We develop compassionate, engaged students who are HAPPY to be at school!
*Pumpkin Chuck Volunteer Signups Are Open!

*Read-A-Thon ends on 10/24!


Upcoming Events
Oct 17: LSDMC Meeting 2:30 Room 2101
Oct 21: 6th Grade Parent Social
Oct 24: Read-a-Thon Ends
Oct 25-27: Turn in days for Read-A-Thon
Oct 26/27: Parent/Teacher Conferences
Oct 27: Character Parade, 9am (parents encouraged to come watch!) & Fall Harvest Parties, 1 pm
Oct 28: Kindergarten Parent Social
Nov 3: Read-a-thon winners announced
Nov 4: Pumpkin Chuck
Nov 7: No School - Election Day / Save the Date: Urban Air Fundraiser
Nov 10: No School - Veteran's Day
Nov 14: LSDMC Meeting at 2:30 Room 2101
Nov 19: Save the Date: Solstice Restaurant Night Fundraiser
Nov 22 - 24: Thanksgiving Break
Dec 5: Winter Concert grades k-2 6pm at Withrow High School
Dec 6: Winter Concert grades 3-6 6pm at Withrow High School
Dec 15: Winter Classroom Parties
Dec 18: Winter Break Begins

Teacher conferences are being held on Thursday, Oct. 26th. In appreciation of our teachers, the PTO will cater a lunch for the staff. We are asking volunteers to provide individually packaged light snacks and treats, helping our teachers stay energized through the late hours. Included are only suggestions. Please indicate in the comment section what specific items you will provide.

Items can be dropped off either on the table outside the main office doors or by handing items to the staff in the car line on both Wednesday, Oct. 25th and Thursday, Oct. 26th.
Thank you for your support!
Keep Reading!! The Read-A-Thon goes until October 24. After that, minutes can be recorded here!

Goal of the Read-A-Thon
The Read-A-Thon is one of our school's largest fundraisers. But First and foremost, we strive for 100% participation by every child logging reading time. Pledges and fundraising are not required to participate, and any funds raised are designated to student's homeroom total and never reveal the individual student's name. The amount of money a student raises is never revealed in order to keep the students' primary focus on reading rather than money.

All funds raised go directly toward student enrichment including Field Trips, which are an integral part of the HPS experience, and scholarships for students to be able to participate in Extracurriculars. This year, Field Trips include Camp Kern, Fort Ancient, the Nature Center, the Children's Theater, Cosi, and more!

We Kicked Off the Read-A-Thon with a Book Drive
• This year we kicked off the Read-A-Thon with a book drive to share our compassion and love of learning. Thank you for your generosity! We collected carloads of books for Queen City Book Bank to be distributed to local children.

Prizes are awarded for students’ participation in the Read-A-Thon!
• During the Read-A-Thon, the entire school will participate in a contest to see which team of students can read the most. Classes will be paired in cross-grade teams, named for children’s authors: Judy Blume, C.S. Lewis, Mo Willems, Maurice Sendak, Roald Dahl, J.K. Rowling, Loren Long, Dav Pilkey, Beverly Cleary, Aaron Blabey, Shel Silverstein, Dr. Seuss, and Laura Ingalls Wilder.
• The homeroom with the most minutes read by all students in the class and the homeroom with the highest minutes read per student (averaged among the number of students) will win a classroom pizza party.
• The top reader in each homeroom will receive a Joseph Beth gift card and a ‘Fast Pass’ to chuck their pumpkin at this year’s Pumpkin Chuck.
• Homerooms that have 100% participation (classroom reading logs submitted with or without pledges, pledges are not required to win) will earn a pajama day & extra free reading time in class.
• Simply for turning in their forms in person or online October 25, 26, and 27, students will also receive game tickets to be used at the November 4th Pumpkin Chuck.

Collecting Pledges Online
• Although we will collect pledges in person between October 25, 26, and 27, here is the website used to collect online pledges: https://app.99pledges.com/fund/hps2023. This user friendly website streamlines the process and makes it easy to collect pledges without the worry of misplacing any papers or money! 

