April, 2023 NEWS FROM THE HILL HHA STUDENTS ADVANCE TO THE STATE NHD COMPETITION STORY ON PAGE 4 8 th grade students Ellie, Noemi and Una show off their medals for winning 1st place in the Junior Group Exhibit 8 th grade students Emmanuel, Dez and Beck show off their 1st place medals for Best Junior Documentary at the City Competition HHA students receive their winning medals
A Note from Principal Hornbeck HHA has a fantastic reputation. Many families move to the neighborhood or stay instead of moving to the county because of our school. We are an anchor in Southeast. I’m always proud to say there are about a dozen children of staff members enrolled, which is an indicator of the health of the school. While my own children, Holly and Tom, are grown, they are the most important people in my life. When you are getting ready to come to school each morning, you’re not just getting your child to school on time. You are bringing us the most important person in your life for nearly seven hours. Whether you are a parent, grandparent, aunt or uncle, or guardian, there is no higher level of trust you place in anyone other than family. We know and respect that trust and work every day to earn it and keep it. Hampstead Hill Academy 500 South Linwood Avenue Baltimore, Maryland 21224 410.396.9146 tel. 410.396.3637 fax www.hha47.org Matt Hornbeck, Principal [email protected] Mike Lucas, Assistant Principal [email protected] Amata Anderson, Assistant Principal [email protected] Fanta Kamara, Assistant Principal [email protected] Hampstead Hill Academy is operated by the Baltimore Curriculum Project, a local nonprofit organization celebrating more than a decade of service and student learning in Baltimore. Laura Doherty, President [email protected] John McGill, Director of Academic Affairs [email protected] www.baltimorecp.org HHA News from the Hill Magazine is published monthly for the families and community of Hampstead Hill Academy Editor Publisher Geraldine Swann Matt Hornbeck Director of Community Outreach Principal Magazine contributors: HHA staff, Club coordinators and Community Organizations VISION STATEMENT Hampstead Hill seeks to be a safe, nurturing, diverse, family-friendly neighborhood school with rigorous, effective academic programs and exciting, engaging extracurricular activities. We believe all parents want the same thing for their children: more and better opportunities for college and career. We believe in the importance of the arts, and we want our students to be great communicators, listeners and writers. Our students will be forward thinkers, persistent, responsible, caring, dependable and healthy members of the greater community. MISSION STATEMENT Hampstead Hill Academy is a neighborhood public charter school that exists to educate children living in both our attendance area and throughout Baltimore City. Our talented staff uses research-based curriculum to develop and implement rigorous lesson plans that continuously raise the academic bar for our students. Our whole school community is dedicated to working together to challenge our students to succeed in a fair, consistent, just and joyful learning environment. Welcome to Hampstead Hill Academy! 1 Principal Hornbeck
• Thursday, April 13th – Report Cards Sent Home • Friday, April 14th – Funnel Cake King After School • Monday, April 17th – PTO Coffee on the Greentop • Monday, April 17th – Padres Unidos Chinese Dumpling Party 8 am • Tuesday, April 18th – PTO Meeting 6 pm • Wednesday, April 19th – School Family Council Meeting 3 pm • Thursday, April 20th – Are You Smarter Than a BCP Student? 5:30 pm • Friday, April 21st – School Closed – Staff Professional Development • Wednesday, April 26th – Town Hall with Principal Hornbeck – This is a Zoom meeting only 3:30 pm • Saturday, April 29th – PTO B3 6 – 11 pm DOCUMENTATION NEEDED FOR YOUR STUDENT It is important that you complete a student packet for each one of your children. Inside, the packet you will find the following: • Student Information Form – 2022 – 2023 School Year • 2022 – 2023 School Year Parent/Guardian Consent Form and COVID Awareness Agreement • Federal Impact Aid Annual Parent - Student Survey • Parent Contract Agreement Signature Form • Student Contracts for the 2022 – 2023 School Year Please review all of this information carefully. When you have completed all forms, please return to your child’s homeroom teacher or the main office. Keep the student contracts at home for future reference. Thank you if you have already completed the forms! STUDENT PACKETS CAN BE PICKED UP IN THE MAIN OFFICE IMPORTANT DATES THIS MONTH What’s Inside… Top News Stories page 3 • Current HHA information along with upcoming events News from the Teams page 9 • What your child is doing in class along with resource, enrichment and ESOL information Club/Activities News page 15 • Updates and announcements for the many clubs offered at HHA Family Information page 18 • Issues important to our parents on a variety of subjects PTO News page 23 • News from the Parent/Teacher Organization at HHA PLEASE CHECK HTTPS://HHA47.ORG/PARENT-STUDENT-CALENDAR/ FOR THE PARENT AND STUDENT ACTIVITIES CALENDARS 2
STATE TEST IS SCHEDULED FOR THE WEEKS OF MAY 8 TH AND MAY 15TH State MCAP is scheduled to begin Monday, May 8th. The first week is the reading assessment and the second week is the math assessment. Testing will take about 60 - 90 minutes each morning. The test includes open-ended written responses as well as multiple-choice questions. The multiple-choice questions ask students to select the best answer, and then the next question asks them to select how or why they know their answer to the previous question is correct. Our students are as ready as any student in Maryland. Parents can help by making sure students are relaxed, rested and have a good breakfast on test days. Being present and taking the test on scheduled days with their class ensures that students do not have to make up the test and miss class later in May. Please e-mail your questions to our testing coordinator Jen Shaffer at [email protected]. Remember that breakfast is free to all students starting at 7:40 am in our cafeteria. On test days, students MUST be on time for the start of school by 8 am and present every day to do their best. BUDGET UPDATE For SY24, HHA is projected to be up about $100K. The overall enrollment will be reduced by about 15 students, but that is subject to in zone families making their schooling decisions. Parents, students and staff will have the same high-level programming and services. Class size will remain larger than we prefer, around 30 students per class with a range of 27 - 32. Pullout staffing will continue to be used for enrichment, talent development, special education services, etc., which has the effect of reducing class size for certain subjects. In addition, full time assistant teachers will be in place in every PreK - 1 classroom and mentors in grades 2 - 4, which improves the staff to student ratio. There will also be five full-time substitute teachers on staff which prevents classes from being split up when a teacher needs to be out for an appointment or is sick. Thank you for choosing HHA for your student! IS YOUR CHILD ON THE CHRONICALLY ABSENT LIST? For the first time in 20 years, HHA has a chronic absentee problem. A student in Baltimore City is considered chronically absent when they miss 10% of any portion of the school year. Students have been in school about 130 days, so any student missing 13 or more days at this point is chronically absent. Nearly 25% of our students fall in to this category. Attending school is mandatory in Maryland. Your child cannot learn unless they are present and on time. Chronic absence includes excused and unexcused absences. Please do not take vacation on school days. Please arrange to send your child to school on early release days. Unless your child has a fever or is throwing up, he/she should come to school. When one child has a fever or is throwing up, please send healthy siblings to school. Please get back in the habit of sending your child to school. There are no remote learning options available. Teachers will not prepare work for travel, and students will need to make up their work upon returning to school. 3 RD QUARTER REPORT CARDS COMING HOME THURSDAY, APRIL 13, 2023 Your child's 3rd quarter report card tells you how your child is performing in each subject. Make sure to note if any teacher indicates that your child is performing below grade level and/or is requesting a conference. If you want to schedule an appointment with a teacher, please send in a note or contact the main office at 410-396-9146. For tips on talking with your child's teacher, see the article at the end of the news magazine. CHECK OUT THE JOB OPENINGS AT HHA Each year, HHA seeks to attract and keep the very best teachers available. We know that nothing is more important to student success than the teacher. Each year we receive more than 50 resumes from talented teachers across the nation and Maryland interested in teaching at our school. We have a four-part process that includes:(1) resume screen, (2) phone interview, (3) 1/2 day visit to HHA to teach a sample lesson and provide an on-the-spot writing sample, and (4) a check of references. Job openings are posted on our website at https://hha47.org/. Special thanks to Academic Coaches, Ms. Katie Johnson, Ms. Megan Tyson and Mr. Matt Cobb for their work on the recruitment and hiring process. PLEASE PARK YOUR CAR! You may have noticed Baltimore City Parking Enforcement officers giving tickets out in the morning. Please avoid driving on the blocks surrounding the school from 7:45 - 8:15 am in the morning and 2:40 – 3 pm in the afternoon. Park a block or two away and walk your child to school or walk to pick up your child. This is a constant safety concern. There has been a number of near misses by cars going around cars that are parked or stopped illegally in the middle of the street. Tickets for stopping in the lane of traffic to let your child out or pick your child up are $258. There have been some very sad stories of parents and caregivers who have had to pay that fine, sometimes twice in one week. Pull to the curb and let your child out of the vehicle on the curb side of the car only. Plan ahead, park a block away and walk to school. These officers are at school nearly every day. TOP NEWS STORIES 3
