Hopewell's Happenings

We persevered through January’s chilly weather, and what a month it was!

A huge thank you to our staff and students for making the HES Day of Service a success! It was truly heartwarming to host our 5th-grade guests on Friday and to see former teachers, staff, and community seniors join in to play games and connect with our students. As a school, we also came together to create thoughtful cards and letters for those affected by the California wildfires. These messages were sent to two schools in California impacted by the fires, spreading kindness and support across the miles.

A special thank you to our incredible music teachers, Ms. Dauer & Ms. Haber, for preparing and organizing a spectacular winter concert. We also appreciate our dedicated parents for supporting their children’s practice and preparation. The performances by our instrumental and vocal ensembles were simply outstanding and thoroughly enjoyed by parents, families, and staff alike.

We also want to extend our gratitude to Megan Haber for stepping in to lead our music program following Janet Mills' retirement. As we move forward, we’re excited to welcome Marcy Gregg Vogt as our new Instrumental Music Teacher!

Don't miss the photos below capturing some of the fun moments from January!

At Hopewell Elementary, we celebrate Black History Month by honoring the achievements, contributions, and rich culture of Black Americans throughout history. We encourage families to continue the conversation at home by exploring books, music, and stories that celebrate Black heritage.

Check out this Local Event: Eventbright - Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum presents Meet Hannah Till - Live Performance - Friday, February 7, 2025 at Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum, Skillman, NJ. Find event and Ticket information HERE.

First Grade is excited to host our Whole School Meeting on Feb. 6th where we will officially kick off our Inaugural SOUPer Bowl of Caring.

• We are collecting nonperishable items from Feb. 10th through Feb. 14th to benefit The Chubby's Project.
• The grade level that collects the most items overall will be named HES 2025 SOUPer Bowl Champion and will win a Popsicle & PJ Day! We will also have divisional champions in grades Pre-K-2 and 3-5.
• See flyer for more information and details

Put on your dancing shoes! The PTO is hosting a Valentine’s Day Dance on Friday, February 7th, exclusively for 2nd, 3rd and 4th graders. Find more details by clicking on the provided link HERE. Stay tuned for upcoming information about a special event for Kindergarten and 1st grade students.

The HES PTO is proud to present New York Times Bestselling Author & Illustrator Matt Phelan! Mr. Phelan is coming to Hopewell Elementary on February 20th!

Matt Phelan is a New York Times bestselling author and illustrator of picture books, graphic novels, and chapter books for young readers. Some of his notable titles include the historical fiction books “The Storm in the Barn” and “Bluffton” and the playful and funny series about Plum the peacock, including books like “Leave It To Plum” and “Snow Day for Plum.”

We are excited for the 2025 Book Fair, scheduled for March 3–5! All students will visit the Book Fair with their homerooms, and families are warmly welcome to visit each afternoon, from 3:30 to 7:30pm on March 3 and 4, and 3:30 to 5:00pm on March 5. Please mark your calendars, and watch your email for volunteer opportunities. Thank you in advance for helping to make this year’s book fair a success!

Please be in touch with us if you have any questions:

After reviewing 67 creative and colorful submissions, we are excited to announce the winners of this year’s Yearbook Title Page Contest!

Honorable Mentions:

• Whitney Madalon – Ms. Needham/Ms. Cohn’s Kindergarten
• Aarush Singla – Ms. Pontani’s 1st Grade
• Brayden Backus – Mr. DeLorenzo’s 2nd Grade
• Amelia Paulson – Ms. Devereaux's 3rd Grade
• Emma Kinder - Mrs. Maloney's 4th Grade
• Olivia Mooney – Ms. Scotti/Ms. Pfau’s 5th Grade
  
  

And the overall winner of the 2024-2025 Yearbook Title Page Contest is… Phoebe Bardar from Ms. Schram’s class! 🎉

We are so proud of every student who submitted a design—your creativity and talent made this a tough decision! Thank you for sharing your amazing artwork with us!

****** It’s not too late to secure your copy! Copies of this year’s yearbook are still available for purchase online. To purchase a copy, log on to irvinsimon.com/pictavo and enter our school code 725565. After completing the required fields, payment can be online. Yearbook sales will close May 9, 2025.

News for students by students! We are so proud of all of our members of the Newspaper Club who put a lot of effort into making their articles. You will get to learn more about what is happening at the school, learn more about teachers, pets of HES and so much more! Thank you for taking the time to read our paper! Don't forget to check out the special podcast all about school news!

January Newspaper

This tournament is open to all 3rd – 5th grade students and is free to register and play. Tournament Dates are March 3rd - March 21st. For more information, click the following link:

2025 March Mania Packet

This fun tournament is designed to bring school spirit to the forefront and allows for friendly competition between the schools. The winning team in each bracket will receive trophies, and the school will receive the HOPEWELL VALLEY YMCA TOM JACKSON BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT DICK FITZPATRICK TROPHY to be displayed at the school for the year. Registration closes 2/23/2025.

