Silver Hill Back to School Information

Posted on July 26, 2024

Dear Silver Hill Families,

I hope you are all having a relaxing and enjoyable summer! At Silver Hill, we are busy getting ready for the upcoming school year. We are excited to work with you to help your children learn and grow! Although it is not quite August yet, we want to be sure you have all the details about Back to School as they are available, including specific information for Kindergarten families. As with all family updates and Jaguar Journals, this will be posted on our school website: https://silverhill.haverhill-ps.org/. In addition to the Silver Hill Elementary School website, you can also follow us on the Silver Hill Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100086197211945 to get updates and see all of the goings-on at Silver Hill! Please enjoy the rest of the summer, and do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. Thank you!  

Sincerely,

Donna Martin, Principal

OPEN HOUSE

We are looking forward to seeing you at our Open House on Monday, August 26th from 4:00-5:30 pm!  More information will be coming in mid August!   

WELCOME BACK LETTERS AND SCHOOL SUPPLY LISTS

TRANSPORTATION

Bus routes will be posted in August.  For more information about transportation, please visit:  https://www.haverhill-ps.org/transportation/.  

KINDERGARTEN INFORMATION

We are thrilled to be welcoming all of our new kindergarten students to Silver Hill this fall! It is such an exciting time for the students and their families!

Incoming kindergarten students participate in a screening prior to school beginning. This is an opportunity for the staff to begin to get to know your child. Children will work with a staff member one-on-one while a family member completes important paperwork. There will also be some time for children to play.

Beginning the week of August 12th you will be able to sign up for a screening appointment using a SignUp Genius link that will be sent to kindergarten families. The week of August 19th, families will receive a phone call from a staff member to schedule a kindergarten screening appointment if they haven’t done so using SignUp Genius. Screenings will be held August 27, 28, and 29 and typically last about 45 minutes.

Kindergarten Play Dates! Please join Principal Ms. Martin and Assistant Principal Mrs. Gray on the playscape (at the back of the school) for playing and popsicles! These two dates will be a wonderful opportunity for students and families to begin to get to know each other! Hope to see you there! (Older students welcome as well )

Thursday, August 15th from 10:00-11:30 am

Wednesday, August 21st from 1:30-3:00 pm

The first day for Kindergarten students will be Wednesday, September 4, 2024.   To help your child get acquainted with Silver Hill, please click on the social story:  

Kindergarten Social Story English   

Kindergarten Social Story Spanish  

Mark Your Calendar!

  • Thursday, August 15th: Kindergarten Play Date from 10:00-11:30 am
  • Wednesday, August 21st: Kindergarten Play Date from 1:30-3:00 pm
  • Monday, August 26th: Open House  Open House 4:00-5:30 pm for students and families. 
  • Tuesday, August 27th: First Day of School Grades 1-12; Kindergarten Screening
  • Wednesday, August 28th: Kindergarten Screening 
  • Thursday, August 29th: Kindergarten Screening
  • Friday, August 30th: Early Release – Dismissal is 11:35 am
  • Monday, September 2nd: No School – Labor Day
  • Wednesday, September 4th: First Day of Kindergarten!  
  • Wednesday, September 25th: Early Release – Dismissal is 11:35 am 
  • Friday, September 27th: Picture Day

 Other Important School Information

 School Start Times/Half Day Times 

  • School starts at 9:00 am and ends at 3:15 pm. Students may enter the school for breakfast and/or to go to their classrooms beginning at 8:45 am.  
  • On Early Release Days, student dismissal time is 11:35 am.

Class Assignments

You will be able to log on to the parent portal the week of August 19th and see your child’s teacher assignment. They will not be posted anywhere else other than the portal. Please see the district website for instructions on how to sign up and/or log in: https://www.haverhill-ps.org/parents-students/

Before and After School Care

YMCA General Information:

Before School: opens at 7:00 a.m.

After-School: open until 6:00 p.m.

They are open on all early-release days. They are also open for full days at separate sites, and families will be informed.

  • All children in the program receive a free Youth membership at the Y
  • They serve dinners to all children daily
  • They are open vacation weeks (at two designated sites)
  • Flexible Pricing is available to families that qualify to help with the cost of the program
  • They do accept state vouchers

They will have an information table at Open House.

Discovery Club

We will have Discovery Club at Silver Hill again this year! This will provide free programming opportunities both before and after school for Silver Hill students in grades 1-4. The programs will begin in October, and more information about Discovery Club will be coming soon.

Indoor or Outdoor Recess  

Silver Hill uses the Child Care Weather Watch Chart to determine if there will be indoor or outdoor recess.    

What to bring to school? 

It is recommended your child bring the following items to school each day:  

  • Backpack 
  • Weather-appropriate clothing for outdoor recess
  • Sneakers if they have Gym that day
  • Lunch bag if they bring their own snacks/lunch school.  
  • Water bottle- we have water bottle filling stations at Silver Hill
  • Change of clothes 

 Arrival and Dismissal Procedures

  • Please do not begin to line up for Car Drop Off before 8:30 am due to the Consentino Traffic Patterns.
  • Students may be dropped off beginning at 8:45 am. 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!
  • Please DO NOT drop off students in the staff parking lot. It is not safe for them to cross the bus lane.
  • 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 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.

ChromeBooks

Haverhill Public Schools is a one-to-one district, with each student receiving a ChromeBook. Students new to Haverhill Public Schools will be issued a ChromeBook the first week of school. Kindergarten students will receive a ChromeBook at the kindergarten screening.

HPS Student Device (Chromebook) 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. Please follow this link for more information and to sign up. Haverhill Student Device Insurance

This information is also posted on the Parent and Student Resources page, Our Technology page, and the HPS Student Technology Device Policy (Spanish Version) document.

No Cell Phones/Smart Watches

Cell phones and Smart watches are not allowed to be used during the school day.  The expectation is that they are turned off and kept in the student’s backpack during school hours.  They may not be used at any time during the school day, including lunch and recess.  If a cell phone or Smart watch is seen by a staff member, it will be confiscated and turned into the main office. The device can be picked up at the office by the student at the end of the school day. Repeated offenses may require the parent to pick up the device and/or require the student to drop it off daily at the office.

No Toys Please 

Students are not allowed to bring toys from home into the school. This includes trading cards, fidget toys, figurines, toy cars, dolls or games. Toys are expensive for parents and we would hate for them to get lost or broken. Furthermore, toys brought from home can disrupt the learning at school.  While we understand that children may wish to carry familiar toys with them and to show their friends items they consider precious, it has been our experience that bringing toys from home to school can create difficult situations to manage.  The students have many toys and games to play with here at school.  If toys are found at school they will be collected by staff for safekeeping and returned after school.  Thank you for your cooperation and attention to this matter.  

Bullying Prevention and Intervention

Silver Hill follows the HPS Anti Bullying Policy (you can find this on the HPS website, https://www.haverhill-ps.org/parents-students/).   Please click here to read the HPS Bullying Prevention and Intervention Plan and view the incident reporting form.