The Hopkins School Hawk Squawk
Principal's Updates - 3/27/22
Grand Opening of the Hopkins' Book Vending Machine!
From the Hopkins' Office...
Dear Hopkins’ Families,
I believe that we can declare that spring fever has arrived! There is so much happening at Hopkins, I've included an entire separate section of updates below, so please check it out to learn about all the excitement coming to our community. Please also check out the upcoming dates section and take special note of your child's MCAS dates.
Spring fever actually sees its roots in an actual physical malady of the early 1800's, an illness that occurred in the spring and involved fatigue, malaise, and bone pain among chief complaints. However, nowadays, spring fever is considered an auto-antonym (a term with multiple and opposed meanings) and many associate it with an increase in energy, as well as a feeling of restlessness, with the end of winter and arrival of spring. It is certainly a time of year noted for a number of mood, physical, or behavioral changes in humans. And, no place is that more evident than in a school- especially one filled with students entering puberty!
Given that our fifth graders are currently in the middle of their "Growth and Development" unit in health, it seemed a great time to remind the community of the immense changes that occur during this period of development for our children. Certainly, the physical signs are everywhere at Hopkins- appetites are growing for many of our students almost as fast as their heights. And, by the time the heat arrives in May, we are grateful for the health lessons emphasizing the use of deodorant! In a building of 620 4th and 5th graders, these physical changes are quite apparent to all of us and especially each spring. Rarely in their lifetime will they wrestle with the immense challenges that entering early adolescence in today's world can burden them with: academic and social pressures of school, sports, and extracurricular life, physical and psychological changes to themselves AND the demands of a wired world filled with social media and digital content designed to "hook" them. It is essential that we nurture our children with empathy, positive modeling, compassion and love through this journey!
While many focus on the physical changes of puberty, the psychological/social changes are just as striking. Chief among these changes: a growing emergence of abstract thinking and ability to absorb the perspectives/viewpoints of others. This occurs at the same time they start to establish a system of values for oneself, spurned on by an increased ability for introspection, development of personal and sexual identity, increasing autonomy and desire for more personal independence, greater importance of peer relationships, and the emergence of coping strategies to overcome problems and crises. Thinking about all these changes that occur for students, you can begin to understand why a focus on social/emotional learning in schools is so critical - we cannot possibly ignore all of these changes and the impact of them on our leaners.
As one of our health and wellness teachers, Mrs. Kathy Lewinsky, likes to frequently say, each person is a little different, so everyone starts and goes through puberty on his or her body’s own perfect schedule. With the average age of puberty beginning between 8-13 in girls and 10-15 in boys, this means that the developmental differences we note at Hopkins are immense. And, as I frequently share with families, the great variability of development is frequently the cause of social conflicts, teasing, and certainly, bullying behaviors in upper elementary/middle school grades. Having students who are still focused on dinosaurs, fairies, Roblox and unicorns learning aside others who are thinking about "crushes," spending endless hours on TikTok and planning their next social meet ups presents with unique challenges. Those of us witnessing the daily social interactions of these students know that this wide-ranging developmental continuum escalates anxiety and social strife, especially when coupled with the mood swings and insecurities that accompany this age. Thus, the critical work for us as adults, is to help students understand differences between each other while focusing on kindness and respect for all - regardless of interests, identity or developmental level.
There are no easy fixes or solutions to these challenges. I am grateful that we use a standards-based report card, which emphasizes personal development skills and focuses on growing independence for skills and learning. As I shared when our first report card came out, recognize that growth of all kinds comes on a continuum - and that it is rarely a straight trajectory. Empathize with your child for the challenges that they face - and encourage them to grow in their independence to face these obstacles. Make sure that they eat healthy, sleep regularly and get to school on time. Please, continue to have frequent conversations with your child (cars are a great place to limit device use - captive audiences!), monitor their digital life carefully and most importantly, honor where they are developmentally. The journey through puberty and adolescence is one often filled with uncertainty and self-doubt, so be the rock for your child: celebrate their success, comfort them through the rocky spots and be the cheerleader and advocate that they deserve.
Warmly,
Vanessa Bilello
Principal, Hopkins School
Key March Updates from Hopkins School
Check out pics above from the grand opening of our Hopkins' Book Vending Machine! A part of our PBIS (Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports) efforts at Hopkins, students who earn CARES cards for exhibiting our Core Values of Cooperation, Assertion, Responsibility, Empathy and Self-Control have them entered into drawings each month for a chance to "buy" a book from our machine! A HUGE thank you to the HPTO, who have partnered with us in fundraising over the past few years in order to purchase this special addition to halls of Hopkins!
