Horizon Elementary DECEMBER 2018

Comet Courier

Horizon Elementary School 46665 Broadmore Drive • Sterling, VA 20165 • Telephone 571.434.3260 • Fax 703.444.7418

Absentee Line 571.434.3261 Absentee Email hrzabsentee@lcps.org

Horizon Elementary School website: www.lcps.org/horizon Principal: Mrs. Jennifer Ewing Bookkeeper: Mrs. Holly Buehler

Assistant Principal: Mr. Maxwell Merick Attendance Secretary: Mrs. Katie Wright We’re on the web! www.lcps.org/horizon Follow us on twitter: @HorizonElem

and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HRZSterling

DECEMBER EVENTS

Wednesday, December 5 PTA Spirit Day/Night at SouvlakiBar, 11 AM – 9PM Thursday, December 6 Wildlife Ambassadors Assembly Tuesday, December 11 5th Graders to SRMS for Concert Wednesday, December 12 Geography Bee 8:30 AM PTA Staff Cookie Shop Wednesday, December 19 Multicultural Holidays Around the World Friday, December 21 – Wednesday, January 2 No School, Winter Break

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL… Thank you to everyone that was able to visit during American Education Week. We had approximately 572 visitors in our building. The week was full of events at each grade level as well as the Scholastic Book Fair.

December 3-7, 2018 is Inclusive Schools Week. Horizon Elementary will celebrate inclusion in a variety of ways. Please see p. 10 for details.

Wednesday, December 19 will be Horizon’s All School Holiday Sing-Along at 8:15 am, the Comet Cultural Cruise at 2:10 pm, and Horizon’s Holiday’s Around the World/Multicultural Night starting at 6:30 pm. You will receive more information from individual classrooms about any planned holiday celebrations.

During this month there are some great opportunities to give to others:

• Comet Kindness Calendar – Holiday Food Drive (more info on p. 6)

• A Giving Tree (more info on p.5)

• Advent of Kindness Calendar (more info on p.7)

What better way to help others this holiday season than by being Courteous, Caring, & Cooperative Comets!

Please make a note that winter break begins on Friday, December 21, 2018 and school will resume on Wednesday, January 2, 2018. Enjoy this time with family and friends.

I wish you all a wonderful holiday season and a safe and happy New Year!

Warm wishes,

Jennifer Ewing

GREAT THINGS HAPPENING AT HORIZON!

Student of the Month is awarded to a student who consistently shows the three

C’s at school. This month’s students from each class are: Mrs. Dettmer – Tyden Reyes Mrs. Abney- Julie Kwok Mrs. Gruehn- Charlotte Dettmer

Mrs. Toynbee – Ibraheem Adeel Mrs. Briskin – Caroline Downs Mrs. Perka – Jackson Brewster

Mrs. Walker – Isla Siciliano Miss Nichols –Soeeba Hamzayeva Mrs. Rooker – Brady Gill

Mrs. Yang – Madeline Finke Mrs. Wallace – Sofia Murphy Mrs. Seufert – Mateo Ratiu

(Apologies to Greta Finke whose Mrs. Snyder – Bella Chen

name was spelled incorrectly last month!)

Miss Johnson – Garrett Irvin Miss Griffith – Sahil Reddy Mrs. Drury – Samantha Ankers

Miss Strohl – Caroline Taylor Miss Long –Ranson Thayambath Mrs. Engle – Hayden Manor

Miss Wasser –Nate Avoletta Mrs. Love – Brady Britsch Miss Harrison – Helena Gabriel

Miss Zahid –Izaan Khan Miss Maher – Jack Beal Miss Mueller – Jacob Bolido

Mrs. Jeffers –Gabriela Trainor Miss Rohrbach – Keira Fuller

Mrs. Wright – McKinley Gough Mrs. Tate –Hashim Mujtaba

Fun Dining is awarded to one class per grade level each month who have

consistently exhibited Courteous, Caring and Cooperative behavior in the

cafeteria. Students are given a paper table cloth to draw and play games on as well as

special comet trays for their lunches.

