Home of the Hickory Huskies

Hickory Elementary School is committed to creating a learning community

where students reach their academic potential, have no limits to individual
success and contribute meaningfully to society.
Volume 10, Issue 3
January/February 2015

Notes from the Principal:

Hello Hickory Families,
Happy New Year! Our Hickory staff is looking forward to another year working with you! Continuing
communication is our goal in the coming school year. Thank you for your continued support, and please let
us know how we can assist you or your child. My door is ALWAYS open, so please come on in!
We have finally experienced some cold temperatures lately and all indications imply that these will continue
over the next few months. We will have indoor recess every day unless the temperature rises well above 32
degrees and there is no wind chill. For these reasons it is very important that your child come to school
wearing a winter coat, a hat, and gloves, and boots if necessary. If you need assistance with any of these
clothing items, please let us know.
Beginning on January 27th and continuing through February 10th our students will take the MAP
(Measurement of Adequate Progress) reading and math assessments. The results of these assessments will
give both the teachers and the students, valuable information about the academic content has been
mastered, and what needs to be taught or retaught before the end of the academic school year. Times and
dates will vary for grade levels and classes. Your childs classroom teacher will communicate these with you
in the near future, if they have not done so already.
Beginning the week of March 2nd students in grades 3, 4, and 5 will participate in the state-wide PARCC
(Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Career Assessment). This test replaces the MSA
and tests students in Reading, Writing and Math. If you wish to learn more about the PARCC Assessment
follow the links below:
#PrepareforPARCC Updates
PARCC Assessment Timeline for 2014-15 and Do you know whats happening this year with PARCC testing
in Maryland?
Check out the PARCC Implementation Timeline (English):
http://www.marylandpublicschools.org/msde/programs/parcc/docs/PARCCImplementationTimeline.pdf
(Spanish):
http://www.marylandpublicschools.org/msde/programs/parcc/docs/PARCCImplementationTimeline_Sp.pdf
PARCC Question of the Week
Are you smarter than a fourth grader? Find out by trying your hand at the PARCC Question of the Week. This
weeks question is an example of a performance-based test question for Grade 4 mathematics. The
PARCC tests performance-based questions are longer, multi-step problems that require students to
perform a task and explain how they came to their answer. Try the PARCC Question of the Week:
http://parcconline.org/item-week-2015-01-08?
utm_source=PARCC+Updates+1%2F8%2F15&utm_campaign=1%2
Or try a PARCC sample test at parcconline.org/take-the-test

For More Information: Visit MSDEs Prepare for PARCC webpage,

http://www.marylandpublicschools.org/msde/programs/parcc/index.html and join the conversation

on Twitter and other social media with the hashtag #PrepareForPARCC.
Our Pre-K Raising a Reader Program is functioning well! This program is for students in the PreKindergarten Program. This home-based program helps the families of Pre-K children develop, practice and
maintain the literacy routines necessary to become a strong reader. This is an early literacy and parent
involvement program that will engage parents, children and professionals in a shared partnership. The
program allows the students to practice reading at home. The students take books home in their book bag
along with materials to use at home with family members. Books are returned to school on a rotating basis
to obtain new reads.
School Web Links:
Hickory Elementary School and PTA Facebook address: https://www.facebook.com/HickoryPTA
Thank you to Mrs. Ginnie Wise, PTA Vice President for maintaining our school Facebook page. By clicking
on the link above you will instantly be connected to new from the Hickory PTA and Hickory Elementary. Mrs.
Wise is doing an excellent job running the page, and trying to keep the followers updated on school news
and PTA functions. When you follow the link, click the 'Like' button to follow and receive updates on your
Facebook feed.
Mrs. Wise states, I'd love to make our page a vibrant community that shares our successes, special
classroom activities, community involvement, shout-outs, needs and wants for classrooms, volunteer
opportunities, or anything else you'd like to share publicly on the page.
Hickory Elementary School Weebly Site:
Mrs. Lingg, our school Lead Teacher maintains the school Weebly account. The site can be accessed by
following this link: www.hickoryelementary.weebly.com
Please spend some time referencing this site. Teachers are in the process of updating their individual web
pages so that you can see what is happening in their classrooms.
Thank you for all that you do, and for working with us to make Hickory Elementary a great community for
teachers, students, and parents!
PTA Fundraiser:
Our spring PTA fundraiser will be coming home this week from School Mall. The fundraiser is simple:
1) Look for the brochure that will be coming home with the students.
2) Visit www.schoolmall.com/order and browse ALL the exciting items
3) Fill out the postcard, including ALL the important information
4) Return the postcard to school.
Report Cards: Look for your childs report card on Friday, January 30th.
Thank you for entrusting your children to us!

