News From Principal Gregory Lamothe

Hello PRS Wizards,

We enjoyed bringing everyone together for our first ASM (all school meeting). It was wonderful to have everyone in one room as we celebrating birthdays, had presentations from 5H and our reading team recognized students for July summer reading. The school also had its first night of curriculum nights for 2nd and 5th grade which was successful. Thank you to all who showed up to hear about the curriculum that their children will be learning this coming year.

In order to maintain a safe environment for our students, it is important that we practice our emergency response plans by practicing different types of safety drills(fire, stay in place, bus) throughout the school year. We emphasized to the students these are just drills and we practice our procedures to help keep everyone in our school safe.

Fire Drill - On Monday, September 12, PRS students took part in a fire drill at PRS. The staff and the students did a wonderful job and the drill took about five minutes from start to finish. Lt. Dinapoli from the Hingham Fire Department joined us and gave us positive feedback.

Bus Evacuation Drill - On Friday, September 16, in collaboration with the Hingham Transportation Department, PRS students took part in a bus evacuation drill. In case of an emergency on the bus, PRS students have practiced and are ready to face the emergency with safety knowledge they learned led by their own bus driver.

The windows project is about to hit Phase II. This will include building a vestibule inside the main entrance for extra security in the building, replacing all the doors that lead outside from the classroom and finish putting in windows that needed to be completed which are all shipping our way soon.

Parents this is a quick reminder that extras are an additional cost. This includes if a student would like to get a milk but is not getting a school lunch.

Milk $0.75

Water $1.00

Snack $0.50 this would include fruit, veggies (if they didn't buy lunch) or whole grain snack like goldfish.

➡️ New COVID-19 Guidance for K-12 ⬅️

Isolation and Exposure Guidance and Protocols

On August 15th, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and Department of Public Health released their COVID-19 guidance for the opening of schools. In addition to following this guidance, the district will actively monitor local and state COVID-19 numbers and respond appropriately to ensure the safety of our students and staff.

Please see below a summary of the important guidance.

Isolation and Exposure Precautions - All students and staff should follow the updated isolation and exposure guidance issued by DPH, in alignment with recently issued guidance from CDC.

Contact tracing is no longer recommended statewide in K-12 schools.

Masking - There is no statewide requirement or recommendation for universal masking in schools, apart from in school health offices. As always, any individual who wishes to continue to mask, including those who face a higher risk from COVID-19, will be supported in that choice.

COVID-19 Testing - In line with recent CDC guidance, pool (screening) testing and test to stay will not be implemented.

Vaccinations - All individuals are encouraged to stay up-to-date with vaccination as vaccines remain the best way to help protect yourself and others.

COVID-19 Symptoms

Parents and caregivers are asked to remain vigilant for the following COVID-19 symptoms. Caregivers are asked to report any positive cases of their children to their school nurse immediately. The information shared with nurses will remain confidential. The reporting will allow the schools to monitor any outbreaks and respond appropriately.

• Fever (100.0° Fahrenheit or higher), chills, or shaking chills

• Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath

• New loss of taste or smell

• Muscle aches or body aches

• Cough (not due to other known cause, such as a chronic cough)

SCHOOL SUPPLIES - You can order online through Yubbler or purchase on your own. Choose your incoming grade level supply list here

Kindergarten

First Grade

Second Grade

Third Grade

Fourth Grade

Fifth Grade

HPS 2022-2023 CALENDAR

1000 BOOK CLUB - This is a great program for preschool and kindergarten students to check out book bags and read with families!

LOOKING FOR AFTERSCHOOL CARE?

Kids in Action (KIA) Before and After-School Programs are for Hingham students in grades K-5. Our curriculum focuses on social and emotional development with support in academic skills through play and guidance.https://hinghamschools.org/academic-programs/kids-in-action9/

FREE LUNCH FOR ALL - This year, due to Federal Assistance, lunch will be served free of charge. This year, there will also be a breakfast program ( also peanut/tree nut free) for students who wish to partake in that. There will be one “grab and go breakfast” offering daily. Bottles of water are not free and cost $1.00.

VOLUNTEERS - We are happy to have parent volunteers in our school again! As we enter a new school year, all volunteers in the schools (classroom volunteers, field trip chaperones, etc.) will require a new CORI check. Forms can be found in the main office or here

BUS ROUTES

PRS FAST FACTS

Grade K - October 19 @ 5:30

Grade 1 - September 28 @ 5:30

Grade 3 - September 28 @ 5:00

Grade 4 - September 28 @ 6:00

Sept 14th - First All School Meeting

Sept 21st - First PTO Meeting in PRS Cafe & younger siblings are welcome to attend

Sept 23 - Wear PRS/Hingham Gear

Sept 26 - Picture Day

Office

Administrative Assistants- Suzanne Price, Alisa Zimmerman

School Resource Officer - Officer McGillicuddy /Officer Carr

Nurse - Deb Whiting

Classroom Teachers

K - Amy Maescher, Kim O'Brien, Julianne Riley

1st - Nancy Bucey, Katie Burritt, Janette Harrington

2nd - Cyndi Bonani, Krystal Bilodeau, Michelle Shapiro

3rd - Laura Falvey, Meagan Ottatti, Shawna Reames

4th - Kara Kremer, Maura Talbot, Susan Willison

5th - Julie Harrington, Joan Kilban, Meryl Vella, Shannon Wragg

Specialists

Art - Alice Caldwell

Computer Science - Rebekah Stahl-Bryant

Library - Mary Dunphy

Music - Dorothy Turner

Phys.Ed.- Mikayla Pagnini

Spanish - Kendelle Ingram

Special Education

Teachers - Colin Butler, Meaghan Gaven, Elizabeth Rubertone, Cassie Pacella, Lauren Smith

School Psychologist- Dr. Brett Bolger

Administrative Assistant - Susan Carey

Support Personnel

Adjustment Counselor - A.C. Decker

School Guidance Counselor - Carolyn St. Laurence

Literacy Specialists - Kati Osterman (K-2nd) and Jennifer Madden (3rd-5th)

Literacy Interventionists - Wendy Kirk and Nicole O'Brien

Math Specialist - Jessica Kitchen

Math Interventionists- Christine Lotano, Letita Reil