Husky Family Newsletter

Hi Families,

I'd like to thank our PTO and our volunteers for their School Carnival pivot on Friday as they transitioned the event indoors. Booths and games still took place and the food trucks were a great touch. Changing up the event is sometimes a much better option than cancelling outright. There are also vendors that have been booked and food that has been purchased. We also have events every month so if we cancel an event, it's often difficult to reschedule. We follow the district guidance on event cancellations and the district did not cancel already scheduled events on Friday. The next big event to gear up for is Trunk or Treat on October 23rd, so be on the look out for information.

Picture Day is Friday, October 2. Picture forms will go home early in the week if they haven't already been sent out. All that depends on when we receive them.

Just a word on toys and other trendy objects coming to school. We do ask that children not bring these items to school. Last year, Labubu items proved particularly difficult as children traded them or had several on their backpacks and they ended up getting lost as zippers or clasps broke. Anything like that that has value, or is expensive for you to replace, is better left at home. That also includes gel filled cubes and other objects that often pop as children are playing with them. These are also popular trade items and the trades are generally not even. The other thing that I will ask your help with is to remind children to keep press on nails and those sorts of things at home. There really isn't time in the day for students to apply those items and it is a distraction. Thank you for your help with this. On a plus, children coming to school with phones or watches have been pretty responsible for the most part, keeping these items off and in their bags while in school. Thank you for helping to reinforce this.

Don't forget to send in the good deeds that your children are doing at home so we can put them on our Good Deeds Tree. We are also adding the good deeds done at school. If you need more of the templates, let your child's teacher know or use the templates from this link: LEAF Templates. Add your child's name, grade, homeroom and a sentence describing the good deed.

Don't forget to reach out to me, Nurse Deb, or Mrs. Petrarca if you require HH Food pantry assistance. All inquiries are confidential. Please see the section below

Please see Nurse Deb screening updates and the new District Policy Section.

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Mrs. Tancrelle

October Breakfast

October Lunch

Coventry Public Schools Parent Corner:

On the district web page (www.coventryschools.net) you will find a Parent Corner Page that provides information about things like registration, Title I, lunch information, Parent Portal tech help, etc. I have linked the page above for your reference.

In this section we'll feature different district policies or state laws that serve as the basis for a lot of the decisions/rules that schools follow. Generally, the state will pass legislation and the school district will create policy based on that legislation. The district has a policy committee that meets regularly with our superintendents to review new legislation and existing policy to make sure they are aligned. I think the title is linkable if not click here - District Policy Manual to take a look at all of them.

The policy that we'll feature this week is a fairly simple one and that is the Dress Code Policy. We don't usually have too many issues with this at the elementary level. Things to watch for are cropped tops that show the midriff, shorts that are too short, and flip flops or similarly unstructured sandals as this type of footwear makes recess tricky. Children can still go out to recess but they are not permitted on the climbing equipment unless they have a closed shoe that won't compromise stability when climbing. We do have new SAs, so I will remind them, as well. Children at the elementary level do not change clothes for physical education but they are required to wear sneakers. You can send in sneakers for your child to change into if your child is wearing a different shoe on gym day, and sometimes children forget that they have phys ed, so they can come to the office and we will give you a call to bring in sneakers.

We do have spirit days in which we might have Hat Day, PJ Day, Crazy Hair Day, Mismatch Day, etc., but you will know that in advance as I will post in the newsletter, PTO will post on their FB page, and a flyer will go home.

And finally, our community Food Pantry partners can help us with things like coats, sneakers, etc., so if you have a need, please reach out to me, Nurse Deb, or Ms Petrarca. As with the Food Pantry, all inquiries are confidential/

Dress Code Policy

Elementary Handbook

FOOD SERVICE LINKS Update

Please make sure all free/reduced lunch applications are in by October 1 even if your family qualified last year. If you are direct cert from the state, you should be all set.

The linked title has all of the links above as well as pricing information and menus and I also link menus in my main message above.

