Hembree Highlights

Greetings, Hembree Families,

Another incredible week at Hembree Springs!
We started off with sweet treats from our amazing parent community—thank you to everyone who baked, purchased, and donated goodies. They were absolutely delicious and so appreciated by our staff!

We’re wrapping up our mid-year diagnostic assessments, and I’m thrilled with the progress we’re seeing. Our teachers and students are working hard, and it shows! Research consistently tells us that parental involvement at home is strongly linked to academic achievement, engagement, and motivation. Did you know your child receives an optional homework packet each week? We’d love to see more participation—it’s a great way to strengthen the home-to-school connection.

Looking ahead, we have our final district site visit on Tuesday, December 16th, and I can’t wait to showcase all the incredible learning happening here at Hembree Springs.

Next Friday, we’ll celebrate together at our end-of-year parties—I’m so excited to see you all! Wishing you a holiday season filled with family, joy, and special moments.

Mark your calendars for Thursday, January 15th—our very first International Night! We need volunteers to help make this event vibrant and memorable. You can participate in so many ways: share a dish, host a cultural game, join a fashion show, or perform music. This is something our community has been asking for, and we want it to be amazing—but we need more sign-ups! Please consider sharing your culture with us. Please see below to sign up and for more information.

And before I close, I have to mention that incredible Georgia Bulldogs win over Alabama in the SEC Championship—what a game! I’m looking forward to New Year’s Day for the next matchup, but I’ll admit, a short break from football will help me catch up on holiday shopping!

Have a fantastic weekend, everyone!

Warm Regards,

Nancy Lahey

12/22/25-1/2/26 Winter Break

1/5/26 Teacher Work Day--no school for students

1/13/26 Rising 6th grade parent meeting 7:40-8:40 am (see below)

1/15 International Night & STAR Night @ 5:30-7:30pm

1/19 No School- MLK Day

1/29 Math Night at Tres Hermanos @ 6:00-7:00pm

Our teachers and staff enjoyed a super sweet PTA Cookies and Cocoa Buffet Monday afternoon.

Huge thanks to parents and families who donated funds, baked goodies or picked up treats – you made this spread 'chef’s kiss' amazing!

A special shoutout goes to The Fresh Market and Alpine Bakery for donating treats as well.

Each guest to the buffet could take home a box of pods from Happy Coffee, which we were recently awarded by National PTA. We are sure it will come in handy this month!

Our teachers and staff have been caring for our kiddos all semester, and if you were hoping to show a little gratitude before winter break, PTA has your back! We just dropped an updated spreadsheet with everyone’s favorites — snacks, drinks, gift cards, all the good stuff. Feel free to peek at the list if you’re looking for ideas (linked below). https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RThXtoL2ZZQDRLAmMxtWtng132eSpT56yWdqp9laJ7U/edit?usp=sharing

Of course, just a simple heartfelt card is always appreciated! These are the things they cherish. Our School Resource Officer who runs carpool in the mornings is Officer Gerald Hightower. 🚓 Thanks for always showing love to the people who make our school feel like home. 💛✨

❄️ Winter Parties | Friday, December 19th ☃️

We are very excited for the upcoming Winter Parties! All Parents are welcome to attend, though we ask that you not bring any siblings as it can get very crowded in the classrooms. You are welcome to check your child out for the day once the party is over. If you are able to volunteer at the party, please click the SignUpGenius links below!

• PK: 10:30-11:15 - volunteer here https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0D4EA9AB28A4F85-60872224-prek

• K: 9:15-10:15 - no volunteers needed!

• 1st: 9:30-10:30 - volunteer here https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0D4EA9AB28A4F85-60872016-1stgrade#/

• 2nd: 9:00-10:00 - volunteer here https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0D4EA9AB28A4F85-60871769-2ndgrade

• 3rd: 11:10-12:10 - volunteer here https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0D4EA9AB28A4F85-60871337-3rdgrade

• 4th: 12:10-1:10 - volunteer here https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0D4EA9AB28A4F85-60871304-4thgrade

• 5th: 9:45-10:45 - volunteer here https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0D4EA9AB28A4F85-60871629-5thgrade

International Night & STAR Night | Thursday, January 15th from 5:30-7:30pm

Mark your calendars for Hembree's first International Family Fun Night! Join us for an evening of celebrating the diversity within our school and community on Thursday, January 15th from 5:30-7:30pm. Grab your family and come explore! We are looking for volunteers to share what is wonderful about a country and culture. Please sign-up below. Please include your student's name in the sign-up. If you are experiencing a financial barrier to participation, the PTA is sponsoring a limited number of $100 grants for your family to host a table. Please reach out to PTA President Janet Pelletier, janetr2626@hotmail.com for more information.

