Hopkins Elementary School Update

Santa's Secret Shop will be open for student shoppers on Monday, December 9th through Friday, December 13th during the school day. The program allows children to purchase their own special holiday gifts for family and friends. There will be adults helping your child make their gift selections and all gifts will come home bagged/wrapped and labeled. Please fill out the money envelopes to indicate how much money your child can spend on each person and specifically who they are shopping for. Items range from $0.50 to $10. Money envelopes should be sent in with your child on their shopping day and checks can be made out to Hopkins Elementary HOPE. Shopping bags will be provided but if you have your own please send it in on your child's shopping day.

With winter weather in the forecast (this weekend and early next week), please make sure you send your students to school with the correct attire for outdoor recess. As a reminder, students will go out to recess each day unless the wind chill (taking the temperature and wind speed into account) is below zero.

During the 23-24 school year, Hopkins Public Schools hired nurses through Community Caregivers to provide nurse services to the district. Over the last year, we have been working on ensuring our policies and procedures match what is required from the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) and the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services (MDHHS).

A few notes that have come up.

• If you would like our office to keep over the counter medications in the office. We need this form completed by the family. For these types of medications (ibuprofen, Tylenol, topical ointments), we do not need a physician to sign off. https://www.hpsvikings.org/wp-content/uploads/fm5330-f1a-Permission-Form-for-Non-Prescription-Medication-revised-5-26-2023.pdf
• If our office is required to dispense prescribed medications or treatments, we will need this form completed, which requires a physician's signature: https://www.hpsvikings.org/wp-content/uploads/fm5330-f1-Permission-Form-for-Prescribed-Medication-revised-5-26-2023.pdf
• Our offices do not keep a supply of medications in the office to hand out (ibuprofen, Tylenol, allergy medicine). If you child needs these, you will need to fill out the first form and bring in a brand new, not opened, not expired bottle for us to use only for your child.

The Hopkins Middle School PARTNERS PTO group is selling fleece Hopkins Vikings blankets for $25. You can order them by going to this link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSedNhzzbeCN5nINo-GjyNId8qRWdvkPDiJ9k14GIfRbGC30Ig/viewform

The Mobile Dentist will visit HES on Tuesday, January 21st. The Mobile Dentist is through the Michigan Dental Association and to show their commitment to provide the best oral health care across Michigan, they provide this opportunity to schools. Parents who want their kids to be seen should fill out this form: https://www.myschooldentist.com/Default.aspx

For anyone interested in information about Bittersweet Ski Area Club Cards, there is information in the office for you or your child to pick up. Cards can be used for one beginner lift ticket and rental equipment discounts.

For the 2024-2025 school year, Hopkins Elementary School and Sycamore Elementary School revamped their handbooks. Earlier in August, the Hopkins Board of Education approved the changes. You can view the handbook here: https://www.hpsvikings.org/wp-content/uploads/24-25-Elementary-Handbook.pdf

A couple changes of note:

• Behavior Expectations - Page 15 - includes levels, consequences, and shows you the progressive discipline implemented.
• Student Appearance - Page 18 - updated language.
• Field Trips - Page 19 - includes information on how discipline effects field trips.

FinalForms should be updated every year! Remember it has your contact information in it and we know things change over the course of the summer.

Please take a few minutes to make those changes so we have everything we need for your child!

You can access FinalForms by selecting this link.