Hamblen Elementary January Newsletter

Hamblen Elementary News

Principal's Message

Welcome to 2024!

As we begin this new year, I am excited for what is to come. Working with children is such joyful work and I so look forward to the fun we will have this spring and the transformative learning that will take place.

We finally have some winter snow and it sounds like the cold temperatures are on the way. As a reminder, we will go outside and play every day we are able to. Outside play is so important! I closely monitor the temperature and wind chill to make decisions about outside time.

This month we will celebrate the life and legacy Rev Dr Martin Luther King, Jr with a school assembly and classroom activities.

At the end of the month we will hold mid-year progress conferences. We are looking forward to the opportunity to meet with families to share student progress and set goals.

Looking forward to seeing you in the building soon!

In partnership,

Stefanie

Parent Conferences January 25 & 26

Conferences are Jan. 25 and 26. There will be no school those days for elementary students.

When scheduling, the default method for conferences is in-person, but families can make a request for a video conference or phone conference in the drop-down menu options, if necessary. Your teacher will confirm your request by sending a virtual conference meeting link.

As a reminder, there are no conferences for middle school students (except Montessori) or high school students.

MEALS: Elementary students will be able to come to their schools for FREE on-site breakfast and lunch, which will be served at the following times:

Breakfast: 8-10 a.m.
Lunch: 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Meals are not available for parent/guardians or children not enrolled at SPS.

If you have questions about conferences, please visit spokaneschools.org/letstalk.

Bond and Levy Election on February 13

The Spokane Public Schools Board of Directors approved capital projects for a 2024 bond and a replacement levy. Learn more here!

New Student Registration and School Choice Webinar - Jan 11

If you have a 4 or 5 year old that will be in Kindergarten next year, registration has opened online.

School choice and registration for new students in all other grades is also open online.

To learn more about school choice and new student registration please attend the district webinar. You can register here.

If you have an incoming Kindergarten student sign up here to get updates from the district throughout the spring and summer.

On-time Attendance Matters

Coming to school on-time makes a big difference in student learning. Students arriving late not only miss out on the morning routines and information, but missing just 10 minutes a day of school, means students miss 1800 minutes a year, which is 30 hours of school!.

We will be encouraging all students to arrive on time so they can participate in the morning routines including breakfast and be present for the full day of school. To support a successful and quick transition to the classroom teachers begin picking up their classes on the blacktop at 8:25.

If your child arrives after 8:35 (9:35 on Mondays), they will need to check in to the office and their tardy will be recorded and tracked.

Website Calendar

Want to know about what is happening at Hamblen? Please check out our calendar on the website. Events that are coming up quickly are shown on the homepage. When you click on View Calendar you will be able to access the calendar for the whole year.

Hamblen Calendar

Counselor's Corner

Hamblen's character word for the month of January is Perseverance. At Hamblen, students are learning that perseverance is pushing yourself to work through challenges and obstacles. Here are some ways you can continue talking about perseverance at home with your child:

It's not all about success vs. failure. It's natural for children to view a task through the lens of success vs failure. But you can help change that view by talking with them about how there are many factors that contribute to success and failure, and some are out of their control. The only thing you can control is yourself, the effort you put into things. Failure is not trying and falling short, failure is refusing to do anything at all.
Show your child what perseverance looks like. This can be done from an example from your life or you can use great examples from history such as Martin Luther King Jr. or Albert Eistein. Reading books about perseverance is also a great way to show examples of perseverance.
Celebrate accomplishments from perseverance. When your child works hard at completing a task or project and showed perseverance it is okay to celebrate that with them! Maybe it is praise, a special outing or a tangible reward.
Try, try, and try again. Perseverance is like any skill, you need to practice it continually or it will weaken over time. Encourage your children to try new things, chances are they won't be naturally gifted at all of then, which will test out their perseverance as they try to improve.
Be there for them. Perseverance is an uphill battle. Sometimes it feels like we go backwards instead of forwards, but with support and encouragement from you, it will make the battle easier.

Stay in touch with Hamblen!

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PTG Happenings

Our next meeting will be on Monday, January 29th at 6:00pm at Hamblen. Shawn Jordan, Chief Operations Officers for SPS will be joining us. Hope to see you there!

Hamblen Needs You!

We are in need of noon recess supervisors and morning crossing guards. If you are interested please call or stop by the main office to get more information.

January

Calendar of Events

Trait = Perseverance

8 - School Resumes

8 - Late Arrival

School Starts at 9:30am

11 - New Student Registration and School Choice Webinar @ 5:30pm

12 - MLK Assembly @ 1:00pm

15 - No School MLK Observance

16 - Parent Conference Scheduler opens online

19 - Tie Dye Spirit Day

22 - Late Arrival

School Starts at 9:30am

25 & 26 - No School Conference Days

29 - Late Arrival

School Starts at 9:30am

29 - PTG Meeting @ 6:00pm

Feb 1 - January Reading Calendars Due

Feb 2 - No School: Semester Break Day

Feb 8 - Literacy Night @ 6:15pm

Feb 13 - Election Day: Remember to Vote

Feb 19 - No School: Presidents' Day

Feb 20 - No School: Teacher Inservice Day