Kindergarten – Mrs. Walker’s students

First – Mrs. Wallace’s students

Second –Mrs. Seufert’s students

Third – Ms. Johnson’s students

Fourth – Ms. Griffith’s students

Fifth –Ms. Harrison’s students

The Dustpan Award is chosen by the custodians for the cleanest classroom in

each grade level. November’s winning classes are:

Kindergarten –Mrs. Yang’s classroom First –Mrs. Alexandre’s (Abney’s) classroom

Second –Mrs. Perka’s classroom Third –Miss Zahid’s classroom

Fourth – Mrs. Jeffers’ classroom Fifth –Ms. Mueller’s classroom

Specialists: Computer Lab/Mrs. Payne and Ms. Brechbill

TESTING INFORMATION!

Message for parents of students in grades 2-5:

This fall, all LCPS students in grades 2-8 took the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) Growth assessment from NWEA. Students will take the online MAP Growth assessment in Reading and Math three times each year to determine their instructional readiness and to provide a measure of their academic growth throughout the school year. Schools and teachers use MAP Growth data, aligned to the Virginia Standards of Learning, to support differentiated instruction and meet your child’s individual learning needs.

In ParentVUE, you can now see your child’s national percentile rank. A student's percentile rank is the percentage of students who had a MAP score less than or equal to the student's score according to the most recent NWEA RIT Scale Norms study. It compares a student's score to other students around the country and provides an overview of how a student has performed relative to others in their same grade level. For example, a third grade student with a national percentile rank of 49 has a MAP Growth score that is equal to or higher than 49% of all third graders nationally who took MAP within the same time period. For more information about the MAP Growth assessment, visit: NWEA.org/Parent-Toolkit or contact your child’s school.

For parents of students in grade 5:

This year, the winter administration of the MAP will be used, along with other data, to determine your child’s 6th grade math placement. This assessment will be administered between November 26th and December 14th.

INFORMACION DE PRUEBAS

Para padres de estudiantes en grados 2-5:

Este otoño, todos los estudiantes de LCPS en los grados 2-8 tomaron la evaluación de Crecimiento de Medidas de Progreso Académico (MAP) de NWEA. Los estudiantes tomarán la evaluación en línea MAP Growth en Lectura y Matemáticas tres veces al año para determinar su preparación para la instrucción y para proporcionar una medida de su crecimiento académico a lo largo del año escolar. Las escuelas y los maestros utilizan los datos de MAP Growth, alineados con los Estándares de aprendizaje de Virginia, para apoyar la instrucción diferenciada y satisfacer las necesidades individuales de aprendizaje de su hijo.

En ParentVUE, ahora puede ver el rango percentil nacional de su hijo. El rango percentil de un estudiante es el porcentaje de estudiantes que obtuvieron una puntuación MAP inferior o igual a la puntuación del estudiante según el estudio más reciente de las Escala de Normas de NWEA RIT. Compara el puntaje de un estudiante con otros estudiantes de todo el país y proporciona una visión general de cómo se ha desempeñado un estudiante en relación con otros en su mismo nivel de grado. Por ejemplo, un estudiante de tercer grado con un percentil nacional de 49 tiene un puntaje de crecimiento de MAP que es igual o superior al 49% de todos los estudiantes de tercer grado a nivel nacional que tomaron MAP dentro del mismo período de tiempo. Para obtener más información sobre la evaluación MAP Growth, visite: NWEA.org/Parent-Toolkit o comuníquese con la escuela de su hijo.

Para padres de estudiantes en grado 5:

Este año, se utilizara la administración de invierno del MAP, junto con otros datos, para determinar la ubicación de matemáticas de su hijo en sexto grado. Esta evaluación será administrada entre el 26 de noviembre y el 14 de diciembre.

Counselors’ Corner

This year we are focusing on helping students recognize and use

kind words and actions. December is a great time of year to show

your children to think about people and increase their empathy

quotient. Letting your kids participate in “gifts of the heart” is a

simple way to increase kind acts in the home and

community. Here are half a dozen ideas to get you started.

1. Create family memories – go for a drive and look at the

light, host a cookie exchange and bake the cookies with

your children or how about an ornament exchange?

