As part of our HPE Student Council, we have a news team that has a weekly report for our students. Thank you to Mrs. Chaves for producing this work! Our reporters are working hard this year and love delivering the news to you and our students. Here is this week's news report.
From September 15 to October 15, Americans observe National Hispanic Heritage Month, a time to celebrate the heritage, history, traditions, and cultural diversity of Hispanic Americans whose heritage is rooted in 20 countries and territories: Spain, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic.
This heritage month is celebrated mid-September to mid-October to highlight the independence of several countries. September 15 is the day that five Latin American countries celebrate their independence from Spain: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Honduras. Mexico celebrates its independence on September 16 and Chile on September 18. Also, Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples Day, or Día de la Raza, in mid-October, falls within this 30-day period.
The national observation began in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon Johnson and was expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to cover a 30-day period starting September 15 and ending October 15 of each year. It was enacted into law on August 17, 1988, on the approval of Public Law 100-402. Each year the President of the United States issues a proclamation at the start of the observance.
National Council of Hispanic Employment Program Managers - The homepage for the NCHEPM, which is the organization which selects the yearly theme for National Hispanic Heritage Month. This year's theme is "Pioneer's of Change: Shaping the Future Together"
We know that there are times when families have a need to make a change to their child’s usual dismissal routine. PickUp Patrol is an app-based system where users can quickly alert the school of a change in dismissal routine for that day. Changes will be allowed until 2:30 PM each day, at which point no dismissal changes will be accepted.
How It Works:
- Your child’s regular dismissal plan from Aspen has been entered into the system. This is called their Default Plan.
- Whenever your child is following a plan other than their Default Plan you’ll submit the change using the PickUp Patrol app.
Examples of a plan change:
· Your child has a doctor's appointment and will be leaving early.
· Your child normally rides the bus but is getting picked up today.
· Your child normally goes to an afterschool program but will be taking the bus today.
- 3. When the change is submitted, the school will be notified. Before the end of the school day, the teachers are notified and we’ll relay the change to your child.
If you have any questions, please first check the PUP Parent Guide, then contact us in the main office. Please remember that PickUp Patrol changes only reflect that single day, not the on-going default plans. If you need to make a change to a default plan, please do so in the Aspen portal, or feel free to email me (mara.shanahan@andoverma.us), and I will make sure that default plan is reflected in PickUp Patrol.
-Our PTO held its first meeting this past Tuesday. We have an active PTO and are always looking for more volunteers. There are plenty of ways to get involved. Check out the website for information. In addition, if you want to receive our newsletters, click on the link on the website or fill out this form.
We have a Get Involved Section of the website with information on how to volunteer for school related events and activities. We want to highlight three pieces of information:
-OWL (Outdoor World of Learning): OWL is a science and nature program run by parent volunteers. We need 3 to 4 volunteers per class for this program to work. An instructor from The Four Winds Nature Institute educates parent volunteers who then present the OWL lessons in their child's class. It is easy and fun! All information, lesson plans, activities, and materials are provided. Please sign up here.
-High Plain School Gear: We have lots of High Plain spirit! You can purchase school gear at any time here.
-Mum-Raiser at Konjoian's, September 28th & September 29th: Bring the vibrant colors of fall to your garden with hardy mums, asters and ornamental grasses. Konjoian’s Nursery has graciously agreed to host another Mum-Sale this weekend for HPE. Show this email at checkout and a portion of your purchase will be given to our school! OPEN: 10am - 4pm, 225 Chandler Road, Andover, MA 01810
NAME/BUS TAGS (For Kindergarten and Grade 1 Students)
Your child’s teacher will give you a name tag necklace on the first day. Please have your kindergartner or first grader wear the nametag until further notice.
SCHOOL BUS
Bus transportation to and from school is provided free of charge to elementary students. Kindergarten students must be met by a known adult at the bus stop. Bus routes are available for families in the Aspen portal. This will state your drop-off and pick-up times. As the year begins, please know that your bus could arrive 10 minutes early or later than what is stated in Aspen. We appreciate your patience.
