
Hickory Creek Middle School
December 2024
School Goals 2024-2025
Academic Goal:
- We will continue to provide rigor and opportunity for academic growth to all students in grades 6th- 8th.
Social/Emotional Goal:
- We will support staff and student social and emotional needs and enhance the opportunity for growth in relationships with one another.
Communication Goal:
- We will increase opportunities for family engagement both during the school day and through extra-curricular activities.
Safety Goal:
- We will provide a safe learning environment for staff and students in our learning community.
Hickory Creek Administration Team
Mrs. Tricia Dotson
Mr. Jason Crockett
Mr. Tyler Sinclair
Contact Information for Hickory Creek Administration
Jason Crockett jcrockett@fsd157c.org
Tyler Sinclair tsinclair@fsd157c.org
Important Dates
December Dates
12-4 Hot Lunch Chorus Boosters
12-4 Winter Band & Orchestra Concert
12-6 Hot Lunch FSP
12-5 Frankfort Tree Lighting
12-11 Hot Lunch Band Boosters
12-13 Holiday District Choral Tour
12-18 Hot Lunch Athletic Boosters
12-19 Band & Orchestra Breakfast
12-20 Early Release 1:10 p.m.
12-23 through 1-3 Winter Break
1-6 No School Teacher Institute
Important Announcement about Hot Lunch Orders
The district continues to partner with our parent organizations to provide fundraiser hot lunches to our school population via MySchoolBucks. In efforts to improve the accuracy of ordering and ensure all students are provided with their accurate order, the monthly deadline will switch to the 10th of each month. As a point of clarification, December 10th will be the deadline for the January lunches. Families will receive a reminder on the 7th of each month.
Highlights from the Past Month 🙂
Pink Out Basketball Game Fun
Atta Boy Red Ribbon Week Concert
Quater 1 Celebration Games Day
Veterans Day
6th Grade Girls' Basketball Win the DPVC Tournament!
Notes from the Nurse
8th grade vision screenings are almost complete. Children that do not pass these screenings will be sent home with a referral letter. At this age many students refuse to wear their glasses, but we do ask
to see that they have them and they are in good condition. Please consider having your child keep a change of clothes in their locker.
Here are a few tips for staying healthy. Remind them to:
Wash their hands frequently and thoroughly.
Cough and sneeze into their sleeves.
Keep their hands away from their face.
Please do not send students to school if there is:
A fever of 100 degrees or greater
A rash of unknown origin
Suspected conjunctivitis “pink eye”
Vomiting
Uncontrollable diarrhea
Before returning to school, students must be:
Fever free for 24 hours without medication
No vomiting in the past 24 hours
No diarrhea in the past 24 hours
From The Social Work Team 🙂
Test anxiety is that nervous feeling students may get when they’re about to take a test. It's normal to feel some pressure before an exam, and a little stress is a good thing. It can actually help children focus, prepare and do better.
But for some children, the worries are so strong that they can’t concentrate and don’t do as well as they’d like.
The good news is that there are many ways to stress less over tests. Below are some tips to support your child to stress less.
- Encourage your child to start studying the day the teacher first says there will be an exam. That way they won’t be cramming at the last minute.
- Schedule study time. Encourage your child to write it in their assignment notebook and/or set an alarm on their phone to remind them.
- Focus on smaller chunks of material during study sessions so they’re easier to handle.
- Students should be encouraged to use positive self-talk to counter negative thoughts and beliefs about their abilities.
- Teach them to replace self-doubt with positive affirmations such as "I am prepared" or "I can do my best."
- Relaxation techniques - Teach students relaxation techniques such as deep breathing exercises, progressive muscle relaxation, or visualization. These techniques can help reduce stress and promote a sense of calmness before and during tests.
And lastly, always remind your child that they don’t have to get a perfect score on every test. Everyone slips up, has different strengths and challenges, and if they are trying their best and learning, this is what counts. Every mistake is a chance to learn for the next time.
