The Hiawatha Buzz!
September 16th, 2022
Growing hearts and minds for a better today and tomorrow: every day, every way, every one.
Principal's Message
Dear families and caregivers,
I am excited to invite you to our Open House this Thursday, September 22nd from 6:00pm -7:00pm. We will begin promptly at 6:00pm in the gym and then folks can go around the building and visit classrooms. This is a great opportunity for us to come together as a community and for families to meet our teachers and staff and get to know our school. We look forward to seeing you all! Children are welcome and encouraged!
Today I led a whole school meeting via Google Meet around safety drills. I asked three questions:
What do we practice and do to be safe in our school?
How do we know if there is a stranger in the building and not just someone’s mom or a visitor?
What do we do if we see a stranger in our building?
The kids had great answers! They said there may be times we need to evacuate the building, run, hide, or fight. We discussed the importance of always listening to an adult's direction. We also talked about telling an adult right away if you see someone in our building without a school or visitors' badge. We are so happy to have visitors in our building. When you enter, Michelle will help you sign in by the front desk and give you a visitor's badge. Next week we will be practicing bus evacuation drills.
Have a great weekend,
Katherine
Important Dates
Open House - Thursday, September 22nd from 6:00pm -7:00pm
Picture Day - Monday September 26th from 8:00am to 11:00 am
Hiawatha Hustle - Saturday, October 1st from 1:00pm to 3:00 pm
Family Conferences - Thursday, October 6th from 5:00pm to 8:00pm
Family Conferences - Friday, October 7th from 8:00am to 12:00pm - NO SCHOOL
Wellness update from Mr. Lester
Hello Hiawatha Community,
This week in Wellness we looked to incorporate mindfulness into the everyday aspects of our lives. Whether it is mindful walking or mindful listening, we were looking to be aware of what is going on inside us and around us. For more information, please check out cosmickids.com.
Enjoy the weekend!
Mr. Lester
Message from Nurse Reyna
Hello Hiawatha Families!
Welcome to a new and more typical school year.
Given the previous two years of everchanging pandemic illness guidance, I wanted to update you on when to keep your students home from school. Please keep students home from school if they have:
Fever, 100.4 F or above, currently or within previous 24 hours
Diarrhea or vomiting, currently or within previous 24 hours
Persistent sore throat with fever or enlarged tonsils/glands
Undetermined rash
Red, itchy eyes with drainage
COVID UPDATES:
Rapid test kits are available in the health office for symptomatic students.
Let me know if your child tests positive for Covid-19.
Students with symptoms who are not tested, or test negative, can return to school when they are fever free without the use of fever-reducing medications for 24 hours, free of vomiting or diarrhea for 24 hours, and all symptoms have significantly improved.
Covid vaccines and boosters help reduce the severity of the illness.
Please know you can reach out to me anytime with questions.
Have a wonderful weekend,
Nurse Reyna
802-857-7740
Picture Day
Hiawatha Picture Day is Monday September 26th from 8:00AM to 11:00AM!
Click here to pre-order The password is hiawatha822
Any questions please call 802-863-4172 or email bsnapbeltramistudios.com
Four Winds update
Four Winds is a nature based learning program that brings volunteers, like you, into the classroom to teach about a variety of topics such as birds, trees, plant life, weather and much more!
No experience is necessary and we provide the activities. We have two lessons planned for the fall and two for the spring.
If you are interested in joining another volunteer to co-lead a lesson, please send an email to Amanda at hiawathafourwinds@gmail.com.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Reporting an Absence, Late Arrival, or Change in After-school Plan
Please be sure to contact Michelle, our Office Manager, by 8:00 AM if your child is going to miss school.
There are many ways to contact her regarding your student's attendance or change in after-school plan.
1. Call the Attendance line at 802-857-7007 (for Attendance only)
2. Call Michelle at 802-878-1384
3. Email Michelle at mmurphyertle@ewsd.org
4. Go to our website and click on the Report an Absence button.
If you need to make a change to your student's after-school plan, please contact Michelle directly before 2:00 PM (1PM on Wednesdays) on any given day.
If you contact your student's teacher regarding attendance or an early pick-up plan, please make sure to include Michelle in all communications since she is the person who does attendance...Teachers may be absent, or may not get to email in time or not have time to pass your message on to Michelle
Thank you
Community events
The CTE Preschool has openings for the 2022-23 school year for children ages 3-5 years old. The age cut off is 3 years old by September 15th. Families do not need to live in Essex to attend!
The curriculum is Reggio Emilia inspired, the class sizes are small, and there is outdoor explore time daily. It runs from October to May on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 10-1:30 pm.
Pricing is as follows: $40 a month for 1 day a week, $80 a month for 2 days a week, and $120 a month for 3 days a week. Scholarships are available.
For more information, email Melissa Brott, at mbrott@ewsd.org.
Hiawatha Elementary School
Email: mmurphyertle@ewsd.org
Website: www.EWSD.org/HIA
Location: 30 Hiawatha Avenue, Essex Junction, VT, USA
Phone: 802-878-1384