HOD Family Newsletter

Wednesday, September 9th

HOD Photo Day

(Absentee date: - October 27th)

Wednesday, September 23rd

HOD Open House

Visitation Schedule

Session 1: 5:30 pm to 6:15 pm

and all students in preschool to grade 2 with

last names beginning with letters

M-Z

Session 2: 6:30 pm to 7:15 pm

All students in preschool to grade 2 with

last names beginning with letters

A-L

See more information below

Wednesday, October 7th

Teacher Professional Development - Early Release

Noon Dismissal

Monday, October 12th

No School

Please take a moment to review our HOD arrival and dismissal procedures. These routines are essential to keeping everyone safe and ensuring a smooth start and end to each school day.

A friendly reminder for our preschool families dropping off in the back: the bus circle must remain clear of cars at all times.

Drivers in the carline (during arrival and/or dismissal) MUST remain in their car. Students should exit and enter through the passenger side of the vehicle.

During dismissal, the front circle is reserved for preschool families only until 3:00. Kindergarten through second grade cars should stop at the side of the building by the library and wait to be welcomed into the front circle by a staff member.

***Please display the dismissal sign with the student’s name and teacher in the passenger side window of your vehicle.

Thank you for your review and support as we all work together to make arrival and dismissal safe, smooth, and efficient for every student.

Arrival and Dismissal Details are attached below:

The Staff and Students of the

H. Olive Day School

invite you to attend our

OPEN HOUSE

Prekindergarten through Grade 2

Parents, Families, Friends and Students

are invited to come to visit our classrooms

and meet our Teachers and our Specialists.

~See the attached invitation for details below.~

We hope you enjoy watching your children proudly show off their school! As a friendly reminder, please be sure to remain with and supervise your children at all times throughout Open House so that everyone can enjoy a safe and welcoming evening together.

As we settle into the school year, we kindly ask families to consider keeping personal technology devices, including cell phones and smartwatches (Fitbits, Gizmo, VTech watches, etc.), at home whenever possible. At the elementary level, these devices are not needed during the school day and can often become a distraction from learning, play, and time with friends.

As outlined in the Family Handbook, If your child does need to bring a device to school, it must remain tucked away in their backpack or cubby/locker for the entire school day and may not be used on school buses or vans. Please also remind your child(ren) that taking photos, videos, or audio recordings with a personal device is not permitted at school, on school transportation, on school grounds, or during after-school activities.

Thank you for partnering with us to help keep our students focused on learning, connecting with one another, and enjoying all that their school day has to offer!

Click the yellow bars below for more details.

Click on the bee for September Menu

If your child is not feeling well, your pediatrician is the best person to consult about whether they can go to school. Common sense, con­cern for your child's well-being, and the possibility of infecting classmates should all contribute to the decision about whether your child should stay home. As a general guideline, keep your child home if:

• They have a fever of 100 degrees F or higher. They should remain at home until fever-free for 24 hours without using fever reducing medications such as Tylenol or Ibuprofen.
• They have had episodes of vomiting or diarrhea within the past 24 hours.
• They have been diagnosed with conjunctivitis(Pink Eye). They may return 24 hours after the first dose of prescribed medication.

Below is a list of common health issues for your reference

Fever

A temperature of 100 degrees or higher is a fever. Children should remain at home fever-free for 24 ours without takeng Tylenol or Ibuprofen.

Vomiting/Diarrhea

Children should remain at home symptom free for 24 hours and are able to ingest fluids and food comfortably.

Coughs/Cold

If your child has discomfort from their cold symptoms, consider keeping them home. A continuous cough and/or continuous or green nasal drainage may need to be evaluated by your child's physician.

Conjunctivitis

Your child may need to be on an antibiotic for 24 hours after the first dose before returning to school or a note from your student's physician with other guidance.

Strep Throat

Children cannot return to school until 24 hours after the first dose of antibiotic is taken. They should feel well enough to return to school.

Suspicious Rash

Children with rashes that are suspicious should have them evaluated by a physician and be cleared to return to school.

From time to time, Mrs. Steck needs to offer clothing to our students. Our supply is dwindling,

so if anyone has gently used pants and shorts in sizes 6 - 10 that they no longer use,

we would be grateful to receive them.

Thank you!

Volunteer and Sponsorship Opportunities

As we kick off the new school year, we welcome your participation in any way you can give!

• Volunteers make our PTO events and initiatives happen! Please fill out the Volunteer Survey if you haven’t already.
• We value our Business Sponsors. Sponsorships start at $150. Please see more information and sign up by September 30!

Learn more about the PTO!

• Join us at our first PTO Meeting of the year! It will be held Wednesday, September 9 at 7pm at 9 Thomas Mann Circle, Norfolk.
• Visit us at the PTO Table at the HOD Open House on Wednesday, September 23. We’ll also have a bake sale with donations supporting the PTO.

PTO Calendar

You can always find the latest PTO Calendar here.

Follow us on Facebook

Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook: @Norfolk MA PTO

The creation of the Friend Directory for the 2026-2027 school year is underway

and we need your help!

The Friend Directory is a listing of all students’ contact information Pre-K through 6th

grade. It is an invaluable resource throughout the year for parents and guardians. Even

if you aren’t planning to purchase a Directory this year, it is still important for your child’s

information to be included with their class. Please include as much or as little contact

information as you would like. If you do not submit the Google form, your child will

not appear in the directory. A couple of things to keep in mind when filling out the

Google form:

● If you have more than one child in grades Pre-K through 6 you MUST submit a

separate form for each child. This can be done on the confirmation page by

clicking “submit another form”

● Submitting the data does not automatically buy you a Directory. There is a

separate order form (link below) to purchase a copy. In addition to being a

valuable parent resource, the Directory also raises funds for the PTO that go

RIGHT BACK into support for our schools!

● You can review the data you submitted once you have finished

● You will know that your child’s information has been successfully submitted once

you receive a confirmation email. If you believe you submitted the data correctly

but did not receive a confirmation within 24 hours please email Dana Johnson

at norfolkfrienddirectory@gmail.com for assistance.

We look forward to having the Directory ready for distribution in LATE OCTOBER, so

please submit your child’s data to us as soon as possible. Input your child's data by

clicking on the following:

SUBMIT FRIEND DIRECTORY INFORMATION HERE

Please complete and submit this form ******BY WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23rd,

2026******

The Friend Directory is available for purchase at $15.00 each in hardcopy or $10.00 in a

downloadable PDF format. All proceeds from sales of the Directory go towards financial

support of and special programs in our schools.

The link to the order form is: Friend Directory Order Form

Thank you for your continued support of our schools and the Norfolk PTO!

Questions: Contact Dana Johnson at norfolkfrienddirectory@gmail.com.