Read-A-Thon Important Dates:
  • September 26th: Read-A-Thon packet goes home in Tuesday folder
  • October 2nd: Read-A-Thon Kickoff Rally
  • October 2nd: Set reading goals; first day to read
  • October 2nd – 24th: Gather sponsors
  • October 24th: Last day to read
  • Oct. 25th, 26th & 27th: Turn in days. Students turn in minutes read digitally OR drop off printed sheets, pledge forms, and money (if collected) from 7:30 a.m. – 7:40 a.m. in front of the school entrance or the car drop-off line. Students will receive game tickets to the annual Pumpkin Chuck when forms are submitted.
  • October 27th: Literary Character Parade
  • November 3rd: Winners announced at the end of the day.
  • November 4th: Pumpkin Chuck at 12 pm!

Read-A-Thon Website with Complete Information:
Please visit https://www.hydeparkschoolpto.org/read-a-thon/ for a complete explanation of all things Read-A-Thon!
The Book Fair Was a Great Success!
Thank you for making the Book Fair such a great success! Thanks to our planners, volunteers and customers! The profits from this sale are a great start to building the new library at Hyde Park School! More info to come on that soon! But for now... THANK YOU!
And we think the kids had a pretty good time too! :)
The literary Character Parade is this Friday October 27 at 9am. Children are encouraged to come to school dressed as their favorite book character! There will be a "parade" outside of the school at 9am and parents are welcome to attend! They will be walking around with their book buddy!
Seeking Pumpkin Chuck Volunteers & Sponsors! Links to Pre-Sale Tix, Volunteer & Sponsorships Below!
The Pumpkin Chuck is just around the corner! Tickets are on sale, volunteer signups, and sponsorship signups are open, and we need all hands on deck to make this legendary Hyde Park School event a Smashing Success! Please consider the options below!

What is the PUMPKIN CHUCK?
The famed HPS Pumpkin Chuck is our annual fall fest that takes place the 1st Saturday in November (11/4 from 12-4pm). The centerpiece of this event is watching pumpkins fly across our parking lot via catapult and trebuchet. It's also a great opportunity for students, families, staff and surrounding community members to gather to get to know each other, play games & feast on a variety of food options. Make sure to BYOP (bring your own pumpkin)! New this year - good old fashioned carved pumpkins will be composted (paint, sharpie marker, glitter and adhesive are no/no's). Don't trash it, smash it! Also new this year: a beer truck from MadTree! Still not sure what the Pumpkin Chuck is? Check out these videos of past Pumpkin Chuck glory: HERE and HERE.
 
Presale Tickets, Order NOW to SKIP THE LINE: Pumpkin Chuck tickets are on sale here! Buy your tickets now and receive them in your child's Tuesday Folder the week before the event.

Volunteer Signups Are OPEN! Help Make This Signature Event Happen!
Volunteer opportunities range from Bake Sale Contributors; Event Volunteers (operating game booths, ticket sales, beer sales/ID-checking, or intaking pumpkins); Setup or Cleanup; Chuckers (operating the trebuchet/pumpkin launcher); and Supplies (lending pop-up tents, card tables, wagons, and other necessary supplies to be dropped in advance). The shifts are broken up into hour-long slots so you can help for a bit and then spend the rest of the time chucking your hearts out. Kids are welcome to sign up for a game booth slot (4th grade and younger must be accompanied by an adult helper; just indicate parent/child pair in the comments of the sign up genius). One small job for you, one giant chuck for HPS!

Sponsor Signups
To add to the fun and fundraising, Game Sponsorships are available for $100 and Chucking Sponsorships are available for $50. This means individuals or groups can sponsor a game at the surrounding festival for $100, or individuals or groups can have your name(s) added to the fence surrounding the chucking zone for $50. The games are being established by a committee so sponsoring a game does not obligate you to work the game booth or create the game. With each sponsorship, you will receive game tickets and a ticket to chuck your pumpkin! To sign up for a sponsorship, click the following link and follow the prompts: https://www.hydeparkschoolpto.org/pumpkin-chuck/

Project Scarecrow
Get a little crafty and make a scarecrow! Ultimately, they will be used as chucking targets, but in the week leading up to the Chuck, we will display them to drum up excitement. Click HERE for more info & how we can help.
The HPS Athletics October Raffle is now LIVE. Tickets are $5 a piece, and you have 26 chances to win - AND if your name is drawn, you go right back into the mix for more chances! Drawings will begin on October 6th, and will run daily until October 31st.

