Dear Silver Hill Community,

I hope you all are having a nice weekend. The fall colors are beautiful!

The first Silver Hill School Site Council meeting of the year was scheduled for last week, but I needed to postpone it for one week. It will be on Tuesday, October 17th at 6:30 pm on Google Meet (link is below) – Hope to see you there!

Free Literacy Classes!! – HPS is thrilled to be offering Free English Classes to parents of students – and students are welcome too! Registration is on October 24th, 2023, at the Consentino School Library from 6:00pm – 8:00pm. Please see additional information below under Community Happenings.

School Device Insurance – Haverhill Public Schools has chosen School Device Coverage (SDC) to insure the devices that will be given to your student as part of this year’s 1:1 device program. For only $20 per student, this insurance program will protect you and your student(s) in the event that your device is lost, stolen, or damaged accidentally over the course of the school year. This will only be available until December 1, 2023 for current students. Students new to the District will receive a special code at registration. For more information, click this link: https://www.haverhill-ps.org/technology/device-insurance/

Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions.

Sincerely,

Donna Martin, Principal

UPCOMING EVENTS/INFORMATION/REMINDERS

Drop Off and Pick Up – Please be sure you are driving slowly and carefully while on school property. We have had a couple of near misses and we want to be sure everyone is safe during arrival and dismissal!

Bus Passes – Please help to remind your children they should always have their bus passes with them. If they are looped to the backpack, they are less likely to be left at home. Also, no stickers should be placed on the passes, and no additional toys or trinkets on the lanyards. Thank you!

Chromebooks and Chargers – The chromebooks will be staying at school and need to be charged overnight. If you have a charger at home, please have your child return it to the classroom teacher – thank you!

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!

Click the links below to find out more information about opportunities throughout the greater Haverhill area.

Community Directory (English)

https://tinyurl.com/HPSActiveKids

Community Directory (Spanish)

https://tinyurl.com/HPSNinosActivos

The Silver Hill School Site Council is a representative, school building-based committee established by the school pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 71, Section 59C. Teachers, parents/caregivers, and community members can become more committed to improving the school and more supportive of the public school system when they enjoy the opportunity to serve or be represented on a school council that has a role in shaping the goals and programs of the school. School councils enhance site-based decision making because they expand the participation of the school community in its schools’ decision making. The involvement of different groups on the council — teachers, parents, and non parent community members — provides the school with different and mutually complementary perspectives on its improvement goals and plans. In addition, by involving people who work in and support the school in the development of the school’s improvement plan, the likelihood will increase that the plan will be successfully implemented.

Site Council meetings will be held monthly on the second Tuesday of the month. The first meeting will be Tuesday, October 17th. All meetings will be at 6:30 pm and they will be held virtually.

The Google Meet Link for this month’s meeting is: meet.google.com/dmm-zdbi-pew

Get Involved! – Please send me an email at donna.martin@haverhill-ps.org if you are interested in serving on the Silver Hill Site Council or if you have any questions.

Thank you to all who attended the first 2023-2024 PTO meeting on Monday, October 2nd. The next meeting will be Monday, November 6th. All are welcome!! We would love to have many new members, even if you can only be involved a little bit! **I will work to be sure there is a Family Liaison in attendance to help with Spanish translation!**

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!

Monday, October 16 – Cross country meet @ Winnekenni 3:30 pm

Tuesday, October 17 – School Site Council Meeting (virtual) 6:30 pm (postponed from 10/10)

Google Meet link: meet.google.com/dmm-zdbi-pew

Wednesday, October 18 – 2nd Annual Trunk or Treat – 5:00-6:30 pm

Tuesday, October 24 – PTO-Corn Maze/Crescent Farms 5:00-7:30 pm

Wednesday, October 25 – Early Release Day – PD Day

Wednesday, October 25 – Progress Reports Issued

Thursday, October 26 – Parent/Teacher conferences 5:00-6:30 pm

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/

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.