Hopkins Hill Food Pantry: Hopkins Hill operates a very active food pantry throughout the school year. As part of this operation, we provide biweekly grocery deliveries from our food pantry supplies to any family that might be having a difficult time. All food pantry inquiries are confidential. You can call me, Nurse Deb, or Ms Petrarca if you are interested. Reach out should any emergency arise and we are prepared to assist or help you find assistance. The first biweekly delivery will go out on September 17 so if you would like to take part, please reach out. The service will continue on a biweekly basis until you reach out to discontinue and is not dependent on lunch status - any of us can run into a difficult period; we are happy to help.

Attendance: School attendance is at the forefront again this year with updates to state legislation. Just to recap, children are considered chronically absent if they are absent 10% or more of the days that school is in session. Illnesses and accidents happen with young children, and those will level out over the year, but it's the "just because" absences that cause a problem. The district attendance policy also requires that we track tardies - more on that in the Policy Section next week. We will begin reporting actual data when the RIDE Attendance Tool is up and running for the new school year.

Just a reminder that any medications that need to be administered by Nurse Deb at school need a doctor's order. Please reach out to Nurse Deb if you have questions about back to school medications.

email: oliverdeborah@coventryschools.net

Upcoming Health Screenings

October 13, Vision Screening

October 20, Vision Screening

November 6, Dental Screening - Opt Out Forms Going Home the end of October

March 29, 2027, Hearing Screenings for K-3

Schools are required to provide these screening. Let us know if you'd like the state law that requires these.

Please click on the link to Mrs. Marran's Website.

Mrs. Marran is our primary physical education and health teacher. We also have Ms Hayes on Friday mornings.

Mrs. McKay and Mrs. Gauthier are our Art teachers for the coming school year. We are fortunate to be able to have both art and music rooms this year. Art is in Rm 32.

Mrs. Masse is our music and chorus teacher. We are fortunate to be able to have both art and music rooms this year. Music is in Rm 14.

Our Monday librarian is Ms Lupino and our Tuesday/Wednesday librarian is Ms Wolk.

Weather Watch Recess Guide

October 2, School Picture Day

October 12, No School, Columbus Day

October 21, Half Day for students, Teacher PD in the afternoon

October 23, Trunk or Treat - 6-6:30 Sensory Friendly; 6:30-8:00 - open treating

November 3 - No School, Election Day

November 11 - No School Veteran's Day

November 16 - Book Fair Week

November 25 - 1/2 day for all

November 26-27 - Thanksgiving Break

December 23-Jan1 - Holiday Break

PTO Meeting Schedule - All meetings are at 6 PM at Hopkins Hill. All are Welcome!

10/5, 11/2, 12/7, 1/4, 2/1, 3/1, 4/5, 5/3, June TBD

SCHOOL STORE DATES

10/20, 11/10 More dates will be added

PTO Officers for the 2026-2027 school year.

President - Kristina Fragose

Vice President - Pam Keenan

Secretary - Shana Cinquemani

Treasure - Kayla Mauldin

Social Media Coordinator - Shelby Larkin

HH PTO:hopkinshillpto@gmail.com

Families, if you haven't done so already, please sign up for our email. Below is the link to do so or you can email us directly at hopkinshillpto@gmail.com

Thank you for all your support and we are looking forward to a great year!

Facebook: Hopkins Hill Elementary PTO

Instagram: @HopkinsHillPTO

Sharing Pictures

Website: Access Hopkins Hill from the district page: https://www.coventryschools.net/

or go to: Hopkins Hill Elementary School

Location: 95 Johnson Blvd, Coventry, RI, USA

Phone: 401-822-9477

E-Fax: 401-823-1801

• Kathryn Tancrelle, Principal tancrellekathryn@coventryschools.net
• Kathleen Mealey, Secretary, mealeykathleen@coventryschools.net
• Deborah Oliver "Nurse Deb", School Nurse, oliverdeborah@coventryschools.net