May 2009 School Wide News



Bravo!!!

Thank you to everyone who helped to make our May Day Play The Governor and The Purple Finch such a wonderful success. It was such a special day and so great to be able to share it with grandparents and senior friends. Special thanks to Annie Ryder- Clark, Liz Ayers, Jill Stagner and Grammy Marlene, Tom Sullivan and everyone else who contributed so much of their time and talent to this production. If you were unable to attend the play, a copy of the DVD is available in the office.

Classroom Liaisons Meeting May 5th

A few parents have expressed an interest in discussing how we work together to communicate within the HIS community. Classroom liaisons, along any other interested faculty or parents, are invited to attend a meeting on Tuesday May 5th at 6:00pm. Childcare will be available.

Happy Birthday Library

Join us if you can on Friday May 22 from 11:00AM – 12:00PM for our Library’s first birthday party. We already have a growing gift basket of books. The list of books on the bulletin board is only a suggestion. If you have some gently used hardback books that you would like to donate feel free to drop them off in the office and we will wrap them for you!! Feel free too, to order them from Amazon and have them shipped directly here. A bookplate with your family’s name will appear on the front page of the book so be sure to include your name on the card. Let us know if you would like to come in and read a story to your child’s class. Check the weekly newsletter from your child’s teacher for more details.


Enrichment Clusters at Tuckernuck

This year we will be combining our enrichment cluster week with our time out at Tuckernnuck, from Monday June 8 to Thursday June 11. A flyer will be going home this week explaining the program and asking for your participation.

Summer Camp Enrollment

We have some great programs planned for this summer and they are beginning to fill. If you have not signed your child up for summer camp yet please do so as soon as possible.

The Blackflies are Back

Please remember to send your child to school with bug repellent and sunscreen. If you can, please apply both before your child comes to school as most classes are spending more time outside with the warmer weather.

It’s a Wrap!

Our pilot program with the wraps was a success and we will be offering them as part of our nutrition program in the fall. Stay tuned for more information about our new lunch offerings for next year.
Pizza Forms for May are due Monday May 4th.

Fond Farewells

As you know, Lisa Dean took a new job at NH Food Pantry. We had a bittersweet farewell party for her on the Friday before vacation and wish her all the best in her new position. Wendy Hebert and Lynn Brofos will be helping out in the office for the remainder of the year until we can fill this position.

We said farewell to Miss Jane as well, who will only be teaching art in the afterschool program for the remainder of this year. Opportunities for creative expression will continue to enrich your child’s experience here, but with the warmer weather the children will be using the time on Thursdays instead to work in the garden, preparing the soil and planting seeds. Cheryl Bourassa will be heading up this project. If you would like to become involved please contact her.

Recent Health Concerns

Hopefully you all received the email about the Swine Flu Virus from the CDC. We will do all that we can here to keep the children safe from germs and would appreciate your support in bringing awareness to this issue at home as well.

Building Bridges

A huge thank you to Brian Staples- Roy for building a new bridge to the upper playing fields. It is especially helpful during this wet season for the children to have a safe and mud-free access to this
play area and Brian's workmanship is as beautiful as it is functional.

Piano Lessons

Justine Paul will be offering piano lessons through the summer. Please contact her at 224-1307 if you’re interested.

April 2009 School Wide News

Spring has Sprung!
The bulbs the children planted in the front of the school have started to peek their heads out as harbingers of the brighter days ahead. Thank you to everyone who helped us usher in this season of growth and new beginnings at our auction. Because of all of your generosity we were able to raise over $8,000 which will enable us to continue to provide your children with the enriching and innovative programs that make HIS such a distinctive learning environment.

Got Art?
Our next Parent Teacher Forum will be a combined preschool and upper school meeting and will be held Tuesday, April 7th at 4:00 pm. We will be discussing some new initiatives including some additions to our after school program. In partnership with Concord Community Music School and Petit Papillon Dance Academy we hope to offer a Suzuki violin program and ballet and hip hop lessons in our after school program next year. Representatives from these schools will be at attendance for questions.

