Henderson Middle School Kicks Off New School Year

Henderson Middle School

Join HENDERSON Middle School PTSA at Sneak Peek The number one reason to join the Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) is to benefit your child and your child’s school.

For $7, you instantly have a network and a way to voice your suggestions. Besides all this, your membership card earns you discounts to the Atlanta Zoo, Fernbank, and the Alliance Theater to name a few. The cards are new this year and require activation on-line or by telephone to access all the benefits. Upon on-line activation, you will receive and OfficeMax coupon for $10 off a $50 in-store purchase. Best of all, our local Northlake Stevi B’s has graciously donated discount buffet coupons to anyone joining at Sneak Peek. Students are encouraged to join, as it is never to early to become involved.

HENDERSON MIDDLE SCHOOL Bus Routes for 2012-2013 School Year – You will be able to get HENDERSON MIDDLE SCHOOL bus route information at Sneak Peek, but here is a link to the DCSD website which includes updated bus routes. If your child ever plans on riding the bus, either to or from school, we strongly suggest (s)he ride the bus on the first day of school. This enables the bus driver to know which stops actually have students. If there are no students at a particular stop, that stop may be taken off the route. If you insist on walking your student into school the first day, we encourage you to follow the school bus in your car, or make arrangements to meet your student outside the school where they get off the bus.

Plan for there to be significant delays during the first week of school. Do not be concerned if your student doesn’t come home until close to 5 p.m. It takes about a week to iron out all the wrinkles, but rest assured that by the second week of school, things will be running much more smoothly. Again, it is important for your student to ride the bus during that first week so the bus driver knows who is on their bus & what stops they need to make.

HENDERSON MIDDLE SCHOOL Carpool Procedures – It is highly recommended that students who are eligible to ride a school bus to and from school do so. This helps alleviate dangerous traffic congestion around the school. If your student is not eligible to ride the bus, or it is necessary for you to drive your student to or from school, please adhere to the following Drop-Off and Pick Up procedures.

Students should NEVER exit or enter your vehicle while on Bolero Dr. This is extremely dangerous for your student and other drivers. PLEASE use the procedures below for your child’s safety!!

HENDERSON MIDDLE SCHOOL Morning Drop-Off Procedures – Students who arrive at school in the morning via car should go through the driveway that opens onto Bolero Drive. Do no wait until your car is parallel to the main steps to have your student exit the car – as soon as your car is parallel to the curb and you come to a complete stop, your student should exit the vehicle. Failure to do this will SERIOUSLY impede the flow of traffic and the wait for EVERYONE else in line. Once your student has safely exited your vehicle, you may pull into the middle lane to exit the driveway and make space for incoming cars. As you exit the carpool driveway, if you are heading towards Northlake Mall (to the right from Bolero onto Henderson Mill Rd.), PLEASE make a right on Bolero, and immediate left on Apple Orchard and a left onto Henderson Creek Rd. to return to Henderson Mill Rd. This will significantly improve the flow of traffic at the intersection of Bolero and Henderson Mill Rd.

HENDERSON MIDDLE SCHOOL Afternoon Pick-Up Procedures – If you must pick up your child, plan to arrive about 10 minutes after dismissal (no earlier than 4:05) when traffic congestion has eased and the buses have left campus. If you are picking up your student, turn onto Bolero from Henderson Mill Rd. Make a right turn into the loop driveway and pull forward, leaving a small space between you and the vehicle in front of you in order to allow as many cars as possible to enter the driveway. Once you have picked up your student, you may pull into the middle lane to go around other cars waiting for students. Proceed to the exit on Bolero drive. If you you are heading towards Northlake Mall (to the right from Bolero onto Henderson Mill Rd.), PLEASE make a right on Bolero, and immediate left on Apple Orchard and a left onto Henderson Creek Rd. to return to Henderson Mill Rd. This will significantly improve the flow of traffic at the intersection of Bolero and Henderson Mill Rd. If the driveway is full, proceed to the far lower lot to wait for your student to walk down to your car. Please tell your student to proceed to this lot if he/she does not see you in the carpool line. You may also wait in the far lower lot until the driveway has available space for you.

Absolutely NO PARKING on Bolero Dr.!! You may NOT stop or park on Bolero Dr. to wait for your student in the afternoon! Stopping along Bolero to wait to enter the carpool line will back up traffic on Henderson Mill Rd. and impede bus dismissal. There are No Parking signs posted by DeKalb County along Bolero. All cars must either be in the carpool driveway or in the far lower lot. Police Officers will write tickets for violations.During the first two weeks of school, there will be police officers on site to direct traffic. They will help guide drivers and students as we enter and exit the campus. Please heed their instructions, turn off your cell phone while on the school campus and surrounding streets, and be alert to our student pedestrians. We appreciate your patience – safety is our top priority!

HENDERSON MIDDLE SCHOOL Parent Handbooks – To save trees and money, we will offer hard-copy Parent Handbooks to new HMS families only. We will offer a link to the Parent Handbook here or on the PTSA Website within the next few days. We suggest you download it to your computer for easy access throughout the year.

