The Hive

HMS Families,

We hope this newsletter finds all of you well!

We wanted to spend some time today talking about our HMS community. We have spent the first part of this school year focusing on building relationships. This has been a top priority for us - being as visible as possible, talking with students, and getting to know them. A student came up to us this week and asked us why they see us everywhere. We looked at each other and hi-fived, because that is exactly what have been trying to do! We are here to serve our community.

We hope you will spend some time taking with your kids about what it means to be a member of the HMS community. Each of us has an important part in building that positive community. We would love to hear what some of those thoughts are, if you felt inclined to share them with us.

This is a long newsletter with lots of information.

Have the BEST weekend! See everyone Monday!

With kindness,

BC and SS

HMS Parents:

Our school is participating in the Washington State Healthy Youth Survey during fall 2023. The survey will be given to students in Grades 6, 8, 10 and 12 in large districts and students in Grades 6 through 12 in small school districts.

The Healthy Youth survey includes questions related to physical activity and diet, unintentional and intentional injury, substance use, sexual behaviors, abuse, risk and protective factors, and access to school-based services. Survey results are used by schools, communities and state agencies to plan programs to support our youth and reduce their risks. Parents can view questions HERE.

Participation in the survey is voluntary and the students’ answers are anonymous. There are no codes or information used to match a survey to a student.

Please read the attached Parent and Student Notification Letter for more information about the Healthy Youth Survey.

If you do not wish for your student to participate in Washington's State Healthy Youth Survey, please complete the opt out form linked below or please email Nicole Starkey at nicole.starkey@hocksd.org. You can also call (360) 448-6400 and let the office know.

Nicole Starkey, M.A.Ed.

HMS School Counselor

360-448-6440

OPT OUT FORM

We will be celebrating unity day on October 18th. Unity day is about joining our HMS community together and focusing on positivity and kindness. We are encouraging everyone to wear orange shirts that day. If you would like to order a shirt, please use this link: UNITY DAY SHIRT

The Fall Concert is right around the corner on Tuesday, October 10th at Hockinson High School in the Multipurpose Room at 7pm. Students need to arrive in appropriate black and white concert attire, at the high school and meet in the band room at 6:30pm. The concert will include performances from the 6th grade band, 7th grade band and 8th grade band and will last approximately 45 minutes.

Our annual Volleyball-A-Thon is right around the corner. The Volleyball-A-Thon will take place on Friday, October 20th. Captain/Team forms will be available at the ASB office starting Monday, October 2nd. A non-refundable $20 participation fee is required to play and participants are encouraged to fundraise with their teams to earn a team prize. Remember, ASB fundraisers raise money that goes directly back into our ASB to fund student activities, so let's get out there Hornets and raise money for our student programs!

Invest Ed believes that small acts of kindness make a big impact. InvestED helps bridge the gap between what families can afford, what schools can support, and what students urgently need. We help low-income students across Washington “Get to School, Engage in School, and Graduate”. Invest Ed has partnered with us this year, and we are grateful for this opportunity!

Please consider donating to Invest Ed Dollars

https://invested.org/campaigns/hockinson-middle-school

Conference week is October 23rd-24th. We just wanted to give everyone a heads up that the middle school conference week will be different than in previous years.

10/23 - Full day of school

10/24 - Full day of school

10/25 - Half Day

10/26 - Half Day

10/27 - Half Day

We will share more information about what conferences will look like this year as the dates get closer.

Girls' STEM is open to all girls at HMS! The Girls Who Code module of our Girls' STEM will be starting up Wednesday, October 4th before school. This year club members will also be learning code in order to program robots! We will be meeting most Wednesday mornings until Winter Break from 7:45 am - 8:30 am in Mrs. Lyons's room - 206.

Girls who are interested should turn in an HMS Club/Activity form (available outside the ASB office) and email Mrs. Lyons at Anna-Melissa.Lyons@hocksd.org so she can send you a link to register with Girls Who Code. For more information about Girls Who Code you can visit https://girlswhocode.com/ and/or email Mrs. Lyons with any other questions.

