Henrietta Lacks Elementary

As we prepare for the opening of Henrietta Lacks Elementary, we want to extend our sincere gratitude to the community for your invaluable input. The responses to the survey have been numerous, and several key themes have emerged from the feedback. We are especially heartened by the emphasis placed on parent and community involvement at Henrietta Lacks Elementary.

Our commitment to fostering an inclusive and welcoming environment for students, families, community members, and staff remains unwavering. It is imperative that everyone contributing to the culture of Henrietta Lacks Elementary feels not only heard and seen, but also genuinely valued and supported.

As we transition into the Spring season, we have planned several events to further engage with the community and ensure that Henrietta Lacks Elementary aligns with the needs of our students. Among these events is a Henrietta Lacks Meet and Greet exclusively for parents and guardians, details of which are provided below. Additionally, we are exploring other exciting possibilities, including a Bruster's Ice Cream Spirit Night tentatively scheduled for April, a picnic with the principal, playground dates with the principal, and visits to feeder elementary schools for mystery readings and lunch bunches.

Your input and suggestions for additional community-building activities or events are highly encouraged. Please feel free to reach out to Leigh Boyd via email at leigh.boyd@lcps.org with any ideas or feedback you may have. We eagerly anticipate the opportunity to deepen our connections with families and students as we approach the opening of Henrietta Lacks Elementary!

Welcome to Henrietta Lacks Elementary School! We are thrilled to extend our warmest greetings to all new communities and families joining our vibrant school community. At Henrietta Lacks Elementary, we pride ourselves on fostering a nurturing and inclusive environment where every child feels valued, respected, and supported in their educational journey. As you embark on this exciting chapter with us, know that you are joining a community dedicated to academic excellence, personal growth, and celebrating the rich diversity that each individual brings. Our dedicated team of educators and staff are committed to providing a safe and stimulating learning environment where all students can thrive academically, socially, and emotionally. Together, let us embrace the spirit of collaboration, innovation, and unity as we work hand in hand to cultivate bright futures for our children. Welcome to the Henrietta Lacks Elementary School family!

We are excited to announce that we had 42 submissions for the Henrietta Lacks Elementary School Mascot! After two rounds of voting the winning mascot has been identified and we are excited to announce that we will be..........(drum roll please)

THE HENRIETTA LACKS ELEMENTARY HONEY BEES!

Did you know?

• Honey bees pollinate many different types of plants! This means the help plants grow!
• Honey bees are expert flyers and beat their wings 200 times per second!
• The queen honey bee can live up to 5 years, but most worker bees live for 5-6 weeks!
• Honey bees perform a "waggle dance" to share information about food sources with other honey bees
• Honey bees can see every color except red!

Over the next several weeks, the Henrietta Lacks Elementary Honey Bee logo will be developed. Stay tuned for the next reveal!

In the meantime, please enjoy the video below about honey bees created by our very own LCPS Operations Specialist Kelly Pope and her husband, who are real life beekeepers!

Pre-Registration for Kindergarten and/or any new to LCPS students is currently open. If you know anyone with a rising Kindergarten student, please encourage them to pre-register as soon as possible as it greatly helps with planning and preparing efficiently for the incoming Kindergarten class.

Please visit the webpage for specific details regarding registration to LCPS. If your child already attends an LCPS school in grades Kindergarten - 12 you do not need to complete registration, your child will automatically be enrolled at Henrietta Lacks Elementary for the 2024-2025 school year if it is your child's zoned school.

You do need to complete the registration process if:

• You have a child who is new to LCPS in grades Kindergarten through 12
• You have a child currently attending an LCPS Pre-kindergarten program entering kindergarten
• You have a child who was formerly enrolled and may be returning to LCPS

Our Financial Technician, May Auguste will be overseeing new student registration. She will be in contact with families who have completed the pre-registration process to review next steps. Please see the Henrietta Lacks Elementary Registration Checklist below. If you have specific questions, please feel free to contact Leigh Boyd via email at leigh.boyd@lcps.org or Ms. May via email at gaymay.auguste@lcps.org.

We are excited to announce the community decision to move forward with a single, combined Henrietta Lacks & Hovatter PTA! The combined PTA will support students and families at both schools leveraging the strong foundation of the existing PTA combined with fresh ideas and members from the larger community.

The Hovatter & Henrietta Lacks PTA Nominating Committee is looking for leaders to help make amazing memories for our students next year!

No experience is necessary, just a heart for helping our kids!!!

Click here to fill out the interest form - we'd love to answer any questions you have, and chat more about all of the awesome opportunities available to make a difference!

http://tinyurl.com/HovHenPTALeader

Additionally, we welcome all Henrietta Lacks Elementary families to attend future meetings. Our next meetings will be April 11th and May 23rd at 6 p.m. in the Hovatter Elementary School Library.

Please visit our current website and Facebook page for additional information about the PTA and upcoming events:

PTA Website: https://hovatterpta.memberhub.com/

PTA Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/HovatterElementaryPTA

We are proud to announce that this upcoming 2024-2025 school year Henrietta/Hovatter will continue the inclusive preschool model in our early childhood program. This classroom will educate both children with disabilities, whom we currently serve, and typically developing children from the Hovatter Elementary attendance area. We are currently searching for typically developing children who will be four years old by September 30, 2024. There are a limited number of openings in our program so please review the criteria to see if your child meets our specific requirements.

The criteria include:

*Availability to attend 5 days a week from 07:30 - 11:30 AM

*The child must be 4 by September 30, 2024

* The family must live in the Henrietta/Hovatter ES attendance zone

*The parents will be required to arrange transportation to and from school

*The child may not have a current IEP

Please complete this application by 03/15/2024. Once your application is complete, you will be sent a date to bring your child to Hovatter Elementary School for a group screening. Selected candidates will be notified in May.

For more information about the inclusion program please call or email Barbara Veltri at barbara.cavalcantiveltri@lcps.org”

Form: https://forms.gle/6AtF8fbZ1BvHkDWYA

Do you or does anyone you know have a business that might be interested in partnering with Henrietta Lacks Elementary? If so, please check out the flyer below, which outlines a variety of opportunities to involve your business at Henrietta Lacks Elementary. We look forward to making connections with local companies and working together to support the school!

Ms. May Auguste and I participated in a site tour in January and were excited to see the continued progress. The school is almost fully enclosed with only the front administrative offices to complete. Additionally, several of the classrooms are having windows installed and the brick work is well on the way to being complete. Thank you again to Svain Ulvedal and Tommy Barlow for their dedication and efforts to ensure Henrietta Lacks Elementary is ready to receive students in the Fall of 2024!

Loudoun County Public Schools is offering new resources for all staff and parents/guardians to use to support students through www.parentguidance.org. You can learn more about this initiative by clicking here.

These resources include easily accessible video-based courses on difficult parenting topics, individualized parent coaching for any LCPS parent/guardian, on their schedule in their home, and weekly interactive webinars to let parents know the mental health needs of our students are a critical concern of Loudoun County Public Schools. Your unified mental health team members are ready to assist parents in accessing the support. You can watch this video about the services available.

Please consider taking a some time to complete the community input survey, if you have not already. The input gathered so far has been crucial in supporting the process to establish the vision and core values for Henrietta Lacks Elementary. Again, we sincerely appreciate your proactive involvement, the time invested, and your dedication as we work together to create an exceptional learning environment for your child.

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE SURVEY!