Greetings Hereford Families,
Thank you to all parents and friends that participated in kite day with your scholar. We truly appreciate your support! Parents, we are experiencing an uptick in negative behavior. Please speak with your scholar about appropriate behavior in school and on the bus. We will suspend scholars from the bus in accordance with district policy- some for the remainder of the year if they do not sit down, be quiet, watch their language, keep their hands to themselves, and follow bus expectations. Inappropriate bus behavior is a safety issue and puts the lives of those on the bus, sidewalks and roads in danger when the driver has to constantly redirect behavior. We need your assistance with this!
We are taking orders for this year's Wildcat Yearbook. Please use the QR Codeon the flyer or this link, https://link.entourageyearbooks.com/my/SonnieHereford24, to place your order or to purchase an ad for your scholar. Orders can also be placed at school.
Have a Great Week!
Principal Williams
When Children Meet Your Behavior Expectations
As parents, we seem to automatically tell our children when they are doing something that does not meet our expectations. It is important to recognize our children when they do meet our behavior expectations. When we recognize good behavior in real time, it increases the likelihood that behavior will continue. Once we have taught our children what the expectations and rules are, we need to provide verbal praise.
For example: “Great Job for cleaning up the kitchen, that was being responsible!” “Thank you for waiting your turn that was respectful.” “You showed respect by following the rules about electronics.”
Young Children Ideas
Earn 5 extra minutes of going to bed late or getting up later.
Get to choose the game for family game night.
Get to decorate paper placements for the kitchen table for dinner that night.
Have a Mystery Grab Bag – filled with little prizes they can draw from for good behavior.
Play Hide and Seek in the dark with flashlights.
Have a scavenger hunt. If they can read, write clues on paper.
Have a great week!
LaVonda Grant
Hello, Hereford families. Does your child struggle to read for a sustained amount of time? Reading stamina can influence the enjoyment of reading and impact student achievement on standardized testing, as students do not have the stamina necessary to perform well on these tests. Reading stamina is a child's ability to focus and read independently for long-ish periods of time without being distracted or without distracting others. Find out how you can help your child develop reading stamina.
Having stamina for something means being able to stick with something for periods of time. This stamina, or endurance, builds strength. Stamina can apply to lots of different areas, such as exercise or painting. It can also apply to reading.
Teachers often think about a student's reading stamina. Reading stamina is a child's ability to focus and read independently for long-ish periods of time without being distracted or without distracting others. Reading stamina is something that parents can help students develop. Here's how:
Vary the way the reading is done. Parents can think about this in terms of having their child "read to himself, read to someone, and listen to reading." Some combination of the three should make up the reading time, especially for new or struggling readers.
Choose "just right" books. If your child is at a stage of being able to read alone, help him choose books that he is able to read independently. This means he should be able to decode almost every word in the book correctly. In this situation, avoid using books that are too difficult to read alone. If your child will be reading with you, choose books that are lively and engaging.
Set reasonable goals. Most toddlers and preschoolers find it difficult to sit for long periods of time, even with the most engaging book! When starting out, limit book time to just a few minutes and work up from there. For elementary aged readers, consider starting with 10-15 minutes of reading time, and work up from there. Add a few minutes to your reading time every week or so.
Celebrate progress. Without getting too caught up on the number of minutes spent reading, celebrate the time that is spent reading. Share your favorite parts of books read, plan the next visit to the library, and share progress with other family members.
Spending longer periods of time reading means fewer interruptions and more time reading what you love. As your child moves into higher grades, having reading stamina will help your child navigate the longer texts and assignments. Using these tips can help develop more stamina in your reader.
Read Daily
Spending 20 minutes reading together as you snuggle on the couch, or traveling in the car contributes to the development of your child’s vocabulary, thinking, and imagination. Encourage older kids to read on their own, too, by joining your local library’s summer reading program. Model for your kids that you value reading by having Family Reading Time where everyone, including the adults in the house, sets aside electronics and reads for pleasure.
