HES



Hiawatha Elementary School
600 Miami St.
Hiawatha, KS 66434
78-742-7181
(FAX) 785-742-2545


Dear Hiawatha Elementary School Families, 

 

As we wind our time down prior to our Winter Break, I wanted to give you some updated information.  We have a lot of positive things happening right now at the elementary school.  We’re enjoying our Seasonal Spirit Week with our students.  I’m excited to see what tomorrow’s hairstyles will be.  Our students enjoyed a bag of popcorn celebrating our whole school Hawk Block reward day.  To date, we have recognized 1,700 positive actions from our students.  That’s saying something considering the amount of time our students have been moving between learning modes.  I think it is important to recognize that despite all the chaos that this year has brought, our students and staff are people of excellence.  

 I wanted to take a moment to remind our families about the new drop off time this year.  As the weather gets colder, we want to limit the amount of time our students are outside waiting for doors to open.  Our doors do not open at the elementary school until 7:50. The first bell doesn’t ring until 8:10, so students have plenty of time to get to school, receive breakfast, and arrive in their rooms before attendance is taken.  Now that the routines are running smoothly again, our students have minimal time where they wait to get inside unless they arrive before 7:50.  

 Lastly, I wanted to give a brief update surrounding our expectations at HES for our students and staff wearing masks.  As you know, wearing masks and staying socially distanced is our best effort to reduce the spread and avoid the cursed quarantined.  It is very important for us to continue to reinforce the appropriate mask-wearing at the elementary school.  We recognize that our students are very much in the developing stages and wearing masks is not a habit that has been formed for most.  We are committed to positively working together with our students to lock in those routines.  So, our teachers will be working with the whole class for frequent reminders to wear the mask.  If a student repeatedly chooses not to wear a mask, or wears it inappropriately, our first step is to have their general education teacher coach them on wearing the mask correctly.  We expect this extra opportunity of learning will help students understand the necessity of wearing the mask.  If a second reminder is needed, we will utilize our school nurse to meet privately with the student to reinforce the importance of wearing the mask.  Should additional reminders be necessary after those steps, it may result in disciplinary action.  It is our goal to simultaneously promote healthy habits, but also ensure that all our students are able to stay in school.  We appreciate the community’s and parents’ support in this undertaking.

 This is a joyful time in the elementary school and despite some limitations this year has brought, we are excited to watch the excitement grow in our students as they prepare for the upcoming break.  We wish all our families a restful and relaxing break.  


Sincerely,

 

 

Paul Carver
Hiawatha Elementary School Principal