Hathaway Happenings - Home
May 6, 2022
Happy Mother's Day!
Angelica with the Commissioner of Education!
Spoiled by our parents!
Community Meeting - Live and In Person!
I spy 2 Mr. Mels!
Will the real Nurse Alex please stand up!
Mrs. Vitale and her mini-mes!
Teacher Appreciation Week
According to research and our own experiences, nothing matters more to a student's learning than their teachers. Teachers create safe, caring and warm environments for our children to "play, learn, and grow together!" They look at student work, analyze data, create differentiated lesson plans, attend professional development to better their craft...the list is endless...and it is all to benefit the children. On behalf of the entire Hathaway community, we say thank you for so kindly and generously celebrating our faculty and staff this week! You completely spoiled us and for that we are profoundly thankful!
Golden Apple Winner!
Check out our video from the celebration!
Distance Learning Day - Wednesday, May 11th
What to expect?
Teachers will:
- There will be a pre-recorded Morning Meeting
- A Google Form for you to complete for attendance purposes by 9AM
- Asynchronous work for students
Survey Works Extended!
Dear Families,
In order to hear from as many families as possible across the state, the Rhode Island Department of Education is reopening the SurveyWorks family survey until May 17! If you did not complete the survey earlier this spring, please visit bit.ly/ridefamily to share your perspective with school and district leaders.
Please note that the family survey has 44 questions for families who have responded No to question 1 and 52 questions for families who have responded Yes to question 1. Once the first answer has been marked and submitted, please continue on to the rest of the survey questions before closing out the survey.
We appreciate you taking the time to share your voice. Your response helps us understand what matters most to your family, and allows us to provide all children and families with the support they need to thrive.
Save the Date!
The meeting will be taking place in the Hathaway cafeteria. You may also join via Zoom.
In the Mood for Scouting?
Do you like hiking, camping, learning new skills and knowledge, or doing fun activities with kids your own age? If you answered YES, then scouting may be for you!
Portsmouth’s Cub Scout Pack 1 and Scouts BSA Troop 1 are always looking for new boys and girls that are interested in Cub Scouts or Boy Scouts. Students entering grades K thru 5th in the fall are eligible to join cub scouting, while those who are 11 years or older are eligible to join boy scouting. Currently Cub Scouts meet at the church hall at St. Barnabas on Thursday evenings at 6 pm, while the boy scouts meet at The Portuguese American Citizens Club on Power St, on Tuesdays at 6:30pm. You do not need to live in Portsmouth to join, but you are welcome. There may be a pack or troop closer to you that is more convenient.
Questions on cub scouting please contact Amy Nicodemus at beachgirl627@hotmail.com or for boy scouting Steve Benner at bennersm@cox.net .
Nut Free Facility
Thank you for your support in keeping all of our students safe in our Hathaway community.
Abound Parenting Newsletter (Kindergarten)
Abound Parenting- Hathaway News
This week’s academic vocabulary word is CONSUME.
Here are 2 ways to give your child extra opportunities to hear and use the word CONSUME!
* What kind of food do you think you CONSUME the most? Why do you like that kind of food? Is it a kind of food that is healthy to CONSUME a lot of, or not?
* Did you ever get really CONSUMED by something you were doing, maybe you were working on a puzzle or building something, and suddenly the whole afternoon disappeared? What were you doing?
Remind your child that the word CONSUME means to eat or to drink, to use, to take up time and attention, or to destroy by fire.
How else can you build your child’s reading skills through TALK?
Try these questions taken from different TalkOn age groups this week.
* Do you like hot chili peppers? There are many kinds of peppers, but let's make a new one! Let's take away the /ch/ sound in chili and replace it with an /s/ sound. Now what kind of pepper do we have? (A silly one!)
* When baking a cake, sometimes the recipe tells you to combine the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another bowl. What kinds of things do you think go into each bowl?
* Chefs come up with new recipes to keep their menus interesting, but they need to be sure each recipe is tested carefully. If you were a chef and had just created a new recipe, what steps would you take to be sure it was ready to go on the menu? Why?
If you haven’t yet signed up, go to https:// partners.aboundparenting.com/ Use the code given to you by your Hathaway teacher or staff member, & follow instructions to download the app.
RICAS Assessment
Please note the change of date for grade 4 ELA session 1.
RICAS Assessment for grades 3 and 4 will take place in April and May.
Scheduled dates are as follows -
May 10th - Grade 3 Math RICAS
May 12th - Grade 3 Math RICAS
May 18th - Grade 4 Math RICAS
May 19th - Grade 4 Math RICAS
"Why do we have statewide standardized assessments?
Rhode Island has statewide standardized assessments in mathematics, English language arts, and science in order to meet a federal requirement and provide valuable information about how well our students, schools, districts, and state are doing. Results measure the knowledge and skills addressed in the Rhode Island Core Standards (RICS) for English Language Arts/Literacy and for Mathematics, and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), and are used in the following ways:
- The results can help you track your child’s progress over time.
- Results give you the ability to compare your child’s school to schools across the state.
- Districts and schools analyze their results to inform decisions they make to support teaching and learning."
You can find more information on the RIDE website.
Looking For A Part Time Job?
Substitute Job ID #3827686
Part Time Job ID #3871449
Are you able to help?
Thank you in advance for any help you can provide!
From the School Nurse
With masks now being optional, you may be wondering when it is most important for your child to wear their mask at school. Well-fitting masks are most strongly recommended in the following scenarios to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19:
If your child has been identified as a close contact of someone diagnosed with COVID-19 outside the household, then masking for ten days following exposure can help prevent the spread.
