Thank you for your patience as our students and families get back into the habit of carline routines. The carline will be finished by about 3:20 - 3:25. Please make sure you are here to pick up your child before carline ends.

Parents should not exit cars to walk up and pick up children in the carline area. Please remain in carline so that we can keep the line moving as quickly as possible.

April was born and raised in Jackson County Alabama. She is a graduate of the University of Alabama with an undergraduate in Psychology and Graduate degree in Social Work. She has worked as a Policy Advocate Fellow in Washington DC for First Focus which is an advocacy organization dedicated to prioritizing children and families. She has also served as a family advocate at the National Children’s Advocacy Center. She continues, in an unofficial role, to assist families in North Alabama in finding necessary resources. April resides in Huntsville with her 3 daughters, 2 of which still attend the Academy for Science and Foreign Languages.

Please make sure that your child is at school before 8:00 a.m. and that they are picked up on time after school or after tutoring. Our school dismisses at 3:00 p.m and tutoring dismisses at 4:30.

Alabama State Law requires that “every child between the ages of 6 and 17 years of age shall be required to attend a public school, private school, church school, or be instructed by a competent private tutor for the entire length of the school term in every scholastic year…” •

Parent(s)/guardian(s) must provide a written explanation of the reason(s) for each absence within two school days after each absence (or consecutive absences). If the written explanation is not provided within the two-day period, the absences will be unexcused. A student must be in attendance one-half day to be counted present.

• A student may have a total of 7 excused absences for illness without a doctor’s statement. After an accumulation of 7 excused absences for illness without a doctor’s statement, the student will receive unexcused absences for illness unless absences are documented with a doctor’s statement.

• If a student arrives to school after the start of the school day, the student is considered tardy. After 10 unexcused tardies, parents will be invited to the disctrict Early Warning Meeting.

For more information, please refer to the HCS Student-Parent Information Guide.

Our school received a score of 86 on the state report card. The last time scores were reported our school received a score of 83. I am very proud of the progress our school made during the challenges of the past few years! We continue to work toward the goal of having every child be successful.

If you will notice the area of the graphic above under Chronic Absenteeism shows 15.79. This means that 15.79% of our students were considered chronically absent - missing 18 or more days of school.

Please continue to support your child and our school by being engaged in your child's education and making sure that he or she is at school on time each day.

Personal Electronic Devices (“PED”) have become a common means of communication and information access in today’s society. However, these devices have the potential of disrupting the orderly operation of the District’s schools.

For the purposes of this policy, PED means a privately-owned device that is used for audio, video, or text communication or any other type of computer-like instrument. PEDs may include but are not limited to:

• Existing and emerging mobile communication systems and smart technologies (cellular phones, iPhones, Smartphones, internet-enabled phones, smartwatches, etc.)

• Personal Digital Assistants (“PDA”) (Palm organizers, pocket PCs, etc.)

• Handheld entertainment systems (video games, CD players, compact DVD players, MP3 players, iPods, etc.) • PED accessories (earphones, earbuds, etc.)

• Portable internet devices (mobile messengers, iPads, etc.)

• Current or emerging wireless handheld technologies or portable information technology systems that can be used for word processing, wireless internet access, image capture/recording, sound recording, and information transmitting/receiving/storing, etc.

A. PEDs may not be used by students for any disruptive purpose including telephone calls, text messaging, taking photographs and videos, or any other functions during the regular school day.

Students may possess PEDs, but they must be powered off and out of sight in backpacks, purses, or lockers. It is not permissible for PEDS to be on “silent” or “vibrate” during this time.

Students are permitted to possess and use PEDs only as follows: 1.) Before and after the regular school day 2.) As directed by a teacher or administrator

B. PEDs shall not be used in any way that threatens, humiliates, harasses, or intimidates students, school personnel, or visitors, or otherwise violates District policies and regulations or local, state, or federal laws. Students are prohibited from sending, sharing, viewing, or possessing pictures, text messages, emails, or other material of a sexually explicit nature on their PEDs while on school premises, at school-sponsored activities, or on school transportation. Further, students are prohibited from using the camera, video, or recording functions of their PEDs on school premises or at school-sponsored activities where another student or individual has an expectation of privacy, including, but not limited to, locker rooms, counseling sessions, restrooms, dressing areas, etc.

C. Students are responsible for the security of the PEDs brought to school. The District is not responsible for lost, stolen, damaged, or unauthorized use of PEDs. Further, the District is not liable to any student or his or her parent/guardian for any claims, losses, damages, suits, expenses, or costs of any kind arising out of or related to the use or possession of a student’s PED.

D. Temporary confiscation of a student’s PED is appropriate for violations of this policy. Any building staff person who confiscates a PED will hand it to the building administrator immediately. The building administrator will hold the PED until such time as the student’s parent or guardian makes an appointment to pick up the item.

Please see the attachment below for more information about AlaphaBest and to register for afterschool care or use the following link: Alphabest.

Please check the bus route information starting on July 20, 2022 if your child will ride the bus.

Transportation Department - Bus Routes

HCS Lunch Menu

Please note that the lunch menu is subject to change if the items on the menu are unavailable.

We encourage students to show/demonstrate our International Baccalaureate Traits: Principled , Caring, Open-Minded, Knowledgeable, Thinker, Balanced, Risk-Taker, Communicator, Inquirer, and Reflective.

Our teachers will embed these into their IB Unit lessons and students will be recognized for demonstrating these traits.

Each grade level teaches specific interdisciplinary units each year.

We encourage our students to follow our PBIS Rock Behavior:

• Respect yourself and others,
• Own your Actions,
• Come Prepared,
• Keep making good choices.

Google Voice: (256) 469-8037

Email: paula.thompson@hsv-k12.org
Website: https://www.huntsvillecityschools.org/schools/academies-science-foreign-language
Phone: (256) 428-7000
Twitter: @asflmagnet