SUPERINTENDENT'S MESSAGE
Dear Harmony Families,
Every November, I am reminded of choices and how they can unfold in our daily lives.
This has never been more true than now -- as we have all had to consider so many unprecedented choices and make decisions on the health, wellness and safety of our families and school community.
That is why the choice you have made to entrust your child’s education to Harmony has never been more important to us. And as we embark on a new Open Enrollment season here at Harmony, I want to reassure you that we will continue to provide you information and answers on how to best serve our students and families seeking specific paths toward academic success. We are here not only to educate your children, but also to build partnerships with you—partnerships that put learning first, even in the midst of a pandemic.
With the onset of winter and the flu season, I encourage you to remain steadfast with social distancing and other best practices for limiting the spread of illness and specifically, COVID-19. As you may be aware, our local communities have seen a rise in positive cases, so please exercise healthy habits to help us maintain the instructional environment we have established for your children.
And since this is the season of Thanksgiving, let me also offer my sincere thanks for not only choosing Harmony, but for all you have done to work through this together with us. Your partnership and participation in your child's education is invaluable, and I appreciate each and every one of you.
On a final note: Please remember we are always here to support you. Don't hesitate to reach out to your child's campus to request any assistance you and your family may need. If we cannot help you directly, we will connect you with an appropriate resource.
I hope you all have a healthy month ahead, and let me one of the first to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving!
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Mr. Harun Karan
Superintendent
Harmony Public Schools DFW District
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NOVEMBER CALENDAR
Nov. 1: HPS Open Enrollment for New Students Begins
Nov. 3: Election Day
Nov. 8: National STEM Day
Nov. 11: Veterans Day
Nov. 23-27: Thanksgiving Holiday for Staff & Students
Nov. 26: Thanksgiving
Be on the lookout for news from your child's campus regarding celebrating and recognizing special monthly calendar observances.
DFW DISTRICT 2020-2021 ACADEMIC CALENDARS
Please note there are two calendars for our District--one for Dallas/Fort Worth, and one for Waco.
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COVID INFORMATION & RESOURCES |
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COVID Dashboard Now Online
At Harmony Public Schools, we believe working together is the best way to keep our campuses COVID-19 free. Together, we so far have been able to keep our schools extraordinarily safe for our students and team members with only a few, isolated COVID-19 reports across the state (about 00.1% of total HPS student and staff population).
To continue this fight, we believe it is important for you to have the same information we have when it comes to COVID-19 and your campus. To help families and team members better understand what direct impact COVID-19 is having on our schools, Harmony has debut a comprehensive COVID-19 dashboard to provide families and staff members a source for regular updates on the number of active COVID cases at their local school, across their district, and around the state. The dashboard is updated each Monday with the latest case totals for both students and team members.
Visit the Harmony Public Schools COVID-19 Dashboard at HarmonyTX.org/COVIDDashboard or by clicking the link at the top of your campus homepage.
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Open Enrollment for 2021-2022
Now Underway
There has never been a more important time than now to choose the right school. If you have family or friends looking to make a change, be sure to let them know Harmony’s annual Open Enrollment period is now underway! Harmony Public Schools have a 20-year history of helping students close performance gaps so every child can succeed. The application period for open enrollment for the 2021-22 school year is NOW LIVE for new students and students wishing to change campuses next year. The Open Enrollment period ends Feb. 10, 2021.
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Meal Service Update: Free Meals for ALL
Harmony Public Schools is now offering free meals for all children ages 18 and under. Students under 21 who are currently enrolled in a school and are identified as mentally or physically disabled are also eligible. Free breakfast and lunch will be available daily for students attending classes at the school. For distance learners, meal boxes will be available for pick up at all secondary campuses:
- Harmony Science Academy-Carrollton
- Harmony Science Academy-Dallas (High School)
- Harmony School of Excellence-Dallas
- Harmony School of Innovation-Dallas
- Harmony Science Academy-Euless
- Harmony School of Innovation-Fort Worth
- Harmony School of Innovation-Garland
- Harmony School of Innovation-Waco
Distribution will be Monday’s from 9-10 a.m. and Friday’s from 3-4 p.m. Meal distribution is open to our students, their siblings, and the community.
