SUPERINTENDENT'S MESSAGE
Dear Harmony Families,
It’s hard to believe that we’ve reached December and will soon be closing the book on 2020. For me, this year will definitely go down as one of the most challenging, yet rewarding years in my career.
Our Harmony community has come together in so many countless ways throughout the course of 2020—from adapting to unprecedented changes in the public school landscape, to implementing new academic protocols and safety measures, to making sure our students continue to be fed. And all this hard work from our staff and partnership with our families has been accomplished with a determination not be stopped by a virus or other challenges we have faced on how to ensure the continued education of our students.
As we near the end of this year, we’ve got some great information to share with you in this final edition of the Harmony Connection for 2020, so be sure to read all the way through! You won’t want to miss details on the following:
- COVID & Flu: Safety Reminders
- Communications Survey: We Want to Hear from You!
- Mark Your Calendars: Re-Enrollment Period Coming Soon!
- Now Hiring: Substitute Teachers
It is with continued appreciation of our successes this year that I extend my very best wishes to you for much happiness and joy in the upcoming holiday season.
I look forward to making great Harmony strides with you in 2021!
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Mr. Harun Karan
Superintendent
Harmony Public Schools DFW District
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DECEMBER 2020 CALENDAR
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
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 & Flu: Safety Reminders
With flu season underway, the continuing COVID-19 pandemic could certainly further complicate the health and well-being of our Harmony and surrounding communities. With that, it's important now more than ever to stay vigilant in protecting ourselves and others. Please remember to send your in-person learner to school with a clean face mask each day, and remind them to wash their hands and/or use sanitizer and they enter school buildings and upon returning home. Outside of the home, remember to put at least 6-feet between you and others who do not live your household. Also remember—some people without symptoms may still be able to spread COVID-19 virus.
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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Communications Survey: We Want to Hear From You!
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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NOW HIRING! Substitute Teachers
Harmony DFW is currently hiring substitute teachers. If you would love to, or know someone who would love to, work in the classroom, have a flexible schedule of your choosing, work during school hours only, please apply at https://harmonytx.org/careers. Substitute teachers are responsible for providing instruction and managing classroom environments in absence of the regular teacher. Substitute teachers are required to perform many of the duties of the teacher that they are subbing for. They will report to the Assistant Principal at the location to which they are assigned. Substitute assignments can be for just a day, a week, or sometimes for longer periods depending on the absence period of the regular teacher. For additional info, contact District HR Manager Helen Miller at hemiller@harmonytx.org.
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Enrollment for New Students in 2021-2022
Now Underway
Harmony is still accepting applications for NEW students for the 2021-2022 school year! If you have family or friends looking to make a change, be sure to let them know 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 LIVE for new students and students wishing to change campuses next year. The Open Enrollment period ends Feb. 10, 2021.
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Re-Enrollment for Current Students Coming in January
Be sure to mark your calendars for Jan. 4! That's when the re-enrollment period begins for currents students. Each January, we ask families to let us know they’ll be joining us for another great year of learning and fun next school year, which starts in August 2021. This simple step allows us to make sure each current student’s spot at Harmony is reserved for the following school year, and assess how many new student seats we have available for other applicants. Re-enrollment runs until Jan. 22. Be on the lookout toward the end of this month for more information on how to get your child re-enrolled!
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Fall Reading Challenge
We're entering the last month of our Fall Reading Challenge!
Students have until Jan. 3 to meet reading goals that could earn them money for additional classroom books! 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.
Please reach out to your child's campus Dean of Academics with questions.
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Senior Spotlight
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. Congratulations to all our seniors!
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December'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.
The month, as we enter the holiday season, family schedules will (hopefully) start to slow down. So when meal time opportunities arise, try some of the topics below to initiate a family discussion that everyone can participate in. Maybe you will find out some new and surprising things!
- If you could change ONE thing about yourself, what would it be, and why?
- Who is your “hero” and why? What makes someone a hero? What’s your definition of a “hero”?
- If you were given the opportunity to demonstrate ONE act of kindness tomorrow, what would you do?
- What do you consider to be a mistake that you made that you wish you could take back?
- What thing in your life are you most proud of, and why?
- If you could invent something that you feel would change the world for the better, what would that be?
- What quality do you think is the MOST important thing you look for when you choose a friend? Do you possess that quality?
- At the end of the day today, is there one thing that you wish you would have accomplished? Did you do that? Why or why not?
- If you could spend time with one “famous” person, who would that be, and why?
- If you could move anywhere in the world, where would you choose and why?
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Virtual Family Visits
Don't forget to schedule your virtual home visit before the end of the year and the holiday winter break!
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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New HSA-Grand Prairie Campus Building Celebration
Last month, Harmony DFW celebrated the official grand opening of a new campus building for Harmony Science Academy-Grand Prairie. This new state-of-the-art campus is more than 29-thousand square feet, has 26 classrooms, as well as a large cafeteria and a makerspace room.
This campus is also outfitted with many modern technologies, such as restrooms with touchless faucets, and classrooms with smart lighting that changes brightness according to the light entering the classrooms from the windows. And, as an added safety feature, this campus offers a tornado/storm shelter in its Kindergarten wing that is capable of withstanding winds up to 250 miles-per-hour. Special thanks to Grand Prairie Mayor Ron Jensen for coming out to help us celebrate!
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Harmony Partners in Education!
Replenish Schools Supplies is a local non-profit that generously donates school supplies to area schools. Harmony DFW has partnered with Replenish to offer a donation for each elementary school in the DFW District this year. Items include: tissues, headphones, notebooks, pencils and more! Thank you to Mrs. Lisa Beamon-Rhone, founder of Replenish, for her efforts to keep our students equipped to succeed. This month's donation will go to Harmony Science Academy-Waco! If you or your company would like to become a Harmony Partner in Education, please email Rebecca Murry, rmurry@harmonytx.org. If you'd like to learn more about Replenish, email replenishschoolsupplies@gmail.com.
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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
JANUARY 2020
Jan. 1: New Year's Day
Jan. 5: Student Holiday (Campus PD)
Jan. 6: First Day of Second Semester/Start of Quarter
Jan. 24-30: National School Choice Week
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