2. Empathy is about “we” time (not Wii time). Spend time together, ask the kids to name things

you can do as a family that they think everyone would enjoy – ice skating, board games,

hiking?

3. Share your favorite holiday books and movies – The Grinch Who Stole Christmas and the

Muppet Christmas Carol are two of my favorites and both show the power of kindness.

4. Put the kids in charge – no, not of everything! Kids love jobs. Maybe they can be the

photographer of the day, encouraging them to get pictures of all the action will help them to

focus on others. They could even create a PowerPoint or video montage to share with the

guests as a special post-holiday gift.

5. Let them brainstorm gift ideas by asking them what they think would make grandma happy or

what does your cousin like to play with?

6. Do for others – December is a traditional time to reach out and help others. See if your

family can choose a charitable activity that you can continue throughout the year – visits to

the senior center, volunteer at the food bank, shovel snow (hopefully!), and then help with

other yard work for an elderly neighbor throughout the year.

Happy December!

HORIZON HEALTH OFFICE NEWS

The health clinic always needs gently used elastic waist pants, short-sleeve shirts, and

long-sleeve shirts, of all children’s sizes (for K-5). We also need new, packaged

underwear of all children’s sizes (for K-5). Please send donations in with your child in a

bag marked for the clinic. We appreciate any donations!

Amy Hisel, Health Clinic Specialist

GEOGRAPHY BEE!

We would like to congratulate the following students for making it to the Finals Round

of the Geography Bee, which will be held on December 12th at 8:30am:

4th Grade; 5th Grade:

Surya Gunturu Sam Deeds

Alexis MacKay Aakash Pradham

Rachel Mahler Jenna Puglsey

Keelin Moriarty Liam Sheridan

Kellen Habibelahy Praneeth Upputuri

One of these lucky winners will be advancing to the next level after December 12th. If

you see these students in the hall, please be sure to congratulate them. They have done

a great job so far!

Mrs. Engle and Mrs. Love, Geography Bee CoChairs

Reading Roundup

Tips for Reading with Your Child: Whether your child is reading to you or you are reading to your child (older kids too!), discussion helps to

build comprehension of what is being read. Here are some questions you can use to help your child reflect on

what he/she is reading or what you are reading to them.

Before Reading:

What do you predict will happen in this story? What makes you think that?

What are you wondering about before you start reading this book?

During Reading:

What does this book remind you of?

What do you think will happen next?

Can you tell me about the story so far?

After Reading?

What was your favorite part of the story? Why did you like that part?

What did this story make you think of?

Start at the beginning and tell me what happened in the story.

What do you think the author was trying to teach you (author’s message)?

Happy Reading!

Mrs. Haakonson and Mrs. White

Music Notes

Information about recorders for 4th & 5th Grade and information about All-County Chorus Auditions for 5th Grade will go home with students in December. Information about joining the Horizon Chorus (for 4th & 5th Grade only) will go home in January.

Please visit the music portion of the Horizon website for more information.

Go to: www.lcps.org/horizon

Find "Specials" and select "Music" from the drop-down menu.

Congratulations to the following Courageous Comets who successfully recited

a poem for the Poetry Masters Challenge:

Samheetha Vasan Trygve Hirsch Vanessa Foris Caitlyn Hall

Olivia Davis Leah Kidwell Alina Barekzoy Liam Tully

Maha Khan Jahzara Shabazz Pranika Gaddam Matthew Cogbill

Jaquelyn Malapira Aakash Pradhan Kaylee Robbins Natalie Fedigan

Taha Gassoumi Jackson Brewster Mirjahon Ayubov Lilly Fernandez

Sama Shawki Cate Boehmcke Lydia Yang Colleen MacGoy

Anisa Adhami Saira Kumar Emaan Danish Talia Knutsen

Julia Sagen Hayden Manor Hailey Thompson Ezaan Khan

Julian Balderrama Dylan Tufano Bella Chen Daisy Davis

Kamran Moazzez Ryleigh Rose Juliet Daignault Zeneb Gassoumi

Jackson Siler Hamza Anwar Sydney Dolese

Donate Used toys!

