Holiday Tea Songs

We've posted the list of all the songs we'll perform at Holiday Tea on December 7th.

Each song title is followed by the key (concert pitch) in which we'll play it.

SPECIAL UPDATE: You can now view the (nearly) complete lyrics of all the songs online! Print them and use them for singing anywhere, anytime!

You can also view (and print) the lyrics and chords for our versions of the following songs from the setlist:

• Jingle Bells
• Peace, Peace, Peace
• This Little Light of Mine
• The Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night
• Go Tell It on the Mountain

Holiday Tea Parent-Student Band

We have a great group of musicians (both the young and the young-at-heart) playing in our Holiday Tea Parent-Student Band this year! At rehearsal Thursday night, we ran through the entire program with great success.

Thanks to all our parent volunteers and student musicians for making the music happen.

New Staff: Lisa Smith Dean

Lisa Smith Dean keeps our front office flowing smoothly! She comes to us after nearly 13 years with St. Paul’s School. She also has 20 years experience in the travel and hospitality industry.

She'll be glad to help you every time you come in our front office.

Scholastic Book Fair: Dec. 4 - 7

HIS will host a Scholastic book fair during the week of Holiday Tea! To learn more, you can visit our online Book Fair Home Page.

We are currently looking for volunteers to operate the fair during mornings and afternoons; you can sign up on the above home page.

Your child will bring home informational materials during the weeks leading up to the Book Fair. See you there!

Holiday Tea Preparations

Holiday Tea

Friday, December 7th, 2007

5:30 p.m.

Hopkinton Town Hall

We invite you to celebrate the holiday season with Kindergarten -8th grade students at our annual Holiday Tea!

This traditional holiday performance begins at the Hopkinton Town Hall. A dinner reception will be held immediately following at the St. Andrew’s Parish Hall a few doors down.

Elementary & Upper Grades Students

Friday, December 7th is an extended day for all grades 1-8 students. There is no after school program; instead, the children will remain with their classes making final preparations for the holiday celebration. Students should bring their dress clothes to school. They will have time to change before we transport them to the Town Hall.

Kindergarten Students

If possible for families, kindergarten students are encouraged to go home for a break at some point during the afternoon so they can perform rested and refreshed. If your kindergartener must stay at school, please send his or her dress clothes to school. If your kindergartener does go home with you, please arrive at the Town Hall by 5:15.

What Do I Bring to the Potluck Dinner?

Students in each class are asked to provide one side dish item for the dinner reception. These items should be brought to school on the morning of Friday, December 7 in order to facilitate preparations for the evening:

• Abenakis and Amoskeags: salad (enough for 12 in a zip-lock bag)
• Ossippees: vegetable or fruit side dish (enough for 12)
• Monadnocks and Soonipis: 2 dozen cookies or brownies

Please see the parent bulletin board for more details on set up, clean up, and the dinner reception.

Directions

The Hopkinton Town Hall is located on Main Street in downtown Hopkinton, on the right-hand side of the road (if you're coming from HIS).

-- Courtney & Marek

Parent Volunteer Bulletin Board

Based on recent feedback from the Parent-Teacher Forum and the Parent Advisory Board meetings, we have turned one of the bulletin boards in the front hall into a parent volunteer bulletin board. On the bulletin board, you'll find a variety of opportunities for getting involved, ranging from setting up for special events, to playing in the Holiday Tea band, from keeping track of our Community Service projects, to helping coordinate our 20th Anniversary celebration.

-- Courtney

New Staff: Eileen Eber

We'd like to introduce Eileen Eber, a valuable addition to our staff this year! Many of you already know her as a co-teacher in our Quechee preschool classroom. Here is her bio:

Eileen Eber is our admission coordinator and the co-teacher in the Quechee classroom. Eileen holds a Master in Education degree from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. She recently moved back to New England, bringing with her over thirty five years of experience working with preschool children. Her career has included experience as a school head, division director, admission director and classroom teacher. She served as president of a Connecticut affiliate of the National Association for Education of Young Children and has presented at both regional and local conferences. Eileen has a keen understanding of a child’s emotional, social and academic developmental needs and fosters a sense of wonder and inquiry in children of all learning styles.

