October 2023 Newsletter

October Important Dates

10/3 - School Board Meeting 7pm

10/4 - Walk to School Day & Vision and Hearing Screening

10/6 - No School

10/9 - No School

10/13 - No School

10/16-10/19 - Homecoming Week

10/17 - Picture Retake Day & School Board Meeting 7pm

10/19 - Homecoming Parade @ 2:30

10/20 - No School

10/27 - No classes & Parent Teacher Conference 12pm - 8pm

10/31 - Halloween

Welcome Fall
I hope your child(ren) has enjoyed school so far! The teachers and staff are working hard to make sure all of our students get the best education possible. Weather is changing and some days are warmer than others. The students are allowed in the building at 7:45 AM with the first bell ringing at 8:00 AM and the tardy bell ringing at 8:15 AM.

Ready, Set, Walk!

Wednesday, October 4th is walk to school day! Please have your child at the front of Brewed Awakening by 7:25 AM to walk with a group to the school!

Hearing and Vision Screening

On Wednesday, October 4th, please make sure your child has his/her glasses and or hearing device for the vision and hearing screening.

Fire Safety Week is October 9th

Our Kindergarten, 1st Grade, and 2nd Grade students will get a chance to visit the new Holyoke Fire Station on Monday, October 9th! The school will bus the students over to the fire station where they will learn about fire safety.

Homecoming week 

Homecoming week is the week of October 16th. This year our elementary students have been asked to join the JH/HS students in dress up days. We will send more information as we have it. Please make a note that picture retake day is on Tuesday, October 17th, of homecoming week. 

The homecoming parade will be at 2:30 PM on Thursday, October 19th. 

**If you are having your child(ren) ride a float, you will need to stop at the school to sign your child out for the rest of the day. There is a pep rally at the football field after the parade.

Parent/Teacher Conferences

We are looking forward to seeing our parents again during parent teacher conferences on Friday, October 27th. A letter will be sent in the mail soon with a time for your child’s conference. If the time does not work for you to attend, please call Mrs. Juarez, (970) 854-3411 to reschedule.

During parent teacher conferences our student council will be selling goodies!

Halloween

Halloween is on Tuesday, October 31st this year. We will have a parade through our gym for parents to view the students in their costumes. Students will be allowed to change into their costumes at 2:45 PM. Parents will be allowed in the gym at 2:55 PM. Please make sure your child can put on his or her own costume with no additional help. No blood or weapons are allowed as part of the costume.

Counselor Corner - Mr. Hines 

The new guidance curriculum, Source of Strength, has arrived and is being utilized in the classroom. Unit 1 focuses on connections and community. If you would like your child to visit with Mr. Hines on a regular basis, please reach out to him by phone or email. 

You can contact Mr. Hines at (970) 854-3411 and by email hineslo@hcosd.org.

End of the Day Messages

Please call our secretary, Mrs. Juarez, before 3:00 PM if you have a message for your child. We have around 300 students and have to start messages early to get through all of them depending on the day. Please know we understand last minute emergencies.

Please make sure your child has a water bottle daily!

Breakfast and Lunch 

Breakfast and lunch are free this year. Your child(ren) is allowed to get seconds or an additional milk when bringing cash with him/her to school. The following prices apply…

*Extra milk $0.40

*Additional breakfast $1.50

*Additional lunch entree $1.50

S.O.A.R.

We are The Dragons and we Soar to excellence! SOAR stands for… 

Safety

Ownership

Achievement

Respect 

For the month of October, we are focusing on “S” Safety.

L.E.A.R.N.E.R.S.

LEARNERS is a word we will be focusing on at Holyoke Elementary. LEARNERS stands for…

Learn from mistakes

Evaluate work

Ask questions and accept challenges

Receive and respond to feedback

Never give up!

Effort matters

Reach goals

State what we’re learning

For the month of October, we are focusing on “E” Evaluate work.

Drop off and pick up

Please use yellow zones for dropping kids off. Do NOT park in the yellow zones. If you want to walk your child to the front door of the school, please park in a parking spot and not the yellow zones.

After school, please make sure to pull over in a parking spot to pick up your child. We have staff helping fill in as a crossing guard, so please let them help your son or daughter cross the street.

Chromebooks and Chargers

We appreciate your help with your child’s education by providing school supplies at the beginning of the year. If your child is in 3rd, 4th, 5th, or 6th grade, it will be your child’s responsibility to charge his/her Chromebook for school the next day. Your child was given a Chromebook and a charger at the beginning of the school year. If the charger gets lost, you will be responsible for replacing it. It would be a big help if you could remind your child to plug in his/her Chromebook nightly.  your responsibility to make sure your child has his/her headphones charged and ready for school daily.