At Wednesday night's City Council meeting, Veterans Elementary 4th grade teacher, Ms. Erica McDermott, was recognized by the Hobart Chief of Police with a Life-Saving Award. Ms. McDermott was also recognized by her building administrators, Superintendent Dr. Buffington, and her students last month for her act of bravery and quick-thinking. Her students were excited to celebrate their teacher, calling her a HERO! She certainly is! Way to #BeExcellentOnPurpose, Ms. McDermott!

Below is the speech given evening by Officer Bisig, our SRO at VEM.

"On Thursday, November 9, 2023, several students alerted their teacher, Ms. McDermott, of a student in their class having difficulty breathing and possibly choking during snack time. Ms. McDermott quickly assessed the situation and recognized that the student was choking. Ms. McDermott, without hesitation, immediately began administering life-saving measures by performing the Heimlich Maneuver. Moments later, Ms. McDermott successfully dislodged the blockage from the student's airway. The student began to breathe normally again and was sent to the school nurse for further assessment. The school notified the student's mother as to what transpired. The mother came to school to pick up her student to take her to the doctor. The student returned to school a few days later without issue and resumed normal activities.

Ms. McDermott's quick initiative, her astute recognition of the severity of the medical emergency, her immediate response, and her effective application of the Heimlich maneuver directly resulted in saving this student's life.

Ms. McDermott's proactive response, attention to detail, capability, integrity, and remaining calm during this medical emergency merit special recognition. I would like to have Ms. McDermott recognized for her exceptionally meritorious performance, selfless service, dedication, and courageous commitment not only during a medical emergency but to her students as well."

We are so proud of her heroism! #BEOP

A HUGE announcement from our Hobart Middle School Esports team..our Varsity Minecraft team is headed to compete for the STATE CHAMPIONSHIP! We are so proud of you and excited for all of you! Go Bricks! 💜💛

A recap from one of our coaches, Corporal Jimenez:

"On Tuesday night, our Hobart Middle School Minecraft Esports Team competed in a Semi-State match against local competitor Hebron Middle School. Even our high school Esports coaches came to cheer on our unbeaten team! In a best of 5 series, our Brickie team started off HOT. Our Bricks made fast work of Hebron in round 1, leaving our high school coaches in total awe. Round 2 was one of the longest matches we’ve experienced, with Hebron taking the win after a long-fought battle. Round 3 was another battle, but eventually our team took the victory with some creativity and tactics that the HHS coaches had never seen. We can only guess that Hebron still isn’t sure what happened. In round 4, Hebron put up another good fight, but in the end, HMS was too much to handle, punching our ticket to the State Finals! Wish them luck as we will take on Greensburg Junior High School next week!"

On Saturday, Dec. 2nd, our Hobart High School Business Professionals of America students participated in the Regional Leadership Conference at Kankakee Valley HS. Our Brickie team truly exemplified the idea that quality triumphs over quantity, and the results speak for themselves. Let's take a moment to applaud our outstanding achievers:

Madelyn Burton: 1st in Prepared Speech and Advanced Interview Skills

Zaniya Rice: 2nd in Advanced Interview Skills

Addison Williams: 1st in Interview Skills

Felix Lopez: Participant Award in Interview Skills

Shu Jing Zheng: 1st in Business Law & Ethics and 5th in Legal Office Procedures

Our excitement continues as we look forward to the virtual website design competition on December 9th, featuring our talented team: Bojana Kolundzija, Ladan Weinman, and Annabelle Mauries. We are also proud to announce that all of our HHS BPA members have qualified for the State Leadership Conference in Indianapolis from March 10-12. Success at the state level will pave their way to the National Conference in Chicago this May.

Their hard work and commitment to excellence are a beacon of pride for Hobart High School. They're not just participating; they're leading with purpose and achieving greatness. Let's celebrate these achievements and gear up for the exciting challenges ahead! Way to Be Excellent On Purpose!

The Brickie Parent Café is a collection of podcasts for Brickie parents on a wide variety of subjects. Check out this week's featured cast from our Hobart Middle School Dean of Students, Mr. Josh Reno, where he dives into Social-Emotional Learning and how parents can connect with their children.

Click here to read about HU's Early College Endorsement!

View the HHS Career Pathway and Course Description Guide by clicking here!

