Talon Talk

Hello HMS Families!

So far the year has flown by! We are finally finishing up September and there are so many great things happening here at HMS. Our students have been a part of our new literacy curriculum that was worked on last year in order to help them gain more from their literacy class, we have started our updated Soar program that I see students enjoying and building missing skills that need to be successful. It has been a good start here at HMS.

October is another busy month and we have several things going on. We do have a Halloween dance scheduled! We are hoping that we are able to have this event still, but will be in communication if it has to be moved. Typically the middle of October marks the end of first quarter followed by parent teacher conferences at the end of the month. As we continue to finalize our integration into Infinite Campus, we will communicate grade postings and student academic achievement as those things become more available. Let's have a fantastic October!

What a great September we have had at HMS and in Advisory class. We continue to focus on having an attitude of gratitude which builds our resiliency and self-esteem by doing a Gratitude prompt everyday. Our Character Trait of the Month was RESPECT. Students in all grade levels learned what Respect looks like, sounds like and feels like to both the person showing respect and the person receiving the respect.

Counselors went into each grade to do a lesson with the students on these topics:

6th grade: Learning organization skills (students can come to Ms. Hanneken who can help them get their things organized)

7th grade: Mindfulness

8th grade: Mindfulness

October’s Character Trait of the Month is RESPONSIBILITY and students will learn about taking ownership of what they say and do in many different locations and situations. A big focus in Middle School is teaching students not to make excuses or to blame someone else for their actions but to own their choices.

We are beginning a unit on Bullying Prevention and how to become Victimproof. Students will learn about the different kinds of bullying, ways to stand up for yourself, ways to stand up for others, and how to report bullying on our district webpage.

Red Ribbon Week runs from October 23-October 31. This is a time filled with lessons and discussions of maintaining a drug-free, alcohol-free lifestyle, types of drugs endangering youth, and ways to resist the temptation to experiment.

As we near the end of Term 1, students can use Advisory for studying and reassessing on Tuesdays and Thursday which are Advisory Academic Days.

(from left to right) Allie G., Lena R., Mason R., Colby D., Max D.

(from left to right) Gunner N., Hank K., Jabez S., Syllis E., Leea S.

(from left to right) Nick M., Ryan M., Bella P., Peyton K., Peyton H.

Students in middle school are typically seeking independence in various ways: decision making about clothing, appearance, and personal style; choosing their own priorities; managing their own responsibilities such as chores and school work. We encourage parents to give students small increments of independence as their children show they can manage it. However, it is a parents’ most important job to make sure their children stay safe, that they know what’s going on in their lives, and can help their sons and daughters know that they are always there to help them navigate any problems they face. To achieve this, parents might ask open-ended questions such as the ones shown below. Teenagers long to be heard, so a little bit of listening can go a long way!

Our sixth grade team is an amazing group of people who are experts at helping their students transition to middle school! From left to right: Mrs. White, ELA; Ms. Cobb, Math; Ms. Verbrugge, Science; Mr. Orton, Social Studies