Food for Thought/Thought for Food
Next year we hope to offer two additional options for families who would like to purchase lunch. In addition to Pizza day (to which we will add a salad option) we will also be offering a wrap day and a bagel sandwich day. We are piloting the wrap program for the month of April (see attached form) and would love your feedback. More discussion concerning the cost and implementation of this program is planned for the PTF on April 7th.

Call For Writers
Do you have a perspective or opinion about HIS that you would like to share? We are looking for articles for our next Stone by Stone Newsletter. The theme of the next issue is “Innovative instruction: preparing the next generation today for the learning paradigms of tomorrow.” If you have ideas or are interested in writing something about your child’s experience please let me know.

May Day May Day!!
Rehearsals for this year’s May Day play The Purple Finch are underway. Thank you to Annie Clark for volunteering to direct, to Liz Ayer for assisting her, and to Marlene Heinmiller for helping with costumes. A reception for grandparents and senior friends will take place from 10:00 to 11:00. The play will be performed in the community room at 11:00 and all are welcome. If you are unable to attend, the play will be videotaped and made available to you on DVD.

Invitations to our May Day celebration have been sent out to grandparents and senior friends. If you are interested in helping coordinate the reception, please let us know. For a full schedule of May Day events visit our website.

Sense of Wonder
To honor the life and work of Rachael Carson, the EPA, Generations United, the Rachel Carson Council, Inc., and the Dance Exchange are again holding an Intergenerational Poetry, Essay, Photo, and Dance Contest. Entries can be in any category but must be intergenerational projects involving persons from different generations. Submissions are due June 10th. Please see your child’s teacher for details and an entry form.

Early Sprouts
We have started planning our garden for next year and will begin planting near the end of May. The children have selected several vegetables they like to eat and that we hope to harvest and offer at lunch in the fall.

As part of our lunch curriculum in the preschool next year, we will be introducing the early sprouts program. In June the founder of this program will visit our school and give teachers a presentation on how to incorporate it into the weekly curriculum. In addition, Paula Ward is attending a workshop at UNH in May entitled Growing a Greener Future and will be starting a preschool gardening program this spring. Talk to Paula if you are interested in helping out with this initiative.

Faculty Favs
In Celebration of National Library Week (April 13th-17th) we will be sharing favorite stories at school wide meeting. A sampling of faculty’s favorite children’s books will also be on display in the front hall. Our Birthday Bash for the Library is planned for Friday, May 22nd. We will have wish lists of books available for each age group and a basket in the front hall in which to place your birthday presents. See Lisa Whipps for details about this soon to be new tradition!

Tea Time
Join us on Friday, April 17th at 2:30 for a tea in the library to welcome Joslin Heyn, our new upper school teacher and environmental education coordinator. If your child will be in grades 4, 5, or 6 next year this is a great time to meet their teacher. All are welcome.

Charmingfare Farm
Several HIS families are planning a trip to Charmingfare Farm for their Spring Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 4th. If anyone would like to join them you can meet at the Charmingfare Farm at 11:00 or at the park and ride at the end of 89 at 10:30. If you have any questions see Jill Stagner.

April Vacation
School will be closed from April 20th-24th. If you would like to sign up for vacation care please sign up in the office before April 10th.

Last Day of School
Our last day of school will be Friday, June 19th.

Interim Care
We will offer Interim Care for preschoolers will for the week of June 22nd. Camp will start the following week.

March 2009 School Wide News

Welcome back!!! I hope you all had a restful and enjoyable vacation. Although the recent storm may cause us to doubt it sometimes, spring is just around the corner and we have a number of upcoming community events to help us celebrate the season.

On the first day of spring, March 21st, we will hold our biannual auction from 5-8 at the Audubon Center in Concord. Letters with a list of the items for auction will go home at the end of this week and will also be posted on our website. The evening promises to be a fun social event and onsite childcare is available but limited so be sure to sign up as soon as possible.

Tickets for the tuition raffle can be purchased beforehand and will be on sale at the door as well—don’t miss this great opportunity to save on next year’s tuition and help out the annual fund.

