February 2023 Harmony Connection

February 2023

Message From the Superintendent

Dear Harmony North Texas Families:

I hope you all were able to stay warm last week with the winter weather that moved through our area. Texas always seems to put on an interesting winter show for us around this time of year, and this last winter blast was no exception!

Besides the weather excitement, we do have some wonderfully wonderful news to share as we kick of the month of February. If you have not already heard, two more of our North Texas schools have earned Texas State School of Character honors from Character.org, which seeks to promote character as a way to strengthen communities and enable young minds to flourish in school and beyond.

Only 15 schools in Texas received the designation, nine of which were Harmony schools. Among that list here in North Texas are Harmony Science Academy-Dallas High and Harmony School of Innovation-Dallas.

Four other North Texas Harmony campuses previously earned the honor, which remains with campuses for five years after designation. One of those campuses also won National School of Character honors. Those campuses were:

Harmony School of Innovation – Garland
Harmony Science Academy – Dallas Middle
Harmony School of Innovation-Fort Worth*
Harmony Science Academy-Garland

*Both a State School of Character and National School of Character recipient

That means that Harmony’s State School of Character campuses are the elite amongst the elite of U.S. schools.

It goes without saying that all of us here at Harmony are proud of the extraordinary work being done at campuses to promote the values of integrity, honesty, tenacity, courage, respect, and empathy. And I am incredibly proud of the collaborative work of our students, teachers, campus and district leaders, and the continuing support of our families and communities. None of this would be possible without each and every one of you.

I am so grateful to be part of the Harmony community, and I look forward to continuing the important work we do to increase academic growth and support the social and emotional learning of the whole child in a safe, caring, and collaborative learning environment.

Let's have a great month!

Yours in education,

Harun Karan

Area Superintendent | Secondary

Harmony Public Schools North Texas

2022-2023 ACADEMIC CALENDARS

Dallas/Fort Worth Academic Calendar

Waco Academic Calendar

FEBRUARY 2023

Black History Month

Feb. 9: Harmony on the Hill (see details in this newsletter)

Feb. 14: Valentine's Day

Feb. 20: Student Holiday (Campus PD)

Feb. 21: Mardi Gras

Feb. 23: Parent-Teacher Conferences/Half Day-Early Release

(Parents: Be on the lookout for news from your child's campus regarding campus events, as well as celebrating and recognizing special monthly calendar observances.)

TOP NEWS, INFORMATION & HIGHLIGHTS

North Texas Character School Honors

Congratulations again to the two newest North Texas District schools that have been named official Texas “State School(s) of Character” for their outstanding efforts in promoting cultures of character on-campus and in the community.

Harmony Science Academy-Dallas High and Harmony School of Innovation-Dallas were awarded the distinction by Character.org, a national advocate and leader for character development in schools.

A total of nine Harmony schools across Texas were designated with Character School honors. Only 15 schools in Texas, and 73 across the U.S. earned the honor. Moreover, Harmony earned more State School of Character honors than any other U.S. school system.

Harmony Online Store Now Open!

Harmony's new online store is now open! Parents and their students can visit harmonytx.org/store to purchase school supplies, Spirit Shirts, backpacks, lunch bags, lanyards, polo shirts, sweaters, and more apparel items.

The excitement of Harmony Public Schools to have the Harmony Online Stores available to you is unparalleled and we look forward to better serving you this year!

Principal of the Month: Claudia Kongamnach, Harmony School of Innovation-Garland

Please join us in recognizing Ms. Claudia Kongamnach, principal of Harmony School of Innovation-Garland.

Ms. Kongamnach joined HSI-Garland in 2021-22. She has worked in education for 16 years and has been with Harmony since the beginning of her career in education. She previously served as principal at HSA-Dallas Elementary and has also served as Dean of Academics, Activities Coordinator and Soccer Coach. She has also taught Spanish/AP Spanish, Home Economics and Theater.

We are proud to recognize Ms. Kongamnach as our February Principal of the Month!

Open Enrollment Wraps Up This Month for New Students & Current Students Changing Campuses

Harmony's annual Open Enrollment period is coming to a close this month. If you know of a family who might be interested in Harmony, be sure to let them know they have until Feb. 10 to apply! Current families should also submit an application if you are changing campuses for the upcoming school year. Interested families can find out more about what makes Harmony Public Schools a great educational choice at HarmonyTX.org/NorthTexas.

Important dates to remember:

Feb. 10, 2023

Open Enrollment for 2023-2024 Application Deadline

Feb. 22, 2023

Campus Lotteries Held

Harmony on the Hill 2023 Needs You!

Harmony on the Hill is only a few days away, on Feb. 9, 2023, at the Capitol Building in Austin, Texas!

Harmony on the Hill is a day of advocacy for Harmony parents, teachers, and alumni to join together in Austin and meet with elected officials. This provides Harmony supporters with an unmatched opportunity to share our stories with elected leaders, making sure they understand the tremendous impact that Harmony Public Schools has in the lives of so many Texans.

