Maurice A. Donahue School

Stories of Resilience and Adaptation! Join Nuestras Raices for stories celebrating the power of community and joy in the face of climate change from 5:30-8 p.m. tomorrow, Friday November 10, at El Mercado, 413 Main Street, Holyoke. Hear storytellers from our community and get a chance to share your own stories. Dinner will be provided by De Todo Un Poco free of charge. To RSVP, call Cielo at (774) 242-8660 or email csharkus@gmail.com

Reminder: Turn back your clocks on Sunday, November 5. Daylight Saving Time officially ends at 2 a.m. on Sunday, November 5 in Massachusetts—so be sure to set your clocks back one hour late Saturday evening or Sunday morning! While some digital clocks will automatically adjust for seasonal Daylight Savings Time changes, many won’t. The annual fall back to standard time means there will be one hour less of daylight in the afternoons and one additional hour in the mornings.

Trunk or Treat! Everyone is welcome to this fun family event presented by Holyoke SEPAC and Holyoke Public Schools. Event runs 6-7 p.m. on Wednesday, October 25, at HHS North, 500 Beech Street.

Interested in working for Holyoke Public Schools? Come find our booth at the job fair at the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield until 7 p.m. today to learn more about current openings. HR Generalist Maria Borras and Director of Recruitment and Induction Christie Elman will be there to answer your questions!

Holyoke Public School’s “Moving Forward” strategic plan is now available for viewing and downloading in English and Spanish. Now in its second year, the strategic plan has been updated to include new benchmarks for the 2023-24 school year that will drive strategic efforts for the second year of the plan. The English file is here: https://5il.co/26gcf The Spanish file is here: https://5il.co/26gch

Adults and teens ages 13 and up who live, work, go to school, or own property in Massachusetts are eligible to register for a free ecard membership to Boston Public Library. Signing up is easy and takes just a few moments to complete. E-card holders can then access the library’s complete collection of online resources, including an extensive number of audiobooks and ebooks in the Overdrive section of the online library, as well as books, comics, movies, TV shows and more through Hoopla streaming services. Members can also access Press Reader to read magazines (available in all languages) and the Boston Globe. Follow this link to register: https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/6598436/eCard-Registration

Adults and teens ages 13 and up who live, work, go to school, or own property in Massachusetts are eligible to register for a free ecard membership to Boston Public Library. Signing up is easy and takes just a few moments to complete. E-card holders can then access the library’s complete collection of online resources, including an extensive number of audiobooks and ebooks in the Overdrive section of the online library, as well as books, comics, movies, TV shows and more through Hoopla streaming services. Members can also access Press Reader to read magazines (available in all languages) and the Boston Globe. Follow this link to register: https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/6598436/eCard-Registration

In Honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, we are highlighting local community leader Betty Medina Lichtenstein. She is a former executive director of Enlace de Familias. She became the first Puerto Rican woman elected to hold a public office in Massachusetts in 1985 when she won the first of four consecutive two-year terms on the Holyoke School Committee. In 2019, the City of Holyoke dedicated the street next to Enlace de Familias as "Betty Medina Way" to honor her work and legacy in Holyoke.

On behalf of all students, families, and staff, HPS leaders thank our custodial and facilities team for everything you do to promote a healthy, welcoming school environment. Your extreme efforts this past summer to ensure a smooth transition with rezoning and to get our buildings ready are especially noteworthy.

🇵🇦 🌼 🦋 🐯Last week, students at Donahue School participated in an art class where they created "molas" drawings inspired by the country of Panama. Mola is a traditional dress in the native Guna language, which means "shirt." Women typically wear it, and it's known for its bright colors and intricate designs that feature various depictions of nature, such as animals, flowers, reptiles, and birds.

Holyoke Public Schools students in grades 3 to 12 are invited to join the Holyoke Youth Basketball’s winter league, which runs December 5 to February 23. If you need more information, contact Ed Caisse at (413) 858-0225. To register, visit https://bit.ly/3ZySzmU. This program is free. Don't miss this exciting opportunity!

Join us today, September 29th, at the Holyoke YMCA from 6-8 p.m. for the Leaders vs. Future Leaders basketball game. Last year, the Future Leaders lost by a point, and they're eager for a rematch. Among the Leaders are Mayor Joshua Garcia, Superintendent Anthony Soto, Holyoke Knights Head coaches Juan Maldonado and Andrea Enright, and new addition, Senator John Velis. Everyone is welcome! DJ Edski will be providing live music!

The City of Holyoke has recognized and celebrated Hispanic and Latino cultures over the years. This photograph from 1973 captures a Puerto Rican festival during the city's centennial celebrations. These events have played a significant role in fostering community, preserving cultural traditions, and highlighting the city's rich and diverse heritage.

Holyoke Public Schools offers a wide range of employment opportunities for job candidates who believe every child can and will learn. HPS employs nearly 1,300 people who together educate and support a richly diverse community of learners. We’ve invested in recruiting and retaining top quality educators who inspire bold thinking, recognize student potential, and encourage all students to work towards their goals. This week’s featured jobs include: In School Support Coordinator - Paraprofessional Special Education Inclusion - Guest Teacher (Substitute) - Paraeducator High Needs (1:1 Support). For more information or to apply, please visit our TalentEd job portal here https://bit.ly/3KKOEuA. There are numerous teaching, paraprofessional, and substitute positions available. Sign-on bonuses and/or relocation assistance may be available.

Join E.N. White, Morgan, Metcalf, and Donahue for their Open Houses tomorrow, Thursday, September 28. Explore your school, connect with your child's educators, and learn about the different opportunities our schools offer our students. Donahue School Open House, 5-6:30 p.m. - E.N. White School Open House, 5-6:30 p.m. - Metcalf Middle School Open House, 4-5:30 p.m. - Morgan School Open House, 5-6:30 p.m.

HPS Translator and Interpreter Sharina De León Bermúdez explains the essential role she and her Language Access colleagues play in eliminating communication barriers in this short video. Each year since 2017, the United Nations and the international community have recognized September 30 as International Translation Day to pay tribute to the work of language professionals worldwide.

Interested in working for Holyoke Public Schools? Come find our booth at the job fair at Holyoke Mall until 5 p.m. today to learn more about current openings. Our table is on the lower level of the mall, near the Macy's inside entrance.

The Peck School building is set to be demolished this fall to make room for a new middle school for approximately 550 students in grades 6-8. While this new building will offer improved learning facilities, there is also a sense of loss as the Peck School has served the Holyoke community for almost fifty years. Two murals at the school's entrance from 2010 have become symbolic of its history. Though these murals cannot be preserved before the demolition, they have been documented through photos https://bit.ly/3EGXmce and videos https://youtu.be/SLnPLnjh0rs. The ceramic tile murals resulted from an after-school program where each tile represented notable school moments or individuals.

Families are reminded that all school-aged children should be current on their routine vaccines including their recommended COVID-19 vaccines. Families should keep school records up to date by providing updated immunization information to their children’s school nurse following annual physical exams and routine immunizations or within 60 days of the start of the school year, as stated in the HPS back-to-school packet. During the last few years, there has been a concerning drop in routine immunizations for children and adolescents. Routine vaccination coverage is improving but has yet to recover among all groups of children. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommend children catch up on routine childhood vaccinations and get back on track for school, childcare, and beyond. Contact your child’s school nurse or your health care provider if you have questions about immunizations.

Pictured here is Puerto Rican professional boxer Sixto Escobar. He became Puerto Rico's first world champion when he competed in the bantamweight division. His mainland debut took place here in Holyoke at Valley Arena on May 7, 1934.