Hopewell's Happenings
COMMUNICATION FOR THE HES COMMUNITY
September 2023
BACK TO SCHOOL (and a special thank you)
It is hard to believe that the new school year is just a few days away, but here we are! We welcome the 2023-2024 school year with optimism and excitement. It was great seeing so many of you at yesterday's orientations and Open House. September 7th cannot come soon enough!
We would like to express our thanks and appreciation to the people who keep Hopewell Elementary running smoothly and in great shape:
- Our building secretaries: Ms. Christine Cuccia, Ms. Kimberly Cenicola, and Ms. Molly Lytle
- Our School Resource Officer: Mr. Robert Dispoto
- Our building custodians: Mr. Carlos Gonzalez, Mr. Paul Wesley, Mr. Earl Queen, and Mr. Andres Torres.
- And our entire HVRSD Buildings and Grounds crew!
FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL UPDATE
In our last newsletter, we originally told HES Families that we would be gathering on the large blacktop area by the AM bus dropoff location. Due to the boiler replacement project, we are relocating our First Day of School Welcoming Ceremonies location to the outdoor basketball court area. Please see the bottom left photo below for the exact location.
Again, our first day of school for all Kindergarten through 5th Graders will be Thursday, September 7th, beginning at 8:30am. All families are welcome but please do your best to arrive early as we anticipate parking and congestion issues.
Also, we are asking HES Families to help us CLAP IN our students on their first day of school at the end of our gathering. Here's how this will work:
- Gather on the HES outdoor basketball court to locate your child's homeroom teacher.
- Students and families will participate in the Welcoming Ceremonies (i.e. Pledge, Hopewell School Song, etc.).
- Dr. Brettell will then give the cue to family members to assume their "Clap-in" locations. Please see the bottom right picture below for the appropriate locations.
- Cheer, clap, whistle for our HES students as they enter the buiding on their first day of school for the 2023-2024 school year.
- After the clap-in, join us on the large playground blacktop for light refreshments, compliments of the PTO.
Whew! That was a lot but we know you will come through as you always do!
P.S. Preschool's First Day of School will take place on Monday, September 11th. More information will be communicated by your child's teacher.
Location for 1st Day of School's Welcoming Ceremonies
HES Families' Clap-In Procedures for Students
ONE MORE FAVOR FROM HES FRONT OFFICE TEAM
We apologize for asking so much from our HES Families during a transitional period such as the startup of a new school year but we need a favor. What better way to celebrate our amazing staff by having our HES Families leave encouraging messages throughout the HES campus using sidewalk chalk. Please consider coming by HES at ANYTIME on Tuesday, September 5th to leave a quick message for members of our instructional and support staff. We will leave sidewalk chalk out throughout random locations of the campus for you and your family members to be as creative and positive as possible for our tremendous staff. We know that they will love seeing these!
ARRIVAL & DISMISSAL (safety of all children is of the upmost importance)
ARRIVAL:
If you are dropping off or walking your child(ren) to school, they should not arrive before 8:15am for safety and supervision purposes. There are two primary drop-off locations at HES:
- The loop at the front of the school is for quick drop-offs only. Parents should remain in the vehicle and student(s) MUST exit the passenger side of their vehicle onto the sidewalk. After the student(s) exit, please stay in the car line to proceed to the exit and DO NOT go around or pass any vehicles in front of you.
- The main parking lot is another primary drop-off location. Parents should pull in the one-way entrance drive from Princeton Avenue and proceed to the main lot and park. Depending on the age of the student, parents can either escort their child(ren) or let them walk to the playground or the line for their grade level. There is no quick drop-off in the right lane since that is where the buses need to pull in to unload.
Please complete the 2023-2023 HES Dismissal Waiver Form for each child that attends HES. Please review the various choices within the form and make a selection for each day of the week. Waivers should be completed before the start of school on September 7th.
In the event that there is a change in dismissal plans, please email the office staff at hwmainoffice@hvrsd.org as well as your student's teacher as soon as possible.
Bus students board their buses on the East Prospect side of the building. Dismissal for parents picking up their Gr. 1-5 student(s) occurs in the loop at the front of the school or at The Frog (statue) in the main parking lot off of Princeton Ave. Dismissal for parents picking up their Kindergarten student(s) occurs on the sidewalk of the intersection of Seminary Ave/East Prospect St (school side) which is near the Kindergarten Playground.
PTO
This is another reminder that The Annual PTO Hopewell Elementary Back to School Picnic will be held on FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8th from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM on the HES Fields.
The event is sponsored by our PTO and is a wonderful way to reconnect with friends you haven't seen all summer, as well as meet some new families too!
Come out and enjoy inflatables, a live DJ and grab some great new HES merchandise! We recommend you bring your own blanket. The PTO will be selling pizza by PRE-ORDER ONLY, please place your order HERE BY TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5TH, to ensure your dinner will be delivered to the event. Please be sure to fill out the Google form AND click the PayPal link to pay in advance. We will also have drinks and desserts for sale at the event. We look forward to celebrating the start of what is sure to be a great school year together. Can't wait to see you all there!
Our PTO works very hard to make each year special for students, teachers, and families. They plan many events to create a positive school community within the larger community. The PTO co-presidents this year Kendra Brito and Joanna Irene. The PTO committees have already been hard at work planning various back to school events such as the one above. We encourage you to get involved in the PTO!
SAVE THE DATE
- September 5th - Leave an encouraging message or picture at anytime on our campus blacktops or sidewalks for our incredible HES Staff
- September 7th - First Day of School, 8:30am, Use Large Parking Lot Entrance
- September 8th - Open House for Preschool Families, 10:00-10:45am & 11:00-11:45am
- September 8th - PTO's Back-to-School Picnic, 5:30-7:30pm, Use Large Parking Lot Entrance
- September 11th - First Day of Preschool, 9:00am (AM PEECH & SKIP) & 12:30pm (PM PEECH)
- September 15th - October 15th - HES celebrates National Hispanic Heritage Month
- September 23rd - Hopewell Boro's Annual Hopewell Harvest Fair, 9:00-4:00pm, HES Campus
- September 24th - Rain Date for Hopewell Boro's Annual Hopewell Harvest Fair, 9:00-4:00pm, HES Campus
- September 25th - Schools & Offices Closed for Yom Kippur
- October 5th - Back-to-School Night, 6:00-8:00pm, Use Visitor's Entrance
Previous Community Newsletters (and School Communication)
This section of our monthly correspondence is dedicated to posting our older community newsletters so that you can refer back to previous HES communication. We also recommend that you regularly visit our school's website to stay informed with the latest events and happenings at HES, including the Back to School Forms section. At this time, there are forms that need to be returned. Please take a moment to review, print, and complete the documents found in this section.
Previous Newsletters: