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Welcome to THE FOCUS. This WEEKLY email is intended to streamline communications between
school and home by providing one regular update on topics of general interest, reminders, etc. We
hope this helps reduce the amount of duplicate email you currently may be getting from multiple
district sources. NOTE: This is an official email of the Hopewell Valley Regional School
District. Information that is not directly related to the staff or students will not be included in this
email. In addition, it is not affiliated with the email list servs maintained by individual school PTOs
(i.e., Dog Byte, WolfFlash) and other parent organizations.
May 30, 2014
FROM THE DESK OF THE SUPERINTENDENT –
Are You Looking for Fun and Enriching Summer Activities for Your Children??? – Check out the
multitude of events, activities, summer camps, etc., listed on the Community Bulletin Board located on the
district website next to each school’s virtual backpack. You can get there by clicking here:
http://www2.hvrsd.org/Schools/virtualbackpack/Pages/CentralHigh.aspx
Got Assets? – Research by Search Institute has identified 40 concrete, positive experiences and qualities –
“developmental assets” – that have proven to have a tremendous influence on the lives of young people. Each
week, one developmental asset will be featured in The Focus.
Asset of the Week Asset #22: School Engagement: Young person is actively engaged in learning. Tips for
building this asset: The best way to keep young people engaged in school is to focus on their individual
interests and goals. Listen to young people and pay attention to the activities they most enjoy. Once you’re
aware of what they want (or need), help them tie their interests and goals to what they learn in and out of
school. Help young people address any challenges they may face.
Do You Have a Mountain of Used Clothing or Textiles??? - The Year-Round Clothing and Textile
Drive is HERE! Outdoor collection bins from Spin Green arrived at all six schools on Friday morning! Each
PTO will be paid per pound for the textiles collected in their bin. Remember, we take clothing and textiles of
ALL types and in ANY condition - as long as they are dry. Spin Green’s partner charities get first pick of the
donations, and the rest is sold, reused and/or recycled. Please help us spread the word to the whole
community! http://www2.hvrsd.org/community/pages/TextileDrive.aspx
Please see “Other District-Related Activities” below for two more exciting district-wide events
CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL
Honors for One of Our Own!!! - Congratulations to Eric Jing, a sophomore in both Honors Chemistry and
Honors Physics. He has been named a Merck Scholar. For over 60 years, Merck has encouraged and
recognized high achievement by secondary students throughout New Jersey through its sponsorship of the
Merck State Science Day Competition. Held on May 19, the competition consists of examinations taken by
individuals and teams of high school students competing in biology, chemistry, physics and integrated
sciences. Eric placed in the top four in New Jersey for integrated science.
Don’t Miss a Great Opportunity to Host a Foreign Exchange Student!!! - CHS is looking for families to
host international students for a full academic year or for a semester. By hosting a foreign exchange student, it
is possible to experience a global adventure without leaving the country. You can give a young man or woman
the chance to experience all the things you love about life in America, all while learning about what life is like in
foreign places. By inviting a foreign exchange student into your home, you have the power to “build bridges;”
you can positively impact the way your student – as well as their family and friends back home - think about the
United States, while also creating a life-long friendship with your student. Highly screened students are
between the ages of 15 and 17 and have at least five years of English classes. They are smart, enthusiastic,
and have a wide variety of hobbies and interests. For more information visit:
www.academicyear.org or contact Mrs. Shirley Jackson, 609-709-6969 or supershirley@hotmail.com.
TIMBERLANE MIDDLE SCHOOL
PTO Meeting - Our last meeting of the year will be this Monday, June 2, at 9:00 am, in the 8th grade house
center. Cecelia Cardano, one of our school counselors, will be doing a presentation on the adolescent brain.
Attention 6th and 7th Grade Parents - The deadline to make any changes to your child's elective choices will
be this Monday, June 2. Requests for changes will not be honored after this date. Please contact your child's
counselor with any changes. The tutorial can also be found on the TMS website.
