Hawthorne Brook Happenings

Dear HBMS Families,

I hope this finds you well. In addition to our first snow day of the year (for those of you keeping track, the last day of school is now June 12th), our students celebrated their 100th day of school this past Tuesday. For our fifth graders, it marks a very special milestone- their 1000th day of school. Pictures from one of our team's celebrations are above.

We also want to offer our congratulations all our students who auditioned for districts last week in band and chorus. Five of our students were accepted: Ellayna L, Bentley L, Molly L, Evin N and Brooklyn T.

Our basketball teams are wrapping up their season this upcoming week. Thursday is their last home game- please consider coming out to support them!

Enjoy the snow this weekend!

Warmly,

Chantele Olmstead & Jason White

Please remember to call the absent line at your child’s school to report his/her illness. Please try to call the absent line (978) 597-5261 early in the morning if your child will be out.

If your student is seen by a provider, please submit a note from the provider containing the reason for the illness and all days missed, so attendance can be adjusted accordingly.

Check out these Respiratory Virus Guidelines.

8th grade parents/guardians:

WDC packets went home last week. Please fill out the medication emergency permission forms completely. On the back, please list any medications that your child takes daily or may need to take while on the trip. Examples are ADHD medication, allergy medication, as needed medication such as inhalers and Epi-pens. *Please note that any medication you list will need a doctor’s order for the nurse to administer the medication on this trip. Any medication already in school with the nurse has an order on file.* If you have any questions, please reach out to Mrs. Sheridan at 978-597-6914 x3500 or lsheridan@nmrsd.org.

(boys) The Hawthorne Brook Boys basketball team had a strong showing against Skyview Tuesday. They pulled it within 6 points with a minute to go but were unable to get the win. Erick D led the team in points. Jack B and Nate T played with intensity. Darin Q was solid on the boards and on defense. Walker S contributed solid minutes in the 2nd half with smart play on offense and defense.

(girls) The girls team won a nail-biter in overtime last night against Skyview Middle School, to improve to 10-1 on the season. These two teams always play each other tough, so the girls should be proud to have gotten wins against Skyview in both of their meetings this season. Sophie H had a gritty 23-point performance and Scarlet B played extremely tough defense and made a huge impact with her rebounding and put-backs. Maeve G and Phoenix M both stepped up off the bench and kept our momentum rolling while in the game. Congrats, Ladies, on another tough, hard-fought win!

We are so proud of Brigid Kennedy for representing our school at the MathCounts Competition. She persevered when our 2nd competitor had to drop out due to illness. Even though she had never competed before, she did well!

Our school report card for the 2023-2024 school year is available here. Translated versions are available here.

The robotics club had a workshop last weekend where they prepared for the upcoming Botball competition in May. We would love to thank a parent who donated $200 towards all the equipment and materials needed for this event.

If you would like to donate:

1. Search for North Middlesex Regional School district using https://unipaygold.unibank.com/transactioninfo.aspx.

2,. Select Middle School, then select HBMS Robotics Donations

3. Put in amount and full name

4. Check out as guest using a credit card

Are you ready to order a yearbook? Yearbooks cost $27 and can only be purchased online. To purchase a yearbook, click here.

If you need assistance placing an online order, please reach out to Ms. Olmstead.

If you have had a hard time accessing your Aspen account, please email aspen@nmrsd.org for assistance logging in.

Students can see their schedule, as well as their grades in Aspen. It is a great tool to keep track of how your child is doing!

Attendance is critical to student learning- if students are not in school, learning is that much more difficult. To incentivize student attendance, the district is doing drawings every month. If your child(ren) is in school at least 90% of the month, they are automatically entered into a drawing for an NMRSD t-shirt!

If you need support with attendance, please reach out. Our school counselors are happy to work with you to brainstorm strategies to help get your child out of the house and into school.

Please note that students may NOT opt to bring their own devices from home. Not only do the devices prevent teachers from properly monitoring students, they are against the device policy adopted by the School Committee this past summer.

Please reach out to administration if you have any questions.

The 24-25 school calendar can be found here!

