Hansen Weekly Update
May 5th, 2024
Welcome to May!
It's hard to believe, but we are finally into May - our last 'full month' of school! In the upcoming weeks we will finish up MCAS testing, have our final STAR assessments, and have field trips and other end of the year events happening.
I'd like to thank everyone for coming out to support our 5th graders who put on their rousing rendition of 'Shrek the Musical Jr.' this past weekend at Canton High School! Mrs. Willis, and Mrs. Kohl did a fantastic job directing, Mrs. D'Amarino was great providing musical support and our volunteer costume managers and back stage support staff were fantastic! Enthusiastic congratulations go out to all of our 5th grade cast and crew members - you were AMAZING this weekend!!
May is Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Mrs. Kohl’s class colored and assembled a collaborative poster to hang over Mrs. Kohl’s AAPI artwork (below). Each week, Mrs. Kohl’s students are learning about different influential AAPI people and presenting to the class.
Here's wishing everyone a great month!
Sincerely,
Paul McKnight
Principal
Hansen Elementary School
What's Coming Up...
May 6, 2024: Grade 5 MCAS Math Session I
May 6, 2024: Grade 3 Field Trip - Boston Tea Party Museum
May 6, 2024: STAR Window opens
May 7, 2024: Grade 4 MCAS Math Session I
May 7, 2024: Grade 1 Franklin Park Zoo Field Trip
May 8, 2024: Grade 5 MCAS Math Session II
May 9, 2024: ABC Countdown to Summer Vacation starts!
May 9, 2024: Grade 4 MCAS Math Session II
May 9, 2024: Grade 2 Field Trip - Greater Boston Stage Co.
May 10, 2024: Early Release Day, 12:20 PM Dismissal
May 13th-17th, 2024: Teacher Appreciation Week
'Shrek' is a Smashing Success!
This week the Hansen 5th Grade, under the guidance of Director Mrs. Willis and Mrs. Kohl, and with music accompaniment from Mrs. D'Amarino, put on 3 performances of 'Shrek the Musical, Jr.', one at Hansen and two shows at Canton High School this weekend.
Hansen's ABC Countdown to Summer Vacation
On Thursday, we'll begin the Hansen ABC Countdown to summer vacation. The countdown represents the last 26 days of the school year, beginning on May 9th. Students can choose to participate in any theme day outfits or events. We want to celebrate the last 2 months of our school year together having fun with our ABC's - see schedule below!
5th Grade Demonstrates the 'Three Branches' of U.S. Government
The 3 Branches of Government - Executive, Legislative and Judicial
This tree was a collaborative effort and involved all the students in 5th grade. Its purpose was to explain the roles of the branches and identify members of those offices.
Students were given a green leaf and a clue about a member, past or present, of the federal government. When they had researched and recorded the correct information, their leaf was added to the tree on the corresponding branch. For example, a student that received the clue “P23,” needed to write the name of the 23rd President. (Benjamin Harrison 1833-1901)
Some students needed to look up current or past Supreme Court Justices when given their initials and job, or current MA Senators or House Representatives by district.
The large leaves describe the role of each arm of the federal government and the red and blue arrows explain the system of checks and balances between those branches.
The leaves on the trunk list the first 10 amendments to the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the foundation of civil rights for the citizens of the United States. Finally, the leaves to the right of the Executive branch list the current Cabinet Members. This serves as a reminder that teamwork is necessary to keep the US running and moving forward.
Hansen Field Day is Coming!
This year's field day is scheduled for Friday May 31st. We are excited for a fun-filled day!
If you would like to volunteer this year please sign up for your desired time slot here. Time slots include the following options...
- 9:05-11:30 Helping to run station
- Station Set Up Before School (potentially 8-9am or earlier)
We will reach out to volunteers in the coming weeks with assignments, important information, and to let you know if you need to complete anything (such as a CORI form) in order to be eligible to volunteer at the school. Thank you in advance for any help you can offer! Your presence means a lot to the kids and will help the day run as smoothly as possible.
If you have any questions, please email Ms. Amico
amicoa@cantonma.org
Important Traffic Reminder
Families, please DO NOT park on either side of Pecunit Street in front of our school during drop-off or dismissal - it is not safe and creates the potential for someone getting seriously hurt. Please park instead down the street past our playground, in the baseball parking lot, or at the Galvin Middle School parking lot if you are walking to the school for drop-off or pick-up. Thank you!
District Art Show Coming Soon!
The district wide Art Show is coming soon - May 20th to May 23rd from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. at Canton High School. Every Hansen school student will have at least one piece of art in the show. Ms. Krokidas is looking for volunteers to help set up the art show on May 17th from 9:30-11:30 a.m. , and take down the art show work on May 23rd from 8:00 - 9:00 a.m. Contact Ms. Krokidas at krokidass@cantonma.org if interested. Thank You!
Hansen School Start / End Times Change Next Year
**Attention parents - next year Hansen Elementary School's start / end times will shift to: 8:40 a.m. and 2:55 p.m. Thank you in advance for noting this important change for next year.
Attention 5th Grade Parents
On Monday, May 13th the Galvin Middle School will host a welcome event for all families of current 5th graders. The event will run from 6:30 to 7:30 PM in the GMS cafetorium. Please plan to attend if you can. A welcome email, which includes a scheduling information letter, was sent from GMS to all 5th grade families on Monday, April 29th. Please check your inboxes for the letter!
