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Horizon Elementary
December 2014
Comet Courier DECEMBER EVENTS
December 2 3rd Grade Wordmasters December 3 4th Grade Wordmasters December 4 5th Grade Wordmasters Spirit Night at Papa John’s December 6 Jingle Bell Shoppe December 9 5th Grade to Seneca Ridge Music Showcase December 12 Family Bowling Night at Horizon December 16 PTA Executive Board Meeting, 8:00 All School Sing-Along December 18 Poetry Masters Recitations December 22-Jan 2 Winter Break, No School
Horizon Elementary School 46665 Broadmore Drive • Sterling, VA 20165 • Telephone 571.434.3260 • Fax 703.444.7418
Absentee Line 571.434.3261 Absentee Email [email protected]
Horizon Elementary School website: www.lcps.org/horizon Principal: Mrs. Jennifer Ewing Bookkeeper: Mrs. Holly Buehler
Assistant Principal: Mr. Chris Painter Attendance Secretary: Mrs. Violet Sowa-Badders
A MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL
Greetings Comets,
Thank you to everyone who was able to visit during American
Education Week. We had approximately 748 visitors in our building.
The week was full of events at each grade level as well as the
Scholastic Book Fair. We even had over 130 in attendance for our
S’more Reading Night.
The month of December starts with the PTA sponsored Jingle Bell
Shoppe on Saturday, December 6 from 9:00 am – 1:00 pm.
Wednesday, December 17 will be an all school Holiday Sing-Along at
9:00 in the gym. Holiday parties will be on one of three days this
year: Wednesday, December 17; Thursday, December 18; or Friday,
December 19. You will receive more information from individual
classrooms.
During this month there are some great opportunities to give to
others:
A Giving Tree
Sweats for Vets
Food Drive
What better way to help others this holiday season!
Please make a note that winter break begins on Monday, December
22, 2014 and school will resume on Monday, January 5, 2015. I wish
you all a wonderful holiday season and a safe and happy New Year!
Warm regards,
Jennifer Ewing
Notes from the Library
What are we learning?
Notes from the Library
What are we learning?
This December, we will be introducing this year’s Virginia Reader’s Choice book selections for 2014-2015.
Sponsored by the Virginia State Reading Association and the Virginia Association of School Libraries as
well as several other organizations, ten books are selected at various levels for students to read and vote
for their favorite book to select as The Virginia Reader’s Choice Book of the year.
Kindergarten, First, and Second Grade – Our students will be reading the ten Virginia Reader’s Choice
books over the upcoming weeks and exploring lessons on characterizations, main ideas, summaries,
sequencing, and the setting of the various Virginia Reader’s Choice book selections.
Third Grade – This month we will be introducing the ten elementary Virginia Reader’s Choice book
selections to the students through book talks. We will discover the history and science behind the invention
of the large balloons in the Macy’s parade in the book, Balloons Over Broadway by Melissa Sweet.
Fourth and Fifth Grade – This month we will be introducing the ten elementary Virginia Reader’s Choice
book selections to the students through book talks. In addition, our fifth grade will begin a unit on
researching and using and locating information safely from internet sources, and fourth grade students will
continue learning about the Dewey Decimal system.
**********************Scholastic Book Fair News**************
I just wanted to take a minute of your time to thank everyone who supported the fall book fair this year. It was an enormous success! This success could not have occurred without all of the wonderful volunteers who helped during the fair and everyone who stopped by to purchase books for both the students and staff members at Horizon. During the fair, 3,165 books were purchased which averages about 4 books for every student. Studies show that the more students practice their reading, they grow into better readers. The more fluent they become readers, then they enjoy reading more which helps to foster a life-long love of reading. Thank you for showing what great readers we are at Horizon Elementary School and for your support of the library.
This year we were able to purchase 32 books from the fair. In addition, we earned almost $2,000 additional Scholastic Dollars to continue purchasing books throughout the year to add to our library and classroom bookshelves.
Holiday Giving Tree
Please visit our Holiday Giving Tree at Horizon, at the Jingle Bell Shoppe on December 6, or online at the link here Giving Tree Online and give the gift of caring this holiday season. Choose an ornament from the tree and purchase a holiday gift for a person in need in our Horizon community. Please label the gift and bring it back to school and place it under the tree. You can also send gifts in to Amy Sandridge, Parent Liaison. Contact Amy Sandridge with
any questions at [email protected].
