Horizon Elementary JUNE 2016

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: Ms. Stephanie Baran Attendance Secretary: Mrs. Violet Sowa-Badders

JUNE EVENTS

June 1 Field Day June 3 Multicultural Fun Fair, 6:30 June 6 Visit from Public Library June 7 Futura’s last session June 8 Rain Date for Field Day June 9 Last day for School Store 4th and 5th Grade Awards, 12:30

June 10 5th Grade Farewell, 8:30 5th Grade Picnic, 11:30 June 13 Skateboard Assembly June 14 Last Day for Students

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL…

Greetings Comets! It is hard to believe how quickly this year is flying by. A lot will

be happening in the last days of school. Please stay current with the upcoming

events posted on the Horizon calendar.

We have included a copy of the 2016-2017 adopted calendar for LCPS and

Horizon’s Back to School Nights/Kindergarten Parent Orientation/Open House

information. Please refer to these dates as you begin your long-range planning for

next year.

Over the summer students can lose some of the learning from an entire school year.

Below are some educational opportunities for your children to maintain their skills,

even if just an hour a day. Here are just a few suggestions:

Horizon’s Summer Reading Challenge (information on the Horizon

Website and on page 3)

Math: Dreambox (Summer Dreambox Challenge, see p. 4) and Reflex

(students will have access over the summer)

Grade Level recommend websites from their web pages (Math, LA,

Reading, etc)

Summer Journals: encourage your child(ren) to write and/or draw pictures

about summer vacations, outings, etc. You can have them pick out the

journal, special pencils or pens, stickers, etc. to make it a fun experience.

Email pals: You can ask a family member or friend to email your

child(ren) to ask specific questions for them to answer; not yes/no

responses. This will help them to formulate well thought out answers in a

fun way

Loudoun County Public Library hosts a variety of educational and fun

events over the summer

Handwriting: Practice letter or number formation with side walk chalk or

shaving cream on a cookie sheet. Colored paper and colored pencils or pens

can also help make writing letters/words fun.

Touch Math: Free app and number line chart

I wish everyone a great last ten days of school! Together we can maximize the time

we have together until summer break is here.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Ewing

The Lost and Found is

Overflowing!

All items will be donated to

the needy on the last day of

school. Please encourage your

child to check the lost and

found for any missing items!

Thank you.

SUMMER READING CHALLENGE

June 2016

Dear Parents:

Summer is here! We are sure you have many fun activities, trips, and vacations planned for

the summer. While these are important, we also want your child to continue to read

regularly throughout the summer break.

In order to encourage summer reading, we are promoting Horizon’s summer reading

program. We are challenging students to read 1000 pages. Students are welcome to read

books of their choice. Parents are encouraged to read to their children, as well. Enclosed

with this letter is a log to record the titles of the books read and a place to record the

number of pages read. Additional logs are available on the school’s web page. During our

Open House in August and the first two days of school, we will have a table in the lobby

where students can drop off their reading logs. For those who meet the challenge, a

celebration will take place during the first month of school.

NO SUBSTITUTES FOR THIS READING LOG WILL BE ACCEPTED, AND NO LOG WILL

BE ACCEPTED AFTER THE SECOND DAY OF SCHOOL. A PARENT SIGNATURE IS ALSO

REQUIRED.

PARENTS: Reading aloud to your child is just as important as children reading

independently. We encourage you to include read-aloud books on your child’s log, as well as

books read for the Loudoun County Library Summer Reading Program. Lists of books are

available on the Horizon website. These lists are suggestions, not requirements, although we

do encourage students to read grade appropriate books. Above all, the most important thing

is to keep our children reading!

Have a great reading summer!

