Tips & Frequently Asked Questions
Can I purchase a printed version of the Source Book or print out a pdf file of the Source Book at home?
No, there is no printed or pdf version of the Source Book available this year. For the last two years the HPTA and Hopkinton Public Schools have simultaneously published both an online and printed copy of the Source Book. Requests for the printed copy had decreased significantly during this time. Since only 2% of families purchased a printed Source Book during the 2009-10 school year, the HPTA Board and HPS Administration have decided to only offer the online Source Book this year. The online Source Book allows the HPTA and HPS Administration to provide you with the most up-to-date calendar of events that effect you and your family. We are confident that the online Source Book will meet everyone's needs for the 2010-11 school year.
Printing Calendar Pages at Home
You can print individual calendar pages of the Source Book by going to the page you want to print and using the "File" > "Print" function in your browser (Firefox, Internet Explorer, etc.). Clicking the printer icon works too when you are viewing the full calendar. When viewing the Elementary or Secondary calendars the printer icon does NOT work, you will need to use the File > Print method instead. You may have to experiment with your own printer, but we found that printing in vertical aka "portrait" format worked best and printed the full month on one page. Please note that the relevant school calendars do change with new and updated events during the school year and the online version is the most up-to-date. We do NOT recommend that you print the full year in advance, but perhaps just print a month or two at a time and then check back for changes periodically. You can also stay up to date by subscribing to grade level listservs and e-flyers. Click here to subscribe to Grade Level Listservs and E-Flyer emails.
Searching the Calendar
Always use the "Advanced Search" funcation. The regular search funcation does not seem to work, although we don't know why. When using the Advanced Search function, in the "Users" box select all users by selecting the first user and holding down the shift key while you select the other users. This seems to work fine.
I am trying to view the Secondary Calendar Only, but when I select a future month the calendar reverts to the full Source Book calendar. What am I doing wrong?
This seems to be an annoying quirk with the new software. If we can find a fix for it, we will be sure to do so. In the meantime the following method works.
Click Secondary at the top, but then instead of using the drop-down menu, click “October 2010” on the right side above the small calendar grid. It’s in red. You can continue to scroll through that way using the small calendar grids, but the pull-down menus seem to always revert to the full calendar.
Can I sync the Source Book with my own online calendar and/or smartphone?
Yes, the Source Book is compatible with iCalendar-compliant calendar programs (such as Apple's iCal, Google Calendar, Mozilla Calendar, Sunbird, Windows Calendar and Yahoo! Calendar Beta). This takes a few steps to set-up, but may be well worth it to take care of this at the beginning of the year if you use an online calendar yourself. Use the chart below to find the calendar layers you want to import and then one at a time import the appropriate "feed" address into your calendar program. There is a separate calendar layer for each school, as well as separate layers for district-wide and HPTA dates. Here are some instructions for syncing the Source Book with common calendar programs. If you find another way to sync that you would like to share with others, please contact webmaster@hptaonline.com.
 Watch a video tutorial on how to sync the Source Book calendar with your own calendar on the HCAM-TV website
Google Calendar Instructions
- Go to Google Calendar http://www.google.com/calendar/. If you have a Google account go ahead and login. If you do not have a Google account, you can create a free account one using your regular email address (Verizon, Comcast, etc.).
- Once you are logged in, on the left side of the screen there is a list of calendars. Under "Other Calendars" click "Add" > "Add by URL".
- Use the ical feed addresses listed below to add the calendar layers you want one at a time.
- Outlook: Sync with Outlook only works with your primary Google Calendar, not with other calendars like the Source Book, but this feature may be added by Google at a later date. Check http://www.google.com/googlecalendar/new.html for more info.
- Smartphones: You can sync with your mobile phone using Google Sync. Download the software at http://www.google.com/mobile/sync/. Google Sync is currently available for the following phone types: Android, Blackberry, iPhone, iPad, Nokia/Symbian and Windows Mobile. It may be available for other phones in the future, check the Google Mobile website for updates.
