ELEMENTARY
HANDBOOK
HAROLD MARTIN AND MAPLE STREET SCHOOL
2003-04
(Note: the handbook below was not written as web content so navigation between
pages will not be quite as easy.)
August, 2003
Dear Parents,
Welcome to the Hopkinton Elementary Schools. This handbook will provide
you with information about Harold Martin and Maple Street Schools. This handbook
contains rules, procedures and services provided to students and parents.
Our elementary schools strive to maintain a positive and motivating environment
through caring, patience, and respect for students, parents, and one another.
We recognize that learning is a shared activity and we strive to strengthen
community and parent connections.
In the Hopkinton Elementary Schools we strive to:
1. Nurture the personal growth of all students,
2. Help students develop skills that will help them to become productive,
responsible contributors to society and life-long learners.
We welcome parents and community members to take an active role in the elementary
schools. Working together as a team, we will be able to provide a strong foundation
for our children. Together, we can make it a great year!
Sincerely,
Bill Carozza, Principal Michael Bessette,
Principal
Harold Martin School Maple Street
School
HAROLD MARTIN SCHOOL
271 Main Street
Hopkinton, NH 03229
(603) 746-3473 (phone)
(603) 746-6803 (fax)
MAPLE STREET SCHOOL
194 Maple Street
Contoocook, NH 03229
(603) 746-4195 (phone)
(603) 746-6863 (fax)
PROCEDURES AND POLICIES
Student Absence
If a student is going to be absent, please call the school that your child
attends before the opening of school on the day of absence. The student absence
line at the Harold Martin School is 746-4030. At the Maple Street School please
call 746-4195. Give the child’s name, classroom teacher and date(s) of absence.
Please send in a written excuse with your child when he/she returns to school.
Recess
There will be recess outside every day, unless it is raining, or if the
temperature is too extreme. Students need to have the proper seasonal clothing
to enjoy outside recess. Please help your child wear or bring the proper
clothes to school. During the winter months students should wear jackets,
boots, mittens, hats, etc.
Hot Lunch Program
Hot lunch is served every day that school is in session. The cost of a hot
lunch is $1.50. For convenience, students are encouraged to purchase a weekly
ticket. Checks may be made out to Hopkinton Hot Lunch. Hot lunch menus are
sent home with students at the first of each month.
Breakfast is provided at a cost of $.85. It is paid on a daily basis. Milk
is sold at recess and lunch at a cost of $.35 per carton ($.05 for kindergarten).
At the Maple Street School nutritional snacks are sold during the morning
recess.
Information on free and reduced lunch is sent home at the beginning of the
school year. Forms are available throughout the year in the school office.
Bicycles
Harold Martin School:
Students are not allowed to ride their bikes to school.
Maple Street School:
Riding a bicycle to school is considered both a privilege and a wholesome
form of exercise. Students may ride their bicycles to school once their
parents have determined they are sufficiently knowledgeable, skilled, and
safe to do so. Participation in a bicycle safety course is recommended.
In our mission to keep all students safe, it is required that students wear
an approved bicycle helmet when riding their bicycle to or from school.
If a child arrives at school on a bicycle and no helmet, the parent will be
notified and the student will not be allowed to ride the bicycle home until
a helmet is obtained. If you would like to purchase a low cost helmet,
or are unable to afford one, please inquire at your school's main office
or nurse's office. Students may ride to school only when there are no snow
banks to impair visibility. There is a bicycle rack at Maple Street School
where students may park and lock their bicycles.
Beverages In School:
It is our goal to both teach and model good nutritional habits at school.
To that end, students should not bring soda to school as a snack or lunch
beverage as it can have detrimental health effects. Students are encouraged
to purchase milk, bring juice, or fill water bottles at a fountain for drinking
while at school.
Parties at School
All school parties are planned in advance under the direction of PTA Room
Parents and the classroom teacher. Some holidays are recognized through classroom
activities and other parties are related to classroom instructional themes.
If you wish to send in a recess snack for your child’s birthday, please
check with the classroom teacher first. If you are having a party at home,
we request that you do not distribute invitations in school. School buses
may not be used for transportation to parties.
Things For Students To Know For A Harassment Free School
Your Rights and Responsibilities
All children have a right to learn and play in a school that is free
from harassment.
At Hopkinton Elementary Schools
We believe that:
• We should respect ourselves and the rights of others.
• We all have a right to feel safe and to be treated with respect.
• Harassment is wrong.
