HAROLD MARTIN SCHOOL NEST

Dear HMS Families and Friends,

What a busy week it was at HMS! Our students have been learning about hydroponic gardening in STEAM and watching their classroom plants grow as we prepare to get our hydroponic garden back up and running. This year, the gardening and harvesting process will be student-led, giving our Hawks the opportunity to learn firsthand about growing food from start to finish. We can’t wait to share what they grow, and eventually serve some of our homegrown vegetables right here in our cafeteria. The highlight of the week was certainly today’s Chris Poulos assembly! Be sure to read more below about this exciting experience and the wonderful messages Chris shared with our students.

Next week is shaping up to be another exciting one as we welcome the Book Fair, celebrate with our Halloween Parade, and even have a full moon to add a little extra Halloween excitement!

We hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Sara Duval

Harold Martin School, Principal

• Monday–Friday, October 26–30 – HMS Book Fair
• Tuesday, October 27 – Book Fair Family Night 3:30 - 6:30 p.m.
• Friday, October 30 – Annual Halloween Parade 1:30 p.m.
• Tuesday, November 3 – No School: Election Day
• Tuesday, November 10 – No School: Parent-Teacher Conferences
• Wednesday, November 11 – No School: Veterans Day
• Monday, November 30 – Picture Re-take Day
• Wednesday, December 9 – K-3 Holiday Concert

We are looking forward to our Halloween Parade this Friday at 1:30 PM! Families are welcome to view the parade from either side of Main Street between Harold Martin School and Barrell & Baskit. A special thank you to the Hopkinton Police Department, who will be on hand to assist with traffic.

Please do not send students to school wearing their costumes. Costumes should be sent to school in a bag, and teachers will provide students with assistance and time to change before the parade.

As a reminder, to keep the parade fun and appropriate for all of our young students:

• Masks that cover students’ faces and costume accessories need to stay at home

• No scary or frightening costumes

We can’t wait to see everyone and enjoy this fun HMS tradition together!

A huge thank you to our PTA for co-sponsoring our assembly with Chris Poulos, professional BMX stunt rider and motivational speaker! The assembly was a huge hit with both students and staff.

Chris spoke with students about a variety of topics that connected beautifully with our Fly Five curriculum and Portrait of a Learner, including respect, hard work, dedication, taking responsibility, and determination. His message was engaging, meaningful, and, of course, made even more exciting by some incredible BMX stunts!

It was so much fun to bring a new assembly experience to HMS, and we are incredibly grateful to our PTA for helping make opportunities like this possible for our students.

As part of our ongoing commitment to school safety, Harold Martin School uses the Raptor Visitor Management System for volunteers and visitors entering the building during the school day. Raptor is designed to help schools manage and screen visitors and volunteers through a secure check-in process.

When visiting or volunteering at HMS during the school day, please bring a valid driver’s license or government-issued photo ID. At our main office, an iPad is used to scan the front and back of the ID as part of the Raptor check-in process.

We understand that some individuals may prefer not to have their identification scanned, and we respect that choice. Because completion of the Raptor check-in process is required for visitors entering the school during the school day, we are happy to provide alternative ways to meet. These may include a virtual meeting or an in-person meeting at the SAU office.

Thank you for your understanding and for helping us maintain a safe and secure environment for our students and staff.

All volunteers and chaperones in the Hopkinton School District are required to complete fingerprinting through the NH Department of Safety every three years. If you need to schedule an appointment, you can do so using the link below. If you are unsure when you were last fingerprinted, please contact the HMS office at 603-746-3473, and we will be happy to help.

Schedule a fingerprinting appointment: https://services.dos.nh.gov/chri/cpo/

Our Harold Martin School Book Fair is almost here thanks to our librarians, Mrs. Marino and Mrs. Bohlman. The Book Fair will be here the week of October 26-October 30 with Family Night on October 27.