Dear Families,
Our second week of school is in the books! We also welcomed our Kindergarten students this week, so we are fully up and running full steam ahead! Many thanks to all of our families, as we cannot do the important work of helping students to be ready to learn without your continued support and efforts. As we transition into the new school year, our scholars have already been demonstrating our C.R.E.S.T values (Care, Respect, Excellence, Safety, and Trust) throughout the whole building. We have not started to distribute CREST tickets to kindergarteners yet, as they are just getting acclimated to the school, but we will be soon! Be sure to ask your scholars about C.R.E.S.T. at Hill-Roberts, and what it means to them.
It was a rather hot and stuffy week here at Hill-Roberts, as was the case all over southern New England! We took the weather in stride, though, doing our best to stay hydrated, enjoy the coolest spaces in the building, when possible, and keep on learning! We spent recess indoors on Thursday and Friday, due to the extremely high heat index. Children were happy and comfortable playing games, coloring, and engaging in other fun activities in their classrooms during this time. Next week is expected to be much more bearable, and we are looking forward to being back to running around outdoors.
Lastly, but certainly not least, we are very excited to announce that Dr. Madden and his wife, Anne, welcomed their baby boy into the world on Thursday! We could not be more thrilled for them, and know that you all share in the well wishes and congratulations we send their way! Dr. Madden will be out of the building this week on paternity leave.
Our school year is off to an amazing start, and we are looking forward to our first full week of school next week. As always, if you have any questions or need anything from us, we are just a phone call or an email away!
Please see below for a quick table of contents for our third issue of the year.
Sincerely,
Ms. Nora Hassan, Assistant Principal
Dr. Paul Madden, Principal
Table of Contents
Update - Upcoming Important Information & Dates
Repeat - School Hours
Update - Walkers/Car Drop-Off Info and update (please do not park on Roy Ave)
Update - 2023-2024 Dismissal Plans Update
Update - APS Community Fliers
PTO Announcements
Repeat - Information Packets and ASPEN
Repeat - Breakfast, Lunch, and Snack
Repeat - Message from School Nurse
Repeat - New Administration Team
Upcoming Important Information & Dates
Friday, September 15: First Day of National Hispanic Heritage Month
Thursday, September 28: Welcome Back Night
Friday, October 6: Early Release Day
Monday, October 9: No School (Columbus Day)
Tuesday, October 19: School Picture Day
School Hours
Arrival begins at: 8:30 AM
School Day: 8:45 AM – 3:25 PM
Dismissal is at 3:25 PM
Early Release Dismissal: 12:25 PM
Very Important Update and Reminder: Walkers/Car Drop-Off
Update: PLEASE do not park on the “inbound” side of Roy Ave in between or past the posted signs. Cars along that side of Roy Ave block our buses from getting down the road safely, creating dangerous conditions for walker students as well as our students on buses. Please refer to the HRES Pick-up & Drop off Procedures for more details and review the “active drop-off” route in the picture below. If you have any questions about this, or would like further clarification, please let us know!
Reminder: Please follow the process shown in the photos below for dropping your child in the morning and picking them up after school. For safety reasons, cars are not permitted in the circular driveway (i.e.. the main parking lot) in front of the school during arrival and dismissal times. This area is reserved for buses and transportation vans to load and unload students. It is illegal to pass a bus/daycare van with its lights activated. Walkers or students being dropped off at arrival will enter through the side doors closest to the gymnasium.
2023-2024 Dismissal Plans Update
Update: We heard from some families that the link to the Dismissal Plans Update form that was linked in last week’s Howler was inaccessible. We apologize for that and the settings have since been changed. Please try again. This will help us to keep up to date records of students' dismissal plans. We ask that you fill out this form as accurately as possible, and please fill out ONE FORM FOR EACH CHILD. Although it may seem redundant, doing so allows us to sort and find students easily and allows us to provide individual teachers with accurate information. Thank you! We know it is one more thing, but your child’s safety is yours and our number one priority.
