Hathaway Happenings
October 18, 2021
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Thank you to our HPTA for sponsoring Family Movie Night! A special thank you to Christy Renkawitz, Sarah Impey and the Portsmouth Police Department for organizing the festivities! Thank you to Officer Szczepaniak for attending! An extra special shout out to Embrace Home Loans for sponsoring the event!
Thank you to Dana Squires for organizing this year's Fun Walk. We are super excited for the event on Monday!
Thank you to all of our room parents for volunteering! We look forward to a wonderful year together!
Movie Night Snacks!
Gathering for Movie Night!
Fire Safety Day!
COVID Testing
Hello Hathaway Families,
This week we are rolling out Covid testing in school for students whose parents/guardians have provided consent. Asymptomatic testing at Hathaway will take place weekly on Tuesday mornings. Testing is quick and easy, and every effort will be made to ensure that time spent testing will not interfere with your child’s daily schedule and learning.
Per the CDC, regular testing is a safe, effective way to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and help keep schools open for in-person learning. Many people with COVID-19, especially children and teens, don’t have symptoms but can still spread the virus, so regular testing helps find people who have the virus before it can spread to others. This is especially important for children under 12 years old who are not yet able to get vaccinated against COVID-19, families, and staff with younger children at home, and others who are not vaccinated against COVID-19 or are otherwise at risk for getting seriously sick from COVID-19.
Symptomatic testing will also begin this week for students whose guardians have consented. This will consist of a rapid test and then, if negative, a PCR test. Regardless of the rapid test results, students will be sent home to isolate- either because their rapid was positive or because their PCR is pending. This is for students who develop symptoms during the school day. In the interest of public health, no student should be sent to school with symptoms that developed while they were at home.
Please see the FAQs and reach out with any questions or concerns.
Thank you!
Alexandra Doty, BSN, RN-BC
Flu Clinic
It’s flu season, and that means it’s time for everyone in your family to get their flu vaccine.
There is a FREE FLU CLINIC at Howard Hathaway Elementary School on Thursday, Oct. 28, from 4- 7 p.m. in the gym. Please register online at schoolflu.com. Walk-in spots will be very limited.
The flu is a serious, highly contagious, and sometimes deadly disease. Catching the flu means missing days of work and school. You might even have to spend time in the hospital. Don’t take the risk — the flu vaccine is your best protection against the flu.
Distance Learning Day - Friday, 10/22
Good Morning Wonderful Parents and Guardians,
October 22nd is a professional development day for teachers this year. All teachers will be attending seminars from 8:00am to 3:00pm. Therefore, teachers will not be meeting with students live. Students will be expected to…
Log onto Google Classroom to view a pre-recorded Morning Meeting.
Click on the Google Form in Google Classroom titled “Attendance Check In” and answer the questions. Please have your child complete this by 9:00am or your child will be marked absent.
Complete any work that is posted in Google Classroom.
Anchored 4 Life
The Anchored 4 Life is comprised of a select group of 3rd and 4th grade students who are chosen to work as Team Leaders. The students in the program are selected by the teacher's recommendation.
The Anchored 4 Life program provides additional support for those students that need support in any of the following:
- Deployment
- Transition
- Entering the school as a new student and few other difficulties and challenges that students living the military lifestyle and culture face.
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.
Community Care of the Habitat
We are looking to form a committee that would help oversee the love and care of the schoolyard habitat and school garden. The committee would be tasked with organizing participants to help with weeding and removal of invasive species. Someone with more knowledge may know how to maintain the area better. The signup genius would help with organizing summer weeding but the committee would oversee the care of the area during the summer.
The school garden would need help with care and maintenance as well as harvesting and donations to our local food banks. We would love to extend our community connections with avid gardeners and the senior center. If possible we would love to connect these citizens to our classrooms for lessons outdoors.
Here is the sign up genius link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090C4DA9AA2DA3FA7-hathaway6
Unity Week - October 18th - 22nd
Say Cheese
Visit the Lifetouch Website and enter the below ID to order your package today.
School Name: Hathaway Elementary School
Picture Day Date: Thursday, October 28th
Picture Day ID: EVTZXV6XV
Asynchronous Learning
Students who need to quarantine will be provided with asynchronous distance learning. All teachers are prepared to have daily assignments and accompanying materials available for students on a regular basis. If an entire class is asked to quarantine, synchronous learning will be available to the entire class. Materials pick up may be scheduled.
Teachers will be sharing login procedures with students and families. It is important that your child is familiar with Google Classroom and how to access the necessary lessons. This will make for an easy transition if your child is asked to quarantine.