CAR PICKUP/DROPOFF
Please note that there are differences in morning arrival and afternoon car pick up. In the morning, you may arrive by using the High Plain Rd. entrance or the Cross St. entrance. In the afternoon, you can only arrive through the Cross St. entrance. The High Plain Rd. entrance is closed to allow buses. Both morning and afternoon arrival, all vehicles must turn right when leaving the drop off/pick up line.
Morning Arrival: 8:45-9:00
· Morning car drop-off begins at 8:45 at the High Plain main entrance sidewalk. You may use the High Plain Rd. and Cross St. entrances.
· The staff will supervise the children as they exit the car in the HPE Circle area.
· Please follow the staff’s direction as they will have a series of cars pull up for children to exit.
· All vehicles must turn right when leaving the drop off lane in the AM.
· There is no supervision before 8:45 AM and students should not be dropped off before that time.
· The children will have supervised play on the playground until 8:55 AM.
· If you arrive after 9:00, please park and walk your child/children into the building. You will need to sign your child into school. You will find the sign-in book in our school foyer.
Afternoon Car Pick Up: 3:30
· Any student being picked up by car should be picked up via the pick-up line.
· This line moves quickly and has the support of assigned assistant staff to escort students safely to their cars.
· Please enter only through the Cross St. entrance and join the line and stay to the right. The High Plain Rd. entrance is not available for the afternoon.
· Please leave an opening at all intersections for buses to pass the waiting car line and negotiate turns into the bus drop off area.
· If you arrive before the car line is in motion, please be aware of the Massachusetts Anti Idling Law (MGL Chapter 90 16B, 540 SMR 27.00), as posted.
· Drivers should have a visor card with their child’s last name on it, displayed on the rearview mirror.
· Visor cards may be picked up at the school office any day and we will have extra for you during the first few weeks of school.
· Please turn right after picking up your student and exit through Cross St. so traffic flow will be one way.
· Please make your child’s teacher aware, via the PickUp Patrol app, when there are any changes to the default dismissal plan.
WALKERS & BIKE RIDERS:
· For morning arrival, a school crossing guard will be at the Cross Street/Brady Loop entrance.
· All AM walkers and bike riders should use the Cross St. entrance and the sidewalks that follow the front side of the school.
· Bike Riders: Only students in grades 3, 4, and 5 may ride a bike to and from school. A permission form must be completed with the main office.
· At dismissal, there are 2 groups of walker students and 1 group of bike riders. All Kindergarten students must be released to an adult.
· Walker line 1 and bike riders will be escorted from the Wood Hill cafeteria to the Cross Street/Brady Loop entrance and crossed by the crossing guard.
· Walker line 2 will be escorted to the end of the High Plain driveway.
· No adult should attempt to pick up a walker or bike rider at the Wood Hill circle or parking lot.
This is a reminder that the High Plain Road entrance is closed to cars at dismissal. It is the access entrance for buses only. The Cross Street entrance is how cars enter for car pickup. This is a safety concern. We have seen cars try to sneak in daily and it's simply not fair to those who are following the dismissal procedures. We ask you to be respectful of your fellow HPE community members and abide by this rule.
This week, we reviewed the bus behavior expectations and rules with all bus riders. This is what we are expecting, and we appreciate you reinforcing this message. These are put in place to keep our students safe.
These are the rules we discussed:
1. The school bus is another classroom, and the bus driver is the teacher in charge.
2. Like a classroom, we use indoor voices.
3. We pick one seat for the ride and stay in that seat for the whole ride.
4. Kindergarteners sit in the front, and we sit by grade with fifth graders in the back.
5. We can have 2-3 students per seat.
6. We only stand up when we are getting on or off the bus.
7. Backpacks and instruments go on your laps or the floor between your legs.
8. We can talk with the friends around us, staying seated the whole time.
9. Electronics stay in the backpacks, just like a school classroom.
10. If we follow these rules, the bus driver can drive safely and we show kindness to one another.
Thank you for reminding the students of these expectations. We appreciate your help as we all know that the ride to and from school sets the tone for how the rest of our day goes.
