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The John Hancock Demonstration Elementary School K-5 |
Principal 3700 Morrell Avenue
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The John Hancock Demonstration Elementary SchoolBreaking News: Hancock Received a 1 in the School Performance Index for the second year in a row. January 20, 2011 Dear William Griffin, The School District of Philadelphia is committed to building a system of great schools that supports students in meeting high academic standards. The School Performance Index (SPI) is a method the District has developed to evaluate school performance on a variety of academic progress and community engagement indicators. The SPI is also a more comprehensive way to examine school performance than Adequate Yearly Progress. It includes more components, is more balanced (AYP is disproportionately more difficult for schools with more student subgroups), puts a greater focus on student growth, and is more stable (all categories contain two years worth of data). Schools are ranked by performance relative to all public schools in Philadelphia. Schools are given an overall ranking of 1 to 10, with a rank of “1” indicating highest performance and a rank of “10” indicating lower performance. I have included a document that indicates your SPI rank and each component of the SPI. In addition, detailed descriptions are provided for each of the SPI components. Based on the SPI, HANCOCK received an overall ranking of 1. We hope that you can use this information as another measure of your school’s progress as well as a learning opportunity for your school community. Thank you for your continued hard work and dedication in meeting our goal of providing a quality education for Philadelphia’s children.
Congratulations Hancock!
January 23, 2012
Parents and Guardians,
I am writing to you once again to ask for your support in providing a safe school environment within the entire Hancock School area. Though at the Hancock Elementary School we will always put into place every precaution available to insure the safety of our students, we need to acknowledge that kids will be kids. Our students, just like all children at this age level, do not always make the right choices. From time to time they will act impulsively and before thinking. As adults in the Hancock School Community, we all need to be the responsible individuals who rise to the occasion, providing a safety net for all of our children, thus providing a safe corridor around the Hancock School that allows our children the opportunity to make mistakes without the consequence of injury.
I need your support in providing this safety net, and I request that each of us take the following precautions to provide a safe corridor around the perimeter of the Hancock School: 1. The entire Hancock School area tends to get very congested during the opening and dismissal of school. It is imperative that parents either take advantage of the Drop-off/ Pick-up Loop or park on some of the side streets a block away from the school and walk their children to and from the schoolyard. 2. If you use the drop off /Pick-up loop on Fordham Road adjacent to Mitchell Playground, please always drive slowly, follow all procedures and comply with the directions of the school staff while in this area. Please refer to the Parent/ Students Handbook for all Drop off /Pick-up loop procedures. 3. During inclement weather additional families choose to utilize their cars and make use of the drop off /Pick-up loop. As a result the loop fills up fast and tends to become congested. Our staff is scheduled to be outside in the mornings at 8:15 AM. Please consider coming at 8:15 on inclement weather days. You will miss most of the last minute traffic. 4. Please do not park around the perimeter of the school. The perimeter areas are designated for our school buses and/or provide additional visibility of our students. 5. For the safety of our children, please do not double park at any time or park in the middle of Morrell Avenue. Please do not block the driveways of our neighbors. These practices are illegal and the Philadelphia Police have been ticketing individuals for these infractions. 6. Please do not prompt your children to run across any street unescorted. All adults need to serve as role models for all of our children by using the crosswalk when crossing the street. Insist that your child use the crosswalk, following the direction of the crossing guard. 7. Please do not park your car within 15 feet of the crosswalks or in any way that forces our children to cross the streets in an unsafe manner.
I realize that in today’s fast paced world, you may feel that you do not have the additional 5 to 10 minutes that it will take to support my requests, but it is my hope that you will find the time simply because it is what is best for all of our children.
Thank you for your support.
Sincerely,
William J. Griffin, Principal
Message from the Principal
Dear Parents and Guardians of Hancock Elementary School Students:
Welcome to the 2011-2012 school year. I am looking forward to a positive, productive school year.
This year Hancock Elementary School has consolidated with General J. Harry LaBrum Middle School. Like Hancock, the LaBrum School is becoming a Demonstration School. We are very excited by the opportunity to work with the students, parents, teachers and staff of the LaBrum Middle School.
I would also like to introduce you to our new Assistant Principal, Ms. Andrea Miller. Ms. Miller comes to us from the Fairhill Elementary School where she served as the assistant principal. She is an experienced teacher and educator working in the School District of Philadelphia’s North Regional office and the Pollock School. We are very fortunate to have her with us at Hancock and LaBrum. Please welcome her to our community.
I look forward to meeting you and working with you throughout the school year. If you have a question, want to share an idea, address a concern or make a comment, please feel free to contact me. I will always do what I can to answer your questions, resolve your concerns or consider your suggestions.
During the 2010-2011 school year at Hancock elementary we introduced many new initiatives and achieved many successes. We implement new, innovative programs and extra curricular activities, which helped our students to achieve at high levels. We started our reading together program. The Father/Daughter and Mother/ Son Dances were a complete success, and the memories that these two events created were priceless. Our students performed and danced for the Hancock parents during multiple evening meetings and made it to the Ballroom Dancing Classrooms City finals. Listening to our student and the senior citizens sing their songs in the Kid Pan Alley Concert will be something that I will always treasure. I am sure that you would agree that the Magical Land of OZ play was a wonderful testament of what our children can create, develop and accomplish.
