Superintendent Carol Cavanaugh announced Monday that the Hopkinton Public Schools will no longer require masking on school buses starting Tuesday. Windows will be kept open on the buses. "As always, any individual who wishes to continue to mask will be supported in...
Education
Elmwood school-wide art project focuses on Black history
Elmwood School is celebrating Black History Month with an art project conceived by a substitute teacher and adopted by the entire school of 600 students. Keri Patterson, a third-grade long-term substitute teacher, said she was thinking about a class project that would...
Schools Notebook: Local students win state-level awards for writing, arts; college honors pour in
Hopkinton High School students captured 31 state-level awards in the 2022 Scholastic Writing Awards competition. Senior Kevin Gu led the way with 10 awards, including an American Voices Nominee, an honor bestowed on the top five writing submissions in the state, for...
HMS principal: Students have made ‘inappropriate, unkind, racist comments’ to each other
There have been multiple issues at Hopkinton Middle School where students have made “racist comments to one another” this school year, Principal Alan Keller said Thursday during an appearance before the School Committee. Keller was appearing before the committee to...
School Committee votes 4-1 to drop mask mandate on Feb. 28
The School Committee at its Thursday night meeting voted to discontinue the school mask mandate policy on Feb. 28 by a 4-1 vote. Because of a federal mandate, masks still will be required on school buses. The decision was in line with an announcement earlier this...
Tensions high at School Committee meeting despite calls for unity
Editor's note: This story was updated Feb. 19 with a comment from Meg Tyler regarding criticism from the Hopkinton Teachers Association. There were some tense moments at Thursday night’s School Committee meeting — even before the vote to lift the mask mandate starting...
School Committee duo cleared after open meeting law complaint
In a special meeting of the School Committee on Tuesday night, members Joe Markey and Meg Tyler were cleared of an allegation brought forth at the Feb. 3 meeting that they violated open meeting law by holding a Zoom meeting on Jan. 30 regarding the district’s mask...
Schools Notebook: Local collegians honored
Northeastern University announced its dean’s list for the fall semester, and a number of Hopkinton residents are on it. The list includes Sebastian Toledo (majoring in game design), Tyler Gorman (economics/business administration), Mihika Abraham (business...
Older students with disabilities develop business skills via Niche Hop Shop
Older students with disabilities in the Hopkinton Public Schools are finding their niche in the community by participating in an innovative business selling T-shirts and other items through the district’s 18-22 program. The Niche Hop Shop store grew out of the 18-22...
School Committee eyes March 7 for mask-optional but delays vote, approves calendar with extra holidays
Editor's note: This story was updated with a statement from Joe Markey. The School Committee met for nearly three hours Thursday night to tackle some longstanding controversial topics, including the mask policy debate and the approval of the school calendar that now...
School Committee duo face open meeting law complaint, criticism from teachers union
Editor's note: This story was updated with a statement from Joe Markey. The School Committee at its Thursday night meeting responded to a complaint by a Hopkinton resident against two School Committee members, Joe Markey and Meg Tyler, saying that they were in...
Hopkinton schools closed Friday due to storm
Hopkinton schools will be closed Friday due to a forecast that calls for freezing rain in the morning, Superintendent Carol Cavanaugh announced Thursday night. This marks the second weather-related cancellation of the school year. Schools also were closed on Jan. 7...
HHS graduation car parade gets tentative approval from Select Board
The Hopkinton High School rolling car parade for graduating students, scheduled for June 4, was unanimously approved by the Select Board at Tuesday's meeting, but with the understanding that class representatives must work with town departments that expressed safety...
Schools Notebook: HHS team on ‘Quiz Show’ April 2; local collegians honored
Hopkinton High School will make its season debut on GBH’s “High School Quiz Show” on April 2 at 6 p.m., facing off against North Quincy. HHS is one of 17 teams that qualified for Season 13 of the program, which airs on GBH Channel 2 as well as the broadcaster’s...
School Committee roudup: Budget approved; calendar debated; COVID policy questioned
The School Committee at Thursday’s meeting approved the fiscal year 2023 budget of $57,116,438 and discussed a range of topics from updating the school calendar to the decrease in COVID-19 cases in schools over the past week. The committee approved by a 4-0-1 vote the...
School Committee weighs continued COVID precautions against emotional strain from ‘culture of fear’
At Thursday's School Committee meeting, Chair Nancy Cavanaugh welcomed the Board of Health, which requested a joint meeting with the committee to discuss the rise in COVID-19 cases because of the omicron variant, which is considered highly contagious in comparison...
School Committee roundup: No support for trail proposal; budget vote upcoming
The School Committee at its Thursday meeting voted unanimously not to support a current application proposed by the Upper Charles Trail Committee (UCTC) to extend a portion of its trail across the Irvine-Todaro property to Hayden Rowe Street. UCTC Chair Jane Moran in...
Schools Notebook: HHS Inventathon Jan. 23-29; clothing drives underway; local collegians honored
The second annual Hopkinton High School Inventathon is scheduled for Jan. 23-29. Registration is due by Jan. 21. All HHS students of any skill/ability are welcome. Winners advance to the Lemelson-MIT Massachusetts Invention Convention. … The HHS alpine ski team is...
Elementary school students learn math concepts through art
“A picture is worth a thousand words” is an adage that explains myriad ideas that can enter people’s minds while looking at art. Shelly Moran, the math coach for the Hopkinton Public Schools, has been figuring out creative ways to engage young learners in arithmetic...
School Committee discusses strategy for dealing with COVID surge: Case numbers ‘are a little bit alarming’
The School Committee held its Thursday night meeting virtually due to the town’s spike in COVID-19 cases, which has led to increased absenteeism in school this week both from cases and parents’ fear that their children could contract the disease. Superintendent Carol...