HHA STUDENTS ADVANCE TO THE STATE NHD COMPETITION On Saturday, March 18th, seventeen HHA 7th and 8th grade students represented HHA in the Baltimore City Schools National History Day competition, hosted at Patterson High School. This year’s theme was Frontiers in History: People, Places, and Ideas. Approximately 26,000 students across the state of Maryland participated in the competition this year. Rex Lears and Gavin Fraser, 7th grade students, presented their website project The Moving Assembly Line: How the Moving Assembly Line Produced a New Fronteir. Corybn Smith, Teaghan Rogers and Quinn Rogers, also 7th grade students, displayed their exhibit titled Filming the Frontier: Snow White. Elisavet Filippou, Una Zelic and Noemi ZaragozaCardoso, 8th grade students, presented Daniel Hale Williams: First Open Heart Surgery, and Beck Medlin, Emmanuel Dominguez and Desmond Horvath’s, 8th grade students, presented the documentary submission titled, Alan Turing’s Frontier: Cracking the Code. In addition, 8th grade students, Gus Jukvenicius and Najee Randolph, presented Genghis Khan and the Mongol Empire, and Melvin Cruz-Juan and Bryan Alvarez-Blanca presented Charles Darwin. This year, over 3,400 students across Baltimore City participated in NHD and of those, 179 projects from 49 schools were represented at the competition to present students’ months-long hard work and effort. We are immensely proud of all of our teams and are excited to share that HHA is sending THREE (3) NHD teams to the State Competition in May. HHA students swept first and second place in the Junior Group Documentary category and won first place in the Junior Group Exhibit. Few other schools, if any, are sending as many groups to the state competition as HHA. Everyone is so proud of all of our students across grades 6 - 8 who completed their NHD projects this year. One thing that makes HHA special is that all of our middle school students take honors history, and a big part of that rigorous coursework is National History Day. Junior Group Documentary 1 st Place - Beck Medlin, Dez Horvath, Manny Dominguez 2 nd Place - Gus Juknevicius, Najee Randolph Junior Group Exhibit 1 st Place - Elisavet Filippou, Una Zelic, Noemi Zaragoza-Cardoso 3 rd Place - Corbyn Smith, Teaghan Rogers, Quinn Rogers KINDERGARTEN ENROLLMENT FOR 2023-2024 If you live within our attendance area, from Broadway to Haven Street and Eastern Avenue to Boston Street, and you are planning to send your child to kindergarten at HHA next year, please visit www.baltimorecityschools.org for information on the upcoming enrollment process. Your child must turn five years old by September 1, 2023. Please call the main office for a complete list of documentation to bring. KINDERGARTEN PLACEMENT TESTING JULY 11TH AND JULY 20TH Do you have an incoming kindergarten student? To ensure that the beginning of the year runs smoothly, all kindergarten students will be tested before the start of the 2022-2023 school year. All incoming kindergarten students must attend one of the two assessment days. The assessments will take place on Tuesday, July 11th and Thursday, July 20th from 9 am to 3 pm. Each appointment is approximately 20 minutes long. Kindergarten students will be assessed in the areas of language arts and reading. No preparation is needed. You simply need to bring your child at the selected time. If your child is fully registered for kindergarten or currently attends PreK at HHA, please make your appointment as soon as possible to ensure you get your preferred date and time. Appointments can be made via email to Academic Coach Katie Johnson at [email protected] or through Ms. Varner or Ms. Schultz, the school secretaries, at 410-396-9146. If you are unable to attend either session, your child will be placed into a temporary homeroom until the assessment can take place during the first week of school. Please email Katie Johnson if you have scheduling questions. We look forward to meeting you and your child. 7 th grade students Teaghan, Corbyn and Quinn presented their project, “Snow White,” and won third place in the city competition 7 th grade students Gavin and Rex with their NHD website project. 4
MIDDLE SCHOOL PLACEMENT AND HONORS COURSES HHA has the second highest performing middle school in City Schools, and we are in the 86th percentile in the state. Moving from 5th to 6th grade at HHA marks the transition from elementary school to middle school. This is an exciting milestone. At HHA, we seek to provide a joyful, safe, nurturing, diverse, family-friendly environment with rigorous, effective academic programs for every student. To that end, all students take honors classes. Middle school students receive honors credit for their work in social studies and science classes. Students are placed in ELA and math advanced classes in 6th grade based on a formula that includes your child’s grades in core classes and MAP test scores. The formula looks like this: All students receive a score on a 100-point scale. These scores are calculated after the spring administration of the MAP test and the 3rd quarter ends. Students and families should expect to receive their child’s scores by the first week in June. WHAT’S ALL THE BUZZ ABOUT THE NEW HHA BUZZ PODCAST? Seeing a community need and motivated by their own personal interests, on Friday, March 24th , grade 6 students Heaven Harper and Grace Fraser launched the Buzz Podcast. The girls wanted to create a platform to cover important Leaders Getting Ready (grade 5) and Leaders Go Places (grades 6 - 8) updates; present sports scores and club news; and share a laugh with a closing joke or riddle. Each episode is anchored with a human-interest interview highlighting a program, event or accomplishment. For the debut podcast ‘Your Biggest Award,’ Heaven and Grace interviewed 7th grade math teacher Mr. White who recently won the Brenda Kahn Memorial Award for Educational Excellence. Students were also able to get in on the fun by submitting their answers to the circle question: What is the biggest award you’ve ever received? Check out the interview, some of our student responses to the question, as well as information about the April 14th National Day of Silence for middle school students at this link. The duo is planning four more podcasts before the end of the year. The recording dates of these are April 28, May 12, May 26, and June 9, 2023. Podcasts are posted to the HHA website and Facebook feed by 5PM on the recording days. If you have any questions or suggestions for future podcasts, email the staff advisor Steve Plunk at [email protected] MANY HHA MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE NATIONAL DAY OF SILENCE GLSEN National Day of Silence is a student-led, national event that highlights the problem of antiLGBTQ name-calling, bullying and harassment in schools. Students from middle school to college voluntarily take a vow of silence on Friday, April 14th to illustrate the silencing effect of bullying and harassment on LGBTQ students and those perceived to be LGBTQ. At HHA, the Open Doors Club has sponsored the event many times over the past ten years. This year, students in grades 6 - 8 had a chance to sign up to participate during the week of March 27- 31. Nearly a third of our middle school students signed pledge cards that week. On April 14th , participating students will receive a reminder of the pledge along with a list of teacher expectations for each class. The silent protest begins after LGP and concludes at the start of Fun Friday. Teachers make accommodations for participating students by utilizing white boards, Google Classroom, or by administering assessments that day. Look for photos and a recap from the event in the May issue of News from the Hill. SAFE USE OF HHA’S PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT Please remind your elementary-age child to use the playground equipment safely after school hours. No tag or running because kids run into each other. No middle school students are allowed to use the playground. All elementary age students are required to have an adult supervising them on the playground after school. Our afterschool provider, Fitness, Fun & Games uses the playground as well so you may see students without a parent being supervised by FFG staff. The “Spinami” spinning activity should have a maximum of 6 students 2nd grade or younger on it at one time, and they should all be sitting. There is no hanging on the Spinami permitted. Please let the office know if you see anything unsafe. Our goal is to let elementary kids have a lot of safe fun. HHA IS ACCEPTING PROSPECTIVE STUDENT INFORMATION FORMS FOR THE 2023-2024 SCHOOL YEAR Spread the word to family and friends that information is now being accepted for prospective students for the 2023-2024 school year. You can submit your form for PreKindergarten or a child who is in-zone and plans to attend HHA for the 22-23 school year. For out of zone families, you can submit a form and be added to our waitlist. Visit this link https://hha47.org/admissions/ for detailed information and to complete an interest form. 5
