Dear Caregivers and Families,

Our third week at Hiawatha Elementary School has been wonderful. Now that our routines have become engrained into our day-to-day behaviors, we have dove deep into learning. I have been able to watch many of our students engage in classroom activities, conversation and dialogue and showing their reading, writing and math skills by engaging in various assessment activities. 

Assessments: This upcoming week begins our STAR math and reading assessments. The STAR and other assessments will be used to best support students and to ensure that we tailor our programming to ensure growth and development for all students. 

Open-house: It is almost time for our Open House night at Hiawatha! Open House will be held on Thursday, September 24th from 5:30 pm until 6:30 pm. We will begin the evening in the gym for a quick community meeting and then classroom doors will be open for visitors. Everyone is looking forward to having our caregivers and families join us that evening and we hope that you are able to attend.   

PBIS & All-School Comfy Cozy Day: At Hiawatha Elementary, we use Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) to encourage three main values: Be Kind, Be Safe, and Be Responsible.

When students demonstrate these positive behaviors, they earn links for a classroom chain. Reaching 100 links earns the class a reward and adds a bee token to our all-school "Hiawatha Hive." Once the hive is full, our whole school celebrates together!

Our students are about to fill the hive for the first time this year! To celebrate, we will hold Comfy Cozy Day on Friday, September 25th. Students are invited to wear comfortable clothes and bring a favorite stuffed animal (we will also have extra stuffed animals available). That morning, we will gather for an all-school meeting to celebrate everyone's hard work and teamwork.

Run, Hide, Fight/Resist Instructional Lessons: Throughout this upcoming week. Myself, officer Sabrina Feit from Essex Police Department and Mark Lauer, a member of the EWSD school-safety team will be visiting classrooms to talk about what to do in case of an emergency where an intruder has entered the school. Our presentation to students will be put in the language appropriate for Kindergarten through Grade Two students and we are encouraging our students to ask questions. You can learn more about how the EWSD approaches Run, Hide, Fight/Resist here: https://www.ewsd.org/o/ewsd/page/run-hide-fightresist-response-protocol. 

Five Day Week: The upcoming week is our first full five-day week of school, which means that some children will most likely be extra tired by Friday afternoon. With that in mind, please do your best to have your child get a full night of sleep this week. 

Pick Up Patrol: Please continue to use Pickup Patrol to update any dismissal plans as this is our default method for the facilitation for dismissal plans. If you need to make a change, please use Pickup Patrol. If you need assistance, please call our front office and they can walk you through how to enter the information into Pickup Patrol. 

All the best,

Harrison Shulman

Principal

Hiawatha Elementary School

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We kicked off the year in art with a school-wide community project celebrating our Hiawatha community! Students talked about what it means to be part of our school and how Hiawatha is a little like a beehive. We are all different, we all work together, and we all belong.

Each student designed a unique hexagon to add to our Hiawatha hive. Their individual designs came together to create one big, colorful hive! This project celebrates what makes each of us unique while reminding us that we all BEE-long.

Next up in the art room: self-portraits!

You can see photos and follow the artroom on Instagram and in our online Hiawatha School Artsonia Art Gallery.

 If you are not yet connected to your child’s Artsonia art portfolio, visit Artsonia here or use school code TD3DT762 . 

Any questions? Email Amanda Feller (afeller@ewsd.org) 

Dear Families, 

At Hiawatha Elementary, our goal is to ensure every child receives the instruction and support they need to grow academically, socially, and emotionally. One way we do this is through a framework called Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS).

What is MTSS?
MTSS is a school-wide approach that helps us provide the right level of support for each student. It is proactive, data-driven, and designed to meet the needs of all learners through a tiered model:

A little more about Tier 3 Intervention…..

How do we determine which students need tier 3 intervention?
Three times a year  (fall, winter, and spring) we gather information using: 

Star Assessments (computer-adaptive tests for literacy and math)

DESSA (a Social Emotional Learning screener)

These screeners give us a snapshot of how students are doing. However, a single assessment is only one data point so we also use follow-up screeners and classroom assessments to ensure we have a clear picture of each child’s needs. This helps us identify which students may benefit from additional tier 3 intervention.

Communication with Families

If your child is recommended for Tier 3 intervention you will receive communication from the school and be invited  to an Educational Support Team (EST) meeting. At the meeting you will learn about your child’s strengths/goals and have an opportunity to ask questions. Your child’s teacher, the interventionist providing the support, and our EST coordinator will also attend.

If you do not receive communication about tier 3 support, your child does not need tier 3 intervention. 

We do not send communication  for Tier 1 or Tier 2. Tier 1 is for all students and Tier 2 support is fluid, often changing as students progress. Families can always connect with classroom teachers if there are questions about tier 1 or 2. 

If you have questions about your child’s learning, we encourage you to reach out directly to their classroom teacher. You are also welcome to contact me if you’d like to learn more about MTSS or our assessment process.

Thank you for partnering with us to support your child’s success.

Warmly,
Kaylie Bufano
RTI Coach

kbufano@ewsd.org or 802 857-7759

Monday, October 6 at 6:00 p.m. in the gym
Come hear what’s happening at Hiawatha and share your ideas. All families are welcome!

Save the Date: Hiawatha Clothing Swap + Fall Festival!
Saturday, October 17th from 2:00–4:00 p.m. in the gym

Get ready for an afternoon of fall fun, games, crafts, snacks, and a Clothing Swap!

Do you have clothes to pass along? Look for the clothing donation box in the main lobby and drop off gently used kids’ fall and winter clothing size 5T and up. We’re especially looking for:

Layers and sweaters

Coats and outerwear

Boots and shoes with plenty of life left in them

Please make sure donated items are clean and in good condition.

Want to help make the afternoon happen? We’d love some extra hands on October 17! Volunteers are needed to:

Sort and organize clothing

Set up games, activities and crafts

Help run the snack table

Come for the free clothes, stay for the fun! We hope to see lots of families on October 17! 

Taryn Hennebicque

Hiawatha PTO President

Please click the link below to see the hot lunch menu.

Be sure to select the correct month you need and select lunch in the drop down in the top of the page. If needed, there is a print option.

The menu can also be found on our website :-)

Menu

Email: hiawathaoffice@ewsd.org
Website: www.EWSD.org/HIA
Location: 30 Hiawatha Avenue, Essex Junction, VT, USA
Phone: 802-878-1384