Family Newsletter | December 17, 2025
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Dear HES Families,
Last Thursday's Solstice Festival hosted by the PTO was a huge success! We are grateful to the PTO for creating another wonderful opportunity to come together as a community.
This Friday is our December school meeting and we will focus on the ways we are celebrating and spreading kindness in our school community. We will begin by checking in on a project we started earlier this month to create a "Kindness Quilt." Students have designed beautiful quilt squares, and we will donate our first quilt to the VA Hospital. We plan to make additional quilts this year to donate to local organizations. Thank you to Emily Fournier and Liz Bala for leading this initiative and to our students for their creativity!
In addition, Mrs. Wicks’ fourth graders will share their plans to create a school "Wishing Tree." They were inspired by the book Wishtree by Katherine Applegate, which focuses on community, belonging, and what it means to feel included. Students will talk about what they learned from the book, perform a skit, and explain how students and adults can add their wishes to the tree. We are so proud of these students for collaborating on something meaningful and kind for our school.
This past week we had several staff spirit days, including a "dress like a student day," so next week it is our students' turn!
Monday, December 22: Show your HES Spirit! Dress like a teacher, wear your HES-wear, or wear our school colors, blue and white.
Tuesday, December 23: Pajama Day! Wear your favorite pjs or comfy clothes.
Have a wonderful vacation. See you in 2026!
Rebecca and Hilary
Dr. Rebecca Katsh-Singer, Principal
Mrs. Hilary Sturgis, Assistant Principal
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Upcoming Dates
Tuesday, December 23: Half Day, Dismissal at 12:15 pm
Wednesday, December 24-Friday, January 2: NO SCHOOL
Friday, January 9: Yearbook Meeting, grade 5, 8:00 am
Wednesday, January 14: Half Day, Dismissal at 12:15 pm, NO PRE-K
Friday, January 16: Husky Headlines, grades 3-5, 8:00 am
Monday, January 19: NO SCHOOL
Friday, January 30: Husky Headlines, grades 3-5, 8:00 am
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School Announcements
 Dear Community Members,
Thank you so much to each grade level for your support of this year's Project 351 Club/Class of 2030 Loaves & Fishes food drive. We exceeded our goal and collected more food than ever before: 2071.3 pounds. That new record is over one ton of food. Each ounce, each pound donated is crucial -- truly, each and every grade level wins. Why? We offset winter hunger in our immediate area, in a state where 1 in 8 children faces hunger.
Thank you,
Project 351 Club/Class of 2030
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Felt a Reindeer -- Friday, Dec. 19, 6:30 to 8:15 pm
Snapology: "Science of Superpowers" -- Winter vacation program. Daily, Dec. 29 through Jan. 2. 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. No class on January 1st.
 Registration for Harvard youth softball, baseball & T-ball for Spring 2026 is open! We offer league teams for boys and girls ages 4-12, no experience necessary. Free winter clinics will be offered again this year. Please register online at https://go.teamsnap.com/forms/503543.
Contact harvardyouthbaseball@gmail.com with any questions. PLAY BALL!
 Celebrations Around the World Exhibit
Arm in Arm, in partnership with the Children’s Room in the Harvard Public Library, present the Celebrations Around the World exhibit. Every month from October through May, a holiday celebration from various parts of the world will be honored in the display case located between the holiday books in the Children’s Room. Exhibits will include information and artifacts highlighting cultural decor, apparel, food, and other items significant to the celebration. Community members are encouraged to participate in the exhibit by loaning the library personal items to be used in the display, perusing the various books about the celebration curated by the HPL, and enjoying a grab-n-go craft/activity provided by Arm in Arm. Want your Cultural Celebration on display? Have something to loan the HPL in support of a scheduled display? Please see Children’s Librarian or contact Arm in Arm at arminarm.townofharvard@gmail.com
Schedule of Celebrations Around the World Display
December: חֲנוּכָּה Chanukah (Hanukkah), Jewish festival of lights, December 14-22
January: Carneval (Carnival), Italian holy festival, January 31- February 17
February: 新年 (New Year), Chinese lunar new year - February 17
March: رمضان (Ramadan), Holy ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, February 17 - March 19
April: Великдень, (Orthodox Easter), Holy celebration, April 5
May: 黄金週間 (Golden Week), Japanese celebration period incorporating four national holidays, April 29 - May 6
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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