Hopewell's Happenings

Welcome back! We hope everyone had a wonderful Spring Break, relaxing and spending quality time as a family. With a busy March at HES it was a welcome respite!

The month of March started off with the annual HES Book Fair. As always the fair was a success and enjoyed by all students staff and parents. Thank you to the PTO and especially Jill Guiseppe for all your hard work!

During the first week of March we celebrated Read Across America Week with a spirit-themed week and a goal to foster a love for reading. During Read Across America Week, we welcomed Brittany Ennis, the sister of one of our favorite maintenance workers here in the district, Chad Ennis. She holds the national title for the Miss Agriculture USA Organization. Miss Ennis read aloud in classrooms and educated students about agriculture in NJ.

Continuing with our reading theme, we also welcomed author Roxie Munro to HES. She met with students from Preschool to 5th Grade sharing her books and her process of becoming an author. Thank you to the PTO for orchestrating her visit.

March was also busy with educational passion, as our 3rd-graders curated the Biography Bonanza and our 1st-graders unveiled the Mammal Museum. The students did a fantastic job and showcased their hard work to parents, staff, and students.

Music filled the air as the HES Advanced Orchestra brought joy to the Pennington Montessori School and Brandywine Assisted Living this past month. The MercerMe article highlighting their great work is linked Here. Meanwhile, our budding 2nd-grade violinists dazzled proud parents during their Open Houses.

One of the big highlights of the month was the HES Talent Show. Students showcased their many talents on stage for a fun evening to benefit our HES Student Council. Our Student Council representatives and officers worked very hard to create an entertaining and memorable evening.

We finished off the month with our inaugural HES Pep Rally to kickoff Spring Break, The Hopewell Way. All clubs participated and the competition was fierce among staff and students as the 5th-graders faced off with staff in the staff-student basketball game. Check out this short video of our students cheering on Freddy at the beginning of the Pep Rally.

We look forward to the weather getting warmer and April sunshine to arrive.

This is a friendly reminder that registration for our upcoming HES Color Run closes Tuesday, April 16th. Registrants are only guaranteed a shirt if they sign-up by Tuesday, April 9th.

All proceeds will support our Nature Harmony Project and HES Green Team in their quest to improve/maintain our outdoor learning spaces!

Please consider registering today by clicking here!

Each registered runner has received a 99 pledges fundraising page. Don’t forget to pay your registration fee (individuals: $30/runner or family discount: pay for 2 runners, get 1 free).

We also encourage you to share this page out to family and friends and via social media! Each additional $50 of fundraising (after registration fee) guarantees your runner an extra color packet and an entry into a race day giveaway. We appreciate any and all of your fundraising efforts.

Special thanks to HES PTO for supporting this event!

The HES PTO is excited to announce our latest fundraiser because you don't have to buy ANYTHING!

With assistance from the 5th grade, we're collecting gently worn, used and new shoes to raise money to support our students and enrich their experience at HES. Not only do you help the HES PTO, but the shoes also get a second life with those in need. It's a double donation!

The PTO will earn funds based on the total weight of the pairs of used, gently worn, and new shoes collected, as Funds2Orgs will issue a check for the collected shoes. Anyone can help by donating gently worn, used and new shoes at HES. All donated shoes will then be redistributed throughout the Funds2Orgs network of micro-enterprise (small business) partners. Funds2Orgs works with micro-entrepreneurs in helping them create, maintain and grow small businesses in developing countries where economic opportunity and jobs are limited.

We will have collection bins by the HES front office during April & May, and will bring collection bins for all school events (Color Run, May Day, etc.). The more shoes we collect, the more money we make- so grab shoes you no longer need from your closets, your relatives, and your friends and give them to HES!

For more information, contact:

Jill Perhach, Director of Fundraising for the HES PTO

jill.perhach@gmail.com

Preparations for additional outdoor learning spaces at HES are in full swing. Thanks to our amazing Facilities Department, the old garden equipment has been removed and repurposed to our newly improved Kinder-garden, making way for new and exciting additions (see before and after photos below). Stay tuned for more news and updates coming soon!

This years Take Your Child to Work Day is Thursday, April 25th. Please use this Google FORM for attendance purposes. Thank you!

As the weather gets warmer, the craving for ice cream intensifies. Swing by Uncle Ed's on April 25th from Noon-9pm to indulge in a delicious treat. A portion of the sales will be donated to our PTO, directly benefiting our students. Explore their website for a glimpse of everything they offer.

