HAWK TALK

Friday, October 25, 2024

CALENDAR AT A GLANCE

October 30 - Kona Ice Truck ($5) during 9th period

November 5 - Remote Learning Day for Students

November 8 - Picture day make ups and retakes

November 25-29 - Thanksgiving Break (school closed)

School Hours and Important Times

Office Hours: 8:15 - 4:15

Instructional Hours: 8:55-4:05

Arrival: Please do not drop off students prior to 8:25 AM. We cannot provide supervision of students prior to 8:25, therefore students may not enter until this time.

Breakfast: 8:25 - 8:55 AM

Students should be in class by 8:50 AM.

Dismissal is at 4:05 PM.

Walkers/Car riders are dismissed first, followed by bus riders.

Bus students are dismissed in the order that buses arrive.

Car line: Students must enter/exit a vehicle at the sidewalk area. Please pull forward as far as possible to keep the car line moving. All students must be picked up by 4:25 PM.

LAPTOP/DEVICE INFORMATION:

Holcomb Bridge Middle School is a one-to-one school, meaning each student is issued a Fulton County device. Students and guardians are responsible for the care of these devices throughout the year. This year, Fulton County provided a protective case for each laptop, and the expectation at HBMS is that the laptops remain in the cases at all times-- whether the student is at home or at school.

Laptop damage is much less likely to occur if it is in the case. In order to help avoid damage as much as possible, teachers are going to collect any device that is not in the case. The laptop will be turned into the media center for keeping until the case is brought back to school. Students may retrieve their laptops from the media center by presenting their case to library staff upon arrival to school. Please help us encourage your students to be responsible for their school-issued devices by keeping them in the cases at all times to avoid disciplinary consequences and lost schoolwork time.

Thank you for your support, HBMS parents!

Kona Ice Spirit Day!

October 30th during school!!

Students interested in purchasing Kona Ice should bring $5 on Wednesday to purchase their treat.

Bringing Food/Candy to School

As we approach the upcoming holidays, it important to remind parents and families that candy, desserts, baked goods (store bought/homemade), or any other edible items are not to be sold or distributed at school or on the bus unless approved in advance by school administration. Per our Student Code of Conduct, students who do not adhere to this expectation are subject to disciplinary action for violation 7A: Failure to Follow Rules and all candy or food items will be confiscated. Please discuss this expectation and possible consequences with your student(s) as this will be taken very seriously. This is due to recent national and state reports about students sharing edible items and synthetic medications with other students that contain very harmful substances.

Please know that taking this measure will help us maintain a safe environment for all students. You can help us protect your student(s) by requesting that they not eat anything given to them by another person, anything that they have not brought from your home or anything not in its original sealed package.

Thank you for your continued partnership in keeping all of our students safe at school!

Halloween Costumes

Our staff will be showing spirit by wearing team costumes for Halloween. Students often ask if they are allowed to dress up on Halloween at school. The answer is yes - with some limitations:

No full face masks or full face paint.
No props that depict weapons.
Costumes should not interrupt the ability for instruction to proceed or impact safey in moving throughout the school (such as inflatable costumes).
Costumes must adhere to school dress code (stomachs covered, undergarments covered, no drugs or alcohol references).

Please take the FCS Annual Perception Survey!

At Fulton County Schools, we truly value the feedback from our parents about their experiences with the district. That is why I encourage all parents to take the Annual Parent Perception Survey. This survey allows parents the opportunity to tell us what they think about their student’s schools and the district. While we always make it a priority to listen to our parents, this survey affords us another opportunity to receive your thoughts and opinions.

The survey is anonymous and confidential. Please complete one survey per school where you have one or more students enrolled. The survey will remain open from Wednesday, October 16 through Friday, November 22.

The Annual Perception Survey is currently available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Hindi, and Punjabi. If you or your family would like to take it in a language that is not listed, please email your child’s principal.

Parent University: Technology

Thank you to everyone who attended our annual Technology Parent Workshop yesterday evening. If you missed the event, the presentation is attached for your review. Please give your feedback to us about this session: https://bit.ly/FCSEvaluation_Survey

pdf

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Technology Workshop October 24 2024.pdf

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1.2 MB

Create a Canvas Parent Account

We are proud to launch the Canvas learning management system in middle school this year. At this time, all teachers should have set up and published a Canvas page for each class. Not all assignments will be posted in Canvas, but this will be a central location for class resources and teacher communication.

How can a Parent/Guardian setup an observer account for Canvas?

The observer role is given to parents, family members or guardians to give them visibility into the student's Canvas courses. Family members and guardians can set up an observer account and pair it with student account(s) using a student pairing code. Once the observer is paired with their student(s) they will be able to see the courses that those student(s) are in. There is also a Canvas Parent app that can be set up on your phone.

Please visit the FCS Canvas Page to access step-by-step directions to generate the parent code. Directions are available in English, Spanish, Hindi, Korean, and Chinese.

Holcomb Bridge Recognized as a Common Sense School

Common Sense, the national nonprofit organization dedicated to helping kids and families thrive in a world of media and technology, has recognized Holcomb Bridge Middle School as a Common Sense School.

HBMS has demonstrated its commitment to taking a whole-community approach to preparing its students to think critically and use technology responsibly to learn, create, and participate while preparing them for the perils that exist in the online realm, such as plagiarism, loss of privacy, and cyberbullying. With the right support, kids can take ownership of their digital lives, engage with real issues, and change their communities for the better. The recognition acknowledges our school's commitment to creating a culture of digital citizenship.

We're honored to be recognized as a Common Sense School. By preparing our students to use technology safely and responsibly, we are providing them an opportunity to build lifelong habits to help them succeed in a tech-driven world. To learn more about the criteria HBMS met to become recognized as a Common Sense School, visit https://www.commonsense.org/education/recognition-schools. For more information For resources you can use at home to support digital citizenship and well-being, visit https://www.commonsense.org/education/family-engagement-resources.

Volleyball Season

If you woud like to come cheer on the Hawks, please note that all students must be accompanied by the adult who is driving them home. We do not allow drop offs for afterschool events. Home game events are highlighted in yellow on the schedule below.

Most of our neighboring middle schools share the same rules. Some even charge an admission fee to their games (we do not). Please plan accordingly if you are going to cheer on our teams at an away game. Thank you for your support!