Hamburg School

October 26-28 - Scarecrow Contest

October 30 - Scarecrow Judging (Hamburg Borough representatives)

October 30 - Halloween Parade @ 1:30 PM (The Field) - All are Welcome to attend!

October 31 - Happy Halloween!

November 1 - Daylights Savings Time ends (clocks back 1 hour)

November 3 - Election Day (6 AM - 8 PM)

November 4 - Early Dismissal @ 1 PM

November 5 & 6 - No School (NJEA Teacher Convention)

November 9 - World Kindness Week begins

November 11 - Veterans Day

November 11 - PTA Meeting @ 7 PM (Cafeteria or Zoom)

November 16 - Substitute Appreciation Week

November 19 - BOE Meeting @ 6:30 PM (Cafeteria)

November 23 - Red Cross Blood Drive (1:30 - 6:30 PM)

November 23 - CVS Vaccination Clinic for the Community (1:30 - 6:30 PM)

November 23-24 - Early Dismissal @ 1 PM

November 23-24 - Parent Teacher Conferences

November 25 - Early Dismissal @ 1 PM

November 26 - Thanksgiving

November 27 - No School

Altered Course in Sussex is running a trial class for $15 and if you name Hamburg School PTA in the "who referred you" they will donate $10 to the PTA! They offer options for kids of all ages and also throw some really fun birthday parties.

We sincerely appreciate the thoughtful feedback shared through our Community Climate and Engagement Survey. Your comments, concerns, and suggestions are important to us and provide valuable insight into the experiences of our Hamburg School families.

Administrative feedback for narratives are noted at the conclusion of the survey results in red.

The New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) strives to recognize educators who have gone above and beyond in their service to New Jersey’s students. Now, more than ever before, is the time to celebrate New Jersey’s outstanding educators. Therefore, every school in every district is encouraged to participate in Governor’s Educator of the Year program to honor the hardworking teachers and educational services professionals for their dedication to their students and the profession.

This program promotes a culture that recognizes excellence, creates a sense of pride and brings public attention to the work of outstanding educators. Please remember to consider exceptional educators with diverse backgrounds to ensure that honorees represent the ethnic/racial diversity of our state.

Nominations should be forwarded to Dr. Sigman <ksigman@hamburgschool.com> by Friday, November 13, 2026.

At Hamburg School, we believe that strong schools are built upon open communication, meaningful partnerships, and a shared commitment to the success and well-being of our students. With this in mind, we are excited to introduce Hamburg School Community Voice: Celebrations, Concerns & Conversations!

This new initiative provides parents, guardians, community members, staff and students with an ongoing opportunity to share their thoughts, recognize the wonderful things happening throughout our school, offer suggestions for improvement, ask questions, and communicate concerns.

The Community Voice Survey will remain open year-round and will be regularly monitored by the Hamburg School Administrative Team. Our goal is to create an accessible and welcoming avenue for communication that encourages honest feedback, celebrates our successes, and helps us identify opportunities for continued growth.

We recognize that some individuals may prefer to share their thoughts anonymously. Therefore, the survey allows participants to remain completely anonymous or voluntarily provide their contact information if they would appreciate a direct response from administration.

Whether you have a positive experience to celebrate, a staff member to recognize, an idea worth exploring, or a concern that deserves attention, we want to hear from you!

Your feedback is important to us, and we are committed to listening, reflecting, and using the information shared to strengthen our school community.

*This survey is intended for general feedback and is not an emergency reporting system.

As part of our continued commitment to providing meaningful feedback on student learning and growth, Hamburg School is pleased to share the 2026–2027 Report Card Templates, which are attached for your review.

This school year brings two notable changes to our reporting practices:

• Standards-Based Grading (Kindergarten–Grade 3): Report cards have been updated to reflect student progress toward grade-level learning standards, providing families with a clearer understanding of their child's academic growth and areas for continued development.

• Trimester Reporting (Kindergarten–Grade 8): All grade levels will now follow a trimester reporting schedule, replacing the previous marking period structure.

We encourage families to review the attached templates to become familiar with the updated reporting formats. These changes reflect our ongoing efforts to strengthen communication between home and school while ensuring that student progress is reported clearly, consistently, and meaningfully.

Please join us in our contest to see which book characters we can recreate as scarecrows!

Classes will be given a pumpkin to use as a head and hay to stuff the scarecrow with. Families or businesses who decide to enter the contest will be provided with hay but will need to supply their own pumpkin to use as a head. Supports will be provided for all contestants (classrooms and families) to build scarecrows on, and will be assigned numbers. All you’ll need is to choose a character and collect or make clothing and/or props. (School appropriate, please! No weapons or inappropriate themes!)

To keep judging impartial, no signs or names may be on the display to identify a family or group who created the scarecrow. Scarecrow heads must be made using a real pumpkin, and the size of the scarecrow should be that of an average person (approximately 5 feet tall).

You will be assigned an entry number, and a map with assigned number locations will be provided prior to the contest start. On October 30th, we will ask our panel of judges (made of community members) to judge for a 1st place winner and a 2nd place runner up using a rubric based on:

• Creativity: How unique and original the scarecrow is

• Technique and materials: How well the scarecrow is constructed and the variety of materials used

• Overall impression: How the scarecrow is displayed and whether it has a little something extra

• Family-friendly: Whether the scarecrow is appropriate for children and doesn't contain offensive or controversial content

• Weatherproof: Whether the scarecrow can withstand the elements

• Sturdiness: Whether the scarecrow is sturdy and can stand on its own

• Size: Whether the scarecrow meets the contest's size requirements

We hope you’ll join us for the fun and enter the contest, which is sponsored by the Hamburg Education Association. To register for this event, please e-mail Mrs. Breitenbach at abreitenbach@hamburgschool.com with your homeroom name or family / business name and the book character that you choose to recreate (this will remain a secret until the completion of the event!) by 3pm on Monday, October 12th. We can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with! (First place prize= “pizza party” , and Second place prize= “ice cream party”)

Mayor:

• Richard Krasnomowitz

Council Members:

• Anthony Saliba
• John Burd
• Mark Sena
• Joyce Oehler
• John Haig
• George Endres