This is a reminder that cell phones are to be off and away for the day. School committee updated the district cell phone policy this past summer. The policy can be found here.

We know that this policy may be anxiety-inducing for parents. A fellow principal shared this podcast with me- it was a good listen, both for myself as a mom (the same policy is in effect for my own son's middle school) and as a principal. We also have a school lending library of The Anxious Generation if anyone is interested in checking out the book. (Stop by the office or email Ms. Olmstead if you are interested in borrowing a copy!) To assist with policy implementation, teachers will collect cell phones during homeroom and return them at the end of the day.

Please remember that students are always welcome to use the phone in the office if they need to contact home. You can also call the office and we will pass along any message that needs to be delivered.

*new addition* Check out this video about cell phones and the Anxious Generation!

All students are given a new chromebook at the start of fifth grade, with the expectation that chromebook will serve them through eighth grade. When chromebooks break, our technology department does their best to repair/replace them. If chromebooks are being broken frequently, families may be billed ($50 for a repair; $100 for a replacement). We do not expect students to require more than one or two chromebooks during their time at HBMS.

The good news? You can check Aspen to see how many chromebooks your child has received! Under "classroom mobile devices," it indicates what number chromebook your child has been assigned.

This is a reminder that students who are car riders are dropped off before school in the small circular driveway at the foot of the hill. Parent pick up in the afternoon is in the faculty parking loop BEHIND the school.

Please remember that students should NOT be dropped off prior to 7:55 in the morning (unless they are getting breakfast)!

HBMS Floor hockey club is back for grades 5-8! Join Mrs. Amari after school during the month of March, all skill levels are welcome to join and experience the fun and fast-paced sport of floor hockey. Here is the information and permission slip to attend. Sign-up deadline is February 10.

* Extended with thanks to Ms. Amari and Mr. Ash* We are excited to announce that the gym will be open at 7:15 AM for those students looking to get some physical activity and start the day off right! The open gym session is a fun opportunity to stay active, meet new people, and explore different types of activities.

Don't miss out on this chance to boost your energy and well-being before class. We look forward to seeing you there! OPEN GYM IS NOW FREE FOR ALL STUDENTS every Monday, Wednesday, Friday through the 2024-2025 school year.

Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth (MPY) is continuing to sponsor a free Parenting Solutions Library. MPY is offering this valuable resource in partnership with Peace At Home Parenting Solutions, a non-profit organization located in Mansfield, Connecticut. Through this partnership, MPY is providing proven resources to help students’ families thrive.

Peace At Home Parenting Solutions specializes in empowering parents with evidence-based strategies to foster nurturing connections that safeguard their children's mental well-being. The Parenting Solutions Library is easily accessed using the link on MPY’s home page. No log in or passcode is needed.

For your convenience, we have created this handout. Please contact MPY Executive Director Margie Daniels at margie@mpyinc.org with questions.

This is a friendly reminder that, as a rule, our doors open to students at 7:55 in the morning. Students who eat breakfast at school can arrive at 7:45 and eat breakfast in the cafeteria. Students who arrive earlier will wait outside, unless arrangements have been made for extra help or tutoring.

This is a friendly reminder that all students must use their school IDs to get into PTO-sponsored school activities!

Our National Honor Society (NHS) members offer tutoring for elementary, middle, and high school students. Sessions are held at town libraries after school from 3-5 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. on Saturdays. If you're interested, click here to fill out the Google Form. We'll then match you with a tutor and help schedule your first session. Don't miss out on this fantastic resource for academic support!

The North Middlesex Volleyball team will be running free after school clinics in the HBMS gym starting February 25th. These clinics are being offered for girls in grades 6th - 8th . See this document for the permission form and more information.

February 17-21- Midwinter Break

Email: colmstead@nmrsd.org & jwhite@nmrsd.org
Website: http://hbms.nmrsd.org/
Location: 64 Brookline Street, Townsend, MA, USA
Phone: (978) 597-6914

Fax: (978) 597-0354
Facebook: www.facebook.com/HawthorneBrookMiddleSchool/