Roland Hayes School

Our North Star

“When children and teachers feel engaged, safe, and supported we have room to grow and learn through collaboration and risk-taking with our peers.”

Previous "Community Notes" can be found here: https://www.brookline.k12.ma.us/domain/718

The "Community Notes" is sent every other week. Thanks for reading!

A Diwali note from Mr. Patel, our Vice Principal:

Happy Diwali and New Year! Each year, when I celebrate Diwali, I am reminded of the smell of firecrackers and the taste of sweet treats. As a child, Diwali meant bowing down to our elders and then eagerly looking up, hoping they would hand me an envelope filled with money. It was always a bit awkward when I waited too long, anticipating a gift from distant relatives. These are core memories from my childhood, filled with excitement and joy.

It wasn't until I volunteered in high school, helping to organize a Diwali celebration for kids in Chicago, that I began to understand the deeper meanings of the festival. Diwali isn’t just a one-day event but a multi-day celebration that many use to usher in the New Year, reflect on the past, overcome personal flaws, and celebrate the victory of good over evil. As I think about my own children, I consider how to instill these lessons not just during Diwali but throughout the entire year. I believe that is the true spirit of celebrating Diwali.

This year, Diwali falls on October 31 and the New Year on Saturday, November 2. I will be at our local Hindu mandir in Lowell for the New Year. We welcome all guests to experience the festivities, the colors, and even taste the mountain of food...all free!

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Fun Run Thanks!

Below is a larger recap of our inaugural Fun Run. But I want to especially thank our PTO Co-Presidents, Theodora and Lisa, for their relentless efforts in shepherding this incredible event this year. They took a small idea and turned it into a school-wide, joyful event that will literally pay dividennds all year.

We are equally thankful for all of the generous giving. The funds donated ... over $35,000!!!! ... goes directly to our kids. Your financial support means the world to us. Thanks so very much!

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Halloween

Costumes and Candy

It's almost that time! Halloween! Here at Hayes we don't have any specific plans to dress up and most people do not come to school in costume. If your child does want to dress up in school, we ask that costumes have NO masks, NO weapons, and NO gore/horror themes.

Most importantly: please do not send candy into the school after Halloween. We have students with severe allergies in our classrooms and Halloween candy can trigger allergic reactions, bot mild and severe.

Halloween Road Closures

For more PTO news and events, please visit our website:

https://www.hayespto.org/

Did you know we are also on Facebook?

https://www.facebook.com/groups/hayesschoolpto

The Hayes PTO annual family night at the Brookline Booksmith is on Thursday, November 7 from 5:30-7:30 pm!

20% of all sales during that time will go to our PTO. It's a wonderful time to hang out in Coolidge Corner and support our local business! There will be free gift wrapping and LOTS OF fun raffle items. So mark your calendars and we hope to see you there!

Can you help us with the event? Sign up to volunteer to setup, greet, wrap gifts, or clean up.

OH HOW GREAT IT IS TO BE A PART OF HAYES!

$35,244 in 17 DAYS! 160% vs. our goal! 564 donations! 220 student fundraisers! 36 parent volunteers!

This community defied expectations and exceeded even the wildest dreams - not just in (huge!) generosity but in positivity, inclusivity, volunteerism, and contagious team spirit.

We are forever indebted to all Hayes teachers and administrators who took up this cause and graciously committed to making it happen!

CONGRATULATIONS to all our students for supporting their school in such a meaningful way!

And when you see them, please thank our selfless volunteers who made it all possible: Chris Weeks, Paula Chueiri, Yen-Lin Chen, Barbara Diecker, Sarah Dimascio, Daryl Donatelli, Avery Forman, Anna Gall, Dubrazka Graterol, Ashley Harmon, Julie Hong, Chelsey Huffman, Lisa Kang, Matt Killeen, Daniel Ko, Lara Mego, Kalin Nikolov, Ana Maria Ramos, Colm Regan, Courtney Renkes, Tommy Renkes, Kevin Rhoads, Tiffany Rinne, Ardasha Rittenberg, Nathalie Roberts, Thad Roberts, Jennifer Segel, Shirley Shi, Niketa Shroff, Anabelle Skalleberg, AmyBeth Smith, Christina Sutherland, Renay Thomas, and Marlou Van Maaen

And ... while everyone is a Fun Run winner, the fundraising WINNERS are:

• WINNING GRADE: 3rd grade
• CLASS WITH THE MOST DOLLAR AMOUNT: 3F raising $4,565 with 61 donations
• CLASS WITH THE MOST DONATIONS: 3A raising $4,461 with 69 donations
• HONORABLE MENTIONS: KBK, 4B, 1H, KC, 5H, 1R, 4O, 5Perk, 2T and 6-O'Shea

Here are our attendance statistics for October (to date):

• Our daily attendance rate is 95.7%; the District average is 96.5.
• Our middle schoolers have great attendance, with Grade 6 still doing amazing work of being in school each day. On the whole, middle school attendance is above our school average (98.3%)
• Grade 1, 2, 3, and 4 averages fall below our school average (94.9%)

Here is our data on Tardies:

Over 300 students have been tardy this month. The bell rings at 8:00; that is truly when instruction begins. At 8:01, we start logging students as tardy. Please have children to school on time and plan your mornings accordingly. Students can arrive as early as 7:30, so plan to drop students off early to help start their day off right.

• The Grade with the highest amount of tardies is Grade 4. Thanks for decreasing these numbers in November.
• Grade 6 is crushing it with 10 tardies this month!
• The Grade 7 and 8 students are also doing well.

Are you struggling to get your kids to school? Is your child experiencing reluctance to come to school? Is your student experiencing persistent illness that prevents them from attending school? WE CAN HELP or direct you to services that can help. Please reach out.

