Class of 2024 Updates

The Class of 2024 students and parents wish teacher & advisor, Lauren Ashman, best wishes as she takes maternity leave this week! 

Thank you to all parents who came out to the parent meeting last week. Leadership roles were discussed, and groups will start to form in the coming weeks to work on individual tasks. 

PLEASE RETURN A BABY PHOTO OF YOUR STUDENT ASAP. We have approximately 80 families that still have not sent in a baby photo of your senior. All photos should be: jpg, in focus and of your child’s face and sent to Jessica DiDonato HERE.

If you have any questions or would like to help with specific committees, please reach out to Roxanne Clarke and Sudi Southall. If you have any experience with event planning, we would love to hear from you.

Class of 2024 Yearbook Ads!

If you would like to recognize your 2024 student in a special way in the yearbook, student recognition ads are available for purchase.  A variety of size and price options are available.  Text and photos can be included.  Please visit the Jostens site to review details and create your submission before the end of the month.  If you have any questions, please reach out to Kimberly Siris, yearbook advisor. 

2nd Annual Hopewell Valley 5K: Saturday March 16th

The date and theme for this year’s Hopewell Valley 5K has just been announced. Get ready to lace up your running shoes and put on your greenest gear to try and catch the Leprechaun in this year’s “Lucky Bulldog Dash” on Saturday March 16th! 

This year’s race will kick off at the high school and run down Dublin Rd and back for an Irish adventure to find the ultimate Pot O’ Gold at the finish line in front of Timberlane. Winners in age group categories will walk away with a chocolate prize. Prizes will also be awarded for the best team and individual St. Patrick’s theme costumes. There will also be a special prize for anyone who can catch the Leprechaun.

This is a great course to kick off your running season or just to get outside with the community and beat those winter blues – maybe do a little Irish jig along the way. We can’t wait to see you there.

Click HERE to Register Now!

Please see the flyer below for details. Please encourage your kids, friends and neighbors to run or walk the course with us. For those of you in the running community, this event is USATF sanctioned and available for 500 Grand Prix points.

We are still looking for race sponsors. Please email Lynne Nau if you would like to be a sponsor or would like to connect the event organizers with potential sponsors.

The Class of 2025 SWAG Shop - your spot for some new Hopewell gear - is OPEN ALL YEAR ROUND! All orders can be placed through the website and you can ship to home or choose warehouse pick up in Cranbury, NJ. The SHIP TO SCHOOL option will resume in September.

Many new items have been added! All items are available with three design choices: The general Hopewell design is available on ALL items. You name it, we have it! 

Check out the link: Hopewell 2025 Swag Shop

Hope to see you in the halls wearing some new threads!

Handbag Bingo Save the Date: April 26th!

We are excited to kick off the new year by working with all of you on our first big, class fundraiser! The Class of 2026 will host Designer Handbag Bingo on Friday, April 26, 2024.

If you would like to be part of our planning team or help gather donations for the silent auction and raffle, please email us HERE.

We hope to make planning the event as fun as the event itself! 

Bowling Night Save the Date: February 22nd

Please save the date for Family Fun Bowling Night at Colonial Bowling on February 22nd from 7-9pm. Stay tuned for details!

If you are a resident of Hopewell Township, please review this information about a vacancy on the HVRSD Board of Education.  Please submit a letter of interest and resume to Robert Colavita, Assistant Superintendent/Board Secretary.

As part of our Black & Gold Cup competition, we will be hosting a food drive during the month of January to support the Hopewell Valley Mobile Food Pantry. The Black Team (Grades 9 & 11) will be collecting boxes of granola bars and the Gold Team (Grades 10 & 12) will be collecting cereal. The winning team will receive 100 competition points! Donations can be brought to the HVCHS Main Lobby throughout the month of January. We appreciate your help as we support our neighbors!

New Ongoing Opportunity! The Chubby's Project is looking for volunteers to bake and deliver 40 individually wrapped treats on Thursdays and Fridays Sign Up HERE.

TMS needs help with Candygram and Concession Sales at the following upcoming events:

• TONIGHT January 16th Orchestra Concert Sign Up HERE
• January 18th Choir Concert Sign Up HERE
• January 23rd 6th Grade Jazz/Band Concert Sign Up HERE

Further details and additional opportunities can be found on the Community Volunteer page.   

