Hope Happenings

Wow, has January flown by! Hope students have been working hard and getting back into their routines since our return from break. All students recently completed mid-year benchmark assessments in both ELA and Math. Based on this data, our teaching staff recently completed our Winter Data Days. During these meetings, grade level teams analyzed student achievement data, in order to effectively plan for instruction. Teachers worked together to identify strengths and areas of improvement for their students.

We have recently received some inquires about Valentine cards. Valentine cards are welcome, but please ensure that there is one for every student in your child's class. As always, our school does not permit any food items due to food allergies.

Please be sure your child is dressed appropriately for outdoor play. We are making every effort to get students outside for recess and must ensure they are properly dressed for the conditions. In order to go outside, students must be wearing a winter jacket.

Rebecca Toomey, Principal

rebecca.toomey@scituateschoolsri.net

• SurveyWorks is a statewide survey sent out annually to students, families, and teachers to hear from Rhode Islanders directly about their experiences in our state's public schools.
• SurveyWorks will be given to all students in grades 3-12, parents, teachers, support professionals and building administrators.
  
• The Rhode Island Family Survey is for all Hope parents (Grades K-5) to complete. Parents of students receiving special education services will receive a single survey that combines the Rhode Island Family Survey and the Special Education Survey.
• Your views on matters like the safety of your child at school, the way students are taught, the condition of the school, and how connected you feel to this school are important. By taking this short survey, you can help our school leadership and school community to make improvements.
• Responses are anonymous and cannot be linked to any individual; no one can tie your responses back to you.

LINK TO SURVEY: bit.ly/ridefamily

Once you've completed the survey, click the link below to be entered into a drawing to win an Amazon giftcard!

On January 30th, the first PACT meeting occurred between parents and administration. During this meeting, the upcoming budget process was discussed and parents had the opportunity to ask any lingering questions.

Our wonderful Hope parent representative, Laura Kaufer, has created a google form for any parents to submit questions that they would like addressed at future monthly meetings!

Thank you for your support!

• If your child is going to be absent or late to school, please call 401-821-3651 or email Mrs. Kenney at mary.kenney@scituateschoolsri.net.
• If you have a change in dismissal for your child, please alert the Front Office before 2:00pm, if possible. This allows us time to inform the teacher and student of the change.
• 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.
• 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.

At the end of the trimester we pulled all students' attendance records and identified the students who had super star attendance during the first trimester! In order to celebrate, each student received a special certificate at our weekly community meeting and were invited to a pizza party!

On January 14th, the fourth and fifth grade students at Hope were joined by the SHS HOSA (Future Health Professionals) Club. The HOSA Club members presented information on germs and hygiene. Hope students had the opportunity to move through different interactive sessions to learn information to help increase their knowledge between the pre-test and post-test! Thank you to the HOSA Club for doing such a wonderful job helping to educate our students on this important topic!

Hope students had a fabulous High Five Friday with the SHS Boys Basketball Team! We love getting to start our Fridays off with so much spirit! Thank you to SRO Sgt. Parenti for facilitating and to the team for joining us during this special event!

On January 31st, the PTA sponsored a Build a Hope Husky Family Night! Families were invited to Hope to build a husky stuffed animal, watch a family video, drink hot cocoa and eat delicious snacks! We had over 80 students participate! It was such a fun night!

Hope students in Grades K-2 began a multi-week afterschool karate class thanks to an opportunity offered by Northeast Family Martial Arts! This program promotes physical fitness, character education, respect, focus, and increased confidence, along with lots of fun!

Students can receive these awards given by a faculty or staff member for EXEMPLARY behavior in the following categories: Growth Mindset, Problem Solving, Managing Emotions, Effort, Kindness, and Goal Setting. These categories align with our Social Emotional Curriculum- Second Step.

This month students in grades 4 and 5 participated in a classroom spelling bee. I am very proud of all students for participating and trying their best!

The following students were finalists in their classroom and will be participating in our Hope School Bee, which will be held on Tuesday, February 4, 2025 @ 1:30pm. The winners of our School Spelling Bee will go onto the District Spelling Bee on February 12th at 6:30pm in the High School Auditorium.

Congratulations to our classroom winners!

4A

Arabella Ross and Ben Viti

Runner up -- Brooks Scanlon

4R

Xander Santos and Blake Dubeau

Runner up – Grace Kaufer

5R

Elias Dominguez and Jimmy Jeranka

Runner up -- Brody Nunes

5D

Jaxon Egan and Lillyana Matarese

Runner up – David Vincent

This message is to inform you of the upcoming Northwest Special Education Region Local Advisory Committee meeting, which will be held virtually on February 11, 2025 from 6pm-7pm.

