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Horizon Elementary
January 2013 Newsletter
Comet Courier
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. Jeanne Becker Assistant Principal: Mr. Chris Painter Attendance Secretary: Mrs. Violet Sowa-Badders
A MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL
Greetings Comets!
As we begin 2013, I would like to wish everyone a healthy and prosperous new year!
Please be sure to read the information regarding school closure and cancellation procedures enclosed in this newsletter. We do ask parents/guardians to not call the school during early dismissal procedures since the phone lines must be open to receive
information/instruction from LCPS administration.
I am also asking that all parents/guardians send any updated procedures/information to your child’s teacher if things have changed since you last completed the Early Dismissal Plan. Please be mindful that we do not call parents in the event of an early dismissal. Please remember that CASA is canceled on days that early release is implemented. Your
cooperation with this request is most appreciated.
This month we will be providing our students with a variety of multicultural experiences: a Han Mi Tae Kwon Do Demonstration team from Korea, a Digeridoo Down Under Assembly, a Comet World of Fashion Cruise, and a Multicultural Night. More information
for each opportunity will be sent closer to each event.
The second semester has really flown by. It will end of January 17. Report cards for the
second grading period will go home Wednesday, January 30.
As this second quarter is coming to an end your input on how the 2012-2013 school year has been so far is being requested. The time line for you to provide feedback is Friday, January 4, 2013 through Monday, January 21, 2013. I hope you will take a moment to complete the Horizon Parent Survey either online or with a paper copy. Paper copies of the survey will be available from the office. The online link is https://www.research.net/s/HRZ_Parent_12. You can also access this link from the Horizon website. We value your input and will take it very seriously when reflecting on
our practices. Please help us continue to be the best school we can!
Warm regards,
Jennifer Ewing
JANUARY EVENTS
Tue Jan 1, 2013
NO SCHOOL/ Winter Break
Wed Jan 2, 2013
Classes Resume
Wed Jan 9, 2013
8:30am Geography Bee
Fri Jan 11, 2013 6pm DHS/PFH Community Night
Where: Dominion HS
Tue Jan 15, 2013
6:30pm PTA General Meeting
Wed Jan 16, 2013
8:30am Spelling Bee
Thu Jan 17, 2013
End of Grading Period 2
Fri Jan 18, 2013
NO SCHOOL/Moveable Student Holiday
Mon Jan 21, 2013 NO SCHOOL/Holiday Mon Jan 21, 2013 - Fri Jan 25, 2013 NO SCHOOL/Holiday Chick fil A Spirit Week w/ Lowes Island
Where: Chick fil A Route 7
Wed Jan 23, 2013
5th grade IAAT Testing
Sat Jan 26, 2013 6pm PTA-Skate Night
Where: Skate Quest, Reston
Mon Jan 28, 2013 Teams/Clubs/Candid Pictures
Poetry Masters Recite
Tue Jan 29, 2013
2:35pm Comet Council
Wed Jan 30, 2013
Report Cards sent home
Thu Jan 31, 2013 Multi-Cultural Night
The LCPS Social Science department would like parent and teacher input on a possible textbook adoption for the future. There will be sample resources for Kindergarten through third grade on display in the library from January 9 to February 15, 2013.
The publishers that have sent materials are:
1. Five Ponds Press 2. Holt/McDougal/Harcourt
3. McMillan/McGraw-Hill
There will be paper rubrics that teachers and/or parents are asked to use as they review the materials and a folder to leave the completed rubric.
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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]
School Board Representatives
POETRY MASTERS CLUB
Each month a selection of poems are available for grades 1-5. Any child who wishes to participate will memorize a selected poem for their grade category and recite the poem to the Poetry coordinator and/or parent volunteer. The January poems will be available on Monday, 1/7 and recited on Monday, 1/28. Congratulations to the following students who successfully memorized and recited the December poem to Mrs. Sandridge:
Karim Khadir Matthew Godek Medha Mani Lilly Rossi Julienne Galie Tess Durham Mary MacGoy Lilly Egenrieder Alex Foster Katie Nelson
Divya Sharma Jenna Natour Lexi Guy Nora Masrour Ayaan Kamal Kaley Hooper Jasmine Hus Paige Calvo Divya Lobo Morgan Watson
Alycia Kutz Hannah Cantrell Ashley Allen Natalie Sandridge Neal Bhatnagar Roxanna Chen Abigail Hooper Michael Godek Maddy Farthering Edlin Santiago
Nikkil Jag Julianna Haddad Snigdha Indurti Vaishnavi Mathur Mariana Gonzalez Andrew Burtner
MATH SUPERSTARS/ SUNSHINE MATH Our math superstars program is off to a great start this year! All grade level weekly problem sheets will be accessible on the Horizon Website under the PTA link.
