President's Welcome

Dear Hicks Canyon Families,

Welcome to the 2026–2027 school year! We hope you and your family had a wonderful summer and are ready for a great year ahead.

The Hicks Canyon PTO is thrilled to partner with you this year to support our amazing students, staff, and school community. We invite you to bookmark our website (www.hickscanyon.org) to stay up to date on events, school happenings and more.

You can expect an issue of "Tails from the Bark Side" each Monday, and then our "Hump Day Happenings" email each Wednesday - filled with the info you need about the upcoming week. You can also follow us on social media to stay in the loop.

Looking to get more involved? We’d love to see you at our first PTO meeting of the year on Friday, August 21 at 10:00 AM. It’s a great way to get involved, meet other families, and hear what’s ahead for our school.

Here’s to a fantastic year!

LET'S GO HUSKIES!

Sarah Pizzaruso
PTO President

THIS WEEK AT HICKS

As always - visit Husky Happenings for the month's calendar!

TODAY (MONDAY)

Deadline for birthday Marquee Greetings for AUGUST birthdays. Late adds will NOT be accommodated.

Wednesday

TK Orientation and Back to School Night - Students Welcome!(TK only)
- 3:15 - 4:00 TK Students Meet & Greet
- 4:00 - 4:30 TK Parent Orientation (TK Paraeducators will watch students during the parent orientation)
Husky Gear Pop Up Shop: 3:15 - 4:30 PM (ALL families welcome! Want to beat the lines at back to school night? Stop by!)

Thursday

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!
- TK Parents: You will learn more about the first day of school process at your orientation.
- Kinder Parents: You will hear from your teacher about the drop off instructions and best ways to support your child on their first day!
- 1st-5th Grade Parents: You are allowed to walk students onto campus (and help them find their "line") Thursday and Friday only. By Monday, only students are allowed in the gates!
  - Make a plan with your student about where to meet after school (back gate? car line? one of the 2 "waiting areas" in the front of school?) Let them know!
Back to School Night! Grades (Grades K-5 only ... Not TK - yours is done!)
- This event is adults only... no students. This is your chance to see your child(ren)'s classroom, hear from their teachers, and meet other parents/guardians in your class.
- There are TWO sessions to Back to School night (5:00 - 5:35 PM and 5:40 - 6:15 PM). The sessions take place IN THE CLASSROOMS.
  - Have one kid at Hicks? Choose the session time that works best for you - your teacher will give the same presentation in both sessions. You only need to go to ONE of the sessions. Not both.
  - Have 2 kids at Hicks? Go to one classroom the 1st session, and the other classroom in the 2nd session. Or divide and conquer if you are able to have two parents/guardian's attend!
  - Have 3+ kids at Hicks? You'll want to divide and conquer to hit all of the classrooms between the 2 sessions. If you can't make it to one - just connect with that teacher later to ask for any information that was covered.
- Please do not bring your child into the classroom. This is a chance for teachers to talk to the parents - it's not an event for students. Plan to buddy up with a friend - one of you can watch the kids outside while the parent goes in the class for the first session, and then switch for the next!
- There will also be booths set up around campus to learn more about different programs and opportunities.
- Visit us at the PTO booth! We'd love to meet you and say hi!
- Visit the HUSKY GEAR POP UP SHOP! Pick up hats, t-shirts, sweatshirts, grade-level shirts and more for both you and your Husky! (Bring cash for the fastest transaction!)
5th Grade Parents: Outdoor Ed info session will take place at 6:15 PM in the Large MPR.

In Case You Missed It

A recap of LAST week's issue of "Tails from the Barkside" - filled with lots of great info

First thing to note- you are getting this email from your friendly PTO - NOT the school. We're a volunteer parent group - and one of our goals is to help share info from the school.

You'll receive OFFICIAL school business info through Parent Square based on the contact info you entered in Aeries (pro tip: download the Parent Square app on your phone).
You'll get PTO emails directly from this account - they DON'T come through Parent Square. Make sure to mark this address as "safe" so we don't go to spam!

To start us off - we wanted to share a few checklists to help make your last days of summer as stress-free as possible!

CHECKLISTS

"Official" School Stuff:

Confirm your student(s) data in Aeries. This is the database that the District and School use to manage students (so you can get your teacher info, report cards, all the good stuff). If you don't confirm your student data by Wednesday night, you will not receive your teacher info before the first day.
School Supply Lists are out! Even easier: use the Target School Assist List!
- It is not required to purchase every item on the list - contribute what you are able!
- Please do NOT label items unless stated otherwise on the list. These supplies are communal - the school relies on families each chipping in what they can to help ensure all students have the materials they need.

PTO Stuff:

As mentioned above, we don't communicate with you via Parent Square.. we send emails directly. In order to ensure you continue to get them - you need to confirm your student on our website too: www.hickscanyon.org.
- Click the "login" from the menu bar and complete the steps. If you are a returning family- YOU ALREADY HAVE AN ACCOUNT. Please do not create a new account. If you can't remember your login, click the "I forgot my password" link. Contact us at store@hickscanyon.org if you have any issues with login.
- Once you are in - that menu option will change to "My Account"... click that.
  - From here, you can update your contacts (we recommend having both adults in a two-parent home on the account!)
  - On the next page, you'll confirm your student(s).
    - Double check that your student status is listed as "ACTIVE". If they are inactive... you won't get info.
    - When you complete the info about your student - select their GRADE for this year - but then select "unknown" for your student's teacher name... none of us know that info yet! Spoiler alert: we'll ask you to login AGAIN to confirm you info after teachers are assigned... we do upload a list from school - but sometimes it doesn't transfer.
Consider becoming a PTO member for this school year with a voluntary donation! Membership resets every school year - and we hope you'll join us to make 2026-2027 another smashing success! You can learn more about what PTO does here. Then - we hope you'll take the important stuff to join as a member - at whatever level works best for your family!

Husky Happenings

HCE: A Primer for New Families

New to HCE or just looking for a "wish someone would have told me that" rundown? Check out our HCE Primer - and let us know what else you wish YOU had known when you started at HCE!

HCE Primer

Birthday Celebrations

Visit this link to learn more about ways to celebrate your Husky's birthday at Hicks this year!

Nope - that's not a typo! If you'd like your Husky's name on the marquee to celebrate their AUGUST birthday - you need to place the order by TODAY!

Have a Husky with a September birthday? The deadline is August 25th. Please note that marquee greetings are due by the 25th of the month PRIOR to the birthday. If you already know you plan to do this.. just order it now.. no need to wait! Late adds are NOT accepted.

For Birthday Book Club: the form asks for your student's teacher. It's ok to say "unknown" for now.. we'll be able to look it up after school starts!