Hathaway Happenings - Home
November 11, 2022
Dear Hathaway Families,
While it was a short week, we still managed to do lots of playing, learning, and growing together!
Thank you to Ashley Billings and all of our volunteers for a most amazing book fair! We love giving our students opportunities to fall in love with books. Happy Reading to everyone!
We had a successful professional development day on Tuesday. Faculty and staff participated in safety training, team building, restorative practices, and curriculum related activities. Stay tuned for a parent information night focused on safety in our schools.
Congratulations to Mrs. Goss's class for winning our schoolwide Bingo game. We played bingo this week and had lots of laughs!
Don't forget our Planet Aid bins! If you have any donations, we are here! We help others and our school gets a percentage. Thank you in advance.
As we prepare for a three day weekend, we pause to remember the reason for this time. Veterans Day is the day set aside to thank and honor ALL who have served, living or deceased, but particularly the living veterans among us. Thank you to all of our friends and families who have served. May you and yours have a safe and peaceful weekend.
As always, thank you for your partnership in education!
Lost and Found
Can my new jacket be?
I thought that I
took it home with me!
I seem to have lost
my bottle with water,
You may have heard this
from your son or your daughter!
Panic? Please don't
Come take a peek
at lost and found items,
They're growing each week!
Please ask your child
to take a look too!
So all the lost items
can come back to you!
Dressing for Recess
HPTA Hullabaloo
Hello Hathaway Families!
The time has come to start preparing for our annual Hullabaloo! The HPTA hosts a Hullabaloo event that has been going strong for over 30 years. This is a special event where Hathaway students are able to shop for their friends and families with the assistance of our shopping helpers so they can keep their gifts a surprise. This event is also fun for the whole family! There will be a morning performance from the 4th grade chorus, a visit from Santa, kids raffle, Feinstein Giving Tree, arts and crafts, snacks/treats and hot chocolate, and more! We will hold the Hullabaloo on December 3rd, 2022 from 9-1 in the Cafetorium and Gymnasium, with setup on Friday December 2nd from 6-8:30pm.
We are forming a planning committee to ensure this event is a success! The committee is responsible for all of the wonderful details that go into this event and the planning work will be divided amongst members. If you are on the committee, it does not mean that you have to volunteer to be there on December 2nd & 3rd unless you want to as well!
The first Hullabaloo Planning Committee Meeting will be on Wednesday November 2nd at 6pm on zoom. Please sign up to join the committee here.
To Volunteer on December 2nd & 3rd at the Hullabaloo and/or set up the night before, please sign up here. *Please note that some volunteer positions require VIS approval*
We would also love to have more contributions sharing your families cultural traditions for this time of year. Please email Hullabaloo HPTA Coordinator if you would like to contribute or if you have questions at all regarding Hullabaloo at marie@stefanowicz.com.
Thank you for helping our school and being part of this special event for the Hathaway community! We could not do these events without volunteers like you!
HPTA News
Thank you to everyone who joined us for our October meeting! We learned all about our Wonders curriculum. Here are the minutes. Stay tuned for more information on Abound Parenting in the near future. Our next meeting is November 16th at 6:00 PM in the library. Nurse Krissy is our Featured Speaker!
The HPTA needs your help to run the many events we arrange
throughout the year. All volunteers DO need to be VIS
approved. The VIS application form can be found on the
Hathaway website.
The HPTA is once again collecting Clement’s Market receipts.
The receipts can be placed in your child’s folder. We recently received a check for nearly $1,300.00! Thank you to all who turned in their receipts!