Speaking of HPTO, we are thrilled to welcome back another Scholastic BookFair in just a week (see ad below!) as well as an in-person 5th grade talent show Friday, May 13th at 6:30 PM at HMS! We are so excited to see the auditions and know that this year's event will be super special. We need YOUR help to make this night a successful event. Please consider volunteering to support the efforts. If you have not yet signed up to help the volunteer crew and would like to help during auditions, dress rehearsal or the day of the show, please email hopkins5thgradetalentshow@gmail.com. We hope the whole community will show up to support our talented performers and raise funds for our Hopkins' Gift Account, which supports all sorts of enrichment and programming at Hopkins.
Speaking of fundraising, Hopkins' Memory Books are on sale now! In coming weeks, our Hopkins' student photographers and design team will be finalizing pages of this year's Memory Book with our parent volunteers - and a cover design will be selected! The Hopkins' Memory Book is a great way to remember your child's Hopkins experience and support our programming at the school. Information is available on the HPTO's website.
A HUGE thank you and bravo to our Music Department, Mrs. Caitlin MacDonald and Ms. Jessica Barkin for a successful March 5th Music Ensemble Concert. Check out pics and the video from HCAM below, if you missed the show. All three of our groups did a fantastic job and it was certainly extra special, given the March concert of 2020 was the first event canceled due to COVID-19.Our young musicians have grown so much already this year - can't wait for the June performances!
Finally, we have some exciting spring events coming up and are eagerly looking for parent volunteers to help out again at Hopkins! Anyone volunteering does need to go through the CORI process with hoffice@hopkinton.k12.ma.us. In particular, we are once again looking for some parents willing to help out one day a week at lunches to support our newest effort, the 4th grade Green Team! Willing adult volunteers will work with members of our Green Team to beautify the Hopkins campus and garden. Please reach out to vbilello@hopkinton.k12.ma.us if you are able to help out an hour or two each week this spring.
Important Hopkins' Dates
HOPKINS' UPCOMING IMPORTANT DATES
(SEE MCAS DATES BELOW)
- Tuesday, March 29th - Principal's Cabinet for Perseverance Spirit Day - "NEON DAY!"
- Tuesday, March 29th - Hopkins' Community Reading Day
- Monday, April 4th- Friday April 8th - Scholastic Book Fair (during library classes)
- Friday, April 8th - I AM DAY
- Monday, April 11th - MCAS Begins (See schedule below for grade level dates)
- Friday, April 15th - NO SCHOOL
- Monday, April 18th- Friday April 22nd - NO SCHOOL - SPRING BREAK
- May 2nd - May 6th - TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK
- May 4th - "May the Fourth" Spirit Day
- Friday, May 13th - EARLY RELEASE 1:00 PM Dismissal (LUNCH IS SERVED)
- Friday, May 13th - 6:30 PM - Hopkins' Grade 5 Talent Show @ HMS Auditorium
- Thursday, May 19th - 9:00-9:45 AM - Hopkins School Council
- Friday, May 27th - EARLY RELEASE 1:00 PM Dismissal (LUNCH IS SERVED)
- Monday, May 30th - NO SCHOOL - MEMORIAL DAY
- June 1st - June 10th - Lyn Hoopes (Gr. 4) and CHP Field Trip (Gr. 5- Tentative)
- Monday, June 6th - 7Pm - Hopkins June Music Ensemble Concert (@ HHS)
- June 23rd - Last Day - Tentative (Early Dismissal)
HOPKINS MCAS 2022 DATES
ELA
April 11 & 13 - Grade 5
April 12 & 14 - Grade 4
Math
May 16 & 18 - Grade 5
May 17 & 19 - Grade 4
Science, Tech/Engineering (grade 5 only)
May 23 & 25
MCAS Make Up Dates: Please make every attempt to have your child to school on the dates listed above- make up testing will be with a proctor other than your child's teacher and we know from experience that they are able to do their best work with a familiar test administrator in one of their classroom teachers. Also, students who must complete make up testing end up missing additional classroom instruction.
ELA make up: ELA make up: 4/25-4/26
Math make up: 5/20 & 5/24
STE make up: 5/24,
Email: hoffice@hopkinton.k12.ma.us
Website: https://hopkinselementary.hopkinton.k12.ma.us/
Location: 104 Hayden Rowe Street, Hopkinton, MA, United States
Phone: 508-695-5839
Facebook: www.facebook.com/HopkinsElementarySchool
Twitter: @HopkinsSchool
Check out the 5th Grade Music Ensemble Concert from March 5th!