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HOW HHA COMMUNICATES WITH FAMILIES HHA uses the following ways to communicate with families: • Post a monthly news magazine. This is a comprehensive document with information from Mr. Hornbeck, staff, club coordinators, community partners, etc. The magazine is posted monthly at www.hha47.org • Send out parent emails – please sign up to receive emails at www.hha47.org • Post information on the HHA Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/HampsteadHillAcademy/ • Check out the HHA website at www.hha47.org • Parent and Student Calendars at https://hha47.org/calendar-of-student-parent-events/ - You can set to view in week, month or agenda. • Class DoJo – for parent/teacher communication. Check with your child’s teacher for information on how to join. • Staff emails – List of staff email addresses is located at https://hha47.org/staff-contact-roster/ • Parentlink phone calls • Not sure where to find what, email Ms. Swann at [email protected] or Ms. Mittenthal at [email protected] Sign up to receive HHA emails at www.hha47.org. Look for the icon on the front page of the website at the bottom. PARENTS ARE INVITED TO JOIN US FOR THE SCHOOL FAMILY COUNCIL MEETING WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19TH AT 3 PM IN THE SCHOOL LIBRARY 7
NEWS FROM THE HHA CHARTER OPERATOR BALTIMORE CURRICULUM PROJECT While families begin to prepare for summer, BCP and the six BCP schools are busy preparing for the next school year most notable, recruiting and hiring to ensure that all schools are fully staffed. BCP hosted the first ever Teacher and School-base Staff Job Fair on March 25th at Govans Elementary. There was an impressive number of pre-registered candidates, with several individuals receiving second interviews and job offers. However, applications for positions are still being accepted. Visit https://www.baltimorecp.org/get-involved/work-with-us/ for more information. Teaching and working in public schools is rewarding and challenging. The well-publicized national teacher shortage and burn-out are issues in Maryland and across the U.S. According to the Wall Street Journal, 300,000+ public-school teachers and other staff left the field between February 2020 and May 2022. However, BCP schools are known for the high level of support and care provided to our teachers and staff. Besides providing training and support, one of our biggest secrets to attracting and retaining highly qualified staff are the amazing BCP principals. In this month’s BCP blog, Harold S. Henry, Jr., Principal at Frederick Elementary School, offers his expertise on creating a culture of teacher support and curbing teacher burnout. You can read more about it here https://www.baltimorecp.org/teacher-support/ ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A BCP STUDENT? Parents and supporters - We are reaching out to invite you to join in a unique fundraising opportunity to support two great organizations – Hampstead Hill Academy and the Baltimore Curriculum Project. On Thursday, April 20th , Baltimore Curriculum Project will host their annual fundraiser and student celebration at the Baltimore Museum of Industry. Enjoy a night out while supporting BCP’s six charter schools. Kickoff the night with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres and live music performed by Hampstead Hill Academy’s student orchestra. Test your knowledge while cheering on a panel of BCP students as they compete against local celebrities, answering trivia questions from the schools’ curriculum. Local celebrities Include: • Maryland State Delegate Marlon Amprey, District 40 • Maryland State Delegate Tony Bridges, District 41 • Laura Harper, Towson University Women’s Basketball Head Coach • Brooke Lierman, Comptroller of Maryland • Dr. Shanaysha Sauls, President and CEO, Baltimore Community Foundation • Laura Wexler, Co-producer and Co-founder, Stoop Storytelling and Author After the show, enjoy dinner and dessert and learn more about all the exciting happenings at BCP's six charter schools. All proceeds from the Are You Smarter Than a BCP Student? fundraiser will be used towards supports for our schools such as: professional development, onsite coaching, materials and resources, etc. This year, $10 of every ticket purchased by your community will come back to your school directly to be used as general funds. Get to experience a fun and festive night out AND support Hampstead Hill Academy! Here how to make sure tickets get credited to your school: Go to https://www.baltimorecp.org/our-approach/smarter-than-bcp/ to purchase tickets online. At checkout, be sure to list your school’s name under the question “Who are you cheering on?” Can’t attend but you would like to support the event or send your favorite teacher(s)? Please email Brianna Kaufman at [email protected]. Thank you for you continued support, and we look forward to seeing you at the event. 8
PREK Ms. Klenk and Ms. Kaminaris: Students will learn about plants and the spring season, and in math, they will learn about length, weight and capacity. On Wednesday, April 19th, students will take a walking field trip to Southeast Anchor Branch library. Ms. Klenk's class will be at the library from 10:30 - 11 am, and Mrs. Kaminaris' class will be at the library from 11 - 11:30 am. The final field trip this year will be to the Baltimore Zoo on Friday, May 26th . Please check Class Dojo and your child's folder for further details and updates. As a reminder, continue to have your child in school every day on time. As the weather gets a bit warmer, make sure your child brings a water bottle to school every day, and that it is filled when they arrive at school. KINDERGARTEN Ms. Vincent, Ms. Wallis and Ms. Villa: In reading, students are learning new sounds, building their reading fluency and reading short stories. In language, they learned calendar facts, identified elements of a story and worked on prepositions. In math, students are learning about addition and subtraction, solving story problems and counting numbers to 100. In core knowledge, they have focused on learning about plants and the five senses. For fun, students tried catching a leprechaun on St. Patrick's Day, they celebrated the first day of spring, and they had an amazing time on their field trip to Goucher College to see The Super Scientific Circus. This month, they are looking forward to the field trip to the National Aquarium on Thursday, April 27th. Money and permission slips for this trip are due April 21st. Thank you to all kindergarten families for their support. GRADE 1 Ms. Bierley, Ms. Clary and Ms. Munoz: We hope everyone had a safe and restful spring break! In March, students enjoyed the Opera Baltimore presentation where they learned about the features of an opera and participated in the presentation. The boys and girls are now looking forward to their spring Audubon visit to Patterson Park on April 19th. They will participate in a lesson called Survival of the Fittest. Chaperones are welcome to attend. The boys and girls are also looking forward to their upcoming field trip on May 5th to Green Meadows Farm. Students will soon receive permission slips for this trip. Keep on the lookout for the first-grade team’s silent auction item at B3. Additionally, please be aware of the changing weather patterns and be sure to send your child dressed appropriately. GRADE 2 Ms. Bonner, Ms. Douglas and Ms. Zoll: Welcome back! We hope everyone had a safe and restful spring break! Students had a wonderful ice cream party in March in celebration of the 2nd grade's good attendance streak. Thank you to BMore Licks and the PTO for hosting. Also, thank you to families for bringing your child to school every day. The academic school year is quickly coming to an end. Let's finish strong in attendance and academics. Please continue checking your student's folder as well as Class Dojo for the most current information, homework and makeup work. GRADE 3 Reading – Ms. Knudsen: Students have been bursting with good reading this month. They have read biographies, non-fiction accounts, the coral reef, folktales and myths. They have been working to meet expectations as preparation for the 4th grade. Excellent student work will be showcased on the classroom door. SIR logs, journals and workbook pages will be considered for display. In spelling, students are using text support and learning to spell correctly. In the SEL program, students are learning how to show kindness. They created kindness coupons for distribution. Please continue to encourage your child to read every day and log on to their IXL skill plans to prepare for the spring MAP and MCAP tests. NEWS FROM THE TEAMS 9 In FFLature, first grade students learn about the lifecycle of the dragonfly
