December 20 - Hawks Take Flight into 2025
Greetings Hawk Families,
We hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable winter break. Remember that WCPSS modified Friday January 3rd to a teacher workday, so the first day back for students will be Monday January 6th. Please see below for this week’s updates.
Science Fair and Specials Night January 9th
Reminder: School Grounds Are for Hortons Creek Students and Staff
For the safety and well-being of our students and staff, we kindly remind parents, families, and community members that Hortons Creek grounds are NOT available for walking, biking, bird watching, or exercising during school hours. School grounds should not be viewed as if they are a public park as doing so poses significant safety concerns to students and staff, particularly during the school day. Your understanding and cooperation helps us maintain a safe and focused environment for everyone. Thank you for making student and staff safety our top priority.
Student Absences:
Please be mindful of your child’s absences. If your child has 5 or more absences throughout the year, we will ask for a doctor’s note for any subsequent absence that families would like to be marked excused. Please also note that because class attendance and participation are critical elements of the educational process, any absences, whether excused or unexcused, can have a negative impact on your child’s academic achievement.
Other People Matter Club
Reminder: students should come to school prepared each and every day
We’ve noticed an increase in items, lunches, and other forgotten belongings being dropped off at the front office during the instructional day. To help minimize disruptions and support student preparedness, please work with your child to ensure they have everything they need before leaving for school each morning. Thank you!
Important Sign-In/Sign-Out Reminders for Families:
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Phone and ID Required: For the safety of all students, parents must bring a valid photo ID and their phone when signing out a student or checking in as a visitor.
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QR Code Check-In: Please allow time for the system to process your check-in when using the QR code. Be sure to wait for the "Thank You" screen to appear, then ring the doorbell.
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Morning Carpool: Staff assisting with morning carpool will come inside promptly at 9:10 AM, regardless of weather conditions.
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Tardy Policy: Students are expected to be in their seats by 9:15 AM. Any student arriving after this time will be marked tardy.
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Late Arrival Sign-In: To ensure accurate attendance, students arriving late must be signed in by a parent or guardian. If not signed in, they may be marked absent for the day.
Thank you for your cooperation in helping us maintain a safe and efficient environment for our school community!
25-26 Enrollment
Enrollment for the 2025-2026 school year is open now. Please register rising k siblings ASAP
https://www.wcpss.net/Page/33753
Kids Heart Challenge
Hello, Heart Heroes! Are you ready? Kids Heart Challenge is coming to our school soon! We have exciting things planned this year to get us moving, helping others and having fun. Get a head start by signing up today and helping your student choose a daily health challenge. Visit our school page at Hortons Creek KHC Page or download the AHA Schools app! Final Collection Date January 31, 2025.
TalkingPoints Tip: Share Messages Between Family Members
Families who use the TalkingPoints app can turn on ‘Share messages’ to change their conversation with a teacher into a group message. When you and other family contacts share messages, you see the same messages from the teacher, as well as all responses from each other. Please note that while shared messaging is turned on, you cannot send a private message to the teacher through TalkingPoints - messages go to everyone who is sharing messages for the student. You can turn off shared messaging at any time.
This is something that needs to be enabled or disabled from the parent side of the app. The school cannot force this setting on or off.
Hawks Nest Courtyard Lunch Reminder
At Hortons Creek, we value family engagement, and lunch visits can be a special treat for both students and families. However, we ask that interested parents/guardians use this opportunity sparingly. Limited space means frequent and repeated visits may prevent other families from having a chance, and can unintentionally hinder students' sense of self-confidence, independence, and maturity.
Other ways to be involved at Hortons Creek:
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Join the PTA
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Student Showcase Events
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Spirit Nights
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Invest in the Nest Fundraiser
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Grade Level Coordinators
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PTA General Meetings
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Bike, Walk, and Roll to School
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Field Trip Chaperones
Student Birthdays Reminder
A reminder that we do not have student birthday parties at school. However, healthy birthday snacks can be shared in the cafeteria during scheduled lunch times, or a fun physical activity can be shared at recess; but ONLY healthy alternative snacks are allowed (no cupcakes or sweet treats). Snacks must be from commercial suppliers and not homemade.
Due to students with food allergies, it is required that classroom teachers are notified IN ADVANCE to bringing in any healthy snacks or sharing a physical activity for a student’s birthday.
Please be respectful of staff members on duty in the cafeteria and be mindful of their responsibilities. Additionally, if bringing in a healthy snack, please bring in only one type of snack. Items not permitted at all: party favors, decorations, hats, goody bags, and balloons. These items are potential safety hazards to students. Prior teacher notification is expected for any healthy birthday snacks.
Birthday invitations should be mailed from a child’s home, and birthday parties should be planned outside of school hours. Teachers cannot give out parent contact information for these events due to student confidentiality concerns. This also applies to other out-of-school playdates; teachers should not be put in the position of distributing student and parent contact information.
Lunch Safety Reminder
For the safety of all our students, please avoid packing lunches in glass containers if your child packs lunch. We ask that you use plastic, metal, or other non-breakable materials that won’t shatter if dropped. This helps us ensure a safer environment in the cafeteria and classrooms. Thank you for your cooperation
Important Upcoming Dates:
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Monday December 23 - Friday January 4 - No school holiday
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Monday January 6 - first day back from Winter Break
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Thursday January 9 - Science Fair/Specials Night
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Friday January 17: Quarter 2 Ends
Personal Student Devices Reminder
Please be reminded that while smartphones and other personal electronic devices can be brought to school, they should be kept put away in a student's backpack during the instructional day to minimize distractions and maintain a focused learning environment. Thank you in advance for your assistance in this matter
How to Purchase a 24-25 HCES Yearbook
You can use this link to purchase our 24-25 Yearbook. You will have to sign up by completing the form through the TreeRing website before you can purchase a yearbook. If you have any questions, please reach out to Amanda Morton at amorton@wcpss.net.
Gym/PE Reminder:
Families: please be advised that if your child is to be excused from any Physical Education (PE) activities, a doctor’s note is required. This note must clearly state the limitations on the student’s activity and the specific duration of the restriction. Without proper documentation, all students are expected to participate in PE. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
Student/Family Handbook
Please take a moment to bookmark our new and improved 24-25 Student/Family Handbook. This document provides you with a wealth of information about Hortons Creek Procedures including safety and security, arrival and dismissal, school policies including medication, and other important information for our families.
Things to Note:
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Please connect to our school calendar on our webpage. All of our school events are listed on our school calendar located on our school’s website on the left side of the home page.
Have a great weekend!
Michael Parker West
Principal