Hickory Creek Middle School

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.

Tricia Dotson tdotson@fsd157c.org

Jason Crockett jcrockett@fsd157c.org

Tyler Sinclair tsinclair@fsd157c.org

September 2nd - No School (Labor Day)

September 4th- Chorus Booster Hot Lunch

September 4th- HCMS Curriculum Night 5:30 -7:00 P.M.

September 9th- School Picture Day

September 10th- Math Fastbridge Fall Screening

September 11th- Reading Fastbridge Fall Screening

September 11th - FSP Hot Lunch

September 17th - Board of Education Meeting @ 7:00 P.M.

September 18th- Education Foundation Hot Lunch

September 24th- Tiger University for Families (at Chelsea) @ 5:30 P.M.

September 25th- FSP Hot Lunch

September 4th from 5:30 P.M. - 7:00 P.M. The Hickory Creek staff will host an Open House to share information about curriculum and instruction for all families. The schedule for the evening can be found below.

Welcome back! I hope everyone had a great summer and is ready to return to school. Just a few reminders as we start the year. We have filling stations for water bottles for the students to use to keep hydrated during the day. The building can be a little chilly in some areas, please encourage your child to keep a sweater in their locker to have when needed.

• Illinois Dental Exams Forms are needed for 6th graders, ask your provider to complete these at their next visit and return to the nurse's office.
• Illinois Health Exams: All 6th graders and NEW students are required to have and IL Health Exam with proof of immunizations on file by October 15th, 2024. Please send those in if you haven't already. Students that do not have the required immunizations and the IL Health Exam will be excluded from school after October 15th. All parts of the form must be completed for your student to be compliant, don't forget to complete and sign the parent portion.
• Illinois Eye Exam Forms are needed for all NEW students.

Please call the nurse with any questions. All forms can be found on the district website.

Anyone that still needs to update a student's health plan for this school year can call (815-469-4474) or email (tbush@fsd157c.org).

Student Drop-Off

The front doors open at 7:20 A.M. daily and we encourage all students to be in the building by 7:35 A.M., so they can be seated, ready for attendance, and begin our day at 7:45 A.M.

Parents who choose to drive their children to school should enter the large parking lot and patiently participate in the drop-off line. Students who are in the car rider line should be prepared to exit the car as efficiently as possible once they are within walking distance of the main entrance. Our staff will be out there to help keep the car line moving. Please plan to pull ahead as far as you can each time that the drop off line stops to ensure that multiple students can be dropped off at once.

The small parking lot is used for busses only in the mornings. However, once our last bus arrives to drop off students in the small parking lot (hopefully by 7:30 A.M), we will open the small lot for families to utilize for additional morning drop off opportunities. ****A staff member will indicate when this lot is open and ready for use (approximately by 7:30 A.M.), once all buses have arrived. Cars will not be permitted until all busses have been accounted for.

Student Pick-Up

At the end of the day, students may take their assigned bus and route home or be picked up by their family. We will use both parking lots in the front of the school for pick up traffic. Eighth grade families should pick their children up in the small parking lot and Sixth and Seventh grade families should pick their children up in the large parking lot. If there are multiple age children from a family or carpool, please use the large lot.

For the safety of all students, students must wait for their family on the sidewalk/curb and should not walk through our parking lot at dismissal.

Absent students should be called in to the Hickory Creek office by 7:00 A.M. The number to call is 815-469-4474. Students who are absent should message their teachers for missing homework when they are feeling well enough to return.

Tardy

Students not in their Tiger Time Advisory class by 7:45 A.M. are considered tardy and need to report to the Main Office to receive a pass to enter class and be marked present for the day. Please make every effort to have your child to school no later than 7:35 A.M. so that classes may begin promptly at 7:45 A.M.(It takes a few minutes to walk through the front door, get to grade level hallway and put items in locker, class begins at 7:45 A.M., so the earlier, the better.)

Students being picked up early from school should be either sent with a written note or called into the office at 815-469-4474. The secretaries will provide a pass for your child to leave at the time indicated for pick up. Guardians must come into the vestibule of the school to sign child out and pick them up please.

Students in grades 6th- 8th will have a 30 minute lunch period daily. The time for grade level lunches are:

• 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.

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. 🙂

Students may bring water bottles to school and carry them throughout the day. However, the bottles must only contain water and cannot have a straw. They must all have a secured, twist top. There are multiple refilling stations throughout the school.

