Heritage Happenings

September 10, 2023

Weekly Update

Principal's Update

I want to say thank you for sharing your children with us. We have been off to a great start and are looking forward to implementing more student led and student driven activities to help continue to build upon our positive learning community!

Dates to Remember

September 11 - School Board Meeting - 6:30 @ Junior/Senior High

September 13 - 5/6 Robotics Practice - 3:45 - 5:30 PM

September 15 - Second Cup of Coffee with Beyond Basics - 9:00 AM

September 15 - PTO Fundraiser Money and Order Forms Due

September 20 - 1/2 Day for Students & PD for Staff

September 27 - 5/6 Robotics Practice - 3:45 - 5:30 PM

September 29 - Popcorn Friday

Beyond Basics

We have finished screening our students and have selected our first cohort of students to work 1:1 with our Beyond Basics Tutors. All families have been notified via email if their student has qualified for the first cycle of support.

Beyond Basics will offer a second cup of coffee to answer questions you may have about Beyond Basics and introduce the curriculum. This will take place Friday, September 15 at 9:00 AM in the Heritage Literacy Lab.

We will be offering additional cycles of tutoring throughout the year. We are excited for the opportunity that this offers our students!

PTO Hungry Howies Fundraiser

The Panther Cubs PTO is very excited to partner with our local Hungry Howies again for this year's fundraiser. Students will be coming home with fundraiser packets, these packets will contain an order sheet and informational page. Please have them returned to the school by 9/15/2023. The money raised by this fundraiser will help with many things in your students' school such as, field trips, classroom stipends, fall family fun night, march is reading month and so much more. If you have any questions feel free to reach out to Reaghan Walz, (Reaghan@gmail.com).

Leadership and Extra-Curricular Opportunities for our 5th & 6th Grade Students

We have continued with our Junior Coach Program, where 5th and 6th graders help to facilitate games, lead by example, build relationships, help to mediate conflict, etc. It is a great program and our 5th and 6th Grade Junior Coaches are excited to get started this week! We will have a second cohort of Junior Coaches second semester.

Student Council is getting started up and looking for leadership from each of the 5th and 6th grade homerooms to help give student voice and make great things happen this school year.

Safety Patrol is coming back and we will be accepting applications from students to be a member of the Safety Patrol. Students selected to participate in safety patrol will help PK and K students to and from the bus, as well as helping to greet students as they arrive. Application information will be shared with Homeroom teachers in the near future.

We are also looking for a couple of responsible 6th graders to work as office assistants in the morning. Report time would be 8:40 - 8:55 AM. Responsibilities include: assist classmates with questions, help students sign-in during announcements, collect and deliver paperwork, etc.

Students interested in being an office assistant should eat breakfast at home as they won't have time to eat breakfast at school. If your 6th grader is interested in being an office assistant please have them email Ms. Kruger, krugerd@panthernet.net, with their name, homeroom and a paragraph on why they feel they would make a great office assistant.

We are excited to have our students stepping up into leadership roles and growing into Brave, Responsible, Respectful and Kind individuals.

Positivity Project

Panther Families,

This week our school community will be focusing on the Other People Mindset. This means anything that builds relationships is going to make you happy.

The mission of the Positivity Project is to empower America’s youth to build positive relationships by understanding, appreciating, and exemplifying the character strengths in us all. People who have strong positive relationships do five things consistently - these are the five practices of the Other People Mindset. 1. Recognize the good in other people, 2. Recognize that everything you say or do affects other people, 3. Support others when they struggle, 4. Cheer people on when they succeed, 5. Remain present when giving people your attention. People who have a strong Other People Mindset are able to build and maintain strong, positive relationships with others.

While mental health is incredibly complex, we do know that positive relationships can help people become happier, healthier, and more resilient. And, the Positivity Project believes that educators have a huge opportunity and vital role to play in this endeavor. Our nation’s youth spends a large percentage of their time in school. By deliberately and consistently teaching students that relationships are important -- and that positive relationships are cultivated through character and the Other People Mindset -- educators can roll back these trends and create strong citizens and leaders for our communities and countries.

To practice and encourage the character strength of prudence with your child, please visit the Positivity Project’s P2 for Families (password: P2) where together you will watch a video, read a quote and talk about the answers to three questions.

Positivity Project's Profile of a Graduate

PowerSchool Access

We encourage all families to login to their PowerSchool Parent Portal. This is a great place for you to keep track of your students attendance and grades as they go through their schooling here in Stockbridge.

Returning Families: You have been given this log in information in the past. If you need your log in credentials, please feel free to contact our office and we can get that information to you.

PowerSchool Parent Portal

Daily Schedule

School Day: 8:50-3:38

Drop off- Begins at 8:35am. We will continue with our same procedure as last year. For safety, please do not let your child out of your car until they are in the designated area (Sidewalk in front of the school) for drop off.

Class begins at 8:50am. Please make sure that your student is here on time to start the day.

Pick up: We will continue with our same procedure as last year. As parents pull up the the sidewalk in front of Heritage, members of the staff will support the process to ensure student are safely supported to their cars.

Please expect some delays during the first few weeks of school as we streamline processes and support our students. This will ensure the safety of all our students.

Tide Me Over

Stockbridge Community Outreach is a local food pantry and crisis center located in Stockbridge at the Stockbridge Activity Center (the old middle school off of Cherry & Elm Streets) just inside Door#20. We are supported by area churches, businesses, individuals, grants, governments, and community groups. We are happy to again offer our Tide Me Over program for Pre-K through High School students who need extra food on the weekends for the 2023–2024 school year.

The “Tide-Me-Over” program will give students in the program a bag of groceries each Friday

starting September 15 and continuing through the rest of the school year. The bag contains items like macaroni and cheese, peanut butter, canned chicken or tuna, cereal, and canned fruit. Here’s how it works at Heritage:

Bags will be placed in student lockers each week or can be picked up at Outreach during open hours on Wednesdays and Fridays or by arrangement.

If you are interested in participating in our “Tide-Me-Over” program, please fill out the form that was sent home and return it as soon as possible to Stockbridge Community Outreach by email, mail, or in person, or you can send it in to your child’s school office where an Outreach volunteer will pick it up.

Sincerely,

Jo Mayer, Outreach Board Chair

School Nurse's Corner

School Nurse's August Newsletter

Student Medication

In order for your student to receive medication throughout the school day, parents must drop off any medication in the office and fill out a permission form. Medication forms can be found in our main office. If it is a prescribed medication, your family physician must fill it out. Please do not send your child to school with medication.