Guide to Helping Children Choose Math Related Books:
- Encourage Students to Find the Math in their Favorite Books
- Be Selective about Math-Themed Books
- Share Picture Books in Math
- More Reading Can Lead to More Math
April is Autism Awareness Month. With 1 in 59 children born in the US being diagnosed with autism, you are bound to come in contact with these individuals or know someone personally. The popular PBS Kids franchise has been a leader in autism awareness, developing online and mobile resources for families and children as well as original television programming designed to make kids with autism visible, celebrate their strengths, and build acceptance.
In 2017, Sesame Street welcomed a new character to the block: Julia, a young girl who has autism. A special premier episode features all the Sesame Street friends meeting Julia and learning to appreciate all types of people. Click the link below to view the episode.
School-Parent Compacts
School-Parent compacts are a written commitment between parents, students, and school to share responsibility for improved student achievement. Every student enrolled in a Title I funded school MUST have a signed school-parent compact on file every school year. We are still missing quite a few School-Parent compacts. Please sign your child’s compact and return it to their teacher. If you need another compact, you can email me (ann.elkins@hsv-k12.org) and I will gladly send another home with your child. Thank you!
My Upcoming Meeting
Parent Focus Meeting
When – Wednesday, April 24, 2024 – 9:00 AM or 12:30 PM
Where – Hereford Elementary Library
I hope to see you there!
Are there any topics you would like to see a Parent Focus Meeting on? Please feel free to give me suggestions/feedback at ann.elkins@hsv-k12.org. Thank you!
Ann Elkins
Parent Coordinator
Sonnie Hereford Elementary
Hello Parents,
Please help your child remain focused as we wind down the school year. Some students have displayed distractions and irritability during class. As we encourage each scholar to stay the course and remain focused, we ask that you do the same from home. Please remind your scholar to be on their best behavior while riding the school bus and display their best behavior and focus during class.
Guidance Class: This week in Guidance Counseling class, your child will continue to learn about taking RESPONSIBILITY. Responsibility is doing our best to do the right thing in all situations. Responsibility is important in all facets of our life. It is important to be responsible with chores, classwork, self-care, and relationships with others. We can be responsible with our words and our actions. Being responsible will have many positive consequences. Being irresponsible will prove to have many negative consequences. You can make the right choice to be responsible and to be the best version of yourself. Try to live a responsible life and stand strong for what you believe in so you will have few regrets and few negative consequences. Every good choice makes you stronger, and every bad choice will have a negative consequence even if it takes a while to surface. We are our happiest selves when we are responsible because we reap the benefits of our positive actions. When we make irresponsible choices, we never feel good about that. Even if no one else knows, we will always know. Give yourself the best gift, the gift of responsibility.
Persons with Developmental Disabilities: Stephen Hawking was an English theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author who was director of research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology at the University of Cambridge.[6][17][18] Between 1979 and 2009, he was the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge, widely viewed as one of the most prestigious academic posts in the world. Hawking was born in Oxford into a family of physicians. In October 1959, at the age of 17, he began his university education at University College, Oxford, where he received a first-class BA degree in physics.
In October 1962, he began his graduate work at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where, in March 1966, he obtained his PhD degree in applied mathematics and theoretical physics, specializing in relativity and cosmology. In 1963, at age 21, Hawking was diagnosed with an early-onset slow-progressing form of motor neuron disease that gradually, over decades, paralyzed him. After the loss of his speech, he communicated through a speech-generating device initially through the use of a handheld switch, and eventually by using a single cheek muscle.
Have a great week.
J.Jewel Johnson-Thorne
School Guidance Counselor
Kelli Eaton- Assistant Principal
Excellence is the Expectation as we Journey to Success!
Email: kelli.eaton@hsv-k12.org
Website: https://www.huntsvillecityschools.org/schools/sonnie-hereford-elementary
Phone: 256-428-7440
Facebook: www.facebook.com/sonnieherefordelementary
