Week of August 28, 2023
Nighthawk Families,
The partnership of our families to ensure the physical, social, and emotional safety of every Nighthawk is greatly appreciated! As you know, we work daily to align our work to the Herbert Akins Rd MS Vision that our Learning Community collaborates to facilitate equitable outcomes and growth through social, emotional, and academic opportunities.
As we enter this week, which is also the first week of traditional calendar schools, families have received information about the changes in bus routes. These changes have resulted in our staff working early in the morning and staying after the end of the instructional day to serve students while we await bus routes. If your student's bus arrives prior to 7:45 AM or does not leave until after 3:30 PM, staff will be monitoring students through a Learning Lab. Students will have opportunities to play table games, do homework, and/or watch school-related videos. We encourage parents to send a snack for your student if their bus is scheduled to arrive at school after 3:30 PM.
Due to the significant changes in bus routes, our carpool numbers will increase. We ask that any family or community member who may be at the school at 3:00 PM, not park their car in the front parking lot or in the parking lot between the two schools as it will impact the flow of our carpool and accessibility for buses. These steps are taken to ensure the safety of everyone while on our campus. The parking lot to the right of the building on the gym side is available if needed. In addition, I ask that you keep in mind our staff stands in the heat and high temperatures every afternoon for approximately 40 minutes to ensure students safely leave campus.
With appreciation for your support and partnership as we continue to #buildournest,
Anne Marie Adkins
Principal
Transportation Information - Bus, Walker, Carpool, Bike Rider
2023-2024 Bus Routes can be found here.
If you have not yet requested bus transportation for 2023-2024, please go to the WCPSS website to complete your request. You will have to request transportation even if you had transportation last school year.
To request a walker's pass and/or carpool number click here.
Please watch this carpool video to better understand how carpool will operate at our school. It is imperative that everyone adhere to the structures for safety and to ensure we are completed with carpool and bus arrival/dismissal so the elementary school can begin their procedures.
Information about Carpool/Walkers/Bus Riders can be found in this folder.
Positivity Project at Herbert Akins Rd MS - Self-Control and Being Present
Dear Families,
This week Track 1 will be reviewing their learning of the Other People Mindset of Being Present and Giving Others My Attention. This means when I’m with other people, I’m present and give them my full attention.
This element of the Other People Mindset is so important today due to the increasing number of distractions vying for our time and attention. Phone calls, text messages, emails, social media notifications all have the dangerous capacity to pull us away from the present moment and, what’s most important -- our relationships with other people.
Just like plants need sunlight to grow, our relationships need attention. If we don’t give our attention to the people we’re building relationships with -- whether family members, close friends, or even distant colleagues -- we can’t build those relationships. It’s vitally important that we pick our heads up from our cell phones and truly listen to other people when they’re talking. A positive culture is built on positive relationships -- and we can’t build positive relationships without attention.
This week our Track 3 and 4 Teams will be focusing on the character strength of Self-Control. Self-control means you can control your emotions and behaviors. You think before you act.
Self-control is the act of managing behavior in a way that positively influences goal attainment and living up to standards. Possessing this strength protects people from destabilizing emotional extremes. Those with self-control can limit impulsive behavior. They are able to experience and navigate difficulty while remaining poised. Self-control does not mean a lack of thoughts, feelings, or impulses; it just means you have command over them.
A group’s ability to demonstrate self-control often appears in the form of “self-monitoring.” This means the individuals demonstrate honesty with one another about successful group practices. When things are unsuccessful, group members can adjust roles in the interest of overall group success.
ALL FAMILIES: To practice and encourage the character strengths with your child, please visit the Positivity Project’s P2 for Families (password: P2) where together you will watch a video, read a quote and talk about the answers to three questions.
Have a wonderful week!
Nighthawk Athletic News
During the 2023-2024 school year we are going to start a NightHawk Athletic News Letter to help keep everyone informed of all things Athletics. This will be a great resource for parents and athletes to check for any new information, athletic practice/game schedules, weekly team needs, booster club, ect.
To start many are wondering about our athletic schedule and tryout dates. Here is a link to our 2023-2024 NightHawk Athletic Schedule with tryout dates for each season. This document will be updated if any changes are made to the game schedules.
For tryouts please if you already have a Dragonfly account, log on and verify everything is completed. When Dragonfly rolled over to the 2023-2024 school year a few of the forms expired and needed to be redone. If you have not created an account please be sure to do so as soon as possible. Below is some helpful information regarding the Dragonfly process. If you plan on trying out for any sports or doing any open gyms please do not wait to get your DragonFly completed.
For tryouts please if you already have a Dragonfly account, log on and verify everything is completed. When Dragonfly rolled over to the 2023-2024 school year a few of the forms expired and needed to be redone. If you have not created an account please be sure to do so as soon as possible. Below is some helpful information regarding the Dragonfly process. If you plan on trying out for any sports or doing any open gyms please do not wait to get your DragonFly completed.
