Dear Hope Community,

Can you believe how fast the 2024-2025 school year is approaching? I hope you have all had a fun-filled and relaxing summer, but I'm counting down the days until I get to see all of your smiling faces return to Hope!

I am beyond excited to be joining you all for my third year as principal at Hope Elementary School (wow, time is flying!). This summer I enjoyed lots of time spent by the water in Narragansett (where I even saw a few of you!), picking vegetables in my best garden to date, and even spent a week snorkeling and exploring the island of Aruba!

I look forward to continuing to work with the students, families, and Scituate community to make Hope the best place possible to learn and grow. To our new Hope students and families, we cannot wait for you to join our community!

Please do not hesitate to call the school or email me if you have any questions or concerns throughout the year.

Looking forward to a successful and exciting year!

Rebecca Toomey, Principal

rebecca.toomey@scituateschoolsri.net

• Please return chromebook devices that were borrowed by students for summer learning on the first day of school, as they will be needed for classroom instruction.
• Student information and Authorization for Student Release forms will be sent home the first week of school. Please return the form by Friday, September 6th.
  
• A digital copy of the Parent-Student Handbook will be emailed to all families. A hard copy of the signature page will be sent home. Please sign and return the last page no later than Friday, September 6th.
• Please date notes that are sent to school with students. If you are writing a note about dismissal, please write the full name of the person picking up your child. The person on the note must be listed on your "Authorization for Student Release Form".
• Clearly mark water bottles, lunch boxes, etc. with your child's name.
• If your child is gong to be absent or late to school, please call or email Mrs. Kenny at 401-821-3651 or mary.kenney@scituateschoolsri.net
• District Policy requires all parents and school volunteers to maintain a current BCI check and to RENEW all BCI checks yearly prior to volunteering in classrooms/school or field trip activities. Please contact the school office if you are in need of a form.

At the beginning of last school year (2023-2024), you completed a bus opt in/out form. A new form will not be sent out this school year. If you wish to make a change to your opt in/out status based on your child's transportation selection last school year, please email Ms. Kenney at mary.kenney@scituateschoolsri.net so she can make the change in PowerSchool.

Please reach out to First Student with any questions about bus routes and pick-up/drop-off locations. The Scituate Bus Yard number is 401-312-7819.

• Students being dropped off at school may arrive between 8:15-8:45 AM.
• Please enter the school yard through the front gate to the right of the school. Drive along the playground, loop around the basketball hoops, and please join the drop-off line outside of the recess door of the school. A staff member will greet your child at the car and walk them to the main walkway of the school. Please have your child exit on the passenger side of the car for safety reasons. If your child needs assistance getting out of the car, please park in the spaces outside of the main gate and walk your child up the walkway. This will ensure that traffic moves smoothly for both cars and buses. Thank you for understanding!
• Upon arriving at school, students will report to the cafeteria until 8:45am. If students are purchasing breakfast, they will be able to purchase and eat their breakfast in the cafeteria at this time.
• Students arriving after 8:45am must be escorted to the front door by an adult to be buzzed in by the office. For safety reasons, please do not have your child walk in alone.
• Students will be marked tardy if they arrive after 8:45am.

• Please take note of the time change for the 2024-2025 SY. Parent pick-up dismissal will begin at 2:55. Bus dismissal will begin at 3:00.
• When picking up your child, please park your car in the parking lot and report to the appropriate door to pick-up your child. Grades K-2 students will be dismissed from the back door (park in main parking lot and walk to right side of building) and Grades 3-5 students will be dismissed from the main door (near the gym).
• Please send in a dated note to the classroom teacher if you choose to pick-up your child from school on any specific day. If you are picking your child up on a regular basis, a daily note is not needed. A form will be sent home on the first day of school, in order to add your child on the parent pick-up list for the year.
• If you do not send in a note with your child the day of dismissal, please call the office prior to 2:00pm. Changes to your child's dismissal routine will not be able to be made after 2:00pm.

• If someone other than the parent/guardian is picking up, please record the full name of who will be picking up your child on a note. The person picking up must be listed on your child's “Authorization for Student Release” on the back side of your child’s Student Information Form and must bring identification to pick-up.
• If you plan to pick up your child prior to the end of the school day without sending in a note, it is very helpful to call the school prior to your arrival. This will ensure your child's teacher and your child have been notified of the early dismissal and can be properly prepared to leave school upon your arrival.
  

Breakfast and lunch are available for all students to purchase this year. The cost is $1.50 for breakfast ($.30 reduced) or $2.60 for lunch ($.40 reduced). Milk is also available to purchase for $.50.

If your child will be purchasing lunch or breakfast, you can send in cash clearly labeled with their name or add money onto their school bucks account. Below is a link to help you set up and load money onto your child's account: https://www.myschoolbucks.com/ver2/help/gethelpvideos

Families are strongly encouraged to complete the 2024-2025 meals application. Meal status provides assistance with federal programming and funding. Free and reduced lunch application forms are located below. All forms are confidential. Please direct any questions to the Superintendent's Office, 647-4100.

• All student will eat lunch in the cafeteria, three grades at a time this year.
• Grades K-2 will eat in the cafeteria from 11:30-11:55 and Grades 3-5 will have lunch in the cafeteria from 12:00-12:25.
• There will be a designated peanut/tree nut FREE table for all students with allergies.

