The Hopkins School Hawk Squawk
Principal's Updates - 4/12/2020
Updates from the Hopkins' Office
Dear Hopkins' Families,
First off, a huge thank you to all the students who submitted special messages for Ms. Babson- I put them together in a special 20 MINUTE video for her! I know that she very much appreciated all your creativity and sweet words in honor of Assistant Principal Week. Once again, Hopkins' students proved that they really know how to "be kind!"
Welcome back for a second week of Remote Learning at Hopkins! Your child's weekly learning schedule, which began last Monday, has been communicated by classroom teachers and continues this week. As shared by Dr. Cavanaugh, we are following state guidance and expect students to engage in approximately 3 hours a day of organized "learning." At Hopkins School, this includes about an hour and a half per day of direct instructional time with teachers, using our Clever/Zoom platform. We apologize for some of the issues that occurred with access early last week, as Zoom made changes right as we were launching learning. If you are still having technical issues, please make sure that you review the Distance Learning Resource tutorials shared out by our Tech Department or reach out directly to the technology department for assistance (see below for links).
In addition to direct instruction, our Remote Learning model includes expectations of approximately an hour and half per day of independent learning assignments. These will be pushed out by teachers for their content areas and through children's Google Classrooms (along with the daily announcements from the office). Assignments will no longer be issued for a full week at a time since teachers and student will be meeting and discussing assignments together. I'd like to reiterate that as you schedule and review the assigned "independent work," make sure to talk with your child about what they can do by themselves. Assignments that they may need more help with (a writing assignment, for example) might need to wait until after dinner. As with homework during normal school days, we recognize that there is a great deal of variability with 4th and 5th graders, in terms of independence for school work. Some students are very capable of managing and completing assignments alone while others require much more adult assistance.
Our educators are working closely together in teams to design curriculum and plan instruction. They are constantly evaluating the quantity and type of work being assigned to students-. As this is new to all of us, we are still making adjustments to the model. Given the age and independence level of our students, it is very much a work in progress! The grade level teams are also evaluating different ways to support families, in terms of the assignments in Classroom, as we recognize that it is not a platform that most adults are very familiar with. We take feedback from our families very seriously and we appreciate your patience as we revise and adjust our practices. I would also like to highlight and reiterate a key section that was shared by our Assistant Superintendent, Jen Parson, in her recent communication to families. You can find the entire letter below in our Remote Learning Resources, titled HPS: Distance Learning Guidelines.
"Please be mindful that students at all ages need to own their learning. While it may be tempting to peek in on a Zoom session or class chat, please allow students and teachers to maintain the integrity of the learning experience that belongs uniquely to teachers and their students. Unless your child requests your help with a technology issue, please allow the “synchronous” learning experiences (when teachers are talking and working directly with students through the computer) to remain exclusively between teachers and students. Students and parents should not save, record, share, or post this session or any photos from this session.
As we've stated before, we recognize each family will have unique challenges - communicate closely with your child's teachers any concerns that arise. We are very aware that adults are attempting to work at home while supporting their children. We have attempted to build in some flexibility for families. Each week, there are also enrichment and "optional" extensions - as well as additional learning supports for specific students that will be scheduled with individual families. Student participation in remote learning is expected. We ask all students to try their best and if a student is having trouble engaging in remote learning, the student and/or their family should communicate issues and concerns to the classroom teacher and/or a school administrator. Please know that we will be reaching out if students are not attending sessions or completing independent work, just like we would normally. We are looking to support families as best we can during this unusual period of time.
Stay well,
Vanessa Bilello
Principal, Hopkins School
PS- Info for the 5th graders about their special Memory Book opportunity is located below!
IMPORTANT HPTA UPDATES
Spring Scholastic Book Fair: Our coordinators have worked with Scholastic to make the book fairs virtual! Families can stock up on books and pass the time adventuring through the pages. The schools will earn a portion of the profit in Scholastic Dollars which they can spend on books and other educational materials. Books will be shipped directly to your home. Check out the fair by going to this link: https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bf/hopkinsschool
5th Grade Memory Book Submissions!
Our Memory Book for 2019-2020 is still being completed and will be distributed to all families that have reserved a copy. They can still be purchased at hptaonline.com for only $22. They include class pictures, National Park team pages, Principal's Cabinets, Spirit Day photos and much more! This year, we are inviting all interested 5th graders to send us their own jpeg of a Google Slide they design (1 slide only). These slides will be included as your own personal submissions for this year's Memory Book!
So, 5th graders- don't be left out, design your slide today! After creating your slide, go to "file" and "download as jpeg." Mrs. Bilello has included an example below. Don't make it too detailed, as it will be shrunk down to about 2 inches by 3 inches. Choose your favorite picture or quote- you can even take a picture of your own drawing! Don't delay- submit your entry to this dropbox by April 27th. Reach out to Mrs. Bilello at vbilello@hopkinton.k12.ma.us or our HPTA volunteer, Sara Maida, at semaida@gmail.com for help.
(See sample directly below)
Morning Announcements for Week of April 13th
Remote Learning Resources
Support from HPS Tech Department
- Email helpdesk@hopkinton.k12.ma.us and put your question in the body of the email and a ticket will be generated for you.
- The Tech Center is managing and triaging all tickets and someone will reach out to you with help. If you see a reply from the helpdesk ticketing system please respond to it. This is how we can engage in a back and forth conversation about the issue.
- Techs will be available to help parents and students between the hours of 7:30am and 8pm. So please submit a ticket and we will get to your issue as soon as possible.
Social Emotional Learning Resources for Families
Hopkins' Counseling Department Resources
Resources for Talking with Children About COVID-19
HOPKINS' UPCOMING IMPORTANT DATES
HOPKINS' UPCOMING IMPORTANT DATES
All future events/dates related to HPS Calendar are fluid and could change due to the current COVID-19 Pandemic & National/State Emergency. The most up-to-date information can be found on the HPS website. Please contact us if you have any questions.
- Hopkins' Memory Books on sale all of March at hptaonline.com! The Hopkins' Memory Book is our "yearbook" and costs just $22. Funds raised go right back to Hopkins to purchase things like our speaker system, hallway TV, class iPads and much more! The Memory Book includes class photos, a student-designed cover, student-designed "team" pages, spirit day photos and much more! Student photographers from each room work with HPTA volunteers and Mrs. Bilello & Ms. Doty to put together an awesome full-color book each year. We celebrate with a "signing day" each June. Don't miss out- buy one today!
Email: hoffice@hopkinton.k12.ma.us
Website: https://hopkinselementary.hopkinton.k12.ma.us/
Location: 104 Hayden Rowe Street, Hopkinton, MA, United States
Phone: 508-695-5839
Facebook: www.facebook.com/HopkinsElementarySchool
Twitter: @HopkinsSchool
Important Links for Families
Communication
Our school website has static information, but it is also updated with current news, photos and bulletins. Every other week, you can expect a school-wide update from the Principal’s Office, the Hawk Squawk. This is distributed to families via email and can also be found on the school’s webpage. You can also follow us on Twitter: @hopkinsschool, Instagram (hopkins_elementary), and Facebook (HopkinsElementarySchool). Ms. Babson sends out the Hopkins Herald newsletter every other month. This includes articles written by staff and students at Hopkins, as well as many pictures from our hallways.
In addition to the above school-wide methods, please communicate openly with your child’s teacher(s). Each teacher has an email address and voice mailbox. Many also utilize Google Classroom, a website and/or Twitter to share news. You can find their contact information on our school website or you can call (508)-497-9824 to reach teachers’ voicemail.