Hello Foster Families

Dear Foster's Finest,

This was a big week for the school project! Our first steel was put into place in the last few days and we can see where 15 classrooms will be on three floors! I was able to walk onto the project and get a better view for some pictures to share with you all. If everything continues to be on pace, we are on target for the exterior walls and roof, to be in place for the work to be on the interior starting in November.

The contractor completed the set-up in the front of the school for pick-up and drop off this morning. I walked through everything with the project manager last evening. We have some safety barriers going into place on Monday as an extra layer of safety and we will have additional staff outside to help make it all work smoothly. Now that everything is officially in place, there will be another message from me providing you all with instructions on how the process will work. Thank you all for your patience as we worked to have a safe and effective system for the next school year. I wanted to ensure everything was going to work the way it was intended, so that my communication is accurate.

Finally, this is a reminder that this coming Monday, August 28 from 1:00-2:00 on our playground we have the "Popsicles with the Principal" event for our incoming kindergarten students only. I look forward to meeting you and welcoming you to our school. Remember to wear the color assigned to your classroom so you can see who your classmates are going to be and make some new friends before we start the following week. The PTO will also have your grade level Foster School shirt for you at this time. I can't wait to meet you all.

All my best as you finish out the summer!

Mr. Scheufele

If you are interested in becoming a room parent this year please send an email to Anna Mancuso at almancusol6@gmail.com. Please include your child's name and classroom teacher. If more than 2 parents volunteer for the same classroom we will use a lottery system to pull 2 names.

Looking for a place to donate all of your old legos? The K-3 LEGO Club Needs them! The PTO is collecting ANY and ALL Legos starting August 31st. There will be separate boxes for REGULAR and DUPLO Legos in the entryway to Foster. Thanks in advance for your donations and support! Any Questions or if you would like to join the waitlist for K-3 Lego Club Please Contact Missy Sadler, Sadler.Melissa@icloud.com

Parents, Caregivers, Family & Friends of K-3 Lego Club if you’re looking to volunteer to chaperone our Lego Club Days starting Monday September 18th 2:30-4pm, please sign up here: Volunteer Sign-Up

It's Back to School Season!

We are very excited to welcome students and parents to the open house at Foster School on Thursday August 31st. We are in need of some volunteers for each grade to hand out our PTO t-shirts for the students. We also need 2 volunteers to help us at a table where we will be selling Foster hats and Yeti tumblers. We will need the volunteers in the cafeteria from 1:15 - 2:45. Please sign up below!

(Any questions please email sadler.melissa@icloud.com )

Sign up here:

Volunteer Sign-Up

We learned a lot from last year and with our observations and your feedback we've decided to make the following changes:

• Green Team will be the SAME team the whole year long. You register once, you pay once, you're on it the whole school year. Better team building, less administrative hassle, clearer communication for both parents/teachers/school.
• Green Team is newly open for Grade 1-4. $40 per student covers the year.
• Max 36 students.
• Grade 5 can register free of charge as Green Team helpers.
• Observations showed that K students were a bit overwhelmed by this extra hour. We would have loved to provide separate, younger age adapted classes but are lacking volunteers. As to Grade 5, they are having many 5th grade class activities on the early release days - this arrangement gives them the opportunity to come in as a big buddy/helper whenever they have availability.

The link to register is https://forms.gle/N3EwNTTU83d8TtrQ9

Any Questions, Please contact Christin Eigenmann at ceigenmann77@gmail.com

We have had a few phone calls about supply lists. The supply lists are found on the District/School Webpage. Please click here to access the page.

This year, due to State Government Assistance, lunch and breakfast will be served free of charge. The monthly menu will be found on the HPS Website, and students who would like a school lunch will simply order it when they get to school. It should be noted that all school provided lunches are peanut/tree nut free. This year, there will also be a continuing breakfast program (also peanut/tree nut free) for students who wish to partake in that. There will be one “grab and go breakfast” offering daily (please see monthly menu).

