Elementary Newsletter

December 2023 Newsletter

Greetings from the Principal: Mrs. Andrea Kammer Phone: (970) 854-3411 Email: kammeran@hcosd.org

December Important Dates

12/4 - 12/14 NWEA & DIBLES MOY Benchmark Testing

12/5 School Board Meeting 7pm

12/8 No School

12/11 5th & 6th Grade Band Concert 7pm

12/11 Holiday Lunch

12/15 No School

12/18 K, 2, 4 Music Program 7pm

12/19 School Board Meeting 7pm

12/21 Elementary School Dismissed 11:50am

12/22 - 1/3 No School Winter Break

1/4 & 1/5 School both days (including Friday)

Annual Holyoke Elementary December Food Drive 

Once again the Holyoke Elementary students and staff will be participating in the December food drive.  Throughout the school year there are hardworking and dedicated families that may need some help during the winter months to provide enough food for their families.  With the extra cost associated with Thanksgiving, the Holidays and with the extreme cold temperatures family budgets can get stretched very thin.  With all the support that our families and community members show our Holyoke Elementary School and the Holyoke School District, it is very worthwhile to be able to give back when we can to say thank you.  This year we will be collecting any and all non-perishable food items such as canned goods or prepackaged box items that will be donated to local food banks to be distributed to individual families as needed.  

Please bring these non-perishable food items to the Holyoke Elementary School no later than Wednesday, December 20th.  On December 21st, students will take these donated items to the Holyoke Elementary School gym where students will deposit them into boxes while singing Holiday Carols.  

Thank you for your continued support of our school and we wish you a great Holiday Season.

If you have any questions or would like to visit with me, please call the elementary office 854-3411 or email me at kammeran@hcosd.org.

School Dismissed Early on Thursday, December 21st

  • 5th & 6th grade will be dismissed at 11:48 AM

  • 3rd & 4th grade will be dismissed at 11:49 AM

  • Kindergarten, 1st, & 2nd grade will be dismissed at 11:50 AM

School Will Resume on Thursday, January 4th

Please have your child(ren) return to school as normal on Thursday, January 4th and Friday, January 5th! This is our only Friday that there is school.

December 11th - Lunch

On December 11th, Chartwells will be providing their annual traditional holiday meal for our students. We are having parents/guardians join us if you would like to. It will be $4.00 for adults and $2.45 for kids for a meal and we do ask that you call the school office BEFORE 9:00 AM on Monday, December 11th, to let us know if you will be joining us. Starting December 11th, 2023 parents/guardians will be allowed to join their child(ren) for lunch, but we ask that you call BEFORE 9:00 AM on the day of having lunch so we can notify the cooks to make sure there is enough food for all students, staff, and guests. Thank you for your understanding and support!

  • 10:55 AM - 11:20 AM - 1st and 3rd Grade Lunch

  • 11:25 AM - 11:50 AM - Kindergarten Lunch

  • 11:55 AM - 12:20 PM - 5th and 6th Grade Lunch

  • 12:25 PM - 12:50 PM - 3rd and 4th Grade Lunch

Healthy Snack 

Please make sure to send a healthy snack with your child(ren) to school. We are seeing an influx of takis, chips, cookies, and other unhealthy items being brought. The purpose of snacks is for our kids to get an energy boost and help support their brain. If your child is in need of a healthy snack and does not get breakfast daily, he or she can get breakfast and have that as a snack later in the day! It’s free and healthy!
There is no soda allowed in the cafeteria, so if you are bringing lunch for your child or if your child brings a sack lunch, they are not allowed to have soda. 

Thank you for your help and understanding!

Counselor Corner - Mr. Hines 

Sources of Strength guidance lessons will continue with unit 2. Unit 2 for Kindergarten through second grade is “Engaging our Strengths" and Unit 2 for third through sixth grade is “The Brain and Body.” Students will also work on Xello. If you would like your child to visit with Mr. Hines on a regular basis, please reach out to him by phone or email. 

You can contact Mr. Hines at (970) 854-3411 and by email hineslo@hcosd.org.

Weather - Inside or Outside?

With the weather always changing, we have set guidelines to help us make a decision when students will be inside for recess. Please make sure your child(ren) is dressed appropriately for the weather. If it is or feels like 20 degrees or below, students will be inside for recess. 

