High Plain Elementary Corner
Ms. Leveque's and Mrs. Lyons' Weekly Newsletter
From the Desks of Ms. Leveque and Mrs. Lyons
September 28, 2025
Dear HPE Families,
We are a community that supports each other and takes pride in our campus. We wanted to give a shout out to some fantastic students. Some of the 5th grade students noticed that there were a lot of wrappers and papers around the recess area. With the help of our instructional assistance, these students put on some disposable gloves, found trash bags, and spent much of their recess combing all the areas They collected 3 bags of trash! Once the 4th graders came out and saw what was happening, a few other students joined the effort. We appreciate them beautifying the recess area for all of HPE!
This week, we were fortunate to begin our Title I services and reading support. These general education services focus on literacy and mathematics. We are fortunate to be designated a Title I school and as such, receive federal funding to provide additional small group instruction for students who need an extra boost or review of the grade level standards in these content areas. Our reading specialists and Title I teachers provide intervention with the focus on growth and achievement within the skills. This is just a part of what we do at High Plain. We make data driven decisions based on student assessments. This is one more way that we make sure our students are getting what they need in the moment.
Enjoy,
Ms. Leveque and Mrs. Lyons
-Thursday, October 2: Yom Kippur & Dasera / Dussehra
-Tuesday, October 7 - Thursday, October 9: PTO Sponsored Scholastic Book Fair
-Tuesday, October 7: First Day of Sukkot
-Wednesday, October 8: Early Release day for students; 12:15 dismissal
-Friday, October 10: School Picture Day. Details below.
-Monday, October 13: Fall Recess (No School)
HPE 2025-26 School Supply Lists
School Year Hours:
Monday-Friday, 8:45-3:30
We had our first day of rain this week. We wanted to review the arrival and dismissal plans on increment weather days, where we are indoors due to rain, temperature, or heavy snow. Thanks for your assistance in following our plans.
Arrival:
-Please drive all the way forward for rolling car drop off. Do not stop in front of the door or get out of the car. Our students are hardy New Englanders who can handle a few seconds of weather. Students should hop out of the car and proceed to the front doors (or kindergarten doors). Students head to their classrooms from 8:45-9:00 where they are supervised.
-Bussers and walkers proceed as usual.
-Students may attend breakfast in the cafeteria from 8:45-9:00.
Dismissal:
-Please drive all the way forward for rolling car pickup. Stay in your cars. Students will stay under our front entrance awning. Staff will announce cars and students will proceed down the driveway to meet cars.
-Bussers and walkers proceed as usual.
Dear High Plain Families,
We are reviewing with our students the many safety precautions we have in place when they are in school. You may hear your children talking about Fire Drills or A.L.I.C.E Drills. A.L.I.C.E. is an acronym for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Communicate, Evacuate.
A.L.I.C.E is designed to prepare students for life inside and out of the classroom, at school, at home, at the mall, at an afterschool program, at restaurants, or any other place the child goes. We are teaching life-long safety skills.
This school year we will participate in both Fire Drills, supported by the Andover Fire Department, and A.L.I.C.E drills. During the next few weeks, we will hold our first A.L.I.C.E drill, supported by the Andover Police Department. We will provide families with an update after our drill is complete. If you wish to review the A.L.I.C.E. drill with your children, we wanted to share this resource. Our teachers do an incredible job making sure that these drills are explained in child friendly terms. After a drill, teachers discuss with the students how it went and answer any questions.
In addition to drills, we also talk with our students about following good safety practices. This involves never opening a locked door for someone- even if it is someone they know. All visitors are asked to enter via the main entrance. We utilize the Visitor Aware System, a modern web-based system that allows our office staff to track everyone who enters our school and stop any threats at the door. All visitors will be required to show state-issued identification (license, passport) in order to enter the building.
Thank you for your continued support and partnership to ensure we keep our students and schoolhouse safe.
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!
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.
School Hours of Operation
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
Ms. Sarah Leveque, Principal
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