Please contact Meg O'Connor & Sue Dayner with questions or to suggest opportunities that can be shared on our page.

If you are interested in supporting the CHS PTO, we are in need of a secretary. This executive board position requires attendance at monthly meetings which are scheduled at 9am on the third Wednesday of each month from September to May, in person at CHS. We do not meet in December. 

The secretary takes notes during the meeting, offers them for approval at the following meeting and stores the approved minutes on the CHS PTO Google drive. In addition to the monthly meetings, there are occasional executive board responsibilities which include attention to email matters or a board meeting (often held on zoom).

The ideal candidate will be able to step into the position in January 2024 and complete this school year with the intention of remaining through 2024-2025.  If you have availability, but can only commit to the remainder of this school year, please let us know.  Please email Kerry Nulman & Becky Golian to express your interest. Thanks for considering this important position.

Please join us for the next PTO General Meeting on Wednesday January 17th in the principal's conference room at 9am.  All parents and guardians are welcome to attend!  

Get started on planning a great summer for your children! Stive will be hosting a Summer Camp Expo at CHS on January 20th from 10am to 2pm. Learn about camps in the area, meet camp staff. Email Strive PTO for questions.

Mark your calendars for upcoming MTPA meetings. All meetings are at 7pm. We meet at this Zoom LINK.

Remaining meeting dates for this year:

• March 6th 
• April 10th 
• May 1st
• June 5th

Each year Hopewell Valley Central High School students are invited to participate in the annual Summer Job and Community Service Fair. Over 25 employers and service organizations provide jobs and community service opportunities to our students. Any businesses or organizations offering summer or year round employment or community service opportunities, please click this Save the Date flyer or contact Heidi Kahme.

One of the most anticipated evenings of the year has been scheduled! Designed in response to the increasing demands of work and school on personal and family time, this community-wide initiative was created for families to “take the night off” to spend time together. With the support of local school officials, sports leaders, parents, community and religious leaders, all sports practices, classes and homework will be canceled on this special evening. Make it a tech-free night! Don't know what to do with your night off? Visit this link for some great ideas! Click this flyer for details.

Hopewell Valley Central High School students attend Teen Wellness Day during their wellness class. Over 20 community educators provide resources to our students on current health, wellness and safety issues. If you know any organization that can provide our students with resources on current health, wellness or safety issues, please share this flyer with them.

The Trex plastic film collection at CHS is back! Plastic film will be collected in the bins of the CHS main foyer. Help us keep plastics out of oceans and landfills by contributing your clean plastic bags and other types of plastic film. 

Refer to this poster for specifics about what can and can't be recycled. (No wrappers or "crunchy" plastics, please).   Contact Carolyn McGrath if you have any questions or a large collection to drop off. Thank you!

1. Visit Bulldog TV Morning Buzz for the student production of morning announcements and other CHS news and videos.
2. Read the HVCHS student newspaper.
3. Stay connected to CHS athletic schedules by clicking this link. You can view by type, view schedules, or sign up with Notify Me to get email or text notifications for any sport practices or games. This helps parents keep current with changes in your athlete's schedule in real time.
4. Bookmark the PTO website.
5. Follow CHS on your preferred platform:

• HVCHS Morning Announcements
• HVCHS X account
• HVCHS on Instagram
• HVCHS Athletics X account

We are days away from the National Summer Program Fair on Thursday, January 18th from 4:30-7:00pm at The College of New Jersey in Ewing.

There will be around 100 exhibitors representing every way high school students can spend their summers—on-campus pre-college programs at the nation's most prestigious universities, study abroad, STEM programs, teen travel, art/portfolio prep, test prep, and local nonprofits seeking summer volunteers

Students and parents need to pre-register HERE to attend, and should do so now to reserve their place and receive event reminders. They will then receive a QR code to show at the event.

Thanks for your support!  For any questions reach out to info@summerprogramfair.com

Learn more about organic farming practices, including growing tips that apply to your garden! Presented by Jess Niederer of Chickadee Creek Farm. Free virtual presentation organized by the Rutgers Master Gardeners of Mercer County, Thursday, January 18th at 7pm. Register HERE.