Hathaway Happenings - Home
October 21, 2022
Dear Hathaway Families,
It's been another wonderful week in our Hathaway community! From Unity Day to Save the Bay we are learning and growing together as a community!
As always, thank you for your partnership in education!
Thank you for your help in the garden!
Hot dogs and cool cats in art class!
Our Teacher Assistant, Rowan, in art class!
Hathaway Garden Group
The garden committee would love your help with the habitat this Saturday October 22 from 10am-12pm! We had a great turn out last weekend and have most of our paths ready for mulch to be added this weekend. Refreshments and tools will be provided, the weather looks perfect, and all ages are welcome. Please join us! RSVP to Marie Stefanowicz marie@stefanowicz.com
*Have a truck?? Folks with trucks who are willing to come an hour or so in advance and help us haul mulch from Melville Park - please email Marie Stefanowicz: marie@stefanowicz.com
*Have a wheelbarrow? While not required, if you have a wheelbarrow, wagon, rake, or shovels you can bring for the morning they will be put to good use!
Keep reading for more information about our school garden, habitat, and ways to get involved!
Did you know Hathaway has its own Audubon-certified garden habitat to support important local wildlife?
The Habitat at Hathaway was designed by our teachers to allow for year-round research, quiet reflection, reading and writing and unstructured play or exploration. Recently, the Hathaway Garden Group has been working hard to keep the Habitat and its adjacent small garden beds a living resource for our students and staff. With the help of several Hathaway families, we were able to do some maintenance on the Habitat, to support the growth of our summer native pollinator plants for all to enjoy throughout the fall. This spring, Hathaway Garden Group planted the six raised beds with vegetables, herbs, and flowers for the students to experience with all of their senses. We hope to continue this maintenance so the Habitat and the garden beds can grow as a beloved space for the entire community.
Join us in the gardening work!
Do you love gardening, or want to do more gardening, learn about gardening, or just want to meet some other Hathaway families and join folks to do good work for the Hathaway community? Help us! Join us!
The Hathaway Garden Group has done a lot of work this year to enhance the Habitat and nearby gardens, so that kids of Hathaway can enjoy the winding paths among the native pollinators, and so the gardens will be there as a teaching resource and as a space to enjoy! We welcome more volunteers (families, students, staff!) to join in the fun.
How you can get involved:
1. Join the Hathaway Garden Group: we are coordinating year-round maintenance on the Habitat and on the small garden beds, which includes seasonal planting, watering, and harvesting. Join the group to receive regular updates, and to be part of that regular maintenance team - many hands make light work! Join our email list by emailing your name to Koty Sharp, kotysharp@gmail.com; please put "Hathaway Garden" in the subject line.
2. Come to a Garden Day: this season, we have planned three family gardening days (dates below), and we'd love to have folks volunteer to join us - you need only bring yourselves - we can provide tools and guidelines for the projects. The goal of our Fall Garden Days is to re-establish and re-shape the paths in the Habitat.
Mark your calendars for all of the Fall Garden Days!
Hathaway Fall Garden Days:
Saturday, October 15, 2pm-4pm
Saturday, October 22, 10am-12pm
Sunday, November 6, 1pm-3pm
Student Support
Here is a resource that further explains big emotions and offers suggestions for home and school.
Fun Walk
Hello Hathaway Families,
Thank you so much for all of the amazing Fun Walk fundraising so far! With 12% of Hathaway students raising money so far, we have reached almost $7,000. Great job!
There is still plenty of time to get your donations in. Please check out our Fun Walk website and review this flyer for more information and other payment methods available. Donations will be collected through November 8th.
Mrs. Grinnell's 1st grade class is in the lead to silly string Mrs. Little, with Mrs. Goss' 4th grade class and Mrs. Stack's kindergarten class close behind. Kindergarten is currently in the lead for top fundraising grade, but it is very close and any grade could take the lead for that extra recess.
The Fun Walk has been our biggest fundraiser in recent years and a great community building event for our students. Last year's Fun Walk raised almost $25,000 and helped support last year's field trips, purchased new curtains for the stage, and supported over $16,000 in classroom materials through HPTA Grants and Classroom and Program Wishlists already this year. This year's donations will help support this year's field trips, expansion of the Outdoor Learning Center, and additional materials for the school. All donations are tax-deductible.
Please contact Dana at dmys2105@hotmail.com with any questions!
Planet Aid Bins
Doing some fall cleaning? Swing on by the bins with your items....we earn 5 cents per pound for our Hathaway community! Spread the word and let your friends and family know, too!
HPTA News
Thank you to everyone who joined us for our October meeting! We learned all about our Wonders curriculum. 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.
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 1st - Fun Walk
November 8th - Staff PD Day/No School
November 11th - Veterans' Day/No School
November 16th - HPTA Meeting, 6:00 PM, Library
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