Language/Science/Social Studies - Ms. Satterlee: Students had a busy month in language and science. In language, students are writing two and three paragraph pieces that include dialogue and making inferences. In science, they just finished the Structures of Life unit and are moving on to Water and Climate. Math - Mr. Bradbury: Students have been learning to convert inches to feet, ounces to pounds and cups to gallons. The process of adding and subtracting these units have really solidified their problem-solving skills. They are also doing an excellent job grappling with difficult word problems. It's wonderful to watch the different strategies these young mathematicians use during class. In the coming units, they will work on problems involving using money and telling time. Students have grown so much this year both academically and socially. Everyone is looking forward to an excellent fourth quarter. GRADE 4 Reading – Ms. Conrad: The Lilies have been reading a nonfiction text about endangered species and completed a research project about an animal of their choice. The Carnations and Sunflowers are beginning to read a short story called The Cruise of the Dazzler by Jack London. They have been working on identifying different kinds of figurative language such as similes, metaphors, sarcasm and exaggeration. All students turned in their March book report on Friday, March 31st . Language/Social Studies - Ms. Richardson: Students are identifying missing nouns in sentences. By doing this, students are able to clearly write sentences. They are also learning the prefixes un, re and dis. In science, they are learning about soil composition, physical weathering and chemical weathering. Students have been enjoying labs that take place on Thursdays. Math – Ms. Ruiz: March was a busy month in fourth-grade math. Students finished Unit 6, where they learned about the place value of decimal numbers to the thousandths. They also completed Unit 9 Area and Perimeter. In this unit, students were required to solve complex area and perimeter problems involving composite shapes and pathways. Lastly, they finished Unit 10. This was a short unit on bar graphs and line plots. For Unit 10, they also completed a Data Collection and Analysis Portfolio project. 3 rd grade students learned about the Chesapeake Bay through the National Aquarium’s AquaPartners program 4 th grade math students collect data for their math project 10
GRADE 5 Reading – Ms. Pellegrini: The Pandas will explore a variety of texts such as From Plateau to Mesa to Butte, The Hopi Way to Life, Upon this Earth and Breaking the Rules. The Robins and Owls are in the third unit of the Springboard curriculum, Changing Perspectives. Students are analyzing a variety of argumentative texts and discussing how authors use claims, reasons and evidence. All students will begin to work on test taking skills and strategies to prepare for the MCAP (Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program). They will take this assessment next month. Keep up the great work, fifth grade students! Science – Ms. Ruppenthal: Students did an outstanding job on the MISA assessment in March. Over the next few weeks, they will learn about the Chesapeake Bay in the unit, Save the Bay. The activity in this unit focuses specifically on the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed, which is part of Baltimore. Students will learn about the physical characteristics of the bay, including its geography and the types of water found there. They will learn about the various plant and animal species that live within the watershed and how these organisms depend on each other for survival. The unit also has students examine how human activities, such as those that cause pollution, affect the food chain. The unit will conclude with an action research project and a field trip to the Inner Harbor in June. After this unit, students will learn concepts of social studies. Math – Ms. O’Connor: Students have recently finished Module 4 of Eureka Math, which focused on fractions. They have now moved into Module 5, which is addition and multiplication with area and volume. In this unit, students will work to find the area of rectangular prisms, cubes and composite figures. They will also learn about finding the area of rectangles with fractional sides, as well as the properties of different geometric figures. Students continue to do great work on IXL.com, and have 106,310 questions this year. GRADE 6 Humanities – Mr. Farber: Students have just finished reading Bronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes. They recently completed a short writing assignment where they imagined that there was a chapter in the book about themselves writing a brief narrative and expressive poem. Students will soon begin to read Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis in class as well as each night for homework. They will also begin to get ready for the MCAP English test, which will be in May. Math – Ms. Bentil: Students continue to write and solve one-step and multi-step equations and inequalities using the algebraic method. They will end the unit by graphing inequalities, and then will begin the geometry unit. They will use area formulas to find the area of triangles, quadrilaterals and polygons. Science – Ms. Poole: Students are finishing the chemistry unit called, How can I Smell Things from a Distance? Your student has been learning about how we detect odors and how odors form. In order to understand odors, students have been exploring the states of matter, as well as atoms and molecules. Quiz question: Which state of matter does an object have to be in, in order for there to be an odor? Want to see if you are correct? Ask a sixth-grade student for the answer. GRADE 7 Language Arts – Ms. Locke-Jones: Students have finished their Quarter 3 essays. They should be proud of their growth and ability to write a meaningful analysis. As students progress to Quarter 4, they will start their novel study of Miracle's Boys by Jacqueline Woodson. Math – Mr. White: Students will finish the geometry B unit and start the percentages unit. They will also explore statistics and probability topics during the month. Please encourage your child to preview the Math MCAP testing site to review practice problems and math tools. Information can be found at this link: https://support.mdassessments.com/practice-tests/math/ 11 In FFLature class, 5th grade students learn about the diet of the barn owl when they dissect owl pellets
12 Science – Mr. Lohrman: 7 th grade students have returned to science for the fourth quarter. They will begin with the IQWST science curriculum, working on the physics unit. In this unit, they will answer the question "Why do some things stop and other things keep moving?" The focus of this unit is based on the Law of Conservation of Energy which states that "Energy can neither be created nor destroyed." This means that the amount of energy in the universe never changes, but it will change from one form to another. For example, the beginning of the unit focuses on the relationship between potential and kinetic energy (energy in motion) and how potential energy can convert into kinetic energy. GRADE 8 Language Arts – Ms. Kosmer: Students in The Seagulls are reading the novel Monster by Walter Dean Myers. They have completed vocabulary and character analysis. They will now begin to write an essay. The Bison and Panthers are reading To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee and are analyzing the setting and conflict to determine the theme of the novel. They also are working on vocabulary and character analysis. Social Studies – Mr. Ball: Mr. Ball is very excited to be back teaching 8th grade students in the fourth quarter. Students will begin to learn about manifest destiny and westward expansion. They will analyze the acquisition of the Louisiana Territory, the annexation of Texas, the MexicanAmerican war and Oregon Country. Next, they will study life in the west and the Mexico contributions to the western United States. After studying life in the West, they will turn their focus to the Civil War where students will be analyzing the causes of the conflict and the era of Reconstruction. Pre-Algebra/Algebra 1 – Mr. Pratta: Students will complete their final unit on quadratic equations and begin to prepare for their MCAP exam in May. In this unit, students learn that equations in the form (x - m)(x + n) can be easily solved by applying the zero product property, which says that when two factors have a product of 0, one of the factors must be 0. When the equations are not in factored form, students rearrange them so that one side is 0, and rewrite the expressions from standard form to factored form. Students soon recognize that not all quadratic expressions in standard form can be rewritten into factored form. LEADERS GO PLACES Middle school students finished another quarter incredibly strong. In order to make level in the Leaders Go Places program, students must maintain a 3.0 GPA or higher, earn an 80% or higher on Class Dojo, and complete 2 or more hours of community service each quarter. These are high standards and in the third quarter, 74% of our middle school students made level this quarter! Combined, students completed more than 1,260 community service hours, and to top it all off, 62 students earned the Riser Award, meaning they earned a higher level in 3rd quarter than they did during the 2nd quarter while 10 students made this quarter their first to achieve a leadership level. 