Do you have any gently used toys that you could pass onto the preschool students in need? The Early

Childhood Special Education- Autism (ECSE-A) class would love to have those preschool toys (Age: 2-4 years

old) of all sizes. We also need toys for crayons, washable markers, playdough, etc.

Please drop off toys to the Front Office (attn: Room 4), or feel free to send them in a bag in your child’s

backpack. Contact Su Ji Park, ECSE-A teacher, with any questions at su.park@lcps.org.

Thank you!!

WATCH D.O.G.S. (Dads of Great Students) is a one-of-a-kind,

school-based father involvement program that works to support

education and safety. See http://dadsofgreatstudents.com/default/

for more information.

The Horizon Watch D.O.G.S. volunteer program is going on now!

You can join the program at any time during the school year.

Volunteer shifts are available for as short as 20 minutes and up to a

whole day. You choose what works best for your schedule.

Contact Amy Sandridge at Amy.Sandridge@lcps.org or 571-434-

3260 to get more information and to sign up.

DO YOU PLAN TO VISIT

HORIZON THIS SCHOOL YEAR?

Of course you do!

Our visitor management system up and

running. Every visitor to Horizon must have

a scannable form of identification (driver’s

license or state ID, passport ID -not the

passport itself, or active military ID). We

will still ask for your ID at the door, and

then we will scan it in the office. Thanks for

your cooperation in keeping Horizon a safe

place for all our students!

HORIZON HAS CAR

MAGNETS FOR

SALE!

SHOW YOUR COMET SPIRIT!

Car magnets are only $5.00 and are

available in the office.

(EXACT CHANGE OR CHECKS MADE OUT TO

HORIZON ELEMENTARY ONLY)

WILL YOUR CHILD BE ABSENT FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD? Here is some information to know:

• Absences over 5 days for reasons other than illness must be approved in advance

by the Principal.

• After 15 consecutive days absent, a student is unenrolled.

• Teachers are not required to provide school work in advance, since day-to-day

plans can change.

• Teachers can compile missed work to provide to students upon their return.

• Teachers can also share lesson objectives/concepts that may be covered during an

absence. This allows parents/guardians to provide means of exposure to the

concepts.

• Parents are encouraged to use online tools through LCPS GO to continue learning

through the use of technology.

• Students are encouraged to read or be read to daily, keep a journal to practice

writing, practice simple math facts with flash cards or manipulatives.

• Questions? Please check with your child’s teacher.

EASY SCHOOL FUNDRAISERS Do you want to help raise money for Horizon in a SUPER EASY way? Just do

what you already do – buy groceries! How does buying groceries help Horizon, you ask?

Help support Horizon Elementary by registering your grocery store cards and cutting Box Tops for

Education. Our school earned over $2,000.00 last year, and it’s so easy! Invite friends, neighbors, and relatives to support our school. Just ask them to register and designate Horizon Elementary! See the

details below:

Do you shop at Giant? Giant Food – School ID: 03686 – If you have never registered your Giant Bonus Card before, please do. But if you’ve already done it and selected

Horizon Elementary, you do NOT need to re-register! To register, or check to see if you are registered, use the link below and click on either register or sign in on the top right of the screen:

https://giantfood.com/school-rewards/

Do you shop at Harris Teeter? Harris Teeter – School ID 5928 You MUST register every year! Please click on the link below to register!

https://www.harristeeter.com/together-in-education#/app/cms

We also collect Box Tops for Education throughout the year. The first contest for Box Tops just ended, but we’ll have another one after the new year!

This Month at the Parent Resource Center:

12/6 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM - The Message of Behavior

12/6 6:30 – 8:30 PM Kindergarten Connection

12/11 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM Mandt for Parents

12/12 9:00 AM-11:00 AM Mandt for Parents

All workshops take place at the LCPS Admin Building unless otherwise noted. To register, click here:

https://www.lcps.org/site/Default.aspx?PageID=179754

OFFICE REMINDERS

Students are permitted to enter the building each morning at 7:30 am. Those students ordering breakfast may go straight to the cafeteria. All other students will go straight to their classrooms to start unpacking and start their morning routines. The start bell will sound at 7:50 am. The school day begins promptly at 7:50 AM. Students MUST be in their classrooms at 7:50 AM; arriving after that time results in an UNEXCUSED tardy, unless a doctor’s note is provided. Students coming in after 7:50 AM must be escorted into the building by an adult. School dismisses at 2:35 PM. Parents picking up students prior to dismissal are required to sign them out in the main office. All visitors to the building should begin their visit in the main office. Once in the office, you may sign in using the computer located on the front counter. Any forgotten items should be brought to the office. This will cut down on interruptions to the class.

