Dear Silver Hill Community,

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and were not affected adversely by the storms on Friday! I am certainly thankful that we had an early release day on Friday considering the storm came at dismissal time! I am sure the building will be significantly cooler this week, which will be very nice.

We so enjoyed having the Kindergarten students join us this past week! In just four short days, it is clear they are learning the routines of their classrooms and the school. We are so proud of them! And also of grades 1-4, who have been doing a wonderful job being good models for their K friends!

Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions.

Sincerely,

Donna Martin, Principal

UPCOMING EVENTS/INFORMATION

Lost and Found – Our Lost and Found is already growing rapidly! Please be sure to LABEL EVERYTHING – water bottles, lunch boxes, backpacks, jackets, hats, etc. That way if they are misplaced, we can return them right back to your children. Thank you for your help with this!

Attendance – If your child is tardy, please walk them into the office to be signed in. If your child is going to be absent, please call the school at 978-374-3448 or email us at silverhillabsences@haverhill-ps.org. Thank you!

i-Ready – The i-Ready diagnostic tests have begun. Please see dates below. Please be sure your child has headphones (with a wire) to use during this testing. Inexpensive ones may be found on Amazon or Five Below. Please be sure these are labeled as well!

Discovery Club – We are pleased to announce that we received a grant to have Discovery Club at Silver Hill! This will provide free programming opportunities both before and after school for Silver Hill students. Before/after school Discovery Club student applications are open. Before and After School programming will begin on October 10.

A stuffed jaguar friend has recently joined us at Silver Hill! The Jaguar is going to travel around the building each week with his journal. Every Friday afternoon she will be moved into a different classroom for a Monday morning surprise! During the week, students will be writing in the journal about her adventures that week in their classroom, i.e. what was learned, what they played, what they are excited about. I’m hoping they will enjoy reading about past adventures and learn from practicing their writing in the journal. As you can tell, the jaguar does not have a name yet – we will have some sort of vote for the students! 🙂

This past week, the Jaguar had a wonderful time in Ms. Enos’ first grade classroom! (see photo below) Where will he turn up on Monday morning?

For Elementary/PreK/K School Parents:

Showing up matters for R.E.A.L because it is an opportunity to:

• Build Routines
• Increase Engagement
• Provide Access to resources
• Support Learning

Routines: Daily attendance routines can reduce stress, increase your child’s self-confidence, and lay a foundation for good attendance in later grades.

Engagement: Participation in school helps your child connect with other children and adults and get excited about learning.

Access to Resources: Schools can give you access to meals, physical and mental health care and other supports, and fun enrichment activities (sports, clubs, music, afterschool, and summer programs, etc.).

Learning: Children learn best from hand-on activities and through meaningful interactions with their teacher and other students.

A reminder that it is very important for your child to be on time to school each day! Please reach out to your child’s teacher or school adjustment counselor if you need any support with getting your child to school.

Mr. Murphy, PE Teacher, will be doing the “Jaguars on the Prowl” bulletin board again. He would like students to bring a photo of them being active and healthy outside of school. This could include anything from sports, organized activities, dance, martial arts or just walking, bike riding, or hiking with friends and family.

If students do not have the photo printed, please email him at (kevin.murphy@haverhill-ps.org) and he will print it for the students!

Arrival

• Please do not begin to line up for Car Drop Off before 8:30 am due to the new Consentino Traffic Patterns.
• Students may be dropped off beginning at 8:45am. Unless they attend the YMCA program before school, students should NOT be dropped off before 8:45 am as there is no supervision at that time. Thank you for your cooperation with this.
• 8:45 am – Students enter the building and proceed to their classrooms. Breakfast is available (free of charge) for all students.
• 9:00 am – Instruction begins
• Students arriving after 9:00 am will be considered tardy and MUST be signed in at the office by a Parent/Caregiver.

Morning Drop Off

• For safety reasons, we are asking parents to pull to the right side of the road once entering the parking lot. Cars will drive around to the back of the school and will be met with school staff to escort students into the building. Please be mindful of staff that are helping to direct traffic – their priority is student safety!
• Reminder – ONLY buses pull through the bus loop – no exceptions. Please remember that buses have the right of way.
• Drop off is a moving line, please no parking.

After School Car Pick Up

• You will NOT be able to line up for Car Pick Up before 3:00 pm due to the new Consentino Traffic Patterns.
• Pick up students and walkers get dismissed starting at 3:15 pm. Walkers are dismissed from the front of the school. Kindergarten will be dismissed first and then all other grades. Please make sure to check in with one of the teachers that is supervising so they know when a student is picked up.
• Our parking lot is a busy place and your child’s safety is our top priority. Please be patient and do not block the buses or other vehicles. Please DO NOT park in the Staff Parking Lot to pick up your children.
• Follow the same procedures as the morning routine – pull to the right once you enter the parking lot. Form two lanes – Cars picking up grades K-2 (along with older siblings) should be in the inner lane and cars picking up grades 3-4 only should be in the outer lane. Drive around to the back of the school and staff will be available to support students getting to their cars.
• Each student will be assigned a number that will be attached to their backpack – and the Parent/Caregiver will get a matching number for the car. A staff member will call into the gym where students will be waiting to be picked up.

***We would like to know how your child is getting home/to aftercare each day so we can help with the process and keep everyone safe. Please be sure to let your children’s teachers know how they are getting home.

Consentino Traffic Patterns Update – To see how the pending construction is affecting Consentino traffic patterns as well as Silver Hill traffic patterns, and to view the recording of the meeting from Tuesday, August 15th, please click here: https://consentino.haverhill-ps.org/2023/08/18/updated-traffic-pattern-arrival-dismissal-procedures/

i-Ready dates

1. Grades 1-4: Math 9/7 and 9/8
2. Grades 1-4: Reading 9/12 and 9/13
3. Grade K: 9/28 Math start
4. Grade K: 10/5 Reading start

Wednesday, September 27 – Early Release Day for Students 11:35 am

Thursday, September 28 – Picture Day

Monday, October 2 – PTO Meeting 6:00 pm

Thursday, October 5 – Haverhill Public Library here for Grade 3

Monday, October 9 – NO SCHOOL

Tuesday, October 10 – School Site Council Meeting (virtual) 6:30 pm

More information to follow soon

Tuesday, October 10 – Discovery Club begins before and after school

We are looking forward to first 2023-2024 PTO meeting on Monday, October 2nd at 6:00 pm in the Silver Hill Library. All are welcome!! We would love to have many new members, even if you can only be involved a little bit!