25% of our middle school students reached new heights. Students have been producing quality work and putting in their full effort, even as students approach the end of the school year. Take a look at how students did at each level. Extraordinary work! Grade Level GPA Dojo Percentage Hours 6 th 3.33 94% 4.6 per student 7th 3.55 96% 4.5 per student 8th 3.45 94% 4.0 per student Entire Middle School 3.44 95% 1261 total hours In FLLature class, 7th grade students learn the science behind ice cream making
13 ART Ms. Butcher: Grade 5 students just completed a ceramic art unit on The Japanese Tea Ceremony. Students created Japanese tea bowls and tatami mats and performed a Japanese tea ceremony during art class while drinking tea out of their tea bowls. INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC Ms. Alexander: Ms. Alexander has had lots of fun working with HHA's student musicians during the month of March. On Thursday, March 30th, HHA strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion students gave their second performance of the school year at the Spring Community Arts Night, performing in both small lesson groups and as full orchestra and band ensembles. Congratulations to all of HHA’s musicians for a successful concert! MUSIC Ms. Drake: April kicks off the last quarter in music, filled with fun and games. Throughout April, students will experience music through games and activities fit for spring. PHYSICAL EDUCATION Mr. Edwards: PreK and kindergarten students will work on spatial awareness and locomotor movements. Additionally, they will be introduced to rhythm movements with music. Grades 1 – 4 students are performing conditioning workouts and cooperative gameplay. They will continue to develop movement skills of throwing and kicking. Middle school athletes will perform HIIT training workouts. The middle school students will also develop their own workouts designed for their fitness level. They will learn vocabulary terms related to exercise (target heart rate, resting heart rate, body weight exercises, circuits, repetitions, workout scheduling etc.) They will also discuss ways to be physically fit for an entire lifespan. LIBRARY The Scholastic Book fair will take place in the HHA library May 1 - 5 during the school day and in the evening of May 4th at the Student Celebration Night. More details will be sent home in April. Lots of parent volunteers will be needed to make this event a success. Please email Ms. Kannam at [email protected] if you are able to volunteer. The kids love this event so please consider helping out. Happy Reading! TECHNOLOGY Ms. Sparwasser: Grade PreK – 2 students are using Code Spark, Kodable and Scratch to practice coding concepts. Grades 3 – 8 students are practicing Google Sheets spreadsheet skills, researching careers and creating budgets. ENRICHMENT Art students make tatami mats to prepare for their Japanese tea ceremony using tea bowls made in class Sawyer ,4th grade saxophone player, holds the sign that he made for the concert during Community Arts Night
14 FFLATURE Ms. Riorda: FFLATURE is back! Fourth quarter at HHA means spring, warmer temperatures and FFLature class which will be getting the students learning and studying in theoutdoor classrooms: the garden and Patterson Park. Students will have opportunities to investigate animals, habitats and ecosystems. Where there are plants, there is bound to be food. The garden will be planted this spring with herbs, veggies and fruits all for tasting. Students will also enjoy making and eating snacks associated with the different lessons. Please be sure to check Class Dojo for photos. Elementary students learned about bunnies, caterpillars, loins, snakes and sheep by shaping these animals out of food
15 SPECIAL EDUCATION Ms. Shaffer: April 2 nd marked World Autism Awareness Day. 'Lighting It Up Blue' shined a bright light on autism. Light It Up Blue, in its third year, is a unique global initiative by Autism Speaks to help raise awareness about the growing public health concern that is autism. For more information visit https://www.autismspeaks.org/ ESOL DEPARTMENT NEWS Ms. Hicks: In PreK and kindergarten, students have been learning about the four seasons. What activities can you do depending on the weather? What kind of clothes do we wear in each season? What is something characteristic about the spring? Ms. Ziemba: Grade 1 students are learning about different animals and how they grow up. They will learn all about the life cycle of a butterfly and paint a butterfly. Later in the unit, they will learn about some animals that hatch from eggs. Grade 2 students are learning all about animals and how they protect themselves and about the concept of predator and prey. One of their favorite stories is entitled What Do You Do When Something Wants to Eat you? Ms. Brezenoff: Grades 3 and 4 students are taking their new knowledge from fiction and non-fiction texts and writing structured poems about the main topic of their readings. They can follow step-by-step the specific poetic structure, which should take some of the fear out of writing poetry. These activities will stretch students' descriptive vocabulary while they learn a fun new form of poetry. Mr. LaBarr: Grade 5 and 6 students are learning about the differences and similarities of the moon and earth, the moon's different phases and a Peruvian folktale about why there is a fox in the moon (instead of a man in the moon). Ms. Hyatt: Grade 8 students have been exploring science terms and concepts through reading short stories about plants and animals. They are currently learning how to classify animals by various characteristics and categories. By the end of the unit, students will create their own animal classification flow chart or poster. GIFTED AND ADVANCED LEARNING PROGRAM Ms. Guitian: Just as the earth begins to flower in spring, so will the research of GAL students in grades 1 – 4. The reading, research, and learning undertaken so diligently throughout March will now be transformed in numerous ways that allow students to express their creativity and share their newfound knowledge with classmates and friends. During April, students will compose, create, film, design and invent. They will learn how to put their product ideas into motion by developing a timeline, creating a to-do list and gathering appropriate materials. As a reminder, students will not be permitted to join two clubs that meet on the same day. NOTIFICATION OF CLUB OPENINGS Parents will be notified two ways regarding club openings. Some club coordinators will send an interest form home with the student to complete and return to school. Other coordinators will send out an interest form via e-mail and posting on the HHA Facebook page. Parents signed up to receive emails will receive these notifications. You can sign up to receive emails on the HHA website at www.hha47.org. If more students sign up for a club than there are openings, a lottery will be held. Students selected will receive a permission slip. If your child does not receive a permission slip, your child was not selected in the lottery. CLUB/ACTIVITIES NEWS PreK and kindergarten students make projects in ESOL to learn about the seasons