WE NEED YOUR HELP IN PROMOTING THIS FUNDRAISER.

1. Ask family and friends to support HPS Athletics by purchasing raffle tickets for a chance to win multiple $25 and $50 gift cards to local hotspots.
2. Click on the link (found below and also on Facebook, our website and will be distributed via Tuesday folders from school) from any phone or send the direct link to family and friends to access our raffle site. You can also share via social media, asking friends and family to support your student athlete. No app required, no login required....just insert your info and payment information and hit enter!
3. Sit back and watch the fun happen throughout the entire month of October. Drawings will happen every evening at 8:00 PM and winners will be posted the next day.

Help support HPS Athletics. This is a fun and easy way to raise funds which will be used for new equipment and uniforms, gym and field time, league fees, etc.

Thank you! Go Eagles!
Our grade level parent socials are not only a school fundraiser but a great way to meet other parents in your child's class and have a lot of fun doing it!!
Tickets for most parties are on sale now, get them before they sell out!
Click on the links below to buy your tickets.
We are looking for a permanent Crosswalk attendant, but in the mean time we really need some parent help to keep everyone safe crossing the street! It will only take 20 minutes of your time in the morning or afternoon.
If you have a little extra time before or after school, please sign up for a spot here
Stop Sign and sweet neon vest will be provided :)
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 30 minutes of your time, please join our lunch period to help make the most of this important time! You will need to check in at the main office at 10:00am and will then be directed to the cafeteria.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion:

Happy Hyde Park School is committed to fostering a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment that values, embraces, and supports all members of the school community. Our LSDMC is in the process of forming a DEI (Diversity Equity & Inclusion) subcommittee for our school and would love to hear from you! Do you have feedback about your children's and your own experience at HPS, dreams, or ideas around this important work? Please connect with Lisa Nolan (lisa.m.a.nolan@gmail.com), a current 1st grade parent and founding chair of the committee, and/or Alyse Averdick (averdia@cpsboe.k12.oh.us), School Resource Coordinator, to share!
Make Life Easy: Upload All HPS Events to Your Own Calendar
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!
Follow HPS PTO on Instagram & Facebook
Make HPS PTO part of your daily feed on Instagram @HydeParkSchoolPTO and Facebook (facebook.com/HydeParkSchoolPTO). Just another way to make communicating ideas and keeping track of HPS events more convenient!
HPS PTO Linktree: The Link to All Links!
No more FOMO! This HPS PTO Linktree is the link to all important links! So if you'd rather have one link to check than many (hmmm, it's a real toss-up), just check this link: https://linktr.ee/happyhydeparkschool
Kroger Community Rewards
Earn 4% of your purchase for Hyde Park School. Don't worry...you still keep all of your points. Register online at www.krogercommunityrewards.com and select “Hyde Park School PTO Inc” from the list.
Box Tops for Education
Many people don't even realize just how easy the Box Tops for Education Program is now that it has gone virtual. No more clipping and collecting a pile of Box Tops. Just download the Box Tops App, scan your grocery receipt, instantly identify Box Tops products, and automatically add cash to our school’s earnings online. You can also email your online receipts to earn credit. Box Tops are still worth 10¢ each for your school. This may not sound like much, but it adds up to hundreds of dollars!
Meet the HPS PTO Board Officers for 2023-2024
Here are the HPS PTO Executive Board Officers for the 2023-2024 school year:

President: Hilary VanderMolen
Vice President: Michele Berry Godsey
Treasurer: Kevin VanderMolen
Vice Treasurer: Chuck Hamman
Secretary: Jen Eisenstein
LSDMC Representatives: Ed Paff, Amy Lovelace & Rachel Harrison
If you have information that you would like included in a future newsletter, please send to president@hydeparkschoolpto.org (content included at PTO discretion).