If you have any questions, please reach out to GMS Principal Jon Mulhern at mulhernj@cantonma.org.
Powerschool letter for PreK-4 Families
PreK-4 parents, please check your email for a message sent on Friday afternoon about Powerschool, our new Student Information System, from Josh Fogel, Canton Public Schools' Director of Technology and Data Analytics
CHS Students' Book Drive for Canton Public Library
Two CHS Seniors from Mr. Gordy's Leadership Class are organizing a book drive to benefit Canton Public Library. In their words:
"I'm sure we can all agree that reading is important and that it's just as important to share the joy of reading with others. Please bring in new or gently used non-textbook books from now to May 10th. They will be donated to our friends at the Canton Public Library. Thank you!"
Title One Survey
Title 1 Survey
Did your child receive Title 1 intervention in reading or math this year? If so, we would appreciate your feedback on this brief survey: 2023-24 Parent/Guardian Survey.
Pay and Ride Applications
Important! Parents, please check your emails for the 2024-25 Pay and Ride Forms. An electronic form was emailed for each student, to one household member. Please check with other household members and your spam inbox if you do not see this email.
The Pay and Ride form must be completed every year whether your student will require transportation or not. The cut-off date for the 2024-25 Pay and Ride form is June 7th. Please complete the electronic form as soon as possible.
Incoming Kindergarten Pay and Ride forms were completed at the time of registration. You will not receive an email for your incoming 2024-25 Kindergarten student.
More information regarding the Pay and Ride Program, including fees and payments can be found HERE. Payment is not due at this time. Applicable invoices will be sent by MySchoolBucks by the end of June.
If you have questions or did not receive the 2024-25 Pay and Ride email, please email transportation@cantonma.org with your student’s name and school of attendance.
Canton Unified Track Program
Please click below for important information on the Canton Unified Track Program!
Snow Day/School Year Calendar Update:
As a result of the snow day on Tuesday, Feb. 13, the last day of school for Grades 1-5 is currently Friday, June 14th. This will be an early release day with dismissal at 12:20 p.m. Kindergarten's last day is now Monday, June 10. This will be a full day of school.
New Nursing Newsletter!
The nurses at the 3 elementary schools, Hansen, Kennedy and Luce, are collaborating and developing a newsletter to provide access to information and resources to our families. We want to provide consistent and district wide information that our elementary school families will find helpful and hopefully open up additional lines of communication with you and your respective school nurse and health office. We would appreciate any feedback you can provide and are always looking for topics and areas you would like more information about. Please feel free to reach out to your school nurse as needed. Thank you!
Around Town Events!
Around Town Events!
Canton Public Schools has a Community Resources and Information Page on its website titled Around Town. This page lists resources and events taking place in our community. To access the information on this webpage, use this link: About/Around Town.
At a Glance - New Event(s)
This webpage will be updated periodically.
MCAS Test Dates
Please mark your calendars with the following spring MCAS testing dates. We have restricted testing windows so if there will be an absence during the time your student will be taking MCAS please let the classroom teacher know as soon as possible so we can account for make-up testing.
Grade 3
-May 13 & 15: Math
Grade 4
-May 7 & 9: Math
Grade 5
-May 6 & 8: Math
-May 14 & 16: Science
CAPT Gives Hansen our 'Steps to Success'
CAPT Corner
Hansen CAPT Budget For 2024-2015 School Year
Our next meeting on Monday, May 14 will focus on budgeting decisions for the CAPT for the next school year. The proposed/existing 2024-2015 Hansen CAPT budget is here.Those interested in proposing new programs, fundraisers or events, can fill out the Fundraiser/Event/ Program Proposal form https://forms.gle/K6pu7AbDghyN3dFh9 by Friday, May 10.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Teacher Appreciation Week - May 13-17 Schedule Attached
CAPT Meeting: Budget Approval - May 14, 7pm in the Hansen library and on Zoom
Boosterthon Fun Run - May 17-29
Hansen Field Day - May 31
Red Sox Night - May 31
INCOMING CAPT BOARD
At our Monday, April 8 meeting, the following Hansen parents were elected to the Hansen CAPT board for the 2024-2025 school year. Thank you for your upcoming service to the school!
President: Meredith Flynn
Co-Vice President (Membership): Casey Morle
Co-Vice President (Fundraising): Jackie Cassis Mayer
Secretary: Allie Lund
Treasurer: Sonja Grauds
FUNDRAISING
Graduation Sign Fundraiser As part of the partnership, NHS Print, will donate 10% of all sign sales back to the Hansen CAPT! Please follow the link below to place your order and be sure to read the notes for ordering. Orders placed by April 8th are guaranteed by May 24. Orders placed by April 15th are guaranteed by May 31| Order here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeM3JsK6lU-KSL1jX_RoGMm0MPHbNCDg9iuqvflFR_nXMPgEw/viewform
Boosterthon / Fun Run Key Dates to Remember:
Registration Opens - May 3rd
Kickoff Day - May 17th
Fun Run Day - May 29th
For Parents:
This year we've introduced a new SEL curriculum to our classrooms - Wayfinder. For access to a visual outlining Wayfinder's 'Core Skills + Competencies' which the instructional curriculum is based, click here . Thank you!
Need Family Assistance?
Family Resources
The Canton Farmers Market also accepts SNAP and HIP
How to Get Help | The Society of St. Vincent de Paul Boston
More support:
Chat online or call 800-273-8255
Support For LGBTQ+ Youth
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
Text NAMI to 741741