The Hive

January 5th

Happy Friday!

HMS Families,

We had a wonderful week back! Tuesday was a little rough for everyone as we were all adjusting to waking up early again. The kids shared with us about what they did over winter break in between yawns and referencing how tired they were. As the week progressed the conversations got a little louder, the laughter was more frequent and routines were found again.

Can you believe the end of semester is approaching so quickly? Semester 2 officially begins on January 29th. Student schedules will be handed out that day. Please note that schedule changes are complicated and complex and we do our best to keep classes consistent from first semester to second semester. One thing I have learned this year is all of the details involved making changes to schedules and it's not as easy as switching one class for another, there are often many layers to that one change.

Thank you again to all of you who continually show us kindness and grace. We feel so lucky to get to be part of the HMS community and that we get to spend time getting to know all of your kids. It was so nice to laugh with them again after not seeing them for two weeks.

Enjoy your weekend!

With kindness,

BC & SS

Boys Basketball Tryouts

We are looking forward to the start of the boys basketball season. Tryouts will begin Monday, January 22nd - Wednesday, January 24th starting at 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm in the HMS Main Gym.

There will only be 3 teams for the upcoming season (7th grade, 8th grade, & Blended). Please remember that all students must be fully cleared on FinalForms in order to participate in tryouts. Please double check that all signature pages (student and guardian) and a current physical is uploaded.

Due to the increased number of athletes trying out, it is very important that each student athlete is cleared to participate in all three days of tryouts. Not all athletes will make a team. Athletic fees can be paid after rosters are finalized.

Homework Club Changes

Homework Club will now be available to all students during the following times:

Monday's 3:30-4:00 (Mrs. Puzzo)

Tuesday's 3:30-4:00 (Mrs. Puzzo)

Thursday's 3:30-4:00 (Mrs. Stivers)

Any student can attend homework club throughout the week. It's a great space to work on unfinished work or complete assignments. There is always an adult there to provide assistance to students.

6th grade cogAT

For the 2023-24 school year, HSD will be providing universal screening using the CogAT 8 screening form for all students in sixth grade. New students to the district who were not screened will also be screened by request. Students screened in 6th grade that are in the top 20th percentile will be recommended to participate in honors courses, and AP courses in high school, although these courses are open to any student.

Chromebook Information

This is a friendly reminder that it is important for students to keep the protective cases on their school issued Chromebooks to protect them from accidental damage. If you opted into the Hockinson Assurance Program at the beginning of the 2023-24 school year, and your student's Chromebook is damaged while any part of the case is off, the cost of repair will not be covered by your assurance as is stated in the exclusions section of the assurance form.

Here is the Hockinson Assurance Program form if you would like to take a closer look at what it offers, including coverage and exclusions. If you opted out of the assurance program at the beginning of the year and would like to have assurance coverage, you can opt-in at any time after your student's Chromebook has been inspected for damage. A paper form can be sent home with your student, or you can make an online payment through InTouch, the HSD payment portal.