School Newsletters

PBIS

Our year is off to a great start, and we have done many exciting things to learn about creating a school community! All students and staff participated in a school-wide day of learning about our shared expectations and beliefs! Below is a brief synopsis of what happened during the learning process! 

• Power Down: We use the phrase “power down” to help ourselves get ready to learn! When learning about “power down,” we realized that we act differently in various settings. We explored that a behavior such as running may be expected in PE class; it is unexpected in the library! We learned that at home, we may play with our siblings in an unexpected way for school. When in school, we may need to think about our setting and “power down” to match the expectations for the upcoming learning we will do. Below is a visual on how to “power down.” One time of day that our whole school “powers down” simultaneously is after lunch/recess during our Mindful Moment! Ask your student about the daily Mindful Moment at Hickory Point! 

• Owning My Behavior:

Now that we have learned what’s expected and what’s unexpected, we talked about taking responsibility for our behavior. Students learned that everyone makes mistakes; in the same respect, we learned that everyone is growing! Growing from mistakes is how we learn. We labeled different unexpected behaviors that we may see at school as a big problem or a medium/small problem. A big problem may be someone being unsafe with their body, making a big mess, or leaving a space without permission. A medium/small problem may be someone not playing fairly, using unkind words, or being in someone’s personal space. If a student is having a big problem with their behavior, then the students learn they will need to work with Dr. Deely or Mrs. Weingarten to learn about their behavior and repair any harm. If a student has a medium/small problem with their behavior, they will work with a staff member to reflect on their behavior and create a plan to repair any harm or make any changes. This year, our “Super” Supervisor position is new. If your student needs redirection from a small/medium problem at lunch/recess, you may get an email from Ms. Lizbeth Herrera with the reflection your child completed during their learning. See an example of the reflection below. 

• Bus & Recess:

Lastly, students learned and practiced expected behaviors on the bus and at recess. We reinforced that safety is our top priority and showed how someone can report unsafe behavior so everyone feels that they belong, can do hard things, and are growing at Hickory Point! 
 

Club Information

Hickory Point is thrilled to provide opportunities for students to participate in clubs before school from 7:55 to 8:25 am. Clubs offer instruction in various subjects outside our curriculum and allow students to form friendships with teamwork, collaboration, and leadership. Our goal is to accommodate all students who show interest in clubs. Due to the number of students who want to participate, club sponsors will split students into “sessions.” Each session is a set number of weeks a student will participate in the club during the year.  Club sponsors will notify you directly with details about your student’s session. With the complexity of scheduling and the need to accommodate all students’ participation, it is impossible to take friendship or carpool requests for the same sessions. 

Please utilize the Clubs Sign-Up form to submit a request for your student to participate in clubs. You must submit a form for each child if you have multiple students at Hickory Point. Students may sign up for more than one club even if the club meets on the same day. Club sign-up will close on Monday, September 23rd, at 4:00 pm. After this date, we cannot accommodate any new additions to clubs. 

We look forward to all the fun students will have creating, learning, and forming new friendships! 

Clubs offered during the 24-25 school year are as follows: 

Monday: Newcomers/Friendship Club (1st and 2nd Grade); STEAM Club (1st Grade) 

Tuesday: Lego Club (1st and 2nd Grade); Broadcast Club Day 1 (2nd Grade)

Wednesday: Champ Camp (Kindergarten); STEAM Club (2nd Grade)

Thursday: STEAM Club (Kindergarten)

Friday: Kind Kids Club (1st and 2nd Grade); Broadcast Club Day 2 (2nd Grade)

Academic and Social Emotional Support

Dear Parents,

We would like to inform you of an academic/social-emotional initiative. Hickory Point has scheduled a supplemental, thirty-minute intervention period built into the school day. This time allows teachers to offer additional instruction to students based on their reading, math, or social skill levels. Entry into the groups is based on Curriculum-Based Measurements (CBM)  and teacher input. A Hickory Point staff member will instruct your child during the intervention period.  As with all flexible instruction groups, students may move from one group to another depending upon periodic, teacher-administered assessments of their academic/social skills. Typically, student progress is assessed weekly and reviewed every six weeks. If a student does not require this extra academic support, the student's needs will continue to be met by the classroom teacher. 

National Hispanic Heritage Month

District 27 will be recognizing National Hispanic Heritage Month from Sept. 15 - Oct. 15. Each year, Americans observe National Hispanic Heritage Month by celebrating the histories, cultures, and contributions of Americans whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. In addition to recognition displays in the building, students will have access to a menu of short learning options containing read-aloud, books, videos, and interactive activities about National Hispanic Heritage Month that they may choose to complete.

Parent-Teacher Conference Sign-Up

This week, all parents and guardians will receive an email on September 12th with your credentials to register for Parent-Teacher conferences through our online portal, Meet the Teacher. Please watch for this email. If you do not receive the email, please contact our office staff. Conference registration will open on September 23 at 9:00 a.m. and remain open until October 4th at 4 p.m.  

Parent-teacher conferences at Hickory Point School will occur between October 9th and 10th. Conferences are 20 minutes long; parents can meet with the homeroom teacher and exceptional teachers. (PE, Art, Music, Library). We are using Meet the Teacher to sign up for conferences, giving the parents more control over their schedule. 

Please contact your child’s teachers or the school office with any questions or concerns. Parent-teacher conferences are just one of the opportunities to talk about progress, and parents are welcome and encouraged to reach out to their child’s teacher(s) at any time during the school year. It’s truly through our collaborative efforts that our students achieve success.

Important Dates

Friday, Sept. 13: PTA Welcome Back 5 pm 
 

For your children,

Dr. Maureen Deely          Mrs. Lauren Weingarten

Principal                          Assistant Principal