Hamilton Elementary
Principal's Message
Ranger Families,
What a great start to the year we've had! The first quarter has come and gone, our first report cards have been posted, and we are well into the learning routine. Thank you to all of our families who came out to our 3rd Annual Trunk or Treat last week. We saw over 1,000 members of our community that evening, and we couldn't have had more fun on such a beautiful evening. Extra thanks to those families who donated candy throughout the month. That made our event much easier to put on. In addition to our first evening event, our PTO has elected four new PTO officers and added new members. I encourage you to attend our November 6th meeting and consider joining the PTO, as we can always use additional voices and support in planning upcoming events, fundraisers, and activities for students.
You will be receiving invites for parent/teacher conferences which will be held on November 14th and 16th. We strongly encourage you to attend and take this opportunity to meet with your child's teacher to learn more about his/her progress. This collaboration is essential in getting the most out of our school year together.
Finally, as we welcome colder weather, please be sure to send your child with a jacket and other needed cold-weather clothing as the forecast dictates. Writing your child's first and last name inside items will help them from being misplaced during the school day, especially at recess. We appreciate you continued support and partnership as we continue the school year.
Trunk of Treat
Favorite Trunk or Treat Display?
Math Challenge
Challenge #1 Winners
Congrats to our Math Challenge #1 winners :)
Carter Chaffins-Smith
La'Shae Roggenkamp
Ember Thompson
Charlie Gibson
Haylie Peak
Zymirra Smiley
Daniel Dumas
Samson Hallum
Maizy Paolucci
Tiffney Brewer
Thank you all again for your support and encouraging students to participate in our Math Challenge program. You are amazing! :)
Our Busy Classrooms
Buddy Reading!
Mrs. Windle's 3rd grade class and Ms. Hill's Kindergarten class paired up to do buddy reading together. The third graders read their favorite book and also helped the kindergarteners read their short decodable reader!
Mrs. Baker's class
Mrs. Baker's class spent some time reading in the dark...with a flashlight of course! Just another way to engage our students and help them find a love for reading.
Ms. Summerfield's Class
Buckley went home with students in Ms. Summerfield's class last week. Students were able to use their storybook to write a few sentences about what they did at home with Buckley.
Life Cycle of a sunflower in Miss. Olson's class
Aurora Hauber holding a mammoth sunflower in Miss. Olson's room!
Germinated sunflower seeds.
Ms. Griffiths Computer Helpers
Mrs. Baker's Class
Mrs. Baker's 3rd graders assist Kindergarteners log -in and work on their computers!
Meet Our Teachers and Staff
Bethany Moore
Grade: 2nd Grade
Years Teaching: 25 Years
Most Memorable Teaching Moment: My most memorable moments in teaching are watching my student grow as learners. I love watching them soak up the information I am teaching them and use it. It is so rewarding when I ask a questions and my students can not only answer but have a conversation with each other using what they have learned.
Favorite Teacher Growing Up: Ms. Lewis was my favorite teacher in high school. She definitely made learning fun. It was obvious that she loved teaching which made us love learning. She took the time to get to know us and what we were interested in. She not only taught us academics, she taught us life skills that I still cherish today.
Favorite Things (Favorite Candy):Anything Milk Chocolate
Fun Fact: I have a 6th grader and 12th grader who attend Hamilton.
Mia Gambaccini
Grade: 2nd Grade
Years Teaching: This is my first year!
Most Memorable Teaching Moment: The first time my class sang our class song "Count on Me" by Bruno Mars and had their arms around each other.
Favorite Teacher Growing Up: My favorite teacher growing up was my second grade teacher, Mrs. Bott. I will never forget when she watched me play in a soccer game. I always wanted to follow in her footsteps and now I get to!
Favorite Things (Favorite Candy): I LOVE Reese's Peanut Butter Cups!
Fun Fact: I enjoy running in my free time and am currently training to qualify for the Boston Marathon.
