Avery Elementary 4388 Avery Road

Hilliard, Ohio 43026 www.hilliardschools.org

phone: 614-921-5100 fax: 614-921-5101

Principal Mr. Kevin Landon

Kevin_Landon@hboe.org

Secretaries Mrs. Jodi Pachuta Ms. Cathy Moore

PTO President Tayna Newsom

TaynaNewsom@me.com

Check out the Avery Elementary website.

You will find important dates and information, a link to district flyers, our Twitter

feed as well as the most recent Tweets and much more! Twitter @averygators1

Like us on Facebook @ Avery Elementary PTO.

Avery News FROM THE PRINCIPAL…

Greetings Avery Families,

Happy February!

February brings much excitement because there are many

things going on in the halls of Avery. We just finished the benchmark

assessments in Reading. Grades 2-5 will be taking the STAR, which

are computer tests that will give the reading level to help us

personalize instruction for your student(s). The teachers will also be

finishing the F & P reading assessments at all grade levels (K-5). This

assessment checks for reading fluency, decoding and comprehension

skills. K-2 will take the DMA math assessments and grades 3-5 will

continue taking pre and post-tests within their math units. These

assessments will be finished by the end of the month and the results

should be available to share with parents at teacher conferences.

Thank you for your continued cooperation with the recent

change to the drop-off and pick-up procedure. We are looking

forward to Parent-Teacher Conferences on February 15. Please sign

up to meet with your student’s teacher(s) so you can review his/her

progress. We are so very proud of the students at Avery and we know

that they are working hard.

This month is filled with many amazing and fun

extracurricular activities for our students. Avery Gators are engaged

in after school activities including Lego Club and Gator News. The

students and staff are having the best time in these clubs and we

welcome you to come and watch them as they participate. The Great

Kindness Challenge has been a wonderful experience for our students

and staff. Our Avery Standard continues to be demonstrated

throughout the halls!

Continuing to Move Forward,

Mr. Landon

RESPECT

Responsibility Kindness

February 2017

No School February 17th or February 20th.

SMART Cookies January

1/6 – Eli Slick

1/13 – Aly Hillard

1/20 - Lily Cromer

1/27 - Job Hickey Congratulations to our Winners!

Student

Council

Student Council is sponsoring a

fundraiser/collection for the Humane Society. A

list of items needed for the animals is posted in

classrooms or can be found on the Avery PTO

Facebook page. Collection runs from January

16th – February 24th.

February Fundraiser – Smelly Pencil Sale!

The sale will take place at lunch, February 13th –

16th. All pencils will cost $1.00.

February Student Council Spirit Day –

Star Day! Dress as your favorite star (movie star,

singer, athlete, etc) on Friday, February 24th.

~Mrs. Ehrbar, Student Council Advisor

Girls On The Run

Attention all Fourth and Fifth grade girls! Avery's Girls on the Run Team will be forming soon! We will be meeting on Tuesdays and Thursdays after school from 3:15-4:45 PM, beginning on Tuesday, March 7th and ending on Thursday, May 18th. You must be able to attend both days to be on the team. Registration is from February 6th-9th. It will be on a lottery basis. You can register your girl at: girlsontherunfranklincounty.org/registration/ Please direct any questions to Mrs. Berg at carol_berg@hboe.org. Thanks! Coach Berg, Coach Burger & Coach Pachuta

Gifted Testing Referrals HCSD provides two testing opportunities

per year to identify gifted students. Trained professionals conduct the testing. Referral forms, which include a list of characteristics often found among gifted students, are available in school offices, in the Gifted Services office, and electronically at the Gifted Services website under Curriculum and Instruction.

Parents interested in referring their children for gifted testing must submit a referral form by Monday, February 6th. Children may be referred to the Gifted Services office by teachers, parents, by child self-referral, or by others with knowledge of the child’s abilities. Gifted testing will occur the week of March 6th. Students will only be tested if a referral form has been submitted.

Please contact Karen Lycan, Gifted Intervention Specialist, at karen_lycan@hboe.org with any questions.

Mark Your Calendars

~ FEBRUARY ~ 2nd PTO Meeting, 7:00p

3rd Great Kindness Challenge Ends

6th Board of Education Meeting, 7:00p

10th Spirit Night @ Integrity Athletics

13th-16th Student Council Smelly Pencil Sale

15th Parent-Teacher Conference, Late Night

16th Spirit Night @ LaRosa’s Pizza

17th No School

20th Presidents’ Day, No School

21st Spirit Night @ Grandad’s Pizza

21st ISPTO Meeting, JW Reason, 6:30p

24th Student Council Spirit Day – Dress like a star!

24th Student Council Humane Society Drive Ends

24th K-6 End of 2nd Grading Period

~ MARCH ~ 6th Board of Education Meeting, 7:00p

20-24th Spring Break

The Great Kindness Challenge at Avery

GKC week at Avery Elementary was January 30-February 3.

The GKC has been a week of inspiring our students to be kind.

GKC is a global campaign to promote the act of being kind to

others. Check out the website: http://www.greatkindnesschallenge.org.

Students from AcademyEDU came into the classrooms to teach and deliver

classroom activities for our students, K-5. AcademyEDU is an HCSD ILC

program for students who want to become teachers. The lessons were grade

level specific. As you know your students had the opportunity to dress up

during the week. On Monday we wore our favorite team sportswear because

“Nothing Beats Kindness.” On Tuesday it was all about “Peace, Love &

Kindness.” On Wednesday we were “Wild About Kindness,” and “Kindness

Rocked” on Thursday. All day on Friday we were “Dreaming of Kindness.”

Your students were sent home with the GKC Checklist. Now your challenge

is to keep the KINDNESS going, and help us Create a Culture of Kindness!

DISTRICT NEWS Nominate a Teacher The Hilliard High School Alumni Association has established the Educators of Excellence Award as a way of recognizing educators who have made a difference in the lives of Alumni and/or current students in the Hilliard City School District. The Award is given annually to one educator from each school building who exemplifies a commitment to excellence in education. Visit http://www.hilliardschools.org/educators-of-excellence-award/ for more information and a nomination form.

Parent Workshop: Building Resiliency in our Children - Parents of Elementary Students Join our Student Support Services team and Syntero Counseling to learn how to develop your child’s resiliency. This session will include a discussion of how to develop and maintain a firm foundation from which children can build skills to successfully navigate academics, relationships and whatever life brings their way. The workshop is on February 7, at 6:30pm in the Heritage Middle School Media Center.

Parenting in the Digital Age Workshop: Screenagers For our next parenting workshop, we will be showing the movie SCREENAGERS: Growing Up in the Digital Age. This is a documentary about the biggest parenting issue of our time. If you are watching your kids scroll through life, with their rapid-fire thumbs and a six-second attention span and you are looking for insights from doctors and authors, please make plans to attend this amazing film. It will take place in the Darby High School PAC, on February 15. Note this is a change in the location!

Preschool and Kindergarten Registration is Open The HCSD Preschool is looking for Peers for the 2017-18 school year. The district’s preschool program is primarily designed for children with disabilities; however, typically developing children who enjoy a well-rounded, developmentally appropriate preschool experience may apply as peer role models for the students with disabilities. Peer applications are accepted throughout the school year. The application is here http://www.hilliardschools.org/hps/peer-model/about-peer-model/. Please print it and send it to HCSD Preschool. All peer applicants must participate in a peer observation conducted by a preschool teacher. The next peer observations are scheduled February 27th and April 24th. Peer applicants need to possess strong communication skills, age appropriate socialization and play skills. Be sure to get your application in soon so your child can be included in this peer observation. Kindergarten Registration is now open for the 2017-2018 school year. Go to http://www.hilliardschools.org/kindergarten-registration-open/ to begin the process if your child will be five years of age on or before September 30, 2017.

…PTO News

PTO Meetings- Avery’s PTO typically meets the first Thursday of the month. If you miss a meeting, minutes are posted on the Avery PTO Facebook page within a few days following the meeting. The next PTO Meeting is Thursday, February 2, at 7:00 PM in the Media Center. Agendas will be available several days prior to the meetings via eblast and Avery website. Childcare will be available for children ages 4+. We hope you can join us! Grateful- Thanks for coming out and supporting Avery Elementary at our January Spirit Events at Grandad's and Beer Barrel. Your continued support means so much to our school! Integrity Athletics- We have a Spirit Night coming up on February 10 at Integrity Athletics in Plain City. It is owned by one of our parents here at Avery. We hope everyone on Team Avery will stop by! LaRosa’s Pizza- We have a Spirit Night on February 16 at LaRosa’s Pizza in Dublin. Grandad’s Pizza- We have a Spirit Night on February 21 at Grandad’s Pizza in Hilliard. S.O.S. (Support Our School)- Be sure to enroll (or check your enrollment) of your Kroger Plus Card in the Kroger Community Rewards program. So go to www.krogercommunityrewards.com. This is a significant opportunity for our school to raise money just by you buying groceries! Last year Avery families generated more than a $1200 donation. Another way to support Avery is by sending in Box Tops for Education, which can be found on product packaging. Each “Box Top” is equal to $0.10 for Avery! Ask your family and friends who may not be supporting other organizations to enroll in the Kroger Rewards program and save those Box Tops. Stickers- Don’t forget about the PTO sticker machine by the gym. Stickers are $0.50 each, and Avery Elementary gets a percentage of each sticker sold. Stay Informed- Follow us on twitter @averygatorspto, and "like/follow" Avery Elementary PTO on Facebook. Don’t forget to check the Avery Elementary Flyer Page by visiting the following link: http://www.hilliardschools.org/flyers/?building=Avery

President- Tayna Newsom Vice President- Joe Pata Treasurer- Sharla Buxton Secretary- Katie Sladek

The Avery Standard

Stand Up & Own It.

Passion for Growth.

Power of the Team.

At Avery Elementary… We set the example. We work with purpose. We believe in “we,” not “me.”

PLEASE PAY SCHOOL FEES

Fees are $30 per child. Check with the office if you are unsure of your

payment status. We encourage you to pay online through your My Payments Plus account. If necessary, cash or

check will be accepted in the Avery Office.

Thanks for your help!

Visit the Home Access Center to make sure

your contact information is updated.

Report Cards can also be viewed there.