High Plain Elementary Corner

Wednesday is an early release day. All students are dismissed at 12:15.

Week of March 8, 2026

Dear HPE Families,

On Thursday, Kate Messner, a bestselling children’s author who has written many books you may know and love, visited High Plain. Kate is passionately curious and has written over 70 books for kids who wonder, too. Her stories often feature brave kids, exciting mysteries, and fascinating real-world topics—from science and history to teamwork and perseverance. She also loves visiting schools and talking with students about reading, writing, and where great ideas come from. Kate presented to all students to talk about her books, her writing process, and how we all can be a writer too. She had a special writing session just with the fourth graders as she focused on her book History Smashers: The American Revolution which aligns with the work they are doing in Arts and Letters.

We’re also looking forward to our upcoming parent–teacher conferences and deeply value the strong home–school partnership that supports our students’ growth and success. Thank you for taking the time to connect with teachers and for being such an important part of your child’s learning journey.

Finally, we want to thank our custodial staff for their incredible work this snowy winter making sure that our grounds are safe and clear of snow. We've been able to have a incredible recess play this year. Our instructional assistants have done a masterful job of supporting our children as they navigate the unstructured play time and work on collaboration. Many of our students have engaged in building elaborate creations. We've had to say many time to the students "you don't own the snow" to help them recognize that sometimes creations don't last beyond a day. It's a good place to be!

Enjoy,

Ms. Leveque and Mrs. Lyons

Sarah.Leveque@andoverma.us and Marika.Lyons@andoverma.us

-Wednesday, March 11: Early Release; 12:15 dismissal

-Wednesday, March 11: All Bands Concert, 6:30-8:30 in the AHS Field House

-Friday, March 15: Student Ambassador's Spirit Day: Future Professionals; wear a fancy piece of clothing

School Year Hours:

Monday-Friday, 8:45-3:30

Andover Public School 2026-2027 Calendar

As part of our HPE Student Council, we have a news team that has a weekly report for our students. Here is the latest news.

Each grade has started Module 3 in our new Arts and Letters curriculum. Here is a preview of the knowledge-building topics:

During February, the High Plain students checked out 1,825 items from the library. This is almost twice as many books as last February. There were 17 books put on hold during February. As the books become available, they are delivered to the student’s classroom. The number of overdue books has increased to 329. Please ask your students if they have any library books that need to be returned. The library only has 1 copy of several popular books that have holds, so returning books on time allows more students to read the same book. There are 93 fourth and fifth graders that have reported reading at least 1 Massachusetts Children’s Book Award book, and 49 have already read at least 5 books and will be able to vote for the winner in April. Additionally, there are 4 fifth grader students that have read all 25 Massachusetts Children's Book Award books this year. On Tuesday, March 17 we will be having a community read aloud. Each classroom will get a guest reader.

March is Read Across America month as well as Women’s History month. March 2nd is Theodor Geisel’s birthday. He is better known as Dr. Seuss. The Kindergarten students will learn about the Geisel book award named after Theodor Geisel and play musical books with past award winners. The first-grade students will be listening to picture book biographies on famous women. The second-grade students will be learning about fractured fairytales and fables. They will be writing their own fables after they research an animal. In March, the third-grade classes will be working on a research project on an invention of their choice. The project will focus on copyright-free images, citations, and research questions. The fourth graders are researching a person or event tied to the American Revolution and they will be recording podcasts. The fifth-grade students are working on Capstone projects, which are research projects based on their own interests. They will be creating posters in Canva on the topics they researched.

This week, students have started our big gymnastics unit in P.E. class. Gymnastics is one of our biggest units and allows students to explore a little beyond their comfort zones. Reminder please do your best to have your students wear sneakers for P.E. days!

Week one of gymnastics consists of four stations.
Station 1 is our balance course, where students move from low to medium heights and then back to low.
Station 2 is the rope station, where students can climb to about halfway up.
Station 3 is the floor routine, where students follow a routine that is posted on the wall.
Station 4 is the cargo net.

As some of our families and students go through the process of redistricting from High Plain to West Elementary, we want to ensure you feel fully supported. We know change brings many questions, and we share a common purpose, to make this transition as smooth and positive as possible for every family and child.

We encourage all families to reach out with questions as we welcome a conversation with you.

Ms. Leveque, High Plain Principal, and Dr. Carideo-Cobbs, West Elementary Principal

Dear Families of Incoming Kindergarten students:

We share in your excitement for your child to enroll in Kindergarten for the 2026-2027 school year and look forward to them being a part of the High Plain Elementary community in September.

Kindergarten registration will begin on Monday, February 2, 2026 to Monday, March 2, 2026. Please access the Kindergarten Registration link on our website at www.aps1.net/o/aps/page/kindergarten-registration.

