HSS Family Newsletter

January 6, 2025

Hello HSS Families,

As I put together the news portion of this newsletter, I couldn't help but notice that we are beginning to plan for next year already. It's hard to reconcile that with the frigid winter weather!

We have a lot going on at school. Our 3rd and 4th grade classes have been holding class spelling bees and the finalists from each room will compete tomorrow to become the school wide spelling champion. The chorus has been getting ready for their winter concert which will be on January 30th. Art classes have been creating beautiful Lunar New Year projects and we have a student assembly planned to learn about this holiday. We are also in the middle of winter testing and trying to make the most of many indoor recesses due to the cold.

I hope that everyone had a nice weekend and got a chance to be outside,

Leah Wheelan, Principal

News

SAU Preschool Lottery Deadline February 14th

If you are interested in entering the lottery for the SAU preschool program, please note the deadlines below.

Kindergarten Enrollment is Open

🍎 Call the front office at 448-2945 or email HSSOffice@sau88.net to start the process 🍎

Bus Lost and Found

Please send Paula Harthan, Director of Transportation, an email if your child has lost something on the bus. She has everything from boots to water bottles.
Paula Harthan <pharthan@sau88.net>

Passport to Winter Fun

Welcome one and all to the 2025 Season of the Passport to Winter Fun from the Upper Valley Trails Alliance. We received our passports last week!

The passport is a movement and exercise log that grants your student(s) prizes for their efforts!

For those of you who are new and still have questions, we invite you to peruse our Passport to Winter Fun webpage to watch the program video or check out the Passport Resources section. All of your questions should be answered there but for more complicated inquiries, email passport@uvtrails.org.

Drop-off or MAIL ALL FRONT/BACK FLAPS TO:

Your student(s) can drop it off at the School Counselor’s office

OR

Passport to Winter Fun, P.O. Box 1215, Norwich, VT

Program Deadlines

February 28th - Front Flap Due Date

March 28th - Back Flap Due Date

March 31st - Last day to Cash in Incentive Prizes

April 4th - Grand Prize Raffle, Program conclusion

Lunar New Year Event at the Hood

The Hood Museum of Art is delighted to invite students, families, and faculty and staff to our Lunar New Year Celebration on Saturday, February 1st, from 1:00-4:00 pm.

Drop in anytime to enjoy the following:

Artmaking activities for all ages, such as red envelope decorating and printmaking a collaborative banner of this year’s zodiac animal, the snake.
A special tour of “Attitude of Coexistence”, the current exhibition of Asian art on view in the galleries.
A reading nook with books for children, young readers and adults, as well as a special event coloring page.

Music and snacks for you to try! Hope to see you at the museum on February 1st!

Notes from the PTO

PTO update:

We are hosting the HSS Family Barn Dance (Formerly called the Contra Dance) on January 31st in the HSS gym. Families from both elementary schools are invited.

⭐⭐ The doors open at 5:45 and the event begins at 6:00. ⭐⭐

Upcoming Important Dates

January 24th - Spirit Day - School Colors and Gear
January 30th - 3rd and 4th grade chorus concert at HSS at 6:30
January 31st - Family Dance Night hosted by our amazing PTO

Nurse's Notes

The Importance of Vaccinating Our Children

Recently there was an article in The New York Times, “Even Adults May Soon Be Vulnerable to ‘Childhood Diseases’ “ that caught my attention. The article reported that vaccination schedules were disrupted by COVID and since then vaccination rates have continued to decline in the US. Although this is a concern for the health of our children, decreasing vaccination rates in children also put adults at risk who were most likely vaccinated against certain diseases decades ago. Maintaining a percentage of vaccination rates in communities protects others, especially those who are immunocompromised or those unable to receive a vaccination due to health related issues.

All children attending public school must be vaccinated against 5 diseases. Parents in NH can opt out of this requirement by completing paperwork for religious or medical exemptions. However, it is important to note that in the event of an outbreak in a school, children who are not immunized against the disease would need to remain home until the school has been cleared.

There are 5 categories of required immunizations for school age children in NH:

You can find the link to the article here: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/13/health/vaccines-children-measles-pertussis.html

Wishing for good health.

Holly Maher, RN

hmaher@sau88.net

603-448-0618