Mrs. Haakonson

Mrs. Carnill

Mrs. Hitrik

Who: All Horizon Students

What: Complete 30 DreamBox lessons or more

over the summer to win a prize

When: You have from June 15th to August 28th to

complete the challenge

Where: Anywhere with WiFi

Why: Continue to enhance your mathematical

understandings through a fun and

personalized program

How: Access DreamBox on any device using the

website or with the Apple iPad App

Play DreamBox using your Internet browser with this link:

https://play.dreambox.com/login/kwah/horizones0

-OR-

Download the DreamBox App on your Apple iPad using our school code:

kwah/horizones0

2016-2017 Calendar

August 10-11: New to Profession Teacher Institute August 12, 15-16: New Employee Orientation/Workdays - All Teachers New to LCPS August 17-18: In-School Staff Development - All Teachers August 19: Planning/Records/Conference Day August 22-24: County-Wide Staff Development - All Teachers August 25-26: Planning/Records/Conference Days August 29: First Day of School September 5: Holiday (Labor Day) October 10: Holiday (Columbus Day) November 4: End of the Grading Period November 7-8: Student Holidays (Planning/Records/Conference Days) November 23-25: Holiday (Thanksgiving) December 22-January 2 Winter Break: (Classes Resume January 3) January 16: Holiday (Martin Luther King Jr. Day) January 26: End of Grading Period January 27: Moveable Student Holiday * (Planning/Records/Conference Day) February 20: Holiday (Presidents’ Day) April 6: End of Grading Period April 7: Student Holiday (Planning/Records/Conference Day) April 10-14: Holiday (Spring Break) May 29: Holiday (Memorial Day) June 9: Last Day of School/End of Grading Period June 12-13: Planning/Records/Conference Days *NOTE: Parents with childcare or other weekday scheduling concerns - Date of the Moveable Planning/Records/Conference Day between first and second semesters may change if the school calendar must be changed due to school closings for inclement weather or other emergencies.

IMPORTANT BACK TO SCHOOL DATES!

Tuesday, August 23 Gr.3-5, MD/ID classes Back to School Night, 6:30 pm (parents only) Thursday, August 25 Kindergarten Orientation 5:30 (parents only)

Gr.1, 2, ECSE Preschool Back to School Night 6:30 (parents only)

Friday, August 26 Open House 10:30 am – 12:00 (students welcome)

Horizon Elementary School Summer Camps

Full Day and Half Day Options (Before and After Care available)

June 20th – June 24th

June 27th – July 1st

July 11th – July 14th

3 Weeks of Summer Camp Sponsored by the PTA and powered by Overtime

Athletics. OTA’s model, honed over 12 years of providing fun and affordable summer

camps, zeroes in on the best parts of traditional day camp like Sports, Games, Contests,

Arts and Crafts, Team Building Challenges, and Special Activities, AND also incorporates

the latest trends in youth programming to include, Scavenger Hunts, Bounce Houses,

Water Games, Goofy Golf, Brain Buster Projects, and much, much more!

Full Day: $175 Half Day: $125

Horizon Elementary Families can get an additional $25 OFF with this discount code:

HorizonFamily

Sibling Discount $20 per child

For more information and registration, please visit: www.otathletics.com – select

Locations – Northern VA – Summer Camps – Horizon Elementary Summer Camp

Space is limited to register today!

Our Comets do a great job showing the 3C’s (Courtesy, Care, Cooperation). Below are the Spin It to Win It winners for May and June:

Kindergarten Second Fourth Zeineb Gassoumi Colleen MacGoy Kaelyn Larsen Annaiah Ghanta Mohamad Ayoubi Abigail Belachew Isabelle Sasso Hannah Mottaghi Anthony Sasso Molly Hanna Tre Hamilton Aaron Chesson Chrishaun Thompson Anisa Adhami Brianna Munoz Contreras

First Third Fifth Logan Reiche Phoebe Wang Arwen Judson Griffin Meehan Aria Zak Ashley Martinez Pranay Reddy Alexis Foris Kennedy Seekford Klea Shamo Luke Shields Alex Cartagena Nadia Khairul Natalia McKoy Cate Smitn Audrey Beauregard

COURTESY, CARE,

COOPERATION!

Congratulations to the following students

who were selected as representatives from

their grade level to attend the Comet Café.

Two students from each grade who regularly

show the 3C’s (courtesy, care and

cooperation) were selected to attend. The

winners for the 4th quarter were:

Kindergarten Third

Levi Simpson Sophia Dolzhenkova

Andrea Pantella Liam Hickey

First Fourth

Wilda Martinez Zoytun Chowdhury

Brady Britsch Arnav Desai

Second Fifth

Danyal Qureshi Mark Shields

Arianna Martin Hannah Zamani

Clothing Drive Thank You!

