Hosmer School Extended Day Program
Some important areas to note.
HEDP Hours - HEDP runs from 2:30pm (directly after school) until 6:00pm every evening.
Student Transitions to HEDP - Your students' teachers will know who attends HEDP in the afternoon. The teacher will bring the students down to the cafeteria, our meeting place, to start the day. PreK-K parents, we try to make this transition smoother for the little ones. I have staff members who will help the PreK-K teachers and support the new students to the cafeteria every day.
Tuition Payment - We appreciate tuition payment on the first of each month. There is a grace period until the tenth of the month. With that said, we understand that there may be circumstances where we may need a plan, depending on your pay periods. Please talk to me about this. We do not send out invoices, so it is on you to be on top of the dates, and open with me, so that we can work together.
Half Days - There are a handful of half days that come up throughout the year. They typically happen on Wednesdays. School gets out at 12:15pm and we run until 6:00pm.
Emergency Drop In - Though it may sound tough, we can only accept drop in students if there is an emergency, including half days. The purpose here is that I have worked my student:teacher ratios to accommodate the days that were requested. I cannot push my staff to take on extra students in their groups if our safety could be compromised. If there happens to be an emergency, please call me ahead. There is a fee for dropping in.
A Day in the HEDP World
We have a lot to offer here at HEDP. A student's typical day consists of:
Snack/attendance in the Cafeteria - The students transition and gather in the café and chat with their friends while teachers take attendance and get ready.
Outside Play - Weather pending, we ALWAYS try to get outside for a while. We are an active group, and what better way to get exercise than to play sports, tag, roll down hills! Aside from too cold or rainy, we do go out every day possible, so please send appropriate clothing with your student.
Indoor activities - There is always time for kids to be kids in our afternoon. So there will be indoor play time, group activities, etc. as the students head to their home bases. We have access to both gyms at the Hosmer and plan to make good use of them when they are available.
Homework - When the students transition to their "home bases" around the school, there are a lot of things going on. We offer a homework time/help block for 2-5th grade as part of their day. I currently have it scheduled so that grades 2-5 will have their homework block immediately after snack from 3:00 - 3:30 pm. Younger students tend to not have as much, and it is certainly possible for us to set that up as well.
Enrichment - The Community Education team offers a variety of Enrichment activities, for free, through the HEDP program. The groupings will rotate through these enrichment activities, to try to expose everyone to different things. Whether it be Yoga, Zumba, Structured Gym with our gym teachers, or Knucklebones(a vendor of crazy games...get ready for "Booger Ball") Your students will have a plethora of new opportunities.
Project Based Learning - Every group will work toward creating Project Based Learning plans. This really means that we get hands on, and have fun! Our dedicated lead teachers use some time to figure out what the group is interested in. From there, students and teachers guide themselves through a variety of activities that help them reach a goal to build, create, and learn. We often work on social/community skills a the beginning, and it becomes very open ended as we move through the year.
Courses For Kids - Community Education also sets up Courses for Kids. This is not offered free to the program, but is another type of enrichment that is more focused, and offered to all students. We have had Lego Robotics, Cooking Clubs, etc. The students would transition to their Course, and are dismissed back to HEDP if they are signed up for that day. Be on the lookout for those sign ups as the come out.
Pick up/dismissal - You are welcome to pick up your child at any time. When you do, you must enter through the front door. At that door, our building monitor will buzz you in and greet you. You can tell her which student you are picking up, and she will call the group for your student to be transitioned to the front desk. For safety purposes, we are not allowed, district wide, to let parents/guardians to leave the front Lobby. The reasoning here is that Site Coordinators need to know exactly who is in the building at all times in case of Emergency, Fire Alarm, etc. If you do need to help out or would like to check in, you are required to have a badge and sign in, in order to move around the school.
Everyone is trained to ask anyone without a badge who they are.
Feel free to email me at [email protected]
Reis Colgan
HEDP Site Coordinator
Office Number 617-926-0457
Before School Information
The before school program runs from 7:15 am - 8:10 am Monday through Friday.
Children will now be dropped off at the main entrance to the Hosmer School. They will sign in at the main lobby and be sent to before school programing.
The before school program has two tuition options.
The first option is to become a regularly attending student of the program. This option is for any child that will attend the program consistently 4 - 5 times a week throughout the year. This option requires registration and a fee at $167.00 a month. Payments are expected at the first attending day of each month.
The second option is known as the "Drop in" option. This option is best for parents who only need to use the program once in a while. This option can be utilized by any student at the Hosmer School. Please email me in advance of using this option. The before school monitor will track your child's attendance and the tuition rate is $11.00 per day. Payment is preferably received on the day you utilize this option. We will keep a detailed log of your students attendance and payments made. If you can not pay the day you drop your child off we expect payment by the first attending day of the following month.
For both options please write checks out to the "Town of Watertown". In the memo, please write your child's name and the program.
The before school program is a filled with activities as well as an option for breakfast. At 8:00 breakfast is served in the cafeteria. Your child will need money in his/her account or on their person in order to purchase breakfast. It is $1.25 for breakfast.
We look forward to helping your children get a great start to their school day.