Hockinson School District is committed to keeping families informed about important information impacting students and schools. Our team received concerning information from the Seattle FBI today, warning schools about violent online groups targeting young people on social media and other public platforms. While we are not aware of any local incidents, we are sharing this information to promote awareness, encourage preventative conversations, and help families understand warning signs.

According to the FBI, the group, which goes by many names (676, 764, CVLT, Court, Kaskar, Harm Nation, Leak Society, and H3ll) targets minors on publicly available messaging platforms and extorts them into recording or live-streaming acts of self-harm or producing child sexual abuse material. This footage is then circulated among members to further coerce and exert control.

In reported cases, the groups target young people between the ages of 8 and 17, specifically LGBTQ+ youth, racial minorities, and young people who are impacted by mental health challenges like depression and suicidal ideation.

Awareness for Families

• Talk with your student(s) about the presence of these groups online and urge them to be cautious when posting photos, videos, or any identifying information on social media, dating apps, or other online sites. Publicly posted images and videos combined with advancements in technology provide bad actors with a supply of content to target and exploit young people and foster criminal activity.

• Monitor the online activity of young people and discuss risks associated with sharing personal information online.

• Understand the warning signs of self-harm and/or suicidal ideations and provide immediate support.

• Sudden behavior changes such as becoming withdrawn, moody, or irritable.

• Sudden changes in appearance, especially neglect of appearance.

• Dropping out of activities and becoming more isolated and withdrawn.

• Scars, often in patterns.

• Fresh cuts, scratches, bruises, bite marks, burns, or other wounds.

• Wearing long sleeves or pants in hot weather.

• Threatening suicide and openly talking about death or not being wanted or needed.

• Resource: Preventing Suicide: A Toolkit for High Schools

• Resource: American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

If you or your student needs support, please reach out to us. We understand this information is deeply disturbing, and our goal in sharing it is to provide families with awareness, resources, and support when navigating these difficult conversations.

It was an exciting week of Hornet athletics and we are looking forward to another fun filled week as we enter the final two weeks of the fall season.

Our cross country teams traveled to Longview on Wednesday for a race along Lake Sacajawea. Our girls team was once again led by Kayla but all 4 girls ran great races and represented HMS well. On the boys side, in a 9 team meet our boys team once again finished first as a team. Tavin came in 1st overall with Austin and Braxtyn coming in 3rd & 4th. Overall the boys finished with 7 of the top 22 runners.

This week was lighter on games for our volleyball program as both blended teams did not have games scheduled but our 7th & 8th grade teams represented HMS so well in both of their games. Both the 7th & 8th grade teams won their games on Monday at Canyon Creek! Then on Wednesday they each won sets on the road at King’s Way.

Next week will be a full week of Hornet athletics. Cross Country will be in Washougal on Wednesday for their final regular season meet before the Middle School League Championship on Oct. 11. Our Volleyball team will be hosting home games on Monday & Wednesday. We will be using the main gym at HMS and the Old Hockinson Middle School gym for games.

Good luck Hornets!

10/2 Volleyball-A-Thon packet pick-up

10/2 Volleyball HOME Ridge View

10/4 Volleyball HOME Jemtegard

10/9 Volleyball AWAY La Center

10/10 Fall Band Concert

10/11 Volleyball Crossover Games

10/11 Cross Country District Meet

10/13 No School: In-service Day

Vision/Mission: Coming Soon!

School Hours: 8:50am-3:20pm

*Students may be dropped of at 8:00am

Wednesdays: 1 Hour Early Release

Office Hours: 8:00am - 3:45am

Email: bess.colpron@hocksd.org
Website: https://hms.hocksd.org/
Location: 15916 NE 182nd Ave, Brush Prairie, WA, USA
Phone: 360-448-6440
Facebook: facebook.com/HockinsonMS/