During HES Green Week, our Green Team will have numerous school activities planned. Preschool and Kindergarten students will be planting in the HES Kinder-garden and 1st - 5th Grade students will be planting with the Sourland Conservancy in Hopewell Borough. We are so excited to see what our Green Team has in store for HES this week!

The Great American Solar Eclipse is coming on Monday, April 8th. The path of totality will cut a wide swath through the United States, giving people from Texas to Maine the rare chance to see a total solar eclipse. Hopewell will experience a partial solar eclipse beginning at 2:10PM, peaking at 3:24PM and ending at 4:35PM. Thanks to HVRSD, all students will be provided safe solar viewer glasses to experience such a memorable moment. Prior to viewing the eclipse, we plan on stressing the importance of not looking directly at the sun with our students. We ask that you reinforce this at home as well.

I hope everyone had a restful and fun-filled Spring Break! From our SEL Day of Play to our Hopewell Way Pep Rally and many moments in between, students and staff showed their Cooperation skills as they learned and played together in the month of March

Our focus shifts to the trait of Courage in the month of April. We all experience moments in our lives when we have to choose to do what is right and kind. Sometimes, it’s not easy to know what choice to make. We need to have the right tools to make those decisions and be strong enough to follow through. Consider engaging in this family pursuit with your student to practice Courage as a family and support your student in pursuit of Courage!

As always, please reach out if you need any assistance via phone at 609-737-4007 x7206 or email at ashleylarose@hvrsd.org

Parents are invited to our annual May Day Celebration, held outside on the HES Basketball Court on May 2nd, at 2:15PM. Consider bringing a blanket or a lawn chair for seating.

We will be dancing and singing to celebrate “Summer is a-comin’ in, and Winter’s gone away-O.” This phrase is from the song “Hal-an-toe,” which we sing every year. Each class will perform a dance, and some fifth graders will weave the ribbons of the beautiful May Pole. Our rain date will be Friday, May 3rd.

LIVE MUSIC!

Parents, you are invited to join us and play the music for the dances. Our Advanced Orchestra will be playing, as will some of the HES graduates, and we’d love to have you join us. The tunes are on Ms. Mills’ teacher website found HERE.

Check out the tunes and send Ms. Mills an email if you are interested in playing (jmills@hvrsd.org).

Summer EBT is a new federal program to help families buy food for their school-aged children during the summer. Families will receive $120 for each eligible child to buy groceries during the summer. Children who receive Summer EBT benefits can still participate in other summer meal programs. Receiving benefits will not affect children or families’ immigration status. To find out more information or if you are eligible, you can find information HERE.

Library Volunteers - Calling all parents! We need your support in the HES Library. Join our team of dedicated volunteers to shelve books and organize the library. Your help ensures our students have a well-organized and inspiring reading space. Let's work together to maintain an enriched learning environment. Sign up today to be a part of our library volunteer team! Contact Mrs. White at leawhite@hvrsd.org.

If you are interested in volunteering, please view the HVRSD letter for district protocol.

Please see below for updated photos of our Lost and Found which is located by the Cafeteria. Kindly remind your children to stop down to look for any lost items. We will be donating all items on April 30th. Please take a moment to check out the photos below.

PTO Meeting:

Are you in the directory yet?

HES PTO Fundraising:

The Hopewell Township Parks and Recreation Department has a full schedule for camp programming this summer with registration opening up on March 1st. Please click on LINK for Program Guide and Registration information.

• April 1st-5th: Spring Break (School's Closed)
• April 8th: Total Solar Eclipse @ HES (2:10PM)
• April 11th: Green Team Meeting (8:00AM)
• April 17th: Student Council Meeting - Officer's & Reps (8:05AM)
• April 19th: PTO Meeting (8:45AM); 4th Grade Field Trip (Museum of American Revolution)
• April 22nd-26th: Green Week at HES
• April 22nd-24th: CogAT Administration (2nd & 3rd Grade ONLY)
• April 22nd: Deadline to Order HES Yearbook, Whole School Meeting (Wear HES Grey T-shirt)
• April 25th: Take Your Child to Work Day
• April 26th: 2nd Grade Musical Performance (2:00PM)
• April 27th: HES Color Run (11:00AM)
• April 29th: Board of Education Meeting (6:30PM)

• HES Dismissal Waiver Form
• HES Lunch Info
• HES School Calendar
• HES School Times
• HVRSD District Calendar

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 and read HVRSD's weekly Focus to stay informed with the latest events and happenings at HES.

Previous Newsletters:

• March Edition
• February Edition
• January Edition
• December Edition
• November Edition
• October Edition
• September Edition
• Back to School Edition