Thank you to all the Caring Comets who

donated shirts, shorts, shoes or dresses

to the Spring Clothing Drive! We

collected a tremendous amount of

clothing for families in need in our

community.

Thank you Horizon for your

generosity!!!

POETRY MASTERS

Congratulations to this month’s Poetry Masters, and thank you to all who have participated

this year! We have loved listening to you recite (and write) for Poetry Masters! Have a

wonderful summer and we’ll see you next year!

Hello, Summer! -- (A Last Day of Congratulations to the following students

School Poem) who successfully recited poems in May:

by

Gregory K. Kayla Githens Hayden Manor

Matthew Cogbill Alex Dolzhenkov

Goodbye, classroom! Grace Davis Mohamad

Ayoubi

Goodbye, Teach! Carter Cerniglia Juline Salahi

You can find me at the beach... Monica Goswami Anisa Adhami

Or in the park or at the pool Sahar Miakhel Lacie Martin

Or any place that isn’t school. Jaquelyn Malapira Nylah Orr

Arianna Martin Colleen MacGoy

Goodbye, quizzes! Jahzara Shabazz Karine Najarian

Bye, reports! Danya Hassan Evie Whitehead

Hello days packed full of sports Maddy Young Alexis McKay

And days when I’m just lazybones Nia Klein Joshua Ramos

While eating melty ice cream cones. Liam Tully Landon Jones

Riley Sparrenberger McKinley Gough

Goodbye, homework -- Jenna Murphy Brady Britsch

Lunchroom, too. Katia Abdo Liam Sheridan

There’s so, so much I wanna do. Edward Christopher

I know the school year flew on past…

But please, please summer -- last and last.

Special Congratulations to Liam Tully who wrote and recited his own

poems several times this year!

MATH SUPERSTARS!

We would like to thank the parents and students who participated in the Math Superstars program.

We would also like to thank the teachers who supported the program and a very special thank you to

the parents who volunteered their time as graders for the program. We would like to recognize the

students who earned the most star points (correctly answered questions) for each grade:

1st, 2nd, and 3rd place for most stars earned

Kindergarten: tied for 1st: Morgan Claar, Andrea Pantella, Ryan Winters, Connor Heaney and Molly

Hanna, 2nd: Chris Carrillo, 3rd: Jackson Siler

First Grade: 1st: Emma Bogoslov, tied for 2nd: Cadence Cerniglia and Audrey Beauregard, 3rd: Nika

Ghaffari

Second Grade: 1st: Nandini Duggaraju, 2nd: Olivia Strauss, 3rd: Anna Yao

Third Grade: 1st: Sophia Dolzhenkova, 2nd: Jacquelyn Lee, 3rd: Sabrina Ankers

Fourth Grade: 1st: Christopher Liang, 2nd: Lyri Friedman, 3rd: Diya Reddy (all in the same class!)

Fifth Grade: 1st: Megan James, 2nd: Josephine Lee, 3rd: Rylie Strauss

The class with the most participation during the Third Quarter was Mrs. Tate’s 5th grade class – way to

go!!!

You are all Math Superstars!! We hope that you will continue to participate in the program next year.

Cara Alfaro, Sutapa Ghadiali and Anna Christopher

What's Cookin’ in the Comet Café My last piece this year for the newsletter! I can't believe we are rounding the bend to the finish line. I have had a wonderful time getting to know the children of Horizon and even some of the parents. I want to remind you I can no longer let students have a hot lunch unless they have money on their account or with them from now until June 14. Free and reduced students can receive a breakfast/lunch only and no extras unless they have money for the extras. I cannot have a negative at the end of the year so if there is no money I have to give your child an alternate lunch of milk and a cheese sandwich or a sunbutter and jelly sandwich. Please try to make sure your child/children aren't disappointed at lunch time. There are a lot of manager choices in June and I will try very hard to give you advance notice as to what they will be. It will be items we have been having all year so nothing new, I may just not have a lot of the second item. If you have any questions please e-mail me at rose.custer@lcps.org or call me at 571-434-3263. It has been our pleasure serving hot lunches for Horizon Students to enjoy and I hope to see them all again in August. We want to wish the 5th graders all the best in middle school and remember to eat your fruits and veggies! Rose Custer Horizon Elem. Cafeteria Manager

Hey, Comets! Can you help with Horizon’s Food Rescue Program?