Fall Tryout Information
Girl’s Soccer:
Coach Guzman & Coach Cespedes will hold tryouts on September 5-6th for 7th graders and September 7-8th for 8th graders from 3:30-5:30. Please be prepared to be inside or outside depending on the weather.
Football
Coach Riddick, Coach Samuals, & Coach Winston will hold tryouts September 5-6-7th for both 7th and 8th graders from 3:30-5:30. Please be prepared to be inside or outside depending on the weather.
Volleyball
Coach Alombro and Coach Cascadden will hold tryouts September 5th for 7th graders and September 6th for 8th graders in the gym from 3:30-5:30.
Cheerleading
Coach Pennington and Coach McKenzie will hold tryouts September 5-6-7th for both 7th and 8th graders in the cafeteria from 3:30-5:30.
Athletic Paperwork Information
Athletic Physicals can be found here. https://www.wcpss.net/Page/1465
PLEASE USE THE REGISTRATION LINK FOR DRAGONFLY. NO PAPER COPIES WILL BE ACCEPTED. REGISTRATION MUST BE COMPLETED PRIOR TO THE FIRST DAY OF TRYOUTS.
How to use DragonFly instructions CLICK HERE.
Open Gym Schedule
Our coaches will be holding an open gym for any 6th, 7th, 8th grade athletes interested. All Athletes must have their physical examination form and medical eligibility form uploaded on DragonFly prior to attending any open gyms. All open gyms will be from 3:30-5 PM and will take place inside.
Cheer Open Gym- Tuesday 8/29
Football Open Gym- Wednesday 8/30, Thursday 8/24 & 8/31
Volleyball Open Gym- Tuesday 8/29 Thursday 8/24
Athletic Spirit Wear Site
Anyone is interested in getting some Nighthawk Athletic Gear, please check out the following link. https://harmsathletics23.itemorder.com/shop/home/
Items will be shipped to the school about 6-8 weeks after the site closes on 8/27/23 and I will deliver them to you child.
Herbert Akins Road Booster Club
Thank you to those who came to our Booster Club meeting on Tuesday night. We would like to invite any interested parents to our next booster club meeting on 9/13/23 at 6 PM after our Fall Kickoff Parent Meeting.. Here also is an interest form for any parents who can not attend. Interest Form
Scott West
Athletic Director
Herbert Akins Road Middle
919-694-8300 ext. 53051
You can also find a copy of this newsletter linked here.
Canvas | Parent Observer Accounts
Families can view their student's course content and progress by creating a Canvas Observer Account. If you have multiple students in WCPSS, you can link all students under a single Observer account. Observers have limited permissions, which allow you to see what is happening in a course without interrupting or participating. More information is available: https://www.wcpss.net/techguides
Apply for School Meals - See Below
To apply for free or reduced-price meals, you can do so online by visiting www.MySchoolApps.com. Paper applications will always be made available in our school's front office, or you can call 919-588-3535 or 919-856-2920 to have one mailed to you.
- Application information
- Application information - información sobre la solicitud (Español)
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Frequently Asked Questions - preguntas frecuentes (Español)
- Sample application/Ejemplo de solicitud (Please fill out an original / Favor de completar una solicitud original)
- Meal charges policy | Cuentas de Alimentos
Online Application
- Apply for Free or Reduced Price Meals Online
- Solicitud en línea para las comidas escolares Gratis/Precio Reducido: Español
Meal Benefits Expiration Date
Prior year meal benefits will carry over up to 30 school days in the new school year based on your student's school calendar. Families must reapply every school year if they are interested in receiving meal benefits.
Questions about applying for free and reduced meals:
(919) 856-2920 (English)
(919) 588-3535 (English and Spanish)
cnsmealbenefits@wcpss.net
Free and Reduced-Price Benefits Office fax number:
(919) 856-3704
Building Classroom Libraries for Sustained Silent Reading
This school year we have implemented SSR (Sustained Silent Reading) to help enhance our school's reading culture. The staff and students read together during Nighthawk time across all grade levels, which promotes the enjoyment and lifelong skill of reading. We could use additional reading materials for the classrooms such as magazines, fiction and nonfiction books at a variety of reading levels, cookbooks, guidebooks, etc.. These donations can be brought to the office marked Attention: Stacee McCarter. Thank you for your support with reading both at home and in school.
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Kate Caflisch (kcaflisch@wcpss.net), Library/Media Coordinator, and/or Jean Jaros (jjaros@wcpss.net), Reading Intervention Teacher.
7th Grade, Track 1 Team
Ms. Bellini (Science), Ms. Brandom (Social Studies), Ms. Mcleod (Math), Ms. Cjvetnicanin (ELA)
7th Grade, Track 3 Team
Dr. Riddick (Math), Mr. Young (Social Studies), Ms. Curry (ELA), Ms. Dougherty (Science)
HARLEM WIZARDS - Nighthawk Family Event - VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
On February 7th Herbert Akins Road MS will welcome the Harlem Wizards for a fun filled family night and we need volunteers to help make this event great. If you would like to sign up for the planning committee, please see the sign up genius link.