8th Grade End-of-the-Year Activities - Information was sent out several weeks ago detailing 8th grade endof-the-year activities. This information can also be found on the TMS website.
Sports Physicals - The school district will once again be offering physicals for fall sports on June 13 and July
24. Physicals will be performed by our school physician and the cost will be $25. To schedule an appointment
contact our health office at 737-4004 ext. 3.
BEAR TAVERN ELEMENTARY
Bear Tavern School Store for Kenya!!! – The Bear Tavern school community is working for Kenya to have
clean water. Every Bear Tavern student is invited to create something handmade. In the spirit of how the
Kenyan’s raise money, we are asking for handmade - no store-bought - items. The Student Council came up
with some suggestions for handmade (by the students) items:
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Handmade Rainbow Loom bracelets
Handmade Jewelry
Handmade Artwork
Handmade Needlework (Knitting)
Handmade Origami
Handmade Pottery
Handmade Lego Creations (Using extra pieces from home)
Handmade Hair Accessories (Bows, Clips, etc.)
Handmade Puzzles
Handmade Sand Art Bottle
Handmade Sports Equipment
Handmade Board Games (Include Directions)
Handmade Card Games (Include Directions)
Handmade Instruments
Make Your Own Materials (like Glurch, Oobleck, or Flubber)
Handmade Fairy Houses
These items will be sold during lunches for $1 to $5 in June. Please send in your own handmade items by
Wednesday, June 4. Have your child bring the item(s) to Mrs. Overman’s classroom in the third grade hall on
(or before) that day. If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Overman at toverman@hvrsd.org.
Congratulations!!! - Congratulations to our wonderful Kindergarten Extension students (and K. Ext. teachers)
for putting on an excellent musical!! You all did a magnificent job!
Dates to Remember:
June 4
Mrs. Evan's 3rd grade class on a walking trip to Washington Crossing Park
4th and 5th Grade Spring Concert at the PAC
June 5
1st Grade trip to the Philadelphia Zoo
June 6
No pre-school today (Collab Day)
Mrs. Wheeler's 3rd grade class on walking trip to Washington Crossing Park
4th Grade trip to Sandy Hook
End-of-the-Year Picnic at 6:00 pm
Attention 5th Grade Parents - If you would like to make a change to your child's 6th grade world language or
music choice at Timberlane next year, please reach out to Ms. Rogers at 737-4004 ext. 4116 or email her at
grogers@hvrsd.org. The deadline to request changes is Monday, June 2. Requests will not be honored after
this date.
Make sure to follow Bear Tavern's twitter feed to see pictures of all the fun end of year field trips and
performances! @BearTavernES https://twitter.com/BearTavernES
HOPEWELL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Movie Night and Ice Cream Social!!! – Join your friends and come out to see "Nut Job" tonight at 6:00 pm in
the cafeteria and help support our 5th graders. $5.00 per person includes the movie and ice cream.
HES Field Day Volunteers Needed - Thank You to all of those who already signed up to volunteer for next
Friday's Field Day! We are still short people at some stations and need to fill those spots! Please consider
volunteering either a half day or full day. Thank you in advance for making this a spectacular day for all the
children! Click here to help!
Let Me Run!!! - Our boys will be participating in tomorrow's 14th Annual Hillsborough Hop. We are very proud
of our boys and wish them the very best tomorrow.
Enrichment Opportunities: Week of June 2
Monday:
Tuesday:
Wednesday:
Thursday:
Friday:
Nature Club, Soccer Shots
Girls on the Run, Basketball Basics
Garden Club (Roots)
Garden Club (Seeds), Chess Club
Girls on the Run
Attention 5th Grade Parents - If you would like to make a change to your child's 6th grade world language or
music choice at Timberlane next year, please reach out to Ms. Rogers at 737-4004 ext. 4116 or email her
at grogers@hvrsd.org. The deadline to request changes is Monday, June 2. Requests will not be honored after
this date.
