Husky Highlight

1. Message from Ms. Moulton
2. Hosmer Family Survey
3. Diversity Council & PTO Updates
4. Upcoming Events (dates, time, and location)
5. Getting Ready for School:

• School Supplies
• Lunch and Break Snack Program- Free to ALL Students
• Arrival and Dismissal Procedures

Greetings Hosmer, Families,

Happy Sunday, everyone. I hope you are all safe and prepared as we hunker down for this storm.

We are excited to welcome you back for the 2021-2022 school year! While we still have a couple of weeks of summer vacation to enjoy I though that this information would be helpful as you begin to think about the transition back to school.

Some of you may be wondering about expected Covid precautions. There will be a School Committee meeting on Monday evening during which time the School Committee will vote on whether or not to approve the policies proposed by the District. We are currently planning to continue with mask wearing indoors and with the mandatory pooled testing that we began last year. These measures have helped to keep our community safe and our students in school.

Rest assured that I will be send another newsletter with more logistical information as we get closer to the start of school.

As you will see below, we have several events scheduled to welcome everyone back. I hope you might be able to join us as we reconnect as a Hosmer Husky Community! Truly, we are "Better Together" and we can't wait to welcome everyone back!

With a grateful heart,

Ms. Moulton

As we work to continually improve our school, I hope that you might take a few moments to complete the survey below about your family's experience at the Hosmer School. I will use this information from you to set goals for our growth. It should only take a few minutes to complete.

Thank you in advance for giving us feedback to help make our school an even better place for everyone in our community!

The Hosmer Diversity Council kept its momentum going by hosting a grown-up book discussion of Nurture Shock: New Thinking About Children (our final discussion is Thursday, 9/2 from 8 PM-9:30 PM vai zoom) and one of two in-person playdates with families and kids (our second playdate is scheduled for Sunday, 8/29 - from 3 PM-5 PM at Arsenal Park near the playground). We welcome you to join us for our remaining book discussions and playdate if possible! For our August playdate, we will be doing tie dye! If you have something you'd like to tie dye, please bring it. If you can't find anything, we will also provide plain white socks for kids to tie dye.

We look forward to the coming year and getting to continue building our community with one another. Please contact Sara Keary (sarakeary1@gmail.com) or Evelyn Pedroza (epedroza1992@gmail.com) if you have questions or would like to be added to our email list for more information about upcoming events.

Welcome new families and returning families! The Hosmer Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO) is looking forward to a great year. The PTO sponsors community-building events, funds enrichment activities for all grades, and shows appreciation for our teachers and staff throughout the year. This year's parent board members are Theresa Flaherty (2nd & 5th grade parent), Chris Higgins (5th grade & middle school parent), and Christina Murphy (1st & 5th grade parent).

We hope you will join us for our monthly meetings--the first one will be at the end of September. We will also have volunteer opportunities throughout the year. Stay tuned for info on some fun fall activities, and in the meantime, for more information, visit us at hosmerpto.org and follow us on Facebook. We hope to see and meet you soon!

Sunday, August 29th

3:00-5:00pm

Playground at Arsenal Park

Wednesday, September 1st

3:00-4:30 pm

South Lawn

This event is specifically for students who were enrolled in Watertown Virtual School (or homeschooled) all year last year.

Additional information will be sent to these students and families via email.

Wednesday, September 1st

5:00-6:30pm

South Lawn

This is event is for families of students entering grades 1-5 who are new to Watertown. Additional information will be sent to these students and families via email.

Thursday, September 2nd

2:00-3:30pm

Playground on Winthrop St.

Thursday, September 2nd

5pm-6:30

South Lawn

ELPAC Back to School Welcome Event for our families who are not native English speakers. Families are welcome to Fillipello Park on Saturday, September 11th, from 2:00-5:00 PM to meet others who share their native language and learn more about our schools. This event is being sponsored by WPS ELPAC and organized by Kate Phillipson, our ESL Curriculum Coordinator.

On the first days of Kindergarten, we follow a slightly different schedule to ease students into school. Please check the placement letter sent earlier this summer to find the appointment time for you and your child to come in on September 8th.

• Day 1 (Visiting Day by Appointment) Wednesday, September 8th: Students and families enter through RED DOOR located near the large fenced-in area on the corner of Chauncy St. and Boylston St. (South Lawn)

• Day 2- (Early Release at 12:00 for kindergarten students only) Thursday, September 9th: arrival from 8:05 - 8:15 AM. Students enter through the exterior doors of their classrooms. After 8:15 AM, students must enter the main entrance (BLUE DOOR) on Concord Rd. Students will exit door from the same doors they enter. Pick-up time is 12:00 PM (no lunch service and no extended day).

• Day 3- (First Full Day) Friday, September 10th: 8:15 AM – 2:30 PM (full day, lunch is served, Extended Day for those students signed up).

The construction of our new building is coming along as planned and we are on track to move just prior to the February school vacation week. A playground for younger students s currently being constructed on Winthrop St. where the basketball court previously was. This will be open for the start of school. An additional playground for older students will be built next summer on the site of the current school building.

School supply lists can be found on the Hosmer School website.

If supply purchasing poses a hardship for your family, please know that we will make sure that children have what they need. We do not want this to pose unnecessary stress to families.

Breakfast snacks and lunch will be available to all students free of charge. Breakfast snack replaces our traditional breakfast program; last year, more students took advantage of our snack program, which is offered during the school day.

Students will have the opportunity to order a snack or lunch each morning during Morning Meeting. Students are still welcome to bring a snack or lunch from home.

You can view menus on our website. Click the link below.

Watertown Food and Nutrition Website

Please review the map below for the traffic pattern around the Hosmer School.

• Winthrop & Hancock Streets are closed except for abutters and school employees.
• from 7:30-3, Chauncy Street in one way with traffic flowing from Mt. Auburn toward Concord Rd. The Drop & Go location is along the garden side of Chauncy St.

Drop & Go
If you use Drop & Go:

• PLEASE pull as far up on Chauncy as possible before stopping.
• There is NO parking or live parking in this area.
• Do not get out of your car.
  
• Students will exit out the passenger side door. Staff will be there to open the door and direct students where to go.
• Masks must be on!

In an effort to maintain social distancing, students are assigned entry and exit doors based on the location of the classroom. Doors have been color-coded for ease and directional signs will be displayed. Just follow the husky that matches the color of your door!

We will be conducting a staggered and strategic dismissal to allow for continued social distancing. Teachers will bring their students to specific locations and will hold up signs with their names for the first week or so.

We ask that you to wear a mask and that adults picking children up remain on the sidewalks and wave to students and teachers. (Kindergarten families, you should wait on the grass but away from the kindergarten doors.) The teacher will send the child to you. Please do NOT come directly to the area where the class is waiting. This helps keep children safe by exposing them to less adults.

In our next newsletter we will include a guide so you know where each

class will be standing during dismissal.

Website: www.watertown.k12.ma.us/hosmer
Location: 1 Concord Road, Watertown, MA, USA
Phone: 617-926-7740
Facebook: www.facebook.com/HosmerElementarySchool/
Twitter: @HosmerSchool