Please be aware that there will be charges for second helpings and other things like milk when purchased without a lunch. It is recommended (but not required) that families set up an account with SchoolCafe to pay for any of the extra choices. If you choose not to use this to pay for any extras, families will need to send in a check to the cafeteria. The checks should be made payable to HPS Food Services with your child's full name on the subject line.

Please also know that if any of our families need financial assistance at any time or for any reason during the year, they should contact the school Adjustment Counselor, Jaclyn Duggan, or our Guidance Counselor, Danielle Campbell, who will keep all such requests confidential.

Our school day begins at 8:20, and teachers are officially on duty at 8:10 (before that time, they may be in meetings, conferences, or preparing for the day), so it is very important that children do not arrive until 8:10 as there is no adult supervision available. This is the same start time that we had last year. Dismissal will be at 2:30 P.M.

On your child's first day of school your child will come home with several forms that need to be filled out (emergency contact information, etc.). A swift turn-around of these forms will be greatly appreciated as they are very important for the administration of the school. We really appreciate the time that families put into making sure all of the forms are returned, as we understand how busy the first few days of school can be.

A full listing of our fantastic staff will be on our website in September.

At the spring 2023 Town Meeting, the Town of Hingham approved a ban on selling and distributing non-flavored, non-carbonated water in plastic single-use bottles. Beginning for the 2023-2024 school year, the school’s Food Services will no longer sell single-use plastic water bottles. As we start the school year, students are encouraged to bring their own reusable water bottles to school that can be filled out at a water bubbler or a water-filling station.

The PTO is also selling Yeti Water Bottles. We have hydration stations in the school that cool and filter water. Place your order today while supplies last!

The Kids in Action After School Strings program will be offered to 3rd & 4th graders a each elementary schools, beginning in the Fall of 2023. Currently we do not have enough participation to run the program at Foster. If you have any interest please sign-up as soon as possible.

Sessions will run for 15 weeks in the Fall and in the Spring. The Fall session will run September through January and the Spring Session will be February through June. The last class for each session will serve as a performance to show parents the children’s progress. Tuition is $325.00 per child and does not include instrument rental fees. No prior experience with strings is expected for participation. All students will meet for introductory, beginner lessons. Families are responsible for arranging their own rental or purchase of instruments.

To register, click on the desired session time below.

Foster School:

• Tuesday 2:30-3:15, Beginners
• Tuesday 3:45-4:30, Beginners

• Electronic Devices: Please be aware that many experts recommend that children not be on Social Media until at least thirteen years of age. That being said, we understand that personal preference prevails in a given family. We just want to make you aware of the fact that we do not allow students to have their own personal devices (like phones and watches as they are impossible for staff to monitor, and interrupt instruction) that can access the internet in the classrooms. If they do bring them to school (at their own risk) they can be off and in their backpacks. We give them lots of digital experiences by integrating learning with school owned IPADS, Chromebooks, and laptops while taking age/grade level into account. The Foster Handbook has further information on this topic.

• Bikes and Scooters: Students should stop riding when they turn onto the sidewalk leading up to the school. We have so many students and parents and traffic in this area during drop off and dismissal that we ask that students do not ride them until they are on the main sidewalks. This has been very helpful at preventing accidents.

• Don't forget to go to the cafeteria on August 31 after visiting your child's classroom to pick up your Free Foster T-Shirt:

  Kindergarten = Red First Grade = Green

  Second Grade = Yellow

  Third Grade = Orange

  Fourth Grade = Purple

  Fifth Grade = Blue

As you know we will have the building open at 1:45 - 2:30 for parents and student to visit the classroom. The visit to the classroom concludes at 2:30 but our PTO will be in the cafeteria from 1:45-2:45 for families to pick up their Foster T-Shirt for the new school year. Please plan accordingly.

August 28: Popsicles with the principal for incoming kindergarteners.

August 31: Walk-About to the Classroom for ALL Families from 1:45-2:30

September 5: First Day of School for grades 1-5. No School for Kindergarten.

September 6: Kindergarten Meet and Greet and Group Conferences/ Bus

September 7: First Day of School for Kindergarten.