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EXPECTING results
EDUCATING minds
RESPECTING others
HERITAGE
ELEMENTARY
Inside this Issue:
Principal of the Thing
Upcoming Events
Spanish News
One Way Traffic Flow
Volume 9, Issue 2
September 2012
It’s the “Principal” of the Thing!
We are off to an incredible start to our
2012-2013 school year! I have had many
opportunities to interact with students to try
and get to know them better. It is so much fun
to see all the excitement and eagerness from
each of the students returning from the
summer. Now that we are 3 weeks into the
school year, students seem to be getting into
those routines and establishing those
agreements that make Heritage a caring,
safe, and welcoming environment.
This is the 25th Anniversary of Heritage
being opened! Many students and staff have
come and gone during that time. On April
26th, we will be celebrating all this school has
accomplished over the last 25 years. A
committee is forming to brainstorm ideas of
what that celebration will look like. If you have
something you would like to offer to help
celebrate this occasion, please contact me.
Lastly, I would like to invite parents to a
“Coffee with the Principal” on Friday,
September 21st at 9:00 am in the library. This
will just be a chance for us to get to know each
other. I will give a brief presentation followed by
an informal question and answer period. I will
supply the coffee and water. Please let the
office know if you will be joining us. I look
forward to visiting with you.
Thanks again for a great start to the school
year. Please let me know if I can offer any
assistance to you or your family to ensure a
great year.
Upcoming Events
September 6 Harrier’s Running Club Begins 3:45-4:15 PM
September 6 Back to School Night Grades 3-5 6:30-7:30 PM
Tardies and Absences
September 7 Grandparents’ Day 9:30 AM, 2:30 PM
Recycling
September 7 Cotton Candy Friday
Watch D.O.G.S. Sign-Up
Mr. McFarland
25th Anniversary Mural
September 11 All School Eat Out Social Jersey Mike’s 5:00-8:00 PM
Harriers Running Club
September 13 Back to School Night Grades PK-2 6:30-7:30 PM
Adopt A School Partnership
Music
September 28 Movie Plex After School 3:45-6:00 PM
Gabriel and Lindy Gardens
Love and Logic
Nurse’s Notes
5th Grade Greeters
Students of the Week
All School Eat Out Social
Interpreters are provided for special events, conferences, and meetings when sufficient
notice is given. Please call the school office at 780-7490 to let them know of your needs at
least 4 days prior to the scheduled event to ensure an interpreter can be arranged. This is
a free service provided by the district.
Page 2
Spanish News!
Mrs. Vandenbark, Spanish Teacher
We are learning so much in Spanish!
Kindergarten and 1st grade- Students are learning greetings, feelings and counting to 10.
2nd grade- In addition to learning about school supplies, students are reviewing months of the year.
3rd grade- We are learning how to tell someone how to do something and new vocabulary about weather. Also, we are
reviewing numbers and school supplies in Spanish.
4th grade-We are answering questions, learning colors, counting by 10’s and learning names of classes in Spanish.
5th grade-Students are learning to count by 100’s, learning emotions and names of furniture.
One Way Traffic Flow
Please observe the painted arrows on the drive. One way traffic helps keep drop off and dismissal safe and running smoothly.
There is NO PARKING or WAITING in the BUS and DAYCARE places.
We also ask that if you need to get out of your vehicle for any reason you park in a parking space. Please do not get out
of your vehicle if you are parked along ANY curb.
Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.
Tardies & Absences
Part of our annual accreditation is based on our daily
attendance. We’ve seen a slight decline in average
daily attendance and an increase in tardies over the
past year. In an effort to make sure this does not
affect our school’s accreditation the staff and I will be
monitoring tardies and absences closely as outlined in
our Family Handbook you received at enrollment on
pages 6 & 7.
