We hope that everybody had a great Spring Break. This coming Monday students and staff will be off from school due to the eclipse. Students were sent home with glasses to safely view this event. Thank you Southwest Local District Office for providing these glasses for our students.

You can now follow us on Twitter and Facebook. Please make sure you are members of the correct sites. There were several “unofficial” sites created and we are trying to inactivate them. I have been posting a lot of pictures of events happening at Harrison Elementary. Feel free to send them out to family and friends. This is a great way to keep up on events at school. Museum Center Science on Wheels pictures have been added to Facebook this week along with pictures of the second-grade field trip to the Reds Stadium.

Follow us on Twitter @SLSDHarrisonEl

Like us on Facebook.com/HarrisonElementarySchool

We have had a great start to the new school year. The students are demonstrating our Four Core Values – Trust, Respect, Ownership and Leadership – throughout the day.

Have a great weekend!

Ron Mangus

Principal

Katie Conley

Dean of Students

Congratulations Students and Staff

This week we were notified by the Department of Education and Workforce that Harrison Elementary School had been awarded Momentum Award for results on the 2022-2023 State Report Card. The Momentum Award is given to those schools who have improved their performance index by 3 or more points from the 2021-2022 report card to the 2022 - 2023 report AND received a value-added rating of 4 or more stars.

This remarkable accomplishment reflects Harrison Elementary's unwavering commitment to excellence and the outstanding services provided to your students and the community. It recognizes the devoted teachers and staff who consistently go above and beyond, ensuring that all students receive a positive learning environment, and promoting holistic development has not gone unnoticed. 

State Testing Schedule – BEGINNING NEXT WEEK

Listed below are the group testing dates for students in 3-5 grades. Please try to avoid scheduling any appointments on these dates. If you have any questions please contact your child’s teacher.

April 10 – 3-5 grade students Reading Part 1

April 11 – 3-5 grade students Reading Part 2

April 24 – 5^th grade students Science Part 1

April 25 – 5^th grade students Science Part 2

April 30 – 4^th and 5^th grade students Math Part 1

May 1 – 3^rd grade students Math Part 1

• 4^th and 5^th grade students Math Part 2

May 2 – 3rd grade students Math Part 2

Did You Know…..

Throughout our town halls, surveys, and our recent building tours, we’ve gotten a lot of questions about our facilities, academics, and school programs. Specifically, some concern was raised that our newer buildings were built too small for the rapid pace of enrollment in our district.

In the last few years, we've made it a priority to try and get every student in the district to participate in at least one extracurricular activity. During our town halls this year, we heard a lot of participants who wanted to see more involvement and more opportunities for our students. We continue to strive for 100% participation, and we are making great progress! We've seen increased participation across all our buildings, and we went from 88.9% participation last school year, to nearly 93% participation this year.

We want all our students to thrive inside AND outside of the classroom. Involvement in these activities is critical in the development of discipline and paving a path to success for all our SLSD students. We will continue to push for our goal of 100% participation with your help on the home front. Do you have ideas for other extracurricular activities we could add to the options we provide students? Let us know your thoughts!

Food Services

Southwest Schools prides itself on offering the lowest school lunch prices in the area, while still covering all operational costs associated with our food service program.  With that in mind, we do not anticipate raising prices for the 2024-25 school year.  As a reminder, if you feel like your family may be eligible for free or reduced lunch prices based on your household income, then you should apply online via the “Food Service” tab of the district website (www.southwestschools.org).  Applications for the 2024-25 school year will be open in early- to mid-July.  Acceptance into the free or reduced lunch program could also provide other benefits that may include academic fee waivers, holiday church help, or summer EBT program benefits.  If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Sue Toelke or Adam Lohbeck at (513) 367-4139.

Son & Daughter Dances

The annual Elementary Dances are just over a month away!  This year’s theme is “Under the Big Top”.  They’re open to all SLSD preschool through 5^th graders.  Both dances run from 7-9 PM at the Activity Center.  Admission is $20 per couple, and $5 for each additional child.  The price includes music and dancing, snacks, photo stations and games.

The Daughter Dance takes place on Friday, April 19.  Purchase tickets at https://bit.ly/daughterdance2024.

The Son Dance takes place on Saturday, April 20.  Purchase tickets at https://bit.ly/sondance2024.

The dances are sponsored by the Harrison High School Student Council.

Progress Book and Abre

Parents – if you are having trouble accessing ProgressBook or the Abre Parent Portal email parentaccess@southwestschools.org for help.

April 8^th Total Solar Eclipse - reminder

On April 8, 2024, Ohio will experience a once-in-a-lifetime Total Solar Eclipse event.  The last total solar eclipse in Ohio happened 217 years ago in 1806.  Many parts of the state, ours included, will be in total darkness for a brief period in the late afternoon.  The rest of the state will see the sun at least 95% blocked by the moon during that time. 