16 SPORTS AT HHA Mr. Daniel Joyner joined the HHA staff this school year. Among his duties, he works as the Athletic Director for the middle school. This year, HHA has more athletic offerings than ever before. Those offerings include boys' and girls' soccer in the fall and spring, boys' and girls' basketball, volleyball, cross country, track and field and a girls' lacrosse team. Managing schedules, uniforms, transportation, and coaches for all of these teams can be a lot of work. Mr. Joyner does all of this with a smile and a genuine concern for all of our students. We are so grateful he has joined our team! HHA STUDENTS ENJOY A FUN TIME WITH THE BALTIMORE BLAST On Saturday, March 18th, Ms. Fitch and Mr. Joyner took 20 HHA elementary soccer team members to the Baltimore Blast game vs. Utica City. The group was picked up from HHA by the Baltimore Blast bus. When the students arrived at the field, they were able to walk on the field with an HHA banner for the Parade of Champions before the game. The students had a great time! Thank you so much to Ms. Fitch for organizing, to Mr. Joyner, Cresenciana Leon, Whitney Denham and Maria Garcia for chaperoning. THE COMMUNITY BUILDERS OF HHA SERVICE CLUB FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS The Community Builders of HHA hosted a snack sale on Wednesday, March 29th to benefit BARC's. Even though all of the snacks sold out, people still donated money. Thanks to everyone's support, the Community Builders raised $220 for animals in need. The club will next meet on Tuesday, April 25th at 2:50 pm in Mrs. Kaminaris' classroom. Club members will plan May activities. Look for info in the May newsletter about upcoming fundraisers. TRASH PICKING TEAM #5 Trash Picking Team #5 has been busy picking up trash. The latest organized trash picking event was at the Kite Fest held in Patterson Park. This was a wonderful day to spend time with friends and trash picking together. Trash Picking Team #5 encourages you to pick trash at your own convenience or email Yan at [email protected] to attend the organized trash picking event! Trash Picking Team #5 invites you to join their Earth Day celebration on April 15th from 11 am to 2 pm, hosted by the Carefirst Engagement Center in Canton. Join your HHA friends and Trash Picking Team #5 for pizza, refreshment, arts and crafts and fun temporary tattoos. Parking will be validated. Please RSVP with one click registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/earth-day-celebration-tickets-600811281717 Mr. Daniel Joyer HHA students had a great time at the Baltimore Blast game. Special thanks to Ms. Fitch and Mr. Joyner Trash Picking Team #5 helping during the Patterson Park Kite Fest
17 BALTIMORE KIDS CHESS LEAGUE TOURNAMENT On Sunday, March 5th , 17 elementary, 17 middle and 7 high schools competed at the Novice #2 Baltimore Kids Chess League Tournament at Green Street Academy with 147 students (62 elementary, 58 middle and 27 high school) from 41 schools. It was a record-breaking turnout for city novice tournaments in the history of the Baltimore Chess League. Elementary school students Izzy, Colby, Calvin, Ben and Hudson together with middle school students Fiona, Maura, Charlotte and Jack competed on behalf of HHA. They each played 4 games of chess over the course of 4 hours. It was a great day for these chess players. Congratulations to our team for taking 2nd place in the city Elementary Schools division with congratulations to Calvin for winning 2nd place in the individual medal in the Elementary division. Congratulations to the chess team and Coach Dennis for securing this terrific achievement. With more tournaments coming soon, we wish the HHA chess players continued success in their chess endeavors. HHA chess players engaged and serious about their game Faculty Beat Students at Annual Basketball Game - The Annual Faculty/Student basketball game took place in March, and the faculty won a close, hard fought game. A huge thank you to Coach Pratta, Coach Roberts, and Coach Jen for a terrific season and all the leadership and mentoring. Culinary Arts students make chocolate covered strawberries and chocolate croissants as part of the after school program
18 LEARN ABOUT MCAP Spend some time learning about this state assessment for your child at the Maryland State Department of Education at https://marylandpublicschools.org/about/Pages/DAAIT/index.aspx KNOW THE NO’S • No gum at school. It is distracting and prevents students from reading aloud clearly. • No smoking in or around school property. This is against the law on school property. • No double parking or idling at drop-off and pickup. Double parking creates a dangerous situation, and you could get a $252 ticket for double parking. • No crossing in the middle of the street. Cross your child at the corner. Do not encourage your child to get to school by crossing in the middle of the street! This can be extremely dangerous for your child. • Please remind your child, especially older children, that ball playing is not allowed in front of the school or on the greentop during school arrival and dismissal times. Also, ask them to be mindful of smaller children to avoid accidentally bumping into them. THE COUNTDOWN CONTINUES • 74% of the school year is completed • 133 of our 180 student days have passed • There are approximately 20 school days left until our 3-8 grade students take the MCAP Assessment in reading and math beginning in May, 2023. FAMILY INFORMATION UNIFORM REMINDER The HHA student uniform is a collared navy-blue shirt or the no-cost HHA student school shirt with tan or khaki pants, shorts or skirts. Shorts and skirts may not be shorter than fingertip length. Jeans are not permitted. If your child needs an extra layer in the classroom, we suggest a navy blue or tan sweater or crew (not hooded) navy blue sweatshirt. Outdoor jackets and hooded sweatshirts are not acceptable to be worn during the day in the classrooms. Please mark your child’s name in all of their school items. If an item is placed in Lost and Found and a name is not on the item and is not claimed after one week, it will be donated to charity!
JOIN US FOR PADRES UNIDOS You are invited you to join us at the next Padres Unidos meeting on Monday, April 17th. It is a great opportunity to meet new parents and have a great time. A cooking class will be offered where participants will learn how to make Dumplings. We look forward to seeing you on the 17th . Last month, the Padres Unidos group organized a breakfast/cooking class for the administrators. Everyone had an amazing time. Mr. Hornbeck and Mr. Lucas learned how to make "gorditas" a traditional Mexican dish. Everyone had a nice time chatting, drinking coffee and tasting the food. Everyone is looking forward to the cooking class on Monday, April 17th . In the first weeks of March, HHA sponsored a food drive Mato Grosso. Thank you to everyone for your contributions. Your donations will make a big difference and will help feed many people in need. A huge thank you to all the middle school students that helped Ms. Castelan collect and deliver the donations. For five weeks in March, students from grades kindergarten - 2 participated in an after-school program coordinated by Ms. Castelan and Ms. Schultz. The students played a variety of board games in Spanish. They played Loteria, cerpientes y escaleras, adivina quien and more. They also learned new vocabulary in Spanish by playing these games. Special thanks to Ms. Castelan and Ms. Schultz for this program. NEWS FROM THE LATINO COMMUNITY OUTREACH DEPARTMENT 19
THE LEARNING CHANNEL HOW TO TALK TO YOUR CHILD’S TEACHER: 5 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW By Maria Trimarchi HHA is serious about attendance. Our talented staff cannot teach unless students attend school. There is a district-wide focus on student attendance. Again this year, there will be mandatory hearings at school headquarters for the parents of students with poor attendance. Each month, the newsletter will include this chart so students and parents can review attendance averages. Congratulations to the 8 th Grade Team for having the highest attendance average for March. This grade level will receive a PTO sponsored pizza party. One of the best things you can do before talking to your child's teacher is to prepare. Think of it as a business meeting and you're bringing the agenda. Ask the teacher how they prefer to be contacted. Many teachers do use email but parents should take advantage of whatever the teacher has set up: email, phone, school hours, website, etc. Understand that many teachers don't have a lot of time for extra one-on-one meetings with parents, especially at the beginning of the year or during report card time, so using your agenda and keeping the conversation focused will truly help. Find a time that's convenient for both of you: not usually drive-by meetings during pick up and drop off times, in the middle of the day or in the grocery store. Be on time, be prepared with questions and stories, and walk away with a plan. Parents should expect teachers to be experts in their field but need to remember they're human too. Many teachers are also parents who've been on the other side of the table. March Grade Attendance% HHA average 94.75% Grade 8 96.22% Grade 2 95.78% Grade 1 95.50% Grade 7 94.87% Grade 3 94.72% Grade 4 94.33% Grade 6 94.26% Grade 5 94.09% Kindergarten 94.02% PreK 92.53% Year Grade Attendance% HHA average 93.95% Grade 2 95.22% Grade 3 94.53% Grade 8 94.52% Grade 7 94.13% Grade 1 93.97% Grade 6 93.91% Grade 5 93.73% Grade 4 93.34% Kindergarten 93.15% PreK 92.02% 20 STUDENT ATTENDANCE The PTO hosted the 2nd grade attendance party. The second grade students have won the attendance party 6 times. This time PTO honored them with an ice cream party, instead of a pizza party. Thank you Bmore Licks for your donation!
