Hopewell's Happenings

Happy New Year, HES Families!

As we say goodbye to December, our month focused on Empathy, we’re excited to share the incredible ways our school community came together to make a positive impact. Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen an outpouring of kindness and compassion, and we’re so proud of what we’ve accomplished!

One of the highlights was our Pajama Day fundraiser for the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). Thanks to your participation, we raised over $2,000 to support children and families in need. Who knew wearing pajamas could make such a big difference?

December was packed with fun and memorable moments at HES! The Gingerbread Man was on the loose once again, bringing excitement to our youngest learners. First graders enjoyed a special field trip to the post office, where they mailed letters and learned about the mail system. We wrapped up the month with a festive holiday sing-along that brought our school community together in celebration. To top it all off, students in grades 1–5 attended Princeton University Women’s Basketball Education Day before the break, enjoying an exciting game and cheering as Freddy won the halftime competition.

Take a look at the photos below to relive some of these cherished December memories!

As we settle into the new year, January promises to be a busy and exciting month. Fingers crossed for no snow days, so we can keep the momentum going!

Thank you for your continued support in making HES a place where kindness and empathy thrive. Here’s to an amazing 2026!

Regarding the Hopewell mascot, Roger Labaw graciously uncovered a 1979 Hopewell Elementary School newsletter that explains how the frog was originally chosen as the school’s logo:

Earlier this year a competition was held at Hopewell Elementary School to come up with a design that would serve as the school’s logo. This logo was to be imprinted on the school T-Shirts and on an official banner. The judging was set up and coordinated by Miss Kathleen Brennan, School Librarian.
The winning entry was a drawing of a Frog portrayed by Laura Hostetter, a second grader at the school. The second place winner was Jennifer Kraus, a fifth grader, and honorable mention went to Jennifer Consoli in grade one.
Laura selected the Frog because of its place in Hopewell’s history.
The following information on Hopewell’s great Frog War was excerpted from the N. J. Sampler.
Sleepy little Hopewell came alive with a bang on the frosty evening of January 5, 1876. Out on the plains, west of the village, the incessant bleating of a locomotive whistle meant only one thing: the long, smoldering Frog War had flamed into violence...

For more, see the Hopewell Elementary School Newsletter, June 14, 1979 (PDF)

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This year, on Election Day in November, we held a fun competition to decide how to spell Freddy the Frog’s name — Freddy with a Y or Freddie with an IE. And the winning spelling is… Freddy with a Y!

Join HVRSD STRIVE PTO for our Winter Used Book Sale Fundraiser!

From Tuesday, 1/20 to Friday, 1/30, look for donation boxes at all district schools to drop off your gently used books.

Then, come shop the collection on Saturday, 2/7 during the Summer Camp Expo & Special Resource Fair. While you explore local resources and plan your child’s summer, you can refresh your home library! All proceeds directly support STRIVE programs for our students, families, and staff.
Plus—Special Education staff are invited to "shop" the sale for free to stock their classrooms!
Let’s turn your old favorites into new opportunities for our district.

As the 2025-2026 Hopewell Elementary School Yearbook continues to take shape, the yearbook committee is currently accepting submissions for the Title Page Drawing Contest. Students in grades K-5 are encouraged to incorporate the HES Honor Pledge into their designs (L-Leadership, E- Empathy, A- Acceptance, P- Perseverance) while showcasing their creativity and artistic ability.

Using the space provided on this entry FORM, please sketch and illustrate your title page design. Be sure to utilize the entire space to the best of your ability. In addition to hand-drawn submissions, students are also welcome to submit designs utilizing Canva as well. Kindly attached a printed copy of the Canva design to your entry form for consideration.

All submissions should be turned into the main office no later than Friday, January 30th for consideration. An overall winner will be selected to be featured on the title page of this year’s yearbook with special recognition awarded to runners up in each grade level. We look forward to reviewing all of the amazing entries!

We are excited to recognize Ms. Dana Pontani as our Governor’s Educator of the Year!

A dedicated member of Hopewell Elementary since 2013, Dana embodies warmth, creativity, and compassion. She skillfully supports all learners and brings lessons to life through her unique integration of music, fostering a love of learning in every student.