ABSENTEE/TARDY Please email the Horizon absentee email at hrzabsentee@lcps.org, or call the absentee line at 571-434-3261 to report the absence or late to school information for your child.

AFTER SCHOOL PLAN Anytime your child has a change in his/her after school plan, please send a note in with your child in the morning. The office cannot redirect children after school on the basis of a phone call. If an emergency necessitates a change during the day, you may fax the instructions to us at 703-444-7418.

IMPORTANT NOTICE

If, due to a disability, you need assistance to enable you to participate meaningfully in any of our school programs, please contact Mrs. Ewing, Principal at 571.434.3260 at least five working days prior to the activity.

SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN (SIP)

The Horizon staff is dedicated to improving our strategies for increasing student achievement and in closing the achievement gap. A formal School Improvement Plan is developed by staff, with parent input. If parents are interested in participating in this process please contact Jennifer Ewing at 571-434-3260. The plan is reviewed and revised throughout the year according to the results achieved.

The 2018-2019 SIP can be found on the Horizon website

LOST AND FOUND

Horizon Elementary has areas designated for lost items such as lunch boxes, and clothing. Students who misplace their belongings can check in the Lost and Found that is located outside the cafeteria by the water fountains. Items of value or importance such as glasses, jewelry, and keys are kept in the front office. If your child has lost an item, please encourage them to check in the Lost and Found or with the office secretaries. Items that go unclaimed will be donated to a local charity at the end of each quarter.

SCHOOL BOARD REPRESENTATIVES

Debbie Rose, Algonkian District - debbie.rose@lcps.org. You can also follow her on Facebook, "Debbie Rose- School Board"

Brenda Sheridan, Sterling District - brenda.sheridan@lcps.org

Beth Huck, At Large - lcsb@lcps.org

HORIZON IS ON FACEBOOK & TWITTER!

Visit Horizon's Facebook page to keep up to date on school events and happenings! Check us out at: facebook.com/HRZSterling and be sure to Like our page to get your updates.

We are also on Twitter. Click the links below our calendar to follow us!

https://www.facebook.com/HRZSterling https://twitter.com/HorizonElem

Arrival and Dismissal Procedures

Please help us to make a smooth arrival and dismissal by reviewing the following procedures if you are

dropping off and picking up your child/children:

1. Student arrival and drop off can start once staff are on duty at 7:30 am each morning.

2. Please consider arriving at school a little earlier on inclement weather days. We have very few cars from 7:30 to

7:40 and then a mad rush from 7:40 to 7:50, which tends to back up the line and impact the number of students

who end up being tardy. The bell rings at 7:50. Any students not in their classrooms by 7:50 when the bell rings

are counted as tardy.

3. Car drop off is to the east side of the building. Pull all the way up to the first orange cone to allow

as many cars into the Kiss and Go area as possible. If you get here first, please do not park along the

circle, PULL ALL the way up to be courteous of other cars! C a r s n e e d t o pull forward so that

traffic does not back up on Broadmore Drive.

4. When cars leave in front of you, pull as far forward as you can.

5. NEVER get out of your car and leave it unattended in the drop lane. This blocks all the traffic and

creates a backup.

6. Speed limit in the Kiss and Go area should be no faster than 10 mph. The difference in time from the entrance to

the far cone is only 10 seconds; safety first!

7. Children should be able to exit or enter the car independently. Parents who must assist their

child/children should park in one of the designated parking spots in front of the school and walk the

student across the crosswalk to the front entry of the school.

8. Please do not use the designated handicapped parking spots if you do not have the legal

authorization (placard/license plate) from the DMV.