The timing of the total eclipse has created a tricky situation for school districts in the totality zone, as it is supposed to occur right around our dismissal time.  The issue will not be the darkness, but instead, the amount of traffic in our area, as the Ohio Emergency Management Team anticipates an extremely large number of visitors to our area to view this historic event.  It is estimated that an additional 139,000-556,000 travelers will be coming to this part of Ohio, creating gridlocked traffic conditions and travelers stopped all along our roadways.  More information and guidance from the Ohio Emergency Management team can be found here: https://ema.ohio.gov/media-publications/ohio-total-solar-eclipse

Due to the safety concerns regarding travel conditions, Southwest Local Schools have decided to close on Monday, April 8, 2024.  Several other districts in our area have already done the same:

https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/several-tri-state-school-districts-announce-closures-on-april-8-as-total-solar-eclipse-travels-over-ohio

The school district will be providing solar eclipse glasses to all our students and staff members so they may view the once-in-a-lifetime total solar eclipse safely.  Those will be sent home with students on Wednesday, April 3^rd.  School will resume as normal on Tuesday, April 9th.

Kindergarten Registration – 2024 – 2025 – Don’t let time run out!!!

The Southwest Local School District will begin kindergarten registration for the 2024 - 2025 school year Feb 1 beginning at 6 am. Registration can be completed online from any computer. Detailed instructions regarding the online application will be available on the district's website (www.southwestschools.org) under New Student Registration Tab. When your online forms are completed and all required documents have been uploaded, call the district registrar at district office at 513-728-8401 to make sure the documents have been received and are acceptable to complete your registration. See the district page for age requirements and immunization requirements.

April’s Character Traits:

Week of 4/8: Appreciation of Beauty-Appreciation of Beauty is defined as, I value and respect the unique qualities in everything I see around me.

Week of 4/15: Humility-Humility is defined as, I let my accomplishments speak for themselves

Week of 4/22: Intentional- Intentional is defined as, I am thoughtful in working to improve myself and the world.

Week of 4/29: “All year, we have been Strength Spotting and sharing what is the best about each of us. It’s been fun getting to know each other and what makes us strong. This week, we celebrate all of our strengths.

My name is_______________, and my top strength is ______________. I know ___________ is my top strength because I ___________________________.

Please reinforce these weekly traits at home and throughout the month. 

Update Regarding Ohio’s New Law for Dyslexia Screening

All students in grades K-3 at Southwest Local School District will undergo dyslexia screening as part of Ohio law requirements. This non-intrusive process aims to identify early signs of dyslexia, and if your child is flagged, they may be given a Tier 2 Screener for further assessment and tailored support. This is not a comprehensive dyslexia assessment designed to diagnose your child with dyslexia. The screener is designed to identify areas of concern in specific components of reading that identify your child as being below or well below grade level expectations. 

Students in SLSD will receive an initial screening through Aimsweb Plus. K-3 students are already taking this assessment three times a year (fall, winter, spring).  Students who score in the 25^th percentile or below on the winter administration of Aimsweb Plus, will then be given an additional assessment called the RAN. If your child scores in an at-risk range on the RAN, they will be given the PAST assessment to target areas for intervention. We will notify you if your child will be receiving interventions based on these screenings.

Remaining Timeline for Dyslexia Assessments 2023-2024

March 11-April 26: 6-8 Week Intervention Window

Week of April 29: Re-administer PAST to this target group of students

During May data meetings, all students will be placed in MTSS groups for the following Fall based on areas of need. 

PTO Planning Meetings

PTO meetings this school year will take place on the fourth Monday of each month at 6:30 pm in the school cafeteria. The next PTO meeting is scheduled for Monday April 22, 2024 due to the timing of Spring Break and Easter.

You can always join PTO. Just your small membership fee of $10 helps us provide services for the kids! This does not require you to volunteer or attend meetings. It is all up to you how much you would like to be involved. If you have any questions, please reach out to a board member.

Joining the PTO is not a huge commitment and often looks like 1-3 service hours a year with opportunities in the evenings, during the school day or can be as simple as signing up to send in cookies for an event.  Everyone doing a little adds up to a LOT for our kids.

Please click on the link below for the meeting minutes. 

February PTO Minutes -  Click Here 

Hope to see you soon!

Harrison PTO

Attachments 

Daughter and Son Dance Flyer - Click Here 

Important Items for the Week Ahead

Monday, April 8 – Eclipse Day – No School for students and staff

Thursday, April 11 – Pee Wee Penguin Banking Deposit Day

• Cross Cat Students going to the HS for a Drama Performance
• Board of Education Meeting at Harrison Elementary School – 7 pm

DISTRICT MISSION: "Academic and Social Growth for ALL students, EVERY DAY!"

DISTRICT MOTTO: "Excellence through Relationships"

HARRISON ELEMENTARY MOTTO: "Where Children Come First"

DISTRICT CORE VALUES: Trust, Respect, Ownership and Leadership