Critical Need for HENDERSON MIDDLE SCHOOL Media Center Volunteers Due to budget cuts, we have lost Media Center staff, so the Media Center will only be able to remain open during the entire school day with the help of Parent volunteers. If you are available during school hours, please consider volunteering in the Media Center. This is an excellent opportunity for non-English speaking Parents, or any Grandparents who would like to volunteer at HMS. If you are able to help out, please contact Kendall Xides atthexquad@comcast.net.

Board Of Education Election Results District 2 – Marshall Orson defeats incumbent Don McChesney District 4 – Incumbent Paul Womack faces a runoff against Jim McMahon District 6 – Runoff between Melvin Johnson and Denise McGill District 8 – Incumbent Pam Speaks retains her seat For more information on Election results, see the AJC coverage of the School Board election here.

HENDERSON MIDDLE SCHOOL Open House – Thursday, August 9, 2 – 4 p.m. – OPTIONAL For anyone who cannot attend Sneak Peek/Registration/Open House on Wednesday, August 8 from 8:30 – 3:30 p.m., there will be a County mandated Open House on Thursday, August 9 from 2 -4 p.m. You will be able to identify your HENDERSON MIDDLE SCHOOL student’s team and meet his/her teachers, but none of the other activities that will be taking place on Wednesday will be occurring. You will NOT be able to verify your proof of residency at this time, so you will need to come back to HENDERSON MIDDLE SCHOOL the week of August 13 to verify residency before your child can attend school. If you attend Sneak Peek/Registration/Open House on Wednesday, there is no reason for you to attend again on Thursday. Thursday’s HENDERSON MIDDLE SCHOOL Open House is intended only for those who are unable to attend on Wednesday. There will be no new information provided.

Hold Off on those Magazine Subscriptions – HENDERSON MIDDLE SCHOOL PTSA fundraiser for the school year is selling magazine subscriptions. It is the ONLY major fundraiser undertaken during the school year, so don’t be tempted by the mailers you get asking you to renew your subscriptions. Instead, wait until school starts to renew and you’ll be able to continue your subscriptions, probably for a better rate, AND be helping our school!

HENDERSON MIDDLE SCHOOL Weekly Update – Sign Up or Unsubscribe.  We hope that you find the HMS Weekly Update to be informative, and we encourage you to share sign up information with families within the HMS feeder pattern. If you know of families of 5th or 6th grade students from Briarlake, Evansdale, Hawthorne, Henderson Mill, Oak Grove, Pleasantdale or Sagamore Hills, please forward this email to them and encourage them to sign up for our Weekly Updates using the “Join Our Mailing List” button in the green column to the right side of the Update. That way, Sneak Peek information will get to the incoming 6th grade families, and they, along with rising 5th grade families, will get a “flavor”all year long of what’s going on at Henderson. 

DEKALB COUNTY HENDERSON School Council Election – August 23.  Local School Councils were established by the Georgia Legislature several years ago to ensure shared decision making in our public schools. Henderson’s Council is comprised of a principal, two certified teachers, two parent businesspersons and two parent/guardians. An election will be held August 23rd to fill two open parent and/or parent business seats on the Council. If you are interested in serving or wish to nominate a candidate, please write a brief paragraph (no more than 100 words) in support of your nominee. Bring it to the school office by the close of school on August 22nd. The election will be held the next day from 8:00 a.m – 5:00 p.m. Minutes from recent meetings are posted on the bulletin board outside the teacher workroom on the 100 hall. More information on School Councils is available at http://www.gaschoolcouncil.org/

Henderson Council Members 2011-2012

• Terese Allen, Principal

• Barbara Arne, Parent Rep.

• Becky Burnett, Teacher Rep.

• Lisa Brown, Parent Rep.

• Stephanie Earnest, Teacher Rep.

• Jim McMahan, Parent Business Rep.

• Patti Steele, Parent Business Rep.

Hawthorne Nature Trails – Did you know that Hawthorne Elementary School has a lovely natural trail through the woods, connecting Foster Ridge Road and Caladium Drive? The neighborhood Naturtrailia Council, along with the school, works tirelessly to beautify these trails and the surrounding land. Community members are encouraged to enjoy this feature of our neighborhood during non-school hours, from dawn to dusk. New trash receptacles will be installed soon for disposal of litter and pet waste bags. We thank you for using Hawthorne’s nature trail and grounds responsibly and encouraging others to do the same.

Mark Your Calendar (Subject to Change):

• August 7-10 Pre-planning – Teachers report at 8 a.m.

• August 8 Sneak Peak – Open House, 8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.

• August 9 Staff Development DayOpen House, 2 – 4 p.m. – OPTIONAL

• August 13 1st Day of 2012-2013 School Year

• August 17 PTSA Board Meeting, 8:30 a.m.Volunteer Breakfast, 9 a.m.

• August 21 Attendance Office Orientation, Time TBDTeam Parent Orientation, 8 – 10 a.m.

• August 23 PTSA Budget Approval Meeting, 6:00 p.m.Team Nights, 6th, 7th & 8th Grades, 6:30 p.m.

• August 28 Magazine Sales Kick Off