Holyoke Public Schools - Juntos Podemos | Together We Can

Can you believe school resumes this month? 📝

The first day of school for students in grades 1-12 is Monday, August 25, and is a full day of school. PreK and kindergarten begin on Wednesday, August 27.

We can’t wait to welcome you back for another year of discovery, play, and growth at HPS!

See you soon! 👋

Some summer meals sites are CLOSED today due to weather: Pouilot Pool, Heritage Park, Peck Field, McMahon. ~~~ These summer meals sites are OPEN today, July 31: Library Park, Community Field, Springdale Park, Carlos Vega, and Holyoke Hills Tokeneke

It’s not too late to make progress on your summer reading log! Students in grades K-8 who read for 30 minutes a day can submit their reading log at the start of the school year for the opportunity to win a prize. Older students and adults have options, too: The Holyoke Public Library is running reading challenges throughout the summer.

Highlighting achievements, summer construction updates, and a new Lawrence Lion in this edition of Together for Holyoke: https://holyokepsma.edurooms.com/engage/holyoke-public-schools/newsletters/together-for-holyoke-july-21-2025

🎓 Watch the full Opportunity Academy "Class of 2025" Graduation 🎓 www.youtube.com/@hpsmediacenter @hpsmediacenter

OA graduation, summer programming, and celebrating district accomplishments in this edition of Together for Holyoke: https://holyokepsma.edurooms.com/engage/holyoke-public-schools/newsletters/together-for-holyoke-june-16-2025

🎓 Watch the full Holyoke High School North Graduation 🎓 www.youtube.com/@hpsmediacenter

During today's monthly central office birthday and anniversary celebration, we realized something exciting... One of today's celebrated employees is Bill Welch. Mr. Welch is a help desk computer technician who has been at HPS for 43 years! With a few upcoming retirements, Mr. Welch will be the most senior employee at HPS during the 2025-26 school year. Thank you for choosing Holyoke Public Schools, Bill. Congrats!

Our four-year graduation rate has increased significantly: from 62% in 2015 to 77.1% last year. 🎓 Among Hispanic/Latino students, the rate has increased even more: from 55.6% to 76.2% during the same period.

🎓 Watch the full Dean Tech Graduation 🎓 www.youtube.com/@hpsmediacenter

✨ Excellence Award Spotlight ✨ Superintendent Soto paid a visit to McMahon School to award fifth grade student Stayesh Sayedi, who was honored with the Superintendent’s excellence award after being nominated by seven different McMahon staff members. We could barely fit everyone who wanted to celebrate Stayesh in one photo! Teachers and staff members commend Stayesh’s dedication to learning, her kind demeanor, and how welcoming she is to everyone she meets. Her positive attitude, even when working through challenging situations, is a positive example for students and staff alike. She also volunteers with second grade students, going out of her way to make new students feel welcomed and supported. Congratulations, Stayesh!

Summer is just around the corner! ☀️ Before you hit the beach, make sure the following important dates are in your calendar: • Thursday, May 29: HHS Dean graduation • Friday, May 30: HHS North graduation • Friday, June 13: OA graduation • Wednesday, June 18: Last day of school! The last day of school will follow the regular Wednesday schedule.

Academic celebrations, budget planning, and neuroscience at Kelly School in this edition of Together for Holyoke: https://holyokepsma.edurooms.com/engage/holyoke-public-schools/newsletters/together-for-holyoke-may-19-2025

Scenes from the Western Massachusetts Unified Track meet 📸 This week, 11 Unified Track and Field teams met at HHS North for their sectional competition. Students of all abilities competed in events such as the 100 meter dash, javelin throw, 4x400 relay, and long jump.

It's staff appreciation week! 🍎 Lawrence School staff appreciate Shakira Colon, who works on the TIP team. Every day, Ms. Shakira writes a new inspirational message on the whiteboard in the main office to brighten the day of her co-workers. Her positivity is infectious—and appreciated, this week and every week!

It’s staff appreciation week! 🍎 Morgan School students took the time to shout their appreciation, saying “thank you”s to teachers, paraprofessionals, and Nurse Camille Lopez. Follow along on social media throughout the week as we share more video shout outs from students and staff.https://youtube.com/shorts/X5dpgDHNO0I

Rocket into Reading, language access updates, and Holyoke’s future chefs in this edition of Together for Holyoke: https://holyokepsma.edurooms.com/engage/holyoke-public-schools/newsletters/together-for-holyoke-may-5-2025

Holyoke educators join the B-U-Z-Z! 🐝 Five teams of Holyoke educators participated in Homework House's 10th Annual Adult Spelling Bee at the De La Luz Soundstage on May 1. While none of the HPS teams made it to the winner’s circle, they all had a lot of fun participating in the good-natured competition while also helping to raise funds to support Homework House’s free tutoring and mentoring programs. HPS’s teams included: 🐝 The Beech Boys: Aaron Morris, Danny Loughlin, and Carlos Quiles 🐝 Bee Afraid, Bee Very Afraid: Stephen Mahoney, Jackie Glasheen, and Shaena Gubala 🐝 BeeFit: Amy Burke, Amy Piedra, and Abigail Serrano 🐝 Un-Bee-Lievable Wildcats: Katie Bourque, Siobhan Brennan, and Caitlin O’Hare 🐝 The McMahon Cheetahs: Melissa Robert, Erik Spracklin, and Katie Plasse