Social Emotional Learning Resources
Resources for Building Kindness and Empathy in Children
Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education- Kindness through Their Eyes
Great Kindness Challenge Theme Song- Playing this next Friday at WSM!!!
Social-Emotional Resources - Parenting in the Pandemic... and Beyond
Resiliency in Children:
- Helping Kids Face Obstacles
- Six Ways to Help Your Child Deal with Social Exclusion
- Podcast: Helping Kids Deal with Stress & Anxiety While Facing Adversity w/ Katie Hurley
- How Kids Learn Resilience
- A Different Way to Respond to When Your Child Does Something Wrong
Parenting in a Digital World:
Arrival/Dismissal Routines at Hopkins School
What are school drop-off/pick up procedures?
Bus routes will be posted through the HPS transportation department website. Please be at your child's stop EARLY, but also be patient- there is no doubt that between construction in town/schools, as well as the new school start/end times, that busses could very possibly be running 15 minutes late.
Students being dropped off at the building should arrive at 8:45 AM, when supervision will begin in the front of school, for walkers/bikers and parent drop-offs (see map below). This is considered a “live drop-off,” meaning drivers must remain in their cars during drop-off time. Have your child seated in the back on the passenger side of the car and please say your goodbyes quickly, as others are waiting to drop off their children. This side will be closest to the curb when you pull up in front of the school, and will allow for the safest drop-off. The tardy bell is at 9:00 AM.
School dismisses promptly at 3:15 PM and parent pick up follows the same route as morning drop-off. It is necessary to stay in your vehicle when in the dismissal line- having your child's name printed in the dashboard is helpful and showing ID is required. This applies to all after-school enrichment programs, unless the instructor has arranged with families to meet at another location outside our building. This is not applicable for the YMCA Afterschool Care, which has their own dismissal protocols.
What are school office hours?
Our school office hours are 8:00-4:00. There is no supervision prior to 8:45 AM. At 4:00, the office closes and families will not be able to gain access to Hopkins.
How do I dismiss my child early from Hopkins - or different than their normal daily plan?
Families changing dismissal must complete the Hopkins' Dismissal Form. It can be found on our school webpage, as well. All dismissal changes MUST be completed by 2:00 PM! Please note, we cannot accommodate any early dismissals to occur beyond 3:00PM, as it interferes with our normal dismissal routines/traffic patterns.
What do I if my child is going to be absent?
Contact our absence line at (508) 435-0312.
Busses:
If your child will be taking the school bus, you can access bus route information on the school district website. Hopkins will be sharing busses this year with Marathon. Route times are approximate, not exact.
Parent Drop-Off and Pick-up Procedures:
For those of you not familiar with our process, please check out the map below, which can also be found on our website. Drop-offs in the morning start at 8:45. Please know that if you drop off your child prior to 8:45, we are unable to provide supervision or entry to the building. Therefore, we ask you aim for as close to 8:45 as possible. Our tardy bell rings at 9:00. The pick-up line will begin dismissing students promptly at 3:15. Be prepared with ID for all parent pick-ups at the end of each day.
Because we have so many buses picking up and dropping off at Hopkins all at once, we will continue using the ‘access road’ to queue waiting buses. That access road exits with a right turn next to the entrance into the front driveway/parking of Hopkins. If you are in the line of cars dropping off or picking up students, please do not block the access road so buses can exit.
Dismissal/Transportation Changes for Students:
It is critical to your child and our staff at Hopkins that we know your child’s dismissal routines, or, if there is a change to transportation at the end of the day. Any dismissal changes also need to comply with our District’s Transportation policies. To make changes to a dismissal, please use the form on the district website.
It is also important for your child to know their dismissal plans each day, especially if they have different routines on different days of the week. Children are sometimes confused or forget about the days of the week. Kids can also be on “auto-pilot” at the end of each day and not think about where they are supposed to go. If your child has different plans on different days, please review with your child their schedule and routine.
Quick Links
Communication
Our school website has static information, but it is also updated with current news, photos and bulletins. Every other week, you can expect a school-wide update from the Principal’s Office, the Hawk Squawk. This is distributed to families via email and can also be found on the school’s webpage. You can also follow us on Twitter: @hopkinsschool, Instagram (hopkins_elementary), and Facebook (HopkinsElementarySchool).
In addition to the above school-wide methods, please communicate openly with your child’s teacher(s). Each teacher has an email address and voice mailbox. Many also utilize a website and/or Twitter to share news. You can find their contact information on our school website or you can call (508)-497-9824 to reach teachers’ voicemail.