To better serve parents and potential students, the Providence Schools Student Registration Center, 650 Prairie Ave., has altered its hours of operation for the first three weeks of the school year to include evening and Saturday hours.

Monday through Thursday, the office will be open from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. with all services available. It will then close and reopen from 4 to 6 p.m. with limited services including language dominance testing, paperwork pick-up, document drop-off and medical record verification. Friday hours will remain 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Tomorrow, it will be open from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. with all services available.

On Sept.15, the office will return to regular school year hours, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The center’s phone number is (401) 456-1702.

Elementary schools

•At the Anthony Carnevale Elementary School’s open house for kindergarten students and parents last week, information on before- and after-school programming was provided by the 21st Century YMCA program.

Middle schools

•Esek Hopkins Middle School has been awarded a $500 grant from the Centro Attivita’ Scholastiche Italiane. Its mission is to assist communities that wish to introduce, preserve, rejuvenate or broaden the study of the Italian language in their schools. Teacher Angelo Neri reports that the grant will supplement the Italian program at Hopkins for the current school year.

High schools

•Ten students from William B. Cooley Sr. High School — Health and Science Technology were recognized at a ceremony Tuesday at Roger Williams Medical Center, where the students were part of a summer school-to-career employment program. The center’s director of educational development and education, Cindy Bielecki, arranged the event to commend excellence displayed by the students in their work.

The students, Dekontee Koliyah, Mayata Kuyateh, Kelly A. Lopez, Sindia Maria Mata, Andy Montan, Angelica Mora, Mayelin Pacheco, Joel Rodriquez, Stephanie Tavarez and Felecia Townsend, their families and hospital and school administrators were invited to the event. Hospital president and CEO Kenneth Belcher addressed the students and families to thank them for their work.

Students presented an overview of their experience working at the hospital, from staffing the greeting desk to assisting in IT, to repairing medical equipment as part of the bio-engineering department. The students had initially signed on for a 24-hour week, typical of the high school job program, but all requested and were given a 35-hour schedule. Students also met with Bielecki weekly to update their progress and to spend time touring and learning about each department.

They were also given one full week to shadow and observe an employee in a department of their choice. After this successful summer stint, some students will extend their work into part-time employment. All have been given the option of returning next summer.

Additionally, the students requested and received letters of recommendation for their high school portfolios.

•Javier Montanez, director of the Academy of Service, was recently honored by the Puerto Rican Cultural Festival & Parade of Rhode Island with the group’s “Exceptional Accomplishments in Life and Education Award.”

Montanez was also recognized for his work on annual cultural events with a Citizen Citation from Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline for his commitment to promoting and creating awareness about Puerto Rican culture and traditions in Rhode Island.

•Hope Arts High School visual art teacher Valerie Kline has been recognized as the Secondary Art Teacher of the Year in Rhode Island. She will be honored at a ceremony at Rhode Island College in October. Kline was commended for her dedication and service to art education, particularly for co-authoring and implementing an art education program that has increased community awareness of the importance of art education for all Rhode Island school children. Kline has been teaching for 17 years, 15 of which have been at Hope High School.

Hope Arts High School incoming freshman students were brought together in a summer orientation session. During their three-day orientation, they took on a group project, working on a mural at Broad Street Art Studio at AS220.

Brenda Vazquez, a 10th-grade student at Hope Arts High School, represented Rhode Island in a national competition for the Providence Police Explorers Program held in Colorado in late July. Vasquez has been enrolled in the police cadet program, the goal of which is to expose teenagers from 15 to 18 to careers in law enforcement, since October 2007.

The Providence Public Schools Activities column is compiled by the Communications Department. For information, contact Kim Rose, senior communications officer, at (401) 453-9350 or kim.rose@ppsd.org.