LETTER OF WELCOME

2007-2008

Welcome new families and welcome back Hollifield Station veterans!

Hollifield Station's administration, staff, and PTA welcome you to the new school year!

This assignment book contains an information section at the beginning. It is filled with both general and specific information on the ins and outs of Hollifield Station Elementary School. Included are basic facts about school operations, such as: inclement weather policy, carpool procedures, schedules, behavior guidelines, Parent Teacher Association (PTA) committees, and special events.

Hollifield Station has wonderful tradition of success at Hollifield Station. Our fine reputation is built upon all of the hard work and dedication of our students, staff, and parents. One key element is school and PTA communication with our parents. This book is just one way of sharing information with our school community.

The Hollifield Station staff and PTA hope you will ask questions, share ideas throughout the year. You aren’t sure how? Just contact your child’s teacher, our principal or assistant principals, our PTA president, or the office staff. We are glad to be of assistance.

Best wishes for a terrific school year!

Hollifield Station PTA

Hollifield Station Administration

HSES AT A GLANCE

We are located at: You can reach us at:

8701 Stonehouse Drive Phone: (410) 313-2550

Ellicott City, MD 21043 Fax: (410) 313-2557

RECC: (410) 313-2556

Hollifield Station website: www.howard.k12.md.us/hses

Howard County Public School System website: www.howard.k12.md.us

State Website: www.md.k12.org

PTA email address is hsespta@yahoo.com

Not intended for emergencies, the email address offers parents a more convenient way to contact the PTA officers.

Principal: Glenn W. Heisey

Assistant Principal: Gwendolyn P. Jones

School Hours:

Preschool AM: 8:45 a.m. to 11:15

PM: 12:45 p.m. to 3:15

*Grades 1 through 5: 8:45 a.m. to 3:15p.m.

Home-School Communication:

Keepin’ On Track - Hollifield Station sends home a weekly newsletter on Monday (or the first school day of the week). This newsletter, Keepin’ On Track, is designed to keep our families up to date on what is going on at Hollifield Station and throughout the general school community. If you have items for publication in Keepin’ On Track, submit them by 9 a.m. to the Principal’s Secretary, two days before the close of the school week. The Principal or Assistant Principal must approve all articles prior to submission.

Station-to-Station - Station-to-Station, the PTA's newsletter, is published four times during the year. It provides families with a snapshot of school life. Information includes an update from the Principal and PTA President, PTA Committees' plans, efforts and events, Department of Education and PTA Council news, as well as major happenings in each grade. Parents may contribute to the newsletter by contacting the Communications Committee Chairperson. Ideas and suggestions are welcomed.

Monday Folders: HSES uses a Monday Folder system to communicate between home and school. All students will bring home their Monday Folder on Monday or the first day of the school week. The folder will contain the Keepin’ On Track newsletter, other notices, and student work from the previous week. In addition, a weekly student evaluation form is stapled inside the folder. This form is completed by your child’s teacher (s) and includes both marks and comments. Space is provided for parents to write back to their child’s teacher. This form is also used to communicate mid-term/interim grades.

THE BASICS

General Arrival and Dismissal Information

Opening: The doors open to students at 8:30 a.m. Bus riders generally arrive between

8: 20 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. Students who walk, bike, or are driven by car must arrive at school no earlier than 8:30 a.m. Prior to that time, staff members are not available for supervision. Afternoon preschool students who are not bus riders should arrive by 12:40 p.m.

Dismissal: Students who are car riders, walkers, and/or AfterCare are dismissed first at about 3:10 p.m. Cars are directed to enter the circle drive to load students at the curb. School buses start arriving at 3:05 p.m. and dismissal of bus students begins at 3:10 p.m.

The bus loop in front of the building is closed to cars from 8:25-9:05 a.m. and from

2:50-3:55 p.m. when all buses have left the loop.

Parents picking up their children before the regular dismissal time must come to the front office and sign them out. A note to the teacher beforehand is helpful.

Please note that the speed limit on school property is 15 m.p.h. By law, cars must stop for pedestrians at crosswalks.

Dismissal Traffic Patterns

At the start of every school year, parents receive a separate letter detailing our policies and procedures for dropping off and picking up students by car. With over 700 children in our school, our parking lot and car loop can become quite congested. A PTA parent committee along with school administrators and HC Police has developed the following procedures:

Cars Parked Illegally - We continue to experience a major problem with parents parking their cars illegally during both drop off and pick up times each day. In particular, cars are parked in undesignated areas of the lot blocking in other vehicles or parked against red curb fire lanes (illegal parking). Drivers either leave their vehicles unattended or they are waving children across the drive and into the path of moving vehicles. This practice cannot continue. The options are to use the car loop or to park in a designated parking space.

