Dear Families,

Happy Fall!  I hope you have all been enjoying the beautiful fall weather!  Here are the Walnut Square Updates for this week:  

Mark Your Calendar!

• September 15th-October 15th National Hispanic American Heritage Month 

• Monday, October 11th:  NO SCHOOL – Holiday 

• Tuesday, October 12th:  K-8 Progress Reports Issued

• Thursday, October 14th:  K-8 Parent/Teacher Conferences 

• Tuesday, October 19th:  Title 1 Night:  Math with Playing Cards and Dice 

• Wednesday, October 27th:  Early Release (Dismissal is 11:35 am) 

October is Towel Doo-Wop Month for Emmaus House!

For the month of October, Walnut Square is collecting towels, washcloths, and paper towels to donate to the Emmaus House.  If you would like to donate, please send it with your child to school.  We will also have a bin outside the main entrance.  If you have any questions, please email jrubera@haverhill-ps.org.  

PTO:  The PTO is a group of Parents and Educators who work together to raise funds to plan enrichment activities to help students. Our first meeting was Tuesday, 9/28.  Please see the agenda and meeting minutes below.  

• Meeting Agenda 

• Meeting Minutes

Tuesday, October 19th:  Title 1 Night:  Math with Playing Cards and Dice 

Come join us for an outdoor event to learn games and way to help your child learn math while playing games with cards and dice.  If there is inclement weather, the event will be held virtually.  Please look for the flyer going home with students next week.  

HPS Student Handbook

Our student handbook is available.  Please read through it and contact me if you have any questions.  Thank you!  

https://www.haverhill-ps.org/hps-student-handbook/

Walnut Square Family Survey 

Thank you for completing our Walnut Square Survey!  About 50% of families have taken it.  If you haven’t taken it yet, please click here to complete it.  Your feedback is very important to us as we work to improve our school.  

Attendance

September is Attendance Awareness Month, and HPS is having a weekly contest.  This week, Mrs. Hughes’s class won the weekly award for the highest attendance rate.  Congratulations!  

• Build the Habit of Good Attendance 

• Attendance Awareness Contest Flyer 

Walnut Square Routines and Procedures

• Please send in a note with your child if there is a change in how he/she is getting home.
• Students may be dropped off at 8:45 am when supervision begins.  Families, thank you for remaining outside of the schoolyard during morning recess.  

Street Construction Update:  

• Next week, construction will finish on Main St. and begin on North Ave.Because of this, our parent pick up/drop off and bus pick up/drop off lines will change to Main St.  For parents who wish to park and walk their child, please park on 16th Ave. and Downing Ave.  More information will be coming about this next week.  We know this has been challenging for families, and we appreciate your flexibility and patience as the street and sidewalks around Walnut Square are improved.  

Student Supplies

It is very helpful if families send the following to school with their children:  

• Water bottle (we have a water bottle filling station)

• Masks (and some extra masks)

• Change of clothes (just in case) 

Get Involved!  

• School Site Council:  The Site Council is a balanced group of educators and families who meet monthly to discuss and develop the School Improvement Plan. The Site Council will meet on Thursday, September 30th at 4:30pm at Walnut Square.   It will be held outside.  If there is inclement weather, we will host it inside using mitigation measure like distancing, masking, and proper ventilation.  If you are interested in joining, please email jrubera@haverhill-ps.org.  

• • School Improvement Plan
    • Each year, every school shall adopt school performance goals and develop and implement a written School Improvement Plan to advance those goals and improve student performance. Please click on the link below to view Walnut Square’s School Improvement Plan.  

• Walnut Square School Improvement Plan

September 15th-October 15th National Hispanic American Heritage Month

• Visit https://www.hispanicheritagemonth.gov/ to learn more!  
• At the Haverhill Public Library, there are many books to celebrate National Hispanic American Heritage Month.  There are also many Pura Belpre Award Winners.  Who is Pura Belpre?  Enjoy this read aloud to find out:  Pura Belpre Story

Sincerely,

Jen Rubera 

Principal