Parents wishing to pick up a meal box without children present will need to present one of the following to verify guardianship:
- Individual student report cards
- Attendance record from parent portal of a school website
- Birth certificate
- Official letter/email from facility or school listing children enrolled
- Other official ID cards (for example, IDs issued by a child care facility)
For additional details and updated information, please check your campus website.
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Fall Reading Challenge
Our Fall Reading Challenge is going strong! We are encouraging students to read a variety of texts of their choice and submit the titles of the books they have read. Their classroom teachers will share a link where the submissions can be made.
The challenge is:
- Kindergarten-2nd grade: Read 20 books in RAZ Plus between Oct. 5 and Jan. 3.
- 3rd-5th: Read 3 fiction, 3 non-fiction, 1 poetry, and 3 books of the student's choice between Oct. 5 and Jan. 3.
- 6th-8th: Read 4 fiction, 4 non-fiction, 1 poetry, and 2 books of the student's choice between Oct. 5 and Jan. 3.
- 9th-12th: Read 4 fiction, 4 non-fiction, 1 poetry, and 3 books of the student's choice between Oct. 5 and Jan. 3.
If your child meets these goals, they can earn money toward additional classroom books! Please reach out to your Dean of Academics with questions.
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November's Tip for Social Emotional Learning (SEL) At Home
Social and emotional learning (SEL) provides a foundation for safe and positive learning, and enhances students' ability to succeed in school, careers, and life. In this month's tip, we offer ways to bring SEL into the home.
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Take care of yourself, even if it feels like the last thing you can do right now. Remember the oxygen on the airplane; you can’t take care of others unless you take care of yourself first.
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Establish routines and intentionality. Knowing what to expect reduces anxiety for all.
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Remember that presence is not the same thing as being present. Engaging in what your child is interested in shows them that they are important.
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Commit acts of service and kindness for others. Focusing on the needs of others takes us out of concerns just for ourselves.
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Engage in creativity together. Spending moments in enjoyable activities fosters close relationships and moments of communication.
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Celebrate what you can. Practicing gratitude improves psychological health.
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Practice active listening. Removing distractions and restating what you heard helps to build trusting relationships.
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Help your child express and name emotions. Understanding them helps children be less fearful, calm down quicker, and bounce back more easily.
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Practice social-emotional learning daily. These practices help to decrease stress and increase positive social behaviors and relationships with others.
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Transition mindfully. Thinking about our movements between activities helps with self-regulation, providing greater calmness and ability to manage emotions.
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Senior Spotlight: Feisal Maawiy and Ubayd Kasim
Every month, Harmony DFW will showcase our seniors as a way to acknowledge all of their hard work and accomplishments they've achieved over the course of their K-12 education.
This month, we spotlight Harmony School of Innovation-Garland seniors Feisal Maawiy and Ubayd Kasim. Maawiy has been accepted to the University of Texas-Austin, and Kasim has been accepted to Baylor University, the University of North Texas and Texas Tech.
Congratulations to both!
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Financial Aid Applications: FAFSA/TASFAS
Financial Aid Applications (TASFA/FAFSA) are now open. The majority of scholarships/grants students will receive will be federal, state, or college level and requires this application. The Texas Priority Deadline for FAFSA/TASFA is January 15, 2021. Students will need to apply for their prospective college and include the college name in the FAFSA before the priority deadline to be considered. Funding is issued on a first come, first serve basis for most financial aid (priority given to students who meet the priority deadline). Merit-based scholarships are usually not considered for most colleges/universities unless the students completes the FAFSA/TASFA. Please see your campus counselor for more details.
AP Classrooms
Students enrolled in AP Courses need to join their courses AP Classroom on College Board. Joining the AP classroom is required for test ordering (initial orders are placed early November) and also provides many resources for students. The AP Classroom also allows the teacher to track growth and find areas of weakness to create customized practice for the teacher to assign to the students.
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Virtual Family Visits
Have you scheduled your family's virtual home visit yet?!
Our Virtual Home Visits are a 30-minute scheduled video call between a teacher and a student’s family, from the teacher’s home or classroom to the family’s home help parents establish strong relationships with the school and teachers, even when they cannot meet face-to-face. During these unprecedented times, HPS teachers and staff will continue to visit our families virtually until it is safe to return to campus.