Cars Stopping in the Car Loop - If you are dropping off children in the loop, you must pull to the far end of the loop so that as many cars as possible may move ahead. Children may only be discharged from the CURBSIDE of the car to avoid a tragic accident. Children should exit the vehicle at any place along the sidewalk from the entrance to the drive to the end of the car loop. Please do not wait until you get to a closer spot as this unnecessarily backs up traffic.

Cars Blocking Traffic on Patapsco Valley Drive - Cars making the left turn from Patapsco Valley Drive into the side driveway may not block the intersection. When vehicles pull into this intersection as they wait their turn to enter the drive, they block those vehicles attempting to leave the drive by turning left onto Patapsco Valley headed toward Stonehouse Drive. This causes complete gridlock.

Child Booster Seats/Seatbelts - MD requires that a person transporting a child in a vehicle registered in Maryland must secure the child in a child safety seat if the child is 6 years old or younger or weighs 40 pounds or less, regardless of the child’s age. Maryland law requires everyone seated in the front seat must have seat belts fastened. If age 15 or younger, they must always wear a seat belt regardless of where they are seated.

If you are dropping off children at the car loop, you must pull as far forward as possible to the end of the loop to allow cars behind to enter the loop. If cars in front of you have stopped to unload, and you are as far as possible into the loop, please discharge your child/ren curbside from the car. Do not wait to reach the end of the loop, children should exit the vehicle anywhere there is a sidewalk on the curbside. Staff members are on duty to help with any special needs. Remember, to avoid a tragic accident, children may only be discharged from the curbside. Drivers must wait for vehicles in front to exit the loop - do not pass other cars unless directed to do so by the staff member on duty. Further, drivers must not exit the vehicle as this causes significant delays. Again, staff members are present to assist with special needs. Please use the parking areas if your child/ren require extra time to unload. Think of the car loop as the "express lane" at the tollbooth and things will flow safely and smoothly!

We will be enlisting the help of the Howard County Police Department to monitor the roads around HSES as well as the parking lot and bus loop. Drivers may be ticketed if they fail to obey traffic laws. In addition, a police officer and/or PTA volunteers will assist HSES staff with traffic direction when needed. Please follow their directions.

Thank you for your cooperation. Our motivation is to provide a safe and orderly entrance and dismissal of children each and every school day. A few extra minutes of driver patience and adherence to these rules will insure that all of our kids are safe.

Attendance Children arriving at school after 8:45 a.m. should report and sign in at the front office. All late students must be accompanied into the building by a parent. If a child misses more than one and one-half hours during the day, they will be marked absent for half a day per HCSPSS policy.

Absences

It is a State of Maryland policy that when a child is absent, s/he will be marked truant unless the child’s teacher receives a note stating the reason for the absence within three days. If no note is received after this time, the student remains truant.

Families are permitted three days per school year to be used for family trips. If families use more than three days, the absence is termed Unlawful which means teachers are not required to provide work for the extra days.

Bus riders

Bus schedules are posted on HSES's front entrance the Friday before school begins and are printed in various local papers, including The View, Howard County Times, and the Columbia Flier. Bus schedules are posted on the HCPSS website (www.hcpss.org) throughout the school year. In the morning, bus riders should plan to be at the bus stop five minutes before their stated departure time.

Concerns about bus routes or drivers should be directed to the Assistant Principal. Parents may also contact the Department of Transportation directly: (410)313-6726.

Bike riders

Students must chain their bikes to the bike racks by the front entrance. HSES cannot be responsible for bike damage or theft. Students must wear bike helmets and cannot ride their bikes in the parking lot during dismissal.

Inclement Weather/Emergency School Closing

If it is necessary to close school for the day or open later in the morning, the School Superintendent will make that determination by 5:30 a.m. Please check announcements of late openings or school closings on local radio and TV stations, the HCPSS cable station (Comcast channel 72), or the HCPSS website at www.howard.k12.md.us. Alternatively, you can register on-line at www.schools-out.com to automatically receive timely notification by e-mail of school delays and closings.

If the weather deteriorates during the day or there is an emergency that necessitates an early closing, HSES will dismiss children according to the procedure outlined by parents on the Emergency School Closing form. This form is sent home during the first week of school and must be updated yearly. Review the procedure periodically with your child so she or he will be prepared in the event of an emergency closing. Please note that the buses may run later than usual.

If school is closed for the day, all school, community, and after-school activities normally held at HSES will be canceled.