STONY BROOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Blood Drive - Thank you to those who participated in the American Red Cross blood drive – your lifesaving
contribution is appreciated. Thank you to Lucia Sanin and Shubhangi Khatu for organizing this event.
Field Day – Thank you to the many parent volunteers who have helped make Field Day a memorable day for
everyone. A Special thank you to Mr. Leibowitz for his hard work for this event.
Summer Chess Camp – July 14 - 18 - Registration is OPEN for the 3rd Annual Summer Chess Camp at
Stony Brook which will take place the week of July 14 - 18. It is open to all students in the Hopewell Valley
School District so please spread the word! We have all levels of play from Grades 1-8. Forms are now
available on the SBPTO Website and soon on VirtualBackPack. Join a fun learning environment provided by
instructor and chess champion Jon Edwards with the help of SB PTO parent volunteers. If you are interested
in helping out as a parent volunteer, please email the SBPTO at: luciasaninsbpto@gmail.com.
Spring Concert at the PAC at CHS – June 5 - Our 4th and 5th graders have prepared Disney Spectacular...
a “Minnie” review of Disney classics. Our audience will be transported to the wonderful world of Disney
through our instrumental and vocal presentations. Students should wear concert attire (white top, dark bottom)
and/or a Disney tee shirt, hat, or costume. Parents, feel free to also sport your favorite Disney tee shirt or
Mickey ears! Students should arrive at 6:30 pm. The Event begins at 7:00 pm. The School Assembly will be
held on Wednesday, June 4, at 9:00 am in the gym. Students will need instruments and concert attire on that
day as well.
Principal's Reading Challenge - You did it Stony Brook! Over the past four weeks you read a total of
227,228 minutes, surpassing our goal of 200,000 minutes. Mrs. Stay and Mrs. Haven's first grade class had
the highest reading average with 1,210 minutes per student and Mrs. Nutt's fifth grade class had the second
highest reading average with 991 minutes per student. Wait for the surprise to find out which teachers will go
up in a hot air balloon on the Stony Brook field this Monday morning, June 2. Afterwards, students will enjoy
an indoor assembly entitled "Up and Away with Hot Air Balloons" where they will learn about the history of
ballooning and aviation and the scientific concepts involved in ballooning. If the wind and weather do not
permit an outdoor inflation of the hot air balloon, the balloon will be partially inflated on its side with a fan and
students will have a chance to enter the balloon's envelope. Stony Brook would like to thank Sue Fowler from
RE/MAX Realtors for fully funding this worthwhile program for our students.
Be sure to visit the STONY BROOK HOMEPAGE and the SB Virtual Backpack for important Stony
Brook news/ events. Follow us on Twitter - @
TOLL GATE GRAMMAR SCHOOL
Congratulations! - To all of our musicians who performed in the fabulous spring concert on Wednesday! All
of your hard work and practice paid off!
Yearbook Thank You and Order Forms! - A huge, heartfelt thank you to all of the parents and staff who
contributed their time and efforts into creating what we hope to be another fabulous book of memories for our
children! We have collected and sorted through thousands of your photos to capture and represent our
children and staff as they participated in and created yet another memorable year at Toll Gate. We could not
have done this without you. Thank you so much for taking the time to share all of your special memories with
us! If you missed the opportunity to contribute this year, don’t worry, there’s always next year! Keep those
cameras clicking! Yearbook order forms were sent home with your child. If you need another copy, the order
form is in the Toll Gate Virtual Backpack. Deadline for ordering is May 30 and the price is $25. If you are
ordering for multiple children please use one form per child. Any questions please contact Kathie Rigante
Boyer at krigante@comcast.net. Thank you!