It is my pleasure and honor to inform you that our efforts have paid off. We made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). The students scoring advanced or proficient on the 2011 PSSA in reading have increased and the students scoring basic and below basic in both reading and math have significantly decreased. Please join us in commending your children in what they have accomplished.
During this school year we will employ programs that have fostered success while implementing new, innovating and exciting programs that will facilitate student learning. This year promises to be one that strongly emphasizes student achievement through data driven instruction. We will continuously look at the data, which we will collect throughout the course of the year and make instructional decisions based on that data. We will continue to utilize the School District of Philadelphia’s Standardized Core Curriculum, supported through mandated materials.
I look forward to meeting you and working with you throughout the school year. As always, I am in the schoolyard in the morning every chance I can to lead the Hancock Morning Exercises. If you have a question, want to share an idea, address a concern or make a comment, please feel free to approach me after the exercises. I will always do what I can to answer your questions, resolve your concerns or consider your suggestions.
I ask that parents and guardians support the education of their children by being involved. Our Home and School, which provides many vital services to the Hancock School, is always looking for new members. Our Home and School Officers will be available to meet and encourage parents to join the Home and School during our Back to School Night.
All students are expected to wear their uniform each day. Students should navy or white shirts with collars (Golf Shirts) and wear navy blue or khaki slacks. Girls may wear knee length navy blue or khaki skirts, knee length navy blue or khaki skorts or jumpers if desired. On Gym days, students can wear a Hancock T-shirt and navy blue sweat pants during cold weather months. During warm weather months, students may wear navy shorts instead of sweat pants. Sneakers must be worn to participate in gym. Sneakers with lights or containing roller skates are not permitted at Hancock. Students wearing reveling clothing will be required to wear a cover up at school.
Our students riding the buses will not be picked up until after the 3:09 PM dismissal. Please do not park around the perimeter of the school. The perimeter areas are designated for our school buses. It is important that the perimeter of the school, all of Morrell Avenue and West Crown Avenue remain available to safely receive and dismiss our students riding the school buses.
The car pick-up lane is still available to drop of and pick up children. One of the major successful safety accomplishments of prior year was the morning/afternoon car loop set of procedures. These procedures provided our parents with a safe and an efficient way of dropping off their children in the morning and picking up their children in the afternoon. It was a huge undertaking, but well worth it because it improved the overall safety of our children.
I ask that parents support the educational process by making sure each child practices sound living habits like a regular bedtime, healthy meals, a quite place to do homework, and encouragement to practice good citizenship. Behavior that is appropriate for play is not always appropriate for school. The goal will be to stress good manners. I will be working very hard to eliminate rough play and bullying. Please review these ideas with your children and support the staff in creating a safe and warm environment for all students. Working together, we can insure your child’s success.
Communication is key to the educational process. We continue to use technology to keep parents informed. Important School information and updates are placed on the Hancock School website at www.philasd.org/schools/hancock/. We will continue to utilize Parent Link, an automated phone service that will call your home leaving attendance information and other important announcements. We will continue to employ the Tuesday Communication Folders for all important correspondence. Please feel free to email me anytime at bgriffin@philasd.org. As always, please call the Hancock School office at (215) 281- 2604 with your questions or concerns.
Thank you for your support, and I look forward to seeing you soon.
Sincerely
William J. Griffin, Principal and The Hancock Staff
Classroom ObservationsWe are a demonstration school and welcome area teachers to visit our school. See contact us for form.Points of Pride
Weekly Announcements
January 23, 2012- Kindergarten Registration Begins January 31, 2012- Predictive Testing Begins February 15, 2012- February 17, 2012- Afternoon Report Card Conferences- Student Dismissal at 12:09 PM. February 20 , 2012- Presidents' Day- School Holiday March 6, 2012- Kindergarten Open House March 7, 2012- Early Dismissal- !2:09 PM March 12, 2012- March 23, 2012- PSSA Testing Grades 3-8 April 2, 2012- April 6, 2012- Spring Vacation- School Closed April 9, 2012- School Resumes April 16-20, 2012- PSSA Writing Test - (Grades 5 and 8) April 16, 2012- Philadelphia Eagles Eye Mobile April 23- 27, 2012- PSSA Science Test - (Grades 5 and 8) April 24, 2012- Election Day - School Closed May 2- 4, 2012- Afternoon Report Card Conferences- Student Dismissal at 12:09 PM. May 28, 2012- MEMORIAL DAY- School Holiday May 29-31, 2012 Predictive Testing May 31, 2012- Kindergarten Registration Closes June 13, 2012- Move up Ceremony for LaBrum June 14, 2011- Move up Ceremony for Hancock June 14, 2011- Last Day of School for Students
CalendarsSee our calendars under News & Events To see the 2011-2012 School District Calendar click here |