Car Pickup Dismissal, Student Expectations and Safety Reminders
We want to continue sharing the conversations and expectations that we are having with our students around school safety. We are fortunate that we can get close to 100 students in their cars and on their way in about a 10-minute period. Thank you for hanging your placard with your child’s name (in dark font) in the window. If you need a placard, let us know. We thank you for supporting this message at home.
Students waiting to be picked up have two important jobs:
To have a calm body (standing safely in their grade level line).
To pay attention and watch for their car.
We will bring students outside to line up at their grade level spots. Students stay in their lines and focus on the cars coming through for pickup. All games, toys, and materials are to stay in their backpacks. Once they see their car, they can enter when the car comes to a stop and go along your way!
Walker Safety Reminders
We know we have many students who walk to and from campus. We appreciate how this option supports our families in the neighborhood. We wanted to take a moment to review the walker safety reminders and expectations.
We have crossing guards at the High Plain Elementary School entrance on High Plain Road and at the Wood Hill Middle School entrance on Cross Street. All students should cross and enter the driveway at these crosswalks. Students should follow the directions given by the crossing guards to ensure a safe crossing.
If for some reason you have parked, for students in grades K-2, please exit your vehicle and meet your child where the crossing guard is located. Although the children are out of our sight and care, our staff want to make sure we have a safe reunification at the end of the day.
We are all working to manage the age of technology and are looking for support between school and home. Many children have new smart devices and the elementary schools have some guidance.
A kind reminder to our families that cell phones must be turned off and in students’ backpacks at the start of the school day. Smartwatches may be worn as regular watches, however, students are not allowed to text, communicate with others, use applications, take pictures or videos, or access social media services and websites.
Should parents/guardians urgently need to reach their child during the school day, we ask that you call the main office. Students are also allowed to come to the main office if they need to contact someone at home. If a cell phone or watch becomes a significant distraction, school administrators will reach out to parents/guardians. The Andover Public Schools is not responsible for lost, stolen, damaged, or broken devices.
To promote healthy digital habits during the school day, the resources below may be helpful to use. We appreciate your partnership as we work to keep interruptions to the school day at a minimum.
Resource for Apple Watches:
How to set a School Time schedule
Open the Watch app on your iPhone. Tap All Watches, then tap your child's watch.
Tap Done, then tap Schooltime.
Turn on Schooltime, then tap Edit Schedule.
Choose the days and times when you want Schooltime to be active.
Tap Add Time if you want to set up more than one schedule in a day.
Resource for Gizmo Watches:
How to set up School mode
Open the. Gizmo Hub app.
Tap the. School mode switch. turn on or off. If necessary, set up a School Mode schedule.
In School Devices
K-3 Devices will stay in school.
4-5 Devices can be brought home if directed by the classroom teacher to complete an assignment. Otherwise, they will remain in school.
Breakfast and lunch are once again free to all students. Breakfast is served from 8:45-8:55 each morning and no advanced ordering is needed.
Lunches will need be preordered. Lunch requires families to order in advance to ensure we have the correct allergy-friendly lunch for all our students. It is very important that our cafeteria has an accurate lunch count each day. Please review with your children each morning what you have ordered for them.
Information about the Andover Public Schools lunch program, as well as menus and instructions for online ordering, may be found on the website here: http://www.andoverschoolnutrition.com/
School Hours of Operation
8:30 am: School office opens
8:45 am: School drop off
9:00 am: School day begins
After 9:00 am: Children are tardy and must be accompanied by a parent into the office
After 2:00 pm: Unless it's an emergency, no dismissal changes
Students must be dismissed before 3:00
3:30 pm: School ends
Ms. Sarah Leveque, Principal
Email: sarah.leveque@andoverma.us
Website: https://aps1.net/212/High-Plain-Elementary-School
Location: 333 High Plain Road, Andover, MA, USA
Phone: 978-247-8600