Family Newsletter | November 4, 2026
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Dear HES Families,
Last Friday was an exciting day at HES! We enjoyed a wonderful fall spirit day and our fourth graders impressed us all with their creative pumpkins and thoughtful writing.
  
 While students were home from school yesterday, we participated in LASH Learns, a day to learn from and with colleagues from Littleton, Ayer-Shirley, and Harvard. Several of our teachers presented workshops, including first grade teacher Kristina Lazaro and fifth grade teacher Marie Phillips (De-Techifying the Elementary Classroom), literacy coach Kerry Cusick and reading specialist Katie McKeon (Knowledge is Power! The Role of Background Knowledge in Reading Comprehension), and speech and language pathologist Lynne Copeland (Augmentative and Alternative Communication). We are proud of our teachers for sharing their expertise and grateful for the opportunity to learn together and bring new ideas back to our school.
 Next Tuesday, November 10, at 9:30 am we will hold a short assembly to teach our students about Veterans Day and to honor our Veterans. Parents/relatives of our students and members of our community who have served in the Armed Forces are welcome to join us. Please wear or bring your uniform if possible! To ensure we have enough seating, please fill out this form or inform the HES office by Wednesday, November 4th if you would like to attend.
Additionally, we welcome photos of any service members who are unable to attend or photos in memory of loved ones who have served. Please send photos to jreynolds@psharvard.org with the person's name and 'in memory of' if applicable.
Have a great week!
Rebecca and Hilary
Rebecca Katsh-Singer, Ph.D., Principal
Hilary Sturgis, M.Ed., Assistant Principal
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Upcoming Dates
Friday, November 6 & Saturday, November 7: Superstar Productions
Wednesday, November 11: NO SCHOOL
Thursday, November 12: Half Day, Dismissal at 12:15 pm; Parent/Caregiver Conferences
Thursday, November 19: Half Day, Dismissal at 12:15 pm; Parent/Caregiver Conferences
Wednesday, November 25-Friday, November 27: NO SCHOOL
Wednesday, December 2: Picture Retake Day (more information coming soon)
Friday, December 11: Term 1 Report Cards Sent Home
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School Announcements
Join the Harvard Schools PTO
The PTO is a membership-based volunteer organization for HES and TBS. Our primary goals are to raise money to support the student experience, and create programs in support of our teachers, staff, and community, such as Teacher and Staff Appreciation. With the help of critical annual membership donations, we fund over $25K of teacher and staff-requested grants each school year, for stuff like $1K towards field trips for each grade, library books, scholarships, and much more. Please consider joining or renewing your membership today!
PTO Fundraiser
 The Harvard PTO earns 10% when families turn their fall photos into cards, prints, or calendars at minted.com with code FUNDRAISEHARVARDPTO, which also gives you 20% off. Share the code with friends and family too!
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Community Announcements
 November Programs:
Junior Builders, Saturdays, Nov. 7 to 28, 9:30-10:15 a.m.
Combat Robots, Saturdays, Nov. 7 to 28, 10:30-11:30 a.m.
Brick Art and Design Contemporary Art, Thursday, Nov. 12, 12:30 to 4:00 p.m.
Brick City Planners, Thursday, Nov. 19, 12:30-4:15 p.m.
FiveSparks Workshops Held at HES:
Art Without Limits, weekly art session. Tuesdays to Dec. 8, 3:40 to 5 p.m. Held at HES.
Beads and Bling, Mondays, Nov. 9-30. 3:40 to 5 p.m. Held at HES.
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 https://harvardpubliclibrary.libcal.com/calendar?cid=21089
Celebrations Around the WorldThe Harvard Public Library and Arm in Arm are currently building a year-long exhibit called "Celebrations Around the World," and we want our displays to reflect the real, vibrant cultures of our neighbors. Do you have a piece of your heritage you’d be willing to lend? We are looking for items that spark curiosity in children, such as:
Traditional Clothing: A child’s festive outfit or a beautiful textile. Kitchen Treasures: Specialized cooking tools or unique spice tins. Sound & Music: Small instruments or traditional noisemakers. Holiday Decor: This past year, we have showcased items used for Chuseok, Day of the Dead, Orthodox Easter, Golden Week, Ramadan, Hanukkah, Carnival. We welcome ideas for other holidays and from additional cultures.
All items will be kept in locked display cases. We are also looking for Cultural Ambassadors who might want to share brief stories about their items. Our displays are presented monthly from October 2026 through May 2027. This is a beautiful way to help local children connect with global traditions through real objects they can see up close.
Want your Cultural Celebration on display? Have something to loan the HPL in support of a scheduled display? Please contact Arm in Arm at arminarm.townofharvard@gmail.com
Click HERE to check out all the events 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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