If you are interested in joining us for this important gathering or would like more information, please reach out to Harmony North Texas's Public Relations & Outreach Director Rebecca Murry, at rmurry@harmonytx.org.

Honoring The 2023 Pioneers of GraduLet

The 2023 Pioneers of GraduLet were honored at a celebration luncheon at Harmony's Houston headquarters last month. GraduLet teamed up with reputable universities that understand the importance of earning a college degree, so they designed a unique program for busy adults to work at their own pace toward graduation. Through flexible online classes, project-based credits, and other benefits we provide, we make it as easy as possible for you to focus on your education and earn your degree. For more information visit: https://gradulet.org/.

CAMPUS HIGHLIGHTS

HSA-Carrollton to Host Aerial Drone Competition

Harmony Public Schools student drone teams from all around Texas will converge at Harmony Science Academy-Carrollton from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 11, to battle against each other for top drone honors in the Mission 2023: Blackout Aerial Drone Competition.

Teams will be cheered on by City of Carrollton leaders, including Carrollton Chief of Police Roberto Arredondo, Carrollton Fire Chief Michael Thomson, and Carrollton Mayor Steve Babick, all who will speak to competitors about how drones are used in their line of work.

Drones are currently used in the workplace for uses such as surveillance and video, data-collection and analysis, and entertainment. As drone technology continues to evolve, businesses and employers are utilizing drones more and more to help streamline processes, provide increased safety, and make jobs easier.

Aerial Drone Competition events are exciting opportunities for participants to hone their piloting and programming skills while working together as a team to best their rivals. Events take place across the country and throughout the year, with non-qualifying scrimmages and qualifying tournaments leading up to Aerial Drone Championship Events at the conclusion of the season.

Many thanks to the Kroger on Centennial Boulevard in Richardson and Krasamo in Plano for sponsoring the event.

And best of luck to all the teams!

Alumni Panels

Several campuses held alumni panels last month allowing Harmony graduates to return to campus give insight into the college experience.

Topics discussed included how to handle financial liabilities at college, the importance of learning life skills like cooking and time management, and applying all possible scholarship opportunities.

Alumni also mentioned the importance of keeping in touch with their former Harmony teachers, staff, and, in particular, networking activities.

HSA-Euless Alumni Panel

HSI-Garland Alumni Panel

HSI-Fort Worth Alumni Panel

HSA-Dallas Alumni Panel

HSA-Carrollton Alumni Visits

HSA-Carrollton received visits from notable alumni last month. Class of 2022 alum Kayla McFail visited from Maryland. While here, she was presented with a special award from the Texas Education Agency that recognized her philanthropic efforts. McFail has founded two organizations to help students who are impacted by depression, and to help raise awareness surrounding exploitation matters that affect people of color. Meanwhile, Class of 2020 alum Marco Suarez visited from Spain where he is now a Division II professional soccer player for C.F. Motril. It is always nice to catch up with our alumni and learn about their amazing achievements and success!

HSA-Carrollton Class of 2022 Alum Kayla McFail receives recognition

from the Texas Education Agency.

Class of 2020 Alum and Professional Soccer Player Marco Suarez

Visits HSA-Carrollton

HSE-Dallas Workforce Workshop

The College and Career Counseling Department from Harmony School of Excellence-Dallas hosted a workshop in January with Ms. Montoya Hunter and Mr. Antonio Mayo from Equus Workforce Solutions. They coached seniors on preparing their resumes and provided them with resources. Some important takeaways the seniors learned include:

use of correct verbiage and summarizing descriptions
length and formatting of resume
identifying transferable skills from their current job, responsibilities, and volunteer work
identifying high demand/need for workforce in the Dallas area

HSI-Fort Worth SUSO Teams Advance to State

Congratulations to HSI-Fort Worth's Stand Up Speak Out (SUSO) teams! Both teams will be advancing to the state competition on March 6 at the LBJ library in Austin.

SUSO is a civic education program designed to students about their communities and equip them with the tools to make a difference. Participants work together as teams to identify community problems, craft innovative solutions that address them, and compete for the chance to present their findings to community leaders at the State Civics Fair each spring. Winning teams receive funds to use toward the implementation of their solutions.

HSI-Fort Worth VEX Robotics Competition

HSI-Fort Worth hosted a whopping 300 competitors at the Jan. 21 VEX Robotics Competition.

The VEX Robotics competition prepares students to become future innovators with 95% of participants reporting an increased interest in STEM subject areas and pursuing STEM-related careers.

Shout out to HSI-Fort Worth's middle school team for winning the judges award!

Campus Care Center Makeover

HSI-Fort Worth's Campus Care Center has gotten a makeover thanks to the commitment and hard work of its CRLP 8th and 9th grade girls.

For more than a month, the students cleaned the shelving, designed several logos, painted the CCC, sorted all canned foods (removing those that were expired), and created a flyer for uniform donations. A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the re-vamped CCC is also in the works.

Want More Good News?

Check out the latest edition of Harmony Public Schools' I nspiring Futures magazine! You can also visit www.HarmonyTX.org/news and subscribe to the Harmony Times where you’ll find the latest news on Harmony Public Schools!