Students can receive these awards given by a faculty or staff member for EXEMPLARY behavior in the following categories: Growth Mindset, Problem Solving, Self Control, Responsibility, Effort, Kindness, and Teamwork. These categories align with our new social emotional curriculum- Second Step.

Our Husky Hoorays will be displayed in the showcase outside of the main office. These certificates will be presented to students on Monday mornings during our (brand new!) whole school community meeting. Monthly newsletters will include photographs of our recipients.

PTA meetings will be held on the second Wednesday of each month. Our first PTA meeting will be on Wednesday, September 11th at 6:30pm in the school library.

President: Mickaela Driscoll

Vice President: Emily Piette

Secretary: Courtney Dionne

Treasurer: Mike Smith

Please email hopeschoolpta@gmail.com with any questions. We hope to see you there!

The Northwest SELAC meeting schedule for the 24-25 SY are below:

Dec 10, 2024
Feb 11, 2025
May 13, 2025

Meeting Location: Ponaganset Middle School, Room 150

Meeting Time: 6:00pm

All are welcome to join!

A key component of the program is the Independent Reading Level Assessment (IRLA), which is a tool that works with every student, at any reading level. The IRLA delivers specific and actionable data that tells the teacher where a student is, why, and the sequence of skills/behaviors she needs to learn next to accelerate her reading growth.

Parents, be on the look out for information about how to support this curriculum at home!

The Bridge to Reading Foundational Skills Curriculum combines explicit phonemic awareness and systematic phonics instruction for a comprehensive and highly effective approach to literacy instruction.

Bridge to Reading provides an ideal first step for K-2 classrooms looking to align their literacy instruction with the Science of Reading. It includes everything teachers already love about the Heggerty curriculum—it’s easy to use, seamlessly supplements your existing language comprehension resources, and provides teachers with support and knowledge to implement the curriculum with confidence.

To learn more, visit https://heggerty.org/programs/bridge-to-reading/

Bridge to Writing is a comprehensive writing curriculum that develops strong writers through research-based instruction, making writing instruction easy for teachers and engaging for students. Bridge to Writing is the only writing curriculum to combine grammar concepts with writing process instruction, providing a comprehensive writing solution for K-3 classrooms that develops strong writers through research-based instruction. This first-of-its-kind writing solution seamlessly supplements existing ELA curriculum and empowers teachers with the tools they need to foster essential writing skills in students.

To learn more, visit https://heggerty.org/programs/bridge-to-writing/

NoRedInk simplifies the process of building strong writers and critical thinkers. The platform equips teachers to deliver high-quality writing instruction by helping them engage students through writing cycles that incorporate modeling, scaffolding, practice, and feedback.

To learn more, visit https://www.noredink.com/

Parents, please note, Eureka provides a series of free Parent Tip Sheets at the topic level that include suggested strategies and models, key vocabulary, and tips for how you can support learning at home. Be on the look out for the tip sheets at the beginning of each module!

Mystery Science is a science program for grades K-5 that uses hands-on activities to explore scientific phenomena. The curriculum is designed to help students stay curious and develop critical thinking skills. It also covers social and emotional learning. Mystery Science lessons are open-and-go and use common classroom items. They include a hook, visuals, and activities. T

To learn more, visit https://mysteryscience.com/home

Beginning in mid September, students will have a 45-minute STEAM enrichment block weekly focused on various activities related to science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics. This block of time is in addition to art, music, physical education, and library. A special thanks to our STEAM teachers, Mrs. Serdechny/Mrs. Brown, Mr. Cullen, Mrs. Ethier, and Mrs. McCann for supporting this important initiative!

Second Step® Elementary is a research-based social-emotional learning (SEL) program designed to improve students’ social-emotional skills, including growth mindset, goal-setting, emotion management, kindness and empathy, and problem-solving. Studies show that these skills can support students’ school performance, increase positive social behaviors, and reduce

conduct problems such as bullying. SEL programs can also create positive classroom and school climates. Second Step Elementary is taught in the classroom, to all students, and helps students develop a common set of skills and strategies that can be practiced, used, and reinforced throughout the school community, including at home.

This curriculum will be used with all students K-5.

Visit https://www.secondstep.org/ for more information.

Hope Elementary teachers will begin fall benchmark assessments after the first two weeks of school. Staff members will then meet to analyze the data and create instructional groupings designed to provide targeted skill instruction to students with similar strengths and needs. The results of these assessments will be communicated to parents. Please do not hesitate to contact your child's teacher if you have any questions or concerns.

• 08/26: Kindergarten Orientation at Hope, 10am
• 08/28: First Day of School for ALL students
• 09/02: No School- Labor Day
• 09/03: School Committee Meeting, 7:00
• 09/05: Open House/Back to School Night 6:00-8:00pm (6-7 in classrooms, 7-8 on playground)
• 09/10: No School Students- State Primary Day (PD Day for Staff)
• 09/11: PTA Meeting, 6:30pm
• 9/17: Fall Picture Day
• 10/11: No School Students (PD Day for Staff)
• 10/14: No School- Indigenous People Day
• 11/05: No School- Election Day
• 11/11: No School- Veterans Day
• 11/27-29: No School- Thanksgiving Recess
• 12/23-12/31: No School- Holiday Recess
• 01/01: No School- New Year's Day

Email: rebecca.toomey@scituateschoolsri.net
Website: https://hope.scituateschoolsri.net
Location: 391 North Road, Hope, RI, USA
Phone: 401-821-3651