School Photos

We had our school pictures this Wednesday! Finished picture packages will arrive in the next few weeks.

Special thanks go to our parent photographer Jill Stegner, who coordinated the school wide program.

School Wide News - November 2007

Welcome Fall! Right on schedule with the autumn leaves and chilly mornings, we’re all settling in for a fantastic school year. Children have become familiar with each other, their teachers, and with daily routines and practices. Please check out our website and class blogs to see all of the exciting learning that’s going on these days. You can find us at http://www.hopkintonind.org/ and http://www.hisschoolwide.blogspot.com/.

Class Photos: Attached is a flyer prepared by Jill Stagner, Mia and Megan’s mom, announcing picture-taking days next week. Jill has graciously offered her time AND talent as a photographer and organizer. Children who are absent on Wednesday can have their pictures taken the following Tuesday. Thanks to Jill’s generosity, all proceeds will return to the school.

Parent Teacher Forum Update: Attached are the minutes of our meeting on October 25th. It was heartwarming to hear what parents had to say about our school community. We thank all who were able to come out and share their wonderful ideas and thoughts for the upcoming school year. We look forward to putting many of these into action. Please check the bulletin board in the main foyer for volunteer opportunities that will be posted soon.

Important Schedule and Calendar Notes:
Saturday, November 3
Open House for prospective students and families. Please tell your friends!

Friday, November 9
No School
Parent Teacher Conferences Grades K-8

Monday, November 12
No School; Veteran’s Day; no childcare

Tuesday, November 13
No classes for grades 5-8 ONLY
Teacher workshop

Wednesday—Friday, November 21-23

Thanksgiving Recess; no childcare

Friday, December 7
Holiday Tea Grades K-8

Sunday, December 9
Old Fashioned Barn Dance with
Carolyn Parrott and Brad Dorsey
3:00 pm Hopkinton Town Library

Tuesday, December 11
Preschool Holiday Tea 10:30—12:30

December 24—January 2
Holiday Vacation

Harvest Festival 2007: Complete with storytelling, dancing, singing, and drumming in the American Indian tradition, our Harvest Festival was a special treat. We thank Todd Aubertin for his fascinating presentation on flute making and working with wood, Peter Brodeur for his entertaining stories, Jane List for guiding the story skin creations, Catherine Ayer for cooking classes, Courtney Huff for her expert organizing, and our Monadnock students for the interesting hands-on presentation on First Nation people. We thank parent volunteers and all who contributed to our beautiful Harvest Baskets. What a fun evening it was!

Holiday Tea is coming: Mark your calendars for this festive event, a special holiday tradition for our school. More details forthcoming from classroom teachers.

Mt. Sunapee Ski Program—Grades 1-8: Our ski program this year will be on the following Monday’s; January 7; 14; 28 and February 4; and 11. Pricing is as follows (per week):
1 hour lesson and lift ticket $12
Rental $10
Helmet rental $20
We will need volunteers (especially those that can commit to all five weeks) and will have a day at the school set aside for fittings for everyone that will need rental equipment. More information will be sent home as soon as we receive it.

Snow Day Cancellations: Last call for childcare signups. Signups close this Friday, November 2; Please see our cancellation policy attached and on the web at http://www.hisschoolwide.blogspot.com/. Snow day cancellations are announced on WZID 95.7; WJYY 105.5; and WMUR Channel 9.

A Safety Reminder: With colder weather coming, it’s tempting to leave the car running while you drop children inside. However, for everyone’s safety, please be sure to shut your car off when you come inside the building.

Ossipee’s are collecting box tops: The Ossippee class will be counting Box Tops for Education for the school once again this year! You can find Box Tops on all General Mills packaging. Each Box Top is worth $0.10 when we mail them in to General Mills. You can put your Box Tops in the Ossippee’s collection box just inside their classroom door. Then we’ll take care of counting them, adding them, and graphing how much money we collect over the course of the year.

Class Donations and the Giving Tree: Thank you to all for your generous donations, from Legos to books to classroom supplies. Your donations are tax-deductible and allow us to keep tuition costs as low as possible.