Family Newsletter | August 26, 2025
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Dear HES Families,
We are sending a special Tuesday edition of our Family Newsletter because tomorrow is the first day of school! It has been wonderful having all of our educators back in the building the last two days, although many of them have been here for much of the summer teaching classes, doing curriculum work, and preparing for the year. We are fortunate to have such a dedicated group of skilled educators!
Please be sure to read the information below about arrival, dismissal, and lunch so we have a smooth start to the year. As a reminder, dismissal changes must be received by our main office no later than 2:30 pm.
For our last Storytime with Dr. K and Mrs. Sturgis this summer we are reading Be a Friend by Salina Yoo.
Click HERE to watch!
See you tomorrow!
Rebecca and Hilary
Dr. Rebecca Katsh-Singer, Principal
Mrs. Hilary Sturgis, Assistant Principal
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Upcoming Dates
Wednesday, August 27: First Day of School for Grades 1-5 and Half of Kindergarten
Thursday, August 28: First Day of School for Half of Kindergarten
Monday, September 1: NO SCHOOL
Tuesday, September 2: First Day of School for PreK
Tuesday, September 9: Picture Day -- more information coming soon!
Wednesday, September 17: Half Day, Dismissal at 12:15 pm
Thursday, September 25: Curriculum Night, 6:00-7:30 pm
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School Announcements
Arrival
The school day begins at 9:00 am and students are welcome to enter the building starting at 8:45 am. We strongly encourage everyone to arrive on time to ensure a smooth start to the day. After 9:00 am, parents/guardians must bring their child to the main office and sign them in.
BUS: If your child takes the bus, please note the time that the bus route begins and plan to be at your stop a few minutes early for the first few days.
WALKERS: Walkers may enter through our main door or door C-2 on the Mass Ave. side of the building.
CAR DROP OFF: Car drop off starts at 8:45 am. Students should stay in their cars until our staff members are present. Please note that cars should only enter our parking lot from Mass Ave. Other entrances are closed to traffic during arrival and dismissal (see map below). Please wait in the car line until you are directed to pull up along our front sidewalk (see map below). Once your child exits the car, stay in the car line until the car in front of you leaves. Do not pull out of line or attempt to pass cars in front of you.
Dismissal
BUS: Registration was required as of early July to ride the bus. Please contact Jessica Reynolds at jreynolds@psharvard.org if you did not register but would still like to ride the bus. Depending on bus routes and ridership, the bus company may not be able to accommodate late requests.
WALKERS: Walkers are dismissed either from door C-2 to walk across the street to the Harvard Public Library OR from the main office door A-3 to walk down Fairbank Street. Dismissal from door C-2 is only available to students in grades 3-5 & their accompanying younger siblings. Parents of PreK-grade 2 students who would like them to walk home are welcome to walk to pick their students up at the main office door. We do not have staff monitoring student walkers across the street.
CAR PICK-UP: Students being picked up by car will be dismissed in groups from the Main Office door. Please place your school issued placard in the window for staff to see (distributed at the beginning of the year). If you do not display the placard you may be asked to provide ID before taking your child.
DISMISSAL CHANGES: Day-of dismissal changes require notifying the main office before 2:30 pm. Please email both your child's teacher and hesabsence@psharvard.org with your 'day of' dismissal changes as soon as possible.
 School breakfast and lunch are free again this year. Students can get a bagged breakfast as they enter the building in the morning to eat in their classroom. Students in grade K-5 eat lunch in our cafeteria at assigned times. Full day preschool students eat lunch in their classrooms.
- At lunch, students can choose from the daily hot entree as well as salads, sandwiches, bagels, and more. Second servings cost $4.00 and are billed to the student's MySchoolBucks account. Lunch menus are posted on the HES website or you can use the link at the top of this newsletter.
- Students are always welcome to bring a lunch from home. Lunches for students in grades K-5 may contain nuts, but may not be eaten at the allergy-free table.
- Students should bring a snack every day that is nut free. All of our classrooms are nut free.
Please join the PTO for the 3rd Annual Harvard Schools PTO Pickleball Tournament on Sunday, September 14th from 8:30 to 3:00 pm at the Bromfield courts! Open to all ages and skill levels. Registration closes September 7th or when all spots are filled so grab a partner and sign up today for this fun and casual round robin into elimination style tournament. In addition to supporting a great cause, bracket winners will take home prizes including pickleball gear and swag from our sponsor the Marcus Lewis Tennis Center. Register now at harvardpto.org. Questions to danakoliver@gmail.com.
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Community Announcements
Come explore the beautiful land surrounding Hildreth Elementary School this Fall, in a fun, hands-on, outdoor nature class! Students will learn about the seasonal changes in our woods as they explore the plants and animals around HES. We will meet Mondays after school from 3:30 - 5:00 pm. Classes will be small and will be held outdoors rain or shine. Each session is five weeks long and the program fee is $85, with scholarships available. Registrations will be taken in the order we receive them.
Session 1: September 22 - October 27th
Session 2: November 3 - December 1st
FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO REGISTER: Email Heather at handsonnature@gmail.com.
Hands on Nature is a 501(c)(3) outdoor educational organization based in Berlin MA and information about our organization can be found on our website www.handsonnature.org.
Superstar Productions is excited to announce the fall musical, Press Start! Press Start transports us inside the bright, pixelated world of video games. When the famous characters we know and love run out of lives, they decide to put on a musical fundraiser that will help them raise gold rings and play on. Through hilarious and heartfelt musical numbers we see the heroes, villains and sidekicks like we’ve never seen them before. Rehearsals takes place September through November on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 3:30-5:30pm.
Registration opens on Monday, August 11th at 7:30pm on our website: superstarproductions.org under the Registration tab
Registration fee: $445
 Harvard Youth Lacrosse fall program registration is open for in town and travel programs that start around September 12. Visit our website for more information: https://harvardlax.org/registration/
Fall Baseball and Softball Registration is OPEN for rising grades 1-6. The Fall season is focused on building and refining skills while advancing player understanding of game. Sign up @ https://go.teamsnap.com/forms/486720. Scheduling is very accommodating to youth soccer.
Softball will be offering practice for the remainder of the summer at Ann Lee's Field - Wednesdays 5:30-7:00 pm for players 9-12 years old. We will give the players opportunities to practice hitting, fielding and throwing in a purely instructional setting.
 Click HERE to learn about all the events for children happening at the Harvard Public Library!
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HILDRETH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Dr. Rebecca Katsh-Singer, Principal
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| 27 Massachusetts Avenue, Harvard MA, 01451 | (978) 456 - 4145 |
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