Hello HSE Parents,

We hope you all are enjoying this final month of summer before the school begins.  With the school year quickly approaching, our PTO is reaching out with a reminder of the board positions that are still open for the 2019-2020 upcoming school year.  We are excited to have a returning Secretary, 2 returning Workroom Coordinators and a new Homeroom Parent Coordinator locked into place.

We regret to inform you that some of the returning board members will no longer be able to serve due to work transfers and unexpected circumstances. That is why we have quite a few openings on the board for the upcoming school year. Your help is greatly appreciated in order to continue to serve our students and accomplish our goals.

There have been some changes to the board positions from previous years to create an easier flow to all that the PTO does for the staff and students.  We will also have several sub-committees within each position.  Below is a list of board positions, if you are interested in hearing more about any position or subcommittee options, please reach out to us.

The Board consists of 7 positions with several subcommittee options listed in the attached chart: President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, Student Engagement, Staff Support and Fundraising

This is a great opportunity for you to be a part of the heartbeat of the school, our PTO.  The PTO takes care of our students with little things from hot chocolate on the polar express day and Kona Ice on the field day to the big fundraising with I-Fest and Fun Run.  In the past, the money has gone to the turf, outside water fountain, playground and more.  This past year we were able to raise money for a safety crosswalk from the school to the playground area and in-school educational field trips for all grades from K-8^th.  The PTO also makes sure our amazing staff is taken care of with Staff Appreciation dinners, I-Fest silent auction baskets, Teacher appreciation week and the list goes on.

Without a proper board, we can not continue to serve our school.  Our board of all working moms last year showed that we as parents can have it all, be actively involved in our children’s school and work.  We are wanting to have all positions closed by August 1^st.  If you have questions about positions, commitment  please reach out to PTO at hsepto@gmail.com

Here is the link for our PTO form: https://forms.gle/o4VM1bBr1V1e92zq9

Thank you for your interest and here’s to the start of a great school year!

Click here for a printable version of the HSE 2019-2020 Academic Calendar

HSE has been named to the Educational Results Partnership 2018 – 2019 Honor Roll for its high achievement in student success. The program is part of a national effort to identify higher-performing schools and districts that are improving student outcomes. Schools that receive the Honor Roll distinction have demonstrated consistent high levels of student academic achievement, improvement in achievement levels over time, and a reduction in achievement gaps among student populations.

Dear HSE Families,

It is hard to believe that we have reached the end of the school year. This has been an amazing year and, together, let us celebrate the many learning experiences and educational opportunities that have taken place for our students. HSE’s unique character, excellence in teaching, and the tremendous dedication and talent of our staff continues to make it a wonderful and special educational environment.

This past year was a success on so many levels. HSE was represented in State and National level platforms by many of our teams, including MathLeague, Quiz Bowl, History Bee, History Fair, Science Olympiad, Robotics, Cross Country, Basketball, and many others. HSE also earned 6 out of 7 distinction designations by the TEA. I am confident that our high standards, hard work, and perseverance will help our school get even better ratings than before.

Looking ahead to next year, it too will be filled with many firsts, achievements, and new developments. We are excitedly awaiting the grand opening of the new STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) Lab as well as the inclusion of STEAM extension hours into all of our student schedules.

HSE is making the “A” in STEAM even bigger by including Theater classes with Ms. Buth, along with Art and Music, as an elective course for middle school students. In technology news, the school will be purchasing 250 additional Chromebooks, 50+ iPads, 12-3D printers and much more to enhance the integration of technology into our curriculum.

We are also adding a fourth 2nd grade section, 2D. This will create a “departmental” structure where students will have two teachers, one for math/science and one for ELA/social studies. This will give our 2nd grade team and students the opportunity for more specialized instruction in their coursework.

There are many other strategies we will be adopting next year at HSE to ensure our students are receiving the best education. These efforts include the adoption of a new ELA curriculum, Teach Like a Champion strategies, Jim Knight coaching model for teachers, Micro-Credentials, and Vertical Professional Learning Communities.

I would also like to announce that Mrs. Dorsey has been promoted as our first-time-ever campus-level instructional coach. She will be pouring her 17 years of experience into mentoring our HSE teachers with the intent of increasing both the quality of instruction and student learning.

Of course, we could not have achieved all we did this year without our amazing PTO Board. I would like wish our current PTO members the best of luck as they are finishing their four-year term here at HSE. Thank you guys, you are the best. The new PTO will be in charge very soon and I have no doubt the new Board will hit the ground running and continue to support our school with the same legendary enthusiasm as our current board.

Please mark your calendars for our full-day welcome orientation & meet the teacher event. It will take place on Friday, August 9th between 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM.

Have a restful and enjoyable summer break. I look forward to seeing you back in school.

Sincerely,

Mugire Ayci, Principal
mayci@harmonytx.org

Harmony Public Schools is monitoring weather forecasts in Houston area. Should there be school closure or cancellation of programs; parents will be notified via the district/school’s website, our parent notification system, and/or social media.  Please stay safe and monitor local media for weather updates.

Dear HSE Families,

It is hard to believe it is already Spring Break – a week when we will get to enjoy a bit of time to rest and recharge. After that, it is back to work to finish this year strong! We have much to do and, as always, your involvement is needed.

The months of April and May mark the beginning to the end of the year STAAR testing window.  We will start administering STAAR the week of April 20th. This testing window will run through mid-May. The schedule can be found on our online calendar and it will also be posted on Facebook and in the Tiger Tribune. It is very important that your students be at school and on time on STAAR testing days. Past experience has shown that students who take the assessments with their class perform at a higher level than those who take a make-up assessment at a different time.  If you need to schedule a medical appointment for your child in the next couple of months, be sure to check with your child’s teacher to find out what days to avoid when scheduling the appointment.

Many campus upgrades are planned during the break. To ensure HSE is completely safe, secure, and is the best place for learning, the following improvements will be made to our school:

• Current gates will be replaced with wireless compatible, sliding ones. New operators will be added.
• Outside lighting will be enhanced to ensure our land is completely safe and visible.
• Parking lot stripes and fire lines will be repainted. Designated staff parking will be added.
• A professional sound system will be installed in the gym. A very special thanks to our legendary PTO for sponsoring this project.
• Two outside HSE signs along Gessner will be replaced with projected completion March 25th.

I also want to share more exciting news – our dream project, the HSE STEAM Lab, has been approved by the district office. We plan to start its construction during the first week of summer break. Our goal is getting the lab ready before August 10th. It is going to be a great addition to our campus.

We love having you visit and take part in what we do. Our HSE community is a wonderful place to be and, as a team, we continue to work hard to stay the BEST! We are anchoring excellence in a safe harbor for learning and riding the “Waves of Success”!

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

Mugire Ayci, Principal
mayci@harmonytx.org

You asked! We changed!

You’re invited to take our website survey to find out if the new website is meeting your needs.

During the last few months, we’ve been working to revamp our campus websites based on the feedback we received from focus groups, and online user surveys. Your feedback was critical because it helped us understand why people visit our websites and what they are trying to achieve once they get there.

It’s easy to take part in the survey and should take no longer than 5 minutes to complete!

We take your feedback very seriously, and want to provide parents with a valuable resource. If one of your favorite features from the old site is missing: let us know… (Gently – remember the Golden Rule!)

Click on this link to take the survey immediately.

Digital Ecosystem Team

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No school on Monday, March 4th for teacher professional development.

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