Helen Street Elementary School

We are pleased to report that Hamden Public Schools' Computer Network is well on its way to recovery! Here's where we are as of Friday, January 17:

• Hamden.org email is now operational (available through Web-based email OWA). 
• It is expected that Internet access will begin to be turned back on beginning January 16.  Although all schools will not have connectivity at that time, schools will be brought back on gradually (over the next few weeks) and as quickly as possible. All devices in each building must be assured to be virus-free before the Internet can be reactivated. 
• Hamden is adding new additional user data procedural safeguards as devices are reintroduced into our network.

We recognize that schools without Internet access is a modern but challenging problem, but we want to err on the side of caution (which takes more time) to assure that we do not allow a reinfection at this time.  Thank you for your patience.

At the Board of Education on Tuesday, January 14, Superintendent of Schools Jody Goeler shared the following update on the computer virus that attacked the Hamden Public Schools network:

• The HPS computer network was attacked by malware (malicious software) on January 9. This malware was likely transmitted through a link in a phishing email, which is almost impossible for anti-virus measures to detect.
• Our student and fiscal data is stored remotely (not onsite, as part of our network), so was not impacted.
• We currently know of about 30 staff devices that were affected. We are not aware of any student devices that were impacted.
• Upon learning of the attack, HPS immediately enacted our plan for such occurrences, including disconnecting from the internet so that no further infections could occur. This action limited the damage caused by the malware.
• Hamden.org email was also suspended. We have sent a voice message to parents (and posted to our Website) that for now, schools should be contacted by phone (not email). We expect email to be restored by the end of this week.
• Our district and school websites continue to operate and were not affected.
• We are working closely with cyber security experts to investigate the malware's presence in our system and restore services throughout the district as quickly as possible.
• Although not having internet and email has been challenging, we are pleased to say that our Network structures, practices and safeguards protected our most critical data, and thus kept a difficult situation from being much worse.
• We will continue to keep our families and staff updated until the situation is fully resolved.

'Tis the season... for school concerts!  There will be several school concerts in January - where you'll get a chance to hear fantastic, student-generated music! We're sending our best wishes to all our student performers!

Visit our Arts Events Calendar for information on all Hamden Public Schools' upcoming holiday concerts.

Concerts are open to everyone in our community. Please join us! 

Excerpts of a Letter from Mr. Joseph Adams (Dated November 20, 2019)~

"Dear Helen Street School-- Students, Teachers, Principal and Staff:

Helen Street was in fact named for my mother [Helen Adams].  Years ago my mother's parents had a farm in Hamden, right where Helen Street is now.  They had a peach orchard and chickens and grew vegetables.  When the town was putting in more streets, my mother's parents were allowed to name a few of the streets. Helen Street was named for my mother and William Street for her younger brother.  

For me, it was quite a wonderful thing to learn now there's an elementary school on Helen Street!  [My mother] always said that there's no better way to spend your time and energy than teaching and helping young people.  She especially loved teaching Kindergarten.  I'm sending along a picture of her with one of her many Kindergarten classes.

Helen Street School [webpage] looks like a wonderful school!  You're all so lucky to have that great learning environment!"