Health Room/Health Information

HSES has a health assistant on staff every day during school hours to tend to sick children and administer medication. All medications/both over-the-counter drugs and prescription medications must have a written order from a physician. Exception: cough drops that do not contain medication may be dispensed with written parental authorization. These forms are available from the health room and all information on these forms must be completed. The medication must be brought to the health room by a parent or responsible adult, not by the child.

Parents or guardians will be notified of serious illness or injury and will be requested to come pick up their child. In case of emergency, the procedure outlined on the student’s emergency card will be followed.

If a child has a sore throat, an earache, a rash, a headache, a runny nose (not allergy-related), a severe cough, vomiting, diarrhea, OR has a fever, she or he must stay home until their symptoms subside or they are on medication and given clearance by their doctor. According to health department regulations, children must be free of fever for 24 hours without benefit of analgesics before returning to school.

Lunch

Students may bring their lunch to school or they may buy lunch. Each team’s Instructional Assistant (IA) collects money from students first thing in the morning. Parents can purchase an annual lunch plan by calling Food and Nutrition Service at (410)313-6738. Families who are eligible for free or reduced-price meal plan should complete the form sent home with their child at the beginning of the year or call the Howard County Public Schools Food and Nutrition Service at (410)313-6738. Menus are posted in local papers and are sent home at the beginning of the month with each child with the newsletter. Lunch costs $1.50 and includes milk or juice. Students may purchase milk or juice separately for $.30 during the assigned lunchtime.

LUNCH SCHEDULE BY GRADE (Updated)

Kindergarten 10:35-11:30

Grade 2 11:05-11:12:00

Grade 1 11:35-12:30

Grade 5 12:10-1:00

Grade 4 12:40 –1:30

Grade 3 1:10-2:00

Dress code

The HCPSS has issued a dress code policy. Please consult their website for details: www.howard.k12.md.us.

Specifically, students may not wear:

- Garments that expose too much skin (such as tank tops, halter tops, strapless or midriff-baring tops, or low-riding pants)

- Headgear (hats, scarves, visors, bandannas, sweatbands, and forehead bands.) Hats and headgear will be confiscated.

- Flip Flops or open shoes that will not stay on the feet. This causes a health and safety problem.

If a student arrives at school with improper clothing, the parent will be contacted to bring appropriate clothes.

Behavior Standards

HSES is aligned with the Howard County Student Code of Conduct and adheres to a zero tolerance for violence. Please refer to the Calendar Handbook distributed at the beginning of each school year or to the HCPSS website.

A separate letter detailing the Hollifield Station Behavioral Expectations Program is sent home on the first day of school.

The Parent Teacher Association (PTA)

The PTA's mission is to support and enhance the educational experience of our children. We speak out on behalf of student and school needs to various governmental bodies. Internally to the school, we cultivate a cooperative relationship between staff and parents, and encourage parent and public involvement in the schools. Our members can be parents, teachers, family members, neighbors and businesses. Together, we direct our energies, dollars and time in support of this mission to ensure that no child is left behind.

The PTA has a variety of committees and efforts to involve and inform our parents. Some are described below. For more information, contact the PTA President.

Parent Volunteer Program

Volunteers are the linking pins in enriching our students' education. Hollifield's tremendous success is directly related to our volunteers. Volunteers can be parents, family members, or community friends. The number of ways to volunteer is vast and varied. You can help with classroom educational activities, assist in preparing materials at home or in school, be a room parent, help with a one time project, work on a committee, or help out with special events like Field Day, the Little Toot Run, or Cultural Awareness Day. There are many ways to lend a hand. To help, look for the Volunteer Form that is sent home at the beginning of the school year or contact the Volunteer Coordinator.

Upon arriving at school, volunteers must sign in at the front office and pick up a volunteer tag before proceeding to the team. Volunteers must respect the need for confidentiality regarding all information seen and heard while at school.

PTA Meetings

The PTA is administered by a group of officers (president, first vice president, second vice president, treasurer and recording secretary). The officers and committee chairs, all of whom together are called the Executive Board, meet usually the second Tuesday of the month. Any PTA member or interested person is welcome and encouraged to attend. General PTA membership meetings are held three times throughout the year to adopt the budget, elect officers and to share pertinent information.

PTA School Spirit Events

The PTA sponsors several events throughout the year to encourage community spirit and camaraderie between students, families, and staff. Previous events have included bingo, movie night, an ice cream social, a sock hop and the end-of-year picnic. Look in Keepin’ on Track for the next event.

School Improvement Team (SIT)

All Howard County public schools are site-managed, which means that the administration, staff, and parents of each school have the responsibility for developing a yearly plan designed to meet the goal of the school system:

Goal 1

Each child, regardless of race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, or gender will meet the rigorous performance standards.