21 Having a positive relationship with your child's teacher can help your child be more successful in the classroom. Parents should expect their child's teacher to hold shared information confidential, and should be confident in discussing cognitive and social development, as well as family events. Trust that even if you disagree or have different styles of communication, you both have a commitment to the child. Be fair, but in situations where you feel you don't have a parent-teacher partnership, or that the teacher isn't producing results, seek out the counsel of the school administration for tips or help. Just as you expect your child's teach to share important events that happen during the school day, your child's teacher wishes you'd reciprocate. Mutual disclosure is important in this partnership. Share insights into your child's interests, needs, strengths and personality. If you have areas of concern, be honest about that with your child's teacher. Communication should be both positive and negative -- don't be afraid to share important events in kids' lives (such as divorce or a new sibling) but also remember to share the funny stories too. All these things can affect how your child's days go. Informed parents know what's happening in the classroom. They know the teacher, the kids, the whole cast of characters and the rules of the classroom. Some of the easiest ways to stay informed about what's going on in the classroom is to read newsletters, the classroom's web page and any notes sent home. Also, stay on top of your child's homework assignments. Teachers have varying levels of accessibility, but all are accessible. Some are available during after school hours, some have been known to give out their home phone numbers. Keep informed and keep in touch. In addition to being a well-informed parent, be a parent who participates. Make an effort to meet your child's teacher early in the year, if only to introduce yourself. Throughout the year, you and your child's teacher will have opportunities to meet at parent-teacher conferences and school events. Be sure to attend all parentteacher meetings as these are sometimes the only one-on-ones you'll have together. Ask what you can do to be involved. For example, being a volunteer for classroom activities is just another way to stay connected and informed. Go on one of your child’s field trips, join the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO), help organize a classroom party or donate time or resources to the classroom or grade. CANTON COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION CCA Earth Day Community CleanUp and Seed/Garden Swap Join us at O'Donnell Square Park on Saturday, April 22nd from 10 am to noon for the annual Earth Day Community CleanUp. This year, members of the local gardening groups Canton Contained and Bmore Happy House Plants will be on-site for a garden-themed swap. Bring your seeds, plants and/or containers and tools to share. You can also simply stop by, put on some gloves, and help clean up the park. You can also participate where you live by cleaning up litter, leaves, debris, etc. around the homes, alleyways and curbsides. To sign up for the cleanup, email [email protected] or just stop by and ask Michele how you can help. The start time is around 10 am. Canton Canopy Spring Plantings Canton Canopy, the volunteer group working with the CCA to increase the trees in Canton, returns for the season on Saturdays, April 29th and May 6 th . Join the group from 9 am to noon to help plant new trees! (Locations TBD.) They’ll supply tools, gloves, coffee and donuts… all they need is you! For details, like them on Facebook. LIVE BALTIMORE Hampstead Hill Academy supports our whole community in their homeownership dreams. Join Live Baltimore on Saturday, May 13th, at Morgan State University to learn all about the ins and outs of the homebuying journey, take a special tour of Northeast Baltimore City and meet with experts across the homebuying industry at the City Living Fair. Trolley Tour attendance qualifies attendees for $5,000 towards the purchase of a home in Baltimore City. Register for this free event at LiveBaltimore.com/tt2023.
22 BALTIMORE FAMILY ALLIANCE PTO Roundtable On Wednesday, April 19th from 12pm - 1pm at Lexington Market, BFA is hosting a free luncheon for PTO/PTA leaders in Baltimore City Public Schools. Please register at https://forms.gle/MZoH3Bduvbvh4dm26 BREATHING AMBASSADOR PROGRAM CONTINUES TO EXPAND by Steve Plunk, Director of Restorative Practices While our 14 mindfulness-trained restorative practices ambassadors continue their morning breathing assignments with elementary classrooms, there has been a few additions to the team. This has allowed us to expand to 4th and 5th grade classrooms and to have special guest breather appearances in some of the 6th and 7th grade homerooms. When breathing ambassadors model the breathing styles (a new one is introduced each week), it helps boost the level of student participation. It is also a great service-learning opportunity. Many of the new additions to the team are pictured along with a description of the featured breath. Sign up for Busy Bees Summer Camp at https://forms.gle/uizUZmYD6hVjL Diego, a 5th grade student, leads Ms. O’Connor’s homeroom in the starfish breath. Starfish breathing, also called the power pose, helps to build confidence, strengthen focus and increase energy.
MESSAGE FROM THE PTO We hope that you have been having a wonderful time with your family and look forward to continuing an educational and successful school year. With your participation in the PTO, much can be accomplished. Volunteers always welcome for any or all school events. Have any questions, email [email protected]. PTO NEWS 23 Picture 1: Ms. Ruppenthal frequently enlists the help of 5th grade students Jack and Joseph to help model breathing. Here she does the starfish breath along with her students. Picture 2: 5 th grade students Miranda and Cindi lead Ms. Pellegrini-Gaither’s homeroom in the sun dance breath. Sun dance breathing, also known as the half sun salutation, can help build stamina, release tension and clear the mind. Picture 3: Students from Ms. O’Connor’s afternoon math class took a moment to recenter after recess by practicing the art of mindful breathing. These students (from left to right) include Quinn, Grace G., Grace H. Jack, Camden and Calvin. Picture 1: 7 th grade student Josue leads Ms. Conrad’s homeroom in the starfish breath. Josue, a trained restorative practices ambassador, has joined Ms. Conrad’s homeroom for the rest of the year to serve as a breathing leader. Picture 2: 6 th grade student Elvin leads Ms. Richardson’s homeroom in the starfish breath. A trained restorative practices ambassador, Elvin has joined Ms. Richardson’s homeroom for the rest of the year to serve as a breathing leader. Picture 3: Desiree (standing) leads classmates in the flower breath during Mr. Ball’s homeroom, while classmate Alexis (seated) follows along. The flower breath is a great exercise for boosting concentration and focus.
24 MARCH IN-PERSON PTO MEETING The PTO March general meeting was a success. Over 50 parents attended this event with more than 40 kids at the childcare. It was a great evening were parents met each other and learned more about PTO. Thank you Mizu Sushi, HomeSlyce, Restaurante Maria Bonita and Charming Elephant for donating food and their continued support. Food was YUMMY! This donation was really appreciated. The PTO invites you to attend the April general meeting. Light refreshment from Mayuree Thai Tavern will be served. Childcare will be provided. Look for more information to be sent out. HARRIS TEETER Attach your Harris Teeter VIC card to HHA via the store’s Together in Education Program. When you shop Harris Teeter brands, a percentage of your purchase is donated to the school that your VIC card is linked to. There are no limits to how much a school can earn, and in past years HHA has earned thousands to support school initiatives. However, families must register to earn funds. The school code to register at your Harris Teeter customer service is (2488). You can sign up online at harristeeter.com/together-in-education. BOX TOPS FOR EDUCATION Download the box tops for education app from the Google play store and don’t forget to upload your receipts of participating products on the app so that HHA can receive credits that are donated to the school which are used for school essentials. PTO FINANCIAL STATEMENT FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH Revenue Expenses B3 $1,500.00 PTO Happy Hour (X2) $544.00 Total Revenue $1,500.00 PTO in person meeting $421.31 Family Academic Night Music $400.00 Account Balance Family Academic Night Meal $1,560.00 Starting $58,019.36 B3 $156.65 Ending $56,124.77 Morning Coffee Events (x2) $249.63 Total Expenses $3,394.59 UPCOMING PTO EVENTS Have any questions, email [email protected]
25 • • • • Southeast Anchor Library - located at 3601 Eastern Avenue; 410-396-1580, www.prattlibrary.org/locations/southeast/ • Friends of Patterson Park – located at 27 S. Patterson Park Avenue; 410-276-3676, pattersonpark.com/ • Creative Alliance at the Patterson – located at 3134 Eastern Avenue, 410-276-1651, creativealliance.org • Patterson Park Audubon Center – located at 2901 E. Baltimore Street, 410-558-2473, pattersonpark.audubon.org/ • Please check the back of the news magazine for additional event information! COMMUNITY ARTS NIGHT A HUGE SUCCESS! FAMILY FUN IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD
PADRES UNIDOS PARENT UNITED Lunes, 17 de Abril 8:15 am en el Salon de Food For Life Cocinaremos Dumplims Somos únicos y afortunados por tener una escuela tan maravillosamente diversa. En este grupo de padres nos centramos en cómo fortalecer nuestra comunidad a través de líneas lingüísticas y culturales. Nos reunimos cada mes para practicar nuestro español y/o inglés, conocernos mejor a través de diferentes actividades .
