PHT Paws-itively News

Dear Page Hilltop Families:

We are concluding our month-long celebration of the Great Kindness Challenge. Many schools observe the GKC for a single week in January. But our school has so many kind and caring community members (students/staff/families) that it would be impossible to complete all of our Random Acts of Kindness in a week.

As we head into March, does that mean we will forget about kindness? Absolutely not! We will continue to promote kindness, in every form, for the rest of the school year. We will recognize and celebrate acts of kindness each and every day. On the first day of the GKC, we shared our school mantra: KINDNESS MATTERS ... EVERY DAY ... EVERY WAY!

This will never change. Please read on to see pictures & captions of many different ways that we celebrated kindness at Page Hilltop. We love to have you share your ideas for kindness activities, at any time.

Thought for all of us to consider: "Listen to anything your children want to tell you. If you don't listen to the small stuff now, they won't tell you the big stuff later."

Thanks, as always, for sharing your children with us!

Fred Deppe, Principal

Matt Lutinski, Assistant Principal

• March 1st -- 1st Day of Women's History Month
• March 2nd -- School Council Meeting via ZOOM
• March 3rd -- PTO Meeting via ZOOM
• March 4th -- Community Reading Day
• March 9th -- Early Release @ 1:45
• March 16th -- Half Day Dismissal @ 12:15
• March 17th -- St. Patrick's Day -- Wear your green!
• March 31st -- 1/2 Day (Preschool - 5) for PTC Dismissal @ 12:15

Moving forward, students will have the option to sign up for a bagged lunch on half-days. Lunch is not served at school on half-days. Parents/Guardians should expect to see a sign-up form via email to participate in the bagged lunch program on half-days. Please be on the lookout for the email in the coming days for our first half-day of the month scheduled on Wednesday, March 16th.

Please CLICK HERE to view the March 2022 Lunch Menu.

Monday: Popcorn Chicken

Tuesday: Warm Ham & Cheese Croissant

Wednesday: Penne Pasta w/ Meat or Marinara Sauce

Thursday: Shepherd's Pie

Friday: Personal Pizza

We are currently supporting approximately 40 families with our Weekend Snack Pack Program. Page Hilltop students of these families receive a bag of snack food items each Friday to take home and enjoy over the weekend. None of the items require the use of a stove, microwave, or refrigerator. There is no cost to be involved in this program and your participation is kept confidential. If any of our PH families are dealing with food insecurity and would like your child involved in our weekend program, please contact Mr. Deppe. We can also provide you with information regarding the Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry.

Page Hilltop is looking for people interesting in providing coverage for classroom teachers and paraprofessionals (on an interim substitute basis). Interested applicants must submit a copy of this application. Applicants, if hired, will need to complete a CORI in the main office and also be fingerprinted. Please email Fred Deppe, at fdeppe@asrsd.org if you have any questions.

Current Employment Opportunities can be found on SchoolSpring -- CLICK HERE

Mrs. Bezerra's Class: Two 3rd-graders in Mrs. Bezerra's class read to the students in Ms. Gruskowski's 2nd-grade class. The students read Peanut Butter & Cupcake and all had a good time reading this new story!

Recently a group of our Paws Power student leaders arrived at school extra early with one goal in mind - to spread some kindness. Upon their early arrival, they helped to pour 80 cups of hot chocolate. They then waited for the parents, who were dropping off their children, to arrive so that we could surprise them with a cheery greeting and the offer of a cup of hot chocolate to start out their day. These treats were well received. This is just one example of how our students demonstrate kindness towards others. We are very proud of them! Special thanks to Mrs. Lindsey McLoughlin (Charlie's mom) who helped out with the cocoa distribution project.

Page Hilltop has one of the most active and supportive PTO groups of any school around. We meet monthly on the first Thursday of each month from 7:00 - 8:00 pm. At this time all meetings are held virtually. The Zoom link is listed below. We have a great group of parents who participate in these monthly meetings but are always looking for more parents to join us.