Comet Parents,
Happy New Year!
As we begin 2013 and enter into the cold days of winter many will start thinking of warm beaches and sun to replace the cold
weather. But before plans take shape, I would like to remind everyone of some very important dates for our students at Horizon.
Our 5th grade students will be taking the Iowa Algebra Aptitude Test (IAAT) on Wednesday, January 23rd. The IAAT is a timed assessment administered to LCPS 5th grade students to help facilitate middle school mathematics course placement. This assessment, along with teacher recommendations and academic history allows us to gain insight into each child’s readiness for middle school
advanced mathematics classes.
Also, our 5th grade students are preparing for the SOL English: Online Writing Test. The Multiple-Choice section of the SOL English: Online Writing Test will be administered on March 12th and 13th and the Short Paper, or essay, for the SOL English: Online Writing
Test between March 18th – 20th.
The remaining Standards of Learning (SOL) tests for grades 3 through 5 will occur from May 6 th –May 31st. Parents, please stay
tuned for additional information highlighting the specific dates each test will be administered to your child.
Our 2nd grade students will be taking the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) from April 2nd through April 12th. The CogAT measures general and specific cognitive skills that allow a student to learn new tasks or solve problems. As we approach the test dates
additional information will be sent home.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at 571-434-3260.
Respectfully,
Chris Painter
Assistant Principal
TESTING NEWS
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SAM
PLE
The online link is https://www.research.net/s/HRZ_Parent_12 . You can also access this link from the Horizon website. We value your input and will take it very seriously when reflecting
on our practices. Please help us continue to be the best school we can!
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Horizon ES
Sterling
VA
ID# 2016-5000-1196-856
Labels for Education
Free school supplies are in the forecast.
Help Horizon ES by submitting your Labels for Education. You can attach the labels to the collection sheet or
submit the labels in a baggie with your child’s name and teacher’s name.
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earnings for 2012-2013: $910.26
$2300.00 40%
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%
GOAL
Thank you for your continued support. We have reached 40% of our school year goal. Box tops can be submitted attached to the collection sheet, or put box tops in a baggie with your child’s and teacher’s name, or
go online to www.bte.com and shop online to earn box top points for Horizon.
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PARENT LIAISON MRS. ROBIN MONG
To view current or previous versions of “Parents Make a Difference” Newsletter, please visit the following link:
http://www.lcps.org/page/1597
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HORIZON
PTA NEWS
2012-2013 Horizon PTA Executive Board
President Mike Morgan [email protected] Sr. VP Amy Sandridge [email protected] Treasurer Meredith Pilaro [email protected]
Recording Secretary Amy Sandridge [email protected] Corresponding Secretary Teresa Demangos [email protected] Co-VP-Staff Relations Laura Ellingwood & Kimberly Misch [email protected]
Co-VP-Membership & Directory Kelli Evers & Gail Godek [email protected] [email protected] Co-VP-Social Amye Love & Kristen Sirois [email protected] VP-After-School Enrichment Programs (ASEP) Ginni Arcuri [email protected]
Co-VP-Fundraising Amy Curran & Joanne Canellos [email protected] VP-Spirit Sales Debbie Mulhearn [email protected]
GO COMETS!
www.horizonpta.org
‘Horizon Elementary
School and PTA’
Go Comets! Mike Morgan, President, Horizon PTA [email protected], iPhone: [email protected], (703) 963-4292
Improving vocabulary skills using analogies. Develops verbal reasoning abilities.
Addresses higher-order thinking skills (HOTS).
Emphasizes logic and reading comprehension.
Congratulations to all the Horizon students who took the first WordMasters challenge on December 4th! They all learned new words and got practice with analogies. Congratulations to the students who earned the three highest scores in each grade:
Third Grade: Alex Foster Uma Pillai
Mary MacGoy, Samuel Gang tied Fourth Grade: Max Baskin Anusha Jain Ethan Camacho, Lauren Eck, Zach Sandridge tied Fifth Grade: Hannah Cantrell, Andrew Zhang tied Omkar Bhalerao Avery Cantwell, Jacob Farthing, Antonella Azzolini, Julia Samaha tied
Congratulations to all that participated!
The next set of WordMaster words will be available on January 8th and the challenge will be on February 20th.