We are planning a special Mayday celebration this year by combining the event with our regular theatre night performance. Grandparents will be invited to tour the school and then watch the Mayday dance and play. The performances will take place outdoors weather permitting. If you have not done so already, please provide the office with their grandparents’ name and address so that each class can send invitations out for this special day planned for Friday, May 1st.

Auditions for speaking parts in the play The Purple Finch, will take place after school on Wednesday, March 11th. All students in grades K-7 are encouraged to try out and should be aware that it requires a commitment of some after school rehearsal time. If you are interested in helping out with costumes sets and props please let us know.

Over the vacation the preschool teachers and I made a visit to the Reggio Emilia inspired Child Study and Development Center in Durham for a day of observations, discussions, and presentations. It was a very inspiring day and we have already started planning some of the changes we will implement next year in our classrooms. As always we value your input and questions as we move forward.

I am pleased to announce that Joslin Heyn will be joining our faculty as the new upper elementary teacher and Environmental Education Coordinator. Joslin comes to us from the Community School in Tamworth where she has been teaching science and working on their Rural Sustainable Schools Project. With a BA from Johns Hopkins in Environmental Studies and her MA in Forestry from the University of Montana, Joslin brings a wealth of experience in the area of wildlife conservation and environmental education. We are delighted to be welcoming her to the HIS community this June, as she will begin her job this summer as director of the Tuckernuck Environmental Camp Programs.

Speaking of Summer Camps, the brochures, schedules, and registration forms for our Beech Hill, Wind ‘N Willows, and Tuckernuck camps will soon be available. We have some fun new offerings planned for this summer and encourage you all to take a look. We will be offering group swim lessons open to the public through Swim New Hampshire in addition to our Family Swim Program. Forms for both of these are available in the office.

The children have been having a great time on their Wednesday snowshoe hikes and we will continue these excursions as weather permits. Feel free to join us any Wednesday at noon. During March and April and until the upper fields are clear and dry, we will be supplementing their wellness offerings with yoga classes that I will be helping the teachers guide. In addition, I am pleased to tell you that I will be teaching yoga for the Hopkinton Recreation Department on Monday and Friday evenings from 5:30-7:00 at the Slusser Senior Center near the library. This is an all levels class and no previous experience is necessary. See the poster on the information board in the front hall or speak with me for details.

You will have noticed by now the exquisite painting in the foyer of the barn and Snowflake the sheep. Brian Rossingnol has generously offered to make copies of this painting available to the HIS community at a reduced cost and to donate a portion of the proceeds to our annual fund.
As the days grow warmer and the snow begins to melt, conditions on the playground become mushy and muddy. Please be mindful of wiping your feet when you enter the building so that we can keep the halls and classrooms as dirt and mud free as possible.

Think spring!!



Heather Harwood

Kimmie and Snowflake Original Prints

Kimmie and Snowflake, reproductions of the original portrait painted by Brian Rosignol to HIS family members and other community members. These prints will be offered at a significant discount during a four month period (March—June 2009). The price is $225 mounted on stretcher bars and ready for framing. Brian proposes to donate greater than 50% of proceeds to the Hopkinton Independent School.

Hopkinton Independent School Auction

February 2009 School Wide News

With daylight lingering just a little longer each day, it’s that time of year when everyone’s thoughts seem naturally to turn towards spring and summer and the upcoming school year.

At our Upper School PTF meeting last week we discussed class configurations for next year. A letter explaining some institutional changes as well as curricular and staffing plans went home last week with registration forms.

A Preschool PTF is scheduled for Thursday, February 5th at 4:30. We will be discussing preschool class compositions, teachers, and other possible changes for next year. Let us know if you will be attending and need childcare.

We will be running our summer programs as usual with eight weeks of Wind and Willow’s Camp, five weeks of Beech Hill Arts Camp and six weeks of Environmental Camp at Tuckernuck. Our flyer and registration forms for these programs will be coming home with your child in the next few weeks.

We are also offering an HIS Family Swim membership this summer. Members will have use of the pool Monday-Friday late afternoons/early evenings, and weekends. The pool will be staffed by a lifeguard.

Our second Open House is Saturday, February 14th from 10-12. If you would be willing to come over for any amount of time, please contact Eileen Eber. There are flyers in the foyer, please take a few on your way out to post at your workplace.