Reminders about Illness

This is the time of year that we start thinking about illnesses such as the flu.  Please make sure your child stays healthy by getting a good night’s rest, eating healthy meals, and washing hands regularly. Also remind your child of the following to avoid lice. 

  • Use your own hair brush or comb

  • Use your own hair ties, bows, and clips

  • Wear your own hat, jacket, clothes

End of the Day Messages

Please call our secretary, Mrs. Juarez, before 3:00 PM if you have a message for your child. We have around 300 students and have to start messages early to get through all of them depending on the day. Please know we understand last minute emergencies.

Please make sure your child has a water bottle daily!

S.O.A.R.

We are The Dragons and we Soar to excellence! SOAR stands for… 

  • Safety

  • Ownership

  • Achievement

  • Respect 

For the months of December, January, and February, we are focusing on “O” Ownership.

L.E.A.R.N.E.R.S.

LEARNERS is a word we will be focusing on at Holyoke Elementary. LEARNERS stands for…

  • Learn from mistakes

  • Evaluate work

  • Ask questions and Accept challenges

  • Receive and respond to feedback

  • Never give up!

  • Effort matters

  • Reach goals

  • State what we’re learning

For the months of December and January, we are focusing on “R” Receive and Respond to feedback.

Article About Attendance

How many missed days of school are too many? Here’s what you need to know about attendance.

By Yesenia Robles | November 21, 2023

You might have seen recent headlines about the growing number of kids missing school.

In Colorado, just this fall, state officials said almost a third of students are chronically absent. The number has gone up significantly since the pandemic and schools are struggling to figure out how to get kids to return to classes.

Kids might miss school for a number of reasons, including for work, an illness, a lack of transportation, or to care for younger siblings. Absences also go up near the holidays as families go on vacation and figure a few missed school days can’t hurt.

But, regardless of the reason, research shows consistently missing school can affect a child’s learning. Missed days can add up more quickly than you think. Here’s what you should know:

What’s the big deal? Why is missing school such a problem?

When kids miss school, they miss out on learning opportunities. Just a couple of missed days might mean a child can fall behind on several topics or lessons, and sometimes, there isn’t a good way for them to easily catch up.

Research shows that students who miss a lot of school are more likely to not be able to read on grade level by third grade, and later on are more likely to fail classes and drop out of school.

“Attendance matters and being engaged in learning matters,” said Johann Liljengren, director of dropout prevention and student reengagement at the Colorado Department of Education.

Schools also stress attendance when Count Day comes up in October. Students must be enrolled and present in school during the window, so they can be counted and so the school receives state money for that student.

So, how many missed school days are too many?

The research that links bad outcomes to missing school usually looks at students missing just 10% of school time.

In Colorado, that would mean about two days a month, or about one day every other week. Over the course of the school year, that would add up to missing a whole month of school.

And in schools where classes are only four days per week, it’s even easier to reach that 10% of missed time.

What is chronic absenteeism?

A student who is missing 10% of school time is considered chronically absent.

The state tracks percentages of how many students are chronically absent in a school or district. It’s a measure that can signal inequities among different groups of students and can be a red flag that shows students need more support.

But what if the absences are excused?

In short, it doesn’t matter. When research looks at school absences, both excused and unexcused missed days still have the same results because students are missing new lessons either way.

When the state counts who is chronically absent, it also doesn’t matter if those absences are excused or unexcused.

Can children or parents end up in court over missed school?

It can happen. In this case, whether an absence is excused or not does matter.

State law says that a school district can identify a student as “truant” when they have more than 10 unexcused absences in the year, or four in a month. The law doesn’t say that students have to be sent to truancy court, and many school districts will try sending parents warnings and will try to help find other solutions first.

If you get a letter from your school saying that your child is at risk of being designated as truant, the best thing to do is to talk to your school. Not communicating could lead schools to think the issue isn’t being taken seriously and to involve the courts.

I need help or I want to talk about my case with someone. Who can help?

Your first stop should be your child’s school. It will be important to talk through the barriers for your child to attend school every day. The school can then point to services within or outside of the school that might help.

For example, schools might connect a student to tutoring if they aren’t in school because they feel like they’re struggling, or might connect a family to services if the problem is related to issues with housing or health care.

Some schools have had creative solutions including pairing students so they can walk to school with a buddy who can hold them accountable, and make them feel safer than being alone.

Yesenia Robles is a reporter for Chalkbeat Colorado covering K-12 school districts and multilingual education. Contact Yesenia at yrobles@chalkbeat.org.