Respectfully,

Mrs. Kuhna

Martins A+ School Rewards Program

The beginning date for the Martins A+ school rewards program was October 6 th. You will have the
opportunity to earn cash through Stop & Shop A+ School Rewards Program. If you havent registered your
bonus card with us please be sure to register your card to benefit Hickory Elementary School using ID

#00072. You do not need to re-register your card if you registered for Hickory last school year. As of this
date, January 16, 2015, we have earned $274.72.

Student Attendance
Attendance is extremely important and is linked to higher student achievement.
Research has shown that students who attend school regularly are more actively
engaged with classroom activities and tasks. They tend to do better on class work,
homework, and assessments. If your child is absent from school, make sure to send a note to school the
next day explaining their absence. When a child misses 12 or more days they must have a doctors note for
their absence to be excused.
We want to recognize the students for perfect attendance. This is done on a daily basis through a contest.
The students will work together to earn a popcorn party based on perfect attendance by the class. Mrs.
Vantz will bring the popcorn machine to the classroom and pop the corn for the students to see and eat!

Student Incentive Program

Perfectly Popped Attendance
Grade 5, Mrs. Shanks class had the highest attendance percentage for the month of November with
98.08% and December with 96.41%. Congratulations!
Students with perfect attendance for the month are recognized with a certificate and pencil. Those students
with perfect attendance for the month of November were:
Note: Perfect attendance is based on the student being at school every day during the month.
PreKindergarten: Camden Baker, Zoey Bartles, Paiden Beasley, Grant Bloyer, Frank Burrell, Issabella
Dowler, Jonathan Grogg, Shawn Johns, Braiden Lowery, Johnathen Manning, Vincent Nguyen, Adam Smith,
Adellyn Turner, Julieanna Aleman Russell, Maurice Burrell, Nevaeh Dorman, Ian Hutzell, Makhi Logan,
Jakayla Placko, Chaselyn Rayner, Nathan Vaughn
Kindergarten: Payton Footen, Nakia Hight, Karen Lopex Castillo, Seth Malatt, Olivia McDaniel, Anabelle
Myers, James Peeble, Bailey Sheffler, Koltin Sims, Cheyanne Davis, Aaron Eckenrode, Annabelle Hutzell,
Amaje Logan, Janessa Morgan, William Rexrode, Kollen Sims, Belyn Wetzel
Grade 1: Amalyah Aguayo, Aeriela Brady, Hope Homontowski, Sherron Logan, Jalen McClary, Mariah
Minnick, Lucas Reidenbach, Dylan Smolen, Santos Castillo, Gabriela Coates Russell, Sophia Escobar, Ty
Shaun Hamby, Shaun Haws, Laila Houck, Emma Jenkins, Benjamin Luemen, Jackelyn Quinteros Argueta
Grade 2: Shradha Bista, Amasia Blakney, Eric Castillo, Cierra Davis, Madelynn Markell, Tynijah Marshall,
Nicholas Minnick, Stanley Miranda Delgado, Jonathan Peebles, Tlaor Smith, Mason Stranathan, Ticcara
Sumlin, Daphne Wang, Lillian Wise, Fredis Castillo, Matthew Detrow, Erin Duffy, Isaiah Joia, Riley Lane,
Tessa Linetsky, Briana Martin, Jasmine McDaniel, Olivya Menowsky Davis, Josiah Minnick, Kadin
Mullendore, Addie Nixon, Jemy Pack, Megen Shartzer, Charles Wible, Jr.
Grade 3: Nicholas Anderson, Mark Aquino, Leanne Braner, Layla Kadir, Skyler Knox, Yesica Laureano Cruz,
Danh Mai, Brithney Paniagua Menendez, Kaila Perry, Khalea Pointer, Kane Taylor, Elijhah Blakney, Gary
Butts, Jr., Joseph Homontowski, Xavien Houck, Alex House, Corry Nelson, Bryanna Santiago, Dylan Shores,
Teinaaki Simmons, Preston Smith, Nathan Tucci
Grade 4: Anthony Blakney, Taylor Bryan, Joel Castillo, Noah Cauffman, Abagael Esser, Ian Lane, Fekson
Leneus, Shaylee Lewis, Lillie Mullendore, Catherine Wible, Kristian Holloway, Brianna Koontz, Laniah
Macklin, JaLyn Morgan, Emonie Powell
Grade 5: Carlos Amaya Lopez, Corrine Carrazco, Blanca Castillo, Stefan Cebotari, Hannah Danner, Sydney
Gardner, Angelynn Garrett, Tae Von Hamby, Shelby Hoflich, Joseph Horner, Samuel Kline, Donye Menosky,
Caden Ringler, Caiden Wetzel, Zamir Wilson, Justin Ahmadian, Glenford Creary, Wilber Flores, Amani
Glover, Antionette Hebron, John Hubbard, Anthony Perry, Efrain Santiago, Kensley Shoemaker, Torieana
Sumlin, Alexander Tucci
Students with perfect attendance for the month are recognized with a certificate and pencil. Those students
with perfect attendance for the month of December were:

PreKindergarten: Issabella Dowler, Braiden Lowery, Johnathen Manning, Vincent Nguyen, Tatyana
Quinteros Argueta, Adam Smith, Julieanna Aleman Russell, Maurice Burrell, Nevaeh Dorman, Hayden Hight,
Angela Hughes, Jeremiah Joia, William Romero Orellana, Nathan Vaughn
Kindergarten: Payton Footen, Nakia HIght, Karen Lopez Castillo, Anabelle Myers, Koltin Sims, Maddox
Wood, Cheyanne Davis, Sophie Rudisill, Kollen Sims, Belyn Wetzel
Grade 1: Isabella Haws, Jalen McClary, Abdelrahman Zahran, Santos Castillo, Gabriela Coates Russell,
Cynthia Flores, Shaun Haws, Serenity Jackson, Emma Jenkins, Benjamin Lueman, Gavin Nalley Elektra
Nixon, Jackelyn Quinteros Argueta
Grade 2: Ericka Amaya Lopez, Shradha Bista, Eric Castillo, Cierra Daivs, Ty Onna Hamby, Jimmy Manion,
Madelynn Markell, Nicholas Minnick, Stanley Miranda Delgado, Ticcara Sumlin, Daphne Wang, Fredis
Castillo, Raidyn Crawford, Matthew Detrow, Isaiah Douglas, Erin Duffy, Isaiah Joia, Ameerah Kadir, Melanie
Keys, Riley Lane, William Logan, Abagail Luemen, Briana Martin, Josiah Minnick, Adddie Nixon, Megen
Shartzer
Grade 3: Jasmine Baugher, Brian Bernal Pineda, Leanne Braner, Skyler Knox, Yesica Laureano Cruz, Danh
Mai, Brithney Paniagua Menendez, Kane Taylor, Corry Nelson, Joshua Rivera, Bryanna Santiago, Nathan
Tucci, Kadega Zahran
Grade 4: Jayden Douglas, Mason Gates, Kristian Holloway, Brianna Koontz, Laniah Macklin, Nicole Reyes,
Fatmah Zahran, Anthony Blakney, Taylor Bryan, Noah Cauffman, Blake Crum, Ian Lane, Fekson Leneus,
Shaylee Lewis, Elizabeth Pierce
Grade 5: Carlos Amaya Lopez, Corrine Carrazco, Blanca Castillo, Hannah Danner, Angelynn Garrett, Tae
Von Hamby, Maleena Hawkes, Shelby Hoflich, Joseph Horner, Jr., Samuel Kline, Caden RIngler, Caiden
Wetzel, Glenford Creary, Alexus Haines, Jakob Kithcen, Ryan Miller, Efrain Santiago, Kensley Shoemaker,
Torieana Sumlin, Alexander Tucci

Physical Education News

Elks Hoop Shoot
The Hagerstown Elks Lodge #378 once again sponsored their annual National Elks Hoop Shoot Contest on
Saturday, January 10, 2015 at Williamsport High School. Every school in Washington County holds their own
school-wide contest. The winners from each school then compete at the county level. Each of the school
winners was given an Elks Hoop Shoot t-shirt for their accomplishment at the school level. The
representatives from Hickory Elementary were as follows:
Ian Lane
Mason Gates
Jayna Shifflette
A special congratulations goes out to Jayna Shifflette, a fifth-grader in Mrs. Shanks class. Jayna earned 2 nd
place in the county hoop shoot and received a trophy from the Hagerstown Elks. Way to go Jayna!! We are
very proud of our Hickory students.a job well done!!

Jump Rope for Heart

Hickory Elementary will be kicking-off their annual Jump Rope for Heart event with a school-wide assembly
on Thursday, January 22. Please look for collection envelopes and additional information regarding Jump
Rope for Heart to be sent home the week of January 26 th. The actual Jump event will take place in your
childs Physical Education class the week of February 17 th. Any questions or concerns, please contact Mrs.
Kerns.

Hickory Elementary School

Calendar of Events
2014-2015
Friday, January 23rd
Wednesday, February 11th
Monday, February 16th

Dads and Donuts @ 8:30 a.m.

Bookmobile
Presidents Day (Schools and Central Offices
Closed)

Friday, February 13th

Wednesday, March 11th
Wednesday, April 8th
Tuesday, April 21st
March 30 April 7

Popcorn and a Movie Night @ 6:30 p.m.

Bookmobile
Bookmobile
Spring Class Pictures
SCHOOLS CLOSED FOR SPRING BREAK

Good News Club is on Mondays after school. It will run through April 20, 2015.