Masterpiece Cards & Calendars - Order your 2014 Masterpiece Cards & Calendars this week for collection at
the family picnic on June 19. Order forms are being emailed this week and paper copies are available in the
school office. Don’t miss this last opportunity to share the children’s beautiful artwork of Hopewell Valley and
support our PTO. The 16 month calendars run from July 2014 and the note cards make great
thank you notes. Check your inbox for pricing and order forms or contact Maria O’Leary,
mariaoleary@me.com
Save the Date: Thursday, June 19, Toll Gate Family Picnic - On Thursday, June 19, celebrate the end of
the year at the Toll Gate Family Picnic. 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm on the Toll Gate fields. There will be a DJ, games,
food and fun for the whole family. Evite and details will follow.
Toll Gate’s Night out at the Ball Park - See the 5th Graders sing the National Anthem at the Trenton
Thunder, June 6, at 7:05 pm. For more information please see the flyer in the TG VB or email Melissa Rhoads
at melrhoadsplace@comcast.net
Spring Mini Musical - On behalf of the 4th and 5th Grade Choruses we invite families and friends to join us for
our mini-musical production of Annie on Tuesday, June 10, at 2:20 pm and 7:00 pm in the TGG Gym. A fun
event for the whole family!
A Reminder from Nurse Smith… - Please send your children to school wearing appropriate footwear. Many
children are wearing flip flops which are not good for recess or Physical Education classes. During the nice
weather, classes may go outdoors when not necessarily planned and sneakers or other closed shoes are the
safe choice. This avoids toes being stubbed or stepped on. Climbing and running outside in flip flops is never
a good idea. In addition, children riding bicycles to school should be wearing bicycle helmets.
Summer Birthday Celebrations - On June 4, we will be celebrating our summer birthdays! We know many
students do not have the opportunity to celebrate if their birthday falls after the school year is over, so this will
be the day to be recognized and celebrate with their classmates! If your child’s birthday occurs over the
summer, once school is over, please contact his/her room parent, if you’re interested in sending in either a
treat or supplies for the birthday celebration. No need for separate treats for each summer birthday
child – instead, this will be a homeroom celebration for those students, perhaps a bagel breakfast with fresh
fruit, juice, one treat, etc… We always stress the importance of a healthy snack, so please keep this and any
student allergies in mind as you plan for this celebration.
Save the Date - June 13 - Field Day!! Station Volunteers Needed!! - We are so grateful for all who have
volunteered supplies and signed up to work stations thus far and we still need your help. It is always a fun day
for our children and we have several stations needing supervision. Please visit
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0A49A5A928A6FC1-parent. We are looking forward to a great day!
**Students should bring bagged lunches**
Glue for Girl Scouts - A collection box is in the hallway across from the Main Office for all Elmer’s glue bottles
and glue stick containers. Mostly empty please! They can be recycled and turned into benches, trash cans
and other useful items. Girl Scout Troop 70068 is working on their Bronze Award Project which is the highest
award a Junior Girl Scout can receive. The collection will end June 24, so clean out those drawers and
cabinets and send Elmer’s to TG!
Things to come……
June 5
Gr. 5 to Philadelphia
June 5
PTO meeting – Final Meeting
June 6
Gr. K Farm Day
June 6
Gr 1 “BUGZ” Show for parents
June 6
TG Night at Trenton Thunder
June 10
Spring Musical “Annie”
June 12
Gr. K Farm Day
June 13
Field Day
OTHER DISTRICT RELATED ACTIVITIES
The Hopewell Valley Arts Council Presents…The newly formed Hopewell Valley Arts Council invites the
public to see its art exhibit, "Not Your Everyday Ox: Artists' Designs for the Hopewell Valley Stampede", on
display at the 2nd floor gallery at Capital Health, Hopewell. The exhibit showcases a sneak preview of the
wide range of designs that will be on display throughout the Valley this summer, including those being done by
HVRSD arts teachers and their students. The show is open through June 27.
The Arts Council will be bringing the visual arts to Howe Commons at Pennington Day with a small Stampede
of oxen. Come and watch local artists at work on their oxen, preview the oxen prepared by art students at the
Timberlane Middle School and Central High School, and purchase works by a number of Hopewell Valley
artists who will be displaying their paintings at the Art Walk.