APS Community Fliers
Visit the APS Community Fliers page to view the most recent events, opportunities, and resources happening within the Attleboro Community.
PTO Announcements
Please join us for the 1st PTO meeting of the school year on Tuesday September 12th.
(more details below!)
And if you don’t already follow the PTO on Facebook, please join our group page at www.facebook.com/groups/hillrobertspto.
Please find more detailed information about our PTO and the many benefits associated with being part of this dynamic family group below!
PTO MEETINGS
Monthly PTO Meetings are generally held on the second Tuesday of each month, unless otherwise stated.
Our first PTO meeting will be September 12th at 6:30pm, held in the school library but also available via Zoom and we invite all to attend!
For those who can’t attend in person, please join the Zoom Meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87883686781?pwd=TlN2Rnk0QnY0OWd4blhsZkxEaFAwdz09
Meeting ID: 878 8368 6781
Passcode: HUSKY
9/12: PTO Meeting 6:30pm
10/10: PTO Meeting 6:30pm
10/13-10/20: Fall Book Fair
11/2: Race for Education
PTO - CONTACT US
www.facebook.com/groups/hillrobertspto OR hillrobertspto@gmail.com
PTO - September Shop and Give Back!
For the month of September, the Hill-Roberts PTO will receive $1 for every $3 “Give back where it counts” bag purchased at the North Attleboro Shaws!
Be sure to stock up on those bags and share with your friends and family!
Reminders from Issues 1 & 2
Information Packets and ASPEN
Information packets were sent home on the first day of school in students’ backpacks. If you have not done so already, please complete the forms and return them to school with your child as quickly as possible. As we try to move as much as possible to a digital format, this includes the use of Aspen as a way for families to review their child’s demographic and emergency contact information, as well as view report cards. The Parent ASPEN Brochure, will help families who are new to Attleboro as well as families who could use a refresher.
You may notice a small change to the student information form, specifically the "Do Not Publish" option. Please make sure you read the explanation underneath which clarifies that by checking the Do Not Publish box, you are identifying that you do not wish to have your child's image, name, work, etc. published anywhere, which includes our yearbook
Breakfast, Lunch, and Snack
Massachusetts has extended free school meals for another year. This means that breakfast and lunch will continue to be served at no cost to all students. Please note that even though meals will be free for all, it remains essential for families to complete the household Application for Free and Reduced Price Meals for the 2023-2024 school year. We strongly encourage ALL families to submit this form as it allows us to determine eligibility for P-EBT benefits and waive or reduce transportation, athletics, and other fees. Documenting qualifying families also significantly impacts state funding for our district, so completing the form is a direct way to support our schools.
The breakfast and lunch menu will be on the district’s website
We ask that lunches from home are nut free when possible.
Snacks - While sending your child to school with a snack please keep in mind our classrooms are nut safe and no student will be allowed to eat a snack if it is not nut free.
Message from School Nurse
If your child(ren) will need medication in school this year, please see your doctor for medication orders. These need to be renewed at the beginning of each school year.
Please make sure we have the most up-to-date vaccination records for your child. If your child has any allergies (e.g., food, bees, etc.), please reach out to me to make sure we have that in our records to help us keep your child safe.
Looking forward to seeing you all again soon!
Sherri Knight-Cloud, BSN, RN, NCSN
sknightcloud@attleboroschools.com or (508) 399-7560
New Administration Team
As new administrators to Hill-Roberts, we are overjoyed to be partnering with such a strong, diverse, and welcoming learning community. In the role of principal, Dr. Paul Madden is thrilled to continue his journey as an educational leader in Attleboro; having served as an assistant principal at Wamsutta 5-8 last year, he has made Attleboro his educational home. In the role of assistant principal, Ms. Nora Hassan is excited to join Attleboro’s strong community and to leverage her strong background as a special educator and an instructional coach in Boston Public Schools in support of all.