The Compass Rose: Summer Update
Principal's Message
To the East Elementary School community:
By all accounts, summer vacation has been good to East Elementary! Many of our team members have traveled far & wide, celebrated exciting life events (weddings, moving, reuniting with family, etc.), caught up with friends and colleagues, and soaked up the sun where and when we could! We have added some new team members this summer (including classroom teaching staff, Special Education staff, and paraprofessionals) and Assistant Principal Donovan and I are excited to watch them share their talents and integrate into our team!
It's been busy here at East while our staff is away. The Extended School Year program has been running successfully (big shout-out to Director Alison Thompson from Foster School and her ESY team for designing beneficial and fun programming!), our Custodial team is hard at work getting our school back to sparkling condition, and the PreK/Kindergarten playground received new surfacing.
We'll be returning to our regular Friday afternoon updates, beginning with this edition and parents can expect information and resources within to get you set up for the upcoming school year. If there's something missing or if you have questions, please reach out to us directly and we'll be happy to help!
- Mr. Hawes
Pickup Patrol
East Elementary will continue to use PickUp Patrol as our hub for communicating all absences, transportation, dismissal/arrival notifications, and other parent needs with our Main Office and staff. Parents can set default transportation/dismissal changes, add notes or reminders to our staff regarding pickup changes and PickUp Patrol will generate a report for us each day to ensure we get your kiddos where they need to be...all from your phone! Last year we processed over 10k changes through PickUp Patrol 😲!
PickUp Patrol provides easy-to-use setup directions within the PDF below. If you need assistance, our administrative assistants are happy to help you get registered (contact kmariani@hinghamschools.org or enelson@hinghamschools.org).
PickUp Patrol resources can be found here: https://hinghamschools.org/east-elementary-school/2022/12/19/pickup-patrol/
*Please note, all new families to East (new student registrations, Kindergarten parents, etc.), we'll be sending out instructions to sign up directly to you after Aspen/X2 rolls over to the new year, however, you can sign up on your own.
Aspen Family Portal
Hingham Public Schools has expanded the use of our Aspen Family Portal for the upcoming school year! Your Family Portal provides you access to your student's report card, parent contacts, attendance records, and more. We will be releasing classroom placement via the Aspen Family Portal mid-August, be sure to register soon (directions linked below)!
https://hinghamschools.org/students-and-families/aspen-parent-portal/
Class Placement
Classroom placement will be released via Aspen Family Portal in Mid-August (we will send out notice of the exact date/time directly to families via email).
Summer Reading Resources
Please follow the link below for Summer Reading resources for grades K-12:
https://hinghamschools.org/programs/departments/english-language-arts/summer-assignments/
Water Bottles
At the spring 2023 Town Meeting, the Town of Hingham approved a ban on selling and distributing non-flavored, non-carbonated water in plastic single-use bottles. Beginning for the 2023-2024 school year, the school’s Food Services will no longer sell single-use plastic water bottles. What does that mean for our families & students?
- We encourage you to send your student to school with a reusable water bottle each day. Students will be able to fill up their water bottle in classroom water fountains or at water fountains throughout the school.
- Water bottles will not be available for purchase in our cafeteria/lunch lines. Your student will be able to purchase additional milk should they wish.
- All elementary classrooms have a functioning water bubbler. Additional water bubblers and filling stations are found throughout the school.
- We will not be able to sell, distribute, or provide single-use water bottles on school grounds or for any school events (PTO events, school-based enrichment activities, school events)
After-School Strings Is Back!
Registration for next year’s After School Strings program begins June 17th!
Open to all HPS students in grades 3 or 4.
Will operate out of all four HPS elementary schools directly after school.
The classes will run for 15 weeks, one class per week, and will finish with a class concert.
Fall session: September 2023 - January 2024
Spring session: February - June 2024.
After School Strings is designed as an introductory class for grades 3 and 4 students to expose them to instrumental enrichment and technique before the formal start of the instrumental program in grade 5. No prior experience with strings is expected for participation.
For more information, please visit: hinghamschools.org/strings
Tentative dates and times for the fall sessions below:
East Elementary:
Thursdays: (September 21 - January 11)
1st Session 3:05-3:50pm
2nd Session 4:20-5:05pm
*Class dates/times/schedule subject to change as needed based on enrollment and teacher availability.
2023-24 HPS Calendar
Save The Date ✔️ 📅
Kindergarten Orientation
Wednesday, Sep 6, 2023, 09:00 AM
Kindergarten Meet-Up (PTO sponsored event)
Wednesday, Sep 6, 2023, 12:00 PM
Picture Day
Monday, Sep 18, 2023, 09:00 AM
Curriculum Night
Wednesday, Sep 27, 2023, 06:00 PM
Contact Us:
Have questions or need assistance? Reach out to us!
Jonathan Hawes, Principal: jhawes@hinghamschools.org
Dr. Amanda Donovan, Assistant Principal: adonovan@hinghamschools.org
Karen Mariani, Administrative Assistant: kmariani@hinghamschools.org
Elisa Nelson, Administrative Assistant: enelson@hinghamschools.org
Tel: (781) 741-1570