High Plain Elementary Corner
Ms. Leveque's and Mrs. Lyons' Weekly Newsletter
From the Desks of Ms. Leveque and Mrs. Lyons
September 14, 2025
Dear HPE Families,
It was wonderful to see so many families at Wednesday's Open House. We always appreciate when we can share information about our outstanding school and create a partnership with you. We hope you left with a bit more knowledge and an excitement over the great work that is ahead for your children.
We had an outstanding back to school assembly today. It was filled with joy! We practiced the routines and expectations for entering an assembly, being an audience member, and exiting the assembly. We shared the school theme of Possibility, Wonder, Joy and greeted our neighbors by sharing a joy from the start of the school year. As the main event, we had a video that introduced our HPE staff to the kids and sang our school song. We want to thank Mrs. Chaves for her incredible videography skills and putting this together for us. We encourage you to view the video.
Enjoy,
Ms. Leveque and Mrs. Lyons
-Monday, September 15: Third, Fourth, and Fifth grade instruments, strings, and band lessons begin
-Monday, September 22: Navaratri
-Tuesday, September 23 & Wednesday September 24: Rosh Hashanah (days 1 & 2)
HPE 2025-26 School Supply Lists
School Year Hours:
Monday-Friday, 8:45-3:30
We are fortunate to have Ginny the therapy dog on campus a few days a week. Ginny was certified as a therapy dog back in the fall of 2022 and has dual-certification with both Mrs. McLaughlin, her owner, and Mrs. Celata, our school social worker. Ginny spends some of her time with Mrs. McLaughlin who is an instructional assistant in fifth grade, but she spends most of her time with Mrs. Celata in her office and visiting classrooms around the school.
Ginny is a 8 year old Australian Labradoodle. She is non-shedding and considered hypoallergenic to most people with dog allergies. When Ginny is around students, she is under the direct supervision of Mrs. McLaughlin or Mrs. Celata. We take the health and safety of our students seriously and know that while Ginny may be supportive to some students, we understand that some students are not comfortable around dogs. Before entering a new classroom, Mrs. Celata and Mrs. McLaughlin always ask first if there are any students who would like to have Ginny stay away from them. No student will have to be close to Ginny if they do not want to be.
We wanted to share the video we have shown to the students about how to approach a therapy dog and to explain the difference between a therapy dog and a pet. When Ginny is in school, she is working and takes her role seriously. She has provided great comfort for many students. You can view the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axLBd_4IKdE
Ginny is a well known and beloved member of our community, and we hope that your children are enjoying their interactions with her. Please let us know if you have any concerns, questions, or reasons as to why your child cannot interact with Ginny by emailing me at Sarah.Leveque@andoverma.us.
Dear Families,
We need your assistance with dismissal. This week, cars began lining up by 1:45pm. We did a great job last year addressing this as a community. As a reminder, we utilize all parts of our outdoor space for learning and recess at this time. As you can imagine, starting to see cars pull along the driveway that early has many of our staff feeling uncomfortable. Safety is our top priority, and our staff remain vigilant to our surroundings. When we see cars lining the driveway, we don't want to assume they are parents and so we are having to leave our areas to go confirm that the person in the car should be on campus at this time. This is taking away from our focus on the students.
I'm asking that we do not begin lining up in the driveway until closer to 3pm. In addition, MA state law says there is no idling on campus, so all cars need to be turned off until we begin dismissal. I recognize people come early as there are places you need to get your children to right after school. This week, we have already seen our car line move faster with the efficiency allowing us to end each day by 3:42. We will continue to work on this and we ask that you continue to help us with your arrival time.
Thanks for understanding our desire to keep our campus safe,
Sarah
Lowell Street will be closed in the area around 277 Lowell Street from Monday, September 15 through Friday, September 19, 2025, between 7:00 AM and 5:00 PM, to allow for the replacement of a drainage culvert as part of the Lowell Street Water Main Project.
The vendor servicing APS bus routes have been made aware of the construction work and are making efforts to provide timely service to and from schools. Residents are advised to avoid the area, seek alternate routes, and anticipate travel delays.
Detours will be in place to guide drivers around the work area. Access to homes will be maintained at all times. We appreciate the community’s patience and cooperation during this important infrastructure improvement project.
After participating in a comprehensive literacy review during the 2024-2025 school year, the Andover Public Schools adopted Arts and Letters by Great Minds as our new English Language Arts curriculum for Kindergarten through grade 5. This innovative program goes beyond teaching reading and writing skills—it helps students build knowledge, think critically, and develop a true love of learning. With a focus on engaging texts, meaningful discussions, and opportunities to connect reading and writing across subjects, Arts and Letters gives students the tools they need to grow as confident readers, writers, and thinkers.
A key benefit of Arts & Letters is the fact that it complements our continued approach to teaching students to read through an emphasis on foundational literacy skills, focusing on both word recognition and language comprehension development. Arts & Letters pairs particularly well with Fundations, Heggerty, and Geodes, all of which remain firmly intact within our instructional approach.
Families can expect their children to explore rich stories, expand their vocabulary, and make connections to science, history, and the arts as they learn. We look forward to partnering with you as we launch this exciting new program and support every child’s growth in literacy. Please be on the lookout for details regarding informational sessions for parents and guardians later this fall. In the meantime, you can learn more at greatminds.org.
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