All staff, students and visitors will be required to wear the Hickory Creek issued lanyard at all times while in the building. Students will be given a lanyard on the first day of school with a temporary ID. After school pictures this Fall, new official IDs will be issued.

Tiger Time Advisory teachers will check for students lanyards daily while taking attendance. Students who lose their lanyard will be given one complimentary replacement but then families will be charged for replacements after that.

We appreciate everyone's support with these efforts.

HCMS students were issued a laptop and bag during the first week of school. They are able to bring these devices home nightly. Each morning, the device must be charged and ready to be used for learning throughout the day. Students who forget their laptops are encouraged to call home and have them delivered or if needed, a loaner laptop will be issues. Computers are used daily at HCMS.

Students are responsible for keeping the device safe from damage. Please see details below in regard to laptop damage.

• All repairs will be organized by the Technology Department through the Frankfort School District 157-C Help Desk. If the student is found to be neglectful with the device and the device is no longer usable, the student will be responsible for a repair fee of $165.00.
• A replacement fee of $30.00 will be incurred if the charger for the device is damaged or lost.
• A replacement fee of $20.00 will be incurred if the computer bag is damaged or lost
• A full cost current year replacement fee will be charged for all laptops lost or not returned.

Students will be allowed to use their cell phone in the morning until 7:40 am, as long as they are following our schoolwide expectations.

At 7:40 am, students must place their cell phone in their backpack or computer bag, until the end of the day. During the school day (7:45 am – 2:10 pm) students are not allowed to utilize their cell phone.

If a student needs to contact their family, they should ask for a pass to the office and speak with our secretaries and call from the office.

• This is true to for when students do not feel well. They should ALWAYS ask to see the nurse first and then call home from the nurses' office- they should not call from their cell phones before seeing the nurse.

All students were issued an assignment notebook during the first week of school. Students are expected to use them daily to record homework assignments. This is one of the communication tools that our staff will use to help keep families informed. Teachers will remind students to record important information in the assignment notebooks.

If students lose their assignment notebooks, they will be charged and need to replace them.

Attached below is the link to our Parent and Student Handbook.

The purpose of a School Dress Code is to promote an environment that is conducive to learning. Students are expected to wear age-appropriate clothing in a neat, clean, and well-fitting manner while on school property and/or in attendance at school-sponsored activities.

The dress code is in effect at all school-related functions, with the exception of special school events that have been pre-approved by the building principal. If there is any uncertainty about dress and appearance, the building principal will make the final decision. A student whose dress or appearance is determined to be inappropriate will be required to change into an appropriate substitute outfit provided by either the student’s family or the school. The following are guidelines for appropriate dress at school and school-related functions:

While following the basic principles outlined above, students must wear:

• Shirts that have solid, non-transparent fabric in the front, back, and on the sides under the arms. Clothing must cover both midriff and undergarments.
• Pants/jeans or the equivalent (for example, shorts, skirt, sweatpants, leggings, a dress),
• Footwear

Students may not wear the following:

• Clothing with graphics or text that is provocative, vulgar, profane, and/or depict weapons, drugs, alcohol, or cigarette-related products.
• Clothing with hate speech, profanity, pornography.
• Clothing with images or language that creates a hostile or intimidating environment.
• Accessories that could be considered dangerous or could be used as a weapon.
• Any item that obscures the face or ears (except as a religious observance or as personal protective equipment (PPE)
• Hats, caps, hoods, sunglasses (except as pre-approved for medical reasons, athletic events, spirit days, etc.)

A fundamental part of a successful middle school experience is getting involved in activities outside of the school day. Hickory Creek is proud to be able to offer many different opportunities for our 6th-8th graders. Please take some time at the start of the school year to discuss these opportunities with your child and encourage them to find at least one activity to get involved in. Throughout the year, sponsors and coaches will be sending information to students, through Microsoft Chat and announcements, with details on how to sign up or try out for the activities. Details about each activity can be found our school web site. An Activity newsletter is linked below as well as a direct link to our Athletics Web Page.

We hope that many families will join the District for our Tiger Trot 5K in September. Please see details and link to sign up below.

Hickory Creek is extremely grateful to the parent volunteer groups that help support our students and programs. There are many opportunities to get volunteer and get involved. Please see the organizations and contact information for these groups linked here: Parent Organizations – Parents – Frankfort School District 157-C (fsd157c.org)