The week we've all been waiting for-- Winter Concert Week!! After a two-year Covid hiatus, in-person Winter Concerts are back! Grades K-2 will perform Wednesday December 7 at 6:00pm. Grades 3-6 will perform Thursday December 8 at 6:00pm. Both concerts will take place at Withrow High School. Students are asked to be at Withrow by 5:45pm; no specific dress code is required.

We are quickly approaching our December 9 deadline to collect a school-wide Holiday gift fund to be split among all HPS staff. We hope to gift at least $200 to each teacher and staff member. This school-wide effort will take the place of room parents collecting money to purchase individual teacher gifts.

We are collecting cash donations from the whole school (find the donation link here), which then will be split among ALL teachers and staff to ensure that everyone knows how much we appreciate them, and no one is overlooked. This streamlined school-wide approach to teacher and staff holiday gifts has proven fruitful in the past, and we are hoping to reach our goal by the end of this week!

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 donate any amount you'd like. Thank you!!

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 through Amazon Smile, 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)

The leaders of this project would love to have everything in hand by December 10 in order to distribute the gifts in time for the holidays.

**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!

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 First Grade classrooms participated in a Sock Drive Challenge, and in true Eagle fashion, they went above and beyond their goal of donating 500 pairs of socks! Instead, they more than doubled the ask, donating a whopping 1009 pairs of socks!! Way to go 1st Grade!!

Do your kids like to ski at Perfect North Slopes? Fill out this Google Form if you'd like to be in touch with other Hyde Park School families about meet-ups or carpooling to the slopes this season.

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!