If someone in your household has tested positive for COVID-19, please notify the school nurse so she may determine when your child should return to school and provide masking recommendation guidance in line with current RIDOH recommendations for your situation.
If your child is returning to school after testing positive for COVID-19 following a five-day isolation period, they are strongly recommended to wear a mask for days 6-10 while around others.
You may also be wondering whether your child’s mask will still protect them if others in the environment are not masked. Yes, one-way masking still provides protection. This is especially true of surgical masks, n95 masks, kn95 masks, and kf94 masks.
If your child is sick, they should stay home from school. If your child has one major symptom or two minor symptoms (see below), they should test for COVID-19. PCR testing is recommended and readily available at the former Benny’s test site in Middletown. Please reach out to the school nurse if your child is sick and remember to fill out the notification form for attendance purposes. Your child may distance learn if they are out sick and the school nurse is aware that they are waiting for test results to return.
We are looking forward to more outdoor time and open windows with the warmer weather on the way. Please reach out with any questions!
Alex
Health and Safety Updates
Vaccination Rates
For information about Pre K-12 School Cases and Vaccination rates please visit this site.
Case Numbers (SY 2021-2022)
3/25 - 183
4/1 - 188
4/8 - 194
4/14 - 197
4/29 - 200
5/6 - 204
HPTA News
HPTA Meeting
Our next HPTA meeting will be Wednesday, May 18th at 6:30pm in the library. Please join us as we finish planning this year's events!!
Volunteer Opportunities
Visit the district volunteer page for information if you would like to become VIS approved to volunteer in school. The school department no longer requires proof of vaccination to be a volunteer. This process can take a month so please plan ahead.
Google Form to register. It will put your name on Hathaway’s Volunteer Master List, alerting the VIS Coordinator that you plan to become a volunteer.
VIS Authorization Form: A background check must be completed annually, by law in Rhode Island. You must fill out the authorization form for the background check and have it notarized. It also needs to include a copy of the front and back of your driver’s license, and a $5 check made out to ‘BCI.’ This form can be turned in at the school’s main office or at the school department building.
Check out our upcoming volunteer opportunities. We are nearing the end of the year with lots of exciting activities for our students. Many classes are going on field trips and we’ll have our field days for K-3 (June 2nd) and 4th Grade (June 3rd) - sign ups have already gone out for field day to the VIS approved volunteers. In order to make these events successful for our children we need volunteers. If you are volunteering within the school you are required to have a background check completed (VIS approval). This process can take 2-3 weeks to be completed. Please if you can and are interested get your background check done ASAP. It is good for 1 year!
HPTA Board Elections
The HPTA Board has a few positions to be filled for the upcoming school year. If you are interested in being a part of the HPTA board, please complete the form or send an email to hathaway02871@gmail.com and hathawaypta@gmail.com by May 13th. Please include which positions you’d be interested in (or if you’d be willing to fill any role). We are happy to answer any questions you have about what is involved and what to expect. Once this information is collected the existing board will vote and announce the 2022/2023 school year HPTA board in June.
Potential positions are as follows: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Volunteer Coordinator, and Member at Large.
HPTA Board
Interested in Serving on A Committee?
***If we have a high number of volunteers for a committee, then we will randomly select parent representation.
Choose Love - May Calendar
Pre K Registration
Securly Home
Securly Home is an app that allows parents to monitor their child’s Chromebook activity at home and add rules for home use. Please take some time to review the slideshow and recording of the parent meeting that took place on 9/16.
We encourage you to sign up now for Securly Home!
Hathaway Notification Form
Please complete the Hathaway Notification Form.
Thank you in advance for helping us to keep things organized and safe in our Hathaway community.
Accessing Aspen
If you are having issues accessing Aspen, you will have to email familyportal@portsmouthschoolsri.org with your child's name, date of birth, grade level, and your name. The system administrators will be able to restore access to your account and make sure that you can login.
Where Can I Find Past Parent Newsletters?
Important Dates
Important Dates
2021-2022
May 10th - Grade 3 Math RICAS
May 11th - Staff PD/DL Day
May 12th - Grade 3 Math RICAS
May 18th - Grade 4 Math RICAS
May 18th - HPTA Meeting, 6:30 PM, Library
May 19th - Grade 4 Math RICAS
May 20th - Grade 4 Field Trip to Breakers
May 25th, 26th, 27th - Math RICAS Makeups
June 1st - Early Release, 2:15 PM
June 2nd - Field Day, K-3
June 2nd - Grade 4 Fort Adams Field Trip
June 3rd - Grade 4 Field Day
June 3rd - Grade 1 Casey Farm Field Trip
June 6th - Rain Date K-3 Field Day
June 6th - Bill Harley Presentation, 9:15
June 6th - June 10th - Week of the Young Child
June 7th - Grade 3 Aquidneck Island Tour Field Trip (3AT/HA)
June 8th - Grade 2 Field Trip, Buttonwood Zoo
June 8th - Grade 4 State House Field Trip (TH/P)
June 8th - Grade 3 Aquidneck Island Tour Field Trip (3C/3H)
June 8th - HPTA Meeting, 6:30 PM, Library
June 9th - Grade 4 Fort Adams Field Trip
June 9th - Bill Harley Presentation (Rain Date), 915
June 10th - Community Meeting, 9:30 AM
June 14th - Grade 4 State House Field Trip (G/H)
June 17th - Rain Date Grade 4 Field Day
June 17th - Report Cards visible in Aspen
Howard Hathaway Elementary School
Email: littlel@portsmouthschoolsri.org
Website: https://www.portsmouthschoolsri.org/Domain/10
Location: 53 Tallman Avenue, Portsmouth, RI, USA
Phone: (401)683-0500
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hathaway.principal/
Twitter: @HathawaySchool