This fall, HPS staff will be implementing a new elementary reading program, HMH Into Reading, an evidence-based program, grounded in the science of reading principles. The program has received top-ratings on Ed Reports and the DESE Curate sites, which provide analysis of program quality, accessibility, and impact on student learning. Many thanks to the HPS classroom teachers who volunteered to pilot the program last winter and spring, and for the leadership of the ELA and reading staff for their coordination efforts.

Writing initiatives in kindergarten and Grade 1 will include new resources to support the writing process. K and Grade 1 students will start the year with a focus on handwriting: forming print letters and developing pencil grip, posture, and fine motor skills. In kindergarten, the Kid Writing program will support students' growing knowledge of phonics, spelling and the alphabet as they author their own stories. A new Personal Narrative unit will support Grade 1 teachers as they guide students to write stories from their lives. Empowering Writers lessons will be introduced later in the fall to create a cohesive writing curriculum for all students in K-5. Groups of teachers worked this summer to organize their grade level writing tasks so they integrate with the new reading program, science and social studies topics and grade level projects. Write on!

This year, Grade 5 teachers will be piloting new social studies units aligned to the recently revised Massachusetts History and Social Science Curriculum Framework. The Grade 5 curriculum continues to focus on United States History, beginning with the colonial period and concluding with a new unit on the Civil War, slavery and the 20th century civil rights movement. In order to address these new standards, fifth grade teachers will participate in grant-funded professional development and pilot a new curriculum called Investigating History. Investigating History is a set of open-source social studies materials developed in partnership between MA DESE, Primary Source, and other leading scholars. The curriculum is inquiry-based and aligned to updated Massachusetts social studies standards.

The HPS Fine Arts department, in partnership with the Kids in Action program, will continue to offer after school strings lessons for students in Grades 3 and 4 this year. The classes will consist of beginner group lessons of approximately 10 students each for 45 minutes. The curriculum will build upon the foundational concepts of music and provide exposure to stringed instruments prior to formal in-school strings offerings in Grade 5.