Advisory Updates 🙂
6th Grade Advisory
The money wars fundraiser during Advisory was a HUGE success. Hickory Creek was able to raise $12,000 for Honor Flight Chicago. A check was presented to this amazing organization at our Veteran’s Day assembly. Advisory classes have been busy working through all our SEL lessons through our Second Step curriculum. We have started implementing Digital Citizenship lessons each month. Mondays continue to feature our Tiger TV episodes, Wednesdays are WIN days, and Friday incorporated team building.
7th Grade Advisory
In 7th grade Advisory for the month of December, students will be continuing the Second Step Curriculum by engaging in lessons about self-concept and emotions. Mondays will still be dedicated to “This Week at the Creek” and “Tiger TV”, Wednesday’s will stay W.I.N. days, and Friday’s students will engage in Team Building activities. There also will be one Digitial Citizenship lesson that educates students on the importance of digital footprints.
8th Grade Advisory
In 8th grade Advisory in the month of December, we will be engaging in lessons on Confidence and Building Confidence through our Second Step curriculum, and we will review a Digital Citizenship lesson about social media. We will also continue viewing “This Week at the Creek” and “Tiger TV” episodes on Mondays, participating in WIN days on Wednesdays, and Teambuilding activities on Fridays.
From The Library ⭐
We continue to highlight different Caudill books during your student’s time in the library. The most recent being A First Time for Everything by Dan Santat. Students can document the Caudill books they read from the 2025 list on their ELA teacher’s TEAMS page. Students who read a minimum of three books will be invited to a pizza party held in February where they can vote for their favorite Caudill book.
Lunches at Hickory Creek
- 6th Grade 10:52 A.M. - 11:22 A.M.
- 7th Grade 11:33 A.M. - 12:03 P.M.
- 8th Grade 12:15 P.M. - 12:45 P.M.
Students should bring their own lunches to school unless your family has pre-ordered one of the designated Hot Lunches at the start of the year - through My School Bucks.
Students are not allowed to receive delivery of food at school from anyone other than a guardian or parent during the school day.
The expectations for deliveries are as follows:
- Food must be clearly labeled with student's first and last name and grade level.
- Only drinks with screwed on caps will be accepted- nothing with straws or lids can be accepted.
- Guardians will put lunches in grade level bins found in the vestibule by the front doors. Deliveries must be received prior to student's grade level designated lunch period.
- Students are only allowed to receive food for themselves. They will not be able to share large orders of food dropped off.
Power School
Families are encouraged to access Power School regularly to monitor student progress. Grades will be update at a minimum of every two weeks. Staff are happy to answer any questions or concerns that may come up throughout the school year in regard to student progress. 🙂
If families would like to check student GPA for National Junior Honor Society, please reference the desktop version of Power School to access students' Cumulative GPA. Students applying for NJHS or wanting to stay eligible for NJHS must have a 3.8 GPA or higher.
Link to District Parent and Student Handbook 2024-2025
Student Opportunities for Extra Curriculars at Hickory Creek
Highlights from Extra Curriculars
Band and Orchestra
- The Band and Orchestra will have their big Winter Concert on Wednesday, December 4 at 6:00 p.m. Come hear the Symphonic Band, the Jazz Band, the Percussion Ensemble, the HCMS Orchestra, and the Advanced Orchestra ... and stay after for a special holiday treat!
Chorus
- All three of our choirs shared their talents at the Fall Concert on November 21. We followed that up with a beautiful evening in Aurora with a private catered dinner followed by “Frozen” at Paramount theater. Our combined chorus will be singing at the Frankfort Tree-Lighting on December 5 at 6:30 p.m. on Breidert’s Green in downtown Frankfort. All of the HCMS choirs will be performing for the annual Holiday Tour on Friday, December 13, traveling to Grand Prairie and Chelsea to perform, after performing for HCMS. At the end of the day, the chorus members will celebrate a great start to the year at their bowling and pizza social!
NJHS
- NJHS members have been out serving the HCMS community and beyond through service hour opportunities. They showed their appreciation for our Veteran’s by helping serve breakfast and asking insightful questions of our Vets during the all school assembly.