Beyond the classroom, Dana is deeply involved in our school community and is a collaborative, inspiring colleague who contributes greatly to our school culture. Her belief in every child’s potential shines through in all she does.

Please join us in congratulating Ms. Dana Pontani on this well-deserved honor!

The Winter Concert is quickly approaching, and we are excited to showcase the students’ hard work in music this year at Hopewell Valley Central High School's Performing Arts Center on Tuesday, January 13. Please review the details about rehearsals, arrival times, and attire HERE to ensure your student is ready for the concert. Attendance and participation are required for all fourth and fifth graders.

The Hopewell Elementary Student Council is excited to announce this year’s Talent Show, taking place on Thursday, April 23rd at 6:30 PM! Students in grades 3–5 are invited to participate and showcase their talents. Whether you sing, dance, play an instrument, perform a magic trick, or have another unique talent, we encourage you to sign up! Click HERE to register.

Important Participation Information:

• Sign-ups will be limited to the first 25 participants.
  

• This limit allows space for waitlisted performances from last year.
  

• Group performances only need to submit one form per group, which is a change from previous years.
  

• Once the sign-up limit is reached, a notice will be sent out. This may occur before the February 6th deadline, at which point a waitlist will begin.
  

• Final participants will receive an invitation to attend the informational meeting.
  

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

Important Dates to Remember:

Forms Due: Friday, February 6th
Informational Meeting: Wednesday, February 11th (during Homeroom)
In-School Rehearsal: Thursday, April 16th
After-School Rehearsal: Monday, April 20th

News for students by students! We are so proud of all of our members of the Newspaper Club who put a lot of effort into making their articles. You will get to learn more about what is happening at the school, learn more about teachers, pets of HES and so much more! Thank you for taking the time to read our paper!

December Paper - 2nd Edition

Pomptonian is excited to announce its 7th Annual Healthy School Lunch Challenge, created in celebration of National Nutrition Month! This fun and engaging challenge encourages students to get involved in the kitchen and explore creative, healthy meal ideas.

Elementary students (Pre-K–5th grade) are invited to submit a healthy lunch recipe by January 19. Winners will be selected from the Pre-K–5 category, with two Grand Prize Winners and one Super Grand Prize Winner. The Super Grand Prize Winner will receive a KitchenAid mixer!

A short video explaining the challenge is available HERE, and a flyer with full details is linked HERE. We encourage families to check them out and support our young chefs as they cook up healthy ideas at home!

Thursday, January 29 at 6 PM

Media Center at Hopewell Valley Central High School

The Hopewell YMCA Registration for afterschool enrichment closes on Friday, January 16th. Classes will start on Tuesday, January 20th. Click here for more information.

December was a busy month filled with joyous celebrations and warm moments with friends and family. It was also a time for our school-wide focus on Empathy! Empathy is one of our LEAP core values practiced through practical activities such as our Hopewell Hooray Recognition and CHOP Pajama Day. It is also embedded across the curriculum by learning about feelings and kindness in counseling lessons, working together in groups in Math, Science and Social Studies, and engaging in read-alouds in ELA and Media as well as coming together as a school community during our Holiday Sing-along and Whole School Meetings. Thank you for supporting your student(s) pursuit of Empathy at home!

See some examples below including our second grade students in Ms. Pontani and Mr. Cell’s class learning about feelings in their counselor lesson so they can better identify them in themselves and others, our 5th grade Lily PALS giving up their recess to help Kindergarten students, and some of our 1st graders practicing relationship-building skills during indoor recess. Way to show those empathy skills, HES!

HES will focus on Perseverance during the month of January. The definition students are learning is “pushing yourself to work through challenges and obstacles”. Consider setting a goal and encouraging one another as a family challenge this month to practice perseverance together at home.

As always, please reach out if you need any assistance via phone at 609-737-4007 x7206 or email at ashleylarose@hvrsd.org.

Does your lawn provide the habitat our native wildlife needs to thrive?
Join us for the Native Seed Sowing Extravaganza Event Series, organized by Hopewell, NJ Native Plant Swap and the HVRSD EcoPTO, with support from Y.E.S.

Whether you’re brand-new to native plants or looking to deepen your expertise, this year’s lineup offers something for everyone.