Click here to learn more about the new HU Writing Center!

Attention Brickie Families: Hoosiers are asked to respond to the annual IDOH Statewide Needs Assessment by Friday, December 15. The survey is available in both Spanish and English, and asks about the health and wellness of individuals, families, and their communities. Anyone living in Indiana over the age of 18 can take the survey and participants will have the chance to win gift cards for their participation. This is the best way for Hoosiers to let IDOH know their most important health needs. IDOH will use deidentified findings to inform its work and priorities for the next Maternal and Child Health strategic plan. The survey is available here or by clicking the graphic above.

Here at the School City of Hobart, we take pride in making sure all of our students have the means to succeed. Sometimes this requires extra study time outside of the classroom. Click the button below for a list of some great websites for assistance and tutoring info!

Check out these amazing Outsmart Your Brain Podcast episodes from some of our awesome Brickie educators and student leaders, inspired by the book by Dr. Willingham! Click the links below to listen to the episode!

Podcast Introduction: Listen Here!

1. How to Understand a Lecture ー Miss Alexander

2. How to Take Lecture Notes ー Mrs. Franco

3. How to Learn from Labs, Activities, & Demonstrations ーMrs. Parrish

4. How to Reorganize your Notes ーMrs. Torres

5. How to Read Difficult Books ー Miss Bartsch

6. How to Study for Exams ーBrett Herrin, HHS Senior

7. How to Judge When You’re Ready for an Exam ーBrett Herrin, HHS Senior

8. How to Take Tests ーDominique Zepeda, HHS Senior

9. How to Learn from Past Exams ーDominique Zepeda, HHS Senior

10. How to Plan your Work ーMackenzie Eberle, HHS Senior

11. How to Defeat Procrastination ーConner Niemann, HHS Senior

12. How to Stay Focused ーAngelina Zepeda, HHS Senior

13. How to Gain Self-Confidence as a Learner ーMadelyn Burton, HHS Senior

14. How to Cope with Anxiety ーElla Freimuth, HHS Senior

Check out the SEL page for great tips and advice for Social Emotional Learning for students, parents, and families! Lots of great information with what we do in school with students and what you can do at home.

December is a joyful and hectic time of the year. Begin December with a focus on mental health and taking a few moments each day to practice and plan for a sense of calm. As a family, practice a few coping strategies to know what might be options for family members. Then notice when individuals have strong feelings. When this happens, don’t place judgment. Practice the coping strategy to allow individuals to calm down. This allows everyone to process information and make better decisions. This month, several coping strategies will be offered. The strategies work for all ages.

Power of the Pause: I’ve discovered my internal Pause Button.

1. Recognize the triggers.
2. Press pause
3. Take a deep breath
4. Observe, just hold off and listen.
5. Press play and discuss situation

Review this list of 100 Coping Strategies and determine what is not an option, what may be an option, and what family members have used before. Pick one to two strategies to practice as a family “go to” strategy to support each other. Just notice the feelings, practice the strategy and begin again.

Looking to uplift a little one? Check out some of our favorite phrases to positively influence a child's day.

Check out this month's Safety Beat from Officer Damian Serrano, The Early Learning Center's SRO, where he shares tips on how to be safe this holiday season!

Indiana has several FREE resources for adults and students.

Additional information and resources:

*Contact the SRO officer at each school

*Vape Free Indiana
in.gov/vapefreeindiana

*Indiana High School Athletic Association and Indiana Department of Health partnership

https://dontpuffthisstuff.com/

Check out this month's Nurse's Corner to learn about the immunizations, sports physicals, and what to do when your student is sick.

If your child isn't feeling well, please keep him or her at home. You must report the absence to the school before 10:00 AM. Click the link below to learn how to report an absence.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UVUSq5USyAh-AwDoDXVhZl-nP83REUqB/view

The School City of Hobart Building Brickies' goal is to strengthen families by empowering parents as their child’s first and best teachers. Every day, we advocate for families so every child-in every neighborhood-can thrive.

Click here to check out the HHS Alumni Association website!

We aim for a great partnership with our parents! That is why we utilize CANVAS and SKYWARD! Learn how to access them both at www.hobart.k12.in.us/partnership

Click here to hear the definition of a Brickie!