Roland Hayes School

Our North Star

“When children and teachers feel engaged, safe, and supported we have room to grow and learn through collaboration and risk-taking with our peers.”

Previous "Community Notes" can be found here: https://www.brookline.k12.ma.us/domain/718

The "Community Notes" is sent every other week. Thanks for reading!

Learn more about Roland Hayes here, from our own Young Scholars!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MyhdW04fd4

Our DESE school profile is here: link

A note of thanks to launch this week's missive – so many of you so generously donated to our Sweet Treats party for our staff. These events are so much work, we know, but the impact here is profound. When I write "thank you" know that I am speaking for about 90 people who are thanking you. These efforts of appreciation and generosity really do matter.

A shorter Community Notes this week, but still lots worth reading! We know this is a busy time of year and the less you need to manage the better. The next Community Notes will be well into the new year: January 16th.

Thanks for reading and thank you for all you do to make our school a very special place to learn and grow!

Our Winter Variety Show will now be in January. Details below. Please encourage your child to give it a try! All talents welcomed!

Several students have arrived at school with "Smart Glasses" on. These should be left at home. Otherwise, they will be treated like a cell phone/smartwatch and not permitted in classrooms, common spaces, recess, etc. Thank you.

Lost & Found items will be donated in the new year. If you suspect your child has an item in the lost & found, please make time before January 9th to claim it.

• Hanukkah began at sundown on Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025 and lasts until sundown on Monday, Dec. 22, 2025
• Christmas Eve and Christmas are Dec. 24th through 25th
• Kwanzaa begins Friday, December 26, 2025, and goes through Thursday, January 1, 2026

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• Saturday, December 20th: Hayes 5th-8th Chorus Students at Providence Bruins Hockey Game, 7:00pm

• Monday, December 22nd: Term 2: Grades 6-8 IPR Published

• Monday, December 22nd: Model UN, 11:15am-12:00pm

• Tuesday, December 23rd: GSA, 10:35-11:12am

• Wednesday, December 24, 2025 - Friday, January 4, 2026: School Closed for Winter Break, Return on January 5, 2026

• Monday, January 5th: Model UN, 11:15am-12:00pm

• Monday, January 5th: Rainbow Club, Grade 5, MPR, 11:20-11:50am

• Tuesday, January 6th: Grades 4-5 Student Council, 8:00-8:40am

• Tuesday, January 6th: GSA, 10:35-11:12am

• Wednesday, January 7th: METCO Connections Breakfast, 7:35-7:55am

• Wednesday, January 7th: AAPI Affinity Group, 10:35-11:15am

• Wednesday, January 7th: Math Club (Grades 5-8): Rm 198, 2:40-3:45pm

• Thursday, January 8th: Young Scholars, 2:35-3:35pm

• Friday, January 9th: PEP, 8:00-8:32am

• Monday, January 12th: Model UN, 11:15am-12:00pm

• Monday, January 12th: Rainbow Club, Grade 4, MPR, 11:20-11:50am

• Monday, January 12th: Variety Show Rehearsals, after school

• Tuesday, January 13th: Grades 4-5 Student Council, 8:00-8:40am

• Tuesday, January 13th: GSA, 10:35-11:12am

• Wednesday, January 14th: Math Club (Grades 5-8): Rm 198, 2:40-3:45pm

• Thursday, January 15th: Young Scholars, 2:35-3:35pm

• Friday, January 16th: Yearbook, 8:00-8:32am

• Friday, January 16th: PTO Meeting, 8:05-9:35am

• Friday, January 16th: METCO Connections Grades 3-5 Lunch Group w/Mr. Chaet, 11:20-11:50am

Field Trips:

• Wednesday, January 7th: RISE Field Trip to Lars Anderson Ice Skating, K-4, 8:30-10:00am & 5-7, 10:00-11:30am

• Thursday, January 15th: 7th Grade Trip to Lowell Mills, 8:00-2:30pm

Our Balloons Over Broadway parade was the day before Thanksgiving. The parade, presented by our Art teacher Ms. Hockensmith and the incomparable 4th graders, was another smash success. You can see photos here: https://rolandhayes.smugmug.com/2025-Thanksgiving-Parade

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Students in Grade 1 have been studying Anansi stories ... and then creating their own! To read these riveting tales, click here: https://read.bookcreator.com/library/-Nwtv_2KikPlR6CoQHpH

1R is so excited to share them with you!

If your child is absent or has a change in schedule, please call our attendance line!

😀😀😀😀 Add this number to your cell phone favorites: 617-879-4540 😀😀😀😀

This message box will be checked immediately after arrival; this new attendance line will allow us to free up our time each morning with other high-demand tasks.

Please be sure to leave:

• your child's name
• your child's class/grade
• reason for absence
• any other pertinent information

617-879-4540

A highlight of the school year is our Mayfair, a huge carnival on campus each spring. Currently, we do not have any volunteers for the mayfair committee.

Without volunteers Mayfair cannot happen. So, please, think about it and reach out to our PTO co-presidents (lisa@hayespto.org and theodora@hayespto.org) for more information.

If you are planning to apply to private schools, please be aware of three things:

• The PSB uses our own forms for the recommendation process. Please send the requests to the appropriate staff via the independents school's portal (ie, Ravenna). That will alert us to your request. We will then use our forms to communicate with the private schools to which you are applying.
• The firm deadline for staff to complete recommendation forms is Friday, January 9th, 2026. After this date, staff will not be able to complete letters of recommendation.

The Town of Brookline has created a help navigator to streamline the process of finding help for a host of areas (e.g., housing, medical services, mental health, work, legal services) for folks across the lifespan. The link is below, and I anticipate that it might help in situations where you are looking for resources to support families.

https://brooklinema.findhelp.com/

I am wondering how many of you saw the new Apple commercial highlighting their accessibility tools? I saw it, then watched it about 10 more times. It was "remarkable," for sure. Find it here:

https://youtu.be/KmFPWxjmnqE?si=fUQxMlzUNSzryFlk

The winter break ahead will offer us all a chance to slow down, and reconnect with what we value most. For me that will mean time with my family, rest, reading, and reflection. I am deeply interested in finding time to restore so that the energy I bring into the new year is based on understanding, compassion, and working in service of the greater good.

May the time ahead be exactly what you need, too!

Cheers to a wonderful holiday season ahead!

~ Asa

This parcel of land that our school sits upon is a special and sacred place.

Before this place was a Town, before our school was here, before this neighborhood was called “The Settlement” or “Chestnut Hill,” and before this land was a farm, this land was held by the Massachusett, the people Indigenous to this place. The Massachusett were the caretakers of this site, living full lives, raising families, and burying their dead right here. We recognize and honor this history, and seek to create thoughtful land stewards and citizens for generations to come.

As a public school, our primary objective is to ensure access, membership, and participation of all community members in our care; with this land acknowledgment we state our willingness to work towards that vision where all feel a true and abiding sense of belonging.

Roland Hayes School

The Public Schools Of Brookline | A METCO Partnership School

Dr. Asa Sevelius, Ed.D. | Principal

Email: asa_sevelius@psbma.org

Pronouns: he/him

Mr. Kirtan Patel | Vice Principal

Email: kirtan_patel@psbma.org

Pronouns: he/him

Website: https://www.brookline.k12.ma.us/Page/17
Location: 100 Eliot Street, Chestnut Hill, MA, 02467
Phone: 617-879-4570