Hopkins Elementary School Good News

Each week, we’ll hold a friendly competition to see which class has the highest attendance rate. The winning class will earn the honor of displaying our Viking Helmet for the week! At the end of each trimester, we’ll celebrate the class with the best overall attendance with a classroom party and crown them as our Attendance Champions.

Check out our winners so far below!

• 9/15 - Mrs. Hall's Class (K) - 100% Attendance!
• 9/22 - Mrs. Cribley's Class (4th) - 98.2% Attendance!
• 9/29 - Mrs. Stegenga's Class (2nd) - 98.3% Attendance!

We're in need of substitute teachers and paraprofessionals! If you are interested, you can apply at EduStaff.org and list Hopkins Public Schools as a preferred school. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Andrew Mains at andrmain@hpsvikings.org

There will be an informational meeting for Battle of the Books (BOTB) on Thursday, October 9th at 2 PM. This meeting will take place in the kindergarten common area. There will be announcement for students to go if they are interested.

Battle of the Books is a reading incentive program for students in 3rd thru 12th grades. Students read books and come together, usually in groups, to demonstrate their abilities and to test their knowledge of the books they have read. The student competitions are usually similar to the TV series Family Feud or Whiz Kids styles of competitions. However, the structure, format, and rules of the competitions may vary depending on the educational goals, student needs, local resources, and personal preferences at various school sites, school districts, county libraries, or offices of education.

• Talk about school daily. Asking your child about their day shows them that school matters. [Visit LINK] for conversation starters.
  
  

• Every day counts. Children who attend school every day—or miss no more than one day a month—are more likely to read at or above grade level.
  
  

• Set a routine. Consistent school-year routines help students arrive ready to learn. Need ideas? [Check out this LINK].
  
  

• Missed days add up fast. Even a few absences can impact your child’s learning.
  
  

• Strong attendance = strong start. September attendance sets the tone for the whole year.
  
  

• Address anxiety early. If your child feels nervous about school, talk with their teacher or counselor. Early support can reduce school avoidance and ease anxiety. [Visit LINK K-5] or [LINK K-12] for more information.
  
  

Know the calendar. Planning family events and travel around the school calendar helps keep attendance on track. [See the calendar here: LINK].

️HOPKINS ELEMENTARY PARENTS️

We are looking for a couple more parent volunteers to help with our book fair Oct 20-Oct 23! We have a few different shifts available. Follow this link and scroll all the way to the bottom and you will see the openings!

• 8-11am
• 11am-2:30
• 4-6pm

https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showSignUp/70A0E44A9A82CA3F85-57956884-hopkins

Over the past few years, Hopkins Public Schools has partnered with the Allegan County Sheriff’s Office to have a School Resource Officer (SRO) on campus. Deputy Keefauver has proudly served in this role throughout this time. With new families joining Hopkins Elementary School, I wanted to take a moment to explain what the SRO position entails and its purpose.

Throughout the school year, your child may come home sharing stories about their experiences with Deputy K. From fun events like Silly Sock Day with 1st grade last week, to giving away bicycle helmets, reading to classes during March is Reading Month, and even seeing her at sporting events — Deputy K is an active and positive presence in our school community.

A School Resource Officer (SRO) is a certified, sworn law enforcement officer who is specially trained to work within a school setting. The role combines elements of law enforcement, education, counseling, and emergency management to help create a safe and supportive school environment. SROs work closely with school staff and use a community policing approach to build relationships with students, teach them about safety, the legal system, and responsible citizenship, while also handling security and emergency preparedness.

In the next few weeks, Hopkins Elementary School teachers will begin completing a universal screening for all students. This assessment is a Student Risk Screening Scale (SRSS-IE). This will be completed three times a year to help identify students who may be at risk for additional social, emotional, or behavior needs.

Universal screening is the systematic assessment of all students on academic, behavior, and social-emotional indicators for the purpose of identifying students who are at-risk, and may require support that varies in terms of level, intensity and duration. Screening is a key component of prevention efforts. This is similar to universal screening for vision and hearing. Numerous school districts across the country implement universal screening, most commonly in the area of reading.

If you would like more information, you can review this document. Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns.

For anyone attending a field trip or volunteering in the school building. An iChat background check is required by Hopkins Public Schools. You can complete this (or send it to a family member attending - grandma/grandpa, uncle/aunt) by clicking on this link.

Youth hunt is this weekend

Are your youth hunters signed up for the Big Buck Contest?

We have a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place for youth along with 1st, 2nd and 3rd for adults and the biggest buck overall

Questions- email hopkinsbigbucknight@gmail.com

or call 616-292-3069

• If you would like our office to keep over the counter medications in the office. We need this form completed by the family. For these types of medications (ibuprofen, Tylenol, topical ointments), we do not need a physician to sign off. These need to be an unopened/brand new bottle. https://www.hpsvikings.org/wp-content/uploads/fm5330-f1a-Permission-Form-for-Non-Prescription-Medication-revised-5-26-2023.pdf
• If our office is required to dispense prescribed medications or treatments, we will need this form completed, which requires a physician's signature: https://www.hpsvikings.org/wp-content/uploads/fm5330-f1-Permission-Form-for-Prescribed-Medication-revised-5-26-2023.pdf
• Our offices do not keep a supply of medications in the office to hand out (ibuprofen, Tylenol, allergy medicine). If you child needs these, you will need to fill out the first form and bring in a brand new, not opened, not expired bottle for us to use only for your child.
• We did not keep any of the medications from 24-25.

FinalForms should be updated every year! Remember it has your contact information in it and we know things change over the course of the summer.

Please take a few minutes to make those changes so we have everything we need for your child!

You can access FinalForms by selecting this link.

The District shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, age, religion, height, weight, marital or family status, disability, military status, genetic information, or any other legally protected category in its programs and activities, including employment. Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination and shall likewise not be permitted with respect to students or employees. The District shall not retaliate against a person who reports or opposes improper discrimination or retaliation. The District shall fully comply with all applicable federal and state civil rights statutes, including, without limitation, Title IX of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.