Harassment is when someone, or a group, repeatedly does things or say things
that make you feel:
• afraid
• upset
• angry
• unsafe
• embarrassed
• uncomfortable
Harassment is:
• not wanted
• not asked for
• not welcome
Some kinds of harassment are:
• teasing and name calling
• bullying
• rude signs
• offensive pictures, drawings or language
• offensive writing, notes or messages
• inappropriate touching
• putting people down because of their:
o gender
o family background
o personal life
o appearance
o religion
o disability
o race
A happy school is harassment free
You can be kind and thoughtful and respect others by:
• Greeting people with a smile.
• Saying thoughtful things to others.
• Including people in games and activities.
• Being aware of how your behavior affects others.
• Changing your behavior when it is upsetting someone.
• Getting to know new people and making them feel welcome.
If you are being harassed:
It is okay to ask the person harassing you to stop.
But always:
• Seek help
• Go to any teacher and tell them what is happening
• Go to a parent for help
• Tell them everything
• Remind that that a school rule is being broken
• Remind them that harassment is serious and must be reported.
At our schools, the staff will:
• Listen when you tell
• Let you know that telling is a sensible thing to do
• Work out the best way to handle the situation
If harassment keeps on happening:
• Keep on reporting
• Don’t give up
• Keep on telling
GRADING
Harold Martin School students have report cards sent home on a trimester
basis. Students receive report cards from their classroom teacher and from
auxiliary teachers with whom they have been working. Report cards will be
sent home on the following days:
First report card: November 19, 2003
Second report card: March 10, 2003
Third report card: Final day of school
There will be four report cards sent home each year for students at Maple
Street School. Progress reports are also sent home at mid-quarter.
Progress Reports Marks Close Report
Cards
October 4 November 8 November 15
December 20 January 31 February 7
March 7 April April 11
May 16 June 13 Final day of School
Grade Range
A+ 100
- 97
A 96
- 93
A- 92
- 90
B+ 89
- 87
B 86
- 83
B- 82
- 80
C+ 79
- 77
C 76
- 73
C- 72
- 70
D+ 69
- 67
D 66
- 63
D- 62
- 60
F 59 and
below
For Maple Street School, fifth and sixth grade students’ letter grades are
earned for progress and effort in the following areas: Reading, Spelling,
Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Music, Physical Education,
Art and Keyboarding.
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PROGRAMS
Art
Students receive art education once a week. The art curriculum consists
of a developmentally appropriate foundation in basic art concepts. Students
are given many opportunities for creative expression. A variety of art skills
and techniques are explored and a broad variety of art materials are used.
Art concepts and experiences are presented in a thematic context that integrates
with the classroom curriculum.
Music
Students receive music education once a week. The music curriculum consists
of a foundation of basic music, vocal skills, moving to music, music theory
and reading, music appreciation, vocal and instrumental performance.
Physical Education
The physical education program focuses on age appropriate fitness. The components
of cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength, flexibility, coordination,
and agility are enhanced through a wide variety of experiences in movement,
manipulatives, rhythms and dance, perceptual motor activities, developmental
gymnastics, and simple games. The students are introduced to motor skills
that form the foundation for the enjoyment of lifetime leisure sports and
activities. Kindergarten has physical education once a week and grades 1 through
6 have physical education twice a week.
Students are asked to wear loose fitting play clothes that can easily be
washed or replaced if soiled or damaged. In the selection of proper footwear,
please consider sneakers that will not make black marks on the gym floor.
No platform sneakers are allowed.
All students are expected to participate in physical education class unless
a doctor’s medical note is provided or upon recommendation of the school nurse.
Guidance
The counselor works individually or in groups to help students interpret
and relate facts about him/herself and apply this knowledge to every day problems
and plans. The counselor also provides in-class student instruction about
personal safety and conflict resolution, and is the coordinator in each building
for the Second Step program.
The Library Media Center
The library has a flexible schedule to allow students to use the library
as often as their class time allows. Students travel to the library individually
or in small groups by using a library pass. Each class has student passes,
which allow students from many classes to simultaneously visit the library.
When the classroom teacher wants larger groups or the whole class to visit
the library, arrangements are scheduled into the library’s weekly calendar.
Students are encouraged to visit the library frequently to either check out
a book or, in the event the student has not yet returned borrowed materials,
be a book browser. Library use helps students develop a life long love of
reading and the skills to become independent seekers of information.
In Kindergarten and at the beginning of Grade One, students demonstrate
responsibility by returning or renewing materials regularly. As students
become older, the number of borrowed materials increases, as does the length
of check out time.
Special Education
The elementary schools provide services for students with special learning
needs. The speech and language program offers a continuum of services to children
whose oral communication difficulties are impacting their academic progress.
