Dear Parents and Guardians,

We hope that you and your child had an enjoyable summer and are ready for a wonderful new school year at Henry D. Ward Elementary School! Our goal is to make this an enjoyable and challenging year for Ward students. Our theme this year is “4 Houses…1 School Family”! We are looking forward to continuing our work to make our school an environment where our students feel welcomed and cared for.

During this school year, we are continuing to implement our house system to build community and connections with our students, teachers, staff and parents. We are excited about the ways that we will continue to expand our house system this year for our school community, with House breakfasts for students, house celebrations, house competitions, house pep rallies and more! Our House system will truly be the biggest focus of this school year and will drive many of the activities that we do.

If you are new to our school, here is some information about our house system. The house system is an idea adopted from Ron Clark Academy. This system gives students an opportunity to expand their connections outside of their classroom walls and across the whole school community. Ward’s four Houses are attached to our four WARD Expectations: Wonder and learn, Be Aware, Be Responsible and Display Quality Character. Staff and students have worked together to develop their house names, symbols/animals and chants. New students will be assigned to their house in August during our first school gathering!

In addition to our House system, here is some more information that you may find helpful for the coming year:

• Our school day is from 7:40 a.m.-2:10 p.m. with student dropoff beginning at 7:20 a.m. and the tardy bell ringing at 7:40 a.m.

• Dismissal will begin at 2:05 p.m.

• We will continue to use our parent pickup procedures from last school year where students will be escorted to their vehicles in the afternoon for pickup.

• If you need to pick up your child early from school, please be sure to be at the school for an early pickup before we begin our afternoon dismissal, which is no later than 1:45 p.m.

• Volunteers and visitors are welcome in our building! Please be sure to read the "Peek at the Week" and teacher newsletters for volunteer opportunities!

• Please use the PowerSchool Parent Portal to access and complete HCPS online forms.

If you need instructions for setting up a Parent Portal account, go to HCPS' Online Services and Resources page and see the Power School Parent Portal section for directions.

I am very excited about this year! You can contact me with any questions or concerns at 804-795-7030 or email tlchatman@henrico.k12.va.us. Please continue to check the website for WES updates at https://ward.henricoschools.wpengine.com/. Please also follow us on Twitter:  @Ward_Colts and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/WardElementarySchool. Enjoy the rest of your summer and we look forward to seeing you at Open House!