Lisa Thompson
Position: Attendance Secretary and Plus Room
Years Experience: 3 years
Enjoy Most About Your Job: Every day is a new day! Love that our students come by and say hi!
Favorite Teacher Growing Up: My math teacher in high school, he was an amazing teacher and helped me so much.
Favorite Things (Favorite Snack): Pretzel fish
Fun Fact: I do diamond painting I have done 25 of them
Counselor's Corner
We are going to spice up our "Clifford" display case in the Kindergarten hallway. We are asking students to bring in a picture of their pet to display in the case. Their pet can be a dog, cat, fish, reptile, horse......, etc. This is OPTIONAL!
Winter Hats
A big shout-out to the knitting group at Enchanted Acres! They made and donated 2 huge bags of hand-knitted hats for our students and families! They are beautiful!!
As we enter the holiday season, we're thrilled to once again introduce our Holiday Help Program here at HLS, a heartwarming initiative that aims to provide Holiday assistance to our students in need. It's a time of year when our community can truly come together and make a positive impact on the lives of those less fortunate.
Our Holiday Help Program encompasses several meaningful activities that offer various opportunities for you, our dedicated staff, and the community at large to contribute to the joy and well-being of our students. Here's what we have in store:
PBIS Highlights
Sparky visits our Lunch room & Playground
Hamilton Township Fire Dept.
The HTFD visited with students during our lunch/recess blocks.
Sparky in the Kitchen!
The NFPA's focus for Fire Prevention Week 2023 is on cooking safety.
Keeping secrets!
Below are links to their 2023 page as well as Sparky's Schoolhouse, which includes some additional resources.
Hat Day Reward
Ms. Courter's room won last week's lunchroom incentive winners - so they earned a Hat Day!
Important Dates & Reminders
Hat, Glove, and Sock Drive (November 6 - November 21)
Help us keep our students warm this winter by donating hats, gloves, and socks. Your generosity can make the cold days a little bit more comfortable for those in need.
Attendance Information
BARK
In an effort to support student safety, mental health, and wellness, Hamilton Local Schools has partnered with BARK, a provider in K-12 student safety management on district-provided devices and platform. BARK adds an additional safety net to what we do to keep our students, staff, and schools safe. BARK monitors activity when students are signed into their district- provided Google for Education account or using the Chromebooks distributed through our one-to-one technology program. Using a combination of artificial intelligence and trained safety experts, BARK reviews students' use of online tools within Google Workspace for Education and provides real-time analysis of potentially concerning behavior or content. BARK's technology scans students' accounts for harmful content and alerts school officials if students show signs of self-harm, depression, thoughts of suicide, substance abuse, cyberbullying, credible threats of violence against others, or other harmful situations. When school officials get notified of alarming content, they intervene on the student's well-being and connect them with resources and support they may need. BARK is a product that our Schools have used since last year. BARK also identifies inappropriate words and images in Gmail, Google Drive, Google Docs, and more on the technology used by students. BARK is only in effect when students are using their school Chromebooks or logged into their school Google account. To learn more about BARK go to
From the Clinic
Health and safety reminders
Please be certain all forms and signatures are current and up to date in Final Forms. These forms provide school staff with the information of how best to reach families and emergency contacts in times of illness and emergency needs. For any medication use in school, the "Medication or
Treatment Authorization Form" must be completed and signed by the prescriber and parent/guardian. For the safety of our entire school community, the medication policy must be followed. If you have any additional questions or concerns, please reach out to the school nurse, Ms. Bennett.
Mission Statement
Every Ranger, Every Reason, Every Day!
EVERY RANGER. This phrase is meant to include everyone—every student, every staff member, every graduate and every community member. All of us working together.
EVERY REASON. The primary focus of every school system is the academic achievement of all students. Our staff and, by extension, our community take on the challenge of doing even more for our students. We educate the whole child. Whatever the need, whatever the issue, whatever the REASON we are going to work together and do the best we can for each other.
EVERY DAY. Thank you to our HLSD community for making our students a priority every day, and for always pitching in to help one another