Thank you for your generosity!
SEARCH December Newsletter Kay O’Sullivan and Denise Corbo, Search Teachers
RESOURCES FOR GIFTED INFORMATION
In our search for information, we often don’t know where to go on the internet or what sites we
can trust. For parents, teachers, and students, one of the best sites concerning gifted education is
Hoagie’s Gifted Education Page : http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/ The author/administrator of
this site has won numerous awards from gifted education organizations including two Community
Service awards (2005 and 2014) from the National Association for Gifted Children:
http://www.nagc.org/ For almost any topic concerning gifted education, both adults and children
can enjoy perusing the many offerings to be found on Hoagie’s Page.
Are you, a parent, interested in the social/emotional needs of the gifted? Perhaps you are curious
about gender issues, or ELL issues in gifted education. Look no further than the parent page:
http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/parents.htm .
There is a surprising amount of information for students of all ages. Whether a student is
interested in film-making or brain teasers, geography or programming, cool apps or reading lists,
it’s all to be found on the Kids Fun Page: http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/links.htm
There is general information about gifted education (Gifted 101:
http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/gifted_101.htm ) and there’s social media information about all
aspects of giftedness: http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/on-line_support.htm .
While all of the information on the Hoagie’s page is reliable, it obviously doesn’t substitute for
specific information about LCPS gifted education programs. Whenever you have questions about
gifted education in Loudoun County, please see your SEARCH teacher. She will either know the
answer or know how to find the answer to your question. The LCPS Gifted Education website
(http://cmsweb1.lcps.org/Page/617 ) will also answer your questions about testing, dates, and
procedures, so please check it often for the latest information.
Knowledge, creativity, and curiosity, all of these are the greatest gifts we can nurture in ourselves
and in our children. Enjoy learning and exploring during the winter break!
“Knowledge begets knowledge. The more I see, the more impressed I am - not with what we know - but with how tremendous the areas are as yet unexplored.” John Glenn, Astronaut
and Senator
Horizon Elementary PTA News
2012-2013 Horizon PTA Executive Board
Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving break and are looking forward to a busy December! Phase 2 of the
playground is in full swing and hopefully will have opened by the time you read this! Wordmasters starts the first
week in December for Grades 3, 4 and 5. It is a great way to sharpen up their word skills. Thanks to Amye Love for
leading this exercise! Please encourage your students to participate in Poetry Masters. Poems are available in the
office and online on the PTA website — it is a great way to practice memorization skills. Thank you to everyone who
participated in the Reflections program. You did a great job representing Horizon! Congratulations to Matthew
Levi, Medha Mani, Liliana Rossi and Aidan VanVoorhis whose entries will be continuing on to the district level for
competing!
No cooking on December 4th as it is the Papa John's Spirit Night and following right behind is the Jingle Belle
Shoppe on December 6th- MANY thanks to Margie McGinnis and her team for putting on this favorite school event.
We hope to see you all on Saturday, December 6th from 9-1!
We are taking December off for General Membership and Executive Board meetings. With the New Year comes the
county budget review for the school system. We plan to keep you updated, but if you want to be fully informed in
the process of funding our schools, please come to the meeting on January 20th at 6:30 pm. Representatives from the
Loudoun Education Alliance have been invited to speak. Underfunding our schools can mean a delay in full time
kindergarten, high class sizes, delays in technology upgrades.....
If you are interested in being part of the nomination committee for next year's PTA, please contact Gail Godek
([email protected]). "Like" our Facebook page at Horizon Elementary School and PTA!
Wishing you all a safe and wonderful Holiday Season!
If you have not done so already, please consider joining our PTA. The PTA sponsors many social and educational activities to enrich your child’s experience at Horizon Elementary. You can view the many
activities and volunteer opportunities on the PTA portion of our webpage: www.lcps.org/Horizon.
“Horizon Elementary School and PTA”
www.horizonpta.org
The PTA Board:
Gail Godek, President
Teresa Demangos, Treasurer
Christy Sharn, Recording and
Correspondence Secretary
Christina Ward, Staff Relations
Meredith Pilaro, Membership and
Directory
Karin Cerniglia, After School
Enrichment Programs
Joanne Canellos, Fundraising
Tisha Duhaime, Spirit Sales
Resa Kierstein, Volunteer Coordinator
Laura Inra, School Supply Kits
(email links on the PTA Website)
POETRY MASTERS
Each month a selection of poems is available for children in grades 1-5. Any child in those grades who wishes to participate may pick up the poem selections from the office any time after December 5th. He or she will memorize a selected poem for his or her grade category and recite the poem to the poetry coordinator on December 18th. Congratulations to the following students who successfully memorized and recited the November poem to our celebrity listener, Mr. Bill Raye: Alexander Dolzhenkov Abdiel Santago Ramos Sophia Dolzhenkov Julia Hus Tess Durham Colleen Macgoy Uma Pillai Edward Christopher Halima Bachir Kaelyn Larsen Melani Rivera
PBIS for Parents
Are you a Bucket Filler or a Bucket Dipper? Do you have any idea what I’m talking about? In a nutshell, everyone carries around an invisible bucket holding their positive thoughts and happy feelings. We can help fill buckets with kind words and actions. We can also dip from buckets when we are unkind or disrespectful. Students at Horizon learn about the Bucket Filling concept in their classroom guidance lessons. Teaching children to be a “Bucket Filler” helps them learn to be courteous, caring and cooperative Comets. It’s also a wonderful tool to use at home to reinforce the ideas and have a shared language. A fabulous beginner book used to teach the concept is Have You Filled A Bucket Today?. For children ready for more information, I highly recommend Growing Up with a Bucket Full of Happiness. This book teaches children how you fill buckets, empty them and how to protect what’s in them by putting a lid on top. Both books are written by Carol McCloud. Whether you are worried about your child’s empty bucket, interested in teaching them how to fill buckets or keep a better lid on their own because of bucket dipping, there are tools here to help you get started. And Horizon staff is available to help you find additional resources and information. As always, please contact me if you would like further information or have any questions or concerns related to PBIS. I can be reached at [email protected] . Wishing you all full buckets, Kerry Kidwell
Horizon Family Bowling Night
Think you've got Bowling Skills? Then show them off at the Horizon
Family Bowling Night! Come join us Friday, December 12 from 6-8pm
in the gym. Although this is not a drop off event, it will be the best
night of your life, guaranteed!*
Details at the following link:
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0f4ea9ab28a3ff2-horizon
* any and all guarantees contained in this newsletter, whether implied or expressed, are not
legally binding and are not to be considered a guarantee in any way, shape, or form.
WATCH D.O.G.S. (Dads of Great Students) is a one-of-a-kind, school-based
father involvement program that works to support education and safety.
A program of the National Center for Fathering, see
www.fathers.com/watchdogs/ for more information.
The Horizon Watch D.O.G.S. volunteer program has started. Contact Amy
Sandridge at [email protected] or 571-434-3260 to sign up!
Horizon Comet Council
Fall Food Drive to support Back Pack Coalition
Bring your non-perishable food donations to Horizon between now and winter
break to help those who do not have enough to eat in our community. The
classroom that brings the most food will earn a reward!
Food items most needed:
Individual Shelf Stable Milk
Juice boxes
Instant oatmeal
Applesauce
Macaroni & cheese
Cereal (individual sized boxes)
Granola or cereal bars
Fruit cups
Pudding cups
Cup of soup, Ramen
Cups of ravioli, beefaroni, or spaghetti
Canned meat (tuna or chicken)
Thank you for your generous support of Back Pack
Coalition!
Contact Amy Sandridge, Parent Liaison, with any questions at [email protected]
or 571-434-3260
Horizon Elementary Store Fundraisers
Help support Horizon Elementary by registering your grocery store cards, collecting Coke rewards points, and
cutting box tops and labels. Our school earned over $5,000.00 in cash and school supplies last year, and it’s so
easy! Invite friends, neighbors, and relatives to support our school. Just ask them to register and designate
Horizon Elementary!
You must re-register your cards every year.
Please visit the store links listed below to register your cards and designate Horizon Elementary, or fill out the
form below, COMPLETELY, and return it to the school. We will register for you. (Target cards must be
registered by the owner of the card.)
Giant Food – School ID: 03686
http://giantfood.com/savings-and-rewards/rewards-program/aplus/
Harris Teeter – School ID 5928
http://www.harristeeter.com/community/together_in_education/link_to_your_school.aspx
Target – Online registration only –If you have a Target Red Card, visit www.target.com/tcoe
to designate our school.