- The Outstanding Achievement Award information will be given at the next member meeting, with an additional workshop to help those members interested in applying. All information will be distributed through the NJHS Teams page, please have your child check there for any updates.
Student Council
- Student Council members have been busy coming up with spirit days, voting on spirit days, and creating awareness for the student body to participate in spirit days. The students also decorated for and greeted Veterans on Veterans Day. The student council was the first to participate in Wonder Wednesdays. They greeted students into school by giving them compliments and cheering for their decision to come to school with a positive attitude. On December 17th the student council will have their annual party to celebrate the holidays.
Best Buddies
- Best Buddies had a successful November meeting with over 45 chapter members in attendance. Our next meeting will be on Monday, December 2nd from 2:30-3:30. At this meeting we will celebrate with several “Minute to Win It” games.
Mathletes
- On November 18th, Mathletes wrapped up their exciting 2024 season. All six teams were fierce competitors. They enjoyed participating in a variety of math competitions, and every team worked hard to compete for the top ranking! We are thrilled to announce that, by a slight margin, Team Grey took first place overall. Way to go!! We hope to see sixth and seventh grade Mathletes again next year for another gripping season with new teams and new competitions!
Drama Club
- Drama Club students rehearsed themselves into several first-place standings. We also had several students earn Judge’s Choice honors! This means that their performance stood out among all the others in their competition room! We are so proud of all their hard work! There will be a pizza party in December to celebrate all their accomplishments, more information to come.
Fitness Room
- Students are still able to sign up to use the fitness room. Registration is on our website. It is open from after school until 3pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Intramural Dance
- Our dancers will show off all their hard work at our final show case the first week of December, followed by our end of the year party! Coach Drwiega, Coach Mahoney, and Coach Sophia couldn’t be more proud of the hard work and effort each dancer has given the last couple of months!
Cheerleading
- Our team is working to complete and clean up our competition routine. We have a showcase at Hickory Creek on Friday, December 13th at 6:00 pm in the north gym. Our first competition will take place on December 14th at Lincoln Way Central. We are also enjoying cheering for our fellow tigers are boys and girls basketball games!
6th Girls Basketball
- The 6th Grade Girls Basketball team had an incredible season filled with growth, fun, and determination!
- A-Team Highlights:The A-Team finished their season with an outstanding record of 14-3 and proudly claimed the DPVC Championship! Their hard work and teamwork truly paid off, and their dedication on the court was inspiring.
- B-Team Highlights: The B-Team started off a bit slow but showed remarkable resilience and improvement, finishing the season with an impressive record of 11-6. Their growth and commitment to the game were commendable!
- Coach Doman could not be prouder of each and every girl for their efforts and achievements this season. It has been a pleasure and an honor to coach such an outstanding group of athletes. Thank you to all the parents, supporters, and fans who cheered us on throughout the season! Here’s to continued growth and success in the future!
7th Girls Basketball
- The 7th grade girls basketball team wrapped up their regular season in the middle of November. The girls finished the season strong, winning 9 of their last 10 games and finishing with a record of 16 wins and 5 losses. The IESA Regionals started on November 18th.
8th Girls Basketball
- The 8th grade girls' basketball team finished their regular season this November. The team played 21 games and finished the season off with an 11 and 10 record. The post season IESA regionals will be on November 23rd & 25th. Best the luck girls!
6th Boys Basketball
- Both of the 6th grade boys’ basketball teams have had a strong start to the season. They work together on the court and have demonstrated a fast and aggressive style of play that has lead to some big wins. The A team is currently 3-0 and the B team is 2-1. Coach Kroen is looking forward to a great and competitive season!
7th Boys Basketball
- The 7th grade boys’ basketball team has been in a lot of close games and they continue to work extremely hard. Their record so far is 2-2.
8th Boys Basketball
- The boys are off to a strong start and show tendencies to be a top tier team. They display their closeness on the court, and it is clear how much time Coach Ford has spent with them in the gym. The team has many leaders, but some standouts so far have been Cam Spurlin, Jonas Haberkorn, and Oliver Lavin.