🌎 Don't miss out on the fun ! Confirm your attendance here !

✨ We look forward to seeing you at these exciting events!

All in On Attendance--Finish the Semester Strong!

The weeks before winter break are full of important lessons, tests, and projects. Attendance helps students finish strong and start the new year prepared. Students with perfect attendance in December score 15% higher on mid-year assessments.

The late bell rings at 7:40am. Students should be in their classroom ready to learn at that time.

Let's finish the semester strong !

Tia Rawlings, M.S.W.

School Social Worker

Hembree business partner Elite Kidz is offering winter break camps for kids. Week 1 is December 22-23 and Week 2 is Jan. 2 and 5. In addition, they're offering a special deal for exclusively Hembree students for the second semester of the school year -- as low as $77 per week for aftercare with limited spots available. Visit www.elitekidzevents.com or call (678) 674-4663.

The Coding club is back for the second half of the school year! The second session starts January 6th, 2026 thru April.

Your student can learn about A.I., coding, 3D printing, robotics and build with Legos right at Hembree Springs. There are 15 sessions for the club and cost is $309 for the semester. The club meets Tuesdays after school from 2:30-3:30 p.m.

Here’s the registration link for the spring semester:
https://tcs-johnscreek.pike13.com/events/17017737

Parents/Guardians, We Need You!

This is the time that we begin the process of recognizing the great work that our teachers and staff accomplish each day. You’ve always heard that educators are not “in it for the money”, which is true, but a little recognition goes a long way. We are inviting our parents and guardians to participate in our nomination process for Teacher of the Year (TOTY) and school Professional of the Year (POTY). You have a valuable perspective on the education that your children receive, and we’d like to hear from you!

You will see links below that you may use to access two Microsoft forms—one for nominating a Teacher of the Year and one for nominating a school Professional of the Year. These forms will be open from now until December 17 at 3:00 p.m. The forms only have a couple of questions and center mainly on why you are nominating these folks for one or the other of the awards. Please nominate only one person per form. Once all nominations are collected, from parents/guardians and staff, the staff will vote for three finalists in each category and those six people will go on to participate in an observation and an interview (teachers) or an interview (school professionals). The final winner from each of the two categories will be announced at a staff celebration in January or February, and will serve for the 2026-2027 school year.

I will have a great committee established that will be instrumental in choosing the final winners, including parents and community members. Please reach out to me, Dr. McAtee, at mcatee@fultonschools.org, if you have questions about the process.

Hembree Springs ES Nomination Ballot for Teacher of the Year 2026-2027 – Fill out form

Hembree Springs ES Nomination Ballot for School Professional of the Year 2026-2027 – Fill out form

Get ready for an important milestone! Join the Elkins Pointe Administration and Dr. McAtee for important information on rising 6th grade courses and the verification process. No matter which Fulton County middle school your child will attend, this session will help you understand how our teachers decide on course recommendations for rising 6th graders—so you can feel confident about the process and your child’s transition. We’re here to guide you every step of the way.

If you are unable to attend, the information PowerPoint will be published on our website, and you can contact Dr. McAtee at mcatee@fultonschools.org with any questions.

Mark your calendars for International Family Fun Night! Join us for an evening of celebrating the diversity within our school and community on Thursday, January 15th from 5:30-7:30pm. Grab your family and come explore!

We are looking for volunteers to share what is wonderful about a country and culture. Please sign-up below. Please include your student's name in the sign-up.

If you are experiencing a financial barrier to participation, the PTA is sponsoring a limited number of $100 grants for your family to host a table. Please reach out to PTA President Janet Pelletier, janetr2626@hotmail.com for more information.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C054FADAD2FAAFD0-59881888-international

Have you heard your child mention anything about an app called Beanstack? It was introduced in the Media Center. Beanstack is a digital reading log that students can use to log the number of minutes they are reading. They can earn badges and rewards along the way. If your child is reading at school, home, daycare, etc. they can log their minutes and help us get closer to our goal. The following is a video explaining how to use Beanstack from home. You can always find your child's lunch number/student number in infinite campus or email Mrs. Soberanis: soberanis@fultonschools.org. Happy Reading!

How To Video: https://go.screenpal.com/watch/cZQTbzVSAkv

Each week the PE department will choose 4 All Star Athletes (2 students & 2 staff members). If your student enjoys hiking, swimming, baseball, softball, football, biking, etc. Please email a picture to marzetti@fultonschools.org.

Thanks,

Ms. Marzetti

We welcome lunch visitors, Monday-Thursday only. Please check in at the front desk before proceeding to the cafeteria.

Website: https://www.fultonschools.org/hembreespringses
Location: 815 Hembree Road, Roswell, GA, USA
Phone: 470-254-2902