Yahoo! Calendar Beta Instructions
- Go to http://calendar.yahoo.com/ and login. If you do not have an account, you can create a free one. Check at the top of the screen if it says "Yahoo! Calendar Beta." Syncing to the Source Book only works with the Beta version. To switch from the regular Yahoo! Calendar to Beta, go to http://switch.calendar.yahoo.com/ and click "Get Started" to begin.
- Once you are logged in to the Beta calendar. Click the calendar icon at the top left under today's date.
- A pull down menu appears. Click the "+" symbol next to the word Calendars. Select "Subscribe to Calendar".
- Enter the ical feed addresses listed below to add the calendar layers you want one at a time. Click "Next".
- Give the calendar a name and choose a color (you can change these later). Click "Save".
- Outlook: Sync with Outlook is coming soon, but not available yet.
- Smartphones: You can sync with your iPhone and sync is coming soon for other mobile phones.
Apple iCal Instructions
- Open your iCal application.
- Choose the “Calendar” pull down menu on the top bar heading.
- Select “Subscribe”.
- Using the chart below, enter the URL of the calendar layer you want to subscribe to, then hit “Subscribe” button.
- Once data is retrieved you can give the calendar a name and choose a color. Then hit “OK”.
Outlook Instructions - Not a preferred method.
Unfortunately the Source Book does NOT sync to Outlook. You can download the whole calendar all at once, but when the Source Book is updated or dates are added, they will not automatically be updated in Outlook. You may need to periodically download the files again during the year to capture any updates. Also the importing to Outlook seems to be a bit quirky and temperamental, when we tried it we were able to import most of the calendar feeds, but not the Elmwood and HPTA feeds for some unknown reason.
- One at a time, enter the ical feed addresses listed below into your browser (Firefox, Explorer, etc.).
- It will ask you if you want to Save or Open the ical file. Choose "Save" and save the file to your computer. (Open does NOT seem to work for some reason.)
- Open Outlook, select "File" > "Import and Export."
Select "Import from an icalendar."
Navigate to the file you just downloaded on your computer.
Click "OK."
- Smartphones: Outlook can be synced to many smartphones. If you do an internet search on "Sync Outlook to Blackberry," for example, you should find instructions.
| iCalendar feed addresses |
Description of dates included in this feed |
Recommended for |
| http://www.hptaonline.com/webcalendar/publish.php/hps.ics |
HPS District-wide dates, such as holidays and vacations |
Everyone |
| http://www.hptaonline.com/webcalendar/publish.php/hpta.ics |
HPTA dates - including Extracurricular enrollment dates, Fall Carnival, Spring Children's Gallery Event, etc. |
Everyone |
| http://www.hptaonline.com/webcalendar/publish.php/community.ics |
Community School Support Group dates - HEF Winter Gala, SPEAC Parent Workshops, etc. |
Everyone |
| http://www.hptaonline.com/webcalendar/publish.php/elementary.ics |
Elementary - dates that apply to all the elementary schools (but not to MS or HS), such as Elementary Early Release days, Elementary Report Card days, etc. |
Families with Center, Elmwood or Hopkins students |
| http://www.hptaonline.com/webcalendar/publish.php/secondary.ics |
Secondary - dates that apply to both the MS and HS (but not to Elementary) |
Families with Middle School or High School students |
| http://www.hptaonline.com/webcalendar/publish.php/preschool.ics |
Preschool specific dates |
Families with Integrated Preschool students |
| http://www.hptaonline.com/webcalendar/publish.php/center.ics |
Center School specific dates |
Families with Center School students |
| http://www.hptaonline.com/webcalendar/publish.php/elmwood.ics |
Elmwood School specific dates |
Families with Elmwood School students |
| http://www.hptaonline.com/webcalendar/publish.php/hopkins.ics |
Hopkins School specific dates |
Families with Hopkins School students |
| http://www.hptaonline.com/webcalendar/publish.php/middle.ics |
Middle School specific dates |
Families with Middle School students |
| http://www.hptaonline.com/webcalendar/publish.php/highschool.ics |
High School specific dates |
Families with High School students |
Who can I contact with questions about Source Book?
Date/time errors, missing information or typos, please contact Christine Salois at sourcebook@hptaonline.com.
Technical problems, please contact Anna Ivanov at webmaster@hptaonline.com.
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