Shoparoo – an App for your smartphone – download the app, designate Horizon Elementary, snap pictures of
your receipts, proceeds go to Horizon.
Coke rewards: www.mycokerewards/com - click on donate points to a
school, enter zip code 20165, click on Horizon ES. Find codes under
caps, inside tear-offs on 12 packs, on multi pack wraps.
We also collect Box Tops for Education and Labels 4Education throughout the year. After
winter break we will be having a contest for these, so start collecting now!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Full Name:___________________________________________________________________________________
Email:_______________________________________________________________________________________
Address:______________________________________________________________________________________
GIANT card number (12 digits) ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
HARRIS TEETER VIC number (First 11 digits): ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
Thank you! If you have any questions, please contact Holly Buehler at 571-434-3260 or [email protected]
(This form was also sent home in backpacks)
WORD MASTERS IS HERE!
The Word Masters Challenge is a national competition for students in grades 3–8
that encourages growth in vocabulary and verbal reasoning. Over 4,200 school teams
participate from 50 states.
Word Masters is unlike other language-arts contests that emphasize grammar and
punctuation. This competition addresses higher level word comprehension and
logical abilities that help students learn to think both analytically and
metaphorically.
There are three Meets per year during December, February and April. The students
pick up the appropriate grade level word list (3rd, 4th, or 5th) three weeks prior to the
challenge and start preparing. The challenge/test is to solve analogies based on
relationships among the words they have learned from the list provided. The
students are given 20 minutes to complete the challenge.
All students may participate, but only the scores of the top ten students count
officially. The sum of these scores will represent Horizon’s team score and will be
submitted to Word Masters.
If you would like more information on the program, please go to
www.wordmasterschallenge.com or contact Amye Love at [email protected].
Inclusive Schools Week: Dec 1-5, 2014.
This year’s theme is
“Inclusive Education: One School Community”. Horizon will be asking each student and faculty member to anonymously fill out an “I’m Determined” form, to help students see that we all have strengths and weaknesses. The short video “Lessons from the Animal Farm Fable” that was shown at Back-To-School Night will also be shown during the morning announcements. Parents are encouraged to talk to their children about how each one of us lives out inclusive practices on a daily basis.
Ask your kids how they filled in their form!
Horizon hosts annual “Meet the Specialists” Parent Coffee Monday Nov. 24. Mr. Painter introduced
parents to Horizon’s support staff, outlining their roles in educating children with special needs through a power-point presentation. Guest speakers included Pam Spering from the Parent Resource Center; Melissa Heifetz from the ALLY Advocacy Center, Paxton Campus in Leesburg; Arlene Sattin Basques, Special Education Supervisor for Horizon; and Dr. Katie Labuda, Physical Therapist for Horizon.
Meetings & Updates…
• Dec 3: Come meet Superintendent Dr. Eric Williams at the next SEAC meeting, Wednesday, at 7 pm in room 100B of the LCPS Administration Building in Ashburn, Virginia. As guest speaker he will be presenting his perspective on special education.
Nov 5 SEAC meeting highlights: SEAC Chair, Jodi Folta, presented the top needs identified in the SEAC Annual Report to the LCPS School Board:
1. Consistency in Programs and Services.
2. Quality Inclusion 3. Provide Smooth Transitions For more detailed information please see this link http://www.lcps.org/Page/144673
Access Community Lecture Series
A Forum for the Special Needs Community
Virginia Medicaid Waivers (presented in English and Spanish)
Sesion de preguntas y respuestas en Espanol
Guest Speaker:
Caroline Raker
Division Manager, Moms in Motion
Monday, December 1, 2014, 7:30-9 PM
McLean Bible Church, Tysons Campus, Community Room B
To stay up to date:
• LIKE US on Facebook.com/loudounseac, • Visit our website at www.lcps.org/seac, and
• Sign up for email subscriptions at http://eepurl.com/3q9TL.
Arrival and Dismissal Procedures
Please help us to make a smooth arrival and dismissal by
reviewing the following procedures if you are dropping off
and picking up your child/children.
