Hathaway Happenings - Home
October 7, 2022
Dear Hathaway Families
Another wonderful week in our Hathaway community!
Thank you to all who attended our presentation on Abound Parenting for Kindergarten and 2H. If you were unable to attend, please reach out to your teacher for a recording of the session. Stay tuned for more opportunities for everyone to become involved with the program!
Parent conferences will be held between October 11th and the 18th. Please reach out to your child's teacher if you have not yet scheduled a conference.
The Portsmouth Public Education Foundation’s biggest fundraiser is coming up on October 22nd. Please show your support and come enjoy a great time. If you can’t attend please consider making a donation. Tickets are available via Venmo or you can reach out to Nelia Almeida, almeidan@portsmouthschoolsri.org or by calling 683-0500.
Our Garden Group is looking for some help. Please read their message below and consider joining the fun!
School Picture Day is Wednesday, October 12th. Say cheese!
In observance of Columbus Day, all Portsmouth Schools are closed on Monday, October 10th.
As always, thank you for your partnership in education!
Handy Helpers!
Principal Alex and Principal Sam at Bus Duty!
Principals for the Day!
Our Garden Spots!
Outdoor Learning!
Fire Safety - Thank you Lt. Canario!
Hathaway Garden
Hello Hathaway!
Did you know Hathaway has its own Audubon-certified garden habitat to support important local wildlife?
The Habitat at Hathaway was designed by our teachers to allow for year-round research, quiet reflection, reading and writing and unstructured play or exploration. Recently, the Hathaway Garden Group has been working hard to keep the Habitat and its adjacent small garden beds a living resource for our students and staff. With the help of several Hathaway families, we were able to do some maintenance on the Habitat, to support the growth of our summer native pollinator plants for all to enjoy throughout the fall. This spring, Hathaway Garden Group planted the six raised beds with vegetables, herbs, and flowers for the students to experience with all of their senses. We hope to continue this maintenance so the Habitat and the garden beds can grow as a beloved space for the entire community.
Join us in the gardening work!
Do you love gardening, or want to do more gardening, learn about gardening, or just want to meet some other Hathaway families and join folks to do good work for the Hathaway community? Help us! Join us! The Hathaway Garden Group has done a lot of work this year to enhance the Habitat and nearby gardens, so that kids of Hathaway can enjoy the winding paths among the native pollinators, and so the gardens will be there as a teaching resource and as a space to enjoy! We welcome more volunteers (families, students, staff!) to join in the fun.
How you can get involved:
1. Join the Hathaway Garden Group: we are coordinating year-round maintenance on the Habitat and on the small garden beds, which includes seasonal planting, watering, and harvesting. Join the group to receive regular updates, and to be part of that regular maintenance team - many hands make light work! Join our email list by emailing your name to Koty Sharp, kotysharp@gmail.com; please put "Hathaway Garden" in the subject line.
2. Come to a Garden Day: this season, we have planned three family gardening days (dates below), and we'd love to have folks volunteer to join us - you need only bring yourselves - we can provide tools and guidelines for the projects. The goal of our Fall Garden Days is to re-establish and re-shape the paths in the Habitat.
Our first Garden Day is Saturday, October 15, 2pm-4pm:
*RSVP please!! RSVP to Marie Stefanowicz marie@stefanowicz.com - feel free to bring the kids, BYO picnic and blankets; but please RSVP so we can be sure to provide enough pizza and refreshments!
*Have a truck?? Folks with trucks who are willing to come an hour or two in advance and help us haul mulch from Melville Park on any of these dates (especially the first one) - please email Marie Stefanowicz: marie@stefanowicz.com
Mark your calendars for all of the Fall Garden Days!
Hathaway Fall Garden Days:
Saturday, October 15, 2pm-4pm
Sunday, October 23, 10am-12pm
Sunday, November 6, 1pm-3pm
See you in the gardens -
Hathaway Garden Group (Amy Correia, Lauren Freeman, Koty Sharp, and Marie Stefanowicz)
Free/Reduced Lunch (Action Required)
If you submitted an application for Free or Reduced Lunch during the 19-20 or 20-21 school year, then that information carried over until October 14th, 2022.
At this time you will need to complete a new application to continue to receive Free or Reduced Lunch. Paper copies were sent home at the start of the year, however you can apply online by visiting this site: https://www.myschoolapps.com. Please be sure to include your child’s name on the application and mark N/A if you are not applying. We encourage all families to apply.
Fun Walk
We are very excited to announce that we will hold our 3rd Annual Hathaway Fun Walk! This event will be our fall fundraiser this year. The Fun Walk will promote healthy choices, encourage school spirit, and raise money for the school!
The Fun Walk will take place on November 1st, so please stay tuned for more details on fundraising and prizes in the coming weeks.
At this time please take a peek at our Fun Walk Letter from our HPTA!
Fun Walk Tshirts
We need your student's t-shirt size for a special Fun Walk t-shirt that will be distributed to each student on the day of the Fun Walk. Please submit your student's t-shirt size by Friday, September 30th.
If you would not like your student to participate in the Hathaway Fun Walk, or you would not like to include your student in online pledging, please opt-out by Friday, September 30th.
If you or anyone you know would like to sponsor the Fun Walk by advertising on the back of the Fun Walk t-shirts, please sign up here by Friday, October 7th. This is a great opportunity to get your business’ name into every Hathaway household and support Hathaway School!
