Langston Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri. An American writer and poet and an important figure in the Harlem Renaissance, Hughes made the Black American experience the subject of his writings, which ranged from poetry and plays, to novels and newspaper columns. To learn more about Hughes and to read his poetry, visit: https://buff.ly/3Xxegle. Here is one of his works:

Come to HEYDAY this Wednesday, Feb. 8 from noon to 9pm for lunch, dinner, or both! This HPS Family Run restaurant in East Walnut Hills will generously donate 20% of all food sales back to the HPS PTO! Just mention Hyde Park School when you order. The fundraiser applies to all dine-in and carryout orders. Orders placed through third party delivery services such as Uber Eats, DoorDash, or Grub Hub do not qualify. You can find HEYDAY at 1527 Madison Rd. at the old East Walnut Hills O Pie O location.

The HPS PTO will hold its next General Meeting this Thursday, Feb. 9 at 6:30pm in the Cafeteria and via Google Meets (link to be emailed in a followup this week). All are welcome to attend! The upcoming Spring Celebration will be a hot topic of conversation!

The HPS Student Council is ready to add pep to your step and lift your mid-winter spirits with a week of fun outfits!

Monday, Feb. 6: Dress like a Teacher

Tuesday, Feb. 7: PJ Day

Wednesday, Feb. 8: Monochromatic Day-- Wear all one color

Thursday, Feb. 9: Dress from your favorite decade

Friday, Feb. 10: Fancy Dress Day

The HPS Student Council is kicking of its Winter Kindness Challenge! This year, Student Council is collecting needed items for shelters around our city! Every week in February, each Homeroom is challenged to bring in 25 of the following items:

This Week, February 6-10: Pairs (or Packs) of Socks

February 14-17: Pairs of Gloves

February 21-24: Baby Diapers or Wipes

HPS Kindergarten Information Night is set for February 16 at 6:00 pm in the HPS Gym. This meeting is for Parents of Incoming Kindergarteners for the 2023-2024 school year, so please spread the word through your network of families with preschoolers! *Please Note* in order to keep the meeting focused on informing the parents, this meeting is for parents/guardians only, not the incoming Kindergarteners. Socials for incoming families to meet one another and for the children to meet their teachers will take place in the Summer.

Thursday, March 2 from 5:30-7:30pm marks the long-awaited return of International Night at HPS! International Night is a fun and exciting event of exploring different countries, cultures, religions, and traditions. Parents and students have the opportunity to create exhibits displaying flags, maps, traditional dress, artifacts, sports, music, art, games, traditions, food/drink, or any other aspect of their heritage or a country/culture of interest. Or, if you don't want to create a display, you can travel from country to country through the halls of HPS experiencing the different cultures and traditions along the way!

If your family is interested in participating in International Night, click here to sign up as a presenter by TOMORROW, Monday February 6. If not, that's okay! Please save the date, and plan to attend! We'd love to have you explore the world with us at HPS!

To get in full spirit, get the event gear! The Limited Edition International Night Shirts can be purchased here with proceeds to support the HPS Student Council and its initiatives at the school, such as this one-- celebrating the diversity of our community!

Is your child interested in cheer and wanting to spread the Eagle Spirit? Join the new Eagles Cheer Team! Cheer is Now Open for Registration on a First Come First Served Basis to the First 12 People to email Tina Hubert at tinaleehubert@gmail.com. The cost is $40 and includes a t-shirt and pompoms.

The Cheer Team will meet on Thursdays in the HPS Gym from 3:15-4pm March 2 through May 11. Tina Hubert (HPS Parent) will be coordinating the program, which will be coached by Xavier Cheerleaders. Bridge Care will be available from after school until the Cheer Team starts its practice at 3:15pm. See all the details below in the graphic below.

Registration for Girls on the Run is open through this Wednesday, February 8. In Girls on the Run team members will run and become more physically active, but Girls on the Run is about so much more than running. Its mission aims to inspire every girl to be healthy and joyful; to dream big, activate her full potential, and embrace differences; to become more confident, problem solve, and learn how to positively handle adversity. This group will meet from 2:30-3:45 Mondays and Wednesdays at HPS beginning on February 22 and is open to 16 girls. A lottery will take place for random assignment on the team if all 16 guaranteed spots are filled. Register here! More information is included in the flyers below. Please contact Coach Andre Klocke at gemma0299@yahoo.com with any questions.

Planning is underway for the 11th Annual Spring Celebration! If you're new to HPS, Spring Celebration is a large-scale adults-only party that serves as our biggest fundraiser for the year! The Spring Celebration provides an opportunity for HPS families, staff, and community sponsors to celebrate our successful and growing school. At Hyde Park School, we are proud to provide a personalized learning environment that supports academic achievement and social-emotional development for children in grades K-6. We are proud to serve nearly 600 students primarily from the Hyde Park and Oakley neighborhoods.

What better way to get the most out of Spring Celebration than by volunteering and being part of the team that makes this spectacular event happen! Links to various volunteer and sponsorship opportunities will be posted in this Newsletter in the coming weeks. But in the meantime, we are seeking volunteers to help solicit donations from area businesses to stock Raffle Baskets and the Silent Auction. If you are interested in helping, please contact Ashley Hammond at president@hydeparkschoolpto.org.

With colder temperatures hitting here and there throughout the Winter, indoor recess is inevitable. HPS is seeking to create several Board Game Carts that will travel to classrooms and provide good old-fashioned entertainment for the indoor recess days. If you have extra or otherwise unwanted board games and/or extra plastic containers to store games/game pieces when the cardboard boxes become too torn and weathered, we'd put them to good use at HPS! Please bring them to the Main Office or send them to school with your child (along with a note/post-it that the game is being donated to the school's indoor recess supply). Thank you!!

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!