These services are based on the results of speech and language testing and
team consultation with the child’s teacher and parents. Support is available
in the form of direct intervention, consultation with teachers and parents,
and monitoring of performance in the classroom.
Occupational Therapy is a related service that is provided for students
after there has been a determination of an educational need. The occupational
therapist utilizes movement and various manipulative and play activities
to facilitate developmental skills that serve as foundations for classroom
learning.
Preschool Special Education provides services to children three to five
years old, who have been referred to the Hopkinton Preschool Team. Referrals
for services may be made by the parent/guardian or teachers by contacting
Special Services, SAU #66, 746-5273. The Preschool Team meets to consider
the referral. If the team decides that more information is needed, an evaluation
is completed. If the evaluation demonstrates that the child needs special
education services, an appropriate program is developed to meet the child’s
needs.
Language Arts
The instructional technique known as Guided Reading is the basis for reading
practice and instruction in grades K - 6. The reading program K - 6 focuses
on oral reading, comprehension skills, ability to analyze, learning to read
in grades "K - 2" and reading to learn in grades "3 - 6".
Writing is an essential part of the reading program and vice versa. Students
are required to write every day. They write for a variety of purposes, for:
to tell a personal story, to express an opinion, to convey a message or to
develop a research paper.
Assessments in reading and writing are done on every student in K - 6 three
times a year. We use the Write Traits technique for assessment in writing.
Results are collected in a student portfolio.
Math
Our elementary schools utilize the Growing With Mathematics program for
grades K-5, published by McGraw-Hill. This program applies the "spiraling"
concept of curriculum development in that topics and skills are revisited
many times during the course of the year. This program is also consistent
with the instructional approach being used in grades 6-12.
Second Step
The Hopkinton School District and a Hopkinton Resource officer teaches the
lessons to the students in each classroom in grades K-6. The students receive
a new lesson each week and school staff follow-up and help the students transfer
what they learned in the lessons into their everyday life at school. The Second
Step program teaches skills that can help all children get along better and
do better in school. This program is based on research in the field of violence
prevention, has been evaluated and has proven to be effective.
DAILY SCHEDULES FOR THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
Harold Martin School
Children should not arrive before 7:30 AM each day. If parents transport,
students may be dropped off at the area indicated in the large parking lot
between 7:30 and 8:00 AM. It is imperative that parents follow the traffic
patterns established by the school when dropping students off. It is preferred
that parents not park their cars and walk their child to the playground as
this takes up parking space which is at a premium. Instead, students should
walk directly to the playground. If recess is inside, student go directly
to the Multi-Purpose Room. Students may not go to the classrooms before 8:00
AM.
Dismissal for morning kindergarten is at 10:50 AM. Afternoon session begins
at 11:50 AM. Parents who transport their children to PM kindergarten should
bring them to the office and sign in. PM kindergarten students may not arrive
before 11:45 AM. School dismissal for all other students is at 2:35 PM. If
you are picking your child up after school, please do so by 2:40 in the Music
Room, where an HMS staff member will sign your child out. Vehicles are not
permitted in the bus unloading/loading circle area near the main office before
8:15 AM or after 2:25 PM. Please follow signs and painted arrows on the pavement.
Maple Street School
Children should not arrive before 7:40 AM each day. Parents who drive their
children to school should drop them off in the rear of the school. Children
who ride the bus are to enter through the front door and proceed through the
building to the playground or the cafeteria if breakfast is being purchased.
The first bell is at 7:55 AM. Students line up to enter the building from
the playground or report to class from the cafeteria. Teachers will be in
their classrooms at this time. The second bell is at 8:05 AM. The 8:05 AM
bell indicates the beginning of homeroom. The official start of the day is
at 8:10 AM. Any student entering the school after 8:10 AM is tardy and must
report to the office for an admit slip.
School dismissal is at 2:45 PM. Walkers and bus students exit through the
front door of the school. Children being picked up by parents exit through
the back doors.
Vehicles are not permitted in the bus unloading/loading circle area near
the main office during the following times: 7:00AM – 8:15AM and 2:30 PM –
3:30 PM
In the elementary schools, parents and other authorized adults who come
to pick up students during school are asked to come to the office and sign
out the student.
STUDENT PLACEMENT
It is the goal of the Hopkinton School District to provide the best educational
setting for all students. To accomplish this task, Hopkinton School District
administrators and staff will access areas including but not limited to the
student's academic performance; the appropriate balance and composition of
each class in each grade; the placement of students with special learning
needs within classes; and knowledge of student-to-student interactions. The
school administration will consider relevant written input submitted by parents
on or before May 1st and which shall not include requests for specific teachers.