You may have heard of Horizon’s Food Rescue Program. We collect uneaten food in the cafeteria that would otherwise be tossed in the trash and donate it to LINK. The program is in its second year and has been a big success. Parents, you can also help by volunteering to deliver our food to the local shelter. Just go to our sign up genius page at http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0a4ea8aa292-horizon1/21784920 and pick a date and time that is good for you! If you have any questions, please contact Amy Sandridge at 571-434-3260.

Let’s do our part to help conquer hunger in Loudoun County!

DRESS CODE

The primary responsibility for the proper dress and grooming of students rests with the parent or guardian of each student. The school has the responsibility; however, to see that the cleanliness, dress, and grooming of students does not present a danger to the health or safety of themselves or fellow classmates. Clothing must be in good taste, of a comfortable fit and follow school standards. Students should dress for the “business of school.” Inappropriate attire consists of any clothing that disrupts the learning environment because it is distracting or offensive.

Clothing students should refrain from wearing to school: Short/tight skirts, shorts and/or dresses (must be at least fingertip length) halter or spaghetti string tops without a shirt/sweater over it mid-drift tops that expose the stomach area excessively baggy shorts or pants mesh/see-through athletic shirts without a T-shirt underneath clothing that displays inappropriate language, artwork, symbols, alcohol/drug messages a bandana and/or hat while at school Heelies and/or shoes with wheels Shoes must be worn at all times

Children must wear sneakers/athletic shoes with solid, rubber soles for all physical education classes.

Parents will be called if their child arrives to school dressed inappropriately. It may be necessary for a change of clothing to be brought to school for the child.

Horizon Elementary PTA News

2012-2013 Horizon PTA Executive Board

“Schooooool’s out for SUMMER!!!” - I have this song on replay in my head and now so do you! We made it through another awesome year and couldn’t be more grateful for the teachers and staff of Horizon making this a truly amazing community and school! Thankfully, now we finally have the weather to go with song. May was a big one for the PTA. Our Board was re-elected with a few vacancies to be filled, but we have had several people come to us with interest. Thank you so much for your continued dedication to Horizon and look forward to working with everyone again for the next school year! Please take a minute to congratulate everyone on serving again for 2016/17! Catherine Reidy - President Jill Pope - SVP of Education Kristen Sirois - Recording Secretary Brooke Gough - VP of Social Events Liz Linn - VP of Fundraising Kerry Kidwell - VP of Staff Appreciation Welcome to Becki Ortiz for taking over as Chair of the School Supply Committee for next year! Multicultural Fun Fair is June 3! Get your tickets ready for some awesome fun and this year’s special treat… Rita’s Italian Ice! We have a lot of amazingly fun activities set for an end of year bash! Fun Fair will also be the Multicultural Night this year so come ready to taste some cultural cuisines, see some fantastic performances and engage in games! We are looking forward to see everyone there! Keep an eye on Facebook all summer long - you never know what we may post! ;) Have a great summer! See you in August! Go Comets!

2015-16 PTA Executive Board Members

Cathy Reidy, President

Jill Pope, SVP, Educational Programs

Teresa Demangos, Treasurer

Kristen Sirois, Recording and Corresponding Sec’y

Kerry Kidwell, VP Staff Relations

Karen Advincula, VP Membership and Directory

Jennifer Kalka, After School Enrichment Programs

Liz Linn, VP Fundraising

Tisha DuHaime, Spirit Sales

Brook Gough, VP Social Events

Laura Inra, School Supplies

Karina Andrade, Volunteer Coordinator

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 updated 2012-2013 SIP will be

posted on the Horizon website.

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 updated 2012-2013 SIP will be

posted on the Horizon website.

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 updated 2012-2013 SIP will be

posted on the Horizon website.

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.

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 the

school year.

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 2015-2016 SIP can be found on the Horizon

website at http://www.lcps.org/domain/7051.

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.

HORIZON NOW ON FACEBOOK & TWITTER!

Visit Horizon's new 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

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