Dear Families,
What a joy it was to reconnect with the students and staff of Hill-Roberts after a short, but sweet paternity leave! From students kindly asking me my son’s name (i.e., Paul Antonio Madden) to staff who ensured a robust and supportive learning environment during my leave, I feel grateful to be part of such a caring and strong learning community.
As we completed our second full week of school, I had a chance to visit or observe all of our grade-level classrooms and, while students continue to grow into classroom routines and structures, I was particularly impressed by our second, third, and fourth grade students. Transitions, particularly coming back from summer, are typically and developmentally challenging, but it is clear that by second grade, our Hill-Roberts students have embraced our teachers' high expectations and benefited from a high degree of school-, family-, and community-based supports.
While our Kindergarten students are adjusting to the transition to a “big school,” our first graders are also developmentally grappling with the transition to the kind of grade-level classrooms they will experience until 7th grade. All in all though, our youngsters are incredibly resilient and supportive of each others’ varying strengths and needs. Although they are relatively young, I feel grateful to often see humanity at its most interpersonally compassionate and intellectually curious. Once again, we thank all of our families for supporting this important transition time by helping your children to be prepared for the school day and engaging in conversations with them about what it means to be a responsible student and a caring friend. We could not do it without you!
In this week’s issue of the Husky Howler you will find many important updates and helpful resources. In particular, we look forward to seeing you all at our Open House, that is, Welcome Back Night at HRES on this Thursday, September 28th, from 6-8pm!
Please see below for a quick table of contents for these, along with many other items, within our fifth issue of the year.
Sincerely,
Dr. Paul Madden, Principal
Ms. Nora Hassan, Assistant Principal
Table of Contents
- Upcoming Important Information & Dates
- School Hours
- Reminder- Welcome Back Night
- Update - Free and Reduced Price Lunch Applications Critical for Funding for School Supports
- Update: Technology Support - Rooms Help for Families
- Update: Message from School Nurse
- Update - Bus - Ridership Updates and Bus Registration for “Fee for Service” Students
- Update/Reminders - Walkers/Car Drop-Off
- APS Community Fliers
- PTO Announcements
- Reminders from Issues 1-4
- APS Student Handbook Workflow
- Title 1 Programming
- Information Packets and ASPEN
- Breakfast, Lunch, and Snack
- Message from School Nurse
Upcoming Important Information & Dates
- This Thursday, September 28: Welcome Back Night, 6-8pm
- Friday, October 6: Early Release Day
- Monday, October 9: No School (Columbus Day & Indigenous People’s 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
Reminder: Welcome Back Night
Hill-Roberts Elementary will host its annual Welcome Back Night on Thursday, September 28th, from 6pm to 8pm. Students will have the opportunity to show families their classroom spaces and share information about what they have been learning in school, so far. More specific information will be shared by classroom teachers prior to the event. In the meantime, please mark your calendars! We look forward to seeing you there!
Update - Free and Reduced Price Lunch Applications Critical for Funding for School Supports
Please note that even though meals will be free for all students this school year, it remains essential for families who believe they qualify to complete the household Application for Free and Reduced Price Meals for the 2023-2024 school year. Visit our Food Services page to learn more and Apply Online: https://www.attleboroschools.com/o/aps/page/food-services2
Update: Technology Support - Rooms Help for Families
In addition to Rooms Support at our Back-to-School Night (Ms. Angelovski), the District will be holding three help sessions during the month of October. Please register so we can plan appropriately for the events.
Update: Message from School Nurse
Hi Families,
Three quick updates:
Dental Services? - Send in Form by Wednesday - The Dentist will be here on Thursday, September 28th. All families should have received a dental form last week, it came home in your student’s backpack. This service is geared to families whose child does not already see a dentist regularly. If you want your student to be seen by the dentist, please send the completed form back by Wednesday and be sure to mark the YES box.
Vision and Hearing Screening (and Volunteers) - I am hoping to begin our state mandated Vision and Hearing screens in mid October. All grades, K-4, are screened for Vision, grades K-3 are also screened for Hearing, and Height & Weight on grades 1 & 4 only. These are required by state law, but you may opt your child out by sending in a letter requesting that your child not participate in the state Vision and Hearing screens. I am also looking for volunteers that would like to be trained in doing the screenings to assist me here in school. If you are interested, please email or give me a call and I can give you more details, you can also stop by the Health Office during our upcoming Back to School Night.