PADRES UNIDOS PARENT UNITED ¡Todos los padres de HHA están invitados! Pueden traer algo mas para compartir Join us for a Cooking Class Monday, April 17th 8:15 am in the Food For Life room We will cook Dumplings
PADRES UNIDOS PARENT UNITED We are so unique and fortunate to have such a wonderfully diverse school. In this parent group, we focus on strengthening our community across linguistic and cultural lines. We meet monthly to practice our Spanish and/or English and get to know each other better through different Activities. All HHA parents are invited!
April Programs PROGRAMS Tuesday Newsday Tuesdays, April 6,13,20, 27, 3:30pm Kids show off their knowledge of current events with our weekly news quiz. Try the quiz, and get a treat! Spaces and Places Mosaics Friday, April 14, 11:30am Celebrate Imagination Celebration and create a mosaic of a space or place that makes you happy! Shake Your Bones! Tuesday, April 18, 11:00am Cantaré introduces preschool and Kindergarten audiences to songs, rhythms and instruments from Latin America. Students sing in Spanish, Portuguese, and English, dance, and play percussion instruments with the artists. Earth Day Recycled Art Saturday, April 22, 2:00pm Is that trash? Maybe not. Bring your most interesting recyclables or use ours to make spectacular art. Southeast Anchor Library 3601 Eastern Avenue Monday - Thursday: 10:00 - 8:00 Friday & Saturday: 10:00 - 5:00 WEEKLY STORYTIMES Baby & Toddler Storytime Tuesdays at 12:00 pm An interactive storytime program with music and movement. Family Storytime Fridays at 11:00 am An interactive storytime program with music and movement.
Abril Programas PROGRAMAS Martes de noticias Martes, 6, 13, 20, 27 de abril, 3:30pm Los niños demuestran su conocimiento sobre eventos actuales con nuestro cuestionario de noticias semana. ¡Prueba el cuestionario y recibe un dulce! Mosaicos de espacios y lugares Viernes, 14 de abril, 11:30am ¡Únete a la celebración de la imaginación y crea un mosaico de un espacio o lugar que te haga feliz! ¡Sacude tus huesos! Martes, 18 de abril, 11:00am Cantaré les presentará a las audiencias de prescolar y kindergarten canciones, ritmos e instrumentos de Latinoamérica. Los estudiantes cantarán en español, portugués e inglés, bailarán y tocarán instrumentos de percusión con los artista Arte reciclada del Día de la Tierra Sábado, 22 de abril, 2:00pm ¿Eso es basura? Quizás no. Lleva tus objetos reciclables más interesantes o utiliza los nuestros para hacer arte espectacular Southeast Anchor Library 3601 Eastern Avenue Lunes - Jueves: 10:00-8:00 Viernes y Sabado: 10:00-5:00 LECTURA DE CUENTOS SEMANAL Cuentos para bebés y niños pequeños Martes a las 12:00 pm Un programa de narrativa interactiva con música y movimiento. Cuentos familiares Viernes a las 11:00 am Un programa de narrativa interactiva con música y movimiento.
CCA PUBLIC MEETINGS hybrid CCA DUMPSTER DAYS free CCA Public Meetings are held quarterly on a Tuesday evening from 6:30-8:00pm. Join at the United Evangelical Church at 3200 Dillon St or watch on Facebook @ CantonCommunityAssociation. For details, email info@ CantonCommunity.org. February 28, May 16, Sept. 19, Nov. 28 The CCA is hosting 4 FREE community dumpster days. The dumpster will be located on Lakewood Ave, 1 block north of Boston St. alongside the Safeway from 9:00 am until noon, or until full. (Start time may vary.) March 11, June 3, Sept. 23, November 4 2023 Canton Community Association TO JOIN THE CCA OR TO SIGN UP TO VOLUNTEER www.CantonCommunity.org
Monday Tuesday Wednesday 3 Schools Closed SPRING BREAK 4 Schools Closed SPRING BREAK 5 Schools Closed SPRING BREAK 10 Schools Closed SPRING BREAK 11 Assorted Cold Cereal Nutrigrain Bar Graham Crackers Fresh Orange Ginger Gold Apple Milk 12 Breakfast Pizza Assorted Cold Cereal Nutrigrain Bar Ginger Gold Apple Banana Milk 17 Peach & Raspberry Yogurt Crunchy Granola Clusters Graham Crackers Peachy Applesauce Cup 100% Fruit Juice Milk 18 Strawberry Cream Cheese Mini Bagel Assorted Cold Cereal Nutrigrain Bar Fresh Orange Ginger Gold Apple Milk 19 Breakfast Pizza Assorted Cold Cereal Nutrigrain Bar Ginger Gold Apple Banana Milk 24 Strawberry Banana Yogurt Graham Crackers Nutrigrain Bar Fresh Orange Ginger Gold Apple Assorted Cold Cereal Milk 25 Mini Waffles, Maple Assorted Cold Cereal Nutrigrain Bar Fresh Orange Ginger Gold Apple Milk 26 Breakfast Pizza Assorted Cold Cereal Nutrigrain Bar Banana Ginger Gold Apple Milk April 2023 K-12 Breakfast M This institution is an equal opportunity p
Thursday Friday 6 Schools Closed SPRING BREAK 7 Schools Closed SPRING BREAK 13 Turkey Sausage & Egg Breakfast Sandwich Assorted Cold Cereal Nutrigrain Bar Banana Fresh Orange Milk 14 Apple Cinnamon Texas Toast Assorted Cold Cereal Nutrigrain Bar Assorted Fresh Fruit Milk 20 Pancake Turkey Sausage Patty Syrup Assorted Cold Cereal Graham Crackers Black Plum Ginger Gold Apple Milk 21 Schools Closed PD DAY 27 Turkey Sausage & Egg Breakfast Sandwich Assorted Cold Cereal Nutrigrain Bar Banana Fresh Orange Milk 28 Oatmeal Breakfast Bun Assorted Cold Cereal Graham Crackers Assorted Fresh Fruit Milk Menu Students must select at least 3 food items. One item must be a serving of fruit or vegetable. provider. Options Available Daily at Breakfast: Cold Cereal OptionsApple Cinnamon Cheerios, Multi-Grain Cheerios, Original Cheerios, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Golden Grahams, Honey Kix 1% White Milk & Fat Free White Milk (View Nutritional Information) Menu is subject to change
1% white milk, fat free white milk and sometimes fat free chocolate milk or strawberry milk