Please reach out to Dana at dmys2105@hotmail.com with any questions.
Planet Aid Bins
Doing some fall cleaning? Swing on by the bins with your items....we earn 5 cents per pound for our Hathaway community! Spread the word and let your friends and family know, too!
HPTA News
Thank you to everyone who joined us for our first meeting! Our next meeting is October 19th at 6:00 PM in the library. Our featured speakers will be Sara Vitale, Instructional Systems Coach, and Tanin Longway, Literacy Coach, presenting information on our new ELA curriculum, Wonders, and ways that parents can get involved. Please complete this form if you plan on attending the presentation.
The HPTA needs your help to run the many events we arrange
throughout the year. All volunteers DO need to be VIS
approved. The VIS application form can be found on the
Hathaway website.
The HPTA is once again collecting Clement’s Market receipts.
The receipts can be placed in your child’s folder. We recently received a check for nearly $1,300.00! Thank you to all who turned in their receipts!
HPTA Board
HPTA - Hathaway School Volunteering
Welcome to a new year at Hathaway School! Volunteers in Schools (VIS) is the volunteer program in the Portsmouth schools. We hope that the VIS program will provide you an opportunity to become involved in our schools’ activities. In order to participate in any school activity with children including being a room parent, attending class parties, field trips, volunteering at HPTA events, and in the classroom, the following two steps must be completed and completed EVERY year:
Online Application - Step One:
Found here or online at www.portsmouthschoolsri.org under the ‘For Parents’ tab. Then select ‘Volunteers’ and ‘Volunteers Home Page’ from the drop down menu. On the left, click the link for ‘Google Form.’ This must be completed at the start of each new school year. It will put your name on Hathaway’s Volunteer Master List, alerting the VIS Coordinator that you plan to become a volunteer.
* EVERYONE who wants to volunteer must complete this step, even if you received a Volunteer Authorization Form at orientation or have submitted it already
Volunteer Authorization Form - Step Two:
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’. Please use a paper clip to secure all documents together, no staples, and return to any Portsmouth School Department Office. The form can be found here as well as in the school office and online at www.portsmouthschoolsri.org under the ‘For Parents’ tab. Then select ‘Volunteers’ and ‘Volunteers Home Page’ from the drop down menu. On the left, click the link for ‘VIS Authorization Form’. It can take up to 2-3 weeks to process once you submit the form.
THESE TWO STEPS MUST BE COMPLETED AND APPROVED BEFORE YOU ARE ABLE TO VOLUNTEER IN THE SCHOOL.
Your school VIS & Room Parent coordinator, Marie Stefanowicz, is your liaison with the school. If you have any questions, or any problems as a volunteer, the coordinator is your first point of contact and can be reached at hathawayvis@gmail.com.School Meals Program
School meals are no longer free to all students for the 2022-2023 school year. Breakfast, lunch, and milk are available to purchase for all Hathaway School students. Students order lunch each morning through their teacher that day. Breakfast can be picked up by students in the cafeteria as they arrive at school.
Full price Breakfast is $1.00 and Lunch is $2.60. If your family qualifies for reduced prices, breakfast is $ 0.30 and lunch is $0.40. Milk is offered for $0.55 as a stand alone item.
Please apply for free or reduced lunch online by visiting this site: https://www.myschoolapps.com. Or, paper applications will be sent home the first week of school.
Payment for breakfast, lunch and/or milk can be made online at www.myschoolbucks.com. A student LASID number will be needed to create and make payments online using your “My School Bucks” account. Here is how you can access your student’s LASID number in ASPEN:
Payment can also be made by sending cash or a check in an envelope to school labeled with your student’s name, teacher’s name, LASID number and amount included. If paying by check, please make it payable to Portsmouth School Department with your child’s LASID number noted on the memo line. Send a separate check for each child in your family as payments cannot be split between accounts. KEEPING YOUR BALANCE PAID IN FULL IS VERY IMPORTANT.
Please refer to the family portal navigation below to access your child's LASID number.
Abound Parenting Newsletter
Community Resources
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.
Nut Free Facility
Thank you for your support in keeping all of our students safe in our Hathaway community.
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!
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
2022-2023
October 12th - School Picture Day
October 14th - Escobar's Corn Maze
October 19th - Early Release for Students/PD for Staff
October 19th - HPTA Meeting, 6:00 PM, Library
November 1st - Fun Walk
November 8th - Staff PD Day/No School
November 11th - Veterans' Day/No School
November 16th - HPTA Meeting, 6:00 PM, Library
November 21st - School Picture Make Up Day
November 23rd-November 25th - Thanksgiving Recess/No School
December 14th - Early Release for Students/PD for Staff
December 15th - HPTA Meeting, 6:00 PM, Library
December 23rd - December 31st - Holiday Recess/No School
January 18th - HPTA Meeting, 6:00 PM, Library
January 27th - Bruins Night, Chorus Sings
February 15th - HPTA Meeting, 6:00 PM, Library
March 15th - HPTA Meeting, 6:00 PM, Library
April 19th - HPTA Meeting, 6:00 PM, Library
May 17th - HPTA Meeting, 6:00 PM, Library
June 14th - HPTA Meeting, 6:00 PM, Library
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