Indeed, the Winter Concerts for all students took place last week and, wow, did the show make waves!! The students sang their hearts out, and their joy was palpable! Hats off to Captain Messerly, who ran the whole ship and show including ukuleles, recorders, and solos; and First Mate Tina Best who ran the Set-Design Elective for 3rd to 6th Grade students. These students along with Mrs. Best made every piece of the set--from the whale to the waves to the jellyfish and everything in between! Congratulations to all the students! Congratulations and thank you to Mr. Messerly and Mrs. Best for all the extra you invest in our children to give them such an enriching music and arts program! And thank you for your happy hearts along the way!

There still are plenty of items available to gift to HPS Community Families in need!

Each year, HPS has a tradition of hosting a Holiday Hope Tree filled with the different needs and wishes of anonymous families in our very own HPS Community. The Holiday Hope Tree is virtual, and you can find all the items available for gifting on this Amazon gift registry link. Please have a look at the items, and help us spread a little hope through our own community if you are in a position to give. (https://www.amazon.com/registries/holiday/1B4JXICFGT1DW/guest-view)

**All gifts should arrive unwrapped and marked with their gift code. So please note the letter/number code in the gift message box and choose HPS Hope Tree Gift Registry Address for the mailing address. Thank you for your generosity!

The deadline for the school-wide Holiday gift fund has been extended until tomorrow (December 12) at 8pm. We hope to gift at least $200 to each teacher and staff member.

In this season of thanks and giving, we want to make sure our HPS teachers and staff really feel our love through school wide holiday gifts! It is so well-deserved! They are upbeat, resilient, and generous; organized, cheerful, and calm, giving our children a positive learning experience no matter what obstacles are thrown their way. Please follow the steps in this link to contribute any amount you'd like. Contributions will be split among ALL teachers and staff to ensure that everyone knows how much we appreciate them, and no one is overlooked. Thank you!!

Dear Families of Hyde Park School,

Thank you so much for supplying food for families in need. Your kind contributions left piles and piles of food in our principal's office. Because of you, we could give so many families the Thanksgiving they deserve. So once again thank you for helping us in the food drive.

Sincerely,

HPS Student Council

This month, the Hyde Park Hero Character Trait is Forgiveness. Being able to forgive others, and being able to apologize and ask for forgiveness, are crucial skills needed to learn empathy and compassion, resolve conflict, and reach greater understandings with others and within yourself. Will you forgive someone who has wronged you so that you can move forward freely without resentment? Will you humbly admit a mistake and ask for forgiveness; or, will you dig in your heels for the sake of pride and "winning"? The answers to these questions speak volumes about a person's character and can be the greatest factors in problem-solving and reaching situational and personal peace. Here are some children's books from Scholastic focused on offering forgiveness and apologizing.

The Eagles Girls Youth Lacrosse program site (eaglesyouthlacrosse.com) is the best way to learn more about the program (and to register for the 2023 season, which is OPEN NOW), but you can also check out the Facebook (Eagles Girls Youth Lacrosse), Twitter (@eaglegirlslax) and Instagram (eaglesgirlsyouthlacrosse) accounts.

Leo says it simply and most eloquently: "We Want You!!" But what's more, We Need You!! Sad but true, reality is setting in: our longstanding leaders of the HPS Athletics Program will be retiring from the ranks as their students near the end of their careers at HPS. The positions of Athletic Director, Head and Assistant Sports Coordinators, Equipment & Uniform Managers, Booster Positions (Presidents, VP, Secretary, Communications Director, and Fundraising Chair) are some of the many volunteers positions held mostly by Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Grade Parents. The same holds true for coaches. So the time has come for the fresh faces of the K-3 Parents to come forward to learn the ropes. To learn more about the positions and to volunteer, please contact Mike Brugh at michaelbrugh@outlook.com

Lunch time involves a learning curve, and our youngest students are in need of some assistance during lunchtime! Tasks like opening cheese sticks yogurt lids, and even putting straws in drink boxes can be challenging to little hands. If you could spare an hour of your time, please join our lunch and recess period to help make the most of this important hour of their day! Click here to sign up. This signup link will be included in this Newsletter each week for you to access.

*IMPORTANT NEW INFORMATION*: To allow for more eating time, Kindergarteners now will be having recess BEFORE lunch. This means if you are the Lunch/Recess Duty Volunteer, you should check-in at the Main Office, then report to the Playground instead of the Cafeteria. Then, following recess, you will help escort the Kindergarteners to the Cafeteria where you will assist them as they eat lunch. Please act as the Caboose for the line, ensuring that the very last students and any stragglers make it safely into the Cafeteria.

*Please note (and, yes, it goes without saying, but) by signing up for this opportunity, you will be signing up to assist ALL Kindergarteners with their lunch and to help monitor ALL students on the playground during recess, not just your child.*

Streamline your life by using this link to upload all HPS Events to your calendar: HPS Events Calendar. Throughout the year, this link will be updated with other events like socials, movie nights, family swims, playground dates, and more!