Following your registration, please contact us directly to make an appointment to submit your registration paperwork.

For your reference, student eligibility requirements are as follows:

A student must actually reside in Andover, unless one of the exceptions set forth in Policy JF applies. The residence of a minor child is ordinarily presumed to be the legal residence of the child's parent or legal guardian.

Kindergarten:

As per School Committee Policy, children must be 5 years old on or before August 31, 2026 and entering Kindergarten in the Andover Public Schools for the first time.

First Grade: (New to Andover / Andover Public Schools)

Children must be age 6 on or before August 31, 2026, and enrolling in the Andover Public Schools for the first time or transferring from another school district school.

The first day of school for Pre-K and Kindergarten students is Tuesday, September 8, 2026.

We look forward to meeting all our incoming students and families in the new school year!

The testing window has been set by DESE and we are planning for the following MCAS test dates at HPE. Please note that students will take 2 days of tests per content area. Please refrain from vacations or unnecessary absences on these dates.

Grade 3

Our PTO plans lots of fun for our students and families. Please sign up for the PTO Newsletter at www.highplainpto.org so you don’t miss out on fun events. We will be at the Open House Curriculum Night so come say hello!

As we enter the cooler weather leading into winter, we want students to have a consistent outdoor experience between grades and classrooms. To support this, we have set guidelines for temperature/weather type when deciding outdoor vs. indoor recess for all classrooms. Below are guidelines for outdoor recess.

• Students will be outdoors if the temperature (including wind chill) is 20 degrees or warmer and it’s not raining, sleeting, hailing, or blizzarding. We use Weatherbug.com to determine the temperature.

• On questionable, cold days the office will make an announcement before the first recess announcing outdoor or indoor recess. If no announcement is made then it is outdoor recess.

• If students want to play in snow, they must be wearing snow pants, boots, jackets, and gloves/mittens. If students do not wish to play in the snow, they will remain on the blacktop.

• With a large amount of students out on the playground at each recess, we need to be extra vigilant about safety. There is no throwing of snowballs or ice. A behavior slip will be used to re-teach and discuss the safety concerns if a student does not follow this rule.

• Label each article of clothing so that if something is misplaced, it can be returned to you as quickly as possible.

Please be aware that all students go outside when the weather meets these conditions.

Please send your child to school wearing appropriate outdoor clothing for the weather. We highly encourage you to practice getting dressed in the snow gear as quickly as possible- make a game of it and time it! The expectation is, if your child is well enough to come to school, they are well enough to go outdoors.

Thanks for taking the time to remind students of the winter expectations. Snow play is beloved by many and we want to make sure that everyone has an opportunity to safely enjoy their recess time during these months.

As with every elementary school, the health clinic sees students for many things. Each winter, we see an uptick in flu, stomach bugs, and lice, among others. We want to share some guidance and tips that can help with these items.

Lice

If you find your child has lice, please contact the school nurse so we can support and advise you. We are able to provide you with resource options to support treating lice. All students should be checked by the school nurse before returning to school.

As a preventive measure, please continue to perform head checks on your children monthly and call the clinic with any questions. At school, we do not have students share clothing and we vacuum and clean carpeted or fabric surfaces regularly. We also do our best to avoid close interactions of students while working and playing, knowing this can be challenging with young elementary children.

Other preventative measures:

• Keep hair tied up.
• No sharing of hats or clothing.
• Not sharing hair brushes and cleaning hair brushes regularly.
• Dry clothing and other fabrics in the dryer.
• There are preventative hair products and shampoos available.

Stomach Bug

The stomach bug (Norovirus) is something that we often see in students at this time of year. Norovirus can have symptoms for a few weeks, including vomiting and diarrhea. It is highly contagious. If your child is showing these symptoms, staying home is important. Preventative measures include washing hands frequently, disinfecting high touch surfaces (door handles, tabletops, etc.), and washing soiled clothing. At school, we increase cleaning of the room and touch points if students are sick.

Flu

Flu (influenza) is highly contagious and has many symptoms, including body aches, general fatigue, coughing, sore throat, fever or chills, and both a runny or stuffy nose. Along with symptoms, our students often report just feeling sluggish or off from their normal selves. Check out this chart from the CDC that shows the difference between flu versus the common cold. Preventative measures include vaccination, washing hands frequently, and disinfecting high touch surfaces (door handles, tabletops, etc.). At school, we increase cleaning of the room and touch points if students are sick.

In addition, it's that time of year when we see an increase in student's visiting the health office. Below are some general reminders and guidelines about when students can return to school if they are home sick.

When to keep your child home:

· Fever

· Vomiting or diarrhea

· Contagious diseases- please call the clinic to discuss with the nurses if you have any questions

Criteria for a student returning to school following an illness:

· Fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medications.