Switching from Zoom to Google Meets for Instruction
Dear Parents & Guardians
The Portsmouth School Department is transitioning from Zoom to Google Meet. Google Meet is a virtual meeting space that is directly embedded in a teacher’s Google Classroom.
To access the link for a teacher’s Google Meet, go to your child’s Google Classroom, and click the link in the banner in the photo below.
Thank you for your patience and flexibility as we transition to this new platform.
***Zoom may still be used by some service providers in the Portsmouth School Department. If this is the case, you will be notified by the service provider and given instructions for how to access the link for your child’s service time.
Securly Home Information
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.
Drop Off and Pick Up Reminders
Pick Up: Pick up begins at 3:15. Be sure to have your placard visible. Please pull over to the side of Tallman Avenue to buckle up - this will help keep the line moving. If someone other than a parent is picking up, please let the main office know. Pick up ends at 3:30.
Thank you for your support in helping to make drop off and pick up run safely and efficiently.
Response to Intervention Letter
Dear Parent/Guardian,
The Portsmouth School District believes in providing the highest quality of education for our students. This letter is to provide you with information about our district-wide efforts to improve student achievement. To meet our goal, we utilize a problem solving approach nationally known as Response to Intervention (RtI).
All students participate in the core curriculum, with three levels (tiers) of interventions for students who demonstrate at-risk skills in general education or behavior. Each tier provides additional support in addition to the core curriculum.
As part of district-wide efforts to improve student achievement, all Portsmouth students are given brief assessments three times per year (fall, winter, spring), in order to measure their progress in the curriculum over time. Students who do not meet the expected range for his/her grade level for the Benchmark assessments are provided extra support.
Tier I – Teachers use different strategies within the core curriculum to address all students’ educational needs.
Tier II – Based on assessment and progress data, students who are unsuccessful in Tier I will be provided supplemental research-based interventions in a small group matched to their needs. Parents are notified and provided progress updates in Tier II.
Tier III – Students who continue to struggle in Tier II will receive more intensive interventions in Tier III. This support will be provided from our intervention team. Parents will be notified with student progress.
Portsmouth School District recognizes that all students learn differently, and we are committed to helping all students succeed. Therefore, we ask for your support in implementing this three-tiered approach to meet the academic and behavioral needs of each child in our school. If your child is in need of Tier II or Tier III interventions throughout the year, you will be notified.
Our school is excited to support all learners and improve educational outcomes for all students. As always, do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher if you have any questions or concerns.
Respectfully,
Lisa Little
Hathaway Principal
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.
HPTA News
Fun Walk
Our 2nd Annual Fun Walk Fundraiser is in full swing. So far, we have raised over 10,000.00! New this year, we are accepting online donations at our 2nd Annual Fun Walk website. All funds raised benefit Hathaway and students can earn fun prizes for their fundraising efforts.
HPTA Meeting
Don’t forget to join us at our next meeting on Wednesday, October 20th at 6:30pm in the cafeteria. Our guest speaker will be the Intervention Team giving a presentation on Title One. Check out the agenda and minutes from our September meeting!
Volunteer Opportunities
Thank you to our Ice Cream Social, Room Parent, Corn Maze, and Movie Night Volunteers. Check out our different committees for upcoming volunteer opportunities.
HPTA Board
Where Can I Find Past Parent Newsletters?
Bond Information
In a special election on Tuesday, November 2, Portsmouth voters will be asked to approve or reject a bond referendum to finance a series of school facilities improvement projects, with total costs not to exceed $21.44 million.
Portsmouth has a time-limited opportunity to receive 40% reimbursement (about $8.6 million) from the Rhode Island Department of Education to offset the cost of the projects.
Learn more about what the school bond will support.
Important Dates
Important Dates
2021-2022
October 20th - HPTA Meeting, 6:30 PM
October 22nd - Staff PD/DL Day
October 25th - November 1st - Parent Conferences (Teachers will reach out to schedule a conference)
October 28th - Picture Day
October 28th - Flu Clinic, 4:00-7:00 PM
November 11th - No School, Veterans' Day
November 17th - Early Release, 2:15
November 17th - HPTA Meeting, 6:30 PM
November 23rd - Community Meeting, 2:00
November 24th-26th - Thanksgiving Break
December 4th - Hullabaloo, 9:00 AM
December 15th - Early Release, 2:15
December 15th - HPTA Meeting, 6:30 PM
December 22nd - Community Meeting, 9:30
December 23rd - January 2nd - Holiday Break
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