SELAC Meeting

Video call link: https://meet.google.com/uim-eokm-cos

Or dial: ‪(US) +1 413-276-6215‬ PIN: ‪498 024 544‬#

The Northwest Special Education Region Local Advisory Committee is a valuable resource for families of students with disabilities. We serve the school districts of Foster, Glocester, Scituate, and the Foster-Glocester Region and work to:

• Advise the school district on how to better meet the needs of students with disabilities.

• Review and provide input on plans to improve services for students with disabilities, including those related to IDEA Part B.

• Ensure the school district complies with state and federal laws regarding the education of students with disabilities.

• Advocate for your children to receive the appropriate services and supports they are entitled to under the law.

• Connect families with valuable resources and information.

• Provide a supportive network for parents and children.

We encourage you to attend the meeting to learn more and get involved.

February is the month of Valentine’s Day and Random Acts of Kindness Day. Kindness is not a feeling but a behavior or action and it’s been shown to improve positive feelings and well-being for both the giver and the receiver.

Random Acts of Kindness Day is February 17th. On this day, we try to engage in more acts of kindness (as the name suggests). Some acts of kindness could include simple gestures, such as providing a genuine compliment, leaving a nice note for someone, or stopping to say thank you.

Some simple acts of kindness that children can engage in are…

1. Drawing a picture for a friend or family member

2. Writing a handwritten note, sharing how much you care or value someone

3. Making something for someone (a bracelet, a card, a baked treat)

4. Offering to help a sibling or friend with something, like cleaning up

5. Playing with a classmate who doesn’t have someone to play with

6. Picking up litter

7. Donating old toys they no longer play with and participating in that activity

8. Smiling at someone and giving them a heartfelt hello

9. Giving someone encouragement when he or she is having a hard time

When we engage in such acts, we not only feel good about ourselves but also can make another person feel happier and our school community even more friendly. It can also help children to notice and think about others, when practicing acts of kindness regularly, which helps build empathy.

I wish your children and family a Happy Valentine's Day!

~Ms. Swift, School Social Worker

Our kindergarten students have had so much using scales to learn about the concepts of lighter and heavier in our Eureka math unit!

First grade students love exploring if a gnome's shadow can move during a recent Mystery Science lesson!

In Grade 2, we wrapped up our last lesson in the Material Magic unit of Mystery Science. In this lesson, students explored the unique building material: mud! The properties of mud depend on the properties of the soil it’s made from. In this activity, students use models of sand and clay soils to investigate how the properties of soil can differ. Then they used observation as evidence to classify each soil model based on whether or not it would make a good material for building. Here are some photos from their exploration!

As part of our school wide hallway expectations, our class earned ALL of our STARS! As a reward for walking in the hallway quietly and respectfully, students voted on a Stuffed Animal Day!

Grade three students have been busy this month! From Mystery Science lessons to pizza parties for filling the class marble jar for great behavior, and snowy recesses, the fun hasn't stopped!

This month, the fourth grade wrapped up our unit on ecosystems! We spent so much time researching and writing; it was amazing to finally be able to present our knowledge! During social-emotional learning, we showed that we were able to set goals, make plans, and communicate as members of a team during fun cup stacking and noodle building challenges! We even got a little bit of practice with detective skills during a fun clue finding math review. These spy worthy skills will just continue to grow next month as we dive deep into the mystery genre!

During winter benchmark testing all students in 5R increased their math scores from the fall. We celebrated with a special treat!

Click below to check out what students have been doing in library!

In music class, 4th and 5th graders are enjoying their new recorder unit!

Check out all STEAM happenings at Hope below!

Check out the PE website at the link below!

The next Scituate School Committee meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 4th at Scituate High School! All members of the school community are encouraged to attend in person or virtually. The meetings begin at 6:15 p.m. For more information about meetings, click here.

The PTA's next meeting will be held on Wednesday, February 12th at 6:30pm in our school library. See you there!

• 02/04: School-wide Spelling Bee
• 02/04: School Committee Meeting 7pm
• 02/07: 100th Day of School!
• 02/06: School Committee Meeting @ Hope, 7pm
• 02/13: District Spelling Bee, 6:30pm @ SHS Auditorium
• 02/14: Mark Colagiovanni Author Presentation
• 02/14: Young Author's Books sent home
• 02/17-21: February Recess
• 02/27: SIT Meeting, 3:20
• 03/13: Trimester 2 ends
• 03/21: PTA Family Event (Wright's Farm)
• 03/25: Trimester 3 Report Cards Sent Home (tentative)
• 04/11: Grade 5 Transition Event at RIC (tentative)
• 04/14-18: April Vacation- NO SCHOOL
• 04/24: Young Author's Night, 1:30pm (at Hope)
• 05/26: Memorial Day- NO SCHOOL

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