• Boys Division Registration Link to Register
• Girls Division Registration Link to Register

Girls in Gear Spring Season will be starting late April. Registration opens Friday, February 14th. See flyer for more information.

One of the most anticipated evenings of the year is coming soon! Designed in response to the increasing demands of work and school on personal and family time, this community-wide initiative was created for families to “take the night off” to spend time together. With the support of our school officials, parents, and community leaders, all sports practices, classes and homework will be canceled on this special evening.

Make it a tech-free night! Don't know what to do with your night off? Visit this link for some great ideas!

• Kindergarten Registration will open on February 10th.

• Kindergarten Camp will be held Monday through Thursday, 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. (four days a week) on the weeks of July 7th - 10th and July 14th - 17th at each elementary school. Please Note: your child must be registered for Fall 2025 Kindergarten in order to attend. The cost for attending two weeks is $300. If your child is only attending one week, it is $150. Transportation is not provided. Kindergarten Camp Registration will also open on Feb. 10th.

• PEECH (Preschool & Early Education for Children of Hopewell) Program Registration is now open.

Celebrate the HVRSD 2024-2025 Governor's Award Recipients including our own Leah Anderson at the Annual HVEF Above and Beyond Celebration. Click here for more information.

Date: Friday, March 21, 2025

Location: Hopewell Valley Vineyards

Time: 6:30-9:30pm

Thank you for supporting your child(ren)’s pursuit of Perseverance last month. We have loved seeing students (and therapy dogs) set and already reach some of their goals. See below for some pictures of goal-setting activities students engaged in during the month of January.

During the month of February, our CharacterStrong focus shifts to the trait of Honesty. February also commences with National School Counseling week. National School Counseling Week is recognized this year from February 3-7, 2025. It is an advocacy week for counselors to support our role in schools and thank the staff and families that support our program! Check out the infographic to see a by-the-numbers look into the comprehensive school counseling program at HES. As always, please reach out if you need any assistance via phone at 609-737-4007 x7206 or email at ashleylarose@hvrsd.org

As we are braving the cold elements of winter, please remember to label your child's coats, sweatshirts, jackets, water bottles, and other belongings. Labeled items have a much better chance of making their way back home!

Stop by Hopewell Valley Vineyards on Saturday, Feb 22nd for a parent’s night out or come purchase a bottle of spirit to help donate to the HES PTO! View the flyer HERE for more information.

PTO Meeting:
The February PTO Meeting is Thursday, the 6th, from 7:30pm - 8:45am, virtual via Zoom. If you can not attend in person, please click here for a Zoom link.

Are you in the directory yet?
Did you know HES has a free, secure directory for families to find contact information to schedule playdates, send out birthday party invites or contact a parent in a pinch? Sign up for the school directory to manage the information you want to share and choose whether to receive important PTO announcements about upcoming events such as the school T-shirt giveaway and the book fair. The Membership Toolkit portal is secure, so your information will never be shared outside of our school community, and it gives you control over what you want to share. If you have any questions about the directory, reach out at hesdirectory@gmail.com.

HES PTO Fundraising:
The HES PTO is the volunteer organization behind many fun events and special things for our kids during the school year. Please view our link to the Frog Flash for more information.

• February 4th - PSO's BRAVO Percussion Performance for 4th Grade (12:45pm); Green Team Meeting (3:40pm)
• February 5th - Vocal Ensemble Rehearsal (8:00am); World Read Aloud Day
• February 6th - E-Learning Day #1; PTO Virtual Meeting (7:30pm)
• February 7th - 100th (K) & 1000 (Gr.5) Day of School; Whole School Meeting - Sponsored by 1st Grade (Wear Favorite Sports Team Jersey or Shirt); HVRSD's SEL-ebrates National School Day of Play; PTO's Valentines Day Dance (6:30pm)
• February 9th - Super Bowl Sunday: Go Birds!!!
• February 10th - Kindergarten Registration for 2025-2026 Opens
• February 12th - Vocal Ensemble Rehearsal (8:00am)
• February 13th - Orff Ensemble Rehearsal (3:45pm)
• February 14th 💘 - 1st Grade Valentine's Day Show (9:00am)
• February 17th - President's Day: Schools & Offices Closed
• February 18th - Green Team Meeting (3:40pm)
• February 19th - Vocal Ensemble Rehearsal (8:00am)
• February 20th - Student Council Meeting - Officers & Reps (8:05am); Author Visit - Matt Phelan (9:00am); Orff Ensemble Rehearsal (3:45pm)
• February 24th - Board of Education Regular Meeting (6:30pm)
• February 25th - Debate Team Meeting (8:00am)
• February 26th - Vocal Ensemble Rehearsal (8:00am)
• February 27th - Orff Ensemble Rehearsal (8:00am)
• February 28th - Newspaper Club Meeting (8:00am)

• 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:

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