What is the AAPI Affinity Group?

The Asian American Pacific Islander Affinity Group is a safe and welcoming space for students in grades 6-8 who identify themselves as being from an Asian heritage. We offer an opportunity to come and be together as a group while we enjoy foods and small activities that represent students’ cultures.

Group activities have included mandala decorating, learning to make fresh spring rolls, origami, Chinese Chess, and our ever popular Bubble Tea Field Trip. Students take turns to bring in a homemade snack to share which will be compiled into the AAPI family recipe book we are making this year.

The group officially started to meet in the Fall of 2022, in order to support our AAPI students and provide them with a space to come together to learn and to feel more connected to one another.

The AAPI Affinity Group meets during middle school lunch and recess from 10:50 -11:17 am on Thursdays, meeting approximately every other week in the library. The group is led by Grace Hung - Upper Learning Center Paraprofessional and Carolyn Magnanti - School Adjustment Counselor.

Student Product: Coming Soon

The AAPI crew is developing and cookbook that, when done, will be shared school-wide! We hope that once it is published that many, many Hayes families will try their hand at these cherished family recipes. Stay tuned!

What is an affinity group?

An affinity group is a designated “brave space,” where everyone in that group shares a particular identity. This identity can be based on race, gender, sexual orientation, language, nationality, physical/mental ability, socio-economic class, family structure, religion, etc. Affinity groups can be a place for people in a community to come together to learn more about their identifiers and to feel more connected based on those identifiers. During affinity groups, participants, might share and talk about their experiences or focus on working towards a particular mission or goal.

The Scholastic Book Fair is coming to the library October 28-November 1, so look out for the flyer coming home soon! We highly encourage you to set up an e-wallet so your child doesn't have to carry cash (the fair accepts cash, cards, and ewallets).

1. To set up an ewallet for your child, head to the BOOK FAIR WEBSITE.

2. Kindly consider making a donation to the Hayes School ewallet. The funds are used to purchase items for students who otherwise would not be able to purchase anything. DONATE HERE (don't worry that it says "kindergarten" - it applies to all grades).

Students will attend Book Fair with their classes during the school day (homeroom teachers can communicate with you about what day that is). Families are welcome to shop after school 2:30-3:00 Monday-Thursday (the fair closes at 11:30 on Friday). There is also an option to purchase items online October 25-November 7 via the fair website.

Please note: Scholastic included two books on the flyer that are not available for purchase at the fair — The Mr. Beast book and New Girl (New Girl can be purchased online).

Thank you and see you at the fair!

Librarian

The Hayes School

Brookline, MA

@lindsayteaches

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1IORR3PVR6DMB?ref_=wl_share

November is National Native American Heritage Month, American Diabetes Month, and Epilepsy Awareness Month.

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• Monday, October 28th - Friday, November 1st: Fall Book Fair

• Monday, October 28th: Rainbow Club, Grade 4, 11:20-11:50am

• Tuesday, October 29th: GSA, 10:50-11:20am

• Wednesday, October 30th: Model UN, 11:20am-12:05pm

• Monday, November 4th: Rainbow Club, Grade 3, 11:20-11:50am

• Tuesday, November 5th: School Closed: Professional Development Day: No School for Students; Teachers and Paras Report

• Wednesday, November 6th: Model UN, 11:20am-12:05pm

• Thursday, November 7th: AAPI Group (Library), 10:50-11:20am

• Thursday, November 7th: PreK-6 Early Dismissal @ 12:40pm

• Thursday, November 7th: Roland Hayes School Night @ Brookline Booksmith, 4:00-8:00pm

• Friday, November 8th: PEP, 8:05-8:30am

• Monday, November 11th: School Closed: Veterans Day Holiday

• Tuesday, November 12th: GSA, 10:50-11:20am

• Wednesday, November 13th: Model UN, 11:20am-12:05pm

• Wednesday, November 13th: PreK-8 Early Dismissal @ 12:40pm

• Thursday, November 14th: Picture Retake Day

• Friday, November 15th: Hayes Movie Night, 6:00-8:00pm

Nothing this week; keep watching this space for upcoming events and updates.

Nothing this week; keep watching this space for upcoming events and updates.

It was a joy to celebrate our Cross Country team on the 18th. The weather was stunning - perfect for a run - and our students gave 100%. Special thanks to Coach Ikonne, the many parents in attendance, and the Athletics Department who made the event such a success. (Thanks Lisa Kang for the great pic!)

I hope that whatever you do, that ypu'll also give 100%!

Have an amazing weekend ahead, everyone.

~ Asa

This parcel of land that our school sits upon is a special and sacred place.

Before this place was a Town, before our school was here, before this neighborhood was called “The Settlement” or “Chestnut Hill,” and before this land was a farm, this land was held by the Massachusett, the people Indigenous to this place. The Massachusett were the caretakers of this site, living full lives, raising families, and burying their dead right here. We recognize and honor this history, and seek to create thoughtful land stewards and citizens for generations to come.

As a public school, our primary objective is to ensure access, membership, and participation of all community members in our care; with this land acknowledgment we state our willingness to work towards that vision where all feel a true and abiding sense of belonging.

Roland Hayes School

The Public Schools Of Brookline | A METCO Partnership School

Dr. Asa Sevelius, Ed.D. | Principal

Email: asa_sevelius@psbma.org

Pronouns: he/him

Mr. Kirtan Patel | Vice Principal

Email: kirtan_patel@psbma.org

Pronouns: he/him

Website: https://www.brookline.k12.ma.us/Page/17
Location: 100 Eliot Street, Chestnut Hill, MA, 02467
Phone: 617-879-4570