If we see a pattern of tardiness or absenteeism beginning
you’ll be contacted to find out if there is anything we
can do to help; possibly set up a meeting, and notify
you of any concerns. We are confident this will help
take care of the vast majority of the concerns. Please
review the attendance guidelines with your child that
are located on pages 6 & 7 of the Family Handbook
that you received at enrollment so he/she knows what
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the expectations are.
Please remember that school begins at 8:20. Any
student arriving to their classroom later than 8:20
is considered tardy. If you hear the bell ringing as
you drop off, your child is late and will need to sign in
at the office. This can be stressful for children, as we
begin Instructional Focus promptly after
announcements, so please make every effort to arrive
in plenty of time for your children to get to their
classrooms on time and get settled before instruction
begins for the day..
If you have any questions after reviewing the attendance
and tardy policies, please give me a call. I would be
happy to visit with you.
Mr. McFarland
Page 3
Recycling Paper
WATCH D.O.G.S.
Please be sure to recycle all of your newspapers,
magazines, papers and junk mail in the Paper Retriever
at the south end of the parking lot.
Stop by the Watch D.O.G. table at Meet the Teacher Nights
and learn more about the Watch D.O.G. Program or Sign-Up!
Heritage has earned hundreds of dollars through this
program!
There will be a Watch D.O.G. Kick Off Pizza Night
Wednesday, September 19th at 7:00 PM for any man
that is interested in being a Watch D.O.G.
Thanks for helping our school!
Meet the Teacher Nights are September 6th and 13th.
25th Anniversary Mural
Stop by the Multi Purpose Room and see
Heritage’s 25th Anniversary Mural!
Thank you so much to our own
Kindergarten teacher Mrs. Sundermeyer,
her daughter Claire, Mrs. Dixon-Perkins and
Donnie Perkins for creating and painting this
fun keepsake.
We’d also like to thank the PTC for
providing the funds for this special project.
Harriers Running Club
The Harriers Running Club is back for another running season! Heritage students in third
through fifth grade will have the opportunity to promote fitness and community involvement by
joining our school running club.
The Harriers will meet Thursdays after school from 3:45 - 4:15, from September 6th to
October 11th except for September 13th. The Thursday meetings will be fun, training runs
(between 1 & 3 miles each time) along the bike path by the school.
All Harriers are asked to participate in the 14th Annual Jared Coones Memorial 5K Run/Walk on Saturday, October 13th
at 8:00 AM at Black Bob Elementary School. More information will be coming home soon.
Grab a water bottle, put on your running shoes, and come join us! Parents feel free to join us if you would like.
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Page 4
Adopt - A - School Partnerships
Heritage is part of the Adopt-A-School Partnership
Program in the Olathe School District. Our two
business sponsors are Jersey Mike’s Subs at 151st
and Black Bob and Debbie Swinney, State Farm
Agent at 151st and Murlen.
There are two goals for Heritage that our Community
Partners will help us achieve. The first is an after
school tutoring program for our students who need
extra help with their school work. Our Partners will
provide a wonderful source of volunteers to help
teach our children.
fund raisers not only through our Business Partner
Jersey Mike’s Eat Out Nights, but through other fund
raising ideas within the school. We will be having
bake sales. We’ll also have cotton candy or popcorn
Fridays the first Friday of every month to help earn
money towards our ground improvement projects!
Our first cotton candy Friday is September 7th.
Cotton candy costs $1.00.
Our First Eat Out Social at Jersey Mike’s at 151st
and Black Bob will be Tuesday, September 11th
from 5:00-8:00 PM.
The other goal is to improve our playground and front
gardens. We would also love to be able to put some
permanent picnic tables in the front of the building. In
order to financially support this goal we will be having
Music
2nd Grade Grandparents’ Day Program
Friday, September 7th will be our annual 2nd Grade
Grandparents’ Day program. The performance will be presented
for 2nd grade parents and grandparents at 2:30 in the cafeteria.
All 2nd grade parents and grandparents are encouraged to
attend.
We hope to see all 2nd grade Grandparents then!