· Vomiting or diarrhea free for 24 hours.

· If your child has a contagious illness – contact the school nurse before your child returns to school so that we can advise you regarding return to school protocols.

SCHOOL BUS

Bus transportation to and from school is provided free of charge to elementary students. Kindergarten students must be met by a known adult at the bus stop. Bus routes will be listed in the Aspen portal.

NAME/BUS TAGS (For Kindergarten and Grade 1 Students)
Your child’s teacher will give you a name tag necklace on the first day. Please have your kindergartner or first grader wear the nametag until further notice. The information on the tag is based on what families have entered on the back to school forms.

CAR PICKUP/DROPOFF

Please note that there are differences in morning arrival and afternoon car pick up. In the morning, you may arrive between 8:45-9:00 by using the High Plain Rd. entrance or the Cross St. entrance. In the afternoon, you can only arrive through the Cross St. entrance. The High Plain Rd. entrance is closed to allow buses. In the afternoon, dismissal begins at 3:30. Both morning and afternoon arrival, all vehicles must turn right when leaving the drop off/pick up line.

WALKERS & BIKE RIDERS:

· For morning arrival, a school crossing guard will be at the Cross Street/Brady Loop entrance.

· All AM walkers and bike riders should use the Cross St. entrance and the sidewalks that follow the front side of the school.

· Bike Riders: Only students in grades 3, 4, and 5 may ride a bike to and from school. A permission form must be completed with the main office.

Communication with our families is essential to the success and wellness of our students. To assist our families and help them connect with the appropriate staff who is best suited to answer questions, we have updated our “Who We Are” page on our website. The information will guide families to resources on how to reach staff with concerns and how to stay connected to news and events across the district.

This is a reminder that the High Plain Road entrance is closed to cars at dismissal. It is the access entrance for buses only. The Cross Street entrance is how cars enter for car pickup. This is a safety concern. We have seen cars try to sneak in daily and it's simply not fair to those who are following the dismissal procedures. We ask you to be respectful of your fellow HPE community members and abide by this rule.

Breakfast and lunch are once again free to all students. Breakfast is served from 8:45-8:55 each morning and no advanced ordering is needed.

Lunches will need be preordered. Lunch requires families to order in advance to ensure we have the correct allergy-friendly lunch for all our students. It is very important that our cafeteria has an accurate lunch count each day. Please review with your children each morning what you have ordered for them.

Information about the Andover Public Schools lunch program, as well as menus and instructions for online ordering, may be found on the website here: http://www.andoverschoolnutrition.com/

We are all working to manage the age of technology and are looking for support between school and home. Many children have new smart devices and the elementary schools have some guidance.

A kind reminder to our families that cell phones must be turned off and in students’ backpacks at the start of the school day. Smartwatches may be worn as regular watches, however, students are not allowed to text, communicate with others, use applications, take pictures or videos, or access social media services and websites.

Should parents/guardians urgently need to reach their child during the school day, we ask that you call the main office. Students are also allowed to come to the main office if they need to contact someone at home. If a cell phone or watch becomes a significant distraction, school administrators will reach out to parents/guardians. The Andover Public Schools is not responsible for lost, stolen, damaged, or broken devices.

To promote healthy digital habits during the school day, the resources below may be helpful to use. We appreciate your partnership as we work to keep interruptions to the school day at a minimum.

Resource for Apple Watches:

How to set a School Time schedule

• Open the Watch app on your iPhone. Tap All Watches, then tap your child's watch.

• Tap Done, then tap Schooltime.

• Turn on Schooltime, then tap Edit Schedule.

• Choose the days and times when you want Schooltime to be active.

• Tap Add Time if you want to set up more than one schedule in a day.

Resource for Gizmo Watches:

How to set up School mode

• Open the. Gizmo Hub app.

• Tap the. School mode switch. turn on or off. If necessary, set up a School Mode schedule.

In School Devices

K-3 Devices will stay in school.

4-5 Devices can be brought home if directed by the classroom teacher to complete an assignment. Otherwise, they will remain in school.

Please make sure that you arrive with your license. We cannot check you in and let you enter without your license or state issued ID. You also need to have a valid CORI form on file. Please help us with these required safety steps.

8:30 am: School office opens

8:45 am: School drop off

9:00 am: School day begins

After 9:00 am: Children are tardy and must be accompanied by a parent into the office

After 2:00 pm: Unless it's an emergency, no dismissal changes

Students must be dismissed before 3:00

3:30 pm: School ends

Email: sarah.leveque@andoverma.us
Website: https://aps1.net/212/High-Plain-Elementary-School
Location: 333 High Plain Road, Andover, MA, USA
Phone: 978-247-8600