Covid, Flu, and COVID Attendance Guidance - Cold, Flu and Covid season are upon us, to help keep all of our Huskies Healthy Learners, please keep your student home if they are not feeling well, fever of 100 or more, vomiting, diarrhea, or frequent cough. If your child does have a fever, vomiting or diarrhea, they must stay home at least 24 hrs after the last vomiting or diarrhea and be fever free 24 hrs with no Tylenol or Advil. We have long tiring days and sometimes an extra day is needed to recover fully, so they can be ready and able to learn after an illness. If your student tests positive for Covid, they need to remain out of school for a minimum of 5 days and should mask for a full 10 days upon their return to school. Masks are readily available all over the school. Please call the nurse with any questions or clarification.
Sincerely,
Sherri Knight-Cloud, BSN, RN, NCSN
sknightcloud@attleboroschools.com or (508) 399-7560
Update - Bus Privileges Update and Bus Registration for “Fee for Service” Students
If your student’s transportation type/bus eligibility status is Fee for Service, registration is required. Go here to register; please do not wait to find out they can no longer ride the bus. To verify a student’s bus eligibility status and determine if Fee for Service registration is necessary for the upcoming 2023-2024 school year, you can find your address on the School Street Listing or log into your Aspen parent portal. A video tutorial and instructions can be found here.
Update & Reminders: Walkers/Car Drop-Off
Update - How to Support Bus Arrival when Parking in Active Drop Off Area - If you arrive before 8:30am, please do not back out of your parking spaces to leave unless Roy Ave is clear. This may result in a 10 minute delay for your departure time. We apologize for any delay, but for student safety and the timely arrival of buses, which impacts ALL student’s breakfast and homeroom start times, we need your cooperation. Thank you for taking directions from our staff as we work through early morning traffic bottlenecks!
Reminder: NO vehicles 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.
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.
Reminder - 2023-2024 Dismissal Plans Update - So far we have had only 54 responses to our Dismissal Plans Update form that was linked in last week’s Howler. When the link was first shared three weeks ago, it was inaccessible to families, and we apologize for the mix-up. The link has been fixed, however, and we ask that you please try again. This form 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
Paws for Books
The Paws for Books book fair starts in three weeks! All adult family members are invited to volunteer to help the fair be as paw-some as possible for our little Huskies. The time commitment can be as little as 45 minutes to ensure that every class has the support needed to shop the fair, make wish lists, take a chance with the guess jar, and so much more. Sign up at http://tiny.cc/HRESF23 then make sure you have a valid CORI (quick and easy) on file with the HRES front office. We hope to see you there!
Race for Education 11/3
Hello Husky families! Your student will soon be bringing home a packet with the materials for our biggest fundraiser of the year, the Race for Education! We're looking forward to a great event! There are some amazing prizes up for grabs this year, and the EASIEST way to meet your goal is by creating your online donation page. Be sure to review the information in your student’s packet for how to create your online donation page! Share that page with family and friends and help us to raise money to support the students, teachers, and staff of HRES throughout the year. Funds raised at the Race for Education support school wide events including Teacher Appreciation Week, Field Trips, Bingo for Books, and our Spring Dance!
Bingo For Books!
Friday, October 13
Registration and Volunteer sign up coming soon!
Shaw’s Give Back Where it Counts
Don't forget to head to North Attleboro Shaws this month and purchase your "Give Back Where It Counts" reusable shopping bag for $3 and have $1 go back to the PTO!
Have friends and family who aren't in the Attleboro area?! Not a problem! Have them purchase a bag at their local store and follow the directions on the back of the tag and select "Hill-Roberts Elementary School PTO" as their non-profit! Don't forget to screenshot and share!!!
Upcoming PTO Dates
10/5 – Papa Gino’s Restaurant Night
10/10 - 6:30pm Next General PTO Meeting (Typically 2nd Tuesday of the month). Join online or in person in the HRES library - we invite all to attend!
10/13-10/20 – Paws for Books Book Fair
10/13 – Bingo for Books
CONTACT US
www.facebook.com/groups/hillrobertspto OR hillrobertspto@gmail.com
Reminders from Issues 1 - 4
APS Student Handbook Workflow
Please click on the Attleboro Public Schools Handbook Workflow link for directions on how to access, review, and confirm understanding of the contents of the APS Student Handbook. We must have a record from all families that the handbook has been received. Please contact us with any questions you may have.
Title 1 Programming
Please see these important newsletters for information about our Title I programming:
Title I Family Engagement Plan
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