Gabriel and Lindy Gardens
A special thank you to all of the people who took such wonderful
care of the front gardens this summer: Anthony Elizalde,
Mr. Parsons, Mrs. Porterfield, Mrs. Hannon, Mrs. Robertson,
Ms. Hammontree, Mrs. Hollon, Mrs. Mulligan and Mr. Victor.
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Love and Logic
Parenting Classes
Fall Semester
6 Sessions
Thursdays from 6:30-8:30
October 25th, November 1st,
November 8th, November 15th,
November 29th, December 6th
Countryside Elementary
15800 W. 124th Terr.
Olathe, KS
$20.00 per person/couple
Childcare is not provided.
Call (913) 780-7051 to Sign Up
Page 5
Nurse’s Notes
Mrs. Wray, School Nurse
Welcome to the 2012-2013 school year. I am hoping to have a healthy and safe year here at Heritage. As a
reminder, all prescription and over the counter medications require a doctor’s order. There are still several students who have brought inhalers into the health room without an accompanying doctor’s note! Also, if you carry
an inhaler in your backpack, you too are required to have a doctor’s note. In regards to students who carry their
own inhaler, PLEASE take a minute to call the school nurse and let her know if your student does carry an
inhaler so we know of availability if needed.
Just a reminder that Kindergarten students are required to have a physical exam on file, and all required
“Kindergarten Boosters”.
On Friday October 5th, we will do hearing screenings on Early Childhood, Kindergarten, 1 st grade, 2nd grade,
5th grade, all students new to the district and all students with an IEP. If we have concerns regarding your
student’s hearing, you will hear from us! No news is good news!
The nurse’s office is open from 8:00-4:00; therefore, student medications including inhalers, epi pens etc. are
only available during this time. If your student participates in any before or after school activities, please note
that the nurse’s office is locked.
Please also remember to call and report when your student is absent. An unreported absence is documented
as unexcused.
It is my goal to make sure our students stay healthy. As indicated above, we can make strides towards meeting
this goal when students are properly immunized, when students have necessary medication at school, and
when the school nurse is aware of the health needs of the student body! It is a pleasure to serve you and your
children.
If you have questions or concerns, please feel free to call Nurse Joy at 780-7496.
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Page 6
5th Grader Greeters
Heritage has a new person welcoming each and
every student to the school day!
Our Fifth Grade Greeter begins each day writing an
inspirational quote, a funny joke, or a simple greeting
for the staff members in the teacher’s lounge. At
8:00, they are in charge of greeting all students
entering the school for the day with a high five, a
hand shake, or even a fist bump. From there, at 8:20,
our fifth grader does the morning announcements for
the entire school!
Tucker Brown in 5th Grade Mrs. Hannon’s class was
our very first greeter this year.
Students of the Week
It is important to me that students are recognized for positive efforts. I believe this recognition creates a climate of high
expectations and performance. When students are recognized for their success, they typically are motivated to continue to
succeed. Each week, we will recognize two students from each classroom as Students of the Week. When students are chosen,
they will get the opportunity to eat lunch with the principal on Friday of that week. They will also receive a certificate for their
accomplishments. Whether it is working hard for a test, or helping out a friend, teachers will let the students know why they were
chosen.
Also each week, we will have a drawing of “Caught Ya’s.” If a staff member recognizes that a student is behaving positively, he/
she may receive a “Caught Ya.” Those are collected, and each classroom draws the “Caught Ya“ Winner for that week.
Winners receive a choice of a prize and get recognized on the announcements on Monday of the following week.
These are just two examples of rewarding positive behavior demonstrated by students. This has been and will continue to be a
focus here at Heritage.
Mr. McFarland
Parent Involvement
Please consider becoming involved with our PTC. Visit the PTC website at www.heritageptc.com and see
all of the different volunteer possibilities.
There are also openings on the Heritage SITE Council. The SITE Council helps determines the needs and
changes for Heritage and how to address them.
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