Our PTO sponsors and supports a variety of school events & activities. Their goal is to support our students, staff, and families.

During our March meeting, we will be discussing ideas for spring / end-of-year events.

PLEASE JOIN US for this meeting to listen and (if you wish) share your thoughts.

Since his arrival as Superintendent of the ASRSD, Dr. Adam Renda has demonstrated his passion for education, commitment to our school district, and genuine caring for all of our students, faculty, and staff. As part of our kindness month activities, grade 2 teacher Danielle Less and her students created a special poster for Dr. Renda. The poster was presented to Dr. Renda by Liam, Lincoln & Faith and now hangs proudly in his office.

I was recently invited to attend the grand re-opening of the newly renovated McDonald's (which is located just off the Ayer rotary). I met owner David Yee as well as members of his management team. If you have not been inside the restaurant since it went through some significant renovations, it looks amazing. Town Administrator Robert Pontbriand joined Mr. Yee for the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Mr. Yee expressed his desire to be a community partner with the ASRSD and presented me with a donation check to be used for Page Hilltop student activities.

Did you know that Ayer has a community garden and that all residents are eligible to take part in this gardening program? Mr. Lutinski and I recently met with Ms. Sheila Carmen who is the coordinator of the community gardening program. We discussed the current garden which is located on Barnum Road as well as other potential gardening projects that are being discussed. As we get closer to spring, Sheila will be providing us with additional information to be shared with all of our PH families.

The ASRSD has opted to participate in the new COVID testing option that provides families with 2 at-home COVID tests every other week. COVID tests will go home with students every other week and they should test at home on Tuesday afternoons. Parents/guardians should report positive cases only using the district reporting form.

PLEASE CHECK YOUR CHILD"S BACKPACK WHEN THEY COME HOME ON TUESDAY IF YOU SIGNED UP TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS PROGRAM, TO RECEIVE YOUR COVID TESTS,

To opt into this new testing program you must opt-in again using the link to this Google Form -- CLICK HERE

Please refer to the ASRSD Weekly Update that was emailed out on Monday, January 31st for more details.

Looking for something beneficial that your child can work on at home to continue their learning? Students, in grades K-2, have access to Lexia and can log in at home if they are looking for something to work on to improve their literacy skills. All students K-5 can also work on math lessons on Zearn.

Please find the links to these online tools below...

• Lexia Reading CORE5
• Zearn

Students should have their usernames and passwords written down in their folders. If not, please email your child's teacher for this information.

All parents of 3rd, 4th and 5th-grade students should have received a copy of the spring MCAS testing dates. We ask that you do your best to avoid scheduling any appointments on those dates. If, for any reason, you did not see this notice, please contact the school office at ext. 1401.

ELA MCAS:

• Grade 5: April 5 & 6
• Grade 4: April 11 & 12
• Grade 3: April 25 & 26

MATH MCAS:

• Grade 4: May 9 & 10
• Grade 5: May 16 & 17
• Grade 3: May 18 & 19

STE MCAS (5th-Grade Only)

• Grade 5: May 24 & 25

NEXT PTO MEETING: Thursday, March 3rd @ 7:00 PM via ZOOM

PTO Website -- LINK

PTO Facebook Page -- Link

Are you an Amazon shopper?

Did you know just by shopping with smileamazon.com you can help support PH!?

Create a FREE SMILE ACCOUNT and link it to Page Hilltop.

Share with family and friends so they can help support PH too!

BOX TOPS
YES, Page Hilltop can still earn with Box Tops!
Here is a video on how to Scan with the Box Tops Mobile App YOUTUBE BOXTOP

SCRIPS YEAR ROUND
The PHT PTO scrip program is a simple and effective fundraising program.
Please email Amanda Lewis at alewis@asrsd.org with any questions regarding the Scrip Program.
Go to: https://www.shopwithscrip.com/how-to-enroll and click Join Your Existing Program
1. Enter the Enrollment Code: 298736BL13535
2. Complete the Family Registration page
3. Start Shopping!