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School Cancellations/Delayed
Opening/Early Closing In the event that weather or other reasons require either closing or delaying the opening of school before buses start on their routes, announcements will be made over the following radio/TV stations or on the LCPS website www.lcp.org by 6:00 a.m. Connect-Ed phone calls will also be made by LCPS to the primary number listed on
your students contact sheet.
These stations are notified by direct calls and should be
the primary stations that are monitored.
WRC (TV Channel 4) Washington, D.C.
FOX (TV Channel 5) Washington, D.C.
WHLA (TV Channel 7) Washington, D.C>
WUSA (TV Channel 9) Washington, D.C.
News Channel 8 Washington, D.C.
WINC (92.5 FM) Winchester, VA
WTOP (1500 AM and 103.5 FM) Washington, DC
WMAL (630 AM) Washington, DC
In the event of a delayed opening, please stay tuned to the radio/TV station in case some change in the
weather causes schools to be closed for the day.
A one-hour delay, would mean that school will begin at 8:50 a.m. Morning Kindergarten will begin at 8:50 a.m. and end at 10:50 a.m. Afternoon Kindergarten
will be on a regular schedule (11:35 a.m.)
A two-hour delay, would mean that school will begin at
9:50 a.m. with the following changes in programs:
Morning Kindergarten will begin at 9:50 a.m. and end at 11:50 a.m. These students will leave school one (1)
hour later than usual.
Afternoon Kindergarten will begin one (1) hour late
(12:35 p.m.) and dismiss at the regular time (2:35 p.m.)
ELL will follow the two (2) hour delayed schedule and
follow the Kindergarten release procedures.
Early School Closing In the event that circumstances necessitate the early closing of school after school is in session, announcements will be broadcast over the same radio/
TV stations listed previously.
Each family should have a plan for emergency school closings. A form on which parents should indicate their family’s emergency plan is included in the First Day Packet. If, for any reason, school is closed early, we will be able to remind children of the plans their parents have developed so that each child will know where to go if he/she should go home to an empty house. The classroom teachers will keep these plans in the classrooms and remind the children of the plan in the event of an early closing. Due to the large number of
students in this school, we cannot call individual parents.
PLEASE DO NOT CALL THE SCHOOL, as the line must be kept open for emergency calls! You will receive a
Connect-Ed call in the case of an emergency closing.
One-Hour Early Closing
All bus routes operate as usual except for starting
one (1) hour earlier that the normal time.
All after-school activities requiring transportation
are canceled.
Other school activities not requiring transportation
services are at the discretion of the principal.
Two-Hour Early Closing
All routes will operate two (2) hours early with the
following exceptions:
Morning Kindergarten - will go home at their regular
time. All afternoon programs are canceled.
ELL - All afternoon classes are canceled.
FUTURA - Students will be transported back to their
home school two(2) hours earlier than normal.
Parents can sign up for Loudoun Alert at http://alert.loudoun.gov/. The system will send an email or text message when schools are closed or closing early due to weather or other circumstances in addition to other alerts a user can
register to receive.
Alert Loudoun
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We are on the web!
www.lcps.org/horizon
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.
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 doctors 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.
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.
PARENT INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (PIMS) The Parent Information Management System (PIMS) is an online tool that provides a convenient way for the primary parent/guardian of a student to manage changes to the phone and/or email information for the contacts in their child’s record. When using PIMS you can review, at your convenience, the current contact information that exists for your child. If you need to update the current phone/email/emergency contact information, you
can easily submit the update request online.
To access the PIM system, visit the LCPS Internet site, www.lcps.org.
Click on the PIM link on the right side under “Quick Links”.
Once the request has been submitted, your child’s school will review the
request before accepting.
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 is posted
on the Horizon website.
MSAAC
The Minority Student Achievement Advisory Committee (MSAAC) works in partnership with Loudoun County Public schools staff, parents and community to further the academic, social, and cultural development of every student and to ensure that the needs of all minority students are met. The group meets in the School Board Meeting Room of the LCPS Administration Building Please see the meeting schedule on page 8. More information can be found on the school system website at www.lcps.org under the “Parents” tab, and then select Minority Student Achievement Advisory
Committee.
LOST AND FOUND
Horizon Elementary has several areas designated for lost items such as lunch boxes and clothing. Students that misplace their belongings can check in the Lost and Found bin that is located outside the music room. 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 bin or with the office secretary. Items that go unclaimed will be donated at the end of each quarter to a local
charity.
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