HPTA Board
HPTA - Hathaway School Volunteering
Welcome to a new year at Hathaway School! Volunteers in Schools (VIS) is the volunteer program in the Portsmouth schools. We hope that the VIS program will provide you an opportunity to become involved in our schools’ activities. In order to participate in any school activity with children including being a room parent, attending class parties, field trips, volunteering at HPTA events, and in the classroom, the following two steps must be completed and completed EVERY year:
Online Application - Step One:
Found here or online at www.portsmouthschoolsri.org under the ‘For Parents’ tab. Then select ‘Volunteers’ and ‘Volunteers Home Page’ from the drop down menu. On the left, click the link for ‘Google Form.’ This must be completed at the start of each new school year. It will put your name on Hathaway’s Volunteer Master List, alerting the VIS Coordinator that you plan to become a volunteer.
* EVERYONE who wants to volunteer must complete this step, even if you received a Volunteer Authorization Form at orientation or have submitted it already
Volunteer Authorization Form - Step Two:
A background check must be completed annually, by law in Rhode Island. You must fill out the authorization form for the background check and have it notarized. It also needs to include a copy of the front and back of your driver’s license, and a $5 check made out to ‘BCI’. Please use a paper clip to secure all documents together, no staples, and return to any Portsmouth School Department Office. The form can be found here as well as in the school office and online at www.portsmouthschoolsri.org under the ‘For Parents’ tab. Then select ‘Volunteers’ and ‘Volunteers Home Page’ from the drop down menu. On the left, click the link for ‘VIS Authorization Form’. It can take up to 2-3 weeks to process once you submit the form.
THESE TWO STEPS MUST BE COMPLETED AND APPROVED BEFORE YOU ARE ABLE TO VOLUNTEER IN THE SCHOOL.
Your school VIS & Room Parent coordinator, Marie Stefanowicz, is your liaison with the school. If you have any questions, or any problems as a volunteer, the coordinator is your first point of contact and can be reached at hathawayvis@gmail.com.School Meals Program
School meals are no longer free to all students for the 2022-2023 school year. Breakfast, lunch, and milk are available to purchase for all Hathaway School students. Students order lunch each morning through their teacher that day. Breakfast can be picked up by students in the cafeteria as they arrive at school.
Full price Breakfast is $1.00 and Lunch is $2.60. If your family qualifies for reduced prices, breakfast is $ 0.30 and lunch is $0.40. Milk is offered for $0.55 as a stand alone item.
Please apply for free or reduced lunch online by visiting this site: https://www.myschoolapps.com. Or, paper applications will be sent home the first week of school.
Payment for breakfast, lunch and/or milk can be made online at www.myschoolbucks.com. A student LASID number will be needed to create and make payments online using your “My School Bucks” account. Here is how you can access your student’s LASID number in ASPEN:
Payment can also be made by sending cash or a check in an envelope to school labeled with your student’s name, teacher’s name, LASID number and amount included. If paying by check, please make it payable to Portsmouth School Department with your child’s LASID number noted on the memo line. Send a separate check for each child in your family as payments cannot be split between accounts. KEEPING YOUR BALANCE PAID IN FULL IS VERY IMPORTANT.
Please refer to the family portal navigation below to access your child's LASID number.
Abound Parenting Newsletter
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.
Nut Free Facility
Thank you for your support in keeping all of our students safe in our Hathaway community.
Securly Home
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.
We encourage you to sign up now for Securly Home!
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.
Where Can I Find Past Parent Newsletters?
Important Dates
Important Dates
2022-2023
November 16th - HPTA Meeting, 6:00 PM, Library, Nurse Krissy, Featured Speaker
November 21st - School Picture Make Up Day
November 23rd-November 25th - Thanksgiving Recess/No School
December 14th - Early Release for Students/PD for Staff
December 15th - HPTA Meeting, 6:00 PM, Library
December 23rd - December 31st - Holiday Recess/No School
January 18th - HPTA Meeting, 6:00 PM, Library
January 27th - Bruins Night, Chorus Sings
February 15th - HPTA Meeting, 6:00 PM, Library
March 15th - HPTA Meeting, 6:00 PM, Library
April 19th - HPTA Meeting, 6:00 PM, Library
May 17th - HPTA Meeting, 6:00 PM, Library
June 14th - HPTA Meeting, 6:00 PM, Library
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