1. Car drop off is to the east side of the building. Pull all the way up in the circle to allow as many cars into the circle as possible. If you get here "first" please do not park along the
circle, PULL ALL the way up to be courteous of other cars! C a r s n e e d t o pull forward so that traffic does not back up on Broadmore Drive.
2. When cars leave in front of you, pull as far forward as
you can.
3. NEVER get out of your car and leave it unattended in the
drop lane. This blocks all the traffic and creates a backup.
4. Children should be able to exit or enter the car
independently. Parents who have to assist their
child/children should park in a designated parking
spot in front of the school and walk the student
across the crosswalk to the front entry of the school.
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN (SIP)
The Horizon staff is dedicated to improving our strategies for increasing student achievement and in closing the achievement gap. A formal School Improvement Plan is developed by staff, with parent input. If parents are interested in participating in this process please contact Jennifer Ewing at 571-434-3260. The plan is reviewed and revised throughout the year according to the results achieved.
The updated 2012-2013 SIP will be
posted on the Horizon website.
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN (SIP)
The Horizon staff is dedicated to improving our strategies for increasing student achievement and in closing the achievement gap. A formal School Improvement Plan is developed by staff, with parent input. If parents are interested in participating in this process please contact Jennifer Ewing at 571-434-3260. The plan is reviewed and revised throughout the year according to the results achieved.
The updated 2012-2013 SIP will be
posted on the Horizon website.
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN (SIP)
The Horizon staff is dedicated to improving our strategies for increasing student achievement and in closing the achievement gap. A formal School Improvement Plan is developed by staff, with parent input. If parents are interested in participating in this process please contact Jennifer Ewing at 571-434-3260. The plan is reviewed and revised throughout the year according to the results achieved.
The updated 2012-2013 SIP will be
posted on the Horizon website.
OFFICE REMINDERS
The school day begins promptly at 7:50 AM. Students MUST be in their classrooms at 7:50 AM, arriving after that time results in an UNEXCUSED tardy, unless a doctor’s note is provided. Students coming in after 7:50 AM must be escorted into the building, by an adult. School dismisses at 2:35 PM. Parents picking up students prior to dismissal are required to sign them out in the main office. All visitors to the building should begin their visit in the main office. Once in the office, you may sign in using the computer located on the front counter. Any forgotten items should be brought to the office. This will cut down on interruptions to the class.
ABSENTEE/TARDY Please email the Horizon absentee email at [email protected], or call the absentee line at 571-434-3261 to report the absence or late to school information for your child.
AFTER SCHOOL PLAN Anytime your child has a change in his/her after school plan, please send a note in with your child in the morning. The office cannot redirect children after school on the basis of a phone call. If an emergency necessitates a
change during the day, you may fax the instructions to us at 703-444-7418.
LOST AND FOUND
Horizon Elementary has areas designated for lost items such as lunch boxes, and clothing. Students who misplace their belongings can check in the Lost and Found that is located outside the cafeteria. Items of value or importance such as glasses, jewelry, and keys are kept in the front office. If your child has lost an item, please encourage them to check in the Lost and Found or with the office secretary. Items that go unclaimed will be donated
at the end of each quarter to a local charity.
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN (SIP)
The Horizon staff is dedicated to improving our strategies for increasing student achievement and in closing the achievement gap. A formal School Improvement Plan is developed by staff, with parent input. If parents are interested in participating in this process please contact Jennifer Ewing at 571-434-3260. The plan is reviewed and revised throughout the year according to the results achieved.
The 2014-2015 SIP can be found on the Horizon
website at http://www.lcps.org/domain/7051.
IMPORTANT NOTICE
If, due to a disability, you need assistance to enable you to participate meaningfully in any of our school programs, please contact Mrs. Ewing, Principal at 571.434.3260 at least five working
days prior to the activity.
HORIZON NOW ON FACEBOOK & TWITTER!
Visit Horizon's new Facebook page to keep up to date on school events and happenings! Check us out at: facebook.com/HRZSterling and be sure to Like our page to get your updates.
We are also on Twitter. Click the links below our calendar to follow us!
https://www.facebook.com/HRZSterling https://twitter.com/HorizonElem
SCHOOL BOARD REPRESENTATIVES
Debbie Rose, Algonkian District - [email protected]. You can also follow her on Facebook, "Debbie Rose- School Board"
Brenda Sheridan, Sterling District - [email protected]
Tom Reed, At Large - [email protected]