Home visits has positive effects on student’s learning, and social and emotional improvement.
Benefits for students include:
- Students whose parents agree to home visits, have better behavior and conduct,
- Improved academic performance, student attendance
- A better ease at learning, and trust of their teacher,
- Forms a higher level of respect for teachers, themselves and others.
Benefits for parents include:
- Parents are secure knowing that teachers genuinely care for the welfare of their children.
- Creates a trusting bond between the teacher and parent.
- Parents feel confident that their child’s future is in the hands of teachers who go beyond the call of duty to guarantee each student’s prosperity.
- Allows parents to become a part of the school environment.
Harmony teachers visit more than 7,000 homes each year. We encourage you to contact your child's campus to request your virtual home visit today!
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Harmony Campuses Given College Success Awards
Harmony Public Schools campuses around the state have just been awarded SEVENTEEN "College Success Awards" by GreatSchools.org for their success in preparing students for college and ultimately their careers.
Seven of those campuses are right here in the DFW District:
- Harmony Science Academy-Carrollton
- Harmony School of Innovation-Fort Worth
- Harmony School of Innovation-Garland
- Harmony Science Academy-Euless
- Harmony Science Academy-Dallas
- Harmony School of Innovation-Dallas
- Harmony School of Excellence-Dallas
Congratulations to all the campuses for their hard work!
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Harmony Partners in Education: Girls Inc.
Harmony Science Academy DFW District, in partnership with Girls Inc., will begin offering additional programming for young girls beginning in Spring 2021. Girls Inc. is an international non-profit organization committed to inspiring girls to be strong, smart, and bold in their decisions and lives. Through a variety of customized virtual and in-person educational sessions, girls learn how to make healthy choices, how to lead in the classroom, and how to discover and use their passions beyond the classroom. If you have any questions about this or other partnership opportunities, please contact Harmony DFW District Director of Public Relations Rebecca Murry at rmurry@harmonytx.org.
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Communications Survey: Your Voice Matters!
Harmony Public Schools DFW is always looking for ways to improve communications to better meet the needs of our families. Listening to your suggestions and comments is very important to us. To better understand the effectiveness of our communication efforts, we are conducting a short online survey, which can be found here. Your participation in this survey will help us evaluate how information is being provided about the District and our schools. The survey will take about 10 minutes to complete, and your input is sincerely appreciated.
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Harmony Math Interventionist Recognized for Articles
Harmony School of Excellence-Dallas Math Interventionist
Erden was inspired to write two math articles after HSE-Dallas's math department worked with gifted and talented students on extra-curricular activities and project-based learning projects that were ultimately adopted into Harmony's curriculum. Those articles are:
• Extracurricular Activities in Schools - Preparing a Mathematics Journal
• Lesson Scenarios in Mathematics Teaching
Erden says he is excited to help his colleagues participate in similar competitions.
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Don't Forget! Connect With Us on Social Media
If you aren't already, now would be a good time to get connected to us on social media! In addition to your child's campus Facebook/Twitter page, we also have a District-wide Facebook and Twitter page. Our social pages are updated frequently in order to provide information to our community, as well as celebrate the achievements of the District and our students/staff. Click here to follow us on Facebook, and here to follow us on Twitter. See you there!
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LOOKING AHEAD
DECEMBER & JANUARY 2020
Dec. 7: Pearl Harbor Day of Remembrance
Dec. 10-18: Hanukkah
Dec. 10: Human Rights Day
Dec. 15: Bill of Rights Day
Dec. 18: End of Quarter
Dec. 21-Jan. 4: Winter Break (DFW District Staff & Student Holiday)
Dec. 21: First Day of Winter
Dec. 24: Christmas Eve
Dec. 25: Christmas Day
Dec. 26: Kwanzaa Begins
Dec. 31: New Year’s Eve
Jan. 1: New Year's Day
Jan. 5: Student Holiday (Campus PD)
Jan. 6: First Day of Second Semester/Start of Quarter
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Follow Harmony DFW on social media! Like and share these stories our social media platforms. |
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