Wednesday, January 14 • 6:00–7:30 PM
A-La-Carte Video Call
We’ll start with Native Plant Gardening 101, then dive into plant selection, common germination challenges, and tips for preventing and treating issues.

Saturday, January 17 • 10:00 AM–1:00 PM
Native Seed Sowing Extravaganza (In Person)
Choose from 70+ native plant seed species and leave with your seeds sown in germination jugs. Experienced native plant enthusiasts will be on hand to guide you through choosing species and the seed-sowing process.
Jugs filled with premium soil are $5 each, and each jug typically produces about 12 plants—an unbeatable price, so stock up!

Register for one or both events:
https://tinyurl.com/NativeSeeds2026

As we begin the new year, please remember to label your child's coats, sweatshirts, jackets, water bottles, and other belongings. Labeled items have a much better chance of making their way back home!

PTO Meeting:
The January PTO Meeting is Friday, January 16th, from 8:45am - 9:45am in the Staff Faculty Lounge at HES. If you can not attend in person, please click HERE for a Zoom link.

Are you in the directory yet?
Did you know HES has a free, secure directory for families to find contact information to schedule playdates, send out birthday party invites or contact a parent in a pinch? Sign up for the school directory to manage the information you want to share and choose whether to receive important PTO announcements about upcoming events such as the school T-shirt giveaway and the book fair. The Membership Toolkit portal is secure, so your information will never be shared outside of our school community, and it gives you control over what you want to share. If you have any questions about the directory, reach out at hesdirectory@gmail.com.

HES PTO Fundraising:
The HES PTO is the volunteer organization behind many fun events and special things for our kids during the school year. Please view our link to the Frog Flash for more information.

The Classes of 2027 and 2028 are excited to host Designer Handbag Bingo on January 16, 2026. For more information on this fun event and to purchase tickets for you and your adult friends and family, please visit the Bingo page. If you would like to donate your time, talents, or prizes to help make this a successful fundraiser for the class, please reach out to the Bingo Planning Team by emailing chs2027parents@gmail.com.

• January 1st - New Year's Day (Schools/Offices Closed)
• January 2nd - Winter Break (Schools Closed)
• January 5th - School Spirit Day - PJ Day; Board of Education Re-organization Meeting (6:30pm)
• January 7th - Vocal Ensemble Rehearsal (7:50am); Garden Club Meeting (3:40pm)
• January 8th - Student Council Meeting - Officers ONLY (8:00am); Orff Ensemble Rehearsal (3:45pm)
• January 12th - Winter Concert School-wide Performance (2:15pm); Board of Education Regular Meeting (6:30pm)
• January 13th - Field Trip: Concert Rehearsal at HVCHS for 4th & 5th Grade; Winter Concert Community Performance at HVCHS Performing Arts Center (7:00pm)
• January 14th - Vocal Ensemble Rehearsal (8:00am)
• January 15th - Student Council Meeting - Officers & Reps (8:05am); Orff Ensemble Rehearsal (3:45pm)
• January 16th - Student Council Spirit Day (New Year/New You - Dress as your future self!) Preschool Collaboration Day (No School for Preschool); PTO Meeting (8:45am)
• January 19th - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (Schools/Offices Closed)
• January 20th - Green Team Meeting (3:40pm)
• January 21st - Vocal Ensemble Rehearsal (8:00am)
• January 22nd - Orff Ensemble Rehearsal (3:45pm)
• January 23rd - Field Trip: 4th & 5th Grade Orchestra Visits HVCHS
• January 28th - Vocal Ensemble Rehearsal (8:00am)
• January 29th - Debate Team Meeting (8:00am); Orff Ensemble Rehearsal (3:45pm); Screenagers: Elementary School Age Edition Screening and Discussion at HVCHS (6:00pm)
• January 30th - Newspaper Club Meeting (8:00am)

• HES Dismissal Waiver Form
• HES Lunch Info
• HES School Calendar
• HES School Times
• HVRSD District Calendar

This section of our monthly correspondence is dedicated to posting our older community newsletters so that you can refer back to previous HES communication. We also recommend that you regularly visit our school's website and read HVRSD's weekly Focus to stay informed with the latest events and happenings at HES.

Previous Newsletters:

• December Edition
• November Edition
• October Edition
• September Edition
• Back to School Edition