February Pizza: If you paid for 4 pizza weeks in January you will get two free pizza Wednesdays in February. If you paid for 3 pizza weeks in January you will get one free pizza Wednesday in February.

This month we will be discussing the environmental issues and sustainability in our school wide meetings. All of the classes will be reading The Story of Rachael Carson by Amy Ehrlich and will be working with their teachers to prepare installations, experiments, and presentations for our Eco Fest on February 18th from 1:30-3:00.

The school will be closed for February vacation from February 23-27. If you would like to sign up for winter vacation care please sign up in the office with Lisa by February 13th (the cost is $36 per day).

The Friendly Kitchen is having a benefit concert on February 28th. Look for the posters (designed by our very own Abenakis) for details. Tickets can be purchased from Lisa in the front office.

Plans are well underway for this year’s auction. The evening promises to be an entertaining and relaxing night out. The event will be held on Saturday, March 21st from 5-8 pm at the Audubon Center in Concord. Onsite childcare will be available, although space is limited so sign up soon! Look for a letter from the Auction Committee to be sent home next week. Our next meeting is Friday, February 6th at 8:45 am—everyone is welcome.

Our last sking day will be Monday February 9th. Thank you so much to all of our chaperones who helped make this such a positive experience for our students. We had a record number of first time skiers this year and by all accounts it was a wonderful introduction to the sport.

Wednesdays at 12:15 recess for the rest of the winter we will offer a snowshoe hike around the upper fields. Parents are welcome and encouraged to join us for these excursions, weather permitting. Your child does not need snowshoes to participate.

January School Wide News

Welcome back and Happy New Year!

I hope that you all are enjoying a relaxing and rejuvenating time with your families and friends over the holidays.

Thank you to everyone who volunteered on the Friday before vacation to help out with the holiday parties in the classrooms. I know it was a slightly rushed and chaotic day, but the energy at school was so positive and bright and I know all were relieved to get home safe and sound before the storm hit.

I know too how disappointed the children were to have Holiday Tea postponed twice, but I am happy to announce that there will be a slightly modified performance and party held here at school in the Community Room on Friday, January 9th from 2:00-3:00 pm. We look forward to seeing you there to help us usher in the New Year!

A reminder that the Mt. Sunapee Winter Sports Program for the upper school students begins January 5th. Chaperones should meet at the mountain at 9:30. Please remember to send your child with appropriate outer gear.

We have several new after school programs and it is not too late to sign up. Please see Lisa in the front office for forms.

This month we will be discussing civil rights in our school wide meetings in preparation for Martin Luther King day on January 19th. A reminder that there will be no school on that Monday. We will have a special school wide assembly on the Friday before to celebrate his life and work.

On the Sunday evening before MLK day, January 18th, local peace activist Bethany Reed will be showing the film “Fire Under the Snow” in the Community Room. This compelling documentary explores human rights and non-violent change from a non-western perspective as it witnesses the life of Tibetan Monk, Palden Gyatso, who was imprisoned and tortured for 33 years under the Chinese occupation. The film will begin at 6:00 pm and is free of charge although donations to our Pennies for Peace jar are appreciated. Due to the disturbing nature of Gyatso’s experience, the film is not recommended for young children. For more information go the website http://www.fireunderthesnow.com/.

This year the teachers and students will be planning an Eco-Fest in lieu of our usual science fair in February. In preparation for this week, all students are invited to participate in the EPA’s Earth Artists Program poster/poetry competition. Jane List will be working with students to help inspire their entries. Please see your child’s teacher for details or log on to the EPA’s website at www.epa.gov/students.

Parents have already started asking about enrollment and class configurations for the fall. The board will be meeting on January 14th to finalize the budget. We will communicate to you our plans for next year at our next Upper School Parent Teacher Forum meeting on January 22nd at 3:15. As always childcare will be available.

Some parents have expressed an interest in having a toddler program here at HIS and a feasibility study for next year is presently underway. If you would be interested in sending your toddler here, or if you have thoughts about this idea please stop by to chat or speak to your child’s class ambassador.