Goal 2

Each school will provide a safe and nurturing school environment that values diversity and commonality.

The SIT, a group of staff and parents who meet monthly, is charged with developing and implementing objectives and benchmarks to achieve this goal. The SIT is also responsible for reviewing the progress the school has made on such assessments as the Maryland School Assessment (MSA), Stanford 10, and various HCPSS curriculum assessments. The SIT looks to see if HSES has met the standards for achievement set by the HCPSS.

ACADEMICS AND CURRICULUM

Student Placement

Students are placed into homerooms with the intent of achieving heterogeneous groups for language arts instruction. A student’s past performance is a major consideration for this initial placement, but the teacher’s observation of the student’s present performance is the most important consideration going forward. The language arts groupings are flexible and students may be moved to another group if it is deemed to be in their best interests. Our ultimate goal for all students is continuous improvement that makes them independent learners by middle school.

Students are placed in math groups based on past performance and curriculum-based assessments, and are continually evaluated through ongoing assessment.

Students new to Howard County are assessed to provide an initial reference point.

Parents will be notified of an intended move to another group.

Guidance Program

The elementary guidance program provides assistance in academic and social adjustment areas and is available to all HSES students. HSES has a full-time school counselor who meets with students individually or in small groups to address a wide range of topics that have included self-esteem, friendship, communication skills, stress management, study skills, and conflict resolution skills. For example, friendship groups (developed based upon need and available at the teachers request) are formed of eight to ten students and meet for half an hour each week for a month to six weeks. Specific skills cover meeting new friends, cooperation, communication, and problem solving.

HSES's school counselor, also works with teachers and school personnel to help all students reach their individual potential, assists parents with understanding developmental issues and communicating more effectively with their children.

Finally, elementary school counselors can refer parents and students to public school services and/or community agencies when needed.

Standardized Tests

The Stanford 10 test is given to all students in Grade 2 on April 21, 22, and 23. Parents receive their child’s score in the mail in June. Students in grades 3, 4, and 5 take the Maryland School Assessment (MSA) in Reading and Math. The testing window begins April 1-April 10. The testing window for Maryland School Assessment (MSA) Science for grades 5 and 8 begins April 23-May 13. Students receive individual test scores on MSA and these are mailed to parents at the end of the summer. The MSA is designed to measure a student’s attainment of the Maryland Learning Outcomes (MLOs).

Progress Reports are issued midway between marking periods. They are contained in the Monday folder. This year they will come home on (October 5, December 14, February 29, and May 12.

Report Cards are issued quarterly (November 13, January 30, April 16, and June 12. Parent conferences are normally held the first and second reporting periods. Notices are sent home with each student assigning a day and time for parents to meet with teachers. Parents who wish additional conferences may contact the teacher to schedule an appointment.

Curriculum

The curriculum for each grade is provided during Back-To-School nights held each September.

Homework Guidelines

HSES teachers will provide homework that is engaging and varied to meet the needs of each student while enhancing subject matter covered during school hours. Homework can assist students by reinforcing previously taught concepts, exploring and extending knowledge, preparing students for future lessons, and challenging and inspiring independent learning. A separate letter to parents regarding homework will come home in August.

Rule of Thumb: homework should take approximately ten minutes per grade to complete. For instance, a first grader should spend ten minutes per night on homework while a fourth grader may take up to forty minutes. Parents should contact their child’s teacher if homework is consistently taking more time to complete.

SUPPORT AND EXTENDED SERVICES

Resource Reading includes services such as small group remedial reading instruction and team-teaching with the classroom teacher.

English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) services (instruction in speech, comprehension, reading and writing Standard American English) are provided to students for whom English is not a primary language.

Resource Class: Special education services are provided to students as needed and range from monitoring students to providing direct instruction.

Gifted and Talented Program (G/T) is comprised of a variety of educational opportunities:

The G/T Mathematics Program (for grades 4 and 5) offers an enriched mathematics curriculum that is accelerated by at least two years. It replaces the general education math curriculum and is taught daily by the G/T Resource teacher. This curriculum prepares students for Pre-Algebra G/T in sixth grade. Students (nominated by teachers and/or parents) are selected for the G/T Math program based upon results obtained from testing given in February of the prior school year. Students new to HCPSS may be nominated and tested upon registration in the school. Tests used to determine eligibility include the School and College Ability Test (SCAT) and the Terra Nova Test Additional indicators of outstanding performance in math may also be considered when determining student placement.

Instructional Seminars are designed to extend student interests beyond general exploratory experiences. Students develop a broad range of advanced-level skills in